Approximately 23 million people were under flood watches across parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut on Friday morning, as extreme rainfall shut off subway lines and flooded streets.
A state of emergency has been declared in New York City and two other surrounding areas after “extreme rainfall” caused widespread flooding in the northeast region.
Up to 13cm (five inches) of rain fell in some areas overnight, and as much as 18cm (seven inches) more was expected throughout the day, New York governor, Kathy Hochul, said.
Writing on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday morning, she declared a state of emergency in New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley, due to the weather.
Earlier on Friday, Ms Hochul said: “This is a dangerous, life-threatening storm. Count on this for the next 20 hours.”
She said her message to New Yorkers is that the “water is deadly”.
Pic: AP
Approximately 23 million people were under flood watches across parts of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut on Friday morning, with flash flood warnings in effect for parts of Long Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and New Jersey, according to NBC.
Footage posted on social media showed water pouring into underground stations and streets that had been turned into small lakes.
Pic: AP
Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, warned people against attempting to travel in the conditions until it clears.
Chaos during rush hour saw some drivers abandon their cars as traffic came to a standstill on a stretch of FDR Drive – a major road along the east side of Manhattan.
India and the US agreed to continue their cooperation in the areas of defence, space and clean energy as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Secretary of State Antony Blinken, amid a simmering diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of a Khalistani separatist.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Washington, US.
India and the US agreed to continue their cooperation in the areas of defence, space and clean energy as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Secretary of State Antony Blinken, amid a simmering diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of a Khalistani separatist.
Jaishankar is currently on a five-day official trip to Washington DC. This is the highest-level interaction between the two countries after the recent G20 Summit in New Delhi.
“Great to meet my friend US Secretary of State @SecBlinken at State Department today. A wide ranging discussion, following up on PM @narendramodi’s June visit. Also exchanged notes on global developments. Laid the groundwork of our 2+2 meeting very soon,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.
Great to meet my friend US Secretary of State @SecBlinken at State Department today.
A wide ranging discussion, following up on PM @narendramodi’s June visit. Also exchanged notes on global developments.
The two top diplomats “discussed a full range of issues, including key outcomes of India’s G20 presidency, and the creation of India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and its potential to generate transparent, sustainable, and high-standard infrastructure investments,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
VIDEO | EAM @DrSJaishankar meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) at the US Department of State.
The two leaders did not take any questions from the media.
“The Secretary and the External Affairs Minister also emphasised the continued importance of cooperation ahead of the upcoming 2+2 Dialogue, in particular in the areas of defence, space, and clean energy,” Miller said in a statement after the meeting.
New Delhi will host the fifth edition of India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, Jaishankar announced on Thursday. Although he did not reveal the dates of the meeting, it is learnt that the ministerial dialogue would be held in the first half of November.
The US delegation would be represented by Blinken along with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will lead the Indian delegation.
“I actually look forward to seeing you in Delhi for the 2+2,” Jaishankar told Blinken, as the latter welcomed him at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department for the meeting.
The last 2+2 ministerial was held in Washington DC on April 11. Started during the previous Trump administration, the first 2+2 ministerial was held in New Delhi on September 6, 2018.
“Focused discussion on India-US collaboration on critical and emerging tech and creating resilient supply chains at discussion convened by @USISPForum,” Jaishankar said in another post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
The King has sent a message of condolence to Libyan Presidential Council, Mohamed al-Menfi, and said “I know that my government stands ready to support your needs”.
The number of deaths in the Libyan city of Derna could range from 18,000 to 20,000 following catastrophic flooding, according to the city’s mayor.
Abdulmenam Al-Ghaithi told al-Arabiya TV yesterday this could be based on the number of wiped-out districts in the city.
It came as the King sent a letter of condolence to the chairman of the Libyan Presidential Council, Mohamed al-Menfi.
The message read: “My wife and I are so desperately saddened by the devastating impact and loss of life caused by Storm Daniel and the subsequent floods.
A general view of the city of Derna following Storm Daniel and catastrophic flooding
“We mourn with all those who have lost their loved ones, and continue to pray for everyone whose lives and livelihoods have been affected by the horrific floods.
“I admire greatly all those who are engaged tirelessly in the rescue efforts in such dire conditions, and praise their selfless bravery.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the UK government announced an initial aid package worth up to £1m to meet the immediate needs of those affected by the catastrophic flooding in Derna.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a tweet it is “shocking to see the scale of the loss and devastation caused by the floods in Libya”, adding that the UK is “working to provide immediate assistance to the Libyan people”.
Libyan officials appealed for international help on Monday, warning the country doesn’t have the necessary experience to deal with a disaster of this scale.
Emergency workers have uncovered more than 1,500 bodies in the wreckage of the eastern city of Derna.
More than 5,300 people are feared dead after devastating flooding struck Libya.
A quarter of the eastern city of Derna was wiped out by floodwaters after dams burst as Storm Daniel hit the country, the local administration said, with more than 1,500 bodies recovered so far.
There are fears the number of those killed will rise further, with 10,000 people reported missing after entire neighbourhoods were washed away.
More than 5,300 people in Derna alone have been killed, according to Mohammed Abu-Lamousha, a spokesman for the east Libya interior ministry.
Cars stacked on top of each other. Pic: Libyan government via AP
Derna’s ambulance authority earlier put the number at 2,300.
Images showed a mass grave piled with bodies.
Pic: AP
Disaster zone
Derna has been declared a disaster zone.
Tamer Ramadan, head of the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) in Libya, said: “We can confirm from our independent sources of information that the number of missing people is hitting 10,000 so far.
“The death toll is huge and might reach thousands.”
Survivors of Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in more than six decades struggled to find food, water and shelter on Sunday as the search for the missing continued in remote villages and the death toll of more than 2,100 seemed likely to rise further.
Many people were spending a third night in the open after the 6.8 magnitude quake hit late on Friday. Relief workers face the challenge of reaching the worst-affected villages in the High Atlas, a rugged mountain range where settlements are often remote and where many houses crumbled.
The death toll climbed to 2,122 with 2,421 people injured, state TV reported. Morocco said it may accept relief offers from other countries and will work to coordinate them if needed, according to state TV.
The damage done to Morocco’s cultural heritage became more evident as local media reported the collapse of a historically important 12th century mosque. The quake also damaged parts of Marrakech old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
In Moulay Brahim, a village 40 km (25 miles) south of Marrakech, residents described how they dug the dead from the rubble using their bare hands. On a hillside overlooking the village, residents buried a 45-year-old woman who had died along with her 18-year-old son, a woman sobbing loudly as the body was lowered into the grave.
As he retrieved possessions from his damaged home, Hussein Adnaie said he believed people were still buried in the rubble nearby.
“They didn’t get the rescue they needed so they died. I rescued my children and I’m trying to get covers for them and anything to wear from the house,” Adnaie said.
Yassin Noumghar, 36, complained of shortages of water, food and power, saying he had received little government aid so far.
“We lost everything, we lost the entire house,” Noumghar said. “We want just for our government to help us.”
Later, sacks of food were unloaded from a truck which local official Mouhamad al-Hayyan said had been organised by the government and civil society organisations.
Twenty-five bodies had been brought to the village’s small clinic, according to staff.
With many homes built of mud bricks and timber or cement and breeze blocks, structures crumbled easily. It was Morocco’s deadliest earthquake since 1960 when a quake was estimated to have killed at least 12,000 people.
In the badly hit village of Amizmiz, residents watched as rescuers used a mechanical digger on a collapsed house.
“They are looking for a man and his son. One of them might still be alive,” said Hassan Halouch, a retired builder.
The team eventually recovered only bodies.
The army, mobilised to help the rescue effort, set up a camp with tents for the homeless. With most shops damaged or closed, residents struggled to get food and supplies.
Emergency crews work, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake, in Amizmiz, Morocco, September 10, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho Doce
“We’re still waiting for tents. We haven’t had anything yet,” said Mohammed Nejjar, a labourer who was folding his blanket in a makeshift shelter constructed with bits of wood. “I had a little food offered by one man but that’s all since the earthquake. You can’t see a single shop open here and people are frightened to go inside in case the roof falls down.”
The quake’s epicentre was 72 km (45 miles) southwest of Marrakech, a city beloved by Moroccans and foreign tourists for its medieval mosques, palaces and seminaries richly adorned with vivid mosaic tiling amid a labyrinth of rose-hued alleyways.
The government said on Sunday it has set up a fund for those affected by the earthquake. The government has also said it is reinforcing search-and-rescue teams, providing drinking water and distributing food, tents and blankets. The World Health Organization said more than 300,000 people have been affected by the disaster.
FOREIGN AID
Spain said 56 officers and four sniffer dogs have arrived in Morocco, while a second team of 30 people and four dogs was heading there. Britain said it was deploying 60 search-and-rescue specialists and four dogs on Sunday, as well as a four-person medical assessment team. Qatar also said its search-and-rescue team departed for Morocco.
U.S. President Joe Biden expressed his “sadness about the loss of life and devastation” caused by the quake.
“We stand ready to provide any necessary assistance to the Moroccan people,” Biden told a news conference in Hanoi, Vietnam.
A U.S. official said a small team of disaster experts dispatched by the United States arrived in Morocco on Sunday to assess the situation.
France said it stood ready to help and was awaiting a formal request from Morocco.
Other countries offering assistance included Turkey, where earthquakes in February killed more than 50,000 people. By Sunday, the Turkish team had not yet departed.
“The next two to three days will be critical for finding people trapped under the rubble,” Caroline Holt, global director of operations for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), told Reuters.
The earthquake struck late on Friday – damaging homes in major cities and sending panicked people pouring into the streets. Reports suggest some buildings in Marrakech have collapsed.
At least 296 people have been killed following a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Morocco, officials have said.
Many of the fatalities are said to be in hard-to-reach areas south of Marrakech.
Many buildings have been reduced to rubble in Marrakech. Pic: Al Oula TV
The earthquake struck late on Friday – damaging buildings in major cities and sending panicked people pouring into the streets.
At least 153 people were injured and are being treated in hospital.
Witnesses in Marrakech told the Reuters news agency that some buildings have collapsed, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Big cracks were seen in a section of the medieval city’s walls.
Local television stations broadcast pictures of a fallen mosque minaret, with rubble lying on smashed cars. Others were seen screaming as they ran out of shopping centres and restaurants.
Officials are working to clear roads so ambulances and aid can reach those affected – but large distances between mountain villages mean it will take time to learn the full extent of the damage.
Montasir Itri, a resident in the mountain village of Asni not far from the epicentre, said most houses were damaged – adding: “Our neighbours are under the rubble and people are working hard to rescue them using available means in the village.”
Aftershocks have been reported – with men, women and children staying out in the streets, frightened of further quakes.
According to the US Geological Survey, the epicentre was high in the Atlas Mountains – about 43 miles (70km) away from Marrakech, a popular tourist destination.
At least six people have died and more than six were still missing on Thursday after storm Daniel swept across central Greece, triggering landslides, destroying roads and bridges and carrying away dozens of cars.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis postponed an annual economic speech scheduled for this weekend and will instead visit areas hit since Monday by torrential rain that has flooded homes and destroyed key infrastructure, including power poles.
“The state mechanism’s absolute priority right now is the rescue and evacuation of people from the areas affected,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told a press briefing.
“Our country is facing for the third day a phenomenon unlike any other we have seen in the past,” Marinakis said, before announcing that the recently re-elected leader’s main economic policy speech would be held in the middle of next week instead of Saturday.
The mainland port city of Volos, the surrounding mountainous Pelion area and the cities of Karditsa and Trikala were among the worst-hit areas.
Heavy rainfall, which came days after a two-week deadly wildfire died out in the north and authorities said was the most extreme on record, has turned many villages in the low-lying area of Karditsa, in the mainland Thessaly plain, into a lake.
Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said during a press briefing on Thursday that six people had been reported missing in the area of Karditsa.
The fire brigade said the bodies of two elderly women were recovered from a house at the community of Astritsa near Karditsa on Thursday. The body of a man had been found in the town of Domokos earlier in the day.
HOUSES SUBMERGED
Rescue personnel operate during an evacuation from an area flooded due to the impact of storm Daniel, in Astritsa, Greece, September 7, 2023. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Reuters footage showed houses submerged in flood water in the Trikala region.
In the town of Palamas, near Karditsa, dozens of people were trapped inside their flooded residences, Mayor Giorgos Sakellariou, told Open television. Residents speaking to local media called for help and for food supplies.
A fire brigade helicopter airlifted people from the village of Agia Triada, where at least 20 people had been trapped, the government said.
Since Tuesday, 820 people have been evacuated across the country, 750 of them in the Thessaly region.
A fire brigade official said that emergency crews assisted by the army and coastguard used lifeboats in an effort to reach the storm-hit villages in Karditsa, where water was 2 metres (6.5 feet) deep.
“Operations are been carried out very carefully as flood debris obstructed the boats, while, in other cases, the power of the water does not allow us to approach,” fire brigade spokesperson Vasilios Vathrakogiannis told a briefing.
US president offers support to people of Florida after Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential presidential rival, rejected a meeting with him.
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden speak with a woman during their tour of Hurricane Idalia’s destruction, Live Oak, Florida, US, September 2, 2023 [Evelyn Hockstein/ Reuters]Joe Biden, the president of the United States, has surveyed the destruction caused by Hurricane Idalia in the state of Florida but did not meet with Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential presidential rival, who opted not to come.
Biden offered support and condolences to those affected by Idalia on Saturday after taking an aerial tour and receiving a briefing from local officials as well as first responders in Live Oak, a town hit hard by the storm.
He saw houses with fallen trees on them and said that no one “intelligent” could doubt that climate change was happening.
“I’m here today to deliver a clear message to the people of Florida and throughout the southeast,” Biden said as he spoke outdoors, near a church that had parts of its sheet metal roof peeled back by Idalia’s powerful winds and a home half crushed by a fallen tree.
“As I’ve told your governor, if there’s anything your state needs, I’m ready to mobilise that support,” he continued. “Anything they need related to these storms. Your nation has your back and we’ll be with you until the job is done.”
But politics hung over Biden’s trip.
The president, a Democrat who has spoken to DeSantis multiple times this week, said on Friday that he and the Republican governor would meet in person. But DeSantis’s spokesperson said on the same day that the governor had no plans to meet Biden, adding that “the security preparations alone that would go into setting up such a meeting would shut down ongoing recovery efforts”.
The governor’s decision caught the White House off guard.
Asked if he was disappointed that DeSantis did not come, Biden said, “No, I’m not disappointed.”
“He may have had other reasons. … But he did help us plan this,” Biden told reporters. “He sat with FEMA and decided where we should go where would be the least disruption,” he added, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Taiwan takes precautions as Typhoon Haikui approaches, including flight cancellations and evacuations. Expected heavy rainfall and powerful winds.
A lifesaver keeps watch next to a red flag designating the prohibition of swimming as Typhoon Haikui approaches the region, at Sunset Beach in Chatan, Okinawa prefecture, Japan September 1, 2023. REUTERS/Issei Kato (REUTERS)
As Typhoon Haikui approached Taiwan, the country took precautionary measures, including the cancellation of domestic flights and the evacuation of nearly 3,000 individuals. The typhoon is anticipated to bring heavy rainfall and powerful winds to the southern and eastern regions of the island.
Haikui is predicted to hit the remote and thinly populated southeastern part of Taiwan, characterized by mountainous terrain, during late Sunday afternoon. In response, several counties and cities in the eastern and southern areas have suspended classes and declared a day off for employees.
Compared to Typhoon Saola, which struck Hong Kong and the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on Saturday, Haikui is significantly less powerful. According to Tropical Storm Risk, Haikui is projected to be categorized as only a Category 1 or 2 typhoon when it makes landfall in Taiwan.
In response to the approaching typhoon, the Taiwanese government reported that 2,868 individuals have already been relocated from predominantly southern and eastern settlements.
Hurricane Idalia has wrought havoc in Florida, leaving 250,000 homes without power and submerging properties. The storm has now been downgraded as it heads into Georgia – but storm surges and rainfall pose new risks.
Idalia is now a tropical storm – what has happened so far?
Flooded roads, evacuations and downed power lines – there’s no doubt Idalia has caused havoc in the US over the last 24 hours.
It was originally classed as a category 3 hurricane, but as the day comes to an end it has been downgraded to a tropical storm.
Here’s what has happened so far:
Idalia roared ashore early this morning with 125 mph winds and unleashed devastation along a wide stretch of the Gulf Coast.
Homes and vehicles were submerged, streets turned into rivers, and small boats were unmoored before the hurricane went sweeping into Georgia.
Almost 438,000 customers in Florida and Georgia lost power while rushing water covered streets near the coast.
The centre of the hurricane then moved inland, causing high winds to shred signs, send sheet metal flying and snap tall trees.
Idalia came ashore in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula.
It made landfall as a high-end category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph.
There were no confirmed storm deaths in Florida, although fatal traffic accidents in two counties may end up being storm-related, Florida governor Ron DeSantis said.
State officials, 5,500 National Guardsman and rescue crews were in search-and-recovery mode, inspecting bridges, clearing toppled trees and looking for anyone in distress in one of Florida’s most rural regions.
On the island of Cedar Key, downed trees and debris blocked roads, and propane tanks exploded.
A woman shelters from the rain with an umbrella in Beijing on Jul 31, 2023. (File Photo: AFP/Pedro Pardo)
Four people were killed and dozens are still missing after rainstorms buffeted southwestern China last week, state media reported on Wednesday (Aug 30).
Severe downpours hit Jinyang, a mountainous county in Sichuan province, on Aug 21, but the extent of the damage was not immediately reported.
Over a week after the rains, state broadcaster CCTV said on Wednesday the storms triggered floods that struck a steel processing site where more than 200 people were working.
“At present, the floods have caused four deaths and left 48 people missing, and rescue work is ongoing,” CCTV reported.
It added that five people had been detained on suspicion of “failing to report or falsely reporting a safety incident”.
President Xi Jinping ordered officials to “do all they can to search for the missing people … and comfort their families”, CCTV said.
The incident “should be completely investigated and the responsible parties dealt with according to law”, Xi reportedly said.
Hurricane Idalia gained fury over the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday as it crawled toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, forcing evacuations in low-lying coastal areas expected to be swamped when the powerful storm hits on Wednesday morning.
Idalia was generating maximum sustained winds of 105 miles per hour (169 kph) by early Tuesday evening, and its intensity will ratchet higher before it slams ashore, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC).
By that time, the storm was forecast to reach Category 3 strength – classified as a major hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph (179 kph) – on the five-step Saffir-Simpson wind scale.
The hurricane was upgraded on Tuesday evening to a Category 2 after its top wind speeds surpassed 95 mph (153 kph), feeding on the warm, open waters of the gulf.
Idalia’s most dangerous feature, however, appeared to be the powerful surge of wind-driven seawater it is expected to deliver to barrier islands and other low-lying areas along the coast.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination next year, urged residents in vulnerable communities to heed orders to move to higher ground, warning that the storm surge could cause life-threatening floods.
“They’re expecting some fatalities, so I don’t want to be one of them,” said Rene Hoffman, 62, of Steinhatchee, Florida, a coastal town in the area where Idalia is expected to make landfall. She owns a food stand that she lashed to her husband’s pickup truck to keep it from washing or blowing away.
“This is scary, you know, to think that water could come this high,” she said as she gathered her prescription medications and prepared to leave her home. “We’ve never had water up here before.”
The NHC said Idalia’s center would likely hit Florida’s coastline somewhere in the Big Bend region, where the state’s northern panhandle curves into the Gulf side of the Florida Peninsula, roughly bounded by the inland cities of Gainesville and Tallahassee, the state capital.
Sparsely populated compared with the Tampa-St. Petersburg area to the south, the Big Bend features a marshy coast, threaded with freshwater springs and rivers, and a cluster of small offshore islands forming Cedar Key, an historic fishing village devastated in 1896 by a hurricane’s storm surge.
Most of Florida’s 21 million residents, along with many in Georgia and South Carolina, were under hurricane, tropical storm and storm surge warnings and advisories. State emergency declarations were issued in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
At the White House, U.S. President Biden said he and DeSantis were “in constant contact,” adding that he had assured the governor federal disaster assistance would remain in place for as “long as it takes, and we’ll make sure they have everything they need.”
Gulf energy producers were taking precautions as well. U.S. oil company Chevron evacuated staff from three oil production platforms, while Kinder Morgan planned to shut a petroleum pipeline.
Idalia-related disruptions extended to Florida’s Atlantic coast at Cape Canaveral, where the Tuesday launch of a rocket carrying a U.S. Space Force intelligence satellite was delayed indefinitely due to the hurricane.
Idalia grew from a tropical storm into a hurricane early on Tuesday, a day after passing west of Cuba, where it damaged homes and flooded villages.
A man places plywood in front of a store ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Idalia in Cedar Key, Florida, U.S., August 29, 2023. REUTERS/Marco Bello
By Tuesday evening, the storm was churning about 155 miles (250 km) southwest of Tampa as it crept northward.
Idalia is in line to become the fourth major hurricane to strike Florida over the past seven years, following Irma in 2017, Michael in 2018 and Ian, which peaked at Category 5, last September.
UP TO 15 FEET OF STORM SURGE
In Sarasota – a city hard-hit by Ian last year – Milton Bontrager’s home was boarded and stocked with food, water and a generator.
“I don’t panic, I prepare,” said Bontrager, 40, who runs six charter fishing boats in Venice along the Gulf Coast near Tampa.
He stopped taking customers out days ago so he could secure the boats. His biggest craft is tied down to a floating dock with 16 lines and equipped with battery-powered pumps that turn on automatically if the boat starts taking on water.
State’s capital Shimla has witnessed several landslides in the past weeks with the toll in rain-related incidents in the district in the past 10 days rising to 26. During this year’s monsoon, Himachal Pradesh experienced three major episodes of intense rainfall.
Himachal Pradesh has been facing nature’s wrath as the state witnessed several landslides following heavy downpours which resulted in the death of 120 people this month alone. State’s capital Shimla has witnessed several landslides in the past weeks with the toll in rain-related incidents in the district in the past 10 days rising to 26, which include 17 deaths in Summer Hill landslide, five in Fagli and two in Krishna Nagar. The victims of the landslide narrated their pain as they were left with close to nothing to look forward to as their day-to-day lives had been completely shattered due to the landslides and were forced to live the life of a refugee.
Narrating her harrowing experience, Promila, who lost her home in a landslide in Shimla said, “Death would have better than going through this nightmare with nowhere to go and no shoulder to cry on.”
Here are today’s top news, analysis, and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.
A man looks at a swollen Beas River following heavy rains in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh.(AP)
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Eighteen charred bodies were found in a remote village in northeastern Greece on Tuesday where wildfires have been raging for days, authorities said, as a heatwave that has seen red alerts issued across southern Europe turned deadly.
Firefighters said they were investigating whether the bodies, found near a shack south of the village of Avantas, were migrants. The surrounding Evros region is a popular route for migrants from the Middle East and Asia crossing from Turkey.
In the Greek port town of Alexandroupolis nearby, dozens of hospital patients were evacuated onto a ferry, while a blaze on the foothills of Mount Parnitha sent thick clouds of smoke over the capital Athens.
In Spain, Italy and Portugal, firefighters were battling blazes as the region suffered hot, dry and windy conditions that scientists have linked to climate change.
Temperatures in many areas were expected to reach or exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), forecasters said. Italy and France declared red alerts in a number of areas.
The latest heatwave comes after a torrid July that was the hottest month on record. Some 20,000 people were evacuated on the Greek island of Rhodes in mid-July and a severe fire hit Spain’s Canary island of La Palma.
Blazes on Hawaii’s Maui island earlier this month killed more than 110 people, while Canada this week deployed the military in its westernmost province of British Columbia to tackle fast-spreading fires.
In Greece, gale-force winds complicated efforts to control the fires. Fifty-six firefighters arrived in Greece from Romania on Tuesday and Athens was expecting further assistance from the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany and Sweden.
HOSPITAL EVACUATION
The 18 bodies were found south of the village of Avantas near the vast Dadia forest, authorities said. Another body thought to belong to a migrant was found on Monday, in a rural area some 40 km (25 miles) away.
“The possibility that these are people who entered the country illegally is being investigated,” the fire brigade said. It said searches were ongoing.
In Alexandroupolis, not far from Avantas, wildfires forced the evacuation of dozens of hospital patients, including newborn babies. A ferry was turned into a makeshift hospital after 65 patients were evacuated from the University Hospital.
“I’ve been working for 27 years, I’ve never seen anything like this,” said nurse Nikos Gioktsidis. “Stretchers everywhere, patients here, IV drips there … it was like a war, like a bomb had exploded.”
Flames burn a tree as a wildfire rages in Alexandroupolis, on the region of Evros, Greece, August 22. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis
Fires also broke out on Tuesday near Athens, where a blaze on the city’s outskirts, on the foothills of Mount Parnitha, burned homes and forced residents to flee.
“The winds are very strong … It is a very difficult firefighting task. God help us,” said Sotiris Masouris, a 50-year-old resident of Hasia, west of Athens.
WILDFIRES HIT SPAIN, ITALY
In Spain, where most of the country was in very high or extreme risk of wildfire amid the summer’s fourth heatwave, authorities were struggling to stabilise a huge wildfire that has been ravaging forests on the island of Tenerife for a week.
The blaze has burned through 15,000 hectares in 12 municipalities, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people.
In neighbouring Portugal, authorities placed more than 120 municipalities in the north and central areas, as well as in some parts of the Algarve – a popular holiday destination in the south – at maximum risk of wildfires due to the heat.
More than 100 firefighters backed by 10 aircraft were battling a wildfire that erupted on Monday night in the northern Portuguese city of Baião.
In Italy, around 700 people were evacuated after a fire broke out on Monday on the Tuscan island of Elba, firefighter Alessandro Vitaliano told Reuters. No casualties have been reported.
Italy issued hot weather red alerts in 16 of the country’s 27 main cities on Tuesday, including Rome, Milan and Florence, with the number set to rise on Wednesday.
Heavy to very heavy rain is likely in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand from August 22-24, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Meanwhile, four people died in a fresh landslide in Uttarakhand’s Tehri district.
SDRF carries out rescue work following a landslide in Uttarakhand’s Tehri district. (India Today)
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an ‘orange alert’ for heavy to very heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand from August 22-24.
The weather body also warned of a moderate risk of flash floods in catchment areas of the Chamba and Mandi districts, predicting a wet spell till August 26.
Heavy rain can result in landslides, flash floods and increased water levels in rivers and drains, besides causing damage to standing crops, fruit plants and young seedlings, the weather office said.
The hill states have seen extensive devastation and deaths in the last few months due to incessant rainfall.
4 KILLED IN UTTARAKHAND LANDSLIDE, ROAD BLOCKED
Four people, including two women and a 4-month-old baby, were killed after being hit by a landslide in Chamba in Uttarakhand’s Tehri district on Monday, police said.
Four bodies have been recovered so far and a search is underway for another missing person, senior police official Navneet Singh Bhullaraid said.
Some more vehicles could also be trapped as the landslide hit a taxi stand near the Chamba police station, he added.
About 30,000 households have been ordered to evacuate in Canada’s British Columbia province, where nearly 400 wildfires are raging.
Two huge fires in the Shuswap region merged overnight, destroying blocks of houses and other buildings.
To the south, travel to the waterside city of Kelowna has been restricted, and smoke from nearby fires hangs over Lake Okanagan.
Fires have charred homes in West Kelowna, a nearby city of 36,000.
The travel restriction around Kelowna is designed to ensure enough accommodation for evacuees and emergency workers. It also applies to the towns of Kamloops, Oliver, Penticton and Vernon and Osoyoos.
Hundreds of miles north, a huge fire continues to edge towards the city of Yellowknife.
An official deadline to evacuate the city – the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories – lapsed on Friday. A local official said later that day that nearly all residents had left, either by car or plane.
About 19,000 of the city’s 20,000 inhabitants had evacuated. Authorities said 39 patients were moved out of a hospital to alternative facilities on Friday evening, making them the last people to be evacuated from the city.
Environment and communities minister Shane Thompson said some people had chosen “to shelter in place”, but urged locals to leave.
In British Columbia, evacuation orders grew from covering 15,000 homes on Friday to at least 30,000 by Saturday evening. Another 36,000 homes are under evacuation alert.
The province’s emergency management minister said officials “cannot stress strongly enough how critical it is to follow evacuation orders”.
Bowinn Ma added: “They are a matter of life and death not only for the people in those properties, but also for the first responders who will often go back to try to implore people to leave.”
Premier of the province, David Eby, put the total number of people ordered to leave at 35,000, with 30,000 told to be prepared to evacuate.
One Kelowna resident told the BBC the fires came over the mountainside like an “ominous cloud of destruction”Smoke from wildfires is hanging over Lake Okanagan, on which Kelowna sits
Canada is having its worst wildfire season on record, with at least 1,000 fires burning across the country, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).
Experts say climate change increases the risk of the hot, dry weather that is likely to fuel wildfires.
Extreme and long-lasting heat draws more and more moisture out of the ground – which can provide fuel for fires that can spread at an incredible speed, particularly if winds are strong.
Although no deaths have been reported in the latest fires, at least four firefighters have lost their lives during this record-breaking season.
California is bracing for its first tropical storm in 84 years with almost 1,000 flights cancelled and the ongoing actors’ strike called off due to the impending extreme weather.
Storm Hilary was previously classed as a Category 4 hurricane but weakened as it approached the Mexican coast, from where it was due to head to California and other states in the southeastern US.
At least nine million people in southern California were under flood warnings as they faced “life-threatening” rain, mudslides, tornadoes, high winds and power outages.
People walk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame during the tropical storm Hilary
Up to 10 inches of rain were set to fall as mud spilled onto highways, water overwhelmed drainage systems and tree branches fell in places from San Diego to Los Angeles. The storm sustained winds of up to 65mph.
Authorities also said there was a 5% risk of tornadoes in southern California – the first time there has been this level of risk since at least 2002.
Residents in some counties were ordered to evacuate while Governor Gavin Newsom declared southern California in a state of emergency.
Authorities ran out of sandbags and supermarket shelves were empty as residents stockpiled supplies.
Disneyland closed early, football games were rescheduled and some beaches were closed in anticipation of the storm.
Schools also were set to close on Monday – postponing the start of the new school year.
Long time resident of Long Beach, Gabriella Holt, prepares her home that sits on the strand for Hurricane Hilary’s arrivalA worker drags caution tape to block off Pico Boulevard after a tree fell in Los Angeles Pic: AP
Airports in Las Vegas, San Diego and Los Angeles cancelled close to 1,000 flights on Sunday afternoon while two airlines, Southwest and Frontier, suspended all flights to Ontario International Airport in southern California. Dozens more flights across California were also delayed.
The Writer’s Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, cancelled their scheduled pickets on Monday due to the storm.
Hollywood writers have been on strike since May, with the actors union joining them on strike last month in a row over pay and the impact of streaming and new technologies on the industry.
The unions plan to resume picketing on Tuesday.
Other states such as Nevada, Oregon and Idaho are also set to experience once-in-a-century rain as Storm Hilary moves east, with the Nevada governor declaring a state of emergency on Sunday afternoon.
Bad weather during summer is rare for California – the average rainfall for Los Angeles in August is 0 inches.
The city is predicted to have at least three to five inches, while hills not far away are predicted to get up to 10 inches.
Michael Brennan, director of the US National Hurricane Centre said some areas could get the amount of rain in hours that they typically get in an entire year.
“You do not want to be out driving around, trying to cross flooded roads on vehicle or on foot,” he said during a briefing from Miami.
“Rainfall flooding has been the biggest killer in tropical storms and hurricanes in the United States in the past 10 years and you don’t want to become a statistic.”
As preparations were under way, southern California got another surprise when an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 struck near Ojai, about 80 miles (130 km) northwest of Los Angeles, according to the US Geological Survey.
No immediate reports of major damage or injury were issued.
It comes as one person died when deadly flooding from Storm Hilary made landfall in Mexico’s Baja California state.
Deadly floodwaters have left streets inundated along the length of the Baja California peninsula, reported AP.
Hurricane Hilary is moving towards Mexico’s Baja California peninsula
Hurricane Hilary, heading to Mexico’s Pacific coast, has weakened but can still cause “life-threatening” flooding, US meteorologists warn.
With winds up to 100mph (175km/h), it is now a Category 2 storm, the National Hurricane Center says. Hillary is due to make landfall later on Saturday.
The NHC is already reporting heavy rain in parts of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and the south-western US.
Hilary will weaken to a tropical storm before it reaches southern California.
It would be the first tropical storm to hit the US state in more than 80 years.
In its latest update at 21:00 GMT on Saturday, the NHC says the hurricane is now roughly 285 miles (459km) south-east of Baja California’s westernmost point of Punta Eugenia.
“Hilary appears to be weakening quickly,” John Cangialosi, a senior hurricane specialist at the NHC, is quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency on Saturday.
“The eye is filling and the cloud tops in the eyewall and rainbands have been warming during the past several hours,” he adds.
Hilary was earlier a powerful Category 3 storm with winds up to 130mph.
Rainfall could reach 10in (25cm) in some areas of southern California and southern Nevada, the NHC says. “Dangerous to catastrophic flooding is expected,” it adds.
In San Diego, the National Weather Service (NWS) earlier issued a warning for the “high potential” of flash flooding. Nearly 26 million people in the south-western US were under flood watch.
On Friday, US President Joe Biden said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) had “pre-positioned personnel and supplies in the region.
“I urge everyone in the path of the storm to take precautions and listen to the guidance from state and local officials,” he said.
Parts of Mexico are under a tropical storm watch and its government has placed 18,000 soldiers on standby to assist in rescue efforts.
As the storm bears down, Major League Baseball has rescheduled three games in southern California, while SpaceX has delayed the launch of a rocket from its base on the central California coast until at least Monday.
The National Park Service also closed Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave National Preserve, both in California, to prevent visitors from being stranded in the event of flooding.
Forest fires in Canada’s western province of British Columbia intensified on Saturday, with the number of people under evacuation orders doubling from a day earlier, as authorities warned of difficult days ahead.
The province declared a state of emergency on Friday to access temporary authoritative powers to tackle fire-related risks, as out-of-control fires ripped through interior British Columbia, partially shutting some sections of a key highway between the Pacific coast and the rest of western Canada, and destroying many properties.
“The current situation is grim,” Premier Daniel Eby told reporters on Saturday, saying some 35,000 people were under an evacuation order, and a further 30,000 were under an evacuation alert.
Eby said the province is in dire need of shelter for evacuees and firefighters and ordered a ban on non-essential travel to make more temporary accommodation available. Officials also urged residents to avoid operating drones in the fire zone, saying it could impede firefighting efforts.
The fire is centered around Kelowna, a city some 300 kilometres (180 miles) east of Vancouver, with a population of about 150,000.
Forest fires are not uncommon in Canada, but the spread of blazes and disruption underscore the severity of its worst wildfire season yet.
About 140,000 square km (54,054 square miles) of land, roughly the size of New York state, have already burned, and government officials project the fire season could stretch into autumn due to widespread drought-like conditions in Canada.
B.C. had experienced strong winds and dry lightning in the past few days due to a cold mass of air interacting with hot air built-up in the sultry summer. That intensified existing forest fires and ignited new ones.
“We are still in some critically dry conditions, and are still expecting difficult days ahead,” said Jerrad Schroeder, deputy fire centre manager at the Kamloops Fire Centre.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convened a meeting of key ministers and senior officials on Saturday to discuss wildfires. The Incident Response Group, which met for the second time this week, agreed to make “additional resources available” to both British Columbia and the Northwest Territories (NWT).
MAIN EAST-WEST ROAD UNDER THREAT
The McDougall Creek wildfire burns next to houses in the Okanagan community of West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, August 19, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren
A wildfire burning out of control in Yellowknife, the capital city of NWT, had triggered evacuations of almost all of its 20,000 residents this week. One patient died when he was being transferred out of Yellowknife, an NWT minister said on Saturday.
Currently, the fire is not expected to reach city limits by the end of the weekend, officials said, with some rain and cooler temperatures helping to slow its progress.
The TransCanada highway was closed near Chase, around 400 km northeast of Vancouver, and between Hope, 150 km east of Vancouver, and the village of Lytton.
The highway is the main east-west artery used by thousands of motorists and truckers heading to Vancouver, the country’s busiest port.
Kip Lumquist, who works at a gift shop in Craigellachie, British Columbia, a tourist spot on the highway, said she saw a lot of devastation over the past week.
“It was crazy, we couldn’t see the hills, the mountains, the trees, anything, probably (for) two and a half days,” said Lumquist. “I drive a white vehicle, and when I walked out to get in my car… it’s just black… It’s devastating to the community.”
High waves caused by Typhoon Lan break on the shores of Senjojiki, Shirahama town, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, August 14, 2023. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS
Japan braced for Typhoon Lan to make landfall, with airlines and railways cancelling services in central areas of the country’s main island, where it is expected to strike on Tuesday.
Lan, the seventh tropical storm of the season, was over the Pacific Ocean near central Japan, headed northwest at 15 kilometres per hour (9.3 miles per hour) on Monday, with a maximum wind speed of 139 kph and gusts of up to 195 kph, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.
The outer edge of the storm is forecast to reach the coast of Wakayama prefecture around 9 a.m. (0000 GMT), then head north over the major population centres of Osaka and Kyoto. The JMA warned of heavy rain and winds, and the risk of floods and landslides.
Japan Airlines (9201.T) and ANA Holdings (9202.T) cancelled many flights in the path of the storm. West Japan Railway (9021.T) announced the suspensions of Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train routes between Nagoya and Osaka all day on Tuesday, as well as the Sanyo Shinkansen between Osaka and Okayama.
The storm comes on the heels of Typhoon Khanun, which meandered in the northwest Pacific for days before lashing southern Japan, then heading north to batter South Korea, China, and the Russian Far East.
China was largely spared by Typhoon Khanun, which on Thursday lashed Japan, damaging homes and knocking out power on Okinawa and other islands.
Rains that started last weekend overwhelmed drainage systems (Photo: AP)
Thousands of people threatened by storm-swollen rivers were evacuated in China’s northeast on Friday while areas on the outskirts of Beijing cleared debris from flooding that wrecked roads, knocked out power and left neighborhoods in shambles.
China is struggling with record-breaking rains in some areas while others suffer scorching summer heat and drought that threatens crops. Flooding near Beijing and in neighboring Hebei province this week killed at least 22 people.
Resident Xie Xin in the western outskirts of Beijing said the floodwaters had risen so fast that his family house was submerged in less than 10 minutes.
“Objects can be replaced,” said Xie, 25, as he moved a desk. “But neighbors that have gone missing, this is what hits me the most.”
In the northeast, some 54,000 people were forced out of their homes around Harbin, the biggest city in Heilongjiang province, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. It said rescue crews in 81 boats were evacuating residents.
On Thursday, a highway bridge in Heilongjiang collapsed, sending two cars plunging into the Mudan River, according to state media. There was no word on possible deaths or injuries.
People wait for their relatives next to a rescuer preparing for his duty as residents were evacuated from flooding in Zhuozhou in northern China’s Hebei province (Photo: AP)
The Haihe Basin, which includes Beijing and nearby major cities, was experiencing its heaviest flooding since 1963, the Ministry of Water Resources said Friday.
The death toll in Beijing and the neighboring province of Hebei rose to 22 after the body of a volunteer rescuer was found in a river. Another rescuer was declared dead Wednesday after a rubber boat flipped in a raging river.
Beijing recorded its heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years as the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri deluged the region, according to the weather agency.
Some 1.2 million people in Hebei were relocated, according to the government. It said more than 100,000 government employees were mobilized for relief work.
Rains that started last weekend overwhelmed drainage systems. School classes in Beijing, China’s capital of more than 20 million people, were suspended. Power to some areas was knocked out.
To protect Beijing, flood waters were diverted to neighboring areas, prompting complaints Friday on social media that destruction could have been reduced if more water had been channeled through the capital’s rivers and canals.
Homes have been inundated by water, roads turned into rivers and train stations closed, as President Xi Jinping issues an order for local governments to go “all out” to rescue those trapped and minimise the loss of life and damage to property.
At least 20 people have died in Beijing after one of the strongest storms to hit northern China in over a decade.
A further 27 are missing after flooding in the mountains surrounding the Chinese capital following days of heavy rainfall, brought by the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri.
Homes have been inundated by water, roads turned into rivers and cars piled up.
Train stations have also been closed, while more than 52,000 people have had to be evacuated.
Flooding in other parts of northern China, which rarely see such large amounts of rain, has led to scores of deaths.
In a sign of the level of urgency, President Xi Jinping has issued an order for local governments to go “all out” to rescue those trapped and minimise the loss of life and damage to property.
Though the storm is weakening as it moves inland, authorities have warned there is a risk of further flooding.
Thunderstorms and strong winds are forecast for Beijing on Tuesday, as well as for neighbouring city Tianjin and Hebei province, state broadcaster CCTV said.
Cars are partially submerged due to the heavy rainfall and flooding in Beijing, ChinaPeople gather near a collapsed road in Mentougou District in western Beijing. Pic: APPic: AP
The rainfall during the past few days has exceeded records from a severe storm in July 2012, when the city recorded 190.3mm (7.5in) of rain in one day.
Beijing recorded an average of 260mm (10.2in) of rainfall from Saturday to early Monday, with the Changping Wangjiayuan Reservoir logging the largest reading at 738.3mm (29in).
Muddy water surging down streets washed away cars in the Mentougou district on Beijing’s western edge.
Elsewhere, emergency workers used bulldozers to clear streets while residents waded through mud.
The avalanche occurred around 12:20 pm at the 14th milestone on Jawaharlal Nehru Marg. (Photo: News18)
At least seven tourists were killed and 12 others injured in a major avalanche in Sikkim’s Nathula area on Tuesday. As many as 20 people have been rescued so far and the search operation has resumed today.
“By 3 PM, 14 persons were rescued and taken to nearby Army medical facility. However, seven persons succumbed. The other seven persons were administered first aid and returned to Gangtok,” Indian Army said.
The District Magistrate of Gangtok informed that rescue operations have been called off and there is no more requirement of the NDRF. He said that twelve injured are undergoing treatment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled deaths and wished speedy recover to injured.
“Distressed by the avalanche in Sikkim. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. I hope the injured recover soon. Rescue ops are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to those affected,” PMO tweeted quoting the PM.
Expressing condolences, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that his ministry is closely monitoring the situation.
“My sincerest condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives in the tragic avalanche in Sikkim. We are closely monitoring the situation and the teams of NDRF will reach the affected area soon. I pray for the speedy recovery of those injured,” Shah tweeted.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh expressed condolences over the incident.
“Saddened by the loss of precious lives due to an avalanche in East Sikkim. Search and Rescue Ops are being carried out by the Indian Army, SDRF and other agencies. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured,” he tweeted.
Storms that dropped possibly dozens of tornadoes killed at least 26 people in small towns and big cities across the South and Midwest, tearing a path through the Arkansas capital, collapsing the roof of a packed concert venue in Illinois and stunning people throughout the region Saturday with the damage’s scope.
Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in at least eight states destroyed homes and businesses, splintered trees and laid waste to neighborhoods across a broad swath of the country. The dead included at least nine in one Tennessee county, four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, three in Sullivan, Indiana, and four in Illinois.
Other deaths from the storms that hit Friday night into Saturday were reported in Alabama and Mississippi, along with one near Little Rock, Arkansas, where city officials said more than 2,600 buildings were in a tornado’s path.
Residents of Wynne, a community of about 8,000 people 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Memphis, Tennessee, woke Saturday to find the high school’s roof shredded and its windows blown out. Huge trees lay on the ground, their stumps reduced to nubs. Broken walls, windows and roofs pocked homes and businesses.
Debris lay scattered inside the shells of homes and on lawns: clothing, insulation, toys, splintered furniture, a pickup truck with its windows shattered.
Ashley Macmillan said she, her husband and their children huddled with their dogs in a small bathroom as a tornado passed, “praying and saying goodbye to each other, because we thought we were dead.” A falling tree seriously damaged their home, but they were unhurt.
“We could feel the house shaking, we could hear loud noises, dishes rattling. And then it just got calm,” she said.
Recovery was already underway, with workers using chainsaws and bulldozers to clear the area and utility crews restoring power.
Nine people died in Tennessee’s McNairy County, east of Memphis, according to Patrick Sheehan, director the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.
“The majority of the damage has been done to homes and residential areas,” said David Leckner, the mayor of Adamsville.
Gov. Bill Lee drove to the county Saturday to tour the destruction and comfort residents. He said the storm capped the “worst” week of his time as governor, coming days after a school shooting in Nashville that killed six people including a family friend whose funeral he and his wife, Maria, attended earlier in the day.
“It’s terrible what has happened in this community, this county, this state,” Lee said. “But it looks like your community has done what Tennessean communities do, and that is rally and respond.”
Jeffrey Day said he called his daughter after seeing on the news that their community of Adamsville was being hit. Huddled in a closet with her 2-year-old son as the storm passed over, she answered the phone screaming.
“She kept asking me, ‘What do I do, daddy?’” Day said, tearing up. “I didn’t know what to say.”
After the storm passed, his daughter crawled out of her destroyed home and over barbed wire and drove to nearby family. On Saturday evening, baby clothes were still strewn about the site.
In Memphis, police spokesman Christopher Williams said via email late Saturday that there were three deaths believed to be weather-related: two children and an adult who died when a tree fell on a house.
Tennessee officials warned that the same weather conditions from Friday night are expected to return Tuesday.
In Belvidere, Illinois, part of the roof of the Apollo Theatre collapsed as about 260 people were attending a heavy metal concert. A 50-year-old man was pulled from the rubble.
“I sat with him and I held his hand and I was (telling him), ‘It’s going to be OK.’ I didn’t really know much else what to do,” concertgoer Gabrielle Lewellyn told WTVO-TV.
The man was dead by the time emergency workers arrived. Officials said 40 others were hurt, including two with life-threatening injuries.
Crews cleaned up around the Apollo on Saturday, with forklifts pulling away loose bricks. Business owners picked up glass shards and covered shattered windows.
An aerial view of the aftermath of a tornado, in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, US Mar 25, 2023 in this screengrab obtained from a video. (Photo: SevereStudios.com/Jordan Hall/via REUTERS)
Rescuers combed through rubble on Saturday (Mar 25) after a powerful storm tore across Mississippi overnight, killing at least 25 people there and another in Alabama, leveling dozens of buildings and spawning at least one devastating tornado.
The tornado stayed on the ground for about an hour and cut a path of destruction some 274km long, according to preliminary information, said Nicholas Price, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson, Mississippi.
Video taken in the town of Rolling Fork, a town of 1,700 in western Mississippi that was hit hardest, showed homes reduced to rubble, tree trunks snapped like twigs and cars that had been tossed aside. The town’s water tower lay twisted on the ground.
Governor Tate Reeves, who visited the tornado-struck town of Silver City, declared a state of emergency in the affected areas.
“The scale of the damage and loss is evident everywhere affected today,” he wrote on Twitter. “Homes, businesses … entire communities.”
In Alabama, which was also struck by the same storm system, rescuers pulled a man from the mud when his trailer was overturned, but the man died from his injuries, according to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office. That appeared to be the only reported death in that state as of Saturday afternoon.
US President Joe Biden described the images from Mississippi as “heartbreaking” and said in a statement that he had spoken with Reeves and offered his condolences and full federal support for the recovery.
“To those impacted by these devastating storms, and to the first responders and emergency personnel working to help their fellow Americans, we will do everything we can to help,” Biden said. “We will be there as long as it takes. We will work together to deliver the support you need to recover.”
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Deanne Criswell will travel to Mississippi on Sunday, the White House said. Criswell told CNN that FEMA already had staff on the ground and that the American Red Cross was helping to set up shelters for people whose homes were destroyed.
