Storms
S


Cloud Lightning

Super Typhoon Yagi hits Vietnam killing 226, with 104 missing - 17 inches of rain in 24 hours (UPDATES)

Water is whipped up by high winds onto the shore of Phuong Luu lake as Super Typhoon Yagi hits Hai Phong
© NHAC NGUYENWater is whipped up by high winds onto the shore of Phuong Luu lake as Super Typhoon Yagi hits Hai Phong
Super Typhoon Yagi uprooted thousands of trees and swept ships and boats out to sea, killing one person, as it made landfall in northern Vietnam on Saturday, after leaving at least 23 dead through southern China and the Philippines.

The typhoon hit Hai Phong and Quang Ninh provinces, packing winds exceeding 149 kilometres (92 miles) per hour, Vietnam's National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said.

In the Hai Duong province, a man was killed when heavy winds brought down a tree as the storm approached landfall, according to state media.

In Hai Phong, AFP reporters encountered streets filled with fallen trees, metal roofing and broken signboards that had been ripped off properties.


Comment: Update September 9

Al Jazeera reports:
At least 59 people have been killed in Vietnam amid landslides and floods triggered by Typhoon Yagi, according to state media reports.

The typhoon was Asia's most powerful storm this year and made landfall on Vietnam's northeastern coast on Saturday, after causing havoc in China and the Philippines.

Among the victims were six people, including a newborn baby and a one-year-old boy, who were killed in a landslide in the Hoang Lien Son mountains of northwestern Vietnam.

Their bodies were discovered on Sunday, a local official told the AFP news agency.

Other victims included a family of four who were killed after heavy rain caused a hillside to collapse onto a house in mountainous Hoa Binh province in northern Vietnam, state media reported.

On Monday morning, a passenger bus carrying 20 people was swept into a flooded stream by a landslide in mountainous Cao Bang province.

Rescuers were deployed, but landslides blocked the path to where the incident took place.

In Phu Tho province, rescue operations were continuing after a steel bridge over the engorged Red River collapsed.


Reports said 10 cars and trucks, along with two motorbikes, fell into the river.

Three people were pulled out of the river and taken to hospital, but 13 others were missing.

The Vietnamese government said the storm disrupted power supplies and telecommunications in several parts of the country, mostly in Quang Ninh and Hai Phong in the northeast.

The weather agency on Monday warned of more floods and landslides, noting that rainfall had ranged between 208mm and 433mm (8.2 inches to 17 inches) in several parts of the region over the past 24 hours.

"Floods and landslides are damaging the environment and threatening people's lives," the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said in a report.

Yagi weakened to a tropical depression on Sunday, but several areas of the port city of Hai Phong were under half a metre (1.6 feet) of water and there was no electricity.

At Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site about 70km (43 miles) up the coast from the city, the disaster management authority said 30 vessels sank after being pounded by strong wind and waves.

The typhoon also damaged nearly 3,300 houses, and more than 120,000 hectares (296,500 acres) of crops in the north of the country, the authority said.
Update September 12

Sky news reports:
The number of people killed by Typhoon Yagi in Vietnam has risen to 226 with another 104 missing, according to the government's disaster management agency.

The storm, which is the strongest to hit the Southeast Asian country in decades, made landfall on Saturday with winds of up to 92mph, causing flash floods and landslides.

Officials said the northern province of Lao Cai had suffered the heaviest casualties, with 98 dead and 81 missing.




Cloud Precipitation

Hurricane Francine: Nearly 400,000 without power in Louisiana as heavy rains cause flooding around New Orleans

Heavy rains from Hurricane Francine
© APHeavy rains from Hurricane Francine triggered widespread flooding across the New Orleans area early Thursday.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana remained without power and flooding was reported in the New Orleans area early Thursday, hours after Hurricane Francine slammed into the state's coastal region as a category 2 storm.

KEY FACTS

- The National Hurricane Center downgraded Francine to a Tropical Storm as it moved inland over Louisiana, bringing heavy rain to the state and its neighbors Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

- A heavy downpour after the storm prompted the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood warning for New Orleans and nearby Metairie and Kenner, which will remain in effect until Thursday morning.

- The Times-Picayune reported there was "widespread street flooding" in many neighborhoods across the city and nearby Jefferson Parish, while the police chief in Kenner said the city was facing its worst level of flooding since Hurricane Katrina.

- Authorities have urged residents of New Orleans to avoid driving on flooded roads until they are deemed safe in the morning.


Tsunami

Floods, landslides affect many parts of Laos in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi

This handout photo taken and released on September 11, 2024 by Lao National Radio shows an aerial view of flood waters surrounding houses in Luang Namtha province, following heavy rains in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi.
© AFPThis handout photo taken and released on September 11, 2024 by Lao National Radio shows an aerial view of flood waters surrounding houses in Luang Namtha province, following heavy rains in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi.
Many parts of Laos have been affected by flooding and landslides, causing significant damage and leaving many residents stranded and severely affected.

Tropical storm Yagi has brought prolonged heavy rainfall, particularly impacting northern provinces, with Luang Namtha among the worst-affected areas, Xinhua news agency reported quoting Laos National Radio.

In Luang Namtha, homes were damaged, while personal belongings were lost. Many people shared videos and images through social media platforms, showing residents stranded in their homes and taking refuge on roofs to escape the rising waters. The province is experiencing significant river overflows from major water bodies. The rapid rise in water levels has resulted in widespread flooding, particularly in low-lying areas.

Local officials reported that villages, infrastructure, and essential services such as roads, telecommunications, electricity, and water supply have been severely disrupted.


Tsunami

Deadly landslides, floods in storm-hit North Thailand, 6 people killed

Wat Phasukkaram
© Akitjaro BhikkhuWat Phasukkaram or Wat Mai Lung Khon in Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai is under floodwater. Thirty-eight people — including 4 monks, 8 novices and Buddhist devotees — have been unable to leave the compound. People living around the temple are also affected.
Persistent rain has caused rivers to overflow, flooding and landslides in the upper North, with six people confirmed killed and four injured.

In the northernmost province of Chiang Rai, disaster mitigation officials said there was heavy flooding in tambons Mae Sai, Wiang Pang Kham and Koh Chang in Mae Sai district. The floodwater was about one metre deep and flowing strongly.

People in flood-affected areas near the overflowing Sai River in Mae Sai district were advised to prepare for possible evacuation.

In Tham Luang-Khun Nam Nang Nong National Park, also in Mae Sai district, floodwater was pouring out of Tham Luang Cave, widely known as the site of the flooded cave rescue mission in 2018.

Among those trapped on the roof of his home by rising floodwaters in Mae Sai was Ekkapol Chantawong, the coach of the Wild Boars football team of Tham Luang fame. He told AFP he was drawing on his experience of six years ago to get through his latest ordeal.


Tsunami

Nigeria floods affect one million people after dam collapse following heavy rains

Houses are partially submerged
© Musa Ajit Borno/AP PhotosHouses are partially submerged following a dam collapse in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Tuesday, September 10, 2024
The collapse of a dam in northeast Nigeria has caused severe flooding, destroying thousands of homes and worsening a dire humanitarian crisis.

The flooding in Borno State has affected a million people, the state governor said on Wednesday, straining resources as authorities scramble to rescue residents and place them in temporary shelters.

Heavy rains had caused a dam to overflow on Tuesday, decimating a state-owned zoo and washing crocodiles and snakes into flooded communities.

Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris, reporting from Maiduguri in Nigeria, said a "stream of people" are currently making their way out of areas covered by the floodwaters.

He said civilians have been searching in the water with limited diving equipment to save as many people as possible.

"We've seen dead bodies arriving," he said, adding that a successful rescue operation saw baby twins saved from the floodwaters and moved to safety.


Hardhat

Hailstorms in Europe have increased 267% in the past five years: Chaucer

nnnnnnnnn
Climate change is seen as a driver of higher frequency of damaging hail storm events according to specialty re/insurer Chaucer, who highlights a 267% increase in European hail storms in the past five years.

Hail and other severe weather perils have been causing increasing amounts of insurance and reinsurance market loss over the last few years.

There have been repeated years of damaging hail impacts across countries such as France, Germany and Italy, some of which have driven losses through to the reinsurance layer of the industry.

It's the increasing frequency that has made these challenging in the space and like in the United States reinsurance capital has retrenched higher, to avoid more of these types of losses, while also providing less sideways or aggregate protection as well.

Having analysed the European Severe Weather Database, Chaucer said that the number of hailstorms has jumped 104% to 11,808 storms last year (year-ending June 30th 2024), up from 5,785 in 2022/23.

Lightning

Lightning strike kills 2, injures 7 in Marilog, Philippines

nnnnnnn
© Marilog PNP
TWO INDIVIDUALS died while seven others sustained injuries following a bolt of lightning that struck a nipa hut around 1 p.m. in Sitio Mawato, Barangay Bantol, Marilog District, on Tuesday, Sept. 10.

Captain Hazel Tuazon, the spokesperson of the Davao City Police Office, identified the deceased as Emma Ansang Bansilan, 49, both farmers and residents of Purok 1 of the same barangay.

The injured were identified as Arlyn Urayan Dalagma, 49, farmer, a resident of Purok 6, Malakiba (severely injured); Lito Genando Ansang, 60, farmer, a resident of Sitio Banayan, Barangay Malamba; Jerry Embac Ogaw, 44, farmer, a resident of Purok 6, Barangay Bantol

Rowena Ambit Larisa, 46, farmer, a resident of Purok 6, Barangay Bantol; Joel Cabanda Ansang, 30, farmer, a resident of Sitio Banayan, Barangay Malamba; Noeme Nord Altubar, 58, farmer, a resident of Purok 4-A Muslim Village, Brgy Bantol; Mila Cervantes Monoy, 20, farmer, a resident of Sitio Banuayan, Barangay Bantol.

Initial investigation revealed that the victims were harvesting rice when a sudden downpour forced them to seek shelter in the nipa hut owned by Lito Genado Ansang. While inside, a strong lightning bolt struck the shelter, injuring several people.

Two victims were declared dead on arrival by responding 911 personnel. The injured victims were transported to the Southern Philippines Medical Center.

Comment: On the same day a lightning strike also claimed 2 lives in Odisha, India while another bolt killed 3 in the state of Uttar Pradesh.


Lightning

2 teenagers killed by lightning strike in Madhya Pradesh, India

mmmmm
© ReutersRepresentational picture of lightning strike
Two teenagers were killed, probably by a lightning strike, while playing on the terrace of a house in Mhow town of Madhya Pradesh's Indore district on Monday amid heavy rains, police said.

Kishanganj police station in-charge Kuldeep Khatri said as per preliminary information, the teenagers, Sarthak and Ankit, both aged 15, were playing on the terrace in the evening.

At around 5.30 pm, when it was raining heavily, house occupants heard a blast-like sound after which they rushed to the terrace. They found both of them lying severely injured, he said.

A police team along with an ambulance reached the spot and took the boys to the Mhow Civil Hospital, where doctors declared them dead, Khatri said. The police officer said it is suspected that a lightning struck the terrace.

PTI

Tsunami

At least 18 dead amid flash floods sweeping various regions in Morocco - a years' worth of rain in 2 days (UPDATES)

mmmmm
Flash floods in southern Morocco have caused widespread devastation, with the destruction of several homes and many reported missing.

Details from several news reports show that in Tata, 12 people are missing due to the flood that swept through the area.

The region also witnessed the collapse of at least seven houses.

In Douar Smougen, within the Marrakech-Safi region, 12 people have also been reported missing due to floods, while in Tiznit two people have died and two others were rescued.

Tafraout also witnessed the death of an elderly person due to the floods
, and authorities in all affected regions continue search and rescue operations.


Comment: Update September 9

AFP reports:
Moroccan authorities on Sunday said that 11 people died and nine were missing in flooding caused by an "exceptional" climate phenomenon in southern areas.

Interior ministry spokesman Rachid Khalfi said authorities recorded an initial "toll of 11 deaths" after "heavy thunderstorms" that hit "17 prefectures and provinces in the kingdom".

Among the victims, seven died in the province of Tata, some 740km (460 miles) south of Rabat, and two in Errachidia, almost 500km east of Marrakesh, according to Khalfi.

He said one of the victims had foreign citizenship, without providing further details.

Khalfi also said "the volume of precipitation recorded in two days is equivalent to that which these regions normally experience during an entire year".

The floods also caused the collapse of 40 homes and damaged 93 roads, and "affected electricity, drinking water and telephone networks", he added.

Usually arid areas in southern Morocco and Algeria have been drenched in floods caused by massive rainfall since Friday, officials told Agence France-Presse on Sunday.

Areas in southern Morocco have been affected "by an extremely unstable tropical air mass", the spokesman for the Moroccan General Directorate of Meteorology, Lhoussaine Youabd, said.

This "led to the formation of unstable and violent clouds" that caused massive rainfall, he said, describing the phenomenon as "exceptional".

As a result, the Ouarzazate region received 47mm of water in three hours, and Tagounite, near the Algerian border, some 170mm, according to the Moroccan weather service.
Anadolu Ajansı reports:
Death toll from floods in southeastern Morocco rises to 18

Interior Ministry reports 4 people still missing, infrastructure suffered extensive damage

The number of people who died in floods caused by heavy rainfall in southeastern Morocco has risen to 18, local authorities said Monday.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry said fatalities were caused by severe storms and floods.



Tornado2

Waterspout spotted off the coast of Quiberon, France

nnnnnnnnn
INCREDIBLE: Waterspout spotted off the coast of Quiberon, Brittany, France this afternoon!