Floods
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Cloud Precipitation

Flash flood devastates town in southern Germany; four killed, cars washed away, hundreds evacuated


9news.com.au
Mon, 30 May 2016 06:11 UTC
deadly floods in southern Germany
© YouTube/Live Leak (screen capture)
Floods have lashed southern Germany, killing at least four people and causing an underground carpark to collapse.

The town of Schwäbisch Gmünd was the worst hit, with a volunteer firefighter drowning while trying to rescue a flood victim, Deutsche Welle reports.

Two people died after a carpark filled with water and caved in. Scores of cars were submerged, while the strength of the water washed others down flooded streets.

Hundreds of people have been evacuated across the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, which borders France and Switzerland.

The flood waters reportedly rose four metres within just minutes. It is not yet known how much rain has fallen across Baden-Wuerttemberg.

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Arrow Down

Landslide kills over a dozen at jade mine in Myanmar


Al Jazeera
Wed, 25 May 2016 13:21 UTC
The site of a landslide at a jade mine in Kachin State, Myanmar, where as many as 100 people were feared missing.
© European Pressphoto Agency The site of a landslide at a jade mine in Kachin State, Myanmar, where as many as 100 people were feared missing.
At least 13 people have been killed by a landslide in Myanmar's northern jade-mining region that left dozens missing, an official has said.

Two piles of mining debris collapsed late on Monday after two days of rain, Myo Thet Aung, deputy head of Hpakant township administration office in Kachin State, said on Tuesday.

"We recovered 11 bodies last night and two more this morning," he said, adding that the death toll was expected to rise.

"Witnesses said there were about 100 workers when the accident occurred," he told DPA news agency. "Many are still buried."

Myanmar Times reported that the search had been temporary called off due to heavy rain.

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Arrow Down

Landslides kill at least 20 in Taiz, Yemen

Ali Aweida
Turkish Weekly
Tue, 24 May 2016 18:34 UTC
Landslide
Landslides in Yemen's mountainous southwestern Taiz province have killed at least 20 people, the country's SABA news agency (currently run by the Shia Houthi group) reported on Monday.

The landslides, which were triggered by heavy rainfall, also reportedly left dozens injured.

Rescue workers have so far failed to reach the affected area due to rough terrain, prompting fears that the death toll may rise further.

Different parts of Yemen have been pounded by heavy rainfall over the last week, claiming a number of lives and causing an indeterminate number of injuries.
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Cloud Precipitation

Cyclone Roanu: Death toll in Sri Lanka rises to 71 after torrential downpours cause landslides and flooding


Deutsche Welle
Sat, 21 May 2016 16:18 UTC
Sri Lanka landslide
© ReutersA woman reacts as she inspects the site of a landslide at Elangipitiya village in Aranayaka
Fresh landslides in Sri Lanka have been reported as rescue workers try to reach residents in the capital stranded by floods. Poor weather conditions have hindered rescue operations with hundreds still missing.

Landslides and flooding caused by torrential downpours have killed at least 71 people as rescuers search for more than a hundred people still missing, Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Center (DMC) said on Saturday.

A half a million people have been displaced by a week of heavy rains caused by Cyclone Roanu, which after passing through Sri Lanka continued on a destructive path towards low-lying Bangladesh.

Roanu battered Bangladesh's coastline on Saturday, killing at least 20 people and displacing nearly a half a million. Hundreds of mud and tin homes in the impoverished nation were destroyed.


Comment: See also:

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Cloud Precipitation

Rainstorms wreak havoc in southern China: 8 dead and 55,000 forced to evacuate


Xinhua
Sat, 21 May 2016 07:49 UTC
floods in Xinyi city, Guangdong province, China
© news.ycwb.comRoad traffic in Xinyi city, south China's Guangdong province is disrupted because of heavy and constant rainstorms on May 20, 2016.
Eight people died and four others were reported missing as rainstorms wreaked havoc in south China's Guangdong Province on Friday.

The casualties were all reported in Xinyi, a small, county-level city in Maoming, the press office of the Communist Party of China Maoming city committee said in a statement on Saturday.

Xinyi was one of the worst-hit areas in Friday's rain, recording 465.5 millimeters of precipitation in 10 hours.

Of the 557,421 Maoming residents who suffered losses from the extreme weather, 542,000 were from Xinyi. Nearly 55,000 were forced to evacuate after their homes were destroyed, according to the statement.

It said direct economic losses surpassed 1 billion yuan (152.7 million U.S. dollars).

The rainstorm stopped on Saturday afternoon.


Comment: Earlier this month flooding caused deadly landslides in southern China

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Cloud Precipitation

24 people dead and 40 missing after flash floods hit Afghanistan


The Earth Chronicles of Life
Thu, 19 May 2016 18:04 UTC
Floodwater
At least 24 persons became victims of flooding caused by torrential rains in one of the provinces in the North of Afghanistan.

"A total of 10 people were injured and about 40 were missing after the disaster has struck the County, Kohistanat (province of SAR-e-Pul) in the early morning hours", — quotes Agency the statement of the representative of administration of the Zahir of Vakhdat. He also noted that the death toll could rise.

According to him, the flood also washed away the gardens and washed away arable land.To organize the search and rescue operation had villagers, because the authority of the government of Afghanistan does not extend to this County, which is under the control of militants of the radical grouping "the Taliban", the Agency said. However, red cross representatives tried to ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the victims.
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Cloud Precipitation

Deadly floods and landslides hit Sri Lanka after 13 inches (355mm) of rain in 24 hours

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Tue, 17 May 2016 20:41 UTC
People walk through a flooded road after they moved out from their houses in Biyagama, Sri Lanka.
© Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters People walk through a flooded road after they moved out from their houses in Biyagama, Sri Lanka.
An area of low pressure above Sri Lanka has caused heavy rainfall across the country since 14 May 2016. Some locations saw over 350 mm (13.77 inches) of rain fall in 24 hours. Floods and landslides have caused havoc in as many as 19 districts of the country, including around Colombo. Sri Lanka's Department of Meteorology say in a 24 hour period 15 to 16 May, Colombo recorded 256 mm of rain. According to WMO figures, the mean total rainfall for Colombo in April is 245.6 mm

Strong winds, lightning and falling trees have also caused major damage.

Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Centre (DMC) report said that since 13 May, over 200,000 people have been affected, with 134,000 currently displaced and staying in 176 relief camps set up for the victims. Almost 1,300 homes have been damaged and 68 destroyed.

DMC said in a report yesterday that at least 8 people have died in the severe weather since 13 May, with at least 9 more still missing. One person died in floods in Wattala, Gampaha, Western Province. Four of the deaths occurred after a landslide in Dehiovita, Kegalle, Sabaragamuwa Province.


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Cloud Precipitation

17 people killed and 4 missing in western Indonesia floods


Daily Mail
Mon, 16 May 2016 19:17 UTC
Rescuers recover the body of a victim after a flood hit Dua Warna waterfall in Sibolangit, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Monday, May 16, 2016. Nearly two dozen students were missing in rain-triggered floods and landslides at the waterfall which is popular tou
© AP Photo/Binsar BakkaraRescuers recover the body of a victim after a flood hit Dua Warna waterfall in Sibolangit, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Monday, May 16, 2016. Nearly two dozen students were missing in rain-triggered floods and landslides at the waterfall which is popular tourism attraction among locals.
Rescuers on Monday found the bodies of 17 people who were among 20 university students and two guides who went missing in rain-triggered floods and landslides at a popular waterfall in western Indonesia, an official said.

One student was found alive and was being treated at a hospital, said Darwin Surbakti, an official from the local Disaster Management Agency. The search for the four people still missing was to be resumed Tuesday.

"Rescuers have discovered 17 bodies, of which 14 have been recovered while three others are still under the rubble," Surbakti said.

The disaster occurred Sunday as more than 70 students were visiting the Dua Warna waterfall in Sibolangit in North Sumatra province.

Six bodies were found about 3 kilometers (2 miles) downstream from the waterfall, Surbakti said.

Rescuers search for victims after a flood hit Dua Warna waterfall in Sibolangit, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Monday, May 16, 2016. Nearly two dozen students were missing in rain-triggered floods and landslides at the waterfall which is popular tourism attra
© AP Photo/Binsar BakkaraRescuers search for victims after a flood hit Dua Warna waterfall in Sibolangit, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Monday, May 16, 2016. Nearly two dozen students were missing in rain-triggered floods and landslides at the waterfall which is popular tourism attraction among locals.
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Cloud Precipitation

Flooding causes deadly landslide in southern China


MWC News
Tue, 10 May 2016 12:58 UTC
A landslide on the construction site of a hydro-electric power station is known to have killed at least 33 people
© EPAA landslide on the construction site of a hydro-electric power station is known to have killed at least 33 people
Late spring rains are a feature of the climate across southern China, but this year the rain has been earlier and heavier than usual.

Once again, this departure from the norm is being blamed on the - now weakening - El Nino.

Torrential rain began on Sunday and the province of Fujian was particularly badly affected. More than 190mm of rain fell in parts of the province.

A landslide on the construction site of a hydro-electric power station is known to have killed at least 33 people and several more are still missing.



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Bizarro Earth

North American tectonic plate peeling off

Kacey Deamer
Live science
Tue, 10 May 2016 18:35 UTC
Earth's Mantle
© Johan Swanepoel/ShutterstockScientists suspect that chunks from the bottom of the North American tectonic plate, which is the upper portion of the mantle, are peeling off and sinking. Replacing the resulting void is gooey material from the asthenosphere.
An odd phenomenon may explain why the Southeastern United States has experienced recent earthquakes, even though the region sits snugly in the middle of a tectonic plate and not at the edges, where all the ground-shaking action usually happens.

This seismicity — or relatively frequent earthquakes — may be the result of areas along the bottom of the North American tectonic plate peeling off, the researchers said. And this peeling motion is likely to continue, leading to more earthquakes in the future, like the 2011 magnitude-5.8 temblor that shook the nation's capital.

To figure out the cause of these earthquakes, Berk Biryol, a seismologist at UNC Chapel Hill, and colleagues created 3D images of the uppermost part of Earth's mantle, which is just below the crust and comprises the bottom of a tectonic plate. These tectonic plates scoot around atop a layer of warm, viscous fluid called the asthenosphere.

The resulting X-ray images revealed that the plate's thickness in the southeast United States was uneven, with thick regions of dense, old rock combined with thinner areas composed of younger rocks that were also less dense.
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