Floods
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Cloud Precipitation

Two injured by floods and dozens of cars swept away in Ankara, Turkey

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© AAFlooding in Ankara
Two people were injured and dozens of cars were damaged in flooding after heavy rain on the evening of June 11 in Turkey's capital Ankara.

Boğaziçi Neşet Ertaş Street, one of the main thoroughfares in Ankara's Mamak district, was flooded and daily life in the capital was paralyzed by the heavy rain.

Two people were reportedly injured, while around 100 cars were swept away and damaged. Municipal workers and locals tried to rescue the cars stuck in flood.

The Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM) on June 11 said heavy rainfall was expected in central Turkey, including Ankara, and issued severe warnings about the inclement conditions.

"Necessary measures should be taken for any sort of negative weather conditions," it said.

The Ankara flooding came less than a week after heavy rain waters flooded the Fidyekızık neighborhood of the western province of Bursa as voting during the parliamentary election was underway on June 7. The flooding caused the collapse of an outer wall of a school compound that was used as a polling station, trapping people who were responsible for the ballot boxes.


Red Flag

Red River floods in Louisiana at highest levels in 70 years

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© Bossier Parish Sheriff’s OfficeRed River flooding, 08 June 2015.
Northern parts of Louisiana, in particular the city of Shreveport and the parishes of Bossier and Caddo, have experienced major flooding after the Red River overflowed.

May 2015 was the wettest month on record in Oklahoma and Texas, where huge amounts of rain fell across the Southern Plains. Since then the water has made its way downstream, swelling levels of the Red River in Louisiana.

Levels of the Red river at Shreveport have been at major flood stage since last week, and are expected to remain so for at least 3 or 4 more days. Hundreds of homes and businesses have been flooded, as have wide areas of farmland and several roads in Bossier and Caddo parishes. Louisiana National Guard have been dispatched to help shore up flood defences. No deaths or serious injuries have been reported.

The video below shows the Red River swallowing up buildings, trees, and roadways across the Shreveport and Bossier areas.


Arrow Down

Landslide death toll reaches 53 in Taplejung, Nepal

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© Nepal PoliceArea affected by landslide in Taplejung district, Nepal.
The death toll from the landslide triggered by incessant rainfall in Taplejung has reached 53. As many as 12 people have sustained injury while some others have gone missing.

The landslides were triggered by rain in the areas, it is learnt.

Of the dead, only five including Chameli Limbu and Manamaya Limbu of Lingtepa, Devendra Liwang of Liwang, Sabin Maden and Basant BK of Khokling have been identified so far, according to District Police Office, Taplejung.

The entire area of Liwang, Thokling, Thinglabu and Lingket VDCs have been reportedly severely hit by the mudslip triggered by rainfall. The number of casualties may rise as some locals are yet to come into contact. Some wards of Khalung and Khokling VDCs have also been affected.


Cloud Precipitation

Flood alert following heavy rain in Assam, over 80,000 affected

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© PTIA father hold his child on back to take him to school at waterlogged Anil Nagar in Guwahati on Monday.
Thousands of people across Assam have been affected after incessant rains over the last week caused several rivers, including the Brahmaputra, to overflow. The overflowing rivers have breached embankments, inundated villages and damaged standing crop, affecting over 80,000 people, according to a report by the state disaster management body.

Eighteen revenue circles in 10 districts have been badly affected by the relentless rains, stated the daily flood report issued by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) on Tuesday. The districts of Lakhimpur and Dhemaji in eastern Assam, where nearly 45,000 people were affected by the overflowing rivers, were the worst hit.

In Tinsukia, another district hit hard by the relentless rains, authorities have already set up three relief camps. A sizeable portion of the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park in the district has been submerged by the rising levels of the Brahmaputra.



Cloud Precipitation

More flooding and landslides hit South China

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Flooding in China
Southern provinces of China have been plagued by heavy rain over the last 5 weeks, many of them enduring the wettest May for 40 years, according to China's National Meteorological Center (NMC).

Deadly floods struck on 11 May 2015 in southern China, when 7 people died. Since then, dozens more have lost their lives, including 10 people over the last 2 days, where heavy rainfall has affected 9 provinces and municipalities.

According to China's Ministry of Civil Affairs, the affected areas are Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing, Sichuan and Guizhou. The Ministry said yesterday that at least 10 people have been killed in flood-related incidents over the last 2 days, including drowning, landslides and collapsed buildings. At least 4 people are still missing.



Cloud Precipitation

8,000 affected by flooding in Guatemala

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© CONREDHigh river levels after heavy rain in Guatemala, June 2015.
Guatemala's disaster management agency, Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres (CONRED), said that over 8,000 people have been affected by heavy rainfall, which has caused landslides and floods, since Saturday, 06 June 2015. The worst affected areas are the departments of Guatemala and Sacatepéquez.

Flooding in the city of Antigua Guatemala, in Sacatepequez department, affected over 5,000 people. CONRED say that the flooding was worsened by garbage blocking the city's drainage system.

The heavy rains caused a landslide at kilometer 24 of the CA-1 route, on the road to El Salvador, in the municipality of Fraijanes, Guatemala department. CONRED say that the landslide debris has since been cleared and the road re-opened.

Cloud Precipitation

2 killed by flash floods in Switzerland

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Floodwater in Switzerland
Rain and thunderstorms over central parts of Switzerland late on Sunday, 07 June 2015, caused flash flooding in several cities and the deaths of two people in a village in Lucerne canton.

Zurich and Bern, as well as Lucerne, were all affected. Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) the Swiss broadcaster, reported the deaths of the 2 victims - a mother and daughter - earlier today. Reports say that the victims died in the basement of their home in Dierikon, in the canton of Lucerne. Swiss police say that the force and speed of the floods took the victims by surprise.

Swiss police also said that the floods and storms caused severe damage in the municipalities of Lucerne, Sörenberg, Adligenswil, Udligenswil, as well as Dierikon. Flooded streets were also reported in Bern and Zurich earlier today, where emergency crews responded to 100s of call outs. The heavy rain, which followed a period of high temperatures in the country, also caused landslides which have blocked several roads.
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Landslide

Cloud Precipitation

Heavy downpour floods Bangkok, Thailand with over 5 inches of rain in 3 hours

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An image posted on the Facebook page of JS100 shows the floods on Sukhumvit Soi 22 on Monday morning.
A heavy overnight downpour that lasted more than five hours caused traffic chaos and disruption throughout Bangkok.

At least three schools simply announced they were closing for the day.

Floods at Monday morning rush hour extended from Rama 4 Road and Asoke to Ratchadaphisek and in the east as far as Samut Prakan's BTS Bearing BTS station.

The rain began before 2am in many areas, and did not let up until after 6am. Heavy thunder and lightning accompanied the storm system.


Cloud Precipitation

Flash floods kill 16 in Pakistan

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© AFP Nuclear-armed but economically underdeveloped Pakistan regularly battles natural calamities such as floods.
Flash floods caused by torrential rains in southwest Pakistan killed at least 16 people including 14 women, officials said yesterday.

The floodwaters swept away many people in two remote villages of Khuzdar district in Baluchistan, around 370 kilometres (230 miles) south of the provincial capital Quetta.

"The torrential rains in the hilly areas created flash floods which swept away some gypsy people sleeping in makeshift tents in the dried water channel," Akbar Harifal, a senior administration official in the region, told AFP.

"Some people saved themselves but could not rescue their family members because the floodwaters came suddenly," he said.

Nuclear-armed but economically underdeveloped Pakistan regularly battles natural calamities such as floods.

Cloud Precipitation

Deadly floods in West Africa: Togo, Benin and Ghana struck by heavy rain

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Flooding in Bénin
Heavy rain over the last 2 days has caused flooding in the west African countries of Togo, Benin and Ghana. Parts of Côte d'Ivoire have also been affected, in particular Abidjan, which saw 76 mm of rain fall in the last 24 hours.

Ghana

At least 90 people have been killed in a fuel station explosion in Accra, said to have been caused after flood waters swept stored gasoline into a nearby fire. Hundreds of people in Accra have been forced from their homes by the flooding, which has also affected power supplies.

Ghana's Communications Ministry said in a statement: "Many suburbs of Accra and surrounding parts have been heavily affected, leading to heavy restriction of movement of people. The general public is kindly advised to avoid fast-moving rainwater and areas they know have big drains. Stay on higher ground, where necessary, to prevent loss of life."

Axim, South Ghana, which lies about 300 km east of Accra saw 88 mm of rain fall in 24 hours to 03 June 2015.