Floods
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Cloud Precipitation

Evacuations after floods and landslides near Lake Como, Italy

Flood damage in Como Province, Lombardy, Italy July 2021.
© Government of LombardyFlood damage in Como Province, Lombardy, Italy July 2021.
More heavy rainfall has caused flooding in Western Europe, this time in northern Italy.

Heavy rainfall raced down slopes around Lake Como, triggering landslides and flash floods on the communities below. The communes of Cernobbio, Brienno, Laglio and Argegno in Como Province, Lombardy Region were the worst affected. Homes were damaged and roads completely blocked.

Italy's Fire Department, Vigili del Fuoco, carried out 60 interventions in total, including the rescue of an elderly resident of a house that was almost completely buried in a landslide in Brienno. Firefighters also evacuated two other people at risk from another house in the area. A further landslide in Brienno caused a gas leak and 50 people were forced to remain inside their homes. In Cernobbio, firefighters evacuated two residential buildings threatened by flooding from the Breggia stream.


Attention

A catalogue of crop failures

Food rationing


Extreme weather is slamming crops across the globe, bringing with it the threat of further food inflation at a time when costs are already hovering near the highest in a decade and when hunger is on the rise...


Bloomberg provides the below 'Emerging Market Food Vulnerability Scorecard' graphic:

World food map

Comment: The coronavirus crisis, in addition to earth changes affecting crop growth, and the losing value of currency which is set to get much worse in Western nations in particular, have made the production, availability, purchasing and distribution of food - a MAJOR global issue the likes of which we haven't seen in generations.

See related articles:


Boat

69 dead, 5 still missing in floods in Henan, China - 12.9 million people affected - 972,000 hectares of farmland damaged

The death toll from torrential rains in central China's Henan Province has risen to 69 as of Monday noon, with five people missing, local authorities said.
The death toll from torrential rains in central China's Henan Province has risen to 69 as of Monday noon, with five people missing, local authorities said.
The Henan Provincial Government in China recently provided an update on the flooding that has affected the province since 20 July 2021.

As of 26 July, heavy rain and floods had affected 12.9 million people in 150 counties (cities, districts) and 1,558 towns across Henan. The hardest hit areas include Zhengzhou, Xinyang, Xinxiang, Zhumadian, Zhoukou, Anyang, Shangqiu, Kaifeng, Puyang and Hebi.

As many as 24,474 houses have been severely damaged or destroyed. Damage was also caused to 972,000 hectares of farmland. Over 1.31 million people have evacuated to safer areas. A total of 69 people have lost their lives and 5 are still missing.

Flood water is slowly receding in some areas but the situation remains severe. Forecasters said more heavy rain is expected.


Cloud Precipitation

Deadly floods and landslides in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh - At least 8 killed

Flooded shelters in refugee camps, Bangladesh, 27 July 2021.
© Bangladesh Red CrescentFlooded shelters in refugee camps, Bangladesh, 27 July 2021.
Heavy rainfall in the Cox's Bazar refugee camps in Bangladesh caused deadly floods landslides on 27 July 2021.

Shelters were damaged in the camps which house as many as 900,000 Rohingya refugees. Many of the crowded camps are known to be at risk of flooding and landslides. Eight people have died including 4 children in the recent spate of floods and landslides. Bangladesh Red Crescent teams are rescuing people and providing support to survivors.

Local media in Bangladesh reports that flooding has also caused damage to crops and aquaculture in other areas of Cox's Bazar District. Cox's Bazar town recorded 114.24 mm of rain 24 hours to 27 July and 781.03 mm so far this month. More heavy rain is forecast over the coming days.

Rain is not the only problem for communities in the district. Areas of the district also saw coastal flooding after a high tide during full moon phase on 25 July 2021 caused embankments to collapse in Kutubdia upazila. Over 550 people moved to Cyclone Shelters, Achala Navaratne, Country Representative for the Red Cross in Bangladesh said.


Boat

Massive rescue efforts underway after floods in Mumbai and Maharashtra, India - Just over a meter (42 inches) of rain in 48 hours - At least 192 dead (UPDATES)

Flood rescue Ratnagiri Maharashtra, July 2021.
© NDRFFlood rescue Ratnagiri Maharashtra, July 2021.
Massive rescue efforts are underway after heavy monsoon rainfall continues to wreak havoc in Mumbai and surrounding areas of the state of Maharashtra in India. Some areas in Maharashtra recorded more than 1,000 mm of rain in 48 hours.

In Mumbai, heavy rain caused a building to collapse in the Govandi area early on 23 July 2021. Rescue operations are ongoing but media reports suggest 7 people have died and 3 injured. Just last week at least 20 people died in similar circumstances after several homes were destroyed in the Mumbai suburbs of Chembur and Vikhroli as a result of the heavy rain and landslides on 18 July.

Wider areas of Maharashtra state have been severely affected, resulting in massive rescue operations across several districts. Hundreds of people have been rescued so far, with many more still in need of help.

India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed teams to the districts of Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, Raigad, Nizamabad, Satara, Sangli, Thane and Palghar. Units of the Coast Guard, Indian Navy and the Indian Army have joined the rescue and relief efforts in several areas, notably in Ratnagiri and Raigad districts.

The Indian Air Force has also undertaken rescue efforts using helicopters in Chiplun in Ratnagiri, where flood waters are so high residents have taken refuge on the roofs of houses.


Comment: Update: CNN reports on July 24:
At least 136 people have died in the west Indian state of Maharashtra, authorities said Saturday, after torrential monsoon rains caused landslides and flooded low-lying areas, cutting off hundreds of villages.

At least 38 people were killed in Taliye, 180 kilometers (110 miles) southeast of the financial capital Mumbai, when a landslide flattened most of the small village, state government officials said. The death toll also includes 27 reported deaths from Satara district in the last 48 hours, a representative from the state's Disaster Management, Relief & Rehabilitation department told CNN.

More than 10 people are feared trapped after a landslide occurred in Ratnagiri district on Friday, he said.

As of Saturday morning, over 90,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas to safety as heavy showers continued to wreak havoc, he said.

National Disaster Response Force personnel rescue people stranded in floodwaters in Kolhapur, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, on Friday.
National Disaster Response Force personnel rescue people stranded in floodwaters in Kolhapur, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, on Friday.
The National Disaster Response Force, the Indian Army, Coast Guards, Navy, Air Force and state authorities have all been deployed as part of the rescue effort. The representative added that major damages have been reported in all three coastal districts of Raigad, Satara, and Ratnagiri.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday issued a red alert for six districts of Maharashtra, forecasting "extremely heavy" rainfall and recommending preventive actions. The official said that districts Kolhapur and Sangli are still on alert, Reuters reported.

Parts of India's west coast received up to 594 millimeters (23 inches) of rainfall over 24 hours, forcing authorities to evacuate people from vulnerable areas as they released water from dams that were threatening to overflow.

"Unexpected very heavy rainfall triggered landslides in many places and flooded rivers," Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who heads Maharashtra's state government, told journalists.

"Dams and rivers are overflowing. We are forced to release water from dams, and, accordingly, we are moving people residing near the river banks to safer places," he said.

In nine other landslides in other parts of Maharashtra, 59 people died and another 15 were killed in accidents linked to the heavy rainfall, state government officials said.

Thousands of trucks were stuck on a national highway linking Mumbai with the southern technology hub of Bengaluru, with the road submerged in some places, another Maharashtra government official said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of villages and towns were without electricity and drinking water, he said.

Rivers were also overflowing in the neighboring southern states of Karnataka and Telangana where authorities were monitoring the situation, government officials there said.

Seasonal monsoon rains from June to September cause deaths and mass displacement across South Asia every year, but they also deliver more than 70% of India's rainfall and are crucial for farmers.
Update2: Floodlist reports on July 27:
Disaster authorities in India report that 192 people have now died in floods and landslides in the western state of Maharashtra since record heavy rainfall from 22 July 2021.

The heavy rain brought floods and landslides affected 1028 villages across the districts of Ratnagiri, Raigad, Kolhapur, Thane, Sangli, Satara, Sindhudurg, Pune, Wardha and suburban areas of Mumbai. Over 40 roads were submerged and a bridge on the Vashishti river at Chiplun was severely damaged.

At one point at total of 375,178 people were displaced from their homes, most recently in low-lying areas of Kolhapur District along the Panchganga River which overflowed after heavy rain and releases from the Koyna dam.

India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)and military have carried out massive search and rescue (SAR) efforts over the past week. NDRF teams alone rescued 3,804 people from flood waters.

The biggest SAR operations were at landslide sites in Raigad District, where 30 houses were buried and 95 people bodies were recovered, and in Ratnagiri District where 21 bodies have been recovered. Fatalities were also reported in Satara and Kolhapur Districts. Authorities say at least 25 people are still missing. However, almost a week after disaster struck, search and rescue operations have been called off in many areas.



Arrow Up

Stuff happens: Sewage spouts 100ft into the air over Hammersmith Bridge in London as storm drain erupts

SPOUT
A Hammersmith resident was left stunned as a sewage-laden geyser shot 20 metres into the air outside of his home - for the second time in 13 days.

Heavy rainfall battered the capital yesterday afternoon, causing a storm drain to burst open, spewing water and sewage into the air 100ft over Hammersmith Bridge.

Architect Peter Brill had witnessed the sight for the first time just two week earlier.

The Queens Wharf resident is now worried children are at risk of playing in the sewage if nothing is done to fix the issue.

Mr Brill said: "There was a rumbling sound before it exploded. Then it kept on exploding.

"It was like a geyser at Yellowstone National Park. It was very surprising. I was told 90 per cent is clear water but 10 per cent is sewage."


Comment: London hit with flash floods after torrential rain


Cloud Precipitation

'The sky has fallen': Chinese farmers see livelihoods washed away by floods - Over a million animals killed

Pig carcasses tied to trees are seen in floodwaters next to a farmland following heavy rainfall in Wangfan village of Xinxiang, Henan province, China July 25, 2021.
© REUTERS/Aly SongPig carcasses tied to trees are seen in floodwaters next to a farmland following heavy rainfall in Wangfan village of Xinxiang, Henan province, China July 25, 2021.
Chinese farmer Cheng wades through knee-deep water, pulling dead pigs behind him one-by-one by a rope tied around their ankles as he lines up the bloated carcasses for disposal. More than 100 of Cheng's pigs drowned in floods that paralyzed China's central Henan province last week, and the outlook for those left alive is bleak.

"I'm waiting for the water levels to go down to see what to do with the remaining pigs," said the 47-year-old farmer from Wangfan village, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of provincial capital Zhengzhou.

"They've been in the water for a few days now and can't eat at all. I don't think even one pig will be left."

Cheng's farm is one of thousands in Henan, famous for agriculture, and pork production in particular. The province was struck by heavy rains last week that sparked the worst flash flooding in centuries, catching many by surprise.

"In an instant, we now have no way of surviving. We have no other skills. We have no more money to raise pigs again," Cheng, who has raised pigs all his life, told Reuters at his farm on Sunday.

"This is as if the sky has fallen."


Cloud Precipitation

Thousands evacuated in flood-hit Philippines

A man on a bicycle wades through a flooded
© REUTERSA man on a bicycle wades through a flooded street in Manila, Philippines on July 24, 2021.
Typhoon In-Fa left the Philippines last Friday but continues to enhance the southwest monsoon.

Heavy rains over the weekend flooded different parts of the capital Manila and other provinces in Luzon and Visayas region. The disaster agency reported that 44,563 individuals were evacuated and are staying in 81 evacuation sites across the country.

Mary Jay Versoza and her whole family were evacuated from the coastal neighborhood of Baseco Compound in Manila City. Her house was flooded waist-deep and she was worried for the safety of her young children. Her family is staying at the Baseco Evacuation Center along with 277 other families.

Each family was provided with a modular tent, food and other necessities. But Versoza's worries are not yet over.


Cloud Precipitation

Flood kills 19, destroys homes in Kano, Nigeria

flood
No fewer than 19 persons have been feared dead in Doguwa local government area of Kano State after a vehicle conveying them was washed away by floodwaters at the weekend.

The incident followed a torrential downpour in the city that lasted several hours, destroying properties estimated at over N100 million.

"Human beings and domesticated animals, including birds, as well as foodstuff were destroyed, as several homes were submerged in the flood," Saidu, a resident, said.

Village Head of Doguwa settlement, Alhaji Yusuf Umar, confirmed the incident to newsmen, saying 15 bodies have been recovered while search has been intensified to recover the bodies of the remaining four victims.

Umar narrated that the vehicle conveying the dead was washed away by the flood after its engine went off in the middle of a bridge on Friday night.

Cloud Precipitation

Best of the Web: Flash-flooding as London hit with "month's worth of rain"... for second time in this month


Comment: They're coming thick and fast now, extreme weather event after extreme weather event...


London flash floods
Londoners have seen streets flooded by torrential streams and a tube station being submerged under water as a heatwave in the UK capital was replaced by heavy rains. Some people even had to abandon cars stranded in flooded roads.

Earlier this week, the British capital saw some of the hottest days of the year as the temperatures rose over 30 degrees Celsius. Now, the heat seems to be the least of the Londoners' problems as some parts of the city were submerged in water and resembled the alarming images from the massive flooding which hit Germany and Belgium earlier this month.

Photos and videos posted to social media on Sunday showed cars ploughing through flooded streets while some roads looked more like turbulent rivers. Some car owners had to abandon their vehicles that were caught in the streams and almost fully submerged.


Comment: To clarify, The Telegraph cites UK meteorologists reporting that the entire July rainfall average for London came down in just a few hours. And it was the second time this has happened in London this month alone...