Category: Floods

California Deluge Forces Mass Evacuations, Boy Swept Away

LOS ANGELES—Rescuers ended the search for a 5-year-old boy who was swept away by floodwaters in central California while the entire coastal community of Montecito was ordered to evacuate Monday as the latest in a series of powerful storms walloped the state. Tens of thousands of people remained without power, and some schools closed for…


Floods in Philippines Leave 51 Dead, Over a Dozen Missing

MANILA, Philippines—Thousands of people in the Philippines remained in emergency shelters in the wake of devastating Christmas flooding, as the death toll climbed to 51 with 19 missing, authorities said Monday. Images showed residents in southern Misamis Occidental Province sweeping away thick mud from the floors of their homes. In the seaside village of Cabol-anonan,…


Philippines Floods, Landslides Kill 44 After Christmas Day Rains

MANILA—The death toll from flooding and landslides caused by Christmas Day rains in the southern Philippines rose to 44, with 28 others still unaccounted for, the national disaster agency said on Friday. Damage to infrastructure and crops has been estimated at 1.36 billion pesos ($24.4 million), it said in a bulletin. Heavy rains submerged villages,…


Philippines Hunts for 26 Still Missing After Weekend Weather Disaster

MANILA—Rescue teams across nine provinces in the Philippines raced on Wednesday to try to locate 26 people missing after weekend rains, floods, and landslides that have killed at least 25 people, in one of its deadliest weather events this year. The national disaster agency on Wednesday said casualties reported so far had increased to 25…


Philippine Death Toll From Christmas Rains and Floods Rises to 13

MANILA—The death toll from Christmas day rains in southern Philippines has risen to 13, authorities said on Tuesday, with the search still on for 23 people as floods started to recede. Most of the deaths were caused by drowning from flash floods after two days of heavy rains disrupted Christmas celebrations and forced more than…


Australian Floods: Farmers Beware … Drive at Own Risk!

Dodging giant potholes and getting bogged are all in a day’s work for Grenfell farmer Robert Grimm. The central western NSW region of Australia has experienced some of its worst flooding in 70 years, with four natural disasters declared in the past 12 months. And the rain has torn through more than just crops. “The…


20 Killed in Van Accident as Record Floods Haunt Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan—A van fell into a water-filled ditch in Pakistan’s flood-hit south, killing 20 passengers—mostly women and children—and injuring 13 others overnight, police said Friday. The incident on a flood-weakened highway took place in Sindh Province on Indus Highway. The road had been dredged in several places to drain out floodwater, but has not been…


Proposed Dam Would Have Prevented Flood Damages, Says Hydrology Expert

A hydrology expert has said that hundreds of Melbourne homes would have been protected from the recent floods if the former Labor government had agreed to build a dam at Maribyrnong River. The former Victorian Bracks government previously dismissed the suggestions on the basis that it was not worthwhile because they believed climate change predictions indicated there…


Dozens Missing After Venezuela Floods, Death Toll Rises

LAS TEJERIAS, Venezuela—Hundreds of Venezuelans roamed the streets of Las Tejerias on Tuesday, digging and searching for missing relatives amid a rising death toll from devastating weekend floods that swept through the town, leaving many wondering where they will live. “I want them to give me a house for my children because I was left…


Tropical Storm Julia Kills at Least 14 in Central America as It Churns Toward Mexico

SAN SALVADOR—The death toll from Tropical storm Julia rose to at least 14 on Monday, officials said, with victims confirmed in El Salvador and Honduras, as the weakening storm dumped heavy rainfall on a swath of Central America and southern Mexico. Salvadoran authorities reported the deaths of nine people as of Monday morning due to…