Storms and floods kill hundreds around the globe

anthropocene

Typhoons, storms and flooding have killed hundreds and left millions homeless across four continents in recent days. More than 600 people—mostly in Vietnam and Myanmar—died when Super Typhoon Yagi, one of the strongest typhoons to hit Southeast Asia in decades, tore through the region, triggering landslides. In China, Typhoon Bebinca battered the commercial capital, Shanghai, forcing more than 400,000 people to evacuate. In Europe, at least 23 people died when Storm Boris dumped five times September’s average rainfall in a single week. In the United States, parts of North and South Carolina recorded 45 centimeters of rain in 12 hours—a statistic so rare it’s considered a once-in-a-thousand-year event. Inevitably, the wild weather has been devastating for more vulnerable countries. In conflict-affected northeastern Nigeria, half of the city of Maiduguri is under water after a local dam overflowed following torrential rains; recently emptied displacement camps are being used to shelter the homeless. In neighboring Chad, meanwhile, flooding has killed more than 340 people in the country’s south.

From The New Humanitarian, Sept. 20.

The proliferation of extreme weather events in recent years has been described as “global weirding.”

Photo: CounterVortex

  1. Rising floods kill hundreds in Nepal

    Flooding in Nepal has led to at least 241 deaths as the country faces unprecedented monsoon rains that began in late September. A further 173 people have been injured. Much of the damage took place around the poorer neighbourhoods of the capital, Kathmandu. “I’ve never before seen flooding on this scale in Kathmandu,” said Arun Bhakta, a climate specialist at the Nepal-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. But residents in more remote areas say they have struggled to receive proper assistance in time. (TNH)