Latest news with #U.S.NationalWeatherService
Mint
30-07-2025
- Climate
- Mint
United States' worst tsunami fears pass, evacuations underway in South America
A massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake, tied as the sixth-strongest ever recorded, struck near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on July 30, triggering Pacific-wide tsunami alerts. The quake's epicenter was just 78 miles from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, where residents felt violent shaking that Governor Vladimir Solodov called the 'strongest in decades'. Within minutes, tsunami waves flooded Severo-Kurilsk port with 19-foot surges, sweeping away storage containers and boats. Dramatically, surgeons in a Kamchatka cancer center continued operating as ceilings shook, later earning state award nominations . The tremor also triggered eruptions at Klyuchevskoy volcano, sending lava down its slopes. While the U.S., Japan and Russia lifted most warnings by Wednesday evening, Chile upgraded to maximum red alert along its 2,600-mile coastline. President Gabriel Boric cautioned: 'Remember the first wave is usually not the strongest' as preventative evacuations expanded. In Ecuador, 1.3-meter waves hit the Galapagos Islands' Baltra coast, keeping emergency protocols active . Peru closed 65 ports and restricted fishing after predicting 7.5-foot waves . Meanwhile, French Polynesia braced for 4-meter surges in the Marquesas Islands, though observed heights stayed near 1.5 meters . Though catastrophic damage was avoided, 125+ aftershocks (including three above magnitude 6.0) continued rattling the Pacific. The U.S. National Weather Service warned of 'stubbornly persistent' currents and fluctuating ocean levels for 24+ hours. Scientists noted the quake occurred on a 'megathrust fault' like Japan's 2011 disaster, with Caroline Orchiston of New Zealand's University of Otago warning: 'Large aftershocks can be damaging for months'. For now, communities from Alaska to Australia remain cautious, proof that when the earth shakes in Kamchatka, the world holds its breath.
CBC
30-07-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Tsunami alert issued for Japan's Pacific coast
Japan's meteorological agency issued a tsunami alert for Japan's Pacific coast, upgrading an earlier advisory stemming from the powerful, magnitude 8.7 quake that hit on Wednesday morning near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. The agency issued an advisory for a tsunami of up to three metres across the Pacific coast of Japan, possibly starting to arrive along the northern Japanese coasts in less than half an hour after the alert. A tsunami warning also was extended to the U.S. state of Hawaii, with the U.S. National Weather Service's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center saying a tsunami from the quake had been generated that could cause damage along the coastlines of all the Hawaiian islands.
CBS News
30-07-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Japan issues tsunami advisory after 8.0 magnitude earthquake near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula
Japan's meteorological agency said on Wednesday that a powerful earthquake hit near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula and issued a tsunami advisory for Japan. The agency said the quake occurred at 8:25 a.m. and registered a preliminary magnitude of 8.0. It issued an advisory for a tsunami of up to 1 yard along the Pacific coast of Japan. A tsunami advisory was also issued for the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, and a tsunami watch was issued for Hawaii, the U.S. National Weather Service said. So far, no damage has been reported. The quake was about 160 miles away from Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost of the country's four big islands, and was felt only slightly, according to Japan's NHK television. The U.S. Geological Survey said it hit at a depth of 19.3 kilometers. There was no immediate information from Russia about how Kamchatka was affected. A University of Tokyo seismologist, Shinichi Sakai, told NHK that a distant earthquake could cause a tsunami that affects Japan if its epicenter is shallow. Japan, part of the area known as the Pacific ring of fire, is one of the world's most quake-prone country. It's Russia's second major earthquake this month that occurred in the same peninsula. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Canada News.Net
15-07-2025
- Climate
- Canada News.Net
What Canada could learn from the tragic consequences of the Texas flash flood
On July 4, a horrific flash flood occurred in central Texas, mainly impacting Kerr County. The heavy rain started at about 3 a.m., resulting in rainwater surging down mountain slopes, causing the waters in the Guadalupe River to rise by eight metres very quickly. At least 132 people have been confirmed dead as of July 14; most of them were in Kerr County. The area is under renewed flood warnings as heavy rains threaten to continue. In recognition of the scope of this tragedy, it's important to determine why it happened. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott stated that a special session of the state legislature will be held in late July to investigate the emergency response. Local Texas officials are facing questions over their actions in the hours - and years - before the flood. In recent years, multiple efforts in Kerr County to build a more substantial flood warning system have faltered or been abandoned due to budget concerns. In 2015, a deadly Memorial Day flood in Kerr County rekindled debate over whether to install a flood monitoring system and sirens that would alert the public to evacuate when the river rose to dangerous levels. Some officials, cognizant of a 1987 flood that killed eight people on a church camp bus, thought it should be done, but the idea ran into opposition. Some residents and elected officials opposed the installation of sirens, citing the cost and noise that they feared would result from repeated alarms. As a result, Kerr Country did not have emergency sirens that could have warned residents about the rising waters. The critical challenge for communicating flash floods is ensuring that early warnings reach vulnerable populations. Unlike slow-onset river floods, flash floods leave very limited time for reaction. This makes accurate short-term forecasting and community preparedness essential. The U.S. National Weather Service issued its first public warning about the flooding in Kerr County at 1:14 a.m. on July 4, warning of life-threatening flash flooding, with subsequent warnings triggering alerts. Floodwaters surged dramatically as the Guadalupe River rose nearly eight metres in about 45 minutes. The 4:03 a.m. warning instructed residents to "Move to higher ground now! This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation." The warnings were disseminated at night through emergency management systems and television and radio stations, but many people, including hundreds of children at summer camps, did not receive them. Government agencies at all levels need to work together to ensure that residents of impacted areas move effectively to outside of the flood area or at least to higher elevation areas or safe buildings. The World Economic Forum's Global Risk Assessment for 10-year periods ranked extreme weather events as the highest global risk in both the 2024 and 2025 assessments. Floods are a very important extreme weather event. The U.S. National Centers for Environmental Information published its review of events for the period 1980-2024. Tropical cyclones were the costliest weather and climate disasters, followed by: droughts, wildfires and flooding, which had an average cost of US$4.5 billion per event. The number of billion-dollar inland flood events has increased in the U.S. Note that the dollar costs of these events in these assessments do not include the many societal impacts, including mental trauma and other health impacts. There have been major reductions in the staffing and budgetary support of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Services, which is part of NOAA. The impacts of these reductions on the weather and flood forecasts that would have alerted Texans on July 4 are not yet clear. At the time of writing, the website for the National Weather Services office for Austin/San Antonio, which covers the region that includes hard-hit Kerr County, shows six of 27 positions are listed as vacant. One important vacancy is that of the key manager responsible for issuing warnings and co-ordinating with local emergency management officials. The U.S. government has also reduced the funding for research on weather systems, including floods. There have also been reductions in the funding support for scientific analyses of how climate change will affect the severity of storms. Deep funding cuts to NOAA may result in the termination of both the National Severe Storms Lab and the Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations at the University of Oklahoma, which will have a highly negative impact on the understanding of storms. The Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory was established in 2024 at Western University to conduct leading research on severe weather in Canada. Flooding is the most common and costly disaster in Canada. In the past decade, floods have averaged nearly $800 million in insured losses annually. Over time, the potential for extreme rainfall events is increasing. Heavy rainfall events and their ensuing flood risks are increasing because of warmer temperatures. Canadian data shows that climate change is driving increasingly severe and frequent floods. Flooding will only get worse in the future, and government action is needed to manage this growing risk. One of the ways in which Canada isn't prepared is that most flood-risk maps are out of date, with some being decades old. While Environment and Climate Change Canada issues weather watches and warnings for things like tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and rainfall, it doesn't provide flood forecasts. Most provinces argue that water resources are natural resources and are therefore under provincial jurisdiction. This means that weather forecasts across the country are provided by the Meteorological Service of Canada, while flood forecasts are produced by each of the provinces. It is important to take actions to address adaptation and climate resilience that consider future floods and their impacts. Federal, provincial and territorial governments will need to work together to avoid tragedies.
The Hindu
09-07-2025
- Climate
- The Hindu
More than 160 people still missing days after deadly floods
More than 160 people remain unaccounted for after devastating floods in Texas, U.S.A., the State governor said Tuesday (July 8, 2025), marking a dramatic increase in the number of missing from a tragedy that has so far claimed 109 lives. Four days after flash floods roared through several Texas counties, some in the middle of the night, hopes of finding survivors were fading — and Governor Greg Abbott warned that the list of those unaccounted for could yet rise. 'Just in the Kerr County area alone, there are 161 people who are known to be missing,' he told reporters Tuesday as the grim search continued. 'There very likely could be more added to that list,' he said, adding that the figure was based on people reported as unaccounted for by friends, relatives and neighbors. Kerr County worst affected Kerr County, part of a central Texas region known as 'Flash Flood Alley,' suffered the most damage, with at least 94 fatalities. That includes at least 27 girls and counselors who were staying at a youth summer camp on the Guadalupe River when it burst its banks as the Fourth of July holiday began in the early hours of Friday. Torrents of water swept through the camp, scouring cabins as hundreds of people slept. Five campers and one counselor were still missing as of Tuesday evening, according to Abbot, as well as another child not associated with the camp. 'There's nothing more important in our hearts and minds than the people of this community, especially those who are still lost,' Mr. Abbot said. Elsewhere in the State, there have been at least 15 fatalities recorded so far, the governor added. Mud, water make rescue difficult Ben Baker with the Texas Game Wardens said search and rescue efforts involving helicopters, drones and dogs were extremely difficult because of the water and mud. 'When we're trying to make these recoveries, these large piles can be very obstructive, and to get in deep into these piles, it's very hazardous,' Mr. Baker said. 'It's extremely treacherous, time-consuming. It's dirty work, the water is still there.' The U.S. National Weather Service on Tuesday declared a flash flood emergency in Ruidoso, a small town 184 miles (296 kilometers) south of Albuquerque, in the neighboring state of New Mexico. Officials reported several people were trapped by sudden floodwaters, with multiple homes sustaining damage. The NWS said the Rio Ruidoso may have crested more than 20 feet (six meters). Rain 'won't deter' search In the town of Hunt, the epicenter of the disaster, an AFP team saw recovery workers combing through piles of debris with helicopters flying overhead. Javier Torres, 24, was digging through mud as he searched for the body of his grandmother, after having located the remains of his grandfather. He also discovered the bodies of two children, apparently washed up by the river. Officials warned of more heavy rain ahead that could affect the search — though Mr. Baker said it 'won't deter' the efforts. Trump to visit President Donald Trump is due to visit Texas with First Lady Melania Trump on Friday (July 11, 2025). 'We brought in a lot of helicopters from all over... They were real pros, and they were responsible for pulling out a lot of people,' Mr. Trump said. Meanwhile, questions intensified over whether Mr. Trump's government funding cuts had weakened warning systems, and over the handling of the rescue operation. During an at-times tense news conference, Mr. Baker skirted a question on the speed of the emergency response. 'Right now, this team up here is focused on bringing people home,' he said. Shel Winkley, a weather expert at the Climate Central research group, blamed the extent of the disaster on geography and exceptional drought, when dry soil absorbs less rainfall. 'This part of Texas, at least in the Kerr County flood specifically, was in an extreme to exceptional drought... We know that since May, temperatures have been above average,' Winkley told reporters. The organisation's media director, Tom Di Liberto, said staffing shortages at the National Weather Service had contributed to the disaster. 'You can't necessarily replace that experience,' he said.
