Page 4 - Storm

5 dead and at least 35 hurt as tornadoes ripped through Iowa, say officials

Five people died and at least 35 were hurt as powerful tornadoes ripped through Iowa, with one carving a path of destruction through the small city of Greenfield, officials said Wednesday. The Iowa Department of Public Safety said Tuesday's tornadoes killed four people in the Greenfield area, and the Adams County Sheriff's Office said a fifth person a woman whose car was blown off the road was killed by a twister about 25 miles (40 kilometers) away. Monica Zamarron, 46, died in the crash Tuesday afternoon, officials said. Officials did not release the names of the Greenfield area victims because they were still notifying relatives. The Iowa Department of Public Safety said Wednesday it's believed that the number of people injured is likely higher. The Greenfield tornado left a wide swath of obliterated homes, splintered trees and crumpled cars in the town of 2,000 about 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) southwest of Des Moines. The twister also ripped apart and crumpled massive ...

Storm brewing, vital to have safe pair of hands to take India through: EAM

Against the backdrop of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict and other geopolitical tensions, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said a "storm" is brewing and it is going to get worse while asserting that it is absolutely vital to have a "safe pair of hands" to take India through this very difficult period. He was speaking during an interaction held at a Delhi Tamil Education Association-run school in the national capital, days ahead of the polling for the ongoing Lok Sabha election here. The audience included many first-time voters. Jaishankar urged them to exercise their franchise and underlined that it is important that "the world should be in your mind" while making choices. Responding to a query on a narrative being used by some politicians on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) during poll campaigning, the minister said, "I do not think people are saying PoK will be part of India, PoK was always part of India." "What has happened, PoK, for reasons we all know, is ...

Disasters caused over half million internal displacements in 2023: Report

India experienced over half a million internal displacements due to floods, storms, earthquakes, and other disasters in 2023, a significant dip from around 2.5 million displacements in 2022, according to a global report released on Tuesday. In Delhi, identified as a "flood displacement hotspot", the Yamuna River overflowed after heavy rains on July 9, 2023, prompting authorities to evacuate residents from their homes. The report by the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) said around 27,000 displacements in the national capital. On July 9, Delhi recorded 153 mm of rainfall in just 24 hours, the highest single-day rainfall since July 25, 1982. Overall, South Asia reported around 3.7 million internal displacements in 2023, with disasters causing 3.6 million, the lowest figure since 2018. Researchers attributed the decline in displacements due to disasters partly to the El Nino event, which brought below-average rainfall during the monsoon and a weaker cyclone

Windy surprise: Sudden, huge sandstorm hits Delhi; 'stay indoors,' says IMD

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that this might be followed by light rain, offering much-needed relief for the city

Storms bring tornadoes to Oklahoma, Kansas; forecasts warn more to come

Millions of people in the central United States must brace themselves for powerful storms that may include long-track tornadoes, hurricane-force winds and baseball-sized hail, forecasters said Monday, issuing a rare high risk warning for central Oklahoma and southern Kansas. Much of Oklahoma and parts of Kansas are at the greatest risk of bad weather including areas in Oklahoma, such as Sulphur and Holdenville, still recovering from a tornado that killed four and left thousands without power late last month. Both the Plains and Midwest have been hammered by tornadoes this spring. The National Weather Service said that more than 3.4 million people, 1,614 schools and 159 hospitals in Oklahoma, portions of southern Kansas and far north Texas, face the most severe threat for tornadoes. In all, nearly 10 million people live in areas that could be affected, the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center said. Schools and colleges across the state, including the University of ...

Parts of Central US hit by storms, tornadoes strike in Kansas, Iowa

Strong storms caused damage in parts of the middle U.S. Tuesday and spawned tornadoes in Kansas and Iowa, including one that left two people hurt. An EF-1 tornado touched down shortly after 6 a.m. near the northeastern Kansas town of Richland, the National Weather Service said. The twister reached speeds of up to 100 mph (161 kph) and was on the ground for about 20 minutes, the service said. Two people were injured when their RV flipped over during the tornado. Details about the injuries were not immediately available. Buildings and trees also were damaged in the neighbouring town of Overbrook. In central Iowa, a barn was demolished and other buildings were damaged after a tornado touched down in a rural area of Dallas County. The weather service also reported ping pong ball-sized hail in Bloomfield, just north of the Missouri line. There were no immediate reports of injuries. The weather service said the central U.S. was under threat of severe weather through Tuesday. Thunderstorm

Storm Isha's rain and wind are expected to batter parts of UK, Ireland

Britain and Ireland braced on Sunday for powerful wind and rain from Storm Isha that were expected to batter a wide swath of the island nations and disrupt travel. The Met Office issued an unusual blanket wind warning for all of the UK, saying gusts could reach 90 miles per hour (145 kilometers per hour) in places and threaten lives. There's the potential for danger-to-life and damaging winds potentially leading to some power cuts in places, some large waves around coastal regions could bring some debris onto roads and trees could come down, meteorologist Tom Morgan said. Parts of the UK have been hammered since fall by a series of gusty and wet storms that have toppled trees, knocked out power and led to flooding along river valleys. Isha is the ninth named storm since September. Some operators of rail lines, which previously were affected by flooding, trees fallen on tracks and landslides, planned to halt services or warned riders of delays and, in some instances, urged them to .

Deadly storm batters Northeastern US, knocking out power; grounds flights

A storm barrelled into the Northeastern US on Monday, flooding roads and downing trees, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, forcing flight cancellations and school closures, and killing at least two people. More than 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain fell in parts of New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania by mid-morning, and parts in several other states got more than 4 inches (10 centimeters), according to the National Weather Service. Wind gusts reached nearly 70 mph (113 kph) along the southern New England shoreline. Power was knocked out for more than 700,000 customers in an area stretching from Virginia north through New England, including over 278,000 in Massachusetts and 263,000 in Maine, according to poweroutage.us. An 89-year-old Hingham, Massachusetts, man was killed early Monday when high winds caused a tree to fall on a trailer, according to Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz. Robert Horky was pulled from the trailer with severe head trauma and

Cyclone Michaung: Lesser damage than previous time, says Tamil Nadu CM

Cyclone Michaung has caused a huge destruction in the southern part of India. So far, 9 people lost their lives due to cyclone Michaung. Here's the latest updates

Depression over Bay of Bengal to intensify into cyclonic storm by Dec 3

The depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 9 kmph and lay centered at around 11.30 pm on December 1, 2023

1 dead, 11 missing after Turkish ship sinks in Black Sea in severe storms

Severe storms have delayed a search-and-rescue operation for 12 crew members of a cargo ship that sank off Turkiye's Black Sea coast, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Monday. The Turkish-flagged Kafkametler sank on Sunday after hitting a breakwater outside the harbor off the town of Eregli, some 200 kilometers (124 miles) east of Istanbul, Yerlikaya told reporters. He said rescue crews were on standby waiting for the weather conditions to ease to begin a rescue mission. Unfortunately, we could not carry out search-and-rescue activities for the 12 Turkish crew members, Yerlikaya said. As soon as conditions improve the search-and-rescue operations will begin immediately. The severe storms that hit northwestern Turkiye caused widespread damage and disruption on Sunday, including the breakup of another cargo ship and the evacuation of a prison. The Cameroon-flagged Pallada broke into two due to heavy weather conditions after running aground amid 5-metre (16-foot) waves off Eregl

Storm floods New York City area, swamping streets in rush-hour mess

A potent rush-hour rainstorm swamped the New York metropolitan area on Friday, shutting down swaths of the city's subway system, flooding streets and highways, and cutting off access to at least one terminal at LaGuardia Airport. Up to 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain fell in some areas overnight, and as much as 7 inches (18 centimeters) more was expected throughout the day, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said. This is a dangerous, life-threatening storm," Hochul said in an interview with TV station NY1. "Count on this for the next 20 hours. Photos and video posted on social media showed water pouring into subway stations and basements, and reaching the top of cars' wheels in parts of Brooklyn and elsewhere. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs subway and commuter rail lines, urged residents of the nation's most populous city to stay home if they could. Virtually every subway line was at least partly suspended, rerouted or running with delays, and two of the Metro-No

Climate change made Libya's flooding even more devastating: Scientists

The devastating storm that dumped torrential rains along the Libyan coast this month was up to 50 times more likely to occur and 50% more intense because of human-caused climate change, according to an analysis released on Tuesday. Before crossing the Mediterranean, the storm raged for four days and caused extensive damage in central Greece and parts of Bulgaria and Turkey, a region where such extreme storms are up to 10 times more likely and up to 40% more intense because of climate change, scientists said. Heavy one-day rains from Mediterranean storm Daniel caused massive flooding across eastern Libya that overwhelmed two dams, sending a wall of water through the coastal city of Derna that destroyed entire neighborhoods and swept bridges, cars and people out to sea. The death toll has varied, with government officials and aid agencies giving tallies ranging from about 4,000 to 11,000 dead. The analysis was conducted by the World Weather Attribution group, which aims to quickly ...

Storm Lee delivers high winds, rain before forecasters call off warnings

Storm Lee made landfall late Saturday afternoon in Nova Scotia, Canada, at near-hurricane strength, but not before it brought high winds, rough surf and torrential rains to a large swath of New England and Maritime Canada, toppling trees, swamping coastlines, cutting power to tens of thousands and claiming one life. With sustained winds of 110 kph, the centre of the post-tropical cyclone came ashore about 215 kilometers west of Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia, according to the US National Hurricane Centre. That's about 80 kilometers southeast of Eastport, Maine, US weather officials said. The storm was expected to weaken as it moves into New Brunswick and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, forecasters said. In the United States, a tropical storm warning was in effect for a 370-kilometer stretch from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to the eastern end of Maine. That included Bar Harbor, the touristy gateway to Acadia National Park, where a whale watch vessel broke free of its mooring and crashe

Ganga's tropical storms to intensify by 20% by 2050, finds new research

Fewer yet more intense tropical storms are predicted for Asian rivers, including India's Ganga, according to a new modelling study. By the 2050s, tropical storms in the Ganga could intensify by nearly 20 per cent, the study led by the Newcastle University, UK, projected after performing storm modelling studies on high-resolution data under a high emissions scenario. The storms are, however, projected to become less frequent by over 50 per cent by the same time across both the low-lying delta river basins of Ganga and Mekong, the study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters said. The Mekong river runs from the Himalayan Plateau, its source, through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and southern Vietnam and falls into the South China Sea. Due to their limited adaptive capacity and preparedness, low-lying delta systems on the east coast of India and those in Bangladesh and Vietnam are vulnerable not only to the massive damage and losses to life and property caused by .

Storm Idalia takes aim at Gulf of Mexico on possible track toward US

Tropical Storm Idalia formed Sunday off the coast of Mexico on a potential track to come ashore as a hurricane in the southern US, the National Hurricane Centre said. At 5 pm Sunday, the storm was about 153 kilometers east-southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, moving northeast at 4.8 kph with highest sustained winds of 64 kph, forecasters said. Hurricanes have winds of 119 kph and above. Forecasters said they expected Idalia to become a hurricane on Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico and then curve northeast toward the west coast of Florida. Idalia could approach Florida on Wednesday with winds of up to 160 kph, according to the latest forecasts from the Hurricane Centre. That would make it a Category 2 hurricane. Along a vast stretch of Florida's west coast, up to 3.4 metres of ocean water could surge on shore, raising fears of destructive flooding. At a Sunday afternoon briefing, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis noted that much uncertainty remains in the forecast. "This thing hasn't even gotte

Powerful storm kills 2 people, leaves 1.1 mn without power in eastern US

At least two people died, thousands of U.S. flights were canceled or delayed, and more than 1.1 million homes and businesses lost power Monday as severe storms, including hail and lightning, moved through the eastern U.S. The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for the greater D.C. area, lasting until 9 p.m. A special Weather Service statement warned, There is a significant threat for damaging and locally destructive hurricane-force winds, along with the potential for large hail and tornadoes, even strong tornadoes. The storms' spread was massive, with tornado watches and warnings posted across 10 states from Tennessee to New York. The National Weather Service said more than 29.5 million people were under a tornado watch Monday afternoon. In Anderson, South Carolina, a 15-year-old boy who arrived at his grandparent's house during the storm was struck and killed when a tree fell on him as he got out of a car, according to the Anderson County Office of the Coroner. In ...

Solar storms will strike earth today, NASA warns. All you need to know

NASA warns the collision of two solar storms with earth could influence the planet's magnetic field today at around 5.30 pm. The incident could cause many life disruptions

Extreme weather events claim 233 lives, between January, April: CSE

Extreme weather events claimed 233 lives and damaged 0.95 million hectare of cropland in the first four months of this year, according to a report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Such events impacted 32 states and Union territories this time as against 27 last year. Rajasthan and Maharashtra reported the maximum number of extreme weather days (30 each), followed by Himachal Pradesh (28) and Bihar and Madhya Pradesh (27). Delhi reported extreme weather on 12 days as against 25 during the period last year. Between January and April 2022, extreme weather events claimed 86 lives and damaged 0.03 million hectare of cropland, according to the report. Lightning and storms occurred on 58 days this time as compared to 35 days during the corresponding period in 2022. Most of these events occurred in March and April. The country recorded just 15 heatwave days in the first four months of 2023 as compared to 40 days last year. Meteorologists attribute fewer heatwave days to

Cyclonic storm moves north in Arabian Sea, may pass near Mumbai: IMD

A cyclonic depression forming in the south-east Arabian Sea is now moving towards the far north and will intensify over the east-central part in the next 12 hours, the IMD said here on Tuesday