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Thousands displaced by floods in 4 states of Myanmar - Almost 22 inches of rain in 48 hours

Red Cross deliver relief supplies to flood hit areas of Kayin State, Myanmar, July 2021.
© Myanmar Red Cross Society
Red Cross deliver relief supplies to flood hit areas of Kayin State, Myanmar, July 2021.
Days of heavy rain have caused flooding in Shan, Rakhine, Kayin and Mon states in Myanmar.

Myanmar's Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH) reported heavy rain from 25 July. Mawlamyine in Mon State recorded 553 mm of rain in 48 hours to 27 July.

In a 24 hour period to 27 July, areas of Rakhine State saw particularly heavy rain, including Maungdaw (243 mm) Kyaukpyu (242 mm) and Thandwe (388 mm). Neighbouring parts of Bangladesh also saw heavy rain during this time, resulting in floods and landslides in Cox's Bazar District.


According to the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) as many as 48,500 people have been affected or displaced by the floods across the 3 states.


Cloud Lightning

Two women hit by lightning on Snowdon mountain summit, Wales

The women were rescued from Snowdon's summit on Wednesday afternoon
© LLANBERIS MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM
The women were rescued from Snowdon's summit on Wednesday afternoon
Rescuers say two women are "very lucky" to be alive after they were hit by lightning on the summit of Snowdon, Wales' highest mountain.

The pair were in a five-strong group by its 3,560ft (1,085m) peak when they were struck just after 13:30 BST.

Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team was called out by North Wales Police to help rescue them.

The team said one woman "was falling in and out of consciousness", while the other had minor injuries.

Cloud Precipitation

16 dead, 20 injured or missing in rain related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, India

flood
At least 16 people have died and 20 others were either injured or reported missing in two separate incidents of cloud bursts in Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir and Lahaul-Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, even as heavy rains brought life to standstill in several parts of northern India in the past 24 hours.

On Wednesday morning, the Jammu and Kashmir administration deployed Indian Army and state disaster relief force personnel at Honzar village in Kishtwar district after a cloudburst damaged over half a dozen houses in the area.

While seven bodies have been found from the debris, 12 others are feared trapped. Additional director general of police, Mukesh Singh, said of the 17 rescued, five were critical and have been shifted to government hospital in Kishtwar. "Army is assisting local police in the rescue operations," he said.


Cloud Precipitation

2 killed as flooding hits parts of Islamabad, Pakistan

floods
A mother and her son were killed on Wednesday as several areas of Islamabad city were affected by urban flooding after heavy rainfall and cloudburst.

Videos shared on social media showed cars in the E-11 neighbourhood being washed downstream amid a torrent of murky water after rainwater flooded the streets. At least 5 vehicles were damaged in the floods.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Islamabad Hamza Shafqaat urged the public to "cooperate and restrict unnecessary movements" as the city administration was busy clearing drains and roads in the affected areas. Army troops and rangers also joined the rescue efforts by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in the main areas as well as suburbs of Islamabad.


Cloud Lightning

Flooding and 1,700 lightning strikes as heavy rain batters Sweden

lightning
Heavy rain following a spell of dry weather caused streets to flood in east coast city Kalmar, as lightning struck the area 1,700 times.

Up to 40 millimetres of rain fell locally in Kalmar on Tuesday, and around 24,000 households lost power for three hours.

Several shops were flooded, although it did not come close to the fatal floods seen in other parts of Europe in recent weeks.


Cloud Precipitation

State of Emergency after flash floods in Utah and Nevada - 2 inches of rain in an hour - 3 people missing in New Mexico and Arizona

Flash Floods in Nye County, Nevada, USA, 27 July 2021.
© Nye County
Flash Floods in Nye County, Nevada, USA, 27 July 2021.
Heavy rain and flash flooding affected several states in America's Southwest. A local state of emergency was declared for communities in southern Utah and Nevada. Both areas recorded between 40 and 50 mm of rain in 1 hour.

Two people were reported missing after flash floods in New Mexico. Meanwhile a teenager is still missing and a young child has died in separate incidents of flash flooding in Arizona over the last few days.

Utah

Heavy rain triggered flash floods in parts of southern Utah on 26 July. The hardest hit areas were in Iron County and Cedar City, where the mayor, Maile Wilson-Edwards, declared a local state of emergency. In a statement, the mayor said, "preliminary information shows that our City received over two inches (50 mm) of rain in approximately one hour. Which categorizes yesterday's storm as an estimated 500-year frequency flooding event in some areas.

"The amount of rain in such a short period of time overwhelmed flood control structures and resulted in localized flooding in areas of our City. The flooding impacted public infrastructure, private residential homes and apartments, businesses, and churches. Some of the residential units were left un-inhabitable."

The American Red Cross has opened a shelter to house those unable to stay in their homes.


Cloud Precipitation

Evacuations after floods and landslides near Lake Como, Italy

Flood damage in Como Province, Lombardy, Italy July 2021.
© Government of Lombardy
Flood damage in Como Province, Lombardy, Italy July 2021.
More heavy rainfall has caused flooding in Western Europe, this time in northern Italy.

Heavy rainfall raced down slopes around Lake Como, triggering landslides and flash floods on the communities below. The communes of Cernobbio, Brienno, Laglio and Argegno in Como Province, Lombardy Region were the worst affected. Homes were damaged and roads completely blocked.

Italy's Fire Department, Vigili del Fuoco, carried out 60 interventions in total, including the rescue of an elderly resident of a house that was almost completely buried in a landslide in Brienno. Firefighters also evacuated two other people at risk from another house in the area. A further landslide in Brienno caused a gas leak and 50 people were forced to remain inside their homes. In Cernobbio, firefighters evacuated two residential buildings threatened by flooding from the Breggia stream.


Cloud Lightning

Husband and wife hospitalized after being hit by lightning at Sanibel Beach Club, Florida

lightning
A husband and wife on a Sanibel beach were struck by lightning Saturday and taken to a hospital.

Sanibel police said the couple were on the sand at the Sanibel Beach Club shortly before 5 p.m. when they struck by lightning.

Bystanders performed CPR on the husband as police arrived, a city notice said. The wife was nearby and was conscious and breathing, police said.

Sanibel police began CPR and used an automated external defibrillator until Sanibel Fire and EMS arrived.


Comment: Two days later (July 26) in the same state a lightning bolt struck multiple people on a beach in Naples.


Boat

69 dead, 5 still missing in floods in Henan, China - 12.9 million people affected - 972,000 hectares of farmland damaged

The death toll from torrential rains in central China's Henan Province has risen to 69 as of Monday noon, with five people missing, local authorities said.

The death toll from torrential rains in central China's Henan Province has risen to 69 as of Monday noon, with five people missing, local authorities said.
The Henan Provincial Government in China recently provided an update on the flooding that has affected the province since 20 July 2021.

As of 26 July, heavy rain and floods had affected 12.9 million people in 150 counties (cities, districts) and 1,558 towns across Henan. The hardest hit areas include Zhengzhou, Xinyang, Xinxiang, Zhumadian, Zhoukou, Anyang, Shangqiu, Kaifeng, Puyang and Hebi.

As many as 24,474 houses have been severely damaged or destroyed. Damage was also caused to 972,000 hectares of farmland. Over 1.31 million people have evacuated to safer areas. A total of 69 people have lost their lives and 5 are still missing.

Flood water is slowly receding in some areas but the situation remains severe. Forecasters said more heavy rain is expected.


Boat

Massive rescue efforts underway after floods in Mumbai and Maharashtra, India - Just over a meter (42 inches) of rain in 48 hours - At least 192 dead (UPDATES)

Flood rescue Ratnagiri Maharashtra, July 2021.
© NDRF
Flood rescue Ratnagiri Maharashtra, July 2021.
Massive rescue efforts are underway after heavy monsoon rainfall continues to wreak havoc in Mumbai and surrounding areas of the state of Maharashtra in India. Some areas in Maharashtra recorded more than 1,000 mm of rain in 48 hours.

In Mumbai, heavy rain caused a building to collapse in the Govandi area early on 23 July 2021. Rescue operations are ongoing but media reports suggest 7 people have died and 3 injured. Just last week at least 20 people died in similar circumstances after several homes were destroyed in the Mumbai suburbs of Chembur and Vikhroli as a result of the heavy rain and landslides on 18 July.

Wider areas of Maharashtra state have been severely affected, resulting in massive rescue operations across several districts. Hundreds of people have been rescued so far, with many more still in need of help.

India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed teams to the districts of Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, Raigad, Nizamabad, Satara, Sangli, Thane and Palghar. Units of the Coast Guard, Indian Navy and the Indian Army have joined the rescue and relief efforts in several areas, notably in Ratnagiri and Raigad districts.

The Indian Air Force has also undertaken rescue efforts using helicopters in Chiplun in Ratnagiri, where flood waters are so high residents have taken refuge on the roofs of houses.


Comment: Update: CNN reports on July 24:
At least 136 people have died in the west Indian state of Maharashtra, authorities said Saturday, after torrential monsoon rains caused landslides and flooded low-lying areas, cutting off hundreds of villages.

At least 38 people were killed in Taliye, 180 kilometers (110 miles) southeast of the financial capital Mumbai, when a landslide flattened most of the small village, state government officials said. The death toll also includes 27 reported deaths from Satara district in the last 48 hours, a representative from the state's Disaster Management, Relief & Rehabilitation department told CNN.

More than 10 people are feared trapped after a landslide occurred in Ratnagiri district on Friday, he said.

As of Saturday morning, over 90,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas to safety as heavy showers continued to wreak havoc, he said.

National Disaster Response Force personnel rescue people stranded in floodwaters in Kolhapur, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, on Friday.

National Disaster Response Force personnel rescue people stranded in floodwaters in Kolhapur, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, on Friday.
The National Disaster Response Force, the Indian Army, Coast Guards, Navy, Air Force and state authorities have all been deployed as part of the rescue effort. The representative added that major damages have been reported in all three coastal districts of Raigad, Satara, and Ratnagiri.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday issued a red alert for six districts of Maharashtra, forecasting "extremely heavy" rainfall and recommending preventive actions. The official said that districts Kolhapur and Sangli are still on alert, Reuters reported.

Parts of India's west coast received up to 594 millimeters (23 inches) of rainfall over 24 hours, forcing authorities to evacuate people from vulnerable areas as they released water from dams that were threatening to overflow.

"Unexpected very heavy rainfall triggered landslides in many places and flooded rivers," Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who heads Maharashtra's state government, told journalists.

"Dams and rivers are overflowing. We are forced to release water from dams, and, accordingly, we are moving people residing near the river banks to safer places," he said.

In nine other landslides in other parts of Maharashtra, 59 people died and another 15 were killed in accidents linked to the heavy rainfall, state government officials said.

Thousands of trucks were stuck on a national highway linking Mumbai with the southern technology hub of Bengaluru, with the road submerged in some places, another Maharashtra government official said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of villages and towns were without electricity and drinking water, he said.

Rivers were also overflowing in the neighboring southern states of Karnataka and Telangana where authorities were monitoring the situation, government officials there said.

Seasonal monsoon rains from June to September cause deaths and mass displacement across South Asia every year, but they also deliver more than 70% of India's rainfall and are crucial for farmers.
Update2: Floodlist reports on July 27:
Disaster authorities in India report that 192 people have now died in floods and landslides in the western state of Maharashtra since record heavy rainfall from 22 July 2021.

The heavy rain brought floods and landslides affected 1028 villages across the districts of Ratnagiri, Raigad, Kolhapur, Thane, Sangli, Satara, Sindhudurg, Pune, Wardha and suburban areas of Mumbai. Over 40 roads were submerged and a bridge on the Vashishti river at Chiplun was severely damaged.

At one point at total of 375,178 people were displaced from their homes, most recently in low-lying areas of Kolhapur District along the Panchganga River which overflowed after heavy rain and releases from the Koyna dam.

India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)and military have carried out massive search and rescue (SAR) efforts over the past week. NDRF teams alone rescued 3,804 people from flood waters.

The biggest SAR operations were at landslide sites in Raigad District, where 30 houses were buried and 95 people bodies were recovered, and in Ratnagiri District where 21 bodies have been recovered. Fatalities were also reported in Satara and Kolhapur Districts. Authorities say at least 25 people are still missing. However, almost a week after disaster struck, search and rescue operations have been called off in many areas.