Heavy rains in southern Brazil leave at least 2 dead and more than 2,600 displaced
The rains have caused blackouts, landslides, washed-out roads and collapsed bridges across the state. Many of the areas affected were damaged during the floods in May last year, which killed more than 100 people and prompted promises to take measures to avoid a repeat of the dramatic events. "The state is better prepared,' Gov Eduardo Leite said Wednesday on X, pointing to strengthened response teams and investments in river dredging to reduce the risk of flooding.
Some regions have been hit by more than 350 millimetres (14 inches) of rain since the weekend, Leite said. The Brazilian army said late Wednesday in a statement that troops have been deployed in seven hard-hit cities of the Rio Grande do Sul state. One of the confirmed deaths is that of a 54-year-old woman in the municipality of Candelaria.
Her husband is missing. Preliminary reports indicate that the couple attempted to cross a flooded area in a vehicle in the and were swept away, the civil defense agency said. The agency advised people not to leave their homes, close windows and doors and remove electronic devices from sockets. Scientists say extreme weather is happening more frequently due to human-caused climate change.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab Times
a day ago
- Arab Times
8.8-magnitude earthquake sends tsunami into coasts of Russia, Japan and Alaska
TOKYO, July 30, (AP): One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia's Far East early Wednesday, sending tsunami waves into Japan and Hawaii and across the Pacific. No substantial damage has been reported so far, but authorities warned people away from shorelines and said the risk could last more than a day. Ports on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia near the 8.8 magnitude quake's epicenter flooded as residents fled inland, and frothy, white waves washed up to the shore in northern Japan. Cars jammed streets and highways in Hawaii's capital, with standstill traffic even in areas away from the shoreline. People went to evacuation centers in affected areas of Japan, with memories fresh of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that caused reactor meltdowns at a nuclear power plant. No abnormalities in operations at Japan's nuclear plants were reported Wednesday. Russian authorities said several people were injured without giving a figure. In Japan, at least one person was injured. A tsunami height of 3-4 meters (10 to 13 feet) was recorded in Kamchatka, 60 centimeters (2 feet) on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, and up to 1.4 feet (under 30 centimeters) above tide levels were observed in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. The impact of the tsunami could last for hours or perhaps more than a day, said Dave Snider, tsunami warning coordinator with the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska "A tsunami is not just one wave,' he said. "It's a series of powerful waves over a long period of time. Tsunamis cross the ocean at hundreds of miles an hour -- as fast as a jet airplane -- in deep water. But when they get close to the shore, they slow down and start to pile up. And that's where that inundation problem becomes a little bit more possible there.' "In this case, because of the Earth basically sending out these huge ripples of water across the ocean, they're going to be moving back and forth for quite a while,' which is why some communities may feel effects longer, he said. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said data from Midway Atoll, which is between Japan and Hawaii, measured waves from peak to trough of 6 feet (1.8 meters). He said waves hitting Hawaii could be bigger or smaller and it was too early to tell how large they would be. A tsunami of that size would be akin to a 3 foot (90 centimeter) wave riding on top of surf, he said. "This is a longitudinal wave with great force driving through the shoreline and into land,' he said at a news conference. Green said Black Hawk helicopters have been activated and high-water vehicles were ready to go in case authorities need to rescue people. "But please do not put yourself in harm's way,' he said.
Arab Times
2 days ago
- Arab Times
Heavy rain causes flooding, evacuations and at least 38 deaths around Beijing region
BEIJING, July 29, (AP): Heavy rain caused flooding and landslides that washed away cars, forced evacuations and knocked out power around the Chinese capital, killing at least 38 people by Tuesday and rescue and relief work continued. The flood risk for parts of Beijing, Hebei province and neighboring Tianjin city remained high until Tuesday evening. State media broadcast footage of muddy waters rising into homes in rural areas and rescuers carrying an injured person on a stretcher and searching on a damaged road. Premier Li Qiang said the heavy rain and flooding in the hard-hit Beijing district of Miyun caused "serious casualties' and called for rescue efforts, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The storm knocked out power in more than 130 villages in Beijing, destroyed communication lines and damaged more than 30 sections of road. More than 16 centimeters (6 inches) of rain fell on average in Beijing by midnight, with two towns in Miyun recording 54 centimeters (21 inches) of precipitation, the city said. Heavy flooding washed away cars and downed power poles in Miyun, an outlying district that borders Hebei's Luanping county. More than 80,000 people have been relocated in Beijing, including about 17,000 in Miyun, a Beijing city statement said. The city government said 28 people died in Miyun and two others in Yanqing district Monday. Four additional people in neighboring Hebei province were discovered dead Tuesday, state broadcaster CCTV reported, after eight people were said to be missing after a landslide in a rural part of Luanping county in the province. Authorities had found four of the dead Monday. Emergency rescue teams said more landslides occurred in the same region Tuesday, although they did not report any further casualties. Uprooted trees lay in piles in the town of Taishitun, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of central Beijing. Streets were covered with water, with mud left higher up on the walls of buildings.
Arab Times
3 days ago
- Arab Times
Tropical Storm Iona forms in central Pacific, no threat to Hawaii
MIAMI, July 28, (AP): Tropical Storm Iona formed in the central Pacific and is expected to continue trekking toward the west over warm, open waters well south of Hawaii. The US National Hurricane Center in Miami said Iona emerged Sunday from a tropical depression about 960 miles (1,545 kilometers) southeast of Honolulu. The storm is expected to strengthen further in coming days but currently poses no threat to Hawaii. No coastal watches or warnings are in effect. The system gained tropical storm status with maximum sustained winds of about 40 mph (64 kph). It was moving in a generally westward direction at about 10 mph (16 kph). Iona is the first named storm of the hurricane season in the central Pacific.
