Ten people confirmed dead with three missing; Typhoon Nanmadol forces millions to flee homes in Japan
European countries around the Adriatic Sea were experiencing extreme flooding towards the end of last week.
The Italian region of Marche was particularly badly affected after a thunderstorm on Thursday afternoon strengthened into the night. Some areas faced more than 400mm of rain, with much of the deluge falling in a couple of hours.
Continue reading...More than 7 million people urged to take refuge as Typhoon Nanmadol hits south-west of country with 150mph winds
Typhoon Nanmadol made landfall in south-western Japan on Sunday night, with authorities urging millions of people to take shelter from the powerful storm’s high winds and torrential rain.
The storm officially made landfall at about 7pm local time (11am BST) as its eyewall – the region just outside the eye – arrived near Kagoshima, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.
Continue reading...Northern Beaches council considers plan to add 80 metres of controversial concrete wall as massive swells batter coastal properties in Sydney
What some consider the ugliest wall in Australia could soon be bigger, with residents pushing to extend the Collaroy seawall on Sydney’s northern beaches.
Northern Beaches council has received a new application by five local property owners to build two new sections of the wall in front of their properties to protect the homes from coastal erosion and massive swells.
Continue reading...Authorities urge evacuations in Kyushu before arrival of storm that could cause flooding, landslides and collapse of houses
Two million people in Japan have been told to seek shelter before the arrival of Typhoon Nanmadol, the national broadcaster, NHK, said, as the weather agency issued a rare “special warning” about the powerful storm.
NHK, which compiles alerts issued by local authorities, said level four evacuation instructions – the second highest – were in place for people in Kagoshima, Kumamoto and Miyazaki in the southern Kyushu region.
Continue reading...In what could be the worst storm in five decades, residents are warned to take action against rising waters that may not recede for hours
Alaska is bracing for what forecasters believe could be its worst storm in decades, as the remnants of a typhoon bring hurricane-force winds and towering waves crashing toward its shores.
The remnants of Typhoon Merbok, now swirling over the Bering Sea, are predicted to deliver devastating levels of flooding and damaging wind gusts beginning Friday night and lasting through the weekend..
Continue reading...Doris Jagiello went missing after thunderstorms triggered mudslides in the San Bernadino Mountains
A woman has been found dead under a pile of mud, rocks and other debris after flash floods unleashed mudslides that swept through her town in the southern California mountains.
Authorities had been searching for the missing woman for days after thunderstorms and heavy rain triggered mudslides that washed away cars, buried homes and affected 3,000 residents in two remote communities in the San Bernardino Mountains.
Continue reading...Study says climate crisis likely to have significantly increased rainfall and made future floods more likely
The intense rainfall that has caused devastating floods across Pakistan was made worse by global heating, which has also made future floods more likely, scientists have found.
Climate change could have increased the most intense rainfall over a short period in the worst affected areas by about 50%, according to a study by an international team of climate scientists.
Continue reading...Heavy rain compounds decades-long environmental catastrophe at country’s largest freshwater lake
Maula Bakhsh Mala’s village was submerged by Lake Manchar for the third time last week. “What bad luck we have,” said the 68-year-old fisher. “When there is no water in the lake, we are starving. When there is plenty of water, we are drowning.”
Late last month, after weeks of heavy rain and flooding, Pakistan declared a state of emergency. The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has described the rain as a “monsoon on steroids”. Earlier this month, satellite images showed one-third of the country has experienced severe flooding.
Continue reading...Army working to protect electricity station that serves millions of residents in Sindh province, with more rain forecast this week
Authorities in Pakistan are scrambling to protect a vital power station supplying electricity to millions of people against a growing threat of flooding, officials said.
Floods from record monsoon rains and glacial melt in the mountainous north have affected 33 million people and killed almost 1,400, washing away homes, roads, railways, livestock and crops, in damage estimated at $30bn.
Continue reading...António Guterres calls for ‘massive financial support’ in wake of disaster that has killed at least 1,391 people
The United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, has visited several areas of Pakistan ravaged by floods, as he rounded off a two-day trip aimed at raising awareness of the disaster.
Record monsoon rains and glacier melt in the country’s northern mountains have triggered floods that have killed at least 1,391 people, sweeping away houses, roads, railway tracks, bridges, livestock and crops.
Continue reading...Southern California prepares for arrival of tropical storm that could affect power grid, while crews work to subdue growing fires
Tropical Storm Kay surged toward California on Friday, whipping up strong gusty winds and threatening to fuel ferocious wildfires already burning across the state.
After days of record-breaking heat that tested California’s energy capacity, baked moisture out of the drought-stricken landscapes and spurred the spread of deadly fires , the arrival of Kay, which started as a hurricane but was downgraded to a tropical storm, brought risks of flash floods and threatened more trouble for the state’s electric grid.
Continue reading...Countries most responsible for climate crisis must ‘end war with nature’, says António Guterres
The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, has said the world owes impoverished Pakistan “massive” help in recovering from the summer’s devastating floods because the country bears less blame than many others for the climate crisis.
Months of heavy monsoon rains and flooding have killed 1,391 people and affected 33 million while half a million people have become homeless. Planeloads of aid from the United States, the United Arab Emirates and other countries have begun arriving, but Guterres said there is more to be done to help a country which contributes less than 1% of global emissions.
Continue reading...A record heatwave added stress to the electrical grid and made firefighting difficult. Now a hurricane could bring flash floods
A collision of extreme weather events is bearing down on California as wildfires threaten communities, a record-setting heatwave is adding stress to the electrical grid, and moisture from a hurricane is expected to bring thunderstorms and flash floods.
Hurricane Kay, swirling off the coast of Mexico, is on its way north, bringing with it the chance of strong winds, severe rainstorms, and possibly dry lightning that could increase risks for new fire starts. It also could bring some welcome relief to the week of brutally hot weather.
Continue reading...Records broken in Sacramento and Reno, while California close to ordering rolling blackouts to ease strain on power grid
A brutal heatwave enveloping the US west smashed records on Tuesday, as high temperatures and historic energy use strained California’s grid to the brink of its capacity and spurred fire behavior across the state.
Western states are struggling through one of the hottest and longest September heatwaves on record.
Continue reading...Scientists logged rises of up to 22% in racist and misogynist tweets when temperatures rose above 42C
Hateful tweets multiply dramatically as temperatures become more extreme, an analysis of 4bn geo-located tweets in the US has found.
Scientists logged rises of up to 22% in racist, misogynist and homophobic tweets when temperatures rose above 42C, and increases of up to 12% when the mercury fell below -3C, according to a study by The Lancet Planetary Health.
Continue reading...The fall season traditionally brings the highest fire risk to the west, but experts are bracing for even more explosive blazes
It was an explosive Labor Day across California, as an intense, days-long heatwave smashed temperature records, spurred the spread of deadly and destructive wildfires, and bathed cities in a stifling heat even long after the sun went down.
The events mark a grueling start of what traditionally make up the highest fire-risk months in the west, with experts bracing for a higher potential of a punishing autumn even after a milder-than-expected summer.
Continue reading...Western Georgia sees ‘one-in-1,000-year rainfall event’ as homes and businesses flood
More than 80 million people in the eastern US were under flash flood watches late on Monday, marking still more extreme weather in a country reeling from record heatwaves in some regions, as the US increasingly feels the effects of the climate crisis.
In Georgia, the threat of torrential downpours became a reality Sunday afternoon, spurring a flash flood emergency in western portions of the state, CNN reported.
Continue reading...Lake Manchar on verge of causing more flooding, says local official, as third of country already underwater
Pakistan’s biggest lake is on the verge of bursting its banks after attempts by authorities to drain it in a controlled way failed, a senior local official has warned.
In a last-ditch effort to avoid a catastrophe, officials breached Lake Manchar on Sunday, a move they acknowledged could displace up to 100,000 people from their homes but would also save densely populated areas from floods.
Continue reading...Temperatures nearing record of 52.2C set in Mecca, California, in 1950
Western areas of North America are continuing to suffer a significant heatwave that is threatening to break the highest global September temperature record. The global record in September is 52.2C (126F), in 1950 in Mecca, California. On 1 September this year, temperatures at Furnace Creek in Death Valley reached a scorching 51.3C (124.4F), less than a degree off the all-time record.
In the following days, several Canadian provinces’ September records were broken, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. On 2 September Lytton in British Columbia reached 39.6C (103F), only 0.4C off the September record for all of Canada. Records in many other cities also fell on 2 and 3 September. The remainder of this week will stay anomalously hot, about 10C above average, with a continued threat of records falling but the heat is expected to move away eastwards later this week.
Continue reading...Up to 100,000 people will be displaced from homes by Lake Manchar after waters reached dangerous levels
Authorities in flood-hit Pakistan have breached the country’s largest freshwater lake, displacing up to 100,000 people from their homes but saving more densely populated areas from gathering flood water, a minister said.
Record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in Pakistan’s northern mountains have brought floods that have affected 33 million people and killed at least 1,290, including 453 children. The inundation, blamed on climate breakdown, is still spreading.
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