What could prove to be the longest tornado in US history has left a trail of destruction from Arkansas to Kentucky, part of a vast storm front that is feared to have killed at least 100 people in southern and central states of the US.
A candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, and an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, were just two of the buildings destroyed in Friday night’s storm, which was all the more unusual because it came in December, when colder weather normally limits tornadoes
Dozens remain unaccounted for after tornado left a trail of destruction from Arkansas to Kentucky
Dozens remained unaccounted for on Sunday as rescuers worked overnight searching for survivors after what could be the longest tornado in US history left a trail of destruction from Arkansas to Kentucky, part of a vast storm front that it is feared may have killed at least 100 people.
Kentucky governor Andy Beshear said the path of devastation was about 227 miles (365km) long, which, if confirmed, would surpass the 218-mile Tri-State tornado in 1925, which killed at least 695 people and destroyed 15,000 homes across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
Continue reading...Tornadoes tore through central and southern US states on Friday, leaving at least 70 people feared dead in what President Biden called an ‘unimaginable tragedy’
Continue reading...Kentucky was hardest hit as four tornadoes, including a massive storm, devastated a town and collapsed a factory building
Seven central and southern US states were picking up the pieces Saturday after a series of powerful tornadoes intensified by severe storms ripped across the region, leaving an estimated 70 to 100 people dead.
Kentucky was hardest hit as four tornadoes, including a massive storm, devastated Mayfield, a small town 134 miles (215 km) north-west of Nashville, Tennessee. A candle factory partially collapsed when the tornado struck on Friday evening.
Continue reading...An Amazon warehouse near Edwardsville, Illinois, about 25 miles (40km) north-east of St Louis, was destroyed in extreme weather conditions on Friday night. It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were hurt by the roof collapse, but emergency services called it a 'mass casualty incident' on Facebook. One official told KTVI-TV that as many as 100 people may have been in the building, working the night shift, at the time of the collapse.
Up to 100 people are feared to have been killed after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes ripped through Kentucky and other US states on Friday night and early Saturday morning
Continue reading...Five seriously injured, says county judge in Arkansas, as rescue workers in Illinois attend site of roof collapse at Amazon warehouse
At least two people were killed when a tornado ripped through an Arkansas nursing home, while a roof collapsed at an Amazon warehouse in Illinois, reportedly causing many injuries.
Craighead county judge Marvin Day said the tornado struck the Monette Manor nursing home in north-east Arkansas at about 8.15pm, trapping 20 people inside as the building collapsed. About 90 minutes later the building had been cleared and everyone initially believed to have been inside had been accounted for, but Day said crews still must search the debris for possible additional victims.
Continue reading...As the sea claims more of the west African shoreline, those left homeless by floods are losing hope that the government will act
Waves have taken the landscape John Afedzie knew so well. “The waters came closer in the last few months, but now they have destroyed parts of schools and homes. The waves have taken the whole of the village. One needs to use a boat to commute now because of the rising sea levels,” he says.
Afedzie lives in Keta, one of Ghana’s coastal towns, where a month ago high tide brought seawater flooding into 1,027 houses, according to the government, leaving him among about 3,000 people made homeless overnight.
Continue reading...Met Office issues wind warnings in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and snow warnings in Scotland
The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for most of the UK ahead of the arrival of Storm Barra on Tuesday, as thousands of homes remain without power more than a week after Storm Arwen.
Yellow wind weather warnings are in place across England, Wales and Northern Ireland for Tuesday, with yellow snow warnings in place in southern and western Scotland.
Continue reading...Floods and landslides in British Columbia devastated livestock in ‘easily the costliest natural disaster in Canada’s history’
Floods and landslides that battered the Canadian province of British Columbia last month killed hundreds of thousands of farm animals and forced nearly 15,000 people from their homes, new figures revealed, as officials described the scope of the devastation – and the challenges of recovery.
As many as 628,000 chickens, 420 dairy cattle and 12,000 pigs were killed by the floods. An estimated 3 million bees in 110 hives were also submerged.
Continue reading...Dozens of people were trapped in an Ikea showroom when a storm dumped 30cm of snow in northern Denmark.
After the Aalborg showroom closed, it turned into a vast bedroom after six customers and about two dozen employees who had been left stranded by the snowstorm were forced to spend the night in the store
Continue reading...Families facing severe hunger are wading through crocodile-infested waters in search of water lilies to eat. Susan Martinez and photographer Peter Caton return with Action Against Hunger to find that the dire situation they reported on in March has only worsened
Desperate families in flood-ravaged villages in South Sudan are spending hours searching for water lilies to eat after another summer of intense rainfall worsened an already dire situation.
People have no food and no land to cultivate after three years of floods. Fields are submerged in last year’s flood water and higher ground is overcrowded with hungry people, in what is quickly becoming a humanitarian crisis.
Nyanyang Tong, 39, on her way to the Action Against Hunger centre with her one-year-old son, Mamuch Gatkuoth, in Paguir
Continue reading...Four people, including a foreign national, were killed and at least 19 were injured in Istanbul on Monday as extreme winds battered Turkey's biggest city and its surrounding regions, the governor's office said. The wild weather caused at least two lorries to overturn, blocking traffic on a busy highway in Istanbul. The winds have knocked down buildings and lifted concrete slabs off roofs and walls
Continue reading...The farmers, mostly women, once grew enough but must now buy imported rice as the climate crisis edges them into poverty
In the sweltering heat of the late-morning west African sun, Aminata Jamba slashes at golden rice stalks with a sickle. “The rice is lovely,” she says, music playing in the background as her son, Sampa, silently harvests the grain. But even if the quality is high, the quantity is not.
While once Jamba could have expected to harvest enough rice to last the whole year, this year she reckons it will last three to four months. After that, she will have to look elsewhere for a way to feed her family and make enough money to live.
Continue reading...A storm took the roof off Binta Bah’s house before torrential rain destroyed her family’s belongings, as poverty combines with the climate crisis to wreak havoc on Africa’s smallest mainland country
The windstorm arrived in Jalambang late in the evening, when Binta Bah and her family were enjoying the evening cool outside. “But when we first heard the wind, the kids started to run and go in the house,” she says.
First they went in one room but the roof – a sheet of corrugated iron fixed only by a timbere pole – flew off. They ran into another but the roof soon went there too.
Continue reading...Kashmiri farmers lose half their harvest to early snows for third year, with fears for future of the region’s orchards
The homegrown apple is in danger of becoming a rarity in India, as farmers have lost up to half their harvest this year, with predictions that the country’s main orchards could soon be all but wiped out.
Early snowfalls in Kashmir, where almost 80% of India’s apples are grown, have seen the region’s farmers lose half their crops in the third year of disastrous harvests.
Continue reading...A roundup of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Pakistan to Poland
Continue reading...Emergency crews continue search for victims after flash floods tear through region
Emergency crews in western Canada continued searching on Friday for victims of flash floods and mudslides which tore through the region this week, as survivors described harrowing escapes from the disaster.
British Columbia declared its third state of emergency in a year on Wednesday after a month’s worth of rain fell in two days, swamping towns and cities, blocking major highways and leaving much of the province under water.
Continue reading...Latest updates: Canadian Armed Forces deployed to help residents after massive disruption around Vancouver and rest of province
It might seem trivial compared to the devastation caused, but Reuters is reporting that the floods could mean the US might suffer a Christmas tree shortage this year.
Canada is the world’s top exporter of natural Christmas trees, exporting about 2.3 million trees per year, with some 97% going to the US.
Continue reading...Aerial footage shows the extent of catastrophic floods in mountain areas of Canada's British Columbia province. A powerful storm dumped a month’s worth of rain in two days across parts of the Pacific north-west in Canada and the US. Concerns are rising over remote mountain areas that have been hit with freezing temperatures
Water levels show signs of dropping in Washington state while at least one dead in Canada and more fatalities feared
Troops have been deployed to British Columbia to help stranded residents and search areas hit by landslides and floods after a powerful storm dumped a month’s worth of rain in two days across a swath of the Pacific north-west in Canada and the US.
South of the border in Washington state, water levels showed signs of dropping on Wednesday after floods damaged three-quarters of the homes in the border town of Sumas, leaving 1,600 residents without power and forcing hundreds to flee.
Continue reading...