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At least 43 dead, dozens missing after torrential rain triggers landslide in Kerala, India (UPDATE)


BBC
Sat, 08 Aug 2020 12:00 UTC
Houses were buried under debris
© Georgey MathewsHouses were buried under debris
At least 22 people have been killed after monsoon-season floods triggered a landslide in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

Houses in Idukki district were swept away after torrential rain and flooding late on Friday night.

Rescuers have been recovering bodies from under debris but 44 people remain missing, Idduki MP Dean Kuriakose told the BBC.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his condolences.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued a red alert for Idukki on Friday, forecasting extremely heavy rainfall of more than 20cm (8in).


Comment: Update: CNN reports on August 10:
Monsoon rains trigger tea plantation landslide in India's Kerala state, killing at least 43 people

Rescue workers search for missing people at a landslide site caused by heavy rains in Pettimudy, in Kerala state, on August 8, 2020.
Rescue workers search for missing people at a landslide site caused by heavy rains in Pettimudy, in Kerala state, on August 8, 2020.
At least 43 people, including three children, have died with dozens more feared buried after torrential rains triggered a landslide in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala.

The landslide swept into a settlement housing workers on a tea plantation in Idukki district late Thursday, when most residents were sleeping. Dozens of houses were destroyed and 11 injured people were taken to local hospitals.

The death toll steadily rose as search and rescue workers spent the weekend digging through thick mud and debris, with efforts hampered further by heavy rain.

At least 25 people remain missing, according to district lawmaker Dean Kuriakose. More than 500 personnel from local forces and the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed to sift through the debris, he added.

"Despite inclement weather and harsh conditions, the search for those who went missing is progressing," Kerala's Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted Sunday.

On Monday, the Indian Meteorological Department issued a warning of "heavy to very heavy rainfall" in certain parts of the state for the next 24 hours. On Sunday, a red alert was in place for seven of the state's 14 districts.

Kerala has been battered by rain and flooding for weeks. On Friday, tragedy struck again when an Air India Express plane skidded off the runway and broke into two while landing at Kozhikode Calicut International Airport amid heavy rain.

The flight from Dubai had 190 people on board when it crashed, according to Air India Express. A total of 18 people died, including both pilots and four children
.

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Cloud Lightning

Ice Age Farmer Report: DERECHO - Corn crop catastrophe, grain stores destroyed, food prices


Ice Age Farmer
Tue, 11 Aug 2020 11:25 UTC
Derecho devastates corn crop
Massive "derecho" devastates US corn crop, with tens of millions of acres of corn affected. As well, many grain silos and elevators were destroyed, and with them tons of "on farm storage" -- what remains of the US Strategic Grain Reserve. Yields will be reduced for ALL of those acres, particularly where damage was severe or irrigation was destroyed.


Sources

Comment: Powerful derecho storm wreaks havoc across US Midwest leaving 1.1 million without power

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Cloud Precipitation

At least 11 from same family killed by flash flood in Panama


Floodlist
Tue, 11 Aug 2020 10:49 UTC
A road that was washed away by the recent floods in Panama.
A road that was washed away by the recent floods in Panama.
At least 11 people have lost their lives after heavy rainfall caused flooding in several province of Panama over the last few days.

Panama's National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc) said 11 members of the same family, including 9 children, died after their home was swept away by flash flooding.

According to Sinaproc, flooding from the Bejuco River swept away their family home near Calovébora in Veraguas Province during the night of 08 to 09 August. Two others are thought to be still missing.

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Boat

4 dead, 15,000 displaced after floods in north Nigeria


Floodlist
Tue, 11 Aug 2020 10:29 UTC
flood
The International Organization for Migration reported on 10 August that flooding has displaced almost 15,000 people in north west and north central Nigeria.

Flooding affected the states of Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara between 03 and 09 August, according to the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), August 2020.

The Local Government Areas (LGA) of Baure and Kaita in Katsina state were the worst affected. Over 1,8000 shelters were damaged and almost 10,000 people affected. Two people died in Baure.

In Kaduna, 2 fatalities were reported in Jema'A, where flooding damaged 36 shelters and affected over 3,300 people. The state government warned of flooding along the Kaduna river after heavy rainfall from 06 to 07 August.

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Cloud Precipitation

Two rare 'atmospheric rivers' form over Australia


9News
Tue, 11 Aug 2020 01:09 UTC
Two
© Kimberley Reid / University of MelbourneTwo "atmospheric rivers" formed over Australia's east and west coasts over the past few days, carrying huge amounts of rain from tropical locations.

A rare weather phenomenon has occurred above Australia, with two almost symmetrical cloud "rivers" forming at opposite ends of the country.

An "atmospheric river" is caused when a stream of very moist air moves in from the tropics and causes very heavy rain.

The Bureau of Meteorology calls these streams "atmospheric rivers".

They are cloud bands that can stretch for thousands of kilometres, carrying large quantities of water.

"It occurs when any strong weather system is able to tap into moisture in tropical locations," a BOM spokesperson told nine.com.au.

"This one has tapped into moisture around Papua New Guinea and brought rain from there.

"The two that are forming above Australia's north-east and south-west coasts are responsible for the heavy rainfall experienced in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and WA in recent days.

While an atmospheric river is not uncommon, having two form in such close proximity to each other is rare.
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Tornado2

Tornado hits north China's Inner Mongolia injuring 33


CGTN
Mon, 10 Aug 2020 19:06 UTC
Mongolia tornado
© YouTube/CGTN (screen capture)
A tornado hit Baotou City in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, injuring 33 people on August 9. A local farmer at the tourist site of Tian'e Lake recorded the whole process with his phone. Rescue operations are underway as around 100 yurts, the traditional round-shaped dwelling in the area, were damaged. Three people were critically injured but are in stable condition, according to local authorities.

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Windsock

Powerful derecho storm wreaks havoc across US Midwest leaving 1.1 million without power

Lauren Edmonds
Daily Mail
Mon, 10 Aug 2020 21:01 UTC
Derecho damage in Illinois
© APA person surveys the damage from the roof of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, after a severe storm toppled the church steeple on the campus of Wheaton College on Monday
A rare storm packing 100 mph winds has left more than 1.1 million Americans without power across the Midwest as it caused widespread destruction with blown over trees, flipped vehicles, property damage and several severe weather warnings as it turned toward embattled Chicago.

The derecho, a widespread weather system with a long line of storms packing high winds, descended upon the Central U.S. on Monday with wind speeds comparable to a major hurricane as it spent several hours tearing through parts of Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

The storm likely caused more widespread damage than a normal tornado, said Patrick Marsh, science support chief at the National Weather Service´s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

It´s not quite a hurricane. It has no eye and its winds come across in a line. But the damage it is likely to spread over such a large area is more like an inland hurricane than a quick more powerful tornado, Marsh said.

He compared it to a devastating Super Derecho of 2009, which was one of the strongest on record and traveled more than 1,000 miles in 24 hours, causing $500 million in damage, widespread power outages and several deaths.


Comment: Severe storms bring tennis ball-size hail, damaging winds, torrential rain to Minneapolis - Saint Paul

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Bug

France's sugar beet harvest ravaged by insects, government lifts ban on pesticide blamed for harming bees


Reuters
Thu, 06 Aug 2020 13:50 UTC
sugar beet
France to ease pesticide ban for sugar beet to curb crop losses
The French government will propose lifting a ban on certain pesticides blamed for harming bees to protect sugar beet crops that have been ravaged by insects this year, the agriculture ministry said on Thursday.

The government plans to support a legislative amendment in parliament later this year to exempt sugar beet for up to three years from a general ban on neonicotinoids, the ministry said in a statement following a meeting with sugar industry representatives.

Sugar beet growers blame the ban on the neonicotinoid group of crop chemicals for insect attacks that could decimate yields this year and say this further threatens the French sugar sector after a price slump in recent years already led to factory closures.

Comment: See also:

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Cloud Precipitation

Severe storms bring tennis ball-size hail, damaging winds, torrential rain to Minneapolis - Saint Paul

Andrew Krueger
mprnews
Mon, 10 Aug 2020 18:46 UTC
Overnight storms sparked nearly continuous lightning and thunder for much of the night across the Twin Cities metro area. This was the view from the Dartmouth Bridge near the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
© Dave PeterlinzOvernight storms sparked nearly continuous lightning and thunder for much of the night across the Twin Cities metro area. This was the view from the Dartmouth Bridge near the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Round after round of severe storms brought large hail, damaging winds and torrential rain to the Twin Cities metro area late Sunday into early Monday.

The storms also sparked nearly continuous lightning and thunder for much of the night across the metro area.

Winds gusted to 61 mph at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. As of 9:10 a.m., Xcel Energy reported more than 10,000 homes and businesses without power in the wake of the storms, mostly in the south and west metro.

The Bloomington Fire Department reported early Monday that "fire crews have been responding to numerous incidents since the storms started last evening. Many trees and limbs blocking roads throughout the city."

There were widespread reports of hailstones the size of golf balls or larger. The National Weather Service received a report of tennis-ball-size hail in Loretto in western Hennepin County.
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Cloud Precipitation

Sudan rains and floods claim 20 more lives

Ashraf Shazly
The Jakarta Post
Mon, 10 Aug 2020 12:03 UTC
floods
At least 20 people were killed and 13 others wounded Sunday in torrential rains and flooding, the latest victims of days of flooding in Sudan, the civil defense said.

Heavy rains typically hit Sudan between June and October each year, and this week the country has been badly battered by the downpour.

"20 people have died and 13 have been injured while 345 houses were destroyed or badly damaged" across the country Sunday, the civil defense said.

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