Latest news with #monsoon
Arab News
20 hours ago
- Climate
- Arab News
Retired colonel's body swept away in flood recovered as Pakistan monsoon toll hits 260
ISLAMABAD: The body of a retired army officer swept away in a flash flood in Rawalpindi earlier this week was recovered on Thursday, as Pakistan continued to battle a deadly monsoon season that has killed at least 260 people and injured 617 since June 26, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The incident, which occurred during a cloudburst in the upscale Defense Housing Authority (DHA), has drawn widespread public attention. The flood swept away Col. (retd) Qazi Ishaq, 65, and his 35-year-old daughter, Muneeba, as they got caught in a rain-swollen seasonal stream on Tuesday. Video footage showing their car being carried away by the surging waters quickly went viral on social media, highlighting the vulnerability of even affluent areas to urban flooding. 'Retired Col. Qazi Ishaq's body was recovered from the bank of the Soan River, between DHA and Bahria Town,' Rawalpindi Assistant Commissioner Sadar Hakim Khan told Independent Urdu. 'However, his daughter and the vehicle are still being searched for.' Tuesday's incident occurred after intense rainfall triggered flooding in parts of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. While flash floods are a recurring monsoon phenomenon in Pakistan — especially in vulnerable areas of Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and peri-urban parts of Islamabad — fatalities in upper-income neighborhoods are rare. Pakistan's monsoon season began in late June, with torrential rains and glacial melt causing landslides and river flooding. The NDMA has warned of continued risk in mountainous regions, where several tourists remain stranded in parts of Gilgit-Baltistan due to blocked roads and disrupted communications. The Pakistan Meteorological Department said on Thursday that 'moderate monsoon activity is likely to continue,' with rainfall gradually subsiding over the next three days. The 2025 season follows years of increasingly erratic weather patterns across Pakistan, which ranks among the world's most climate-vulnerable nations. Three years ago, the country was battered by unprecedented monsoon rains, killing about 1,700 people and destroying farmlands and public infrastructure, with estimated damages totaling $35 billion.
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Indian cement firm ACC's first-quarter profit rises on price uptick
July 24 (Reuters) - Indian cement maker ACC ( opens new tab reported a first-quarter profit rise on Thursday, helped by higher prices of the construction material. Standalone profit after tax - which excludes the company's non-core realty and infrastructure subsidiaries - rose to 3.85 billion rupees ($44.6 million) in the three months ended June, up nearly 5%, the Adani Group firm said. April-June is typically a seasonally weak period for cement makers, as summer heatwaves followed by monsoon rains hinder the pace of construction and dent demand of the raw material. However, ACC's sales volumes have been insulated from seasonal volatility, thanks to the string of cement deals its billionaire-owner Gautam Adani has inked to challenge rival UltraTech's ( opens new tab polestar position in the sector, analysts have said. ACC'S revenues rose nearly 18% on-year to 60.15 billion rupees in the reported quarter, while costs grew over 16% to 55.61 billion rupees. ($1 = 86.3540 Indian rupees)
France 24
a day ago
- Climate
- France 24
Philippines shuts schools, scraps flights as Typhoon Co-May nears
Typhoon Co-May, upgraded from a tropical storm overnight, follows days of monsoon rains that have killed at least 12 people and left another eight missing across the archipelago since July 18, according to the national disaster agency. With maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometres (75 miles) per hour, the typhoon was expected to make landfall on the west coast in either La Union or Ilocos Sur province by Friday morning, the country's weather service said. Around 70 domestic and international flights have been cancelled due to the storms, the civil aviation authority said. The government has announced the suspension of classes across Luzon for Thursday. Tens of thousands were evacuated across Manila earlier this week by floodwaters that swamped some neighbourhoods in waist-deep water and left residents of nearby provinces stranded and in need of rescue by boat. As of Thursday, at least several thousand people in Manila remained unable to return to their homes. "We cannot send them home yet because it is still raining and some typhoons are still expected to affect the country," Ria Mei Pangilinan, a rescue coordinator in the capital, told AFP. "There might be more (evacuees) if the rain does not stop." Typhoon Co-May was about 210 kilometres off the country's west coast as of 11 am (0300 GMT). Tropical Storm Francisco, meanwhile, was situated about 735 kilometres from the country's east coast and on a trajectory towards northern Taiwan.
CNA
a day ago
- Climate
- CNA
India's early monsoon season brings mixed fortunes to farmers
NOIDA, India: The early arrival of the annual monsoon season in India has brought relief to some farmers - but devastation to others. While the rains come as a welcome respite after months of searing heat, it has highlighted how increasingly erratic weather patterns are complicating the country's agricultural outlook. The monsoon, the lifeblood of India's nearly US$4 trillion economy, delivers almost 70 per cent of the rainfall needed to water farms and replenish aquifers and reservoirs. For rice farmer Tejpal Chauhan, whose fields lie on the outskirts of New Delhi, it could mean a bumper year of harvest. The staple crop requires prolonged flooding, and this year's early showers have allowed farmers like him to save significantly on water, fuel, and labour while reaping better profits. 'If the monsoon is good, like it has been, I can make an additional 40 to 50,000 rupees (US$467 to 583), which is excellent,' Chauhan told CNA. 'The yield will also be a lot better without spending more on fertilisers. For paddy, more rain is better.' NO EQUAL BENEFIT A good monsoon often means a strong harvest down the line. Farmers usually start planting summer-sown crops such as rice, corn, cotton, soybeans, and sugarcane once the rains arrive. But not all crops - or farmers - benefit equally. Some smaller farmers say they do not understand technology well enough to read the weather forecast. This means that by the time they find out about the rains, it could be too late. Not far from Chauhan's rice paddy, vegetable farmer Manish Maurya faces a far more challenging season. The rains arrived before he could prepare his land, destroying crops already in the ground. 'Spinach will start to rot. Mustard will go bad. In fact, all the greens that I grow could be destroyed,' he said. 'The only vegetable that can withstand the rain is okra. Apart from that, I could lose everything.' Maurya, who supports a family of six on an annual income of less than US$1,500, is now scrambling to save what he can in the short term. He aims to improve the drainage system at his small farm in the long term, but lacks money to invest in infrastructure to reduce dependence on rain and shield his crops from too much of it. This issue plagues millions of other farmers across India. Arunabha Ghosh, co-founder and CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), warned that this can have far-reaching consequences for the agriculture sector. 'Once you've lost your crop for that season, you've lost your crop for that season. So, that then certainly puts pressure on what kind of cropping insurance, safety net etc. we can provide to the farmer,' he added. 'Will they then have the monetary reserves for buying seeds for the next cropping cycle? It becomes a social dislocation issue, an equity issue.' NEW FORECASTING SYSTEM This problem could worsen as rain patterns grow more unpredictable. According to a study by CEEW, half of India's sub-districts received 10 per cent more rainfall between 2012 to 2022, compared to previous periods. Meanwhile, about 11 per cent of the country's sub-districts - mostly in the fertile northern belt - saw rainfall decline. 'That is why we have to invest a lot more resources in better predictive modeling of what is happening in our region and sub region,' said Ghosh. To deal with this, India's Meteorological Department launched the Bharat Forecast System in May, aimed at delivering more precise local forecasts to farmers with the help of advanced computing. While it is still too early to tell if this is making a significant impact, better forecasts could mean the difference between survival or ruin for farmers like Maurya.
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- Climate
- Free Malaysia Today
3 dead, 15 missing after heavy rain triggers landslide in Pakistan
More than eight vehicles were swept away yesterday following a landslide on a highway in Diamer. (AFP pic) KHAPLU : A landslide triggered by torrential monsoon rains swept away cars in mountainous northern Pakistan, killing at least three people, with more vehicles buried under the debris, officials said today. Flash floods, collapsed buildings and electrocutions have killed 221 people since the monsoon season arrived in late June with heavier rains that usual. More than eight vehicles were swept away yesterday when heavy rains triggered a landslide on a highway in Diamer district, Gilgit-Baltistan region, a senior police officer told AFP. 'Three dead bodies have been recovered and more than 15 are still missing,' said Abdul Hameed, the district police officer. He said at least 10 vehicles were buried under the debris and a rescue operation was underway. Faizullah Faraq, spokesman for the regional government, confirmed the death toll to AFP. The region is a popular tourist destination, marked by towering mountains, deep valleys and wide rivers, and Faraq said hundreds of visitors were rescued. 'Government teams cleared debris and escorted them off the mountain road, while local villagers provided emergency shelter and assistance,' Faraq added. Floods in the area have blocked major highways, damaged communication signals, 50 houses, four bridges, a hotel and a school. The rest of Pakistan has not been spared, with 221 killed nationwide in incidents related to the monsoon since June 26. The death toll includes '104 children and 40 women', while more than 500 others have been injured, Pakistan's national disaster management agency said today. A spokesman for the agency told AFP that the heavy rains usually start later in the monsoon season. 'Such death tolls are usually seen in August, but this year the impact has been markedly different,' she said. Monsoon season brings South Asia 70% to 80% of its annual rainfall, and runs from late June until September in Pakistan. The annual rains are vital for agriculture and food security, and the livelihoods of millions of farmers, but also bring destruction. In late June, at least 13 tourists were swept to their deaths while sheltering from flash floods on a raised river bank. In 2022, monsoon floods submerged a third of the country and killed 1,700 people.
