Gushing flood waters in the Turkish capital Ankara entered an apartment building on Saturday (June 3) after submerging a nearby road, later pouring down from a second-floor balcony.
Earth Changes
Gushing flood waters in the Turkish capital Ankara entered an apartment building on Saturday (June 3) after submerging a nearby road, later pouring down from a second-floor balcony.
The tornado formed near the Point of the Mountain, raising questions about the difference between a landspout and a cold air funnel.
According to reports, the National Weather Service had issued earlier alerts today about the possibility of a landspout tornado in the area.
There was also several reports of cold air funnels seen near Coalville as the storm moved toward Wyoming.
© NOAA Fisheries
Two dead humpback whales were found off the coasts of New York and New Jersey.
Two dead humpback whales were found off the coasts of New York and New Jersey.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the presence of the two whales in a Wednesday Facebook post. One whale was off Wainscott, New York, and the other in Raritan Bay, New Jersey, the agency said.
The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society and Marine Mammal Stranding Center performed necropsies on both whales, according to a Friday update from NOAA.
Fatalities have been reported in the provinces of Saïda and Laghouat over the past few days, highlighting the severity of the situation. On 03 June 2023, two men lost their lives in Laghouat Province's municipality of Beidha when their vehicle was swept away by floodwaters. Witnesses recount that the driver attempted to navigate through a flooded river, resulting in the vehicle being overturned and dragged by the raging currents.
The Civil Protection authorities in Algeria confirmed on 04 June that four individuals had died in separate flooding incidents in Saïda Province.
© Joint Command of the Armed Forces of Ecuador
Flood rescue in Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador, 04 June 2023.
Flood rescue in Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador, 04 June 2023.
According to disaster authorities, over 11,000 people have been affected by the recent flooding, prompting extensive rescue efforts involving boats and helicopters. Thankfully, no fatalities or missing persons have been reported.
Esmeraldas Canton, in particular, has been severely hit, with vast areas submerged under water. As a result, approximately 2,395 homes have been damaged, leaving around 10,000 people directly affected. The devastation has also extended to other vital structures, including a prison and several schools.
People from the Mezdra village of Rebarkovo are without water and electricity. In addition to the water supply network, the only road from the "Botulinovets" district to the village was also destroyed. Which makes the locals' only connection to the world a narrow grassy pathway.
© IHA
The rainfall that caused the flooding swept away trees, cars and animals and inundated buildings in several provinces, including Kastamonu, Samsun, Sinop, Amasya and Çorum.
According to the reports, the rain, which particularly intensified in the Alıçlı neighborhood of Samsun's Ladık district, left an older man dead late Sunday. The man was trying to rescue animals and pass with them over a bridge when he lost his balance and got dragged into the flood.
Two people were missing after a car transporting three people in northern Amasya province was inundated by water in the village of Kışlacık. A man named Sekran Şahin was rescued, but his wife Zilal Şahin and friend Murat Ekşi were swept away with the car in flood.
According to state media reports, 14 people have died and 5 are still missing after a landslide in Jinkouhe, a mountainous area near the city of Leshan in Sichuan Province on 04 June 2023. Reports said the area saw heavy rainfall for 2 days prior to the event. A team of around 180 people rescue and emergency personnel are working at the site.
Heavy rains cause widespread flooding in Haiti
The relentless downpours that commenced on 01 June 2023, intensified during the early hours of 03 June, leading to overflowing rivers and triggering numerous landslides. In some cases, the situation was further exacerbated by blocked drainage channels and bodies of water.
According to official reports, at least 15 individuals have lost their lives as a result of the disaster, while eight people remain missing. Regrettably, the death toll is anticipated to rise as search and rescue operations continue.
Comment: Update
Miami Herald reports:
At least 42 dead, thousands homeless in Haiti after a weekend of heavy rains, flooding
A weekend of torrential rains and widespread flooding in Haiti have left at least 42 people dead, 11 missing and over 13,300 homeless, the government's disaster response agency said.
The Office of Civil Protection said the weather also left at least 7,475 families affected, and flooded at least 13,633 homes across several regional departments. The city of Léogâne, just south of Port-au-Prince, was most affected. The city also registered at least 11 deaths, Jerry Chandler, the head of the Office of Civil Protection, said Monday when the death toll still stood at about 30 and he cautioned the casualties were still preliminary.
By Monday afternoon, the numbers were updated to show that the damage is even more extensive than initially thought. At least 85 people have also been injured, authorities said.
"The biggest impact was the West" region, Chandler said, referring to the area that encompasses the capital.
Also affected in the capital were major health centers including GHESKIO because the Bois de chêne canal, located next door, hasn't been cleaned out for the last five years. The center's director, Dr. Jean William "Bill" Pape said many computers, although placed on elevated platforms, have been damaged by the rains.
Other regions in the environmentally vulnerable country that saw heavy damage were: the Northwest; the Nippes; and the Southeast, where a boat capsized Saturday morning that resulted in the death of two passengers. Fourteen others were rescued.
"In the Center department, the agricultural sector is very impacted," the agency said in a statement.
Also affected is a bridge that was submerged from overflowing river waters, and several roads have also been cut off by flooding and boulders. While the damage assessment is ongoing, Chandler said emergency response teams are mobilized and trying to support affected communities. Along with United Nations aid groups, Civil Protection volunteers are slowly deploying shelter, food and sanitary facilities, and drinking water to those affected.
The heavy rains, which began on Friday, occurred just days into the start of this year's Atlantic hurricane season.
Chandler told the Miami Herald last week that while they had managed to increase training and improve communication coverage so they can get real-time information from their volunteers as disaster strikes, they have been unable to get supplies due to the ongoing gang violence.
On Monday, he said security remains a concern as they "timidly" try to respond to the disaster while also trying to maneuver through gang-controlled territories to get help to the population.
The World Food Program said while the full consequences of the excess rainfall is still not known, the U.N. agency will start providing hot meals to displaced people over the coming hours. WFP is also mobilizing ready-to-eat rations and dry food that can assist up to 15,000 people.
"WFP has the capacity to respond to this emergency, but a significant weather induced event of this level so early in the hurricane season, which generally runs from June to November each year, raises concerns about the ability to provide a sustained response should extreme weather incidents continue to occur," the agency said in a statement.
Some 3,500 Guanay cormorants -- once known as the "billion dollar bird" for their connection to the European fertilizer industry -- have been found dead since May 26 near the coastal port of Coquimbo, according to Chile's Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG).
Workers in biohazard suits collected hundreds of the dead cormorants, with their distinctive black-and-white coloration, along beaches in sight of restaurants and hotels.
Initial tests on the dead birds did not reveal presence of avian flu, which has wracked other parts of Chile, Jorge Mautz, regional director of the service, told AFP.
Comment: Earlier report from May 26: Algeria - 2 dead after flash floods in 9 provinces