More than 300 people killed due to heavy rain, floods in Pakistan
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The Star
19 minutes ago
- The Star
Over 10 dead as storms batter north region
At least three more people have died in heavy rains in northern China, state media said, bringing up to 13 the death toll in recent storms across the region, with five still missing and no let-up in rain forecast. Downpours heavier than usual have battered parts of China in extreme weather since July, with the East Asian monsoon rains stalling over its north and south. Three bodies were retrieved from flood waters in the Inner Mongolia city of Ordos, the official news agency Xinhua said yesterday, while three people were reported missing about 70km away near the banks of the Yellow River. Monday's downpour was the first of three forecast for the next few days, television news said. It dumped more than 204mm of rain in less than 24 hours on the district where the bodies were found, or more than double the monthly average for August, weather authorities said. On Saturday, a flash flood after a river burst its banks in the region's grasslands killed at least 10 people, sweeping away 13 campers on the outskirts of the city of Bayannur, about 350km northwest of Ordos. Rescue workers are scouring for the three missing people in Ordos, in an area that is also close to one of China's rare earth hubs, the city of Baotou. Heavy rainfall and severe floods that meteorologists link to climate change pose major challenges for authorities, threatening to overwhelm ageing flood defences, displace millions and lead to economic losses running into billions. — Reuters
The Star
13 hours ago
- The Star
Huge wildfires stabilising in Spain, cooler forecast fuels hope worst is over
GONDULFES, Spain (Reuters) -Wildfires raging in northern and western Spain have burned through nearly the same area in the past 24 hours as in all of last year, although the end of a 16-day heatwave and expected rainfall have fanned hopes that an end may be in sight. The fires have spread over the regions of Extremadura, Galicia, and Castile and Leon, forcing authorities to suspend rail services and cut access to roads in the area, as well as blocking a 50 km (30 mile) stretch of the popular Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail. Data on Tuesday from the European Forest Fire Information System showed the fires have burned vegetation on 38,000 hectares (94,000 acres) since Monday, just below 42,000 hectares during the whole of 2024. However, the national weather agency, which on Monday declared the end of one of the longest heatwaves in the past five decades, now expects temperatures to fall and humidity to rise. "The evolution is favourable, the teams are stabilising the fires," Castile and Leon regional leader Alfonso Fernandez Manueco told reporters. The region, Spain's largest, is one of the worst hit by the blazes. "If weather trends continue, we will be better tomorrow than today and better the day after tomorrow," Manueco said. The weather agency said adverse conditions would remain in southern Spain, including in part of Extremadura. So far this year, an estimated 382,600 hectares have burned in Spain - an area equivalent to the size of the island of Mallorca - according to the EFFIS. It is the largest area in records that go back to 2006 and more than four times the 2006-2024 average. Visiting the fires in Extremadura, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the government would declare many of the affected areas as emergency zones, which in practice means they will be eligible to receive aid for reconstruction. Blaming the fires on the effects of climate change, he also said he would propose a plan next month to turn climate emergency policies into permanent state policies. He gave no details, but the authorities have been focusing on fire prevention and response planning. "We're seeing the climate emergency accelerate and worsen significantly, particularly in the Iberian Peninsula, each year," he said. Opposition leaders have said his proposal is a way to divert attention from his government's poor handling of the fires. Most of Southern Europe is experiencing one of its worst wildfire seasons in two decades. The Spanish army has deployed 3,400 troops and 50 aircraft to help firefighters, while Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands and Slovakia have sent hundreds of firefighters, vehicles and aircraft. The Interior Ministry said that since June, 32 people have been arrested and 93 were under investigation for suspected arson. (Writing by Inti Landauro; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Alison Williams)
Malay Mail
18 hours ago
- Malay Mail
‘Like an apocalyptic movie': Survivors claw through rubble after deadly Pakistan cloudburst
BAR DALORI (Pakistan), Aug 19 — In the middle of the night, by the glow of their mobile phones, rescuers and villagers dug through the concrete remains of flattened houses after massive rocks crashed down on a remote Pakistani village following a cloudburst. Using hammers, shovels, and in many cases their bare hands to clear the rubble and open blocked pathways, they searched through the debris in darkness, with no electricity in the area. In just minutes, a torrent of water and rocks swept down on the village of Dalori yesterday, destroying at least 15 houses, damaging several others and killing nine people. Around 20 villagers are still trapped under the debris. 'A huge bang came from the top of the mountain, and then dark smoke billowed into the sky,' Lal Khan, a 46-year-old local labourer, told AFP. 'A massive surge of water gushed down with the sliding mountain,' he added. The cloudburst above Dalori came a few days into heavy monsoon rains that have already killed more than 350 people across mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, along the northwest border with Afghanistan. Torrential rains in northern Pakistan since Thursday have caused flooding and landslides that have swept away entire villages, with around 200 people still missing. Authorities have warned of fresh flash floods in the coming days. Khan recalled seeing the hand of his neighbour sticking out of the rubble, where rescuers later retrieved her body along with those of her four children. 'We are absolutely helpless. We don't have the means to tackle this calamity that nature has sent upon us,' Khan added. 'Like an apocalyptic movie' Fellow resident Gul Hazir said not one but several cloudbursts from two sides of the village struck the remote valley. 'It was like an apocalyptic movie. I still can't believe what I saw,' Hazir said. 'It was not the water that struck first, but a massive amount of rocks and stones that smashed into the houses,' Hazir told AFP. Local administration official Usman Khan told AFP at the site that many of the houses had been built in the middle of the stream bed, which worsened the scale of destruction. 'There was no way for the water to recede after the cloudburst struck at least 11 separate locations in the area,' he said. 'It is immensely challenging to carry out operations here, as heavy machinery cannot pass through the narrow alleys.' Saqib Ghani, a student who lost his father and was searching for other relatives, tried to claw through the concrete with his bare hands before rescuers pulled him away and villagers gave him water. The single road leading to the village was demolished at several points, while gravel was scattered across the settlement. Despite the challenging conditions, excavators were working at several sites to remove debris that had clogged the drainage channels and blocked the flow of water. Dalori has already held funerals for five victims, while women mourned in darkened homes with no electricity since the disaster. In the village's narrow alleys, unattended cattle wandered freely amid the devastation. 'I will not live here anymore,' said a grieving woman, draped in a large shawl, as she followed a coffin being carried through the street. Over the past few days, the villagers had been collecting money to help people in neighbouring flood-hit areas, until they too were overwhelmed by disaster and lost everything. 'We didn't know we would be needing help ourselves,' Hazir added. — AFP
