Category Archives: Extreme weather

Weather tracker: More rain forecast in Spain as storms push in

Posted on by

Heightened risk Cádiz river could overflow, with yellow and orange rainfall warnings for southern regions

The low-pressure system responsible for Spain’s most devastating floods in decades in Valencia also set new rainfall records across south-eastern Spain. In Jerez de la Frontera, 115mm of rain fell in 24 hours on Wednesday – the wettest day on record for the southern Spanish city. The deluge caused widespread flooding and road closures, and there is a heightened risk that the River Barbate in Cádiz could overflow as more rain is forecast through Friday and into the weekend.

While the rare red warning issued on Thursday for Valencia has expired, Spain’s national meteorological service, Aemet, has maintained yellow and orange rainfall warnings for southern and Mediterranean regions as storms continue to push in.

Continue reading...

Spain floods death toll passes 150 as country begins three days of mourning

Posted on by

People urged to stay at home as more bad weather forecast, with number of dead expected to rise further

The death toll from devastating floods in eastern Spain has risen to 158, regional authorities and emergency services have said, as the country began three days of mourning and the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, urged people to stay at home.

With forecasts of more bad weather prompting storm alerts farther north, Sánchez urged residents on Thursday to “please, follow the calls of the emergency services … Right now the most important thing is to save as many lives as possible.”

Continue reading...

Why were the floods in Spain so bad? A visual guide

Posted on by

Scores of people have died as country is hit by deadliest floods in decades

At least 150 people have died in Spain after torrential rains triggered the country’s deadliest floods in decades, unleashing a deluge of muddy water that turned village streets into rivers, destroyed homes and swept away bridges, railways tracks and cars.

An unknown number of people remain missing, while thousands of others are without electricity or phone service. The majority of those killed were in the coastal region of Valencia, where the state-run agency said that nearly a year’s worth of rain had fallen in just eight hours.

Continue reading...

Typhoon Kong-rey: biggest storm in decades wreaks destruction in Taiwan

Posted on by

People warned to stay inside because of high risk of storm surges, flooding and landslides as typhoon crosses island

The biggest typhoon to hit Taiwan in decades has crossed over the island, leaving behind a path of destruction but minimal reported deaths or injuries.

Typhoon Kong-rey was the largest in size to make landfall in Taiwan since 1996, and also struck later in the typhoon season, which typically stretches from May to October, than any other typhoon since record-keeping began in the 1950s.

Continue reading...

Spain flood death toll expected to rise amid anger over lack of preparedness

Posted on by

Victims say ‘water was already here’ by the time warning was issued, as military prepares to start searching worst-hit areas

Rescue workers in Spain are searching for more victims after deadly floods, as questions are raised about how one of the world’s most developed nations failed to respond adequately to such an extreme storm.

Torrential rains that began at the start of the week led to flooding that has left at least 95 people dead, the deadliest such disaster in the western European country since 1973.

Continue reading...

At least 95 people dead in Spain’s worst floods in three decades

Posted on by

Soldiers aid search for dozens still missing as prime minister warns extreme weather may not be over

At least 95 people have died in eastern, central and southern Spain after torrential rains triggered the country’s deadliest floods in three decades, unleashing torrents of muddy water that surged through cities, towns and villages, trapping people in their homes, bringing down trees, and cutting off roads and railway lines.

As the search for dozens of missing people continued, motorists were urged to stay off the roads and away from swollen rivers amid warnings that the severe weather was not over and that the number of deaths could still rise.

Continue reading...

Spain’s deadly floods and droughts are two faces of the climate crisis coin

Posted on by

Scientists say violent weather battering Mediterranean is a harbinger of what the rest of Europe can soon expect

Residents of Chiva, a small town on the outskirts of Valencia, can expect a grim future of worsening drought as the planet heats up and the country dries out. But on Tuesday, they also witnessed a year’s worth of rainfall in a matter of hours.

The torrential rains that flooded southern and eastern Spain on Tuesday night, ripping away bridges and tearing through towns, have killed scores of people. Fossil fuel pollution plays a role in warping both extremes of the water cycle: heat evaporates water, leaving people and plants parched, but hot air can hold more moisture, increasing the potential for catastrophic downpours.

Continue reading...

Dozens dead in floods and landslides after tropical storm Trami hits the Philippines

Posted on by

Rescue workers continue to search for missing after storm brings two months’ rainfall to some areas in 24 hours

The number of dead and missing after tropical storm Trami caused extensive flooding and landslides in the Philippines has exceeded 100, as the president said many areas remained isolated.

Trami blew away from the north-western Philippines on Friday, leaving at least 81 people dead and 34 others missing in one of the south-east Asian archipelago’s deadliest and most destructive storms so far this year, the government’s disaster response agency said. The death toll was expected to rise as reports come in from previously isolated areas.

Continue reading...

Hurricane Oscar dumps heavy rain across Cuba amid power outageT

Posted on by

Deluge causes landslides and tears house roofs as engineers try to get country’s electricity grid up and running again

Hurricane Oscar has dumped heavy rain across the eastern end of Cuba, adding to a list of woes already besetting the Caribbean’s biggest island, which was hit over the weekend by a huge power cut.

The deluge caused landslides, and winds of 75mph tore the roofs off houses, making work even more difficult for the engineers trying to get Cuba’s electricity grid up and running again, after a weekend when the entire country of about 10 million people was plunged into darkness.

Continue reading...

Weather tracker: Storm destruction and 5cm hailstones hit south-east Australia

Posted on by

Hail swath estimated at 120 miles damages crops in western Victoria as winds break windows and rip tiles from roofs

On Wednesday, the Australian state of Victoria was hit by thunderstorms. The town of Casterton was particularly badly affected, receiving 21mm of rain in just 30 minutes, followed by large hailstones.

Vehicles and properties were severely damaged, with reports of broken windows and tiles blown off roofs due to strong winds.

Continue reading...

Floridians returning home after Milton battle traffic jams and fuel shortages

Posted on by

More than 1.5 million people still without power as damaged communities confront lengthy rebuilding

Thousands of people who fled the onrushing Hurricane Milton are facing fuel shortages, debris and long traffic jams as they return to damaged Florida communities that are confronted with lengthy rebuilds.

Millions of people were urged to evacuate before Milton, which slammed into western Florida on Wednesday as a category 3 hurricane, causing more than a dozen deaths, ruined homes and flooding and triggering a rash of destructive tornadoes. More than 1.5 million people are still without power in the wake of the storm.

Continue reading...

Biden says Hurricane Milton caused staggering $50bn in estimated damage

Posted on by

Sixteen people killed by storm but state spared ‘worst-case scenario’ as accusations fly between political candidates

Joe Biden said on Friday that experts estimate that Hurricane Milton caused a staggering $50bn in damage. The US president is scheduled to travel to Florida on Sunday to visit areas where the huge storm roared across the state after making landfall late on Wednesday.

Authorities were urgently assessing the aftermath of the deadly storm, which spawned tornadoes before slamming into central Florida and then tearing about 175 miles (280km) across land, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, killing people, destroying homes and blocking streets with downed power lines, fallen trees and debris.

Continue reading...

‘A nightmare scenario’: man rescued 48km off Florida coast clinging to ice box after Hurricane Milton

Posted on by

A US Coast Guard helicopter rescued the man in the Gulf of Mexico, taking him to Tampa general hospital

A US Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued a man who was left clinging to an ice box in the Gulf of Mexico after his boat was stranded overnight in waters roiled by Hurricane Milton.

The man was aboard a fishing vessel that became disabled on Wednesday off Madeira Beach, Florida, hours before the hurricane made landfall, said coast guard press officer Nicole Groll. The man, who was not identified, was able to radio the coast guard station in nearby St Petersburg before contact was lost about 6.45pm.

But on Thursday searchers located the man about 30 miles (48km) off Longboat Key, Florida, clinging to an open cooler chest, a video clip provided by the coast guard shows. In the video, a coast guard diver was lowered from a helicopter and swam to the man to pick him up.

Continue reading...

Tornadoes, mass outages and deaths: what to know about Hurricane Milton’s impact

Posted on by

Storm brought up to 10ft of storm surge and left millions at risk from flooding after hitting Florida on Wednesday

Hurricane Milton has killed at least nine people and left extensive property damage across Florida, hitting some areas previously affected by Hurricane Helene last month.

Here are the key takeaways from what we know about its impact and what experts are saying about a hurricane that it had been feared could be one of the worst in the state’s history.

Continue reading...

Deaths expected to rise as Florida begins to assess Hurricane Milton destruction

Posted on by

State battered by category 3 storm overnight, leaving more than 3.4m homes and businesses without power

The death toll from Hurricane Milton rose to at least nine on Thursday as Florida began to assess the damage from the category 3 storm that caused extensive property damage across the state and left more than 3.4m homes and businesses without power.

Authorities said four fatalities were in a senior community in St Lucie county that was struck by a tornado formed in Milton’s outer bands. The tornado happened before the hurricane made landfall near Sarasota on Florida’s western coast on Wednesday evening.

Continue reading...

Hurricane Milton: Biden says ‘outright lies’ risk lives as Florida deals with aftermath of storm – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed. Find the full report on Hurricane Milton here

Footage coming in from the Tampa area as Hurricane Milton makes landfall shows the devastating consequences of what Joe Biden has called the “storm of the century”.

Reporters with NewsNation have captured video from Tampa Bay, where the storm sucked water back from the coast. At the mouth of Tampa Bay, a weather station has recorded a wind gust of 100mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Continue reading...

Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida as category 3 storm

Posted on by

Powerful cyclone slams into coast, bringing deadly storm surge to Sarasota, Tampa, St Petersburg and Fort Myers

A weakening but still tremendously powerful Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida’s west coast on Wednesday night as a category 3, pushing ahead of it a massive and potentially deadly wall of water from the Gulf of Mexico, as well as “catastrophic” winds likely to cause significant property damage.

The cyclone, described earlier in the day by Joe Biden as “the storm of the century”, made landfall near Sarasota, Florida, just after 8:30pm ET, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami said. The storm was bringing deadly storm surge to much of Florida’s Gulf coast, including densely populated areas such as Tampa, St Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers.

Continue reading...

Risk-to-life warnings remain in place as Hurricane Milton downgraded to category 3 – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is closing down – you can follow all the latest in our new blog here

Here is some footage from the town of Treasure Island in Florida, which shows already deserted streets as Hurricane Milton approaches.

Adria R Walker reports for the Guardian that when people don’t flee their homes due to weather crises despite warnings from government officials, there are typically two reasons why. That is according to Cara Cuite, an assistant professor in Rutgers University’s department of human ecology. She said they either don’t believe they’re at risk or that the risk is overblown, or there are situational or structural elements that prevent them from doing so.

Continue reading...

Seven tornadoes hit Florida in advance of arrival of Hurricane Milton

Posted on by

Tornado watch remains in place ahead of storm’s expected landfall late on Wednesday or early on Thursday

Seven tornadoes have hit Florida in advance of Hurricane Milton, the National Weather Service in Miami said on Wednesday.

Hurricanes and tropical storms have the ability to produce tornadoes.

Continue reading...

Hurricane Milton: tropical storm-force winds reach Florida before ‘storm of the century’

Posted on by

Storm weakens to category 3 ahead of expected landfall late on Wednesday or early on Thursday

Officials urged residents of Florida’s western coast to shelter in place if they had not already evacuated on Wednesday evening as Hurricane Milton prepared to make landfall in the next few hours.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) urged Floridians to prepare for a storm surge of over 10ft, flooding and devastating hurricane-force winds as the state prepares for what Joe Biden has called the “storm of the century”.

Continue reading...