More than a dozen cities have been affected with main roads forced to close and flights cancelled…reports Asian Lite News
Torrential rain has caused severe flooding in China, forcing people from their homes and leaving stations and roads submerged, officials said.
More than 10,000 people in China’s Henan province have been evacuated to shelters following the record rainfall. At least 12 people have died in the city of Zhengzhou since the flooding began, authorities there confirmed, the BBC reported.
More than a dozen cities have been affected with main roads forced to close and flights cancelled. Henan province, which is home to some 94 million people, has issued its highest level of weather warning following an unusually active rainy season.
Many factors contribute to flooding, but a warming atmosphere caused by climate change makes extreme rainfall more likely. Images on social media showed entire streets submerged, with cars and debris left drifting in the fast-moving floodwaters, the BBC reported.
There are also fears that a dam in Henan province could collapse after it was damaged by the recent storms. A 20-metre breach has emerged in the dam in Luoyang city, officials said. Soldiers have been deployed to the area and a statement from the army warned it could “collapse at any time”.
In Zhengzhou, a unverified video footage showed passengers in flooded subway carriages with water reaching their shoulders. Rescuers were seen pulling people to safety using rope, while others stood on train seats to try to keep above the water.
It is not yet known how many people – if any – remain trapped, but hundreds are reported to have been rescued so far. One person who went by the name Xiaopei wrote a post on social media site Weibo begging for help.
“The water in the carriage has reached my chest. I can’t speak anymore,” they said. The fire department later confirmed Xiaopei had been rescued.
The amount of rain over the last three days in Zhengzhou is reported to be the same as what it would usually receive in an entire year. The downpours are forecasted to continue in the region for at least the next 24 hours.
Currently, villagers are either residing in makeshift tents or taking refuge in the government schools. For food, most of them are dependent on the eight community kitchens operating across the Sugauli block…reports Shilpi V.
It was only two years ago that 52-year-old Akhilesh Kumar, from East Champaran’s Bhawanipur village, had built a single storey house with the money he had earned as a migrant labourer. Back then, he had no inkling of the tragedy that awaited the home that housed his family of seven.
Then, on July 5, the flooding of the Sikrahna river engulfed several houses in the village. “It all happened so fast that we couldn’t save anything, and our house collapsed like a pack of cards,” narrated Kumar.
A tributary of the river Ganges, Sikrahna, also known as the Burhi Gandak river, turned turbulent owing to heavy rainfall in the Champaran region. This, coupled with the outflow of water from Valmiki Nagar barrage, has created havoc in several villages of the Sugauli block, about 25 km from district headquarters, Motihari.
With many houses, like Kumar’s, engulfed by the river and razed to rubble, villagers from Bihar’s Sugauli block in East Champaran district took to demolishing their own dwellings to save the bricks and other construction material from being carried away by the river.
Demolishing dwellings and dreams
“My house was built almost 15 years ago with hard-earned money. But half of it was demolished by the river, and we had to tear down the remaining to save whatever little construction material we could,” said Sukhiya Devi, who had taken refuge in a plastic makeshift tent along with six family members.
Sant Lal Mahato, another villager, described the collapse of his house as an inescapable part of his destiny. “It would be hoping against hope if we do nothing and keep sitting with our fingers crossed. We may be able to build another house with these bricks if land and compensation is provided,” said Mahato.
Like Mahato, Suresh Prasad hopes for aid from the government. His sons have already removed the corrugated iron sheet roof along with the windows and doorposts of the house that he had constructed 12 years ago. “My dream has been shattered now. We will never be able to stand on our feet if the help from the government doesn’t reach us,” said Prasad with his eyes welling up.
Over the past month, almost 100 houses in the village have collapsed due to erosion caused by the Sikrahna river, according to Rajesh Yadav, a former sarpanch nominee. “With our village headman no longer alive, there’s no one in power to look into the tragedy that pervades here,” said Yadav, pointing to a 25-meter stretch of barren land that ‘once bustled with people’.
Rescue and rehabilitation underway
Amidst the disaster, the people are fighting for their right to live. “Day in and out, we are trying to save some bricks. The earlier, the better, or else, the river is going to spare nothing,” said Shiv Sah.
As of July 8, Sah is one of the 1.5 lakh people affected by the Sikrahna floods in the ten panchayats of Sugauli block. This was the official tally given by Anil Kumar, Additional District Magistrate, Disaster Management, East Champaran.
Authorities attribute the damages to the heavy current of water and the absence of an embankment. “It’s not possible to launch the repair work immediately. However, we are doing everything to rush the relief materials to the affected people,” said an official, refusing to be identified.
Currently, villagers are either residing in makeshift tents or taking refuge in the government schools. For food, most of them are dependent on the eight community kitchens operating across the Sugauli block. “We are keeping a tab on the situation. More community kitchens would be run if required,” said Circle officer, Dharmendra Kumar Gupta.
The district administration has pressed two NDRF teams along with two private boats and a drone into service. Officials claim that dry ration and about 3,500 plastic sheets have been distributed among affected people. Further, the district administration has also launched an assessment of the collapsed houses. “Compensation for houses would be given as per the laid down rules,” said Shirshat Kapil Ashok, District Magistrate, East Champaran.
A ‘continued’ displacement
Meanwhile, floods continue to rampage dwellings in the neighbouring West Champaran as well. Almost 15 families from Biranchi 3 village in Damarapur panchayat in the district’s Mainatand block seem condemned to a life of destitution with their house being engulfed by the Maniyari river.
During the dead of the night on July 1, 55-year-old Vimal Mitra and his family members were jolted out of sleep when a part of their house collapsed. “It took no time for us to understand what had happened. We rushed out to a safer place with whatever household articles we could lay our hands on,” said Mitra, recalling the harrowing experience. The next day, at the break of dawn, Mitra and several other villagers returned to discover that their houses were nowhere to be found.
Village sarpanch Hari Das said the residents of Biranchi 3 have been facing the threat of displacement since 1998 because of regular flooding. “We are fighting for our right to live. Men in khaki and officials came, but nothing was done to save us,” said Das, adding that 200 families have been displaced in the last two decades.
Circle Officer Kumar Rajiv Ranjan claimed that dry rations and other relief materials have been distributed. However, villagers feel that entitlement must be raised. “It’s too meagre to meet our needs,” said Mitra, adding that its relief material received from private individuals like former BJP MLA from West Champaran’s Sikta constituency Dilip Verma, which has kept their “heart and soul together”. Verma provided a sum of Rs 50,000 through his close associate to be spent for victims who were rendered homeless, according to Das.
(The author is a Bettiah-based freelance journalist and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.)
Several power plants operated by German electricity producer RWE have been hit by severe floods worth millions, according to the company, the news agency further reported…reports Asian Lite News.
The death toll in devastating flooding in western Germany and Belgium rose to over 160 on Saturday after burst rivers and flash floods this week collapsed houses and ripped up roads and power lines. Around 143 people died in the flooding in Germany’s worst natural disaster in more than half a century. That included about 98 in the Ahrweiler district south of Cologne, The Straits Times reported quoting police. Hundreds of people were still missing or unreachable as several areas were inaccessible due to high water levels while communication in some places was still down.
FENA reported that German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also visited Erfstadt, the city most affected by the floods in North Rhine-Westphalia. Several power plants operated by German electricity producer RWE have been hit by severe floods worth millions, according to the company, the news agency further reported. The downpour was brought to Germany by the Bernd cyclone on Monday. Emergency services, as well as the forces of the Bundeswehr, are involved in the rescue work. CNN reported that due to the havoc, at least 165,000 people are currently without power in Rhineland-Palatinate and neighbouring North Rhine-Westphalia, as per the authorities. In Netherlands, 10,700 people have been evacuated in Venlo in the north of the southern Dutch province of Limburg on Friday, as a precaution due to the high water level and the fear of flooding.
The Dutch government has formally assessed the flood in Limburg as a disaster, allowing victims to obtain clarity about whether their damage will be reimbursed by the government if their insurance does not cover it.
Dutch King Willem-Alexander visited the city and called the situation in Limburg “heartbreaking.”
In Switzerland, maximum flood warnings have been issued in central parts of the country due to persistent rainfall.
As of Friday, Lake Lucerne, Lake Thun and Lake Biel have remained at the highest flood warning level (5) after continued and intense rainfall throughout the week.
The Swissinfo website reported that the major cities such as Basel and Bern are also facing high flood risks, with the River Aare reaching a flow rate of 540 cubic meters per second, nearing the 600 level recorded in the major floods of 2005.
France’s meteorological service warned on Friday that the continuous rainfall is soaking the soil, putting France at risk of flooding.
Currently, 13 provinces in northern and eastern France have been placed on orange alert for floods.
The European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism has been activated to tackle the heavy floods. Meanwhile, moved by the news of flooding in Europe, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has written to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to express his concern.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel surveyed what she called a “surreal, ghostly” scene in a devastated village, pledging quick financial aid and a redoubled political focus on curbing climate change as the death toll from floods in Western Europe climbed https://t.co/VBrRn54ADN
“I am saddened to see reports of the unprecedented flooding that has wreaked havoc across western Europe, particularly affecting Belgium and Germany,” he wrote.
“The loss of life, damage to property, and hardship that thousands of people are facing is most upsetting.
“I understand that every effort is being made to help those affected. I would like to express my condolences to the bereaved and my deep sympathy for those left devastated by this catastrophe. My thoughts are with everyone affected by this calamity.” (ANI/IANS)
The scientists estimate that these slow-moving storms may be 14 times more frequent across land by the end of the century…reports Asian Lite News.
Climate change is driving a large increase in intense, slow-moving storms, a new study has found.
Investigating how climate affects intense rainstorms across Europe, climate experts have shown there will be a significant future increase in the occurrence of slow-moving intense rainstorms.
The scientists estimate that these slow-moving storms may be 14 times more frequent across land by the end of the century. It is these slow-moving storms that have the potential for very high precipitation accumulations, with devastating impacts, as currently seen in Germany and Belgium.
Researchers from the Newcastle University and the UK Met Office Hadley Centre used very detailed climate model simulations and found that slower storm movement acts to increase the amount of rainfall that accumulates locally, increasing the risk of flash floods across Europe beyond what has been expected based on previous studies.
Published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, the study results show that storms producing intense rain may move slower with climate change, increasing the duration of exposure to these extremes.
“Governments across the world have been too slow in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and global warming continues apace. This study suggests that changes to extreme storms will be significant and cause an increase in the frequency of devastating flooding across Europe. This, alongside the current floods in Europe, is the wake-up call we need to produce improved emergency warning and management systems, as well as implementing climate change safety factors into our infrastructure designs to make them more robust to these severe weather events,” said Hayley Fowler, Professor at Newcastle ‘s School of Engineering.
Belgium flood
The study findings are relevant to climate mitigation and adaptation policy in Europe, with specific implications for future flooding impacts, the design of infrastructure systems, and the management of water resources.
Currently, almost stationary intense rainstorms are uncommon in Europe and happen rarely over parts of the Mediterranean Sea. Accurate predictions of future changes in intense rainfall events are key to putting effective adaptation and mitigation plans in place to limit the adverse impacts of climate change.
People wade through water in suburban areas of Colombo, Sri Lanka, . (Xinhua/Gayan Sameera/IANS)
South-west monsoon rains settling in the country’s western, southern and central parts resulted in heavy showers and landslides …reports Asian Lite News
Heavy rains followed by landslides and flooding in Sri Lanka killed at least 14 people and has affected over 250,000 more in the past two days with warnings that adverse weather conditions will continue, officials said on Sunday.
South-west monsoon rains settling in the country’s western, southern and central parts resulted in heavy showers and landslides in several areas, Disaster Management Centre (DMC) officials said.
A family of four was killed on Saturday when they were buried in a landslide in Aranayaka, some 90 kms east of Colombo, reports dpa news agency.
The other victims also died in landslides or were swept away by flooded rivers or streams, the DMC said.
The majority of the affected residents were able to remain in their homes while some 20,000 people were evacuated, the officials said.
People wade through water in suburban areas of Colombo, Sri Lanka, . (Xinhua/Gayan Sameera/IANS)
Meanwhile water levels of two of the main rivers flowing through the Western Province, which includes the capital, continued to rise as rain kept falling on Sunday.
The adverse weather conditions were an additional burden on authorities already busy enforcing island-wide travel restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The South Asian country has reported an average of 40 Covid-19-related deaths and 3,000 positive cases per day over the past week.
Travel restrictions were originally due to be lifted on Monday, but have instead been extended by a week.
The floods also destroyed tens of residential houses and orchards in the districts and caused closure of several roads…reports Asian Lite News
At least 12 people were killed as heavy rains and flash floods hit parts of Afghanistan’s Herat province, the local government said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Flash floods engulfed vast areas in Adraskan district and neighbouring areas on Monday,” Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.
Among the dead were one woman and four children, according to a local government source.
Refugees from Afghanistan arrive at Skala Sikaminias, on the island of Lesvos, Greece(Xinhua/Marios Lolos/IANS)
The floods also destroyed tens of residential houses and orchards in the districts and caused closure of several roads, the statement said.
The rescue personnel have arrived in the affected areas, and scores of local households have so far been evacuated to safe areas, according to the statement.
Heavy rains hit many areas in the country in recent weeks.
The disasters also left 146 people injured and 8,424 others displaced, and damaged 45 public facilities…reports Asian Lite News.
The death toll due to the flash floods and landslides in Indonesia has increased much. The death toll from floods and landslides triggered by Tropical Cyclone Seroja in Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara rose to 117, the National Disaster Management Agency said on Tuesday.
“The number of bodies that have been found is 117, while 76 people are still missing,” the agency’s head Doni Monardo told a virtual press conference.
The deaths were reported in East Flores district (60), Lembata district (28), Alor district (21), Malaka district (3), Ende district (1), Sabu Raijua district (2), Kupang district (1), and Kupang city (1), the Xinhua news agency reported.
The disasters also left 146 people injured and 8,424 others displaced, and damaged 45 public facilities.
Meanwhile, 343 houses were heavily devastated, 133 were moderately destroyed and 110 were slightly damaged.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency said that extreme weather such as heavy rains, strong winds, and high sea waves of up to six meters occurred after Seroja hit the Savu Sea, south of East Nusa Tenggara province.
Seroja’s wind speed will pick up to 130 km per hour on Wednesday from 110 km per hour on Tuesday.
“The wind speed is indeed increasing, but the impact on Indonesia is getting weaker because it is moving away,” the agency’s head Dwikorita Karnawati said.
