Storms
Hurricane Grace has struck Mexico's Caribbean coast just south of the ancient Mayan temples of Tulum, pushing a dangerous storm surge. Heavy rain and strong winds threaten to destroy flimsier homes and keep tourists off white sand beaches until it crosses the Yucatan Peninsula.
The Category 1 storm had already soaked earthquake-damaged Haiti, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands en route to a direct hit on the Riviera Maya, the heart of Mexico's tourism industry. Grace's centre struck just south of Tulum at 4:45am (9:45 GMT) on Thursday with maximum sustained winds of 130kmph (80mph), according to the US National Hurricane Center.

Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) carrying out searches for people missing in flash floods in Yan District, Kedah, 18 – 19 August 2021.
The weather station at Gunung Jerai (Mount Jerai) in Kedah recorded 219 mm of rain in 24 hours to 18 August 2021. Disaster officials said as much as 90mm of rain fell in just 1 hour.
Teams from Malaysia Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) and the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) were sent to the disaster area after reports of several people missing in the floods. As of the afternoon 19 August, officials from JBPM confirmed rescue teams had found the bodies of 4 victims but 2 people are still missing. One person was injured in the floods.
Other parts of the state have also been affected, with a total of 96 people evacuated from homes in Bandar Baharu, Kuala Muda and Yan districts of Kedah State.

Floods in Trinidad Tropical Storm Grace, August 2021
Meanwhile over 500 homes were damaged by floods in neighbouring Dominican Republic. As the storm moved west, incidents of flooding and landslides were reported in Jamaica. Earlier heavy rain associated with Storm Grace caused flooding and landslides in Trinidad where one person died.
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic National Meteorology Office ONAMET reported 240mm of rain fell in Polo municipality of the Barahona Province in the southwest of the country in 24 hours to 16 August. As of early 17 August there were several reports of flooding in the province. Floods and landslides also affected Peravia, Hato Mayor and San José de Ocoa Provinces.
The country's Emergency Operations Center (COE) reported 1 house was completely destroyed and 558 homes homes were damaged. Flooding displaced 2,242 people and left 13 communities cut-off.

The Krimml station, track and a train of the Pinzgauer local railway in Wald im Pinzgau were completely buried.
Bavaria, Germany
Flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall were reported in Grainau in Garmisch-Partenkirchen district, southern Bavaria in Germany.
Police reported 12 people were swept away or stranded after flash floods from the Hammersbach stream swept through the narrow Höllental gorge situated at the foot of the Zugspitze, the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains. The area is popular with tourists and hikers.
A team of around 150 rescue workers were deployed to the area. As of 16 August, 8 people had been rescued, while the body of one person had been found and 1 was still missing. Search operations were ongoing.
Severe weather also affected northern Germany, where a tornado hit the village of Grossheide near the North Sea coast late 16 August, damaging or destroying more than 50 homes.
According to Metro Nashville dispatch officials, at 11:37 a.m. two adults reported they were hit at Hickman Elementary School at 112 Stewarts Ferry Pike.
Fire spokesman Joseph Pleasant said crews did not take anyone to the hospital from the scene but the adults told officials they planned to go on their own.
As of 12:20 p.m. the scene had cleared, a dispatcher said.
So far, no one else in the area reported being struck.
This is a developing story.

Officials said 10 to 15 bridges in Haywood County have been damaged or destroyed. This is a bridge in Cruso on the East Fork of Pigeon River, North Carolina,
In a statement, the governor said nearly a foot of rain (300 mm) has fallen over the past three days in some areas of Western North Carolina from the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred and the rains that preceded it, and record flooding is occurring. More than 98 people have been rescued from floodwaters in western counties.
"This state of emergency will allow our first responders to get into our affected communities quickly to save lives, restore power, remove debris and bring supplies," said Governor Cooper. "North Carolina is strong and resilient, and we're committed to helping people and businesses recover as quickly as possible."
Several neighbourhoods of the city were inundated after heavy rain on 17 August 2021. Roads were submerged, cars stranded and buildings damaged. Rescue services said many had to flee their homes and images showed people taking refuge on the roofs of houses. Local media reports said dozens of people were injured and taken to various hospitals in the city. Visiting affected areas, Addis Ababa Mayor Adanech Abiebie said the efforts of disaster prevention workers have saved thousands of lives.
In a statement of 17 August, Coconino County said rain began around midday, falling over the burn scar of the large 2019 Museum Fire near Flagstaff.
"By the time the large storm system moved out of the area, the entire burn area was saturated, resulting in the largest rainfall event to date," the statement said. An hourly rate of 3.07 inches (77.98 mm) was recorded in the south of the burn scar area.
"In addition, the rainfall was intense with over 1.14 inches recorded in at the south and west gauges in 15 minutes and 1.06 inches recorded at the east gauge. Not only was significant rainfall experienced on the burn scar itself, but also in the Sunnyside neighborhood. In an hour, 1.22 inches fell at Linda Vista and 1.5 inches was recorded downstream in neighborhoods. The rainfall recorded at the south gauge equates to a 200- to 500-year rainfall event," Coconino County said.










Comment: Cascading natural disasters: Following devastating flooding, F2 tornado touches down in Grossheide, Germany