Floods
Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported that at least 10 people have died in flooding and mudslides in Fukushima and Chiba Prefectures, with a further 4 still missing.
Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said that 85.5mm of rain fell in just 1 hour at Kamogawa in Chiba Prefecture on 25 October. In a 12 hour period on the same day, Ushiku in Chiba recorded 283.5mm of rain and Namie in Fukushima Prefecture recorded 245mm.
Speaking during a press conference Oguna said another 6 people were injured in the raging floods affecting parts of the north eastern and coastal region.
The floods have damaged infrastructure of unknown value rendering key roads and bridges in Mandera, Wajir, Marsabit, Turkana, Garissa, Lamu, Kwale, and Mombasa impassible.
"Rescue operations have been moved to the affected areas and appealed to those living in flood prone areas to move to higher grounds," he said.
Over 6,000 people have been displaced by flooding in the capital, Bangui. Local media reported that the Ubangi (Oubangui) river broke its banks last week after a period of heavy rain.
The overflowing river flooded areas in the southwest of the city close to the river's banks. Further heavy rain from around 20 October has worsened the situation and authorities now fear an outbreak of water borne diseases in flooded areas of the city.
Hundreds of houses have been damaged or completely destroyed. News reports said the neighbourhood of M'poko has seen the worst of the flooding, which has left around 60 houses destroyed.
In the city of Argeles-sur-Mer in the Pyrenees-Orientales department, one vehicle ended up wedged on top of a traffic bollard.
Across the region, streets and roads have been severely damaged and covered with mud, forcing residents to clean up. Blocks of cement have been moved by flood water.
Comment:
Update 25 Oct, 10:00 CET
Three people have died in floods following torrential rain in southern France. Sky News reports:
The county's Interior Ministry has said the town of Beziers was among the hardest hit in recent days.Severe flooding has also hit other parts of Western Europe:
Dozens of people there have been forced to leave their homes after rivers broke their banks.
Cars have been swept away and streets and roads have been severely damaged and covered with mud.
The area saw more rain in 24 hours than in the whole previous year as the fierce storms lashed eight French counties along the Mediterranean Sea and inland areas.
More than 2,000 personnel from the emergency services have been deployed to deal with the aftermath of the storms.
People captured images of Tuesday's downpours and flooding on their mobile phones, posting images on social media, including scenes of cars submerged by flood waters.
In one dramatic video, a man on a bulldozer pulls the lifeless body of a little girl out of the water in a flooded area in northern Sharqia Province as shouts and screams are heard in the background. Another video shows a policeman, steps away from the presidential palace in Cairo's district of Heliopolis, wading into a flooded street to unclog a sewage drain.
Confirming the figure to reporters, Ibrahim Inga, head of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency in Nigeria's central region, said eight more deaths were recorded recently.
On October 16, Inga had earlier confirmed 10 deaths recorded over the past two months as the floods wreaked havoc in the state.
So far, 41,959 people have been displaced due to the disaster, the official said.
Disaster Management Centre (DMC) reported that the severe weather has affected the provinces of Central, Sabaragamuwa, Uva, North-Western, Southern, Northern and Eastern Provinces.
Four fatalities occurred in Badulla district, Uva Province as a result of flooding and lightning strikes. The fifth fatality occurred in Rathnapura district, Sabaragamuwa Province after a landslide.
As of 23 October, 1,661 people were staying in 3 relief camps in Gampaha, Western Province, after flooding forced them from their homes.
Government officials said that 12 people have lost their lives in the recent floods. As many as 5,444 houses have been damage, forcing thousands of people to move to relief camps.
Several districts have been affected, including Belagavi, Bagalkote, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu and Haveri, Chitradurga, Gadag and Dharrwad.
Belagavi district has reportedly suffered some of the worst damage. Two teams from India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are working in the district to carry out evacuations and rescues. Another NDRF team is operating in Gadag district.

Emergency services were deployed throughout the night to try and find people who had disappeared during the freak flash floods (poor weather conditions pictured in Sant Antonio, Spain)
He was discovered on a beach near Arenys, Spain, this morning.
He went missing as he went to move his car which had been swept away by a swollen river, yesterday.
The man is the same civilian who emergency teams had searched for throughout the night, according to the regional Mossos d'Esquadra force. He was discovered on a beach near Arenys this morning.
It has also emerged that a 52-year-old man died in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat southwest of Barcelona after being run over by a train in an incident blamed on the storms.

People travel on a flooded street in Vinh, Nghe An Province, October 17, 2019.
Flooding affected the provinces of Nghệ An, Bình Định and Hà Tĩnh provinces. Three fatalities were reported in Nghệ An, where 5 houses were destroyed and 5,250 houses damaged by flood water. Wide areas of crops and aquatic farms have been damaged in the province. The heavy rain also triggered landslides which blocked important roads in several areas.












Comment: Throughout Africa in recent months (from the end of August to October) exceptional rainfall and flooding has been widely reported as evidenced by the following headlines:
- Thousands displaced by flooding rivers in Central African Republic
- 8 dead after chaotic day of heavy rains, flooding in Egypt
- Death toll rises to 18 in central Nigeria flood disaster - 41,000 displaced
- Unprecedented flooding affects 200,000 in South Sudan - double average rainfall for 4 weeks
- Heavy rains trigger floods in Ivory Coast
- 28 killed in floods after 8 days of torrential rain in north-eastern Ghana
- Flooding causes at least 23 fatalities in Tanzania
- Landslide kills 22 in southern Ethiopia after 10 hours of heavy rainfall
- Worst flooding in 50 years hits Niger's capital Niamey
- Algeria's capital Algiers hit with 3 months' worth of rain in 40 minutes
- West Africa: Flood death toll rises in Niger, homes destroyed in Nigeria, hundreds displaced in Chad
- Morocco floods kill 11 in bus accident
- Landslide caused by heavy rains in southern Ethiopia leaves 7 dead
- Flooding causes 2 more deaths in Morocco
- Major flooding leaves 42 dead and 5,000 homes destroyed in Niger
- At least 6 people killed by flash flood at Hell's Gate National Park, Kenya
- Floods leave at least 78 dead and 40,000 homes damaged in Sudan (UPDATE)
- Deadly floods and landslides in eastern region of Uganda
- Flooding in the south of Mauritania leaves 5 dead - nearly half the annual rainfall in a few days
- At least seven people die in flash floods in southern Morocco
All pointers to a trend of global cooling maybe?