Weather Tracker: Hurricane Rafael triggers nationwide blackout in Cuba

Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua also reeling after fifth major hurricane of season causes landslides and flooding

Hurricane Rafael became the 17th named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season this week, reaching the minimum expectation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Back in May, Noaa warned of an above-average level of activity, predicting 17-25 named storms, in comparison with the average of 14.

Of these 17-25 storms, Noaa predicted that eight to 13 would become hurricanes, four to seven of which would be classified as “major”, meaning category 3 or higher. Both of these predictions are also above average, and these thresholds have already been reached, with Rafael being the 11th hurricane and fifth major hurricane of the season.

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At least 89 people remain missing after floods in eastern Spain

Valencia authorities say search efforts continue as prime minister announces €10.6bn fund to help victims of disaster

At least 89 people remain missing after deadly floods in eastern Spain, regional judicial authorities in Valencia have confirmed, as the country’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said he was earmarking €10.6bn (£8.9bn) to help victims.

The number includes only those who have been reported missing by family members who have also provided personal information and biological samples to allow for their identification, the superior court of justice of the Valencia region said in a statement on Tuesday. It added that there could be more cases of people who have disappeared whose details have not yet been registered.

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Spain floods: searchers scour car parks and malls amid fears death toll will rise

Day after king and PM pelted by angry residents, search focuses on areas where people could have been trapped

Hundreds of civil and military emergency workers are searching shopping centres, garages and underground car parks for more victims of floods in the Valencia region that have killed at least 214 people, as public anger mounts over Spanish authorities’ handling of the disaster.

Yellow and amber weather warnings were in place for parts of Valencia and neighbouring Catalonia on Monday, with people in the affected areas advised to stay off the roads and keep away from the coast and rivers.

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‘After three days we found her alive’: the ‘miracle’ rescues after Spanish floods

Media reported stories of survivors including the woman trapped in her car in a flooded underpass for 72 hours

Her car was among the scores that were swept up in Spain’s deadly floods, tossed about by the mud-coloured waters that surged on to streets. But after 72 hours spent trapped in an underpass, the woman was hailed as one of the lucky ones.

“After three days, we found someone alive in their car,” Martín Pérez, the head of Valencia’s civil protection service, told volunteers on Saturday. The announcement prompted hearty applause.

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Mud and insults thrown as Spanish king and PM visit flood-hit town

King Felipe heckled in Paiporta, one of the municipalities worst affected by last week’s floods

Hundreds of people have heckled Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia, as well as the prime minister and the regional leader of Valencia – throwing mud and shouting “murderers” – as the group attempted an official visit to one of the municipalities hardest hit by the deadly floods.

The scenes playing out in Paiporta on Sunday laid bare the mounting sense of abandonment among the devastated areas and the lingering anger over why an alert urging residents not to leave home on Tuesday was sent after the flood waters began surging.

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Spain’s apocalyptic floods show undeniable truths: the climate crisis is getting worse and Big Oil is killing us | Jonathan Watts

The devastating flooding should spur this month’s Cop29 climate conference to press for immediate action, not look away

Move on. Nothing to see here. Just another ordinary, everyday apocalypse.

If past experience is any guide, the world’s reaction to the floods in Spain last week will be similar to that of motorway drivers at a crash scene: slow down, take in the horror, outwardly express sympathy, inwardly give thanks that fate picked someone else – and foot on the accelerator.

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Spain floods: 10,000 troops and police drafted in to deal with disaster

Pedro Sánchez orders largest peacetime troop deployment to deal with flooding that has killed 211 people

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has ordered the country’s largest peacetime military deployment, announcing that 10,000 troops and police officers will be drafted in to help deal with the aftermath of this week’s devastating floods, which have killed at least 211 people in eastern, southern and central regions.

Speaking after chairing a meeting of the flood crisis committee, Sánchez said the government was mobilising all the resources at its disposal to deal with the “terrible tragedy”, which stuck hardest in the eastern region of Valencia. He also acknowledged that much of the help still wasn’t getting through and called for unity and an end to political bickering and blame games.

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

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.

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

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.”

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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Dead bodies found after torrential rain brings flash flooding to Spain

Unspecified number of bodies found as flood waters push cars through streets, closing roads and cancelling train services in Valencia

Several dead bodies have been recovered by emergency workers after torrential rain caused flash floods in southern and eastern Spain, shutting roads and high-speed train connections.

Raging mud-coloured flood waters swept through the town of Letur in the eastern province of Albacete on Tuesday, pushing cars through the streets, images broadcast on Spanish television showed.

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Hard-hit Defra to have budget slashed further despite warnings

Department’s finances were slashed during austerity and campaigners say more cuts will stall progress to meet nature and climate targets

Rachel Reeves has been urged not to cut the government’s environment funding in the budget as analysis shows the department’s finances were slashed at twice the rate of other departments in the austerity years.

Between 2009/10 and 2018/19, the environment department budget declined by 35% in monetary terms and 45% in real terms, according to Guardian analysis of annual reports from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency and Natural England. By comparison, the average cut across government departments during the Conservative austerity programme was about 20%. During the first five years of austerity, it was the most cut department.

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

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.

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At least two dead in New Mexico from severe floods after record rain

National guard conducting search-and-rescue missions as officials say more than 300 people rescued since Saturday

The New Mexico national guard is conducting search and rescue missions in Roswell after record rainfall resulted in severe flooding.

New Mexico state police said on Sunday that at least two people have died as a result of the flash flood, but information on the victims or the circumstances of their deaths were not immediately released.

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Dramatic images show the first floods in the Sahara in half a century

More than year’s worth of rain fell in two days in south-east Morocco, filling up lake that had been dry for decades

Dramatic pictures have emerged of the first floods in the Sahara in half a century.

Two days of rainfall in September exceeded yearly averages in several areas of south-east Morocco and caused a deluge, officials of the country’s meteorology agency said in early October. In Tagounite, a village about 450km(280 miles) south of the capital, Rabat, more than 100mm (3.9 inches) was recorded in a 24-hour period.

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Flash floods and landslides hit parts of Bosnia, killing at least 16

Rescuers search for missing after huge volumes of rain fall in area around Jablanica and Konjic, causing sudden flooding

Rescue teams are searching for survivors after flash floods and landslides hit parts of Bosnia, killing at least 16 people and injuring dozens more.

Construction machines worked to remove piles of rocks and debris covering the central town of Jablanica after the rainstorm early on Friday.

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More than 200 dead in Nepal floods, as parts of Kathmandu left under water

At least 30 stranded or missing and hundreds injured after heaviest monsoon rains in two decades

More than 200 people were killed in Nepal over the weekend in what experts described as some of the worst flash flooding to have hit the capital, Kathmandu, and the surrounding valleys.

Swathes of Kathmandu were left underwater after the heaviest monsoon rains in two decades fell on Friday and Saturday, washing away entire neighbourhoods, bridges and roads. The heavy rains caused the Bagmati River, which runs through the city, to swell more than 2 metres higher than deemed safe.

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