Khitam Al Amir, Gulf News Sat, 09 Mar 2024 13:26 UTC
Screengrab from a video shared by weather monitoring centre
Torrential rains and thunderstorms have swept through several governorates in the Sultanate of Oman, leading to severe floods and activating emergency protocols.
The North Al Batinah Governorate, particularly the areas of Liwa and Shinas, along with Buraimi Governorate's Madha, experienced intense early morning rainfall Saturday, following severe thunderstorms on Friday that triggered flowing valleys and reefs.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has forecasted partly cloudy to cloudy skies across most governorates, with potential thunderstorms bringing strong winds, hail, and flash floods affecting regions such as Al Buraimi, Al Dhahira, North Al Batinah, South Al Batinah, Al Dakhiliyah, Muscat, North Al Sharqiyah, South Al Sharqiyah, Al Wusta, and Dhofar.
The CAA warned of reduced horizontal visibility and advised caution.
Two people from New Zealand died in an avalanche in Mount Yotei in Japan on Monday, police said.
A third person, also caught in the avalanche, sustained a shoulder injury.
Police in Japan confirmed that two foreigners "have sadly passed away" following an avalanche, New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
A spokesperson said: "The New Zealand embassy has offered consular support to the families of those involved."
The two New Zealand nationals lost their lives while skiing in the backcountry of Mount Yotei, approximately 90km from the city of Sapporo in Hokkaido island.
A 19-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., was killed in an avalanche in Alberta's Kananaskis Country on Sunday, according to Canmore RCMP.
Police said the avalanche happened around 1 p.m. on a mountain known as The Tower, about 25 kilometres south of Canmore and just east of Mount Engadine Lodge.
"One of the males was able to escape by digging himself out of the snow; however, the second male was buried," the RCMP said in a news release.
Police said they recovered and the man's body on Monday morning with the assistance of Kananaskis Mountain Rescue.
A lightning strike killed a Peruvian tour guide and injured six French citizens during a hike on the multi-coloured Vinicunca mountain, a tourist hotspot in the heart of the Andes, police said Monday.
The mountain, one of Peru's most iconic sites along with Machu Picchu, has become a major attraction in the last decade, as warming temperatures have melted its glacier caps and revealed its colours.
Police said in a statement that the lightning strike on Sunday afternoon had left the French tourists, aged 22 to 40, with "burns and injuries".
They have been hospitalised in the city of Cusco.
Vinicunca mountain, also known as the rainbow mountain or mountain of seven colours, has distinct hues striped across its slopes, the result of an accumulation of sediment over millions of years.
It rises to over 5,200 metres above sea level.
The death of the tour guide brings to five the number of people killed by lightning in the Peruvian Andes this year, according to authorities.
Four people have died and three others are wounded after being struck by lightning in Mozambique, which is now bracing for Storm Filipo.
The lightning strikes happened in the northern town of Mogincual, in Nampula province.
Meanwhile, the southern and central provinces of Gaza, Inhambane, Sofala and Zambézia have been placed on alert for severe thunderstorms expected later on Monday.
Storm Filipo has now reached the Mozambican coast and could evolve into a severe tropical storm, before dispersing back out to sea.
Increased rainfall has already been recorded and there are fears of mudslides. Boats and vessels are being warned by Mozambique's National Institute of Meteorology (Inam) to take precautions.
Natural disasters are common in Mozambique, particularly during the rainy and cyclone season which runs between October and April.
Heavy rain in Bolivia's capital, La Paz, prompted authorities to declare a state of emergency, a government document showed on Sunday, after overflowing rivers destroyed many houses over the weekend.
Bolivian President Luis Arce pledged to send heavy machinery and 3,000 troops to prevent further damage, according to the document.
Heavy rains caused flooding in several neighborhoods and isolated parts of the city by cutting water, electricity and roads.
"We are deeply concerned by the difficult situation that our municipality in La Paz is going through," Arce said in a post on social media platform X.
One person died over the weekend in La Paz because of the heavy rains, while nearly 50 people have died in deluges across the country since the rainy season began in January, according to official data.
Following flash floods and a landslide on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, a local official reported Saturday that at least ten people had died and ten more were missing.
In the province of West Sumatra, torrential rains caused landslides and floods in the Pesisir Selatan regency, forcing about 46,000 people to flee to makeshift shelters.
"Ten bodies were discovered. According to a statement from Doni Yusrizal, acting head of the Pesisir Selatan disaster mitigation agency, "two victims were found in Langgai village, Sutera subdistrict; seven victims were found and identified in Koto XI Tarusan subdistrict; and one other victim was found in the Lengayang subdistrict."
Doni added that bad weather had hampered efforts to search for 10 missing people.
Flash floods and a landslide on Indonesia's Sumatra island have left at least 19 people dead and seven others missing, officials have said.
Mud, rocks and uprooted trees rushed down a mountainside and engulfed villages in the Pesisir Selatan district of West Sumatra province late on Friday following torrential rains, Doni Yusrizal, who heads the local disaster management agency, said on Sunday.
Yusrizal said rescuers recovered seven bodies in the village of Koto XI Tarusan and three others in two neighbouring villages.
"Relief efforts for the dead and missing were hampered by power outages, blocked roads covered in thick mud and debris," Yusrizal said.
Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency said six bodies were found in Pesisir Selatan and three bodies were found in the neighbouring district of Padang Pariaman, bringing the death toll so far to 19.
The agency said at least two villagers were injured and seven others were still missing, with more than 80,000 people fleeing to temporary government shelters.
Flash floods and landslides are a common occurrence in Indonesia, where millions of people live near floodplains, especially during the rainy season.
In December, at least two people were killed when a landslide and floods swept away dozens of houses and destroyed a hotel near Lake Toba on Sumatra.
According to BNPB, Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency, heavy rainfall triggered flooding and landslides in a number of areas in West Sumatra Province from 07 March 2024.
By 10 March, BNPB reported at least 19 fatalities along with widespread damage to homes, forcing over 80,000 people to evacuate.
Flood waters swept through streets of Padang City, capital of West Sumatra province, impacting around 10,000 homes and displacing 3,734 people. Authorities reported flooding in 31 locations in eight sub-districts in the city area between 07 and 09 March. Landslides were reported in six locations. Figures show that almost 300 mm of rain fell in 6 hours late on 07 March 2024.
Communities in Pesisir Selatan Regency were also severely impacted. On 10 March, BNPB reported flooding had affected 25,794 families and displaced 76,178 people. At least 16 people lost their lives in the regency.
Fatalities were also reported in Padang Pariaman Regency, where severe flooding and multiple landslides have affected 2,958 people and displaced over 200.
Other affected areas include Solok City and the wider Solok Regency, Limapuluh Kota Regency, Agam Regency, Pasaman Regency and West Pasaman Regency.
Search and rescue teams have been working to find those reported missing. In the latest update of 11 March, BNPB confirmed 26 fatalities and 11 missing. BNPB reported damage to over 30,000 homes, 26 bridges, 45 buildings of worship, 25 schools, 13 roads and 5 public buildings.
Marine wildlife officials confirmed the sperm whale that beached itself off the coast of Venice over the weekend has died.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, the 50-to-70-foot whale had beached itself on a sandbar about 50 yards out from Service Club Park on Sunday morning.
FOX 13's Kellie Cowan reported it had washed up even closer to the shore early Monday morning and officials had planned to euthanize the whale if it survived the night.
Laura Engleby, the branch chief of the NOAA Marine Mammal Division, confirmed the whale is now deceased.
Comment: Update March 10
Al Jazeera reports: Update March 11
Floodlist reports: