Tag: flood

Two dead as Japan orders 870,000 to flee heavy rains

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Two people were confirmed dead on Wednesday as heavy rains pounded southwest Japan, prompting flood and landslide warnings and orders for 870,000 people to seek safety. More than a million more people were advised to leave their homes after the country’s weather agency raised the alert to its highest level for parts of northern Kyushu. The emergency warning is issued “if there is a significant likelihood of catastrophes”. Officials confirmed two […]

Japan orders 240,000 to evacuate over flood, landslide fears

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese authorities on Wednesday issued a rare evacuation order for 240,000 people in the country’s southwest over flood and landslide fears, as officials confirmed a man was killed in heavy rains. The evacuation orders came after the Japan Meteorological Agency issued its highest-level alert for several parts of the northern Kyushu region. The alert is issued “if there is a significant likelihood of catastrophes” and is activated once a disaster […]

9 killed, scores missing after SW China hit by mudslides

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — Nine people have died and 35 are still missing after a series of mudslides in an autonomous region of China’s southwestern Sichuan province, local authorities said Thursday. A 33-year-old firefighter was among those killed by a flash flood that tipped over an emergency response vehicle as they went to help people affected by a mudslide in Wenchuan county, according to local officials. State news agency Xinhua said another firefighter was […]

Fresh flood alert in southern India, 209 dead

  NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India issued Wednesday a fresh flood alert for parts of the southern state of Kerala, as the nationwide death toll from the annual monsoon deluge rose to at least 209. Authorities warned Kerala locals of heavy to extremely heavy rainfall over the next 24-48 hours in some of the worst affected regions of the state popular with tourists. Heavy rains in parts of four Indian states — Kerala, Karnataka, […]

Crocodiles hunt in flooded Indian city

VADODARA, India (AFP) — Crocodiles hunted dogs in the flooded streets of the Indian city of Vadodara after it was battered by nearly 50 centimeters (20 inches) of rain in 24 hours leaving five people dead, police said Friday. Waist-high water remained Friday in the Gujarat state city where the main railway station and most roads were closed by the freak deluge. About 5,000 people were evacuated from their homes as water from the overflowing […]

12 killed as flooding paralyses Pakistan’s Karachi

KARACHI, Pakistan (AFP) — At least 12 people were killed as monsoon rains lashed Pakistan’s port city of Karachi, officials and charity groups confirmed Wednesday, while flooding also triggered power outages and overwhelmed the metropolis’s fragile infrastructure. Authorities said the deaths occurred largely due to electrocutions caused by ill-maintained power lines even as large segments of the city suffered hours-long outages that lasted up to a day in some areas. According to the Edhi Foundation […]

Bangladesh flood death toll surpasses 100

  DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — The death toll from monsoon storms in Bangladesh rose above 100 Friday with flood levels still rising in many parts of the country, officials said. About 20 people have died in 48 hours, taking the toll to 104, making it one of the worst monsoons in years, officials said. Most victims have drowned but some have been killed by landslides, snake bites and lightning strikes. Five girls aged between six […]

Monsoon toll tops 650 as rains unleash flood fury in South Asia

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Severe floods and lightning have claimed the lives of more than 650 people across India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, officials said Monday as the annual monsoon took its toll on the rainfed region. More than 10 million people in the South Asian countries have been affected by the deluge, which has also forced tens of thousands to flee their homes. In India, heavy rains since the start of July have […]

Monsoon rains wreaking flood havoc across South Asia

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Torrential monsoon rains swept away homes and triggered landslides across South Asia, affecting millions of people and claiming at least 180 lives, officials said Tuesday. The monsoon is crucial for irrigation and groundwater supplies in the impoverished region — home to a fifth of the world’s population — and brings relief after the unforgiving summers. But the downpours — which stretch from June to September — can turn deadly and […]

Fourteen killed in building collapse as monsoon batters South Asia

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Fourteen people were killed when a building collapsed in northern India following heavy monsoon rains which have left more than 130 dead across South Asia, officials said Monday. Floods and landslides caused by the annual deluge have wreaked deadly havoc from the Himalayan foothills to low-lying camps housing Rohingya refugees, with officials warning tolls could rise as they scramble to reach affected communities. In Bangladesh, at least 29 people died […]

At least 50 dead in Nepal’s monsoon

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — Floods and landslides caused by torrential monsoon rains have killed at least 50 people across Nepal while dozens more are missing, officials said Sunday. Northeast India has also been hit by floods with 11 deaths recorded as rivers burst their banks. Heavy rains since Thursday have hit several districts in Nepal, especially in the country’s eastern region and the southern plains, affecting thousands. Nepal police spokesman Bishwaraj Pokharel said 33 people […]

Paraguay floodwaters force thousands to evacuate homes

by Hugo OLAZAR NANAWA, Paraguay (AFP) — Like 70,000 people living close to the broken banks of the Paraguay River, where the water level has risen seven meters (23 feet) in some places, Graciela Acosta has had to pack up her belongings and evacuate. Piled up on a canoe are the 39-year-old housewife’s bed, wardrobe, bedside table and her dog Pirulin. Acosta is getting ready to cross the border into Argentina with her daughter to […]