Intense rains lashed a scenic area in China's southern Hunan province on Friday, unleashing flooding that swept away cars, engulfed farmland and prompted evacuations and rescues of stranded people.
China has recently been beset by a combination of heavy rainfall and sizzling hot temperatures that have taken a toll on its agriculture and power consumption.
Rains have pounded the Xiangxi area in Hunan since Thursday, with 314.5 mm of precipitation soaking Baojing County by 2 p.m., shattering a local record, state-backed media reported.
The 2022-2023 snowfall season was historic for the western United States, and as a result, the Californian snowpack was very much above average across the entire state. The crazy amounts of water in the Californian mountains provided relief to many areas that were previously very dry due to droughts. California is now approximately 92% free of drought, following the record-breaking season, but all that water has to go somewhere as the summer heat sets in.
As the snow continues to thaw, many of California's most important and largest lakes are beginning to bounce back from historically low water levels, and the consequences have differed in unexpected ways.
East of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, sits a salty body of water called Mono Lake. The lake is known as the most protected salt lake in the American West and even has its own committee intended to protect the lake and regulate water flow. The committee celebrated its first victory in court in 1983 when it successfully regulated the amount of water that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was able to have access to. Following this, in 1990 a target elevation for the lake was set at 6,392 feet above sea level, representing the ideal minimum water level the lake should ever be at. Before the snow began melting in early 2023, the lake's water level was measured at 6,380 feet above sea level, 12 feet below the mark.
Torrential rain and waterlogging on Friday triggered a flood-like situation in several low-lying areas of Bihar, officials said.
Many places in Araria, Purnea, Madhepura, Saharsa, Jamui, Katihar and Banka districts witnessed water accumulation following heavy rainfall, they said.
State capital Patna received 53.45 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours till 8.30 am, while Raniganj recorded 90.8 mm, Purnea (77.5 mm), Madhepura (75 mm), Sharsha (68.8 mm), Jamui (67.3 mm), Purnea (67 mm), Katihar (64.5 mm) and Banka (56 mm), according to Met Department data.
After a downpour Wednesday afternoon in its upstream area, the Sep Stream flooded national Highway 1K in Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces, blocking traffic.
The waters converged on a section of the highway near Di An City in Binh Duong and Bien Hoa City in Dong Nai. Both are major industrial hubs bordering Ho Chi Minh City.
In the worst flooded parts, there was nearly a meter of water, which caused many motorbikes to stall.
"The water flow was really strong and many people fell with their motorbikes," Hung, a resident of Tan Dong Hiep Ward in Di An, said.
Floods batter parts of China following rainstorm. Major flooding has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in southern China, with more rain expected.
There were more than 300 severe storm reports in the United States on Monday, mostly along the East Coast from New Hampshire to South Carolina, as threatening weather and dangerous heat plagues the nation.
Gusty winds of 60 to 66 miles per hour were reported from New York to North Carolina, with golf ball-sized hail damaging cars in the latter.
Some areas in New Jersey received close to half a foot of rain, which flooded roadways. There were even tornado warnings in the Garden State but, as of Tuesday morning, no actual twisters reported.
Disaster Management Units (DMU) across the 14 regional corporations were called out today to deal with 14 blown off roofs and 18 fallen trees after gusty winds associated with ongoing adverse weather.
The onslaught of heavy downpours brought on by the passage of an active tropical wave led to 27 total reported incidents of street flooding, which had the worst impact on the North West region.
The Lady Young Road remained partially blocked as at 3pm due to a fallen tree. Tree cutters were dispatched to ensure the tree's removal.
At Camron, Diego Martin field officers were called in to remove a tree that had fallen onto home. Saw operators were dispatched across the San Juan/Laventille area to treat with 15 fallen trees.
Parts of Port-of-Spain were inundated, including Belmont Circular, South Quay, Chacon Street, Wrightson Road, French Street, Colville Street, Mucurapo Road, St Ann's Roundabout, and Hamilton Holder Street.
Four people have died and three others are missing after landslides hit a county in China’s southwestern Sichuan province, leading authorities to evacuate more than 900 people
Four people died and three others were missing after landslides hit a county in China's southwestern Sichuan province on Tuesday, leading authorities to evacuate more than 900 people.
The landslides, triggered by flash floods, occurred in Miansi and Weizhou townships in Wenchuan county, according to the county's emergency management bureau.
More than 400 rescuers searched for missing people after the landslides hit early Tuesday, state media said. Four people, including a couple from Miansi township, were found dead later on Tuesday, while three others remained missing, according to official broadcaster CCTV.
The Department for Emergency Situations in Romania reports that emergency crews have found the body of a person reported missing following severe flash flooding in Arad County.
A short period of heavy rain triggered flooding in Arad County in the west of the country on 25 June 2023. Vehicles were swept away and homes flooded. Roads were left strewn with downed trees, mud and flood debris. Residents of flooded homes moved to higher floors for safety.
Iustin Cionca, President of the Arad County Council, said "A catastrophe of this magnitude has never been recorded here before." He said that communities in Buceava-Șoimuș, Gurahonț, Brazii and Mădrigești have all been severely impacted. More than 60 houses and 3 km of road have been damaged or destroyed. At least 8 people had to be rescued. Several dozen families will have to be evacuated, according to the president.
Comment: 4 dead, 900 evacuated after landslides triggered by flash floods in southwest China