Floods
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Tsunami

Bruce Highway cut by flooding as coast cops more than a foot of rain in 24 hours in Queensland, Australia

Emily Anderson, Liam McNally
abc.net.au
Wed, 18 Feb 2026 10:06 UTC
The Bruce Highway closed due to flooding at Gorganga Creek.
© ABC News: Aimee MitchellThe Bruce Highway closed due to flooding at Gorganga Creek.
The Bruce Highway has been cut north of Mackay as heavy rain lashes parts of the state's east coast.

The major arterial is closed in both directions just south of Proserpine due to rapidly rising floodwater in Goorganga Creek.

Police and councils said they were unsure when the road would reopen.

In the 24 hours to 11am, the O'Connell River at Banana Pocket recorded the highest rainfall in the Mackay-Whitsunday region with more than 322mm.

Stafford received 268mm, and Mt Jukes received 234mm.
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Tsunami

Monster storms flood parts of California with rounds of heavy rain as extreme snow slams the Sierra Nevada

Julian Atienza
Fox Weather
Tue, 17 Feb 2026 15:20 UTC
Cars pass on flooding water at Sawtelle neighborhood during heavy rain in Los Angeles, California, United States on February 16, 2026.
© Tayfun Coskun/AnadoluCars pass on flooding water at Sawtelle neighborhood during heavy rain in Los Angeles, California, United States on February 16, 2026.
Monday's storms shattered daily rain records and swamped Los Angeles and the Bay Area with flooding.

A flood threat remains for millions across much of the California coast as another round of moisture pushes inland off the Pacific Ocean, after Monday's storms shattered daily rain records. Meanwhile, heavy snow will spread from the Northern California mountain ranges into the southern part of the Sierra, adding to California's snowpack and eventually reaching the Rockies farther east, which are in a dire snow deficit.

Flooding was reported Monday across parts of California, after 1 - 2 inches of rain fell across the Los Angeles Basin and 3 - 5 inches of rain dropped across the Coastal Range north of the Bay Area.

Urban flooding swamped parts of LA, with water rising to the mid-door panels of some sedans in the Westwood neighborhood.

Parts of Topanga Canyon Boulevard in LA's Westside were closed due to debris slides.

Los Angeles was also placed under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for the fifth time in the past two years. According to the FOX Forecast Center, the county had gone eight years without such a warning (2016 - 2024).

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Cloud Precipitation

Best of the Web: Record flooding across France as winter storms fall on saturated ground


rfi.fr
Mon, 16 Feb 2026 20:44 UTC
Storms have left large parts of France underwater, with record levels of flooding after heavy rain fell on already saturated soil. In Paris, the Seine is four metres above its normal level, forcing the closure of the riverside motorway and some commuter rail stations.
Tonneins
© AFPTonneins, southwest France

Authorities are warning of a "widespread flood event" across France, according to the national flood monitoring service Vigicrues.

Soil moisture levels are at unprecedented levels, and the ground can no longer absorb additional water.

The Garonne River burst its banks in several parts of south-western France, following several extreme weather events, including the violent Storm Nils that tore through France and Spain on Thursday.

Flood levels peaked on Saturday and Sunday in the Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne departments, though Vigicrues warned that the river could continue to flood in the coming hours and could rise again this week with more bad weather.

Comment: It's a similar situation in most of western Europe, from the Iberian Peninsula to the British Isles: endless rain and waterlogged land.

And there's more to come:



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Tsunami

New Zealand's North Island braces for more rain amid widespread flooding


abc.net.au
Sun, 15 Feb 2026 11:25 UTC
Flooding in Otorohanga, New Zealand.
© RNZ: Marika KhabaziFlooding in Otorohanga, New Zealand.
New Zealand's weather bureau has issued a warning for heavy rain and strong winds across the country's North Island tonight.

The warning comes a day after floods caused power outages, road collapses and home evacuations.

Authorities said a man was killed yesterday after his car became submerged in floodwaters on a highway.

MetService said there was a "threat to life from dangerous river conditions, significant flooding and slips" as a deepening low-pressure system east of the North Island brings heavy rain and severe gales.

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Tsunami

Italy's Calabria seeks state of emergency amid flooding


The Local (Italy)
Sat, 14 Feb 2026 09:59 UTC
mmmmm
Italy's southern Calabria region has asked that a new national state of emergency be called after days of heavy rains pounding the area caused flooding and mudslides, authorities said Saturday.

Italy had already declared a state of emergency last month for Calabria, at the foot of Italy's boot, and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia after Storm Harry wreaked havoc on seaside roads and homes.

In the past 48 hours, Calabria has faced a new spate of weather-related problems, including "violent gusts, cloudbursts, storm surges and a wave of bad weather that has caused landslides, flooding, swollen rivers and collapsed embankments in various areas of our region," Calabria's president, Roberto Occhiuto, said in a statement.

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Tsunami

Heavy rain and strong winds continue battering Portugal, causing major flooding and damage

Lurdes C. da Silva
The Herald News
Thu, 12 Feb 2026 18:42 UTC
mmmmm
Swathes of Portugal were on high alert on Thursday as heavy rain and strong winds battered the country, causing major flooding, forcing evacuations and disrupting transport.
Swathes of Portugal were on high alert on Thursday as heavy rain and strong winds battered the country, felling trees, disrupting transport and forcing evacuations.

Part of the A1 motorway between Portugal's north and south collapsed on Wednesday night near the medieval city of Coimbra after a levee broke underneath.

'Atmospheric river' over Portugal

In Portugal, a weather phenomenon known as an "atmospheric river" - a wide corridor of concentrated water vapour carrying massive amounts of moisture from the tropics - brought new downpours, affecting the north to a greater extent, where authorities have evacuated about 3,000 residents.

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Windsock

Storm Nils batters southern France, leaves 850,000 homes without power

Necva Tastan Sevinc
Source
Thu, 12 Feb 2026 19:23 UTC
In Alps, authorities raise avalanche risk to level 5, highest warning, describing situation as exceptional and unseen in 17 years
storm nils france
A truck driver died and nearly 850,000 households were left without electricity as Storm Nils battered southern and southwestern France with violent winds, flooding and avalanches on Thursday.

The man was killed in the Landes department near the town of Mees after a tree branch fell onto his truck, BFMTV reported.

France's national weather agency, Meteo-France, placed four departments, Savoie, Aude, Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne, under red alert for risks ranging from avalanches and high winds to severe flooding.

Power grid operator Enedis said around 850,000 homes were without electricity as of early morning, including 485,000 in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and 318,000 in Occitanie, the regions hardest hit by the storm.

Overnight, wind gusts reached up to 162 km/h (101 m/h) in Biscarrosse in the Landes region. Gusts of 157 km/h were recorded in Lege-Cap-Ferret (Gironde), 132 km/h in Millau (Aveyron) and 125 km/h in Toulouse, levels described by forecasters as unprecedented for the month of February in some areas.
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Tsunami

Severe flooding in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on February 9 and 11

Nature in Fury
YouTube
Tue, 10 Feb 2026 11:39 UTC
mmmmm
On Monday, February 9, 2026, Rio de Janeiro entered stage 3 of alert due to severe storms that caused widespread flooding, landslides on Avenida Niemeyer, and serious accidents involving electric shocks in Copacabana. Public transportation collapsed, with trains and BRTs affected, forcing passengers to wade through flooded areas such as Bonsucesso.

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Tsunami

Flash floods kill at least 3, displace hundreds in northwest Syria

Lina Altawell
Anadolu Agency
Mon, 09 Feb 2026 20:44 UTC
Severe flooding has devastated displacement camps after heavy rains swept through the area, destroying shelters and worsening conditions for displaced families.
Severe flooding has devastated displacement camps after heavy rains swept through the area, destroying shelters and worsening conditions for displaced families.
Flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall have killed at least three people and displaced hundreds of families in northwest Syria, creating "difficult humanitarian conditions" across multiple areas, Alekhbariah TV reported, citing a Syrian ministry statement issued on Monday.

The Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management said several regions experienced sudden flooding from early Saturday through late Sunday night, damaging civilian communities and 22 displacement camps west of Idlib.

Two children were killed after being swept away by floodwaters in a rugged valley in the al-Assaliya and Ain Issa areas of the Turkman Mountain region in rural Latakia.

A volunteer with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent was killed, and six others were injured, including five Red Crescent volunteers, in a traffic accident involving the team traveling to respond and provide assistance to residents affected by the floods in the Turkman Mountain area.

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Snowflake

Best of the Web: Storm blasts Hawaii with 70-mph winds, 30 inches of rain and a foot of mountain snow

Jesse Ferrell
Yahoo! News
Mon, 09 Feb 2026 20:16 UTC
mmmmm
Snow on the summit of Mauna Kea
A storm moved over Hawaii this past weekend, causing flooding, knocking down trees and power poles and dumping a foot of snow on the island's mountaintops.

On Monday morning, every spot in the state was under a flood watch, with widespread wind advisories and winter storm warnings on the mountains of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex DaSilva said that a stalled front draped across the Hawaiian Islands, combined with a slow-moving area of low pressure, led to major flooding and near-hurricane-force wind gusts.

Hawaiian Electric warned customers to prepare for extended power outages Sunday night, after power was restored to 45,000 customers lost power earlier in the day. As of Sunday night, 19,000 customers were still in the dark.

Winds gusted over 70 mph on the islands of Maui and Moloka'i, with gusts over 60 mph on Oahu, Lanai and the Big Island. Rainfall amounts exceeded 30 inches at Laupahoehoe on the Big Island, with 23.22 inches at Waikamoi on Maui.

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