Weather tracker: deadly floods devastate northern China
The suburban district of Miyun received the highest amount of rainfall, with 543mm recorded, equivalent to the region's annual average. The death toll included 31 people in a Miyun care home, 10 who were swept away in a minibus in Shangxi province, and eight people in a landslide in the city of Chengde.
Floods also damaged roads and vital infrastructure, cutting off more than 130 rural villages and leading to the evacuation of more than 80,000 people from their homes.
The increasing frequency of high-rainfall events in China has been linked to rising global temperatures; each degree in warming enables the atmosphere to hold 7% more moisture.
Meanwhile, Japan is braced for Tropical Storm Krosa on Friday, which is expected to skirt past the south-eastern Kanto region via the Izu islands. Although Krosa travelled towards Japan during its initial north-westerly path, a forecasted change to a more north-easterly direction means the system is likely to avoid a direct hit. However, its close proximity to the Chiba region is may bring 120-200mm of rain in 24 hours.
This week, as much of Europe experiences below-average temperatures, parts of Scandinavia have been engulfed by unusually intense heat. Prolonged heatwave conditions swept the north of the continent in mid-July, driven by exceptionally high sea-surface temperatures off Norway's northern coast and a stubborn area of high pressure that brought sunny weather and sinking, compressing air.
As a result, temperatures in Norway, Sweden and Finland rose 8-10C (46-40F) above seasonal norms and remained elevated for nearly two weeks. The Norwegian counties of Trøndelag and Nordland exceeded 30C for 13 consecutive days, including in Storforsheia, just north of the Arctic Circle. It was the warmest two-week period on record in several areas.
In the past week, the heat has shifted north and east, easing across much of Norway and Sweden and pushing temperatures 10-15C above normal in Finland and north-western Russia. Temperatures in the upper 20s celsius are likely to persist for at least the next five days several hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle.
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Telegraph
20 minutes ago
- Telegraph
How a mega earthquake spread tsunami fears across the Pacific
One of the most powerful earthquakes in history triggered a tsunami that made landfall in Russia, Japan and the US. Millions of people on both sides of the Pacific were told to evacuate to higher ground after the 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the Kamchatka Peninsula caused waves of up to 16ft. While threat-to-life warnings were issued in Hawaii, a state of emergency was declared in parts of Russia, California residents were told to stay away from the coastline and much of Japan's eastern seaboard was evacuated, the damage appeared to be limited. Buildings were shaken in Russia and Japan, and flooding was reported in Hawaii. On the Kamchatka peninsula, near the epicentre, some people hurt themselves rushing to leave their homes, and a hospital patient was injured jumping out of a window. In Japan, it was reported that a 58-year-old woman died when her car fell off a cliff while she was evacuating in the central Mie prefecture. The tsunami threat has now been downgraded, but cautions to stay away from beaches were issued by officials in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Federated States of Micronesia and Solomon Islands. Russia The massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake is believed to be the sixth strongest in history. It struck just off Russia's far eastern coast at around 11.25am local time (12.25am in the UK), triggering tsunami alerts in Japan, the US West Coast, parts of Alaska, Hawaii and Guam. In Severo-Kurilsk in the northern Kuril Islands, south of Kamchatka, tsunami waves exceeded 9ft, with the largest reaching up to 16ft, Russia's RIA news agency reported. Tsunamis form when an undersea earthquake displaces a large volume of water, creating low waves, often 1-2ft high, in the open ocean. These waves race across deep water at speeds rivalling a jet plane, up to 600 mph. As they near shallower coasts, the slowing base of the wave compresses its energy, pushing water upward into towering waves or powerful surges that flood the shore. Tsunami waves struck parts of Kamchatka in the Russian region, partially flooding the port and a fish processing plant in the town of Severo-Kurilsk and sweeping vessels from their moorings. Drone footage showed the town's entire shoreline was submerged, with taller buildings and some storage facilities surrounded by water. 'Today's earthquake was serious and the strongest in decades of tremors,' Vladimir Solodov, the governor of Kamchatka, said in a statement. Russian scientists said it was the most powerful to hit the region since 1952, and was the largest since 2011, when a magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Japan and a subsequent tsunami killed more than 15,000 people. A video showed a team of doctors at a cancer clinic on Kamchatka holding a patient and clutching medical equipment as the quake rocked an operating room, before continuing with surgery after the shaking stopped. Officials said the doctors will receive decorations. Another video showed terrified residents screaming inside an apartment building as it shook from side to side, with cutlery and pictures crashing onto the floor. Russian emergency services said that a kindergarten was damaged, but most buildings withstood the quake, with no serious injuries or fatalities reported. Kamchatka and Russia's far east sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active region that is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Japan Following the earthquake, tsunami alarms sounded in coastal towns across Japan's Pacific coast, and evacuation orders were issued for 1.9 million people. Footage broadcast by NHK showed scores of people on the northern island of Hokkaido on the roof of a building, sheltering as waves of up to 2ft crashed down below. Three tsunami waves were recorded in Japan, the largest of which was 4.3ft, officials said. Tsunami waves of 3-9ft can be fatal for people who are swept away, according to experts. Nearly two million residents were under evacuation advisories in more than 220 municipalities along the Pacific coast as of midday on Wednesday, Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. Workers were forced to evacuate the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, where a meltdown following the 2011 tsunami caused a radioactive disaster. Broadcaster Asahi TV reported that a 58-year-old woman died when her car fell off a cliff while she was evacuating in central Japan's Mie prefecture. Carmaker Nissan suspended operations at some factories in Japan to ensure employee safety, Kyodo news agency reported. 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BBC News
43 minutes ago
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Storm Floris upgraded to amber warning for most of Scotland
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The Sun
14 hours ago
- The Sun
Huge blaze breaks out at Scots church as fire crews race to tackle flames and locals evacuated
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