Tag: flood

Three missing, 4,000 evacuated in heavy Japan rains

  TOKYO, July 26, 2024 (AFP) – At least three people were missing in Japan on Friday after heavy rains caused rivers to burst their banks, washing away cars and prompting several thousand locals to evacuate, authorities and media reports said. Local governments in the northern prefectures of Yamagata and Akita on the main island of Honshu issued evacuation advisories to more than 200,000 people, the fire and disaster management agency said. Of those, at […]

18 Filipino seafarers saved after abandoning ship in stormy South African waters

JOHANNESBURG, July 9, 2024 (AFP) – Strong winds and heavy rains have damaged buildings and left thousands of people homeless in South Africa, authorities said, as weather services warned Tuesday that more bad weather was coming. The Cape Town region has been battered by several cold fronts over the past few days, with mountainous areas experiencing rare heavy snowfalls. The Western Cape government said 82 schools were damaged, forcing five to remain closed on Tuesday. […]

Parts of northern Europe clean up after floods

By Iris Maria Maurer, with Sam Reeves in Frankfurt KLEINBLITTERSDORF, May 18, 2024 (AFP) – German emergency workers on Saturday started a major clean-up after heavy rains triggered massive flooding, while parts of Belgium, the Netherlands and France were also affected. The southwestern German state of Saarland was the worst-hit region after a long downpour on Friday flooded buildings, left streets deep underwater and sparked evacuations, with boats carrying stranded residents to safety. Officials said […]

Thousands flee flooding in Russian Urals region of Orenburg

ORENBURG, Russia, April 13, 2024 (AFP) – Russian emergency services on Saturday said they had evacuated thousands of people from the Orenburg region in the south of the Urals as flood water continued to rise. Fast-rising temperatures have melted snow and ice, and along with heavy rain have caused a number of major rivers that cross Russia and Kazakhstan to overflow this month. In the city of Orenburg, one of the worst affected areas in […]

Kremlin warns floods may worsen as Kazakhstan, Russia evacuate 100,000

Water levels on rivers in Russia and Kazakhstan continued to rise and flood whole villages and cities on Wednesday, with more than 100,000 people evacuated and the Kremlin warning a “very, very tense” situation was expected to worsen. Fast-melting snow and ice has caused rivers in Russia’s southern Urals, western Siberia as well as northern Kazakhstan to reach unprecedented heights, threatening major cities. Moscow and Astana have been battling the rising rivers for more than […]

Kazakhstan and Russia battle huge floods

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, April 9, 2024 (AFP) – Water levels in overflowing rivers were still rising on Tuesday in swathes of Russia and Kazakhstan that have been hit by massive floods, as cities braced for a new peak in the southern Urals and western Siberia. Both Astana and Moscow have called the floods the worst in decades, introducing a state of emergency as water covered entire cities and villages. More than 90,000 people have been evacuated […]

Russia evacuates almost 4,500 people after dam burst

MOSCOW, April 6, 2024 (AFP) – Russia on Saturday said it had evacuated almost 4,500 people in the Orenburg region in the southern Urals due to flooding after a dam burst. Emergency services worked through the night after a dam burst in the city of Orsk, near the border with Kazakhstan, on Friday. The press service of the Orenburg governor said “4,402 people, including 1,100 children” had been evacuated and more than 6,000 homes were […]

Dozens injured in Seychelles blast at explosives depot

MAHE ISLAND, Seychelles, Dec 7, 2023 (AFP) – A huge blast at an explosives depot in Seychelles on Thursday injured 66 people and brought down buildings, prompting the country’s “shocked” president to declare a state of emergency. The archipelago — famous for its idyllic white beaches and high-end tourism — is also grappling with flooding and landslides due to heavy rainfall which have claimed two lives, President Wavel Ramkalawan said, ordering citizens to stay at […]

Rescuers recover last body from flooded S. Korean tunnel

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Rescue workers recovered the last body and ended search operations at a flooded underpass in South Korea where more than a dozen people died in an incident that is now the subject of multiple official probes. South Korea is at the peak of its summer monsoon season, and days of torrential rain have caused widespread flooding and landslides, with rivers bursting their banks, and reservoirs and dams overflowing. More rain […]

Three dead, thousands displaced following Cuba storms

HAVANA, June 13, 2023 (AFP) — Three people have died and thousands have been evacuated after heavy rains pummeled eastern and central Cuba in recent days, authorities said Monday. Heavy rains that started Thursday had subsided by Monday evening, but recovery operations were still underway in several eastern provinces, including Holguin, Camaguey, Granma, Santiago de Cuba and Las Tunas, as well as in Sancti Spiritus, in the center of the island. The Camaguey Civil Defense […]

More than 500 people evacuated after Ecuador floods

ESMERALDAS, Ecuador, June 5, 2023 (AFP) — More than 500 people were evacuated from their homes in northern Ecuador on Sunday following flooding caused by heavy rains, President Guillermo Lasso said. No one had been reported dead or missing, he said. Dozens of residents climbed onto the roofs or balconies of their homes to protect themselves from the rising waters, according to images released by the Ministry of Defense. Rain had fallen for 12 hours […]

Italy floods kill at least two

CESENA, Italy, May 17, 2023 (AFP) – Floods caused by heavy rains in Italy’s northern Emilia Romagna region have killed two people, authorities said on Wednesday, as local mayors warned residents they were still in danger. “At the moment there are two dead… the emergency is still underway,” the region said in a statement, after desperate efforts overnight to save children and the elderly from rising waters. The victims were a man in Forli, near […]