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Hurricane Mitch was the second-deadliest tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin on record. Mitch caused 11,374 fatalities in Central America in 1998, including approximately 7,000 in Honduras and 3,800 in Nicaragua due to cataclysmic flooding from the slow motion of the storm. It was the deadliest hurricane in Central American history, surpassing Hurricane Fifi–Orlene, which killed slightly fewer people in the same area in 1974. Mitch was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane in the satellite era, and the second-deadliest on record in the Atlantic, only behind the Great Hurricane of 1780 which killed at least 22,000 people.
Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful tropical cyclone which struck the Bahamas and the East Coast of the United States. It was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Floyd triggered the fourth largest evacuation in US history when 2.6 million coastal residents of five states were ordered from their homes as it approached. The hurricane formed off the coast of Africa and lasted from September 7 to 19, becoming extratropical after September 17, and peaked in strength as a very strong Category 4 hurricane. It was among the largest Atlantic hurricanes of its strength ever recorded, in terms of gale-force diameter.
Hurricane Agnes was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, from the Caribbean to Canada, with much of the east coast of the United States affected. Damage was heaviest in Pennsylvania, where Agnes was the state's wettest tropical cyclone. Due to the significant effects, the name Agnes was retired in the spring of 1973.
Hurricane Diane was the first Atlantic hurricane to cause more than an estimated $1 billion in damage, including direct costs and the loss of business and personal revenue. It formed on August 7 from a tropical wave between the Lesser Antilles and Cape Verde. Diane initially moved west-northwestward with little change in its intensity, but began to strengthen rapidly after turning to the north-northeast. On August 12, the hurricane reached peak sustained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h), making it a Category 2 hurricane. Gradually weakening after veering back west, Diane made landfall near Wilmington, North Carolina, as a strong tropical storm on August 17, just five days after Hurricane Connie struck near the same area. Diane weakened further after moving inland, at which point the United States Weather Bureau noted a decreased threat of further destruction. The storm turned to the northeast, and warm waters from the Atlantic Ocean helped produce record rainfall across the northeastern United States. On August 19, Diane emerged into the Atlantic Ocean southeast of New York City, becoming extratropical two days later and completely dissipating by August 23.
eMdloti, alternatively rendered Umdloti and also known as Umdloti Beach, is a small resort village situated along the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, South Africa. It lies at the mouth of the Mdloti River approximately 24 km north-east of Durban and 11 km north-east of uMhlanga and now forms part of eThekwini, the Greater Durban Metropolitan Municipality.
In October 1999, severe flooding affected portions of eastern Mexico and Central America. Rainfall in September preceded the primary event in Mexico, which moistened soils. On October 4, Tropical Depression Eleven developed in the Gulf of Mexico, which drew humidity from the gulf and the Pacific Ocean to produce torrential rainfall in mountainous regions of eastern Mexico, reaching 43.23 in (1,098 mm) in Jalacingo, Veracruz. This was the third-highest tropical cyclone-related rainfall total in Mexico from 1980–2006, and the event caused the highest rainfall related to tropical cyclones in Veracruz, Hidalgo, and Puebla. In some locations, the daily rainfall represented over 10% of the annual precipitation total. The heaviest rainfall occurred in mountainous regions that were the mouths of several rivers. A broad trough absorbed the depression on October 6, and rainfall continued for the next few days. Additional rainfall occurred in Tabasco state on October 18. The floods were estimated as a 1 in 67 year event in one location, although such floods are expected to affect eastern Mexico twice per century, the last time being 1944.
The effects of Hurricane Hazel in Canada included 81 deaths and C$137,552,400 in damages. Hazel, the deadliest and costliest storm of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season, reached Toronto, Ontario by the evening of October 15, 1954. It peaked as a category 4 storm, but by the time it had reached Canada, it was an extratropical category 1 storm after merging with an existing cold front south of Ontario. An area of high pressure to the north east caused Hazel to stall over Toronto and to lose most of its moisture.
Severe Tropical Storm Domoina in 1984 caused 100-year floods in South Africa and record rainfall in Swaziland. The fourth named storm of the season, Domoina developed on January 16 off the northeast coast of Madagascar. With a ridge to the north, the storm tracked generally westward and later southwestward. On January 21, Domoina struck eastern Madagascar, the third storm in six weeks to affect the nation; collectively, the storms caused 242 deaths and $25 million in damage (1984 USD). After crossing the country, Domoina strengthened in the Mozambique Channel to peak 10-minute sustained winds of 95 km/h (60 mph). On January 28, the storm made landfall in southern Mozambique, and slowly weakened over land. Domoina crossed into Swaziland and later eastern South Africa before dissipating on February 2.
The 1985 Puerto Rico floods produced showers and thunderstorms across the island and the deadliest single landslide on record in North America, that killed at least 130 people in the Mameyes neighborhood of barrio Portugués Urbano in Ponce. The floods were the result of a westward-moving tropical wave that emerged off the coast of Africa on September 29. The system moved into the Caribbean Sea on October 5 and produced heavy rains across Puerto Rico, peaking at 31.67 in (804 mm) in Toro Negro State Forest. Two stations broke their 24-hour rainfall records set in 1899. The rains caused severe flooding in the southern half of Puerto Rico, which isolated towns, washed out roads, and caused rivers to exceed their banks. In addition to the deadly landslide in Mameyes, the floods washed out a bridge in Santa Isabel that killed several people. The storm system caused about $125 million in damage and 180 deaths, which prompted a presidential disaster declaration. The tropical wave later spawned Tropical Storm Isabel.
Floods killed 50 people in Jamaica in 1986, comparable to flooding that occurred in June 1979. The floods originated as a stationary front on May 24 that produced rainfall across much of the central Caribbean Sea for two weeks. Rainfall totals in Jamaica reached 635 mm (25.0 in) at Norman Manley International Airport. The flooding left heavy agriculture damage totaling $22.5 million, and 40,000 residents per day received meals after the event. Roads and bridges were damaged across the country, and one damaged bridge resulted in eight deaths after a bus crashed. The floods left 2,000 Jamaicans homeless.
In Honduras, Hurricane Mitch caused death and destruction across the entire country, resulting in the most significant flooding in Honduras in the 20th century. Hurricane Mitch, the strongest storm of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season, formed on October 22, and after becoming a Category 5 hurricane, it weakened and struck Honduras on October 29. While near peak intensity, Mitch struck the offshore Guanaja island, where it nearly destroyed the mangrove forest. On the mainland, the hurricane dropped torrential rainfall, and many gauges were washed away in mountainous areas where unofficial rainfall totals were as high as 1900 mm (75 in). The highest official total was 928 mm (36.5 in) at Choluteca in southern Honduras, which was more than half of the annual precipitation average there. The rains caused widespread flooding and landslides, although impact from winds was not as severe.
This is a list of notable recorded floods that have occurred in India. Floods are the most common natural disaster in India. The heaviest southwest, the Brahmaputra, and other rivers to distend their banks, often flooding surrounding areas.
In April 2018, a series of thunderstorms produced record-breaking rainfall on the Hawaiian Islands of Kauaʻi and Oahu. An upper-level low moved across the area on April 13, generating a mesoscale convective system that moved over eastern Oahu, producing localized heavy rainfall that reached 5.55 in (141 mm). The heaviest rainfall occurred on northern Kauaʻi. There, a rain gauge owned by the Waipā Foundation, just west of Hanalei, recorded 49.69 in (1,262 mm) of rainfall in the 24 hours between 12:45 p.m. on April 14 and 15. This was the greatest 24-hour rainfall total on record in the United States, surpassing the previous record of 43 in (1,100 mm) in Alvin, Texas on July 25–26, 1979, set during Tropical Storm Claudette. Through the event, the same gauge recorded a total of 54.37 in (1,381 mm) of rain.
During the 2019 Easter weekend, the coastal city of Durban, South Africa, experienced severe flooding, caused by torrential rain brought on by a steep upper air trough, which deepened into low pressure in the upper levels of the atmosphere, and impacted the city and its surrounding areas starting 18 April 2019. The floods resulted in at least 70 deaths caused by collapsed buildings, mudslides and sinkholes. It was one of the deadliest disasters to hit the country in the 2010s.
The 2020 East Africa floods were a natural disaster in Rwanda, Kenya, Somalia, Burundi, Ethiopia, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti and Tanzania, affecting at least 700,000 people. They began when excessive rains began falling in March, leading to massive flooding and landslides. They caused more than 430 deaths, notably in Kenya and Rwanda. In the fall another round of floods hit the African Sahel.
In early January 2022, the Eastern Cape province in South Africa experienced heavy rain and flooding following a thunderstorm that swept away homes, personal belongings and loved ones. These flash floods have left hundreds homeless, especially in township of Mdantsane which is situated on a floodplain making it more vulnerable to these types of natural disasters. Scientists believe that climate change is responsible for the droughts and floods along the eastern coastline. There were 20 casualties from this disaster, including a police rescue diver who, after saving three lives, got caught on a rope and drowned.
In April 2022, days of heavy rain across KwaZulu-Natal in southeastern South Africa led to deadly floods. Particularly hard-hit were areas in and around Durban. At least 436 people died across the province, with an unknown number of people missing as of April 22. Several thousand homes were damaged or destroyed. Critical infrastructure, including major roads, transportation, communication, and electrical systems, were also impacted by the flooding, and this damage greatly hampered recovery and relief efforts. It is one of the deadliest disasters in the country in the 21st century, and the deadliest storm since the 1987 floods. The floods have caused more than R17 billion in infrastructure damage. A national state of disaster was declared.
There were floods in South Africa in February and March, then again in September and again in December 2023.
On 1-5 June 2024, a large storm system produced severely heavy rainfall and winds along the Eastern coast of South Africa, striking several municipalities in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. The storm produced two tornados in KwaZulu-Natal province around the Durban metro region, with the more intense tornado striking Tongaat.
References
- 1 2 3 "Proceedings of the South African Sugar Technologists ' Association- June 1988 PROTECTION AGAINST FLOOD DAMAGE". CiteSeerX 10.1.1.379.8935 .
- ↑ "A river ran through it". 28 July 2016.
- ↑ Bell, F. G. (1994). "Floods and Landslides in Natal and Notably the Greater Durban Region, September 1987: A Retrospective View". Environmental & Engineering Geoscience. xxxi (1): 59–74. Bibcode:1994EEGeo..31...59B. doi:10.2113/gseegeosci.xxxi.1.59.
- ↑ "Extreme Events".
- 1 2 "The worst South African floods". 4 August 2020.
- ↑ "South Africa Floods Kill 174 and More Rain is Predicted". The New York Times. 4 October 1987.
- ↑ "Greatest South African Natural Disasters". 25 March 2021.
- ↑ Marais, GP; Gunthorp, MR (January 1988). "Effect of the September 1987 floods on the road infrastructure in Natal". The Civil Engineer in South Africa: 39–42 – via Sabinet.
- ↑ "Flood waters recede in South Africa's worst natural disaster".