Residents have been stranded on the roofs of their homes in the NSW Mid North Coast, after more than 500 millimetres of rain fell in some areas.
The State Emergency Service was inundated with calls about 2:00am, predominantly from Corindi, 36 kilometres north of Coffs Harbour.
"The amount of rainfall just hasn't been able to get away and that entire Corindi floodplain area has come up rapidly and caught a lot of people unawares at that hour of the morning," said SES Coffs Harbour deputy unit commander Martin Wells.
Mr Wells said in one street, there had been eight calls for help.
"We've had families sitting on roofs in Corindi awaiting assistance and it's just been a real challenge to get to everyone."
A landslide occurred at an illegal mining site located in Burangga Village, Ampibabo District, Parigi Moutong Regency, Central Sulawesi in Indonesia on 24 February, causing at least 3 fatalities. This is the second deadly landslide reported in the country on the same day. Five people died in landslides in Pamekasan Regency, East Java Province.
The landslide at the Ampibabo mine was caused by heavy rain falling on unstable ground, according to the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management, BNPB. Five miners are still missing while 15 survived. Local disaster authorities are carrying out full assessments and search operations are ongoing.
According to Indonesia's meteorological agency BMKG, in a 24 hour period to 24 February over 60mm of rain was recorded in Kasiguncu in Poso Regency, situated about 120km south of Ampibabo.
Heavy rainfall triggered deadly landslides in Pamekasan Regency, East Java Province, Indonesia, on 24 February 2021.
The landslides struck in the early hours, affecting the villages of Jepun and Bindang in Pasean District. Disaster authorities reported at least 5 people were killed. Two houses are thought to have been buried, while around 20 other homes and a school were also damaged.
Surabaya City recorded 78mm of rain in 24 hours to 24 February, while Semarang City in Central Java recorded 155mm.
Continuous heavy rains and flash floods have killed three (3) people in Maprik, East Sepik Province last Friday.
Two (2) men and one (1) woman from different villages were using the Amaku and Nynnum rivers respectively when they were washed away by the flash floods.
The bodies of the two (2) men have been recovered over the weekend, whilst the search is continuing along the Amaku River for the body of the woman believed to be from the Kumunimbis village.
This incident is part of the continuous heavy rains and floods that hit the province last week, which also affected major road networks in the province.
According to locals in the area, especially Maprik, rains are still continuing with the rivers still brown and dirty with debris.
The first month of 2021 saw a host of environmental disasters, including floods in Malaysia and the Philippines, a volcanic eruption in Indonesia, a massive forest fire in India, landslides in Papua New Guinea and an avalanche in Russia.
Here is a timeline compiled by Anadolu Agency.
Jan. 2:
- Massive forest fire engulfs the picturesque Dzuko Valley located in northeastern India.
Jan. 3:
- The death toll from the landslide in the village of Ask, Norway, on Dec. 30, rises to six.
- Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra, Indonesia, erupts, spewing ash columns up to 1,000 meters high.
A total of eight people are said to have drowned while trying to cross flooded rivers in Chiredzi District, Masvingo.
The number was confirmed by Chiredzi District Development Coordinator, Mr. Lovemore Chisema who warned members of the public against attempting at flooded rivers.
Chisema who is also the chairperson of the District's Civil Protection Department said more than 20 houses have been destroyed due to floods.
Flash floods were reported in towns close to the South Africa and Zimbabwe border after a thunderstorm brought heavy rain from 21 to 22 February 2021.
In South Africa, flooding affected parts of Vhembe District, Limpopo Proince, in particular the town of Musina, where roads and homes were damaged along with electricity and water infrastructure. Images shared on Social Media showed a flooded hospital.
Flooding also affected areas the border town of Beitbridge in Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe, damaging roads and some buildings.
Meteorological Services Department of Zimbabwe said Beitbridge recorded 76mm of rain in 24 hours to 22 February. Heavy rainfall was also reported further north in Nyanga, close to the border with Mozambique.
Flooding in Madre de Dios Region of Peru has affected at least 15,000 people and damaged thousands of homes. The government has declared a State of Emergency for 60 days for the region.
After visiting affected areas, Peru's Environment Minister Gabriel Quijandria said that floods had damaged about 4,000 homes along with several schools and health facilities. Water and electricity services have been interrupted andaround 3,000 hectares of crops damaged. Affected areas include Pueblo Viejo, Las Piedras, Laberinto and Boca Colorado.
"We have flown over the areas near and far from Puerto Maldonado and the truth is that the situation is worrying," the minister said. "There is significant damage in several towns, such as Laberinto," he added.
Armed forces are working with Peru's National Civil Defense Institute (INDECI) to distribute relief supplies including mattresses, sheets, kitchen utensils, mosquito nets and personal hygiene and cleaning products.
The flood situation in Greater Jakarta, Indonesia, has worsened over the last 2 days. As of 22 February as many as 5 people have died, 2 are missing and over 30,000 people displaced.
As reported here, flooding struck in Greater Jakarta from 19 February, prompting 1,300 evacuations mostly in South and East Jakarta and also affecting parts of West Jakarta.
Over 100,000 people have been affected by flooding in the state of Acre, northwestern Brazil, after several rivers in the state broke their banks fin the last week.
The State has declared an emergency situation. Governor Gladson Cameli said Acre is facing one of the most challenging times in its history, dealing with the worsening of the coronavirus pandemic, dengue outbreak, migratory crisis on the border with Peru and the overflow of rivers which has affected several municipalities across the state, including the capital Rio Branco.
Around 33,000 people have been affected in Cruzeiro do Sul municipality after the Juruá River reached record levels of 14.31 metres on 19 February, beating the previous high of 14.24 set in February 2017.
Comment: Heavy rain causes deadly landslides in East Java, Indonesia - at least 5 people were killed