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Heavy rains trigger deadly mudslide in Risaralda, Colombia - at least 14 killed

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Wed, 09 Feb 2022 12:02 UTC
Mudslide in Risaralda Colombia February 2022.
© UNGRDMudslide in Risaralda Colombia February 2022.
At least 14 people have died after heavy rain triggered a massive mudslide in the department of Risaralda, Colombia.

Disaster authorities said the heavy rain fell in the early hours of 08 February 2022, causing a mudslide which ripped through residential areas along the border between the municipalities of Dosquebradas and Pereira.

As of 08 February, authorities said at least 14 people had died, while search and rescue operations were ongoing for 3 people still missing. Thirty-four people were injured in the mudslide which caused severe material damages. At least 7 homes were completely destroyed and a further 69 damaged. Dozens of families have been left homeless and have moved to temporary accommodation.

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Cloud Precipitation

South Africa - 2 dead, 4 missing and over 1,000 displaced after floods in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (UPDATE)

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Sun, 06 Feb 2022 10:44 UTC
Flood in Tshwane, South Africa, February 2022.
© City of TshwaneFlood in Tshwane, South Africa, February 2022.
At least 3 people are missing and dozens have evacuated their homes after severe flooding in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces in South Africa.

Gauteng Province

Heavy rainfall overnight, 04 to 05 February 2022, caused flooding in several parts of Tshwane and Ekurhuleni municipalities in Gauteng Province, including Mamelodi, Centurion and Olifantsfontein.

Tshwane's Disaster Management Centre was activated to coordinate rescue, evacuation, transportation, accommodation and relief efforts early on 05 February. The city government warned people to take necessary precautions when driving or walking near flood waters, and urged residents living next to rivers and streams to evacuate to a safer place. Emergency crews were deployed to carry out rescues and evacuations. Buses were brought in to transport evacuees. Some people took refuge on the roofs of buildings to avoid the flooding. As of 06 February there was no confirmed number of displacements.


Comment: Update: News24 reports on February 8:
Two people dead, 4 missing and more than 1 000 displaced by flooding in Tshwane metro

Two people died and more than 1 000 were displaced during heavy rain and flooding in the Tshwane metro over the last four days.

The body of a man was found on Sunday after a bakkie was washed away in the Centurion area on Friday night. A second body was found at the Soul City informal settlement in Mamelodi after a man "drowned in his shack", said Tshwane Emergency Services spokesperson Charles Mabaso.

Tshwane metro rescue teams in Bosplaas, Hamanskraal.
Tshwane metro rescue teams in Bosplaas, Hamanskraal.
Emergency workers were still searching for three people - believed to be the driver of an Uber taxi and two passengers - who were washed away by the Olifantspruit in Midstream. The search was also continuing for a man in a boat who was washed over the Roodeplaat Dam wall over the weekend.

Rescue operations carried out by a multidisciplinary team saw 27 people rescued from vehicles trapped on flooded roads, low-water crossings and from the tops of trees.

More than 1 000 people were displaced by flooding. Temporary shelters were erected in Mamelodi, Hammanskraal and Pretoria West and relief parcels distributed to those affected.

Mop-up operations commenced in Centurion and Mamelodi, added Mabaso.

"We call on residents to remain on high alert, to never try to cross flooded low bridges, to move themselves and valuables to higher ground if under threat of flooding, and to immediately call for help by dialling our toll-free emergency number 107," he said.


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Cloud Lightning

Cyclone Batsirai kills 10, displaces 48,000 in Madagascar - 146 mph gusts recorded (UPDATE)


RTE
Sun, 06 Feb 2022 13:47 UTC
A handout satellite image made available by NASA shows Cyclone Batsirai earlier this week
A handout satellite image made available by NASA shows Cyclone Batsirai earlier this week
Cyclone Batsirai killed at least ten people and displaced nearly 48,000 when it struck Madagascar overnight, the national disaster management agency said on Sunday.

Cyclone Batsirai later weakened but not before wreaking havoc in the poor Indian Ocean island nation which is still reeling from a deadly tropical storm earlier this year.

Parts of the country were lashed with heavy rains and wind before the cyclone made landfall in Mananjary.

It uprooted trees, destroyed buildings and forced residents to weigh down flimsy corrugated iron roofs along its path, AFP correspondents saw.

The rain will cause flooding across parts of the country, Madagascar's meteorological office said on Sunday.

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Cloud Precipitation

Power outages in Auckland, New Zealand following exceptional heavy rain - 17 inches in 26 hours

Stephanie Ockhuysen, Lucy Xia
Stuff
Mon, 07 Feb 2022 13:08 UTC
Surrey Hill Rd, in Oakura, is reduced to one lane after a slip on Sunday.
© JANE MATTHEWS/STUFFSurrey Hill Rd, in Oakura, is reduced to one lane after a slip on Sunday.
Power outages have hit parts of North and West Auckland as heavy rain continues to affect parts of the North Island on Monday.

A Vector spokeswoman said the wild weather caused a number of outages across Auckland with the biggest impact to Karekare, Huia, Torbay Heights and Parau.

She said crews were working to restore power for those areas, and the majority of customers had their power back as of 9.14am on Monday.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) had received 28 weather related call-outs overnight across Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Northland.

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Snowflake Cold

Heavy snow blankets Sea of Japan coast - 31 inches of snowfall in 24 hours


NHK WORLD-JAPAN
Sat, 05 Feb 2022 13:32 UTC
snow
A strong winter pressure pattern and a cold air mass above Japan have brought heavy snow, especially along the Sea of Japan coast from Hokkaido down to the Chugoku region.

Some areas of Niigata and Nagano prefectures got more than 80 centimeters of snow in the 24 hours through Sunday morning.

As of 9 a.m. on Sunday, snow accumulation of 342 centimeters was recorded in the town of Tsunan in Niigata Prefecture, and 262 centimeters in the village of Nozawaonsen in Nagano Prefecture.

In the city of Sapporo in the country's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, 108 centimeters of snow was on the ground. The last time the city saw snow deeper than one meter was in March 2014.

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Snowflake Cold

Huge US winter storm leaves over 330,000 without power and 9,000 flights cancelled


Al Jazeera
Fri, 04 Feb 2022 22:00 UTC
snow
A winter storm that dumped sleet and heavy snow on a wide swath of the central United States this week has left hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without power.

More than 330,000 customers were without power from Texas, Arkansas, and Tennessee up through Ohio and into New York, Poweroutage.us showed on Friday, after an ice storm downed power lines and trees across the area.

Freezing rain and snow weighed down tree limbs and encrusted power lines, and brought rare measurable snowfall and hundreds of power outages to parts of the southern state Texas.

Power restoration could take days, said Gale Carson, the utility's spokeswoman. "It's not going to be a quick process," she said.

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Nebula

Your goose is cooked: Freak ball of lightning kills Canada goose at Cheshire lake in UK

Barbara Jordan
Northwich Guardian
Fri, 04 Feb 2022 20:38 UTC
A Canada goose was killed by a freak ball of lightning at Booths Park lake in Knutsford
© Chris HarrisonA Canada goose was killed by a freak ball of lightning at Booths Park lake in Knutsford
A FREAK ball of lightning has killed a goose in Cheshire.

Startled workers at Booths Park, Knutsford, watched the rare aerial phenomenon from the window of their office shortly after 2pm on Friday.

Chris Harrison, from Knutsford, said: "It was very weird. We saw a ball of flame around 10 metres above the ground beside the lake.

"The ball was around five metres in diameter and only lasted for three seconds.

"Apparently ball lightning is incredibly rare, we have certainly never seen anything like it before.
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Tornado2

Another waterspout emerges, this time in Pitas, Malaysia

Stephanie Lee
The Star (Malaysia)
Fri, 04 Feb 2022 12:24 UTC
waterspout
Another waterspout has appeared, this time in waters off Pitas, Sabah, which caused a scare among villagers on Friday (Feb 4).

The phenomenon was recorded around 9.30am, and is believed to have occurred in waters off Kg Mampakad and Kg Rosob.

Videos of the waterspout went viral on social media and messaging apps.

Users commented with messages saying it was "scary" and called for others to "be careful" and "pray for our safety", among others.

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Snowflake Cold

Major winter storm creates travel chaos across U.S. with 5,000 flights cancelled


CBS Evening News
Wed, 02 Feb 2022 11:36 UTC
snow
A massive winter storm is bringing snow, rain and ice to more than a dozen states, causing thousands of flight cancellations. Janet Shamlian takes a look.

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Cloud Lightning

477-mile-long lightning bolt across three states sets new megaflash record

Yaron Steinbuch
New York Post
Wed, 02 Feb 2022 19:33 UTC
A single lightning bolt was recently certified by the World Meteorological Organization as the world’s longest flash on record.
© NOAA/ZUMA Press Wire ServiceA single lightning bolt was recently certified by the World Meteorological Organization as the world’s longest flash on record.
A single bolt of lightning measuring 477.2 miles has been confirmed as the longest ever - leaping across Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas in 2020, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

The so-called megaflash, which was detected by scientists using satellite technology on April 19 that year, beat the previous record by a whopping 37 miles.

The old record of 440.6 miles was set in Brazil on Oct. 31, 2018.

The distance covered by the extreme bolt is equivalent to a direct flight from New York City to Columbus, Ohio, or from London to Hamburg, the WMO said Tuesday.

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