Category Archives: Natural disasters and extreme weather

Hurricane Barry: storm strengthens as officials warn of heavy rain to come

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  • New Orleans residents told to seek shelter as 50,000 lose power
  • NHC director details ‘amazing amount of moisture’

Tropical Storm Barry strengthened into a category one hurricane on Saturday as it neared the Louisiana coast, threatening millions with heavy rains and storm surge. The storm was expected to weaken after it moved inland but forecasters encouraged residents in New Orleans to be patient and stay vigilant.

More than 12 hours after city officials anticipating crippling and potentially historic flooding told residents to “shelter in place”, a few rays of sun peeked through the clouds on Saturday morning, adding a glint to the mostly dry city streets.

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New Orleans: evacuations ordered as city braces for possible hurricane

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Forecasters say the biggest danger is not destructive winds but heavy rain as it was upgraded to tropical storm Barry on Thursday

Mandatory evacuations were ordered south-east of New Orleans, Louisiana, on Thursday as the city and a surrounding stretch of the Gulf coast braced for a possible hurricane over the weekend that could unload heavy rain and send water spilling over levees, in the first big test for flood defenses since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The strength and speed of the wind increased on Thursday and by mid-morning was upgraded to become tropical storm Barry.

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UK’s preparation for climate crisis ‘like Dad’s Army’

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Government’s official climate advisers say the lack of proper plans to cope with heatwaves and flash floods is ‘shocking’

The government’s own advisers have declared themselves shocked that the UK has no proper plans for protecting people from heatwaves, flash flooding and other impacts of the climate crisis.

The Committee on Climate Change said the UK’s climate crisis preparations were being run like Dad’s Army and left the population at real risk, adding that funding for programmes to tackle problems resulting from global heating had been cut.

The CCC’s annual progress reports, published on Wednesday, also found that just one of the 25 emissions-cutting policies it said were vital in 2018 had been delivered in full. Lord Deben, who chairs the committee, said ministers could be sued in court if the failure to act continued.

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California governor: Trump committed to helping earthquake recovery

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  • Gavin Newsom says damage from 7.1 quake is ‘deceiving’
  • Fires and cracked buildings but no fatalities or major injuries

Officials in southern California expressed relief on Saturday that damage and injuries were not worse after the largest earthquake the region has seen in nearly 20 years, but voiced concerns about the possibility of major aftershocks in the days and months to come.

Related: ‘We should expect more quakes’: a top seismologist on California’s tremor

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California governor declares state of emergency after second earthquake

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  • Gavin Newsom warns residents to be wary of new tremors
  • Damage from 7.1 quake could be worse, agency chief says

Crews in California continued to assess damage to cracked and burned buildings, broken roads, leaking water and gas lines and other infrastructure on Saturday after the largest earthquake the region has seen in nearly 20 years was felt from Sacramento to Mexico.

The governor, Gavin Newsom, declared a state of emergency and warned residents to be wary of new tremors, after the southern part of the state was hit by a second significant earthquake in as many days.

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7.1 magnitude earthquake in California rocks buildings – video

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A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck southern California on Friday, resulting in fires, damaged buildings and roads, and swaying rollercoasters. The latest tremor, which followed a 6.4 magnitude quake on 4 July, was the most powerful in the region for 20 years. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries

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California earthquake: five things to know about the tremor near Los Angeles

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With more than 500 active faults in California, the state is sure to see many more quakes in the future

On Thursday morning, southern California experienced its largest earthquake in two decades. The 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck the remote city of Ridgecrest, near Death Valley national park and about 100 miles (160km) from Los Angeles.

Here’s what you should know about the impact of the quake, and whether more seismic activity will strike anytime soon:

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Volcano erupts on Italian island of Stromboli – video

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Parts of the Italian island of Stromboli have been evacuated after a volcano erupted, throwing a plume of ash and rock up to 2km the sky. “It was like being in hell because of the rain of fire coming from the sky,” Italian news agencies quoted a local priest, Giovanni Longo, as saying

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Hiker killed after volcano erupts on Italian island

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Residents evacuated as fire crews tackle blaze on west coast of Stromboli

A volcano on the Italian island of Stromboli has erupted, killing a hiker, throwing ash high into the sky and enveloping the popular tourist destination in smoke.

Rescue services said Wednesday’s eruption on Mount Stromboli had started fires on the western side of the small Mediterranean island north of Sicily. Fire crews were being called in from nearby locations and a Canadair firefighting plane was already in action.

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Firefighters battle forest blaze in central Spain

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With 38C forecast, emergency services work to contain fire in Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid region

Firefighters in central Spain are battling strong winds and high temperatures as they struggle to control a fire that has already destroyed over 5,000 acres in the provinces of Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid.

The fire broke out in Almorox near Toledo on Friday just as the one in Tarragona province in north-east Spain was brought under control, having reduced some 15,000 acres of woodland to ashes.

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Montpellier melts under a 45C high as Europe hit by record heatwave

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The south of France is like August in Death Valley, officials say, but lessons have been learnt from the deadly summer of 2003

“Where shall we put it?” asked Luc Gomel, the director of Montpellier zoo. “Right on the front gate, to make sure the joggers see it,” came the reply from the reception desk. “They always complain if bits of the park are shut.”

Gomel, sweat patches already blotting his armpits in the early morning heat, pinned the red notice to the gatepost. It warned that, because Montpellier was both on red alert for a heatwave and rated as a “severe” wildfire risk, special measures had been put in place at the zoo.

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Aerial footage shows aftermath of wildfires in Spain – video

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Firefighters in Catalonia battled one of the biggest wildfires in 20 years on Friday as temperatures in parts of Spain were expected to hit a new June record of 43C. With Europe in the grip of an extreme heatwave, the fires burned across 6,500 hectares of land. Footage from a helicopter shows the extent of the damage caused


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Spain fights huge forest fire as European heatwave intensifies

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Blaze fanned by strong winds and high temperatures could burn through 20,000 hectares

More than 500 firefighters and soldiers are working to bring a huge forest fire under control in north-eastern Spain as the early summer heatwave intensifies across Europe.

The fire, in the Catalan province of Tarragona, has been fanned by strong winds and high temperatures and has so far burned across 5,000 hectares (12,355 acres) of land.

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India heatwave: rain brings respite for some but death toll rises

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Soaring temperatures hit most of country with mercury topping 50C in some parts

Weekend showers provided a much-needed but partial respite to parts of India sweltering in a brutal heatwave.

In Bihar, however, one of the poorest areas of the country, 49 people died on Saturday in just 24 hours.

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France to declare natural disaster after storms rip through crops

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‘Orchard of France’ is badly hit by extreme weather that has killed two people

France will declare a state of natural disaster after rain and hail storms lashed a swathe of the south-east on Saturday, devastating crops.

The flash storms, which brought hailstones as big as pingpong balls to some areas, killed two people in France and Switzerland, and injured at least 10 others.

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Lincolnshire flooding: hundreds of homes evacuated

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Military helicopters are drafted in to repair broken bank of River Steeping in Wainfleet

Hundreds of homes have been evacuated in a Lincolnshire town following severe flooding as the local MP warned that residents are “by no means out of the woods yet”.

Residents in at least 590 homes in Wainfleet and Thorpe Culvert were told to leave as waters continued to surge on Saturday.

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Global heating to inflict more droughts on Africa as well as floods

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New UK research predicts extremes of weather will hit food production

Global heating could bring many more bouts of severe drought as well as increased flooding to Africa than previously forecast, scientists have warned.

New research says the continent will experience many extreme outbreaks of intense rainfall over the next 80 years. These could trigger devastating floods, storms and disruption of farming. In addition, these events are likely to be interspersed with more crippling droughts during the growing season and these could also damage crop and food production.

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California’s wildfire season is starting and officials are bracing for the worst

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In anticipation, Cal Fire has identified 35 top-priority projects to thin vegetation in vulnerable communities

Last November, the deadliest wildfire in California history killed 85 and burned the town of Paradise to the ground. Now California’s fire season is starting to heat up again – and officials are bracing for the worst.

As California grappled with a record-breaking heatwave last week, the state saw 236 wildfires – one of which grew to more than 2,500 acres before it was largely contained. So far this year, California has faced 1,746 wildfires, burning through more than 15,500 acres of land.

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