KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — More than 30,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Malaysia on Sunday as the country battles some of its worst flooding in years. The tropical Southeast Asian nation often sees stormy monsoon seasons towards the end of the year, with flooding regularly prompting mass evacuations. Downpours since Friday have caused rivers to overflow, submerging many urban areas and cutting off major roads, leaving thousands of motorists stranded. More […]
Tag: Floods
Extreme Greenland ice melt raised global flood risk: study
by Patrick GALEY Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – The 3.5 trillion tonnes of Greenland’s ice sheet that has melted over the past decade has raised global sea levels by one centimetre and is heightening worldwide flood risks, new research showed on Monday. The ice sheet atop the world’s largest island contains enough frozen water to lift oceans some six metres (20 feet) globally, and extreme melting events there have been increasing in frequency for […]
Nearly 200 perish in India, Nepal rains
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) – Nearly 200 people have died in floods and landslides in India and Nepal, officials said Thursday, with whole families buried in their homes and two young girls swept away as forecasters warned of yet more heavy rain. Experts say that they were victims of the ever-more unpredictable and extreme weather that has hit South Asia in recent years caused by climate change and exacerbated by deforestation, damming and excessive development. […]
Floods, landslides kill 116 in India and Nepal
by Mahesh Pandey with Paavan Mathema in Kathmandu Agence France Presse DEHRADUN, India (AFP) — More than 100 people have died in several days of massive flooding and devastating landslides that swept away roads and houses in India and Nepal, officials said Wednesday, with scores more missing. In Uttarakhand in northern India, officials said that 46 people had died in recent days with 11 missing. In Kerala in the south chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said […]
2 barangays in Hamtic, Antique affected by floods; 31 families evacuated
(Eagle News) – Two barangays in Hamtic town in Antique province were affected by floods due to the overflowing of the tributaries leading to the Asluman river over the weekend. Thirty-one families – 16 from Bgy. Calacja 2, and 15 from Bgy. Asluman – have been evacuated to their respective barangay halls. The waters overflowed due to heavy rains brought about by a low pressure area. Several houses were also damaged by the flood […]
Deadly floods expose dangers of New York’s basements
by Peter HUTCHISON Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The deaths of almost a dozen New Yorkers who could not escape their homes during flash flooding has exposed the perils of living in the city’s often-dangerous basements. With rents in the Big Apple among the most expensive in the world, below-ground units offer an affordable option for many low-income residents. But the cramped, sometimes windowless apartments can come with risks as […]
At least 20 dead after torrential rains in Venezuela
MÉRIDA, Venezuela (AFP) — The death toll from heavy rains that triggered mudslides and floods in western Venezuela has risen to 20, local authorities said Wednesday, with 17 other people missing. Nine states are in an “emergency” situation and more than 54,000 people have been affected by the downpours, Interior Minister Remigio Ceballos told state television. On Tuesday he warned it would continue to rain “for the next 10 days.” The hardest-hit areas are […]
At least 21 dead in flooding in US state of Tennessee
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Devastating floods in the southern US state of Tennessee have left at least 21 people dead and dozens missing, local officials said Sunday in what they warned was a preliminary toll. Tennessee was hit Saturday by what meteorologists called historic storms and flooding, dumping 15 inches (38 centimeters) or more of rain. Rural roads, state highways and bridges were washed out and widespread power outages affected thousands of […]
No survivors of Turkey fire-fighting plane crash as floods kill 55
Turkey battled disaster on two fronts on Saturday with eight people dying when a fire-fighting aircraft crashed and rescuers racing to find survivors of flash floods in the north that have killed at least 55. Ankara and Moscow announced that all eight people on the Russian plane had perished on the fire-fighting mission. The air tragedy came just as Turkey was gaining control of hundreds of wildfires that killed eight people and destroyed swathes of […]
Japan braces for more rain after floods, landslides
Japan braced for further downpours on Sunday as rescuers sifted through flood and landslide damage after record rain that left at least three dead. Residents returned to check on their mud-covered homes in the southwest, where nearly two million people were advised to urgently seek shelter Saturday as rivers overflowed. “So many logs tumbled down and crashed into this area” from nearby mountains, an elderly resident of Kanzaki in Saga prefecture told public broadcaster NHK. […]
Heavy rain triggers floods, landslides in Japan
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — More than a million people were urged to seek shelter as torrential rain triggered floods and landslides in western Japan on Saturday, leaving at least one dead and two missing. Authorities in Hiroshima and the northern part of Kyushu issued their highest evacuation alert as the weather agency reported unprecedented levels of rain in the area. Under the non-compulsory alert, around 1.4 million residents have been asked to leave their […]
JUST IN: Floods kill 40 in north Afghanistan, 150 missing: officials
JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AFP) — At least 40 people have been killed with 150 more missing in northern Afghanistan after flash floods ravaged an area northeast of the capital Kabul, officials said on Thursday. A rescue operation was underway to find the missing people after torrential rains overwhelmed Kamdesh district in Nuristan province — about 200 kilometres (120 miles) northeast of Kabul. © Agence France-Presse





