Tag: flood

London roads flood as storms roll in

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Buses and cars were left stranded when roads across London flooded on Sunday, as repeated thunderstorms battered the British capital. Emergency services were battling “significant flooding across London”, Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted, adding that all public transport services were affected and advising people to avoid walking or driving through flooded areas. Social media users posted videos of partially submerged vehicles in southwest London, with more heavy rain set to fall […]

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Flood-battered Germany approves major relief package

by Deborah COLE BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet approved a huge emergency aid package Wednesday for flood-stricken regions of Germany and said billions would be needed to rebuild homes, businesses and vital infrastructure. A week into the region’s worst flooding disaster in living memory, which has killed at least 174 in Germany and 32 more Belgium, the right-left “grand coalition” government unlocked some 400 million euros ($470 million) in immediate relief. Half […]

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Horror on ‘Line 5’ as Chinese subway floods

by Beiyi SEOW / Laurie CHEN BEIJING, China (AFP) — A manicured hand touches the train carriage window as a brown swirl of floodwater squeezes up against the tunnel outside — one of many scenes of desperation from an underground tragedy shared Wednesday across a stunned Chinese social media. At least twelve died and five others were injured in the subway flood, according to city authorities, as water coursed below ground on Tuesday evening in […]

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Severe rainstorms kill 16 in central China

by Beiyi SEOW / Laurie CHEN BEIJING, China (AFP) — At least 16 people have died after torrential rains caused landslides and flooded a city in central China, with shocking images showing passengers struggling against chest-high water inside a train carriage. As river embankments were breached in record downpours across Henan province, President Xi Jinping described the situation as “extremely severe” with flood control measures entering a “critical stage”, state media reported Wednesday. Around 200,000 […]

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Nearly 200,000 evacuated in central China flooding

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Nearly 200,000 people have been evacuated from a flood-hit city in central China, local authorities said Wednesday, as dams burst and rivers bulged across Henan province under torrential rains. “As of 7am on July 21, almost 200,000 people were evacuated in an emergency and 36,000 city residents were affected by the disaster,” authorities in Zhengzhou city, Henan province said. © Agence France-Presse

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Chinese army warns dam battered by storms could collapse

BEIJING, China (AFP) — The Chinese army warned that a stricken dam in the centre of the country “could collapse at any time” after being severely damaged in torrential storms that killed at least three people and brought the region to a standstill. Weather authorities have issued the highest warning level for central Henan province as downpours caused widespread disruption and the evacuation of residents of flooded streets. On Tuesday evening the regional unit of […]

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Flooding death toll hits 169 in Germany, tops 200 in Europe

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — The death toll from devastating floods in Germany reached 169 on Tuesday, local officials said, bringing the total number of deaths in Europe to at least 200. A total of 121 people are now confirmed to have died in Rhineland-Palatinate, emergency services spokesman Aaron Klein told AFP, up from the previous total of 117 in the western German state. © Agence France-Presse  

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Mudslides in Tajikistan leave at least 10 dead

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AFP) — Mudslides in Tajikistan have left ten people dead and two missing, officials said Tuesday, in the latest fatal mass flow of earth caused by downpours in the impoverished ex-Soviet region. Fatal landsides affect mountainous Central Asia every year, mostly around springtime, blocking off roads in a region lacking transport infrastructure and forcing families to rebuild homes from scratch. “There has been torrential rain in the north of Tajikistan and a fatal […]

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At least 68 dead in Germany, Belgium as storms ravage Europe

by Michelle FITZPATRICK with Deborah COLE in Berlin Agence France Presse MAYEN, Germany (AFP) — Heavy rains and floods lashing western Europe have killed at least 59 people in Germany and nine in Belgium, and many more people are missing as rising waters caused several houses to collapse on Thursday. In Germany, which is experiencing one of the worst weather disasters since World War II, desperate residents sought refuge on the roofs of their homes […]

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At least six dead, several missing after India landslides and floods

SHIMLA, India (AFP) — Rescuers in northern India were digging through rocks and mud searching for the missing on Tuesday, after heavy monsoon rains triggered landslides and flash floods in two states, killing at least six people, officials said. Television footage and videos shared on social media showed roads, cars and homes being washed away in Dharamshala in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, which has been lashed by torrential rains since the weekend. One […]

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Kyrgyzstan says 6 dead, 2 children missing in landslides

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AFP) — Authorities in Kyrgyzstan said Tuesday the bodies of six people had been recovered and two children were missing after landslides swept rural areas of the poor Central Asian country. Fatal landsides affect mountainous Central Asia every year around springtime, blocking roads in a region lacking transport infrastructure and forcing families to rebuild homes from scratch. On Monday, landslides swept through the Aksy district in the west of the mountainous country, the […]

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One dead, seven missing in Nepal monsoon flood

SINDHUPALCHOK, Nepal (AFP) — At least one person died and seven others were missing after houses and bridges were washed away when a river burst during heavy monsoon rains in Nepal, officials said Wednesday. The annual monsoon rains in the Himalayan nation revitalizes farms and waterways but also triggers deadly landslides and floods. Officials said a landslide caused by the monsoon deluge blocked a river, which then burst and sent a flood of water downstream […]

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