Category: Posts EN

Worst Flooding in Decades Leaves Millions Homeless in Pakistan!

Written by Team Morecast

 

A historically wet monsoon season has resulted in catastrophic flooding across much of Pakistan. The provinces of Balochistan and Sindh in the south and west of the country have been particularly hard hit. Five times the normal monsoonal rainfall has fallen there, the most in six decades. More than one thousand people have perished with millions more displaced or homeless.

 

 

 

As recently as June, Pakistan was baking in record-breaking heat and drought. Highs soared to 124 deg F (51 deg C) in the Sindh city of Jacobabad. Then the heavy rains began falling. Typically the monsoon effect peaks in July and begins to diminish in August. However, an unusual surge of tropical moisture has prolonged and enhanced the seasonal flooding. Officials report that more than 400,000 homes and two million acres of crops have been washed away. Terrifying footage of large industrial buildings and hotels collapsing into roaring rivers has been uploaded to social media (see below). Highways and bridges are also destroyed, severely restricting the flow of evacuees and supplies. Most of the telecommunications networks in the worst-hit provinces were down as of Friday evening, an unprecedented break. With the Pakistani economy still reeling from the pandemic and international market turmoil, these additional strains could lead to a food crisis in the coming weeks and months. Lead photo courtesy International Rescue Committee.

 

 

Southern China Crippled by Extreme Heat and Drought!

Written by Team Morecast

 

A severe drought has been affecting portions of the south-central and southwest US. Among other impacts, it has caused dangerously low levels of Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US. But the US drought is being dwarfed by an unprecedented heat wave in southern China. Extremely high temperatures and bone dry conditions have dominated the weather pattern there for more than two months.

 

 

 

This past Saturday, the city of Chongqing, home to nine million people, saw an overnight low of 35 deg C (95 deg F). This is warmer than the average high temperature for August. It’s also the warmest minimum temperature ever recorded in China in the month of August. As dangerous as any extreme high temperature, overnight lows that warm eliminate the period of relief that residents and air conditioning systems need to operate effectively. Numerous major cities have seen record highs near or above 43 deg C (110 deg F) recently. Hundreds of millions of citizens have been affected. Beibei reported a high of 45 deg (113 deg F), the highest temperature ever recorded in China outside of the desert province of Xinjiang.

 

 

 

The extreme heat and drought have drastically lowered lake and river levels. The impacts for drinking water and agriculture are obvious. However, these regions also depend heavily on hydroelectric power production that has been significantly hindered. Key industrial plants like car manufacturer Toyota and battery maker CATL have been forced to shut down. These restrictions will place additional strain on the already disrupted international supply chain.

Severe Monsoon Floods Ravage Portions of India and Pakistan!

Written by Team Morecast

 

The summer months always mean heavy monsoonal moisture spreading across India. Farming in this region depends entirely on the monsoonal rainfall so the rains are typically both expected and welcome. However, rains that fall too fast can still lead to dangerous flooding. This is particularly true if the heavy rain affects areas unaccustomed to the tropical downpours. Such has been the case in the past few weeks over central Pakistan (see map below).

 

 

The Punjab is a region that spans the border between Pakistan and India. A slow-moving area of tropical low pressure has been enhancing the normal monsoonal moisture flow (see satellite animation below). The Sindh district reported 355 mm of rain on Friday, the heaviest one-day total ever recorded there. The Balochistan region has seen three times their normal rainfall amounts, leading to the worst flooding in 30 years. The direct death toll from this flooding is approaching 1,000 in Pakistan and India. Almost a million people have been displaced from their homes. These floods have also destroyed billions worth of crops, leading to soaring food price inflation.

 

 

 

Another tropical cyclone is moving into northeast India. Model guidance projects this low to move slowly towards the Punjab in the coming week. Unfortunately this will mean an extended threat for severe flooding persisting into early September. Lead photo courtesy of UN photographer Evan Schneider.

Historic Flooding Swamps Brisbane Metro!

Written by Team Morecast

 

A slow-moving tropical low has brought days of torrential rainfall to southeast Queensland, including the Brisbane metro. Indeed, rainfall rates have been increasing today with rates approaching 90 mm/hr in some spots. The result has been the worst flooding in decades with more to come.

 

 

The rain gauge network across southeast QLD has been lighting up with widespread four-day totals of 500-1000 mm. Mt. Glorious has registered the highest total with 1,572 mm, but unfortunately this is far from anomalous. These copious rains have overwhelmed streams and rivers across the region, leading to levels not seen in many years.

 

 

Numerous gauges are reading in the major flood category along the Brisbane River, including downtown Brisbane itself (see tweet videos above and below). Docks, ferry moorings, and even large boats are being destroyed with debris flowing out to sea. Thousands of homes and businesses are under water, prompting widespread evacuations. Roads are inundated across the region and travel has been highly discouraged or prohibited by officials. The city bus service has been stopped entirely for the time being. Forced releases from the Wivenhoe Dam just upstream will only exacerbate the flood crisis in the next 24-48 hours. At least six people have drowned so far in the flooding across the region.

 

 

The low pressure system responsible for the rainfall will slide slowly south of Brisbane later tonight, allowing the rains to ease. A significant flooding threat will follow the low into northeast New South Wales through Monday. Lead photo courtesy Mikeymoocow.