New figures show nearly 80% of businesses in some parts of England have been denied support
Ministers are being urged to overhaul the “nightmare” compensation scheme for flood victims after it emerged that nearly 80% of businesses in some parts of England had been denied support.
After heavy downpours caused chaos across much of England and Wales this week, new figures laid bare the “opaque” and inconsistent level of help available to those whose properties lay in ruin.
Continue reading...Two weather warnings for wind and rain, with river levels already high and ground saturated in some places
England and Wales are braced for heavy rain and strong winds just days after homes and businesses were flooded.
Two fresh weather warnings came into force on Sunday for wind and rain that will hit areas already saturated by downpours earlier in the week.
Continue reading...Days after floods hit, further heavy rain likely to cause travel delays and flooding from late Sunday afternoon
Weather warnings have been issued as strong winds and heavy rain approach the UK, days after some areas were hit by flooding.
The Met Office issued a yellow rain warning – meaning further heavy rain is likely to cause some travel delays and flooding – covering much of southern England and south Wales between 4pm on Sunday and 9am on Monday.
Continue reading...Transport disrupted and more than 60 flood warnings still in place, with more downpours to come
The Met Office has issued a weather warning for strong winds on Sunday as parts of the country recovered from heavy rain and flooding. Flooding disrupted rail services in England and Wales on Friday morning and led to the closure of the M5 motorway in both directions in Gloucestershire.
The Environment Agency told drivers their cars could be swept away in as little as 30cm (12in) of water as more than 60 flood warnings were issued in England after heavy rain overnight, with further downpours to come.
Continue reading...At least 46 people, most of them children, drowned in the eastern state of Bihar while bathing in rivers swollen by recent floods in observance of Jivitputrika Vrat.
At least 46 people have drowned, most of them children, while bathing in rivers and ponds swollen by recent floods, during the observance of a Hindu religious festival celebrated by millions in India.
The dead include 37 children and seven women who drowned in the eastern state of Bihar in scattered incidents across 15 districts, authorities said on Thursday.
Continue reading...Researchers find climate crisis aggravated the four days of heavy rainfall and deadly floods
Planet-heating pollution doubled the chance of the extreme levels of rain that hammered central Europe in September, a study has found.
Researchers found global heating aggravated the four days of heavy rainfall that led to deadly floods in countries from Austria to Romania.
Continue reading...Thirty-five flood warnings in place across England after some areas get more than 100mm of rain in 48 hours
Commuters in parts of England are still facing travel issues despite a respite from heavy rain.
Parts of Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire have had more than 100mm of rain in the past 48 hours, with Woburn in Bedfordshire recording 132mm, more than twice its September average rainfall, according to the Met Office.
Continue reading...One dead and several missing as ‘life-threatening situation’ declared in earthquake-hit Ishikawa prefecture
Heavy rain caused extensive flooding in central Japan over the weekend, with at least one person reported dead and several more unaccounted for.
Officials said “unprecedented” rainfall generated floods and landslides in Ishikawa prefecture, where a powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake on New Year’s Day killed more than 200 people. The Japan meteorological agency issued its highest-level warning for Ishikawa, advising of a “life-threatening situation”.
Continue reading...Floods inundated emergency housing built for those who lost their homes in an earthquake that hit Ishikawa on the Sea of Japan coast in January
At least six people have died and 10 others are missing after heavy rain triggered flooding and landslides along a peninsula in Japan that is still recovering from a deadly earthquake at the start of the year.
Public broadcaster NHK and other outlets said on Monday that six people had been confirmed dead, while the Kyodo news agency said more than 100 communities had been cut off by blocked roads after almost two dozen rivers burst their banks.
Continue reading...One person dead and several missing after deluge in Noto, still recovering from 1 January earthquake
Heavy rain pounded Japan’s north-central Noto region, triggering landslides and floods and leaving one person dead and several missing, officials have said.
The deluges caused swollen rivers to overflow, flooding homes and leaving some people stranded in a region still recovering from the deadly 1 January earthquake.
Continue reading...Meloni government accused of lacking will to confront climate crisis as floods cause havoc in Emilia-Romagna
Two people are missing and about 1,000 people have been evacuated from their homes after devastating floods and landslides hit the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, prompting accusations that Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government lacks the will to confront the climate crisis.
The flooding was brought on by Storm Boris, which had earlier wreaked havoc in central and eastern Europe, killing at least 24 people. Several major cities in central Europe were bracing for swollen rivers to peak on Thursday but defences generally appeared to be holding.
Continue reading...Potential for flooding in 11 Nigerian states as west and central Africa struggles to deal with recent heavy rainfall
Authorities in Nigeria have warned of the potential for flooding in 11 states after neighbouring Cameroon said it would start regulated releases from its Lagdo dam following recent heavy rainfall in west and central Africa.
Umar Mohammed, the director-general of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NHSA), indicated that the discharges would be gradual “to avoid … triggering substantial flooding downstream in Nigeria” and that there was “no need for alarm”. Still, 11 Nigerian states from north to south lie along the Benue River’s flow trajectory and are expected to be affected to some degree.
Continue reading...Deadly Storm Boris has dumped up to five times average September rainfall in four days
As swollen rivers continued to rise, volunteers and emergency workers in towns and cities across a swathe of central Europe were reinforcing defences against floods that have killed at least 21 people in four countries.
Storm Boris has dumped up to five times the average September rainfall on parts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia in four days, submerging entire neighbourhoods and forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate.
Continue reading...Czech Republic, Poland and Austria fear worst may yet be to come as thousands are evacuated to higher ground
The death toll from torrential rain and flooding in central and eastern Europe has risen to at least 16, with several more people missing, as authorities reported deaths in the Czech Republic, Poland and Austria and warned the worst may be to come.
The number of victims in Poland rose to five after a surgeon returning from work drowned in the south-western town of Nysa, where the hospital was evacuated and patients rescued by raft. Four more people had died in the southern towns of Bielsko-Biała and Lądek-Zdrój, firefighters said.
Continue reading...Experts unsurprised at intensity of extreme weather but say damage wreaked shows how unprepared world is
Picturesque towns across central Europe are inundated by dirty flood water after heavy weekend rains turned tranquil streams into raging rivers that wreaked havoc on infrastructure.
The floods have killed at least 15 people and destroyed buildings from Austria to Romania. The destruction comes after devastating floods around the world last week when entire villages were submerged in Myanmar and nearly 300 prisoners escape a collapsed jail in Nigeria, where floods have affected more than 1 million people.
Continue reading...Ekkapol Chantawong, who spent nearly three weeks underground in 2018, forced to spend night on roof of home
The coach of the young Thai footballers who captured the world’s attention when they spent nearly three weeks trapped in a cave has found himself in another watery predicament – stuck on his roof by flash floods.
Ekkapol Chantawong said he was drawing on his 2018 experience with the Wild Boars team to get through the situation at his home in the northern Thai district of Mae Sai.
Continue reading...Park in Borno state says more than 80% of its animals have been killed and urges residents to take precautions
Floods in northern Nigeria have killed more than 80% of the animals in a large zoo housing wildlife from lions and crocodiles to buffalo and ostriches, the facility has said.
“Some deadly animals have been washed away into our communities, like crocodiles and snakes,” the Sanda Kyarimi Park zoo added in a statement on the floods in the northern Borno state, urging residents to take precautions.
Continue reading...South Korea’s intelligence service says it has ‘detected signs’ Kim Jong-un ordered executions of 20 to 30 officials
North Korea may have executed multiple officials over damage from devastating floods in July that wrecked thousands of homes and left up to 1,500 people dead or missing, according to South Korean intelligence.
South Korea’s national intelligence service said it was closely monitoring signs that the regime had carried out the executions after the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, told an emergency meeting of the ruling party’s politburo that he would “strictly punish” those responsible for the damage, the South Korean Yonhap news agency reported.
Continue reading...One report says 150-200 people missing after heavy rain led to Arbaat dam giving way in area already hit by civil war
Surging waters have burst through a dam in eastern Sudan, wiping out at least 20 villages and leaving at least 30 people dead but probably many more, the UN has said, devastating a region already reeling from months of civil war.
Torrential rains caused floods that on Sunday overwhelmed the Arbaat dam, which is 25 miles (40km) north of Port Sudan, the de facto national capital and base for the government, diplomats, aid agencies and hundreds of thousands of displaced people.
Continue reading...Nearly 300,000 people forced to flee after monsoon rains, which have killed 42 people in India and Bangladesh
Nearly 300,000 Bangladeshis are taking refuge in emergency shelters from floods that inundated vast areas of the country, disaster officials said.
The floods were triggered by heavy monsoon rains and have killed at least 42 people in Bangladesh and India since the start of the week, many in landslides.
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