Citizen Journalist: rainfall

Showing posts with label rainfall. Show all posts

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Australia in the fury of floods with homes in Melbourne flooded, forecast says rivers will remain dangerously high for days

Melbourne happens to be the second-most populous city of Australia. Its population is around 5 million. The authorities advised some residents to move out of the suburb in northwest of Melbourne. There are similar instructions for hundreds in the Victoria state cities of Benalla and Wedderburn. Hundreds of homes in Victoria were flooded and many more remain isolated by floodwater. In the words of Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews - most of the state was experiencing a “very, very, significant rainfall event and it comes, of course, with the ground completely sodden.” The forecast of the Met department is of more rain throughout the next six-to-eight week period. Obviously, people will have to endure the situation for some more time. Daniel Andrews also mentioned about many homes without power. Homes Inundated by Swollen Rivers in Australian Floods. The State Emergency Service carried out more than 100 flood rescues in Victoria in the past 48 hours.

Last month the Bureau of Meteorology declared that a La Niña weather pattern, usually associated with above-average rainfall in eastern Australia, was underway in the Pacific. It said that the La Niña event may peak during the current Southern Hemisphere spring and return to neutral conditions early next year. Incidentally, La Niña is the cooler flip side of the better-known drying El Niño pattern. It is the third La Niña since 2019 when Australia became the hottest and driest year on record. That year witnessed wildfires fueled by drought that directly or indirectly led to the death of hundreds of people, destruction of hundreds of homes and loss of millions of acres of woods, farmland and city fringes. Sydney, the capital of New South Wales and the largest city of Australia beat its 1950 record last week to make 2022 its wettest-ever year.

Monday, October 10, 2022

At least 25 people dead in central Venezuela landslide after days of torrential rain and floods

Flooding and days of torrential rain has led to landslide that swept through a town in central Venezuela near Caracas, the capital. It left at least 25 people dead with reports of more than 52 people are also missing. It happened after the banks of five small rivers burst after relentless rain. The cascading waters along with rainfall from surrounding mountains deposited large amounts of mud, rocks, debris and large trees through neighborhoods. Vice president Delcy Rodriguez of Venezuela said one of the worst hit areas was the community of Tejerias. This is located about 40 miles southwest of Caracas. These led to damages to businesses and farmland. The force of the moving water carried away the pumps normally used to power the community's drinking water system. At least 25 killed as landslide caused by floods tears through Venezuelan town. These deaths bring the total number of lives lost in recent weeks to at least 40. The reason is the heavy rains due to the La Nina weather pattern.

The priority for the administration now is to locate people still trapped under mud and rocks throughout the town. In the meantime. The military and rescue personnel are trying to locate survivors. The vice president speaking from a flooded street in Tejerias said - "We have lost boys, girls. What has happened in the town of Tejerias is a tragedy." The state television channel carried images of muddy streets filled with tangled tree branches and large rocks. It seems one of the flooded rivers, the El Pato, swept away several houses and shops.

Sunday, October 9, 2022

Death of over 65s in England highest in summer 2022 compared to 2004 due to heatwaves

The world is passing through difficult times because of heatwaves. These are the after effects of irregular rainfall, forest fires and global warming. Statistics reveal that 2803 lives have been lost in the 65+ age group during the five "heat periods" of this year's extraordinarily hot summer. This figure does not include deaths due to COVID-19. This is a matter of concern because it happens to be the highest since 2004 when the Heatwave plan for England was introduced. In July, portions of England had to endure temperatures of 40 C and an estimated 1,012 extra people died in that month. The hot weather gave rise to widespread drought apart from wildfires. These had a direct impact on crop harvest. An official of the UK Health Security Agency UKHSA said – “high temperatures can lead to premature death for those who are vulnerable.” She observed, "Higher excess deaths occurred during the hottest days this year and a warming climate means we must adapt to living safely with hotter summers in the future." Excess deaths for over 65s in summer 2022 heatwaves in England highest recorded since 2004. However, the month of August was worse with the death of an estimated 1,458 people aged over 65.

Bob Ward is the policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change. He said the "threat to lives and livelihoods from summer heatwaves is undoubtedly increasing due to climate change.” He urged Prime Minister Liz Truss to "act decisively by initiating a national heat risk management strategy that can be properly put in place ahead of next summer and prevent further unnecessary suffering and death across the country." Obviously, these are the undisclosed side effects of global warming and people have to realize the seriousness.

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Hurricane Ian struck the western tip of the island, left millions of Cubans without power and is headed towards Florida

The hurricane knocked out power across all of Cuba. Initially, there was loss of power in the western provinces, but later the entire grid collapsed. That meant nearly 11 million people were left without electricity. Hurricane Ian made landfall as a Category 3 storm and devastated Pinar del Rio province. That meant destruction of large numbers of the country's most important tobacco farms. The authorities had to arrange evacuation of tens of thousands of people as the disaster left behind damaged houses and floods. The US National Hurricane Center said Cuba suffered "significant wind and storm surge impacts." The hurricane had struck with top sustained winds of 125mph and it could gain strength as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico and nears the southwestern coast of Florida. Already orders are given for millions of people of Florida to leave. Hurricane Ian leaves 11 million in Cuba without electricity as it heads towards Florida. Warning is given to residents as well as holidaymakers to take precautions and not be complacent. This is because the hurricane could become a Category 4 storm, with wind speeds of 140mph across the whole state.

Deanne Criswell, spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), held an emergency briefing at the White House. She summed up the grim situation and said - “The storm surge is going to be significant, and you put 20 inches of rain on top of that…. We are talking about impacts in parts of Florida that haven't seen a major direct impact in nearly 100 years." Incidentally, Hurricane Ian is heading towards the Florida Keys. This is a popular holiday destination consisting several islands, some less than a mile wide. US President Joe Biden cancelled a planned trip and called mayors in three Florida cities to assure them federal support is ready to deploy food, fuel and shelter. FEMA has already set up 29 emergency community shelters. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, has declared a state of emergency and urged residents to be prepared. There are predictions of floods for much of the Florida peninsula midweek. This could lead to heavy rainfall for the southeast of the US later this week.

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

The Midwest and the South of the U.S. faced severe storms, damaging winds, heavy rains and flash floods

Three people died due to severe storms accompanied by damaging winds, heavy rains and flash floods in parts of the Midwest and the South. The dead included a couple of two children in Michigan and Arkansas apart of a woman in Ohio. Loss of power led to cancellation of classes in many schools as well as problems to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in Indiana and Michigan. One of the girls killed in the Michigan City was a 14-year-old who was electrocuted in the backyard of her home. She had come into contact with an electrical line knocked down by a thunderstorm. In the Detroit-area community of Warren, two boys were hospitalized. One of them touched a power line that was down. Moreover, in Arkansas, an 11-year-old boy lost his life after being swept into a storm drain during heavy rainfall. A woman who tried to help the child was also pulled from the drain and had to be moved to a hospital for treatment. 3 killed, including 2 children, after severe storms hit the Midwest and South.

The National Weather Service revealed that slow-moving thunderstorms brought heavy rainfall to the area and caused localized flash floods. An official of the weather service in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said – “Those heavy rains, when they fell, a lot of them fell really quickly and in a short time." In Ohio, a woman lost her life after a tree fell on her behind her home in Toledo. At that time, a strong storm had passed through the area. Threw were widespread storms in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. High speed winds downed branches of trees and power lines at different locations. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency after excessive rainfall added to the problems in one of the water-treatment plants. It caused to low water pressure through much of the capital city. Incidentally, a swollen Pearl River led to floods in Jackson. It happened after storms dumped heavy rain. The flooding in Mississippi was less severe than flooding that caused death and destruction recently in Kentucky. At the time, the floods left at least 39 dead and robbed thousands of families of all of their possessions.

Saturday, August 27, 2022

China uses drones and rockets for cloud seeding to get rainfall

Temperatures have gone beyond 104F in some parts of China for the past week and longer. This has led to a record-breaking heatwave and severe drought ever since China began to maintain records in 1961. Therefore, the authorities decided to go in for cloud seeding to bring rainfall. It involves sowing silver iodide into the clouds. The structure of the chemical is similar to ice and the process is known as cloud seeding. Chance of rainfall increases when droplets of water cluster around these particles. It modifies the structure of the clouds and chance of rainfall increases. An official of the weather modification office of Guizhou in southwest China informed that plans have been drawn up for eight flights to cover the entire province. He explained that Typhoon Ma-on has brought to Guizhou precipitation conditions. Therefore, the aircraft will conduct frequent operations to increase the amount of rainfall. Drones and rockets bring rainfall to China during record-breaking heatwave and severe drought. China dispatched drones over the Sichuan province in the southwest. The aim is to bring rainfall to more than 232 sq/miles of land.

In the Chongqing municipality of southwest China, local authorities made use of rockets to bring rainfall to 20 counties. Similarly, in the Tongan District, 15 rockets were fired six times to bring the long-anticipated rain. The local meteorological bureau confirmed about availability of an adequate number of rockets. Henan in central China is one of the country's granary provinces. It used a drone to bring artificial precipitation to the area. Obviously, drones and rockets are not just weapons of warfare but they have their uses in times of peace also.

Thursday, August 18, 2022

Heavy rainfall after days of hot, dry weather leads to floods across England and Wales

Parts of Scotland received a week's rainfall in just 24 hours. Heavy rainfall has led to flooded roads across England and Wales. These downpours have come after a long stretch of hot, dry weather in the UK. The Met Office on its part issued yellow thunderstorms warnings cautioning against travel disruption, power cuts and lightning. The Environment Agency has issued several flood alerts for some areas of Midlands and England. South-east England faced the longest heatwave in 15 years with temperatures crossing the threshold of 82F on nine consecutive days. The heavy rain resulted in flooding on tracks in the area and speed restrictions had to be imposed in some place for safety. Videos on the social media revealed the difficult conditions people had to face. UK weather: Thunderstorms warning as heavy rain hits and roads flood. An official of the BBC Weather explained that there is heavy rain in August but in this case, it probably “causing problems as a result of how dry it's been in the lead up."

In Scotland, surface water was affecting many routes and the authorities urged motorists to take care. In Somerset, there is more than 50 tonnes of mud on the road following a recent mudslide. That has to be removed to allow movement of traffic. Moreover, a suspected lightning strike had caused signaling problems and power failure. These left many people stranded on trains with corresponding delays. There is a warning for swimmers. They have to be careful of sewage and pollution at beaches along the English coastlines. There is a caution for flash floods in some areas. The Met Office advised those who live in an area prone to flooding to "have a grab bag with things like water and insurance details and anything you might need, ready to go."

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Floods in Seoul take lives, paralyzes the city – another instance of climate crisis

Torrential rainfall led to floods and landslides as Seoul witnessed death of at least nine persons. Forecasters cautioned about more rain to come. Three died when they were trapped in a flooded semi-basement. Many others suffered injuries and whereabouts of at least seven more are not known. Record rainfall kills at least 9 in Seoul as water floods buildings, submerges cars. The authorities have evacuated hundreds of people and made available aid in the form of tents, blankets and other essentials. They have also launched cleanup and rescue operations. This is because of damages to houses, shops, retaining walls and other pieces of infrastructure.

The rainfall recorded was the highest since authorities began keeping records in 1907. Photos in social media showed people wading across roads up to their thighs in water. In parts of Seoul, there was blockage of drains. These led to travel problems in the streets and subway stations. The Seoul Metro suspended services in some portions because of the floods. Damages included crumbling of parts of pavement apart from damaged vehicles that were swept up by floodwater. Loss of power left many without power in some areas south of the Han River. Yoon Suk Yeol, president of South Korea sent condolences to the victims. He also assured about conducting an on-site inspection and work to prevent additional damage. He realized the need to review the disaster management system. This is necessary in view of increasing instances of climate crisis. Countries in East Asia are experiencing more intense rainfall. The summer monsoons could grow stronger and more unpredictable due to global warming. This is according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Parts of Japan also faced similar situation as parts of Hokkaido reporting floods with possibilities of flash floods and landslides.

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

Harrowing times in Pakistan - more than 280 people killed in rain-related incidents since mid-June

Life in Pakistan is in tatters with hundreds of deaths in rain-related incidents since mid-June. The National Disaster Management Authority NDMA estimates loss of at least 282 lives with injuries to more than 200. Heavy downpours have lashed the country and the dead include nearly 160 women and children. The rains have damaged houses, bridges and business establishments across the country. Most of the damages and casualties were from Balochistan province. The death toll is 88 with more than 60 injured. The flash floods were triggered by the rains. Other casualties were 57 in the east Punjab province, 56 in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and 14 in other parts of the country.

The authorities have launched rescue and relief activities. They are providing basic amenities like food packets, tents, kitchen sets, mosquito nets, hygiene kits, blankets and tarpaulins to those affected by the rains and floods. Forecast of the Met department is more rains in the coming days. 282 killed, over 200 injured in rain-related incidents in Pakistan It believes the monsoon spell would continue through the ongoing week. It has also cautioned about urban flooding and waterlogging apart from landslides in northern parts of the country. These could lead to travel hurdles.

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Monday, March 7, 2022

Deadly tornado kills seven in Iowa, millions under threat of storms from Atlanta to Philadelphia

Parts of the United States face threats of storms after a tornado left seen people dead in Iowa. The dead included two children, and dozens of homes felt the impact. Media reports say the storms could affect millions of people from Atlanta to Philadelphia. The main threats would come in the form of isolated tornadoes and damaging winds. There would also be heavy rain especially across the Ohio River Valley. The authorities have issued flood warnings. This is because of continuous rainfall in the region over the past two weeks. That has saturated the soil and it would mean floods.

It is necessary for people to take advance action and be prepared to face such situations. There could be power failures and powerful torches, batteries and electrical generators could help. Knowledge on location of storm shelters and medical facilities are important. Climatic disturbances like tornadoes and heavy rainfall would make travel difficult. In fact, residents should avoid going out and stock up on essentials like food, clean water, and medicines.

Source -

edition.cnn.com dated 7 March 2022