Storms

Heavy rainfall causes severe flooding in Trinidad and Tobago - up to 5 feet deep

Trinidad and Tobago Guardian
Fri, 04 Sep 2020 18:25 UTC

Flooding in Gasparillo

Already struggling from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, residents of Gasparillo lost most of their belongings yesterday as heavy rain caused floodwaters to rise as high as five feet in some areas.

Parts of Arouca, Lopinot and Chaguanas were also affected by street and flash flooding.

Guardian Media spoke to Gasparillo resident, Videsh Gopaul who said although those who live on Gopaul Avenue have had to contend with floodwaters in the past, yesterday's event was by far the worst.

"My family in the back are completely flooded out, I just spoke to them and they have lost everything, they have almost five feet of water in their house. They lost fridges, stoves, books, washing machines, computers, beds, wardrobes, sofa sets, everything is lost," Gopaul said.

Typhoon Maysak causes heavy flood damage in North Korea

The Sentinel (Assam)
Fri, 04 Sep 2020 12:36 UTC

Torrential rains due to typhoon Maysak caused heavy flood damage in parts of North Korea on Thursday, and also prompted residents near Mount Kumgang to evacuate, state-media reported.

The Korean Central Television Broadcasting Station has been running breaking news in real time and updates on the ninth tropical storm of the season nearly every hour since 6 p.m. Wednesday, reports Yonhap News Agency.

Source: IANS

Typhoon Maysak pummels South Korea with flooding, damaging winds

kstp.com
Wed, 02 Sep 2020 10:48 UTC

© NASA
This Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2020, satellite image released by NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) shows Typhoon Maysak over South Korea, hidden behind the white circle at upper left, as another tropical storm, Haishen, lower center right, sweeps northward and is projected to slam Japan's southern main islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, as well as the southwestern tip of Honshu by this weekend.

A powerful typhoon ripped through South Korea's southern and eastern coasts with tree-snapping winds and flooding rains Thursday, knocking out power to thousands of homes and leaving at least one person dead.

Packing winds with maximum speed of 140 kilometers (87 miles) per hour, Typhoon Maysak was offshore east of the city of Gangneung on Thursday morning and heading toward North Korea, South Korea's weather agency said.

North Korea's state TV showed widespread flooding in the eastern coastal cities of Wonsan and Tanchon, but the country didn't immediately report any casualties.

More than 2,200 South Koreans evacuated their homes due to the storm that toppled scores of trees, utility poles and lampposts, ripped off signboards, and damaged or flooded dozens of homes and vehicles. A woman in the southern city of Busan died after being injured by shattered window glass.

Comment: Livestock carrier with 43 crew feared lost in Typhoon Maysak off Japan

Livestock carrier with 43 crew feared lost in Typhoon Maysak off Japan

The Maritime Executive
Wed, 02 Sep 2020 19:17 UTC

Gulf Livestock 1

A Panamanian-flagged livestock carrier with a crew of 43 is feared lost southwest of Japan after encountering a typhoon moving across the region. Japan's Coast Guard reported receiving a distress call and later finding one seafarer in the ocean with a life jacket and an empty lifeboat. No additional signals were received from the vessel after the first distress call.

The search for the missing vessel believed to be the Gulf Livestock 1 was conducted all day on Wednesday, September 2 local time. Four coast guard vessels and airplanes are reportedly conducting the search-and-rescue operation. It, however, was suspended until daylight Thursday local time.

Before calling off the search the Japan Defense Ministry reported that they had located one person apparently in the ocean in the area of the last known position of the vessel. Media in Japan are saying that the Coast Guard reported it was a male Filipino crew member and that he was in non-life-threatening condition. In addition, an empty inflatable life raft was reportedly spotted but it is unclear if it was from the Gulf Livestock 1.

Heavy flooding in Bangkok, Thailand

Maya Taylor
The Thaiger
Tue, 01 Sep 2020 19:06 UTC

Traffic police in Bangkok are being instructed to keep the capital's roads clear after heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding from around 2am this morning. Krisana Pattanajaroen, deputy spokesman for the Royal Thai Police, says officers have been tasked with preventing traffic jams, particularly along Bangkok's busiest thoroughfares, as well as removing any potential obstacles.

The heavy rains started early in the morning but persisted through the peak hour and only dissipated after around 8.30-9am.

A few messages on social media, some official, some not...

"Because of the rain today, students should decide themselves whether they can safely travel to schools. If not, they should stay at home and learn online."

13 more killed as heavy rains lash Pakistan, death toll rises to 176

New Indian Express
Wed, 02 Sep 2020 18:53 UTC

Local residents examine their damaged house caused by heavy monsoon rains, in Yar Mohammad village near Karachi.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported widespread rains across the country while the Met Office forecast showed more downpour in the next 24 hours.

Incessant rains lashed Pakistan on Tuesday, killing 13 more people while the water level increased in the rivers across the country, creating a flood like situation.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported widespread rains across the country while the Met Office forecast showed more downpour in the next 24 hours.

The NDMA data showed that 13 more people died in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 176 since June 15 when the monsoon season started in the country.

Another 101 have been injured.

Lightning strikes kill 4 in West Bengal, India

Anshuman Phadikar
The Telegraph (India)
Wed, 02 Sep 2020 18:24 UTC

A sudden thunderstorm in parts of East Midnapore and West Midnapore early on Tuesday morning claimed four lives, all agricultural workers, as they were struck by lightning.

At Dubda village in East Midnapore's Egra, farmer Aurobindo Bera, 40, was killed on the spot when lightning struck him, while his wife Mira was seriously injured. The couple were working at their agricultural plot when the accident happened. Mira was rushed to Egra Super Speciality hospital for treatment.

"The incident occurred when a group of farmers was running for cover at the onset of the sudden storm," said an eyewitness.

At Kanpur village in Potashpur station area, Ramkrishna Paikhara, 38, was killed under similar circumstances when farmers were working in an open field. While Paikhara was killed on the spot, his companions suffered injuries and were rushed to the block health centre for treatment.

Comment: On the same day 6 people were fatally struck in the state of Odisha while over in Nepal an individual died and 5 others were injured by a strike.

Lightning killed nearly 3,000 in India in 2019

Times of India
Tue, 01 Sep 2020 12:55 UTC

A total of 8,145 deaths were reported in India in the year 2019 due to causes attributable to forces of nature, with nearly 3,000 of them caused due to lightning, a report by National Crime Records Bureau has revealed.

Majority (50.3%) of the victims who were reported to be belonging to the age-group of 30-45 years and 45-60 years together.

While 35.3 per cent of the victims succumbed to lightning, 15.6 per cent deaths occurred due to heat/sun stroke' and 11.6 per cent deaths due to flood.

Floods leave 17 dead and 1.4 million affected in Odisha, India - 9 inches of rain in 24 hours

Floodlist
Mon, 31 Aug 2020 18:57 UTC

At least 17 people have died and over 10,000 homes damaged in floods in the state of Odisha, eastern India.

Days of heavy rainfall affected the state from 25 August, with several areas recording more than 200 mm of rain in 24 hour period. Marshaghai in Kendrapara District recorded 234 mm in 24 hours to 26 August, according to India Meteorological Department.

The heavy rainfall pushed rivers above the danger mark in 5 locations, including the Subarnarekha river in Baleshwar which reached record levels of 6.94 metres on 27 August, well above the danger mark of 5.5m and beating the previous high of 6.8m, according to India's Central Water Commission (CWC).

Disaster authorities report over 1.4 million people have been affected by flooding across floods in 3,256 villages across 20 districts of the state. The affected districts include: Angul, Balasore, Bargarh, Bhadrak, Boudh, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Khordha, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh, Nuapada, Puri, Sambalpur, Subarnapur and Sundargarh.