Latest news with #disaster
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Mexico assesses damage from Hurricane Erick as rising rivers leave at least 1 dead
ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Authorities in southern Mexico were still assessing damage and watching rising rivers as rain from the remnants of Hurricane Erick doused the region. Torrential rains over steep coastal mountains and the landslides and flooding they could generate became ongoing concern for officials after Erick dissipated following a landfall early Thursday on a sparsely populated stretch of coast. At least one death was confirmed late Thursday, a 1-year-old boy who drowned in a swollen river. Erick came ashore down southern Mexico's Pacific coast in the morning as a Category 3 major hurricane, but it landed between the resort cities of Acapulco and Puerto Escondido. Authorities reported landslides, blocked highways, downed power lines and some flooding as coastal residents, above all in Acapulco, took the storm seriously with memories of the devastating Hurricane Otis in 2023 still fresh in their minds. With a steady rain falling on Acapulco, residents and remaining tourists emerged to walk outside or visit businesses opening gradually as the remnants of Hurricane Erick scraped by just inland of the resort. In Puerto Escondido, fishermen searched for and inspected storm-tossed boats and residents cleared downed trees and other debris. The threat of heavy rain remained in the mountains that rise abruptly behind Acapulco's famed beaches. Erick spent the day dragging through the coastal mountain range, dropping torrential quantities of rain. It was expected to dissipate Thursday night over the mountains in Michoacan state. Erick once had Category 4 strength The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Erick was centered about 155 kilometers (95 miles) north-northwest of Acapulco Thursday night. Its maximum sustained winds were 45 kph (30 mph), degrading it to a low pressure area. It was moving northwest at 20 kph (13 mph). Erick had strengthened to a Category 4 storm as it approached the coast but weakened before making landfall to a Category 3. Having doubled in strength in less than a day, Erick churned through an ideal environment for quick intensification. Last year, there were 34 incidents of rapid intensification — when a storm gains at least 55 kph (35 mph) in 24 hours — which is about twice the average and causes problems with forecasting, according to the hurricane center. One death reported President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday 'the people have reacted very well so far.' But authorities warned the heavy rain would now become the problem. Forecasters expected up to 40 centimeters (16 inches) of rain could fall across Oaxaca and Guerrero, with lesser totals in Chiapas, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco states. The rainfall threatened flooding and mudslides, especially in areas with steep terrain. Late Thursday, Guerrero state Civil Defense Director Roberto Arroyo said that a 1-year-old boy had died in San Marcos, an inland community southeast of Acapulco in the path of Erick. The child's mother had tried to cross a swollen river while carrying the child, but he slipped from her arms and drowned. Residents venture out Restaurants, shops and supermarkets gradually reopened in Acapulco, but schools were to remain closed across Guerrero on Friday as authorities continued to assess damage, clear debris and monitor rising rivers. 'Many of us were frightened, but now it has passed,' said Juan Carlos Castañeda, a 49-year-old security guard at an Acapulco condominium complex. He said the 'tragedy of Otis marked all of us.' Despite the rain, Castañeda decided to go out for a walk. Down the coast in the fishing village of Barra Vieja, the wind-whipped surf battered the shore and heavy rain kept residents sheltered indoors. Perla Rosas, however, was among the few who ventured out, umbrella in hand, to get to her job at a convenience store. 'I feel more relaxed now, so I decided to come to work.' Acapulco still scarred by Otis Acapulco residents had braced for Erick's arrival with more preparation and trepidation because of the memory of the devastation two years earlier. The city of nearly 1 million was hit in October 2023 by Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 hurricane that rapidly intensified and caught many unprepared. At least 52 people died in Otis and the storm severely damaged almost all of the resort's hotels. ___ Cruz reported from Puerto Escondido, Mexico.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Fairmont State hosts housing fair for those displaced by Sunday's flooding
Jun. 19—FAIRMONT — Bella, a demure border collie mix, is a proper lady. The polite pup always lets people know when she needs to go outside. That's why Teresa Snyder was surprised when she saw the water on the floor. "Bella, that's not like you, girl, " Snyder remembered saying. Then she saw the actual source—water was coming in under her door. When she looked in the hallway, she saw it pouring down the walls, which she was trying to process, just as her ceiling began giving way at the same time. "We had to get out of there, " said Snyder, who lived on the ground floor of Fairmont Village Apartments. "The whole place was coming down all around us." Water on the flat roof of the apartment was pooling so fast — it rained about three inches in 30 minutes — that the resulting pressure from the build-up caused a back wall to blow out. The sloped parking lot wasn't much better. Call it a fish bowl laced with white-water rapids, said Snyder's friend, Van Clark. "I know it was at five feet, " Clark said. "Yeah, and I don't swim, " Snyder added with a shiver. Clark made sure an agitated Bella was secure on her leash as he hoisted Snyder to a window. She suffered bruises and cuts to her feet that required a tetanus shot for good measure. "Well, we were lucky and we know it was worse for a lot of other people, " she said. "I feel bad for them. It's a tragedy." Snyder was referring to Ohio County in the Northern Panhandle, which was hit harder than Fairmont and Marion County. The storm that raged Saturday night to the north unspooled in north-central West Virginia the next day. To date, eight people have died in the Ohio County floods. Gov. Patrick Morrisey declared a state of emergency for both counties earlier this week, saying disaster relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is on its way. Hopefully, the governor said. Which was why, in part, that Snyder, Clark and Bella, too, were waiting at the Fairmont State University Falcon Center student union on Thursday afternoon. The university was hosting a housing fair for displaced Fairmont Village residents. Representatives of the state Housing Development Fund and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development were there, along with the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness. Tygart Valley United Way had a table and a computer terminal, as did the American Red Cross and the Marion County Emergency Operations Center. The idea, said Brian Selmeski, Fairmont State's chief of staff, is to get people back under a permanent roof, while launching the paperwork so that can eventually happen. A Fairmont State social worker was also there to help those residents who were roiled emotionally by the deluge. In the hours after Sunday's storm, the university opened part of the Falcon Center for emergency lodging. That shelter will remain open for as long as needed, Selmeski said. "We're here for our community, " the chief of staff said. "This is what we're supposed to be doing." As people were still queuing up, more heavy rain could be witnessed on the other side of the large glass windows of the complex Thursday. Rain lashed and trees were bent by the brief storm that blew through campus. "Yeah, I hope that doesn't get too interesting, " one man said.
CBC
13 hours ago
- Climate
- CBC
'There was nothing we could do,' says South African woman who watched floodwaters engulf her home
One moment, Zukiswa Mbuku and her husband were eating breakfast and having an ordinary Tuesday. The next, they were fleeing with nothing but the clothes on their backs as raging floodwaters swallowed their home. The elderly couple live near a river in Mthatha, a South African town in the coastal province of Eastern Cape, which is currently under a state of national disaster as people try to recover from last week's deadly floods. Mbuku says she and her husband had just finished eating when a neighbour ran in and warned them to run because the water from the river was rapidly approaching the houses. From the back window, they could already see their garden flooding. "Then we went out through the front door. When we looked down the road, the water was coming," Mbuku told As It Happens host Nil Kӧksal. The river water almost seemed to gallop towards them, she said, but soundlessly, like a silent, yet terrifying, horse. Within minutes, it had surrounded their house up to the windows. "We had to rush out without taking anything because everything happened so fast," she said. "There was nothing we could do." 'Unprecedented, catastrophic and unimaginable' An extreme weather front brought heavy rain, strong winds and snow to one of South Africa's poorest provinces last week, causing flooding that left 92 people dead and roads, houses, schools and other infrastructure damaged. Mthatha was the hardest hit. At least two school children who were washed away in a bus are among the unverified number of missing persons according to local media reports, while thousands have since been displaced. Authorities have appealed for residents to report missing people so rescuers could better understand how many people they were still looking for. "Since June 9, this province has been hit hard by unprecedented, catastrophic and unimaginable disasters," Zolile Williams, a member of the provincial legislature's executive council, said on Thursday during a memorial service in Mthatha for the victims. "Since that day, the Eastern Cape has not been the same." Struggle to rebuild what's been lost Life has certainly not been the same for Mbuku. She and her husband have since found refuge in a local bed and breakfast, she says, just five homes away from their flooded house. "We are at the curve of the river. So all the houses that are at the curve before the river straightens, they were affected," she said. "The other houses are on the upper side. The water never reached them." When the floodwaters receded, the couple went back to their house to assess the damage. "When my husband opened the front door, the water rushed like anything. It was forceful," she said. "The fridge was floating, chairs were floating, couches were floating." Some of her furniture, she said, had been broken apart and flung about the house. While the house is still standing, it's still too damp and water damaged to move back in, especially with Mbuku's asthma. "We are 70-something years old. It's quite traumatic," she said. "How do you gather and restore what you collected all these years? What do you do?" Community pulls together Declaring a national disaster allows the government to release funding for relief and rehabilitation. But Mbuku says she hasn't received much in the way of help from any government officials. A local councillor phoned them, she says, and "promised that they would do something because of our age." "We thought they would provide us with accommodation, but they didn't," she said. Instead, she says, it was her family who helped find them a place to stay. But she says her community — relatives, neighbours, and members of her church — have stepped up to offer what support they can. "We are assisting one another," she said.
News24
18 hours ago
- Climate
- News24
11 hours in a tree: Woman's harrowing survival story as Mthatha floods claim family members
Devastating floods ravaged the Eastern Cape's Mthatha region, killing at least 92 people and leaving multiple families grieving for lost loved ones, with several victims still missing. Infrastructure damage is estimated at R4 billion, including 4 229 destroyed households, 413 damaged schools affecting over 48 341 pupils. Survivors like Talita Qhinga, Asongezwa Ntlabathi and Phumeza Papana have shared heartbreaking stories of watching family members swept away by sudden floodwaters. The Eastern Cape's day of mourning for the deadly Mthatha floods offered a step toward closure for some grieving families, while others remained uncertain as their loved ones are still missing and presumed dead. The provincial government held a solemn day of mourning for victims of the devastating floods that ravaged the Mthatha region, with at least 92 people dead. One of the survivors is a young woman, Talita Qhinga, 22, from Slovo Park near Mthatha. Speaking to News24, Qhinga broke down several times while trying to narrate a story of how she tried in vain to save her family members, four of whom were swept away by a raging current. The current swept Qhinga all the way from Slovo Park to near Highbury Primary School, about 4km from her homestead. She was stranded in a tree in the Mthatha River for close to 11 hours, hungry and cold. The bodies of her mother Nomthandazo, 50, her cousin Nonkoliseko, 40, and niece Esethu, 14, were recovered. Her nephew Lukhanyo, 7, is still missing. 'I was helpless when the incident happened and could not save them. That's the most painful thing for me. The incident happened around 05:00 last Tuesday. It was still dark as it is winter. I took out my phone and switched on its light. The water was raging. Suddenly our bed was floating in water. My niece went to the bedroom of her parents to wake them up,' Qhinga said. In just a few moments, they were overwhelmed by the water. 'I went to save our mother who was struggling. It was in that process that the water swept us away. They all drowned and disappeared in front of me. I stayed on top of the tree, in the cold and in fear, until I was rescued by divers around 16:00 (about 11 hours from the time of the incident),' Qhinga said. She was eventually saved by police divers and taken to hospital for medical observation. Qhinga said Esethu had dreams of going to medical school after high school. 'This is very sad for me. The only closure for me would be the discovery of my nephew (Lukhanyo).' Asongezwa Ntlabathi, 25, from hard-hit Decoligny village, lost five family members – her mother, grandmother and two nephews aged 6 and 8. Her 11-year-old nephew is still missing. Ntlabathi said: We really don't know how we are going to bury them yet, there is one still missing. I don't know how many times I have been in the state mortuary to look for my nephew. In the morning, I am in the morgue and in the afternoon, still the same thing, on a daily basis. Phumeza Papana, from Slovo Park, lost her last-born daughter Neliswa aged 23. 'I was part of the search that discovered her body. I screamed when her lifeless body was later discovered. What was so painful for me is the fact that my daughter died crying for help to be saved.' Finance MEC Mlungisi Mvoko, who was the acting premier as Oscar Mabuyane did not attend the mourning service, said the deadly deluge affected thousands of people, mostly in Mthatha. 'The number of destroyed households is 4 229 with 1 963 households with partial roof damage. The number of schools damaged is 413, with 1 471 classrooms damaged. The number of affected learners in those schools totals 48 341. We have not listed damaged roads, bridges, hospitals and water infrastructure but for now we estimate the damage at R4 billion,' said Mvoko. He said land would be made available for communities whose houses were built close to river banks but who now wanted to be moved.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Climate
- Bloomberg
Hurricane Erick Weakens to Category 3 Storm as It Hits Mexico
Hurricane Erick slammed into Mexico's southern coast on Thursday morning, battering beaches with sustained winds near 125 miles (201 kilometers) per hour and heavy rainfall. It weakened to a Category 3 storm before making landfall at around 6 a.m. near Punta Maldonado, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
