Floods
S


Cloud Precipitation

Tropical cyclone Fantala brings heavy rainfall and flooding in coastal Kenya; 5 inches of rain in 4 hours

Benard Juma
Floodlist
Thu, 21 Apr 2016 11:03 UTC
Cumulative rainfall forecast for between 14 to 23 April 2016 .
© ICPACCumulative rainfall forecast for between 14 to 23 April 2016 .
Tropical cyclone Fantala, the strongest on record in the Indian ocean, triggered spiralling winds that caused an insurgence of moist air from the Indian ocean to the adjacent coastlines of Kenya and eastern Tanzania.

Prolonged heavy rainfall occurred as a result, lasting days from Wednesday, 13 April to 18 April 2016. This near week-long rainfall event saturated soil that had been dry since the start of the year. As a result, several areas of coastal Kenya have suffered severe flooding.

At least 131mm of rainfall was recorded in Kwale on Friday, 15 April in 4 hours. Several villages were cut off from the rest of the country due to flooding after the River Umba, which flows from Tanzania, burst its banks.

According to Kenya Red Cross Regional Manager of Kwale County, many families suffered in the floods which caused widespread damage to property. Kenya Red Cross say several houses have been completely destroyed. The worst affected villages include Kiwegu, Bondeni, Mwarongo, Yogon and Matoroni. Many people have been displaced by the floods, although the exact figure is as yet unknown.


Comment: See also: Cyclone Fantala: Indian Ocean's most powerful storm on record

Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Historic flooding in Houston, TX prompts concerns over two dams that are at extremely high risk

Stevie Borrello
ABC News
Wed, 20 Apr 2016 22:14 UTC
Houston Tx Flooding
© ABC NewsHouston, Texas, Overwhelmed With Historic Flooding
Recent flooding in the Houston area has prompted concern about two dams that are at "extremely high risk," officials said today as the storm-related death toll rose to eight.

The Addicks and Barker dams are located in the central Houston area and are at about 80 percent capacity, officials said.

"It's a scary situation to begin with," Sandra Arnold, chief of public affairs of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Galveston District, told ABC News today. "It's even scarier when you see waters rising in structures deemed extremely high risk."

But Arnold noted that the dams are not in immediate danger of failing or causing more flooding than has already occurred from the record-breaking rainfall and historic floods.
Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

At least 1,000 displaced following floods in Uganda

Benard Juma
Floodlist
Mon, 18 Apr 2016 18:52 UTC
Following torrential rains, fresh floods have started hitting Kasese destroying roads
Following torrential rains, fresh floods have started hitting Kasese destroying roads
Many people in parts of Western and Southern Uganda faced severe flood conditions as a result of a result of heavy rainfall that began on 13 April 2016. Further heavy rainfall on 17 April has hit flood-affected areas in the west, in particular Kasese, once again.

Kampala

In Kampala and its suburbs, houses were inundated by flood waters forcing people to evacuate to higher grounds for safety. Some of the buildings were reported to have collapsed. Flooding rendered roads impassable. According to the Uganda Radio Network (URN), floods on Wednesday, 13 April, affected several suburbs including Kyebando, Bwaise, Kamwokya, Mulago and Kalerwe. There were also some reports of flooded farmland and damaged crops.

Over the years Kampala and areas around Lake Victoria have experienced severe floods. In September 2013 for example, the streets of numerous suburbs were badly affected.

The locals of these suburbs believe these floods, which occur on a regular basis, are very much man made and mostly caused by building and development on flood plains and swamp areas. Flooding like this occurs on a regular basis in Kampala - mostly in the suburbs - during the rainy season. Two people died in floods in September 2011. Further floods occurred in November that year, as discussed in this report from Uganda's New Vision.


Kyebando road flooded leaving business at a standstill
© ALEX OTTO Kyebando road flooded leaving business at a standstill
Read More...
Ambulance

Power cut, copper mine shut, 4 million with no fresh water as massive flood hits Santiago, Chile


RT
Tue, 19 Apr 2016 05:40 UTC
Flooded Santiago street
© Ivan Alvarado/ReutersA man walks along a flooded street in Santiago, April 17, 2016.
Chile's capital, Santiago, has been inundated by rains that caused the Mapocho River to breach its banks and flow into one of the city's upbeat neighborhoods. The calamity has killed at least two people and left four million more short of water.

The intense rains that have been pouring down since Friday caused the Mapocho River to overflow for the first time in 30 years, mostly into the wealthy neighborhood of Providencia, with water streaming into cafes, shops, and underground car parking.

The local government blames the incident on the poorly designed roads that led a canal built to hold 80 cubic meters of water to exceed its capacity. Sacyr SA and Costanera Norte SA, the companies in charge of the road construction, which was part of a $197 million project designed to enhance the city's highway system, have been put under investigation.

Man next to river in Santiago
© Ivan Alvarado/ReutersA man is seen next to a river during floods in Santiago, April 17, 2016.
The flooding triggered landslides into the Maipo and Mapocho Rivers, killing at least two people and cutting more than four million residents off from the fresh water.


Comment: There is an extraordinary amount of flooding going on right now affecting millions of people all over. See our topic on Floods.

Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

Houston record floods: Disaster zone declared after 'historic' rainfall


BBC
Tue, 19 Apr 2016 17:47 UTC
Houston flooding
© Houston ChronicleWaters in one spot were 12m higher than the record.
Meteorologists said some 17.6in (44.7cm) of rain fell on the city on Monday alone, levels that national officials said were "historic".

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency in Houston, where 70,000 people were left without power.

Rivers burst their banks in the fourth-largest US city and 1,200 people were rescued from rising floodwaters.

At least 1,000 homes have flooded, with the number likely to rise. City officials have turned a large shopping centre into an evacuation centre.

Comment: This is not a one-off event for the United States - Houston flooding is the 8th historic flood to hit America since the end of September.

Read More...
Ice Cube

Ice jams cause widespread flooding in northern Russia, affecting 10,000 people and damaging 2,500 homes

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Mon, 18 Apr 2016 13:06 UTC
Floods in Veliky Ustyug, Vologda, April 2016.
© Vologda Oblast Floods in Veliky Ustyug, Vologda, April 2016.
Major floods have been affecting central and northern areas of Russia since 12 April, 2016, mainly as a result of snow melt and ice jams.

Over 2,500 homes have been damaged and 10,000 people affected in the three regions of Vologda, Tyumen and Sverdlovskaya.

Vologda Oblast

In Vologda Oblast, local authorities say flooding has been reported in 22 towns in the region, mostly in the Veliky Ustyug District, with more than 1900 houses flooded, affecting over 6,000 people.

Regional authorities have called for help from the federal government. Oleg A. Kuvshinnikov, Governor of Vologda Oblast, said in a statement earlier today, "We are counting on federal support for disaster management."

Floods in Veliky Ustyug, Vologda, April 2016.
© Vologda Oblast Floods in Veliky Ustyug, Vologda, April 2016.


Comment: The flooding is so bad, Russian bombers have been deployed to blow up the ice jams:



Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

Severe weather leaves 7 dead and over 3,000 displaced in Uruguay

Alessandro Masoero
Floodlist
Mon, 18 Apr 2016 13:48 UTC
Floods
Floodwater in Uruguay
Severe weather has affected Uruguay since Friday 15 April 2016, with a tornado and several floods causing the deaths of at least 7 people. One person has been reported as missing and over 3,000 people have evacuated their homes.

The heavy rain began to fall on 15 April 2016, with a peak on Saturday 16 April. According to the Uruguayan National Meteorological Institute (Institudo Uruguayo de Meteorología, INUMET) as much as 180 mm in 24 hours was observed in Rocha, in the east of Uruguay, on the 16 April 2016. The same day 150 mm of rain in 24 hours have been recorded at the San José station and 140 mm in Florida, both of them in the south of the country.

Significant rain has been observed also on Sunday 17 April 2016, with a maximum of 121.5 mm in 24 hours recorded at Pasos de los Toros station in Tacuarembó Department, in central Uruguay.

The last update of the meteorological bulletin issued by INUMET, reports Orange Alert (level 3 of 4) all over the country, with heavy rains and severe wind gusts expected.


Floods
© Montevideo Portal
Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

Flooding hits North Island, New Zealand with more heavy rain on way


stuff.co.nz
Sun, 17 Apr 2016 12:27 UTC
Flooding in Colville, in the Coromandel, on Sunday.
© THAMES VALLEY CIVIL DEFENCEFlooding in Colville, in the Coromandel, on Sunday.
Coromandel residents told how they were caught out by fast-rising floodwater after the heavens opened on Sunday.

Cars have been left stranded on flooded roads and homes are water-logged after the North Island was drenched in rain.

Many fences are down as farmers wait for the morning to see if livestock in flooded paddocks have made it through the night.

Tellic Evans from White Star Honey at Colville at the northern end of the Coromandel Peninsula said 174ml of rain fell on her farm on Sunday.

A severe weather watch was upgraded to a warning at 6.30pm on Sunday, she said but by then it was too late.

Heavy rain in the Coromandel drenches paddocks.
© TELLIC EVANSHeavy rain in the Coromandel drenches paddocks.
Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

Malawi declares 'State of Emergency' as flooding kills dozens


Africa News
Sun, 17 Apr 2016 20:09 UTC
Floods in Malawi
Floods in Malawi
Ten days of persistent rains in the north of Malawi have killed dozens, injured others while destroying over 1000 houses and affecting about 17,000 families.

The impact of the rain has made President Peter Mutharika to declare a state of emergency as local authorities call for help.

The disaster has wreaked havoc on the densely populated country, where most people survive on subsistence farming. Crops of maize have been destroyed, villages wiped out, homes swept away and livestock killed.

Ethel Khosa, is one of the survivors, but unfortunately she lost two of her children and her home.

Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

23 killed by flooding in Afghanistan


Odisha Sun Times
Sun, 17 Apr 2016 19:50 UTC
An Afghan man tries to get out of flood water after a heavy rain in Samangan province, northern Afghanistan, April 17, 2016.
An Afghan man tries to get out of flood water after a heavy rain in Samangan province, northern Afghanistan, April 17, 2016.
At least 23 people were killed as heavy rainfall and floods hit Afghanistan's Badghis province on Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Based on the reports we have received so far, 23 people, including women and children, have been confirmed dead due to downpour and flooding in Jawand, Balamurghab and Abkamari districts," a police official told Xinhua news agency.

Rainstorm and flooding hit several parts of Afghanistan, including the capital city Kabul, on Saturday night and parts of the country were still receiving heavy rain.

Afghan men push a car trapped in flood water after a heavy rain in Samangan province, northern Afghanistan, April 17, 2016.
Afghan men push a car trapped in flood water after a heavy rain in Samangan province, northern Afghanistan, April 17, 2016.

Afghan men wade through flood water after a heavy rain in Samangan province, northern Afghanistan, April 17, 2016.
Afghan men wade through flood water after a heavy rain in Samangan province, northern Afghanistan, April 17, 2016.
Source: IANS
Read More...