In this episode of Climate Breaking News:
Flooding in Japan, USA
On July 1, 2020, heavy rainfall caused flash floods in parts of Mississippi, USA.
An emergency situation was declared in connection with the flooding in the north of the state.
In some areas, from 120 to 250 mm (more than a month's amount) of rain fell in just a few hours.
Eyewitness photos show streets and cars flooded in the water. Tennessee also experienced flooding, as a result several areas were submerged.
On July 4, 2020, massive floods and landslides occurred in southwestern Japan due to heavy rainfall.
In Kumamoto and Kagoshima Prefectures, Kyushu Island, the highest hazard level, level 5, was declared. Over 200 (two hundred) thousand people were called for evacuation. Unfortunately, there have been reports of casualties and missing people.
There has never been such an amount of precipitation in the region. In some areas of Kumamoto Prefecture, more than a month;y amount of rainfall has fallen within one day.
In the city of Amakusa, however, there was a record rainfall of nearly 100 mm in just one hour, which is about 25% (twenty-five percent) of the monthly amount in July.
The Kumagawa River overflowed its banks and washed away the bridge.
As a result, in eight municipalities, about 2 (two) thousand families were cut off from aid and the outside world.
Some important roads were flooded and buildings were damaged. According to eyewitnesses, in some places even the second floors were flooded.
Because of the disaster, more than 10 thousand homes were left without electricity and service was suspended on high-speed trains.
Looking at what happened in Japan, our attention was drawn to the story of an eyewitness in which he told how people acted in an emergency situation.
The manager of a hotel in a flooded area of Kumamoto Prefecture told us that cars, vending machines and everything was washed away with water. When the water made its way into the building, he told the guests to evacuate to the upper floors immediately. At the same time, the residents of a nearby low-rise flooded building also made their way to the roof to escape the flooding. Together, people stretched a rope from the third floor of the hotel to the submerged building and were able to evacuate the residents. After that, all together began to wait for the help of the rescuers.Indeed, the forces of nature often come so suddenly that people have to act on their own. And it's good to see that there are such examples of mutual help.
Thunderstorms and lightning in Australia. Floods in Italy and Bulgaria.
On July 4th, heavy storms with rain, hail and tornadoes hit the Salento Peninsula in Italy. In just a few minutes, the situation became critical in some municipalities, which caused fear among the locals.
As a result of the raging natural disaster, the water flooded the first floors of some homes, cellars and streets. Firefighters managed to free car drivers who were stuck in vehicles amid the flooded roads. Several people were also rescued at sea.
In countryside, hailstones destroyed plantings of the growing crops.
On July 5, 2020, powerful thunderstorms struck Western Australia. In the southwestern part of the state over 313 (three hundred thirteen) thousand lightning strikes were registered within just 12 hours.
Such thunderstorms are more typical for Australian spring or summer, however, the continent is in the middle of winter now.
The state was also hit by heavy downpours, with more than 50 (fifty) mm of rainfall in some areas, which is almost 30% (thirty percent) of the monthly norm in July.
Meanwhile, on July 7 a powerful storm, accompanied by wind and downpours, hit the city of Sofia - the capital of Bulgaria. The wind was so strong that the roofs of the buildings were torn away, which resulted in one man being injured. The disaster also damaged some electric pylons, which led to power outages.
Heavy rains caused flooding in the streets of the city. As a result many cars were caught in water traps. Some subway underpasses and railway stations were flooded as well. The flooding of streets throughout the city was also caused by local rivers coming out of the city banks.
Drought in Puerto Rico
On June 30, 2020, an extratropical bomb cyclone hit southern Brazil. As a result, people died and there is a missing person.
All in all, the disaster affected the lives of about a million people.
Rapidly developing storm with wind speed up to 120 (one hundred and twenty) km/h, tore down the roofs of buildings, as well as cut off power lines.
As a result, about 50 (fifty) cities in Santa Catarina were left without electricity.
And Rio Grande do Sul suffered the heaviest rainfall and over 900 (nine hundred) buildings were damaged.
On July 1, more than 1,000 (one thousand) residents were displaced from their homes.
On June 30, 2020, a state of emergency was declared in Puerto Rico due to drought.
Reservoirs that meet the needs of the population and agriculture have experienced significant declines in water levels.
This is due to a lack of rainfall, which is below average in some parts of the country.
The drought has increased rapidly since May this year and, as at the end of June, almost 60 per cent of the country was in arid conditions.
Water consumption restrictions have been imposed on the local population, leaving 140 (one hundred and forty) thousand people without easy access to water supply.
Locust invasion Africa, Southwest Asia, South America
In early July, the Desert Locust threat persists on the African continent and increases in South-West Asia.
Some countries in Africa as well as Pakistan and India are on high alert.
In five Indian states, insects have destroyed the entire crop. In the border areas of the country, a high alert regime has been declared and residents are being asked to close windows and cover plants.
Trillions of insects stretch for thousands of miles and move from country to country. They pose a threat to the food and livelihoods of local people.
The locusts also captured some parts of South America. As a result, Brazil declared a state of emergency in two southern states to allow residents to take necessary measures in advance.
Flooding in Transnistria. The opinion of the witness
On July 4th there were massive showers and hail, as a result some areas were flooded and in those areas where there was hail, residents reported that the whole harvest was destroyed and then washed away because of the heavy rainfall.
Also, in June, there was a lot of water coming into the Dniester River and it overflowed its banks, flooding the surrounding land and gardens.
Homes were also flooded.
I also want to note that this winter in Transdniestria saw very little precipitation.
In fact, winter was very warm.
It's very unusual compared to other years. That's why the soil didn't have time to get enough moist to allow winter crops to rise and people to get a harvest.
Losses were up to 80 percent in some places.
Somewhere about 60, somewhere about 30.
But in general, a huge amount of crops just didn't rise.
Moreover, from May to July there was also abundant rainfall. Heavy rains were immediately followed by very hot sun heating and burning out what was left of the crops that people planted.
And it can't help but affect the quality of life and the economy in general.
Detailed information about the way out of the current climate situation can be found in the unique videos with the participation of Igor Mikhailovich Danilov
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