Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Work on the new tram line between the Cornavin train station and Bernex at 21-22 January provoked a water leak from the Rhone river. Workers have been repairing the leak and cleaning up flooding that affected several cellars on the street, near the Place Bel-air. Traffic has been rerouted in the area while the work goes on, expected to last through the day Monday.
It’s been a rough end to the week in Ireland, which first lost its World Cup qualifying match to the French under questionable circumstances Wednesday 18 November, and then heavy rains set in. The country, like Britain, has massive flooding in many parts of the country: Galway was virtually cut off for much of Friday, access roads and the city centred in Ennis, County Clare were closed, Thomastown and Kilkenny in the south were badly hit by rivers that broke their banks, and parts of Cork were at one point under a metre of water. Clean-up costs are being estimated at tens of millions of euros in what one official says is the worst flooding the country has seen in 30 years.
Links to other sites: Irish Times, RTE
Eleven people are missing after heavy rain and flooding washed out bridges and roads, and put towns under several feet of water in England and Scotland. The storms were expected but their impact nevertheless caught many areas by surprise. Cumbria in England, on the border with Scotland, was the worst-hit area. Heavy rain and gale-force winds are forecast in the area and for much of the UK in the next few days. Flood alerts are continuing and some rail service is likely to be disrupted.
The UK weather service has told Britain to expect heavy rain Thursday and Friday, accompanied by widespread flooding in northwest England and southwest Scotland. A tidal surge in the Irish Sea could spell flooding in and north of Aberystwyth, Wales and gusting up to 70 miles per hour in some areas could add to the weather woes.
At least 90 people have died in floods and torrential rains as tropical storm Mirinae lashed coastal regions of the central part of Vietnam 3 and 4 November. Many people are missing as their houses have been flooded and rivers have overflowed, according to official reports. In Phu Yen province, the hardest hit, 65 people have been reported dead, and 15,000 people have been evacuated. Soldiers in boats and helicopters are bringing food to people who have been without for two or three days.
In the port city of Da Nang, city officials sent a rescue vessel to take off 12 crew members from a Cambodian ship carrying rolled steel to Ho Chi Minh City shortly after it caught fire and sank as it sheltered from the storm 3 November. Press Association, Saigon GP Daily
Just a week after Typhoon Ketsana caused massive flooding in the Philippines, including major flooding in the capital, Manila, Typhoon Parma hit land in Luzon late Saturday 3 October, promising to dump 20-50 cm new rain on the area. Winds of 145 kph, gusting up to 185, wreaked havoc, but the larger concern was more flooding and mudslides. Manila avoided a direct hit as the storm changed course, but northern regions are reporting heavy damage and four deaths. Al Jazeera, CNN
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – One hundred forty deaths have been attributed to weekend flooding in the Philippines, drenched Saturday by tropical storm Ketsana, which dumped a record amount of rainfall: 410.6 millimetres in nine hours in the Manila metropolitan area. Ondoy, as the storm is called in the Philippines, submerged parts of the city and the Rizal area, affecting more than 400,000 people. The storm was heading late Monday Philippines time across the Sea of China towards Vietnam, but the WMO (World Meteorological Organization) in Geneva says the country is bracing for yet more rain. The rainfall is the most received in such a period since 1967.
Video,Associated Press
Links to other sites: CBS News
Taiwanese rescuers located up to 700 people 11 and 12 August who were earlier feared engulfed in mudslides in the mountainous south of the country, in Kaohsiung county. “We have found around 700 people alive in three villages last night and 26 more this morning. We are deploying 25 helicopters to evacuate them,” said Richard Hu, a senior official in the rescue effort. The worst flooding in 50 years left at least 60 people dead and many hundreds still missing, after typhoon Morakot passed over the island and dumped 200 cm of rain in 24 hours. A rescue helicopter crashed into a mountain side in remote Pingtung County 11 August, killing all three people on board. CNA, Reuters
Chinese authorities evacuated almost one million people from coastal areas in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces ahead of typhoon Morakot, which made landfall early morning 9 August in China. Sustained winds of over 110 km per hour, and reports of 9-metre waves caused floods and destroyed buildings. Thousands of fishing boats were warned to return to harbour. The typhoon had already wreaked havoc in Taiwan: the BBC shows dramatic footage of an empty hotel being undermined by up to 200 cm of rain in 24 hours as the storm passed over the island. In the Philippines, the storm caused widespread damage, flooding and mudslides.BBC, CNN, Reuters, Xinhua
A dam burst in the state of Piaui, in northeastern Brazil, and flooded the nearby town of Cocal de Estação, sweeping away at least 500 houses and cutting the electricity supply. Among the four confirmed dead were two young girls, aged 10 years and 12. The region has been inundated by rains for the past month. More than 2,500 families had been evacuated from the area at the beginning of May because of fears the dam would burst. They were scheduled to return home Friday, 29 May. O Globo (Por), BBC
Flooding in Bujumbura, Burundi displaced more than 8,000 people and damaged more than 1,200 homes. An excess of rain combined with a lack of drainage channels caused the flooding. Victims are currently depending on charity for food and shelter, and certain areas remain inaccessible. All Africa
Neuchatel, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) – Switzerland continued to be battererd by heavy rains and storms Wednesday, but floodwaters receded slightly in the Neuchatel area, parts of which have been hard hit. Police in the canton received more than 1,000 phone calls between 15:00 and 20:00 from people worried about caves and other spaces being flooded. The rail line between Neuchatel and Bern is closed and is not likely to be re-established before Sunday, reports TSR.
Snow fell near Crans-Montana, down to 2,000 metres Thursday morning
[Update and photo added, 10:15]
Switzerland (RSR, Fre) – Vaud, Jura and Fribourg are among the cantons worst hit by floods as heavy rains continue throughout Switzerland. Meteoswiss Wednesday night raised the alert (3 on a scale of 3), noting that 100 litres of water per square metre can be expected in 24 hours.
Low roads are cut off in the Chablais area, some 50 campers have been evacuated near Villeneuve and train lines are affected in some areas, notably between Bern and Fribourg and around Délémont. More than 100 firefighters are out fighting the water, for a change and police are advising people in affected areas to strictly limit car travel.
The snow line is expected to be between 1,900 and 2,400 metres, lower in some spots, with Thursday remaining very wet in the Alps. Meteoswiss is forecasting sunshine and drier weather late Friday, for western Switzerland.
- Dangerous weather conditions map for Switzerland
- Le Temp’s list of rivers to watch. Note that three Alpine passes have fresh snow and travellers should be aware they may not be open: Furka, Nufenen, Grimsel
Western Switzerland (Le Matin, Fre and TSR, Fre) – Storms late Monday and during the night caused flooding and mudslides in several areas, with Bern, Jura Bernois and Fribourg hardest hit. The CFF rail lines were down on the Bern-Fribourg line early Tuesday morning because of a mudslide in Flamatt. Ponies were up to their chests in water that flooded their quarters at the Crémines zoo, before they could be pulled to safety, but tigers were the most panic-stricken, especially when large hail hit, Le Matin reports the zoo director as saying.
