Boris hit central and eastern Europe, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and flooding. The storm also hit parts of Austria, Hungary and Slovakia. Active Mediterranean cyclone Annet brought heavy rain and thunderstorms to central and southeastern Europe at the end of the work week. The unusual downpour hit the Sahara, one of the driest regions on Earth. It is unclear why the desert is seeing so much rain, but it may be linked to a particularly quiet Atlantic hurricane season.
The active Mediterranean cyclone “Annette” hit the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe with heavy rains and thunderstorms on September 13. Torrential rains fell in Austria, Hungary, and southwestern Poland, but the Czech Republic suffered the most. Heavy rains have been falling continuously throughout almost the entire territory of the Czech Republic since the second half of Friday, which, together with the overflowing rivers, is fulfilling the meteorologists’ forecast of the beginning of a major flood, the peak of which is expected on Sunday; evacuation of residents has already begun in a number of cities and villages of the country, RIA Novosti reports with reference to Czech Radio.
The Czech Republic is living with a premonition of a flood that could cover the entire territory of the country. Heavy rains began everywhere on Friday, which, according to meteorologists, will stop only on Monday evening. The water level in all rivers has risen significantly, and in a number of mountain rivers it has already overflowed its banks. Trees that fell due to strong winds and wet soil blocked highways and railways in some areas. Thousands of people were left without electricity. In some cities and villages, local authorities began evacuating residents from flooded areas. In particular, in the second largest city of the republic, Brno (in the southeast of the country), students from a number of universities were evacuated from dormitories surrounded by water.
The day before, in his address to his fellow citizens, Prime Minister Petr Fiala called on them to prepare for the worst possible development of the flood situation, which he compared in potential force to the floods of 1997 and 2002. Then they led to the deaths of 50 and 17 people, respectively, and caused material damage (in Czech crowns) in the amount of 2.8 billion dollars in 1997 and 3.2 billion dollars in 2002.
According to the forecast of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI), up to 300 millimetres of precipitation may fall in some places in the republic between Friday and Monday.
Since Friday, 100,000 firefighters have been on full alert in the country. It is their efforts that are now clearing fallen trees and large branches from roads and restoring power lines. The military is also actively assisting the firefighters.
Over the past two days, more than 3/4 of the monthly precipitation norm fell in some cities in the Czech Republic; in Prague, meteorologists’ rain gauges recorded 29.1 mm of rain, which is 77% of what was expected for the whole of September; in Ceske Budejovice, 44 mm, or 85% of the monthly norm; and in Brno, 73.5 mm of heavenly moisture fell on Thursday and Friday, or one and a half of the September norm.
Storm Boris has swept across Central and Eastern Europe, killing at least two people. Two locals have died in Poland and Romania, while four people are missing in the Czech Republic. This was reported by the authorities of the countries on September 15, outlining the consequences of Storm Boris, which hit Central and Eastern Europe, causing strong winds, heavy rains and floods. The elements also affected the territories of Austria, Hungary and Slovakia.
Romania has been particularly hard hit, with four people killed in floods. Thousands have been evacuated across the continent, with many losing their homes. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said it was further evidence of climate change, which is increasingly causing catastrophic consequences in Europe. In the worst-hit region of Galati, in the southeast of the country, some 5,000 homes were damaged, while 700 were flooded in the village of Slobozia Konaki.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk reported the first confirmed death in the Kłodzko region on the Polish-Czech border. He said Polish authorities had mobilized the army to help firefighters deal with the floods, and some 1,600 people had been evacuated. On Saturday, Polish authorities were forced to close the Gołkowice border crossing with the Czech Republic after a river burst its banks, block several roads and stop trains on the Prudnik-Nysa line, AFP reported.
In the Czech Republic, police reported four people missing: three were swept into a river in the city of Lipova Lazne, and another person disappeared in the southeastern part of the country.
Austria experienced unusual weather conditions, with up to a metre of snow falling in mid-September, which is highly unusual for this time of year. Rail service in the east of the country was suspended, and several metro lines were closed in Vienna due to the threat of the Wien River overflowing its banks. In Lower Austria, emergency services made around 5,000 trips overnight to deal with the aftermath of flooding.
Neighbouring Slovakia has declared a state of emergency in Bratislava, fearing further heavy rainfall that is expected to continue in the Czech Republic and Poland until at least Monday.
An unusual downpour has hit the Sahara, one of the driest regions on Earth. It is unclear why the desert is receiving so much rain, but it may be linked to a particularly quiet Atlantic hurricane season, scientists say.
The rains are so heavy that some normally dry regions of North Africa are now experiencing monsoons and flooding, with parts of the Sahara predicted to receive five times more rain than the September average.
Rainfall in the Sahara is not unusual in general — the region is vast and varied, and some parts often receive little rain, said Moshe Armon, an atmospheric scientist at the Federal Technical University (ETH) Zurich. But now larger parts of the Sahara are flooding, including areas further north that are usually drier, Armon added.
Some scientists suggest it is part of the Earth’s natural climate fluctuations, while others say it is a product of human-induced climate change.
This climate shift in the Sahara may be linked to a weaker Atlantic hurricane season. This year’s hurricane season has been quiet so far, despite early summer forecasts of strong hurricane activity due to warm ocean temperatures.
More than half of the named storms and 80–85% of the major hurricanes in the Atlantic each year typically originate in the sub-Saharan region. During a typical hurricane season, atmospheric waves move from the west coast of Africa into the North Atlantic Ocean along what is known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), a belt around the equator where air from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres meet. The ITCZ can carry clouds, rain, and storms. Atmospheric waves carried westward along the ITCZ over the Atlantic combine with warm Atlantic waters to form tropical storms and hurricanes.
But part of the ITCZ has shifted north this year, over the northern Sahara. Scientists aren’t entirely sure why this is happening now, although climate models have previously predicted that the ITCZ would shift north because of warming oceans and warmer air temperatures as carbon emissions warm the Northern Hemisphere faster than the Southern Hemisphere.
The effect of the current northward shift is that the ITCZ is pushing rainfall in Africa further north than usual — across the Sahara — while atmospheric waves from Africa are also shifting north from their normal path. Without ITCZ moisture moving over the warm Atlantic, not all the elements are in place to develop strong storms.
The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season typically occurs in mid-September, so a lull in the season does not mean that a strong and dangerous Atlantic storm cannot occur.
Meanwhile, unusually high rainfall in the Sahara could also be caused by warmer-than-normal waters in the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. If one of these rare precipitation events occurs and the weather system is over much warmer ocean or land, the chances of heavy rainfall will increase significantly.
And the Sahara could continue to experience wetter conditions in the future. Some climate models predict that warmer oceans will shift monsoon rains further north in Africa by 2100, meaning that normally drier regions could see more rainfall. Climate models also predict that increased greenhouse gas emissions could make the Sahara even wetter in the future.
At least 233 people have been killed and 103 others are missing after Typhoon Yagi triggered massive floods in northern Vietnam, the Vietnam News Agency reported.
Another 823 people were affected, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Department of Dam Management and Disaster Prevention.
Emergency services report significant material damage caused by the disaster in northern Vietnam. In 26 provinces and cities, over 204,000 houses and buildings were inundated and destroyed as a result of the flood, and power and communication lines were damaged. The flood destroyed over 263,000 hectares of agricultural land occupied by rice, fruits and other crops.
The Vietnamese government is doing everything possible to minimize the damage from the disaster, overcome the consequences of the downpours and floods as soon as possible, and stabilize the lives of the population in the flooded areas. Units of the Vietnamese People’s Army and the People’s Militia are involved in the ongoing rescue and recovery operations there. Fundraising efforts to help compatriots who find themselves in a difficult situation are underway across the country.
The flooding that has formed in northern Vietnam since the end of last week after Typhoon Yagi has already been called one of the largest in modern history.