Category Archives: Extreme weather

Russia and Kazakhstan evacuate tens of thousands amid worst floods in decades

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Kremlin official warns of more difficult days ahead after towns and cities overwhelmed by major rivers swollen by snowmelt

Russia and Kazakhstan have ordered more than 100,000 people to evacuate after swiftly melting snow swelled rivers beyond bursting point in the worst flooding in the area for at least 70 years.

The deluge of meltwater overwhelmed many settlements in the Ural mountains, Siberia and areas of Kazakhstan close to rivers such as the Ural and Tobol, which local officials said had risen by metres in a matter of hours to the highest levels ever recorded.

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Russia floods: waters rising in two cities and thousands evacuated after dam bursts

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Federal emergency declared in Orenburg region and at least 6,000 homes inundated after Ural River overflows

Flood waters were rising in two cities in Russia’s Ural mountains on Sunday after Europe’s third-longest river burst through a dam, flooding at least 6,000 homes and forcing thousands of people to flee.

The Ural River, which rises in the Ural Mountains and flows into the Caspian Sea, swelled several metres in just hours on Friday and burst through a dam embankment in Orsk – one of the hardest-hit cities – 1,800km (1,100 miles) east of Moscow.

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Five killed by falling trees as winds reach 96mph in southern Poland

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Deaths, including those of two children, occured in three separate incidents, two in Zakopane and one in Rabka-Zdrój

Five people have been killed by falling trees as strong winds battered southern Poland on Monday, reaching a speed of 96mph (155km/h) in the highest parts of the Tatra mountains.

In the town of Rabka-Zdrój, two women and a six-year-old died after a tree crushed them, firefighters said.

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Weather tracker: Flood fallout claims at least 20 lives in Brazil

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Heavy rainfall brings landslides to country’s south-east. Elsewhere, a wild temperature fluctuation in Iberia

Brazil was hit by devastating floods over the weekend that have so far claimed 20 lives in the resultant landslides and mudslides. There was heavy rainfall in parts of the south-east, including Rio de Janeiro, Petrópolis and the larger Espírito Santo region, with hourly rainfall totals of about 20mm recorded in places. Cumulative totals from Friday through Sunday were close to 250mm, particularly along the coast: this is far higher than the monthly average.

Landslides and mudslides occurred across the region, and a number of houses collapsed. Rescue operations are under way to look for people who may have been stranded by the floods. Although there may still be a few showers over the following days, the worst of the rain has now passed.

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Weather tracker: cyclone warning in Australia while Finland freezes in -16C lows

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Meanwhile, South Sudan has ordered schools to shut amid extreme heatwave

A cyclone warning has been issued in northern Australia for coastal communities from the island of Groote Eylandt to the Northern Territory/Queensland border. Tropical Cyclone Megan, which developed in the Gulf of Carpentaria on Saturday, has been declared a category 3 cyclone by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Megan is forecast to make landfall on Monday, but has already brought gale-force winds and heavy rainfall to some areas over the weekend. Groote Eylandt was cut off after more than 400mm of rain in just 24 hours on Sunday.

There is a chance that Megan could strengthen further into a category 4 storm before making landfall, with the potential for damaging wind gusts of up to 125km/h. Megan is the fifth named cyclone in Australian waters so far this season, which is below the average of about 10 by this stage of the year.

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South Sudan closes schools in preparation for 45C heatwave

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Authorities advise parents to keep children indoors during extreme heatwave, expected to last two weeks

South Sudan is closing all schools from Monday in preparation for an extreme heatwave expected to last two weeks.

The health and education ministries have advised parents to keep all children indoors as temperatures are expected to soar to 45C (113F).

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Tropical Cyclone Megan intensifies to a category-three storm as it bears down on Northern Territory and Queensland

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Wind gusts of up to 220km/h expected to bring heavy rain and flooding to coastal communities

Top End communities are bracing for the crossing of severe Tropical Cyclone Megan, with destructive wind gusts of up to 220km/h expected to bring widespread damage, heavy rainfall and potential flooding to coastal communities into next week.

The cyclone formed over the Gulf of Carpentaria, east of Groote Eylandt, on Saturday afternoon and was moving south towards the Northern Territory and Queensland border as a category-two system on Sunday morning.

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Weather tracker: Indonesia floods cause landslides and disruption to transport

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Heavy rainfall linked to low-pressure system hits south of Java with flood depths of up to 80cm in Semarang

Semarang, the provincial capital of Central Java in Indonesia, experienced severe flooding overnight on Wednesday. This rainfall was linked to a low-pressure system to the south of Java, which brought close to 200mm of rainfall to the area by Thursday daytime. Further rainfall is forecast over the coming week.

Flood depths of up to 80cm have been reported in the old town, with many roads and one railway station closed. There have been 10 reported landslides, and the authorities have advised people who live under clifftops and close to riverbanks to evacuate the area.

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WA floods: severe weather hampers search for seven people missing in remote Western Australia

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Road conditions are dangerous along the route the group is believed to have taken from Kalgoorlie to Tjuntjuntjara, police say

Severe weather is hampering search efforts for seven people who are missing amid ongoing flooding in remote Western Australia.

The group – which includes four children and two elderly drivers – left Kalgoorlie, about 600km east of Perth, on Sunday and were travelling in two vehicles north-east to the Tjuntjuntjara Aboriginal community.

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Olive oil becomes most wanted item for shoplifters in Spain

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Gangs steal ‘liquid gold’ amid shortages and surging prices after extreme weather damages harvests

Olive oil has become the most stolen product in supermarkets across Spain, with organised criminal gangs targeting the “liquid gold” to resell on the hidden market, according to new figures.

Olive oil is now the most shoplifted product in regions that account for 70% of the country’s population, the Financial Times reports.

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‘We knew this was coming’: western US hunkers down amid avalanche warnings and gale-force winds

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Residents in California urged to shelter in place as possible record 12ft of snow forecast to be dumped over weekend

A dangerous winter storm has arrived in California, battering the Sierra Nevada with snowfall, gale-force winds and blizzard conditions as authorities urge residents to shelter in place and prepare for power outages.

Perilous conditions in the mountain region are expected to get significantly worse on Friday evening and over the weekend, with a high risk of whiteout conditions, near-zero visibility and avalanches across the mountain range, making travel impossible, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The severe weather, which forecasters described as life-threatening, could break snowfall records.

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El Niño forecast to drive record heat from the Amazon to Alaska in 2024

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Coastal areas facing ‘enormous and urgent climate crisis’ as event supercharges human-caused global heating, scientists say

The current climate event known as El Niño is likely to supercharge global heating and deliver record-breaking temperatures from the Amazon to Alaska in 2024, analysis has found.

Coastal areas of India by the Bay of Bengal and by the South China Sea, as well as the Philippines and the Caribbean, are also likely to experience unprecedented heat in the period to June, the scientists said, after which El Niño may weaken.

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‘Grave concern’ over Wednesday heat spike in Victoria after six homes destroyed in bushfires

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Firefighters continue to battle blazes as they brace for temperatures to exceed 40C in western parts of the state this week

Six homes have been destroyed by bushfires in Victoria, as authorities issue a warning of “grave concern” for fire danger in the state on Wednesday.

On Sunday morning, Victoria’s emergency services minister, Jaclyn Symes, announced that after 228 impact assessments were carried out following fires in western Victoria, six residential homes were deemed to have been destroyed.

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Weather tracker: Contrasts in cold and heat break records in China

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Xinjiang in north-west recorded minus 52.3C, while Badu in south recorded 38C – the largest temperature contrast recorded in a single country

China’s Xinjiang region, in the far west of the country, experienced record-breaking low temperatures of -52.3C on 18 February, surpassing a 64-year-old record for the region. The figure was just shy of the lowest national temperature of -53C, which was recorded in the Heilongjiang region in January last year.

The extreme weather has caused big disruption after the lunar new year celebrations, with blizzards and ice leaving people stranded on roads and railways. On the same day, Badu in the south of China recorded a maximum temperature of 38C, meaning there was a staggering temperature difference of 90.3C across the country. This is the largest temperature contrast ever recorded for a single country, surpassing the US in January 1954 by a whole degree Celsius.

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Victorian minister criticises electricity supplier’s delay over power outage payments

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Lily D’Ambrosio says it’s ‘unacceptable’ that AusNet’s website cannot take applications from those still without power

Victorians cut off from the power grid for seven days after destructive storms are still waiting to apply for compensation, with the state government criticising one supplier for its delays.

The state government previously announced prolonged power outage payments of $1,920 a week for households, and $2,927 a week for businesses, after the storms on 13 February.

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Fears of more floods – and possibly tornadoes – as another storm hits California

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North sees strong winds while central coast at risk of ‘significant flooding’ as storm moves south toward Los Angeles

The latest in a series of wet winter storms gained strength in California early on Monday, with forecasters warning of possible flooding, hail, strong winds and even brief tornadoes as the system moves south over the next few days.

Gusts topped 30mph (48kph) in Oakland and San Jose as a mild cold front late on Saturday gave way to a more powerful storm on Sunday, according to the meteorologist Brayden Murdock with the National Weather Service office in San Francisco.

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Blizzards disrupt lunar new year travel for millions in China

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Flights and trains cancelled as heavy snow and freezing rain leave many stranded during busiest travel period

Millions of people in China have had their annual visit home for lunar new year disrupted by blizzards and freezing rain, with delayed or cancelled transport leaving travellers stranded.

Videos on social media showed people hacking away at thick layers of ice that have brought roads to a standstill as millions of people try to get home before spring festival, which starts on 10 February.

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Rain to worsen in LA as hundreds of thousands remain without power in California – live

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Up to 9in of rain had already fallen in the area and more is expected; 400,000 homes and businesses are without power around California

California is grappling with another round of strong storms this week and the dangerous potential for flash flooding, landslides, and furious winds expected to come with them.

Much like last year, when record rainfall lashed the state, the storms are attributed to atmospheric rivers (ARs), systems that have long played a role in California’s precipitation levels – both for good and for bad.

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‘Life-threatening’ storm system batters California, with flooding and high winds

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First-ever hurricane-force wind warning along coast, with millions of people under flood watches and power out for close to a million

An enormous atmospheric river-fueled storm unleashed rain and furious winds across California on Sunday, leaving destruction and hazards in its wake.

Howling winds tore down power lines and trees, and scattered debris in communities across the state, prompting officials to issue the first-ever hurricane-force wind warning along the coast. By late afternoon, streets in both northern and southern regions of California were left submerged, with far more rain on the way.

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DRC’s worst floods in decades leave tens of thousands in temporary shelter

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People in affected areas say they are still waiting for government help after more than 300 deaths and widespread devastation

Tens of thousands of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are living in temporary accommodation and waiting for government help after the country experienced its worst flooding in six decades.

More than 300 people have died and 280,000 households in more than half the country have been forced to leave their homes since heavy rains started at the end of November. More than 1,500 schools, 267 health centres, 211 markets and 146 roads have been damaged.

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