How extreme rainfall in New Mexico is linked to wildfires
In the town of Ruidoso, 35 homes were swept away and three people died. The National Weather Service attributed the extreme event to the wildfires that devastated the same area in 2024.
Burn scars caused by wildfires remove vegetation that helps to stop rainwater from flowing above ground into rivers, increasing the risk of a flash flood.
More rain is expected in New Mexico and Texas at the weekend.
In Taiwan, Typhoon Danas made landfall on Monday as a category 2 storm, killing two people and injuring 700, before moving back over water to the north of the country. In Mudan, 457mm of rain fell, causing dykes to overflow and landslides. Despite weakening over Taiwan, Danas took a slow west turn towards China's east coast where it made landfall on Wednesday, bringing prolonged heavy rainfall.
In the city of Zhaotong, 7,000 people were evacuated as 230mm of rain fell in 24 hours. The rain came after an intense heatwave that has been affecting central and eastern China in the past few weeks.
Severe storms struck eastern Europe on Monday, disrupting transport in Hungary and Serbia. Budapest airport was closed temporarily because of flooding at one of the terminal buildings and to clear debris that had blown on to the runways. The closure caused a number of flight diversions to neighbouring airports. Wind speeds up to 100mph brought down overhead lines on the railways in Hungary, cancelling many services.
Southern and eastern Europe have been on high alert for severe storms this summer and into autumn owing to a record-breaking marine heatwave in the Mediterranean. Sea surface temperatures, particularly in the western Mediterranean, have been up to 5C above average for the time of year, providing extra fuel for convective weather. Such extreme sea temperatures have been caused by hot and calm weather over southern Europe, as well as the continuing effects of climate breakdown.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
13 minutes ago
- The Independent
Thousands evacuated as Spanish wildfires rage in 45C heat
Wildfires across southern Europe have caused multiple fatalities, including a 55-year-old man reported to have died trying to save 26 horses from a burning stable near Madrid. A 35-year-old volunteer firefighter also died, making him the sixth wildfire fatality in Spain this year, as thousands were evacuated across the region. The widespread blazes, which have destroyed homes and factories, are exacerbated by a prolonged heatwave, strong winds, and suspected arson. Greece has seen a cement factory engulfed and evacuations on tourist islands, while Albania is experiencing a "critical week" with 24 active wildfires. Authorities are battling the infernos amidst extreme fire risk warnings, with Spain enduring its tenth day of temperatures up to 45 degrees Celsius.
BBC News
44 minutes ago
- BBC News
Wildfire threatens major Greek city as heatwave grips Europe
A major city in western Greece is under threat from fast-moving wildfires as extreme heat and strong winds drive blazes across much of southern winds pushed flames into the outskirts of Patras, the country's third-largest city with a population of around 200,000, forcing evacuations including a children's hospital, and sending plumes of smoke across the 10,000 hectares have burned in the surrounding Achaia region in two villages have been emptied, homes and businesses destroyed and hundreds of vehicles incinerated, including more than 500 cars at a customs yard. The streets of Patras were deserted on Wednesday, save for some residents watching in silence as the fires descended from the surrounding mountains. Strong and scorching winds blew as temperatures hit 38C and smoke has blanketed the city, sending some to hospital with breathing ordered residents of a nearby town of 7,700 people to evacuate on Tuesday and fresh alerts were issued on Wednesday for two villages. Elsewhere in Greece, dozens of people were rescued by coastguards as fires inched towards beaches on the islands of Zante and has requested EU water bombers to bolster the more than 4,800 firefighters tackling the more than 20 wildfires currently raging across the country. The crisis comes as a heatwave blankets southern Europe, sparking blazes from Portugal to the Spain, a civilian and a volunteer firefighter were killed on Wednesday during the country's tenth consecutive day of extreme heat, which peaked at 45C the day before. The state weather agency warned almost all of Spain was at extreme or very high fire risk. The heatwave is expected to last until Monday, making it one of the longest in the country on fires have triggered a political row after transport minister Oscar Puente said that "things are getting a little hot" in Castile and León, where flames have threatened a world heritage Roman site and forced more than 6,000 people to remark, aimed at the region's conservative leader for holidaying during the crisis, drew condemnation from opposition figures, who demanded his dismissal. Puente defended his comments, saying leaders absent during disasters should be held to account. Authorities say 199 wildfires have destroyed nearly 99,000 hectares nationwide this year - double last year's total by mid-August - with several outbreaks suspected to be neighbouring Portugal, 1,800 firefighters have been deployed against five major blazes, including one in the eastern town Trancoso reignited by Albania, the defence minister called it a "critical week" as 24 wildfires burned, forcing residents from central has brought under control a five-day blaze on Mount Vesuvius but remains under extreme heat warnings in 16 cities, with Florence touching 39C. Temperatures are at such a high that Pope Leo moved his weekly audience from St. Peter's Square to an indoor venue in the entered its fourth heatwave of the summer, with temperatures forecast to peak at 34C and health officials warning of a strain on care say such extremes are becoming more frequent and intense due to human-induced climate change.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Spain wildfires: minister's joke about heat backfires
A political row has erupted in Spain after a minister joked that 'things are getting a little hot' amid a relentless wave of wildfires across the country. Óscar Puente, the transport minister and a close supporter of Pedro Sánchez, the Socialist prime minister, made the remark as about 21 fires burned across the country, claiming two lives and having scorched nearly 25,000 hectares this week. Puente's quip targeted the conservative government head of the north-central Castile and León region, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, accusing him of being on holiday in Cádiz while his territory burnt. The minister said: 'Things are getting a little hot in Castile and León.' The remark was widely seen as tasteless given the scale of the destruction. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the opposition Popular Party, immediately condemned the comment, calling for Sánchez to dismiss the minister. Puente replied that if a regional leader were enjoying 'fiestas' while constituents suffered floods or fires, he would expect their removal too. El País stated in an editorial on Wednesday: 'It's disheartening to see the government and the Popular Party embroiled in a dispute over the handling of the disasters in Castile and León. A country in shock deserves better than Minister Óscar Puente's frivolous comments on social media.' Castile and León remains hardest hit, particularly in León and Zamora, affecting tens of municipalities and forcing thousands of people to evacuate. Lake Carucedo was used as a water source for firefighters in Galicia SAMUEL DE ROMAN PEREZ/ANADOLU/GETTY IMAGES Elsewhere in the region, a firefighting volunteer died from severe burns, while several people were hospitalised as dozens of wildfires fuelled by strong winds and scorching heat continued to rage across the country. The victim, a 35-year-old volunteer, had been attempting to create firebreaks near the town of Nogarejas when he became trapped in the blaze, regional officials said. An employee of a Spanish equestrian centre died from his injuries in Tres Cantos, a wealthy suburb north of Madrid, officials said, as he was reported to have tried to save horses. This year's total of affected terrain exceeded 69,000 hectares, already above the 18-year average. Seven regions were grappling with blazes. Emergency forces, including 1,000 military personnel and over 5,000 police and civil guard members, were engaged in firefighting operations. In Andalusia, in the south, the second fire in a few days in Tarifa forced the evacuation of 2,000 people on Monday while in Galicia, in the northwest, fires in Chandrexa de Queixa and Maceda burned a combined 4,330 hectares. Fire caused disruptions to high-speed rail services between Madrid and Galicia. The village of Parafita in southern Galicia VIOLETA SANTOS MOURA/REUTERS The village of Vilaza in southern Galencia MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES Aemet, the national meteorological agency, said the forecast for extinguishing the fires was unfavourable until at least Thursday, due to expected dry storms that could spark more fires. Extreme heat is breaking temperature records across Europe, with many areas seeing fires or raising alert levels. In southwest France, records were broken on Monday in Angoulême, Bergerac, Bordeaux, Saint-Émilion and Saint-Girons. Météo France said the 'often remarkable, even unprecedented, maximum temperatures' in the region were 12C above typical figures for the last few decades. Large forest fires burned along the coast of Croatia, where temperatures exceeded 38 and 39C and affected neighbouring countries in the Balkans.
