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Thu, 30 Sep 2021
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Floods

Cloud Precipitation

Worst flood in 30 years say residents of Terengganu, Malaysia


New Straits Times
Sun, 01 Jan 2017 15:11 UTC
The floods in Malaysia's east coast, which some describe as the worst in 30 years, forcing the evacuation of thousands in Terengganu and Kelantan.
© THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
The floods in Malaysia's east coast, which some describe as the worst in 30 years, forcing the evacuation of thousands in Terengganu and Kelantan.
Floods sweeping the state constituency of Telemong have been described by residents as the worst in 30 years.

For Isa Kassim, 65, of Kampung Kuala Ping, the deluge reminded him of another major flood in 1986.

"At that time, my children were still young, ranging from one to four years. I waded through flood waters carrying my three children, while my wife had to struggle with flood waters up to her neck.

"At that time, my family and I evacuated at 9pm, as we did not expect the water to rise so fast. Only Allah knows how we fought the swift waters to save our children," he said when met by Bernama here yesterday.

Isa, who is a retired civil servant, said at that time, facilities were still lacking and many villagers had to seek shelter at the nearest neighbour's or relative's house.

"I moved to my uncle's house. We stayed and ate at his house, as there were no evacuation facilities then.


The floods in Terengganu worsens as more than 4,000 people are still seeking shelter at relief centres.
© Mohd Syafiq Ridzuan Ambak
The floods in Terengganu worsens as more than 4,000 people are still seeking shelter at relief centres.
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Cloud Precipitation

Floods leave 50 dead and thousands homeless in Boma, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Fri, 30 Dec 2016 16:28 UTC
flood damage in Boma, Democratic Republic of Congo, 27 December 2016.
© Government of Kongo Central Province.
Flood damage in Boma, Democratic Republic of Congo, 27 December 2016.
A storm and torrential rain in the port city of Boma in the Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this week caused severe flooding after the Kalamu river to burst its banks on Tuesday, 27 December 2016.

The government of Kongo Central province says that at least 50 people have died in the floods. Over 1,000 homes have been destroyed and many others damaged, leaving as many as 10,000 homeless.

Governor Jacques Mbadu Nsitu visited Boma on 27 December. He said that levels of the river rose dramatically to between 2 and 3 meters high within about two hours.

The Kongo Central provincial government said that the local and provincial government along with humanitarian organisations and NGOs have responded to the emergency, burying the dead and cleaning affected areas. Some of the victims are yet to be identified and full damage assessments are still to be carried out. Parts of the city are still covered in flood debris and mud which is up to a meter deep in some places. The governor said that there is a fear that more bodies may be buried in the mud and teams will continue to search affected areas.

Flood damage in Boma, Democratic Republic of Congo, 27 December 2016.
© Government of Kongo Central Province.
Flood damage in Boma, Democratic Republic of Congo, 27 December 2016.
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Bizarro Earth

Food insecurity scare hits Upper East Ghana after 2016 floods

Edward Adeti
Ghana/Starrfmonline
Fri, 30 Dec 2016 16:51 UTC
ghana flooding
Residents of the Upper East region have expressed fears 2017 may unleash a degree of food insecurity severe enough to push several households over the edge.

Public anxiety about the hunger ahead follows some natural disasters that left some farmlands with poor harvests in 2016. Acres of croplands, estimated in thousands, were washed away in more than a half of the region's 13 municipalities and districts.

The affected areas, where 1,467 children were among some 2,718 people displaced after no fewer than 450 houses, according to the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), got submerged in tidal waves, included Bongo, Bolgatanga, Kassena-Nankana East, Builsa North, Kassena-Nankana West, Builsa South, Nabdam, Bawku West and Talensi. The livestock that got missing in the unstable belly of the blind floods were numberless.

"As I'm talking to you today, there are households that cannot even get their breakfast, not to talk about their three square meals a day. The year started with floods that [engulfed] the farms and when the farmers thought they could reorganise after the heavy rains, the [rain scarcity] came in. The aged are feeling the suffering more," a resident, Ayeoh-duko Akobulgo-zotipelba, told Starr News in Bolgatanga, the regional capital.
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Cloud Lightning

Torrential rain floods Mersin, Turkey


Yeni Şafak
Thu, 29 Dec 2016 09:43 UTC
Flooded Mersin

Flooded Mersin
Local officials urged the southern city's citizens to stay inside and refrain from driving as torrential rain inundated the roads; one woman lost her life

Torrential rain has inundated parts of Mersin, a city on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey.

Many streets were flooded and people were caught off guard or forced to be holed up in their home or office as a result of the unceasing rain that started on Wednesday night. Cars and public transport vehicles have also been affected by the rain.

The local council issued a statement urging local residents to stay inside. Citizens were told to refrain from driving.




Turkey's coastal city of Mersin flooded by torrential rain

Turkey's coastal city of Mersin flooded by torrential rain
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Cloud Precipitation

Flash flooding hits Melbourne, Australia; mass road closures across Victoria

Rebekah Cavanagh, Bridget Davies,Cassie Zervos and Mathew Langdon,
Herald Sun
Thu, 29 Dec 2016 15:12 UTC
A car submerged in floodwaters on the corner of Station St and McNicol Rd in Belgrave.
© Michael Colling
A car submerged in floodwaters on the corner of Station St and McNicol Rd in Belgrave.
Melbourne is still reeling from flash flooding after a severe downpour hit Victoria on Thursday afternoon, with train services delayed or suspended into the night and roads across the state remaining closed.

Torrential rain hammered Melbourne from about 3pm as roads turned into rivers and flash flooding wreaked havoc.

Major arterials were closed, leaving drivers stranded. The Western Ring Road at Plenty Rd — and dozens of other Victorian roads — remained closed in both directions as of 11.15pm on Thursday, according to VicRoads' website, while the SES had received more than 1500 calls for assistance

Metro Trains was still reporting delays across most of the network, with sections of Sandringham, Hurstbridge and Belgrave lines still suspended as of 11.15pm.




The Elster Canal flooding at the corner of Union St and Hawthorn Rd in Brighton East.
© Anthony Hanna
The Elster Canal flooding at the corner of Union St and Hawthorn Rd in Brighton East.
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USA

The United States' 10 most extreme weather events of 2016

Jason Samenow
Washington Post
Tue, 27 Dec 2016 09:28 UTC
In 2016, of all the weather events to affect the nation, four stood out: a hurricane, a flood, a drought and a blizzard. These four were historic and extreme, setting numerous records and affecting large areas. Unfortunately, they caused a great deal of suffering and economic losses.

Six other storm events, which were more localized, round out the top 10.

Tornadoes were not among this year's most significant weather events. This year was, generally, a quiet year both in terms of the overall number of tornadoes and tornado fatalities.

Much more than wind, in 2016, water (or, in one case, lack of water) caused the lion's share of weather-related deaths and damages.

As seven of the top 10 weather events involved extreme rainfall, and several 1-in-1,000 year events, perhaps you could call it the year of the flood.

Without further ado, here is our rundown of the most significant and extreme weather events of 2016 in the Lower 48:

1. Hurricane Matthew (September-October)

Hurricane Matthew floodwaters
© Chris Keane/Reuters
Fuel tanks are seen after floodwaters rose because of Hurricane Matthew in Lumberton, N.C.

Comment: For more coverage on the extreme weather affecting the entire planet, check out our monthly SOTT Earth Changes Summaries. Last month:

SOTT Earth Changes Summary - November 2016: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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Cloud Precipitation

Record breaking rain causes flooding in Northern Territories, Australia

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Wed, 28 Dec 2016 19:29 UTC
Floods in Kintore, Northern Territories, Australia, December 2016.
© Northern Territories Police
Floods in Kintore, Northern Territories, Australia, December 2016.
Parts of southern Northern Territories and northern South Australia have seen record breaking rain over the last two days.

The rain, caused by a deep low pressure system, was described as a one-in-50-year event by Australia's Bureau of Meteorology.

Parks Australia to close the Uluru National Park on Monday 26 December, 2016. Images on Social Media showed streams of water cascading down the sides of the landmark rock. The park has since re-opened.

Elsewhere in the Northern Territories, the Walungurru district recorded 231.6 mm of rain in 24 hours between 25 and 26 December, cutting off roads and washing out tracks. The previous highest daily rainfall record was 127.2 mm set in March 2006.
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Cloud Precipitation

Deadly flooding after days of torrential rain in Valencia and Murcia, Spain

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Tue, 20 Dec 2016 15:17 UTC
Los Alcazares floods, Spain, December 2016.
© Direccion General Seguridad Ciudadana y Emergencias
Los Alcazares floods, Spain, December 2016.
Five people have drowned as torrential rain that began on 17 December caused flooding in south east Spain. Some areas have recorded more than 400 mm of rain in the last few days.

The worst hit areas are Valencia and Murcia where Schools have been closed and many roads blocked. The heavy rain is expected to move to Catalonia and the Balearic Islands over the next days and Orange level warnings have been issued.

This is the fourth deadly flood event to hit Spain since mid October this year.



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Cloud Precipitation

24,000 people displaced due to flash flood in Eastern Samar, Philippines


Global Times
Sun, 18 Dec 2016 14:49 UTC
A man uses his paddle boat to get around the flood waters in Taft, Eastern Samar.
© Robert Dejon
A man uses his paddle boat to get around the flood waters in Taft, Eastern Samar.
Nearly 24,000 people were displaced in central Philippine province of Eastern Samar due to flash flood brought by torrential rains, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Sunday.

In a statement, the department said that as of Saturday evening, 6,650 families or 29,166 persons from 33 villages were affected by the weather disturbance.

Of the total affected population, 5,580 families or 23,816 individuals were displaced and served in 14 evacuation centers.

People force themselves to walk on the highway in Eastern Samar after floods rendered the roads impassable.
© Robert Dejon
People force themselves to walk on the highway in Eastern Samar after floods rendered the roads impassable.
The department noted that on Friday, Eastern Visayas experienced moderate to torrential rains due to the effect of the tail-end of a cold front.
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Cloud Precipitation

Giant 'rivers in the sky' could cause extinction-level floods

BEC CREW
Science Alert
Thu, 15 Dec 2016 08:17 UTC
Rain cloud burst

Atmospheric rivers have claimed their first victims.

Atmospheric rivers - narrow corridors of concentrated moisture suspended in the atmosphere - were responsible for the mysterious mass die-off of wild Olympia oysters in San Francisco Bay in 2011, scientists have found.

This is the first documented case of these 'rivers in the sky' - which can hold 15 times more water than the Mississippi River - directly harming an entire population, and they're expected to increase in frequency, intensity, and unpredictability as the global climate warms.

"Extreme events are predicted to be more prevalent under climate change," the University of California, Davis team reports.

"We highlight a new mechanism by which precipitation extremes appear to affect a sensitive species, contributing to the near 100 percent mass mortality of wild oysters in northern San Francisco Bay."

If you're not familiar with the natural phenomenon of atmospheric rivers, they're relatively narrow regions in the atmosphere that are responsible for most of the horizontal transport of water vapour outside of the tropics.

These suspended moisture plumes are, on average, 400 to 600 km wide, and in California, they can deliver up to half of the state's annual precipitation in just 10 to 15 days.

While most atmospheric rivers are mild, the ones containing the largest amounts of water vapour and the strongest winds can create extreme rainfall and floods, inducing catastrophic mud slides and drops in salinity.

They have been linked to all seven declared floods on California's Russian River between 1996 and 2007, and all 10 of Britain's largest floods since the 1970s.

Comment: See also:

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