Page 26 - Floods

Heavy rains cause floods in southwest Japan, at least 6 people missing

Torrential rain has been pounding southwestern Japan, triggering floods and mudslides and leaving at least six people missing Monday. Rains falling on the regions of Kyushu and Chugoku since the weekend caused flooding along a number of rivers as well as mudslides, closing roads, disrupting trains and cutting the water supply in some areas. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued an emergency heavy rain warning for Fukuoka and Oita prefectures on the southern main island of Kyushu, urging residents in riverside and hillside areas to take maximum caution. More than 1.7 million residents in vulnerable areas were urged to take shelter. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said at least six people were missing. In the town of Soeda in Fukuoka prefecture, two people were buried underneath a mudslide. One was rescued alive, but the other was found without vital signs, the agency said. Further information on their condition wasn't immediately available. In the city of Karatsu in Saga .

Over 100 stranded after Dhauli river washes away trolley in Uttarakhand

More than 100 people living in Chal village in Darma Valley of this Uttarakhand district were stranded and cut off from nearby areas after a trolley was washed away in the swollen Dhauli river due to heavy rains. Pithoragarh District Magistrate Reena Joshi said the trolley connecting the village to the outside world was washed away in the heavy rain late on Thursday evening. "The connection to the village has been cut off due to the trolley being washed away in the spate of the Dhauli river. But there has been no loss of life or property," he said. A trolley was established on the Dhauli river for commuting to Chal village located at the other end of the Darma valley. Dinesh Chalal, a resident of Chal village, said earlier there was an iron bridge for traffic here, which was washed away in the 2013 natural disaster, adding that the administration had installed a trolley to cross the river after that. According to villagers, more than 25 people of the village are about to return af

15 killed by floods in China as seasonal torrents hit mountain areas

At least 15 people have been killed by floods in southwestern China as seasonal torrents hit mountain areas, authorities said on Wednesday. Another four people were reported missing by mid-morning in Chongqing, a vast mountainous region of 31 million, almost all of which has now been designated as having flood risk, according to the local government website. The Chongqing floods appear to be China's deadliest amid deluges in other parts of the country. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated. In just one southwestern province, Sichuan, more than 85,000 people have been evacuated due to flooding, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Chongqing's flood warning has been upgraded from level four to level three, reflecting the growing seriousness of the crisis. Rescue teams in inflatable boats were ferrying villagers to safety and workers were clearing roads blocked by landslides, according to photos posted on the government website. Seasonal flooding hits large parts of C

Flooding displaces 10,000 in China as Beijing amid major heatvave

Heavy flooding has displaced thousands of people around China as the capital had a brief respite from sweltering heat. Beijing reported 9.8 straight days when the temperature exceeded 35 C (95 F), the National Climate Center said Monday. Such a streak was last recorded in 1961 decades before most Beijing residents had air conditioning or even fans. A lack of rainfall may be contributing to the heat, with the notoriously dry capital receiving even less than usual this year. While temperatures have since moderated Monday's temperature at midday was 33 C (91 F) they are expected to rise again this week to as high as 39.6 Celsius (103 Fahrenheit) in Beijing and other parts of the country, authorities said. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 people were urgently moved to safety due to flooding in the central province of Hunan, the Xiang'xi Emergency Management Bureau on Sunday. Around 70 houses collapsed, 2,283 were damaged and farm fields were flooded. Losses so far have been estimated at

Heavy rains cause flood-like situation in many areas across Gujarat

Heavy rains in several parts of Gujarat created a flood-like situation and led to many villages getting cut off, officials said on Sunday. Some parts of Valsad and Navsari districts received extremely heavy rainfall in a 24-hour period till Sunday morning, data from the State Emergency Operation Centre revealed. Several villages were cut off as roads were flooded or had been washed away, with the National and State Disaster Response Forces (NDRF and SDRF) engaged in operations to rescue stranded people, officials said. Jamnagar is one of the worst-affect districts with police saying 11 people have died in rain-related incidents since Friday. A three-year-old girl died after falling into a well while scooping water out of her flooded house there on Friday, while bodies of two men who had gone missing after heavy rainfall were found on Saturday by a rescue team, police added. Villages in Limbdi taluka of Surendranagar district were cut off due to the flooding of approach roads, with

Assam flood situation improves; number of affected dips to under 20,000

The flood situation in Assam improved with the number of affected dipping further to less than 20,000, an official bulletin said on Friday. The number of affected was around 38,000 on Thursday and 83,000 on Wednesday. The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), in a bulletin on Friday, said 19,656 people were still affected by the deluge. Parts of Barpeta, Goalpara, Golaghat, Jorhat, Kamrup and Lakhimpur districts, and Bajali sub-division (independent) were inundated. The death toll in the floods this year remained at seven as no fresh fatality was reported. Altogether 25 embankments have been damaged in Nalbari, Barpeta, Dhubri, Karimganj and Sonitpur districts in the last 24 hours. Bridges, roads, culverts and irrigation canals were also damaged in several districts including Nalbari, Chirang, Sonitpur, Dhubri and Goalpara. Erosion has been reported from Chirang, Jorhat and Sonitpur, the ASDMA report added.

Flood control

Coherent policy needed to address recurring floods

20 dead as heavy rains & lightning hit Pakistan's Punjab province

At least 20 people, including women and children, were killed and over 50 injured in lightning and rain-related incidents in the Punjab province of Pakistan on Monday, officials said. Heavy pre-monsoon rain spells battered most parts of Punjab on Sunday and Monday and are expected to continue till June 30. "Lightning killed eight people while 12 others were either buried alive or electrocuted in related incidents in different parts of Punjab province," Rescue 1122 spokesperson Farooq Ahmad told PTI on Monday. He said lightning struck Narowal, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib cities, killing eight people, including children, while 10 suffered injuries and are being treated at local hospitals. Ahmad said that five people of a family were buried alive when the roof of their house caved in due to heavy rain in Narowal. A policeman was among eight people electrocuted in Lahore, Shiekhupura, Pasrur, Sialkot and Kamoke in rain-related incidents, he added. Heavy rains and hail storms also c

Several commuters stranded as floods block highway in Himachal Pradesh

Hundreds of commuters were stranded in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district as the Chandigarh-Manali national highway was blocked following flash floods and landslides, officials said on Monday. The 70-km Mandi-Pandoh-Kullu stretch has been badly affected, they said. A total of 301 roads are closed in the state following heavy rains, while 140 power transformers are disrupted. Flash floods were witnessed in Khotinallah near Aut, about 40 km from Mandi town, on the Pandoh-Kullu stretch due to a heavy downpour and the commuters have been stranded since Sunday evening. The alternative Mandi-Kullu route via Katola, blocked due to landslide, has been opened after almost 20 hours and small vehicles are now being diverted through this stretch, said the officials of the Mandi administration. The Mandi-Pandoh stretch was blocked near 6 Miles after a landslide. The officials said restoration work is underway and explosives are being used to blast heavy boulders blocking roads on this stretch.

India's vulnerability to flash floods and how to prepare for them

As unpredictable weather patterns continue, the Indian Meteorological Department has been issuing weather warnings, including flash floods in the northern regions of the country

At least two killed, 26 missing in eastern Nepal floods, landslides

At least two people were killed and 26 others went missing as floods and landslides triggered by monsoon rains wreaked havoc in eastern Nepal, officials said on Sunday. A man was found dead and 21 others working at the under-construction Super Hewa Hydropower Project in Chainpur Municipality-4 have gone missing, the Kathmandu Post newspaper quoted police officials as saying. Deputy Superintendent of Police Birendra Godar said it is yet to be ascertained whether the workers moved to a safer location following the flood or were swept away by Hewa River, the report said. In the neighbouring Panchthar district, a 9-year-old girl died after her house was swept away in a landslide. Five villagers of Chainpur have also gone missing after flooding in the area, police said. Preliminary investigation suggests the flood occurred after landslides at Chainpur Municipality-4 and Panchkhapan Municipality-9 blocked the river, the report added. Weather forecasters have warned heavy rains would ..

16 dead, 31 missing in flooding from Nova Kakhovka dam collapse in Ukraine

At least 16 people are dead and 31 are missing in flooding from the Nova Kakhovka dam collapse, Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Saturday, CNN reported

1 dead, 25 missing as floods, landslides wreak havoc in Eastern Nepal

At least 25 people have been unaccounted for while one has been confirmed dead in flooding and landslide incidents in Eastern Nepal as the monsoon sets off in Nepal

3,000 tourists stuck as flash floods hit Sikkim's Pegong, NH10 blocked

The flash flood has caused severe damage to infrastructure along the highway, making it unsafe for any kind of vehicular movement, officials said

Ukraine dam collapse is both quick disaster and lax ecological catastrophe

The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam was a fast-moving disaster that is swiftly evolving into a long-term environmental catastrophe affecting drinking water, food supplies and ecosystems reaching into the Black Sea. The short-term dangers can be seen from outer space tens of thousands of parcels of land flooded, and more to come. Experts say the long-term consequences will be generational. For every flooded home and farm, there are fields upon fields of newly planted grains, fruits and vegetables whose irrigation canals are drying up. Thousands of fish were left gasping on mud flats. Fledgling water birds lost their nests and their food sources. Countless trees and plants were drowned. If water is life, then the draining of the Kakhovka reservoir creates an uncertain future for the region of southern Ukraine that was an arid plain until the damming of the Dnieper River 70 years ago. The Kakhovka Dam was the last in a system of six Soviet-era dams on the river, which flows from Belar

$30 billion loss to Pakistan due to floods, rains: PM Shehbaz Sharif

Sharif reiterated that the ninth review with the IMF will be completed during the current month of July as he held an hour-long telephonic conversation with the fund's chief

Tropical storm intensifies rains in Japan, threatens floods in some regions

Heavy rains intensified by Tropical Storm Mawar fell on Japan's main archipelago on Friday, halting trains and transit and threatening floods and mudslides in central and western regions, while residents were urged to use caution. Warnings were issued in parts of western and central Japan, with up to 25 centimeters (10 inches) of rain forecast through Saturday evening. Residents in vulnerable areas, including those in Mie, Wakayama, Aichi and Shizuoka prefectures in central Japan, were warned of the potential for flooding and mudslides and advised to go to evacuation centers if possible. Television footage showed swollen rivers in residential areas in Wakayama city, including one where brown water rose as high as the bottom of a bridge over it. In Tokyo, the few pedestrians on the rainy streets clutched umbrellas as winds blew tree branches around. Afternoon classes were also cancelled at some schools. Ferry operations in the Tokyo Bay were cancelled for the rest of Friday. Heavy

Bengaluru may need Rs 2,800 cr to fix drainage, avoid flooding: Report

The report projected a jump in population to 18 million by 2031 from an estimated 12.3 mln in 2022. The area within city limits more than tripled in 2011 to 741 square kilometres from 1995 levels

Italy's deadly floods example of climate change's all-or-nothing extremes

The floods that sent rivers of mud tearing through towns in Italy's northeast are another drenching dose of climate change's all-or-nothing weather extremes, something that has been happening around the globe, scientists say. The coastal region of Emilia-Romagna was struck twice, first by heavy rain two weeks ago on drought-parched ground that could not absorb it, causing rivers to overflow overnight, followed by this week's deluge that killed 14 and caused damages estimated in the billions of euros. In a changing climate, more rain is coming, but it's falling on fewer days in less useful and more dangerous downpours. The hard-hit Emilia-Romagna region was particularly vulnerable. Its location between the Apennine mountains and the Adriatic Sea trapped the weather system this week that dumped half the average annual amount of rain in 36 hours. "These are events that developed with persistence and are classified as rare,' Fabrizio Curcio, the head of Italy's Civil Protection Agency,

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