Meteorological history | |
---|---|
Formed | March 31,2019 7:45 PM (NPT) |
Dissipated | ~ March 31,2019 8:15 PM (NPT) |
Duration | ~40 minutes |
EF2+ tornado | |
on the Enhanced Fujita scale | |
Highest winds | 111 to 165 mph (179 to 266 km/h) |
Overall effects | |
Fatalities | 28 (official),50 (reported) |
Damage | रू 90 million ($800,000 USD) |
Areas affected | Bara and Parsa districts of Nepal |
Houses destroyed | 1,059 (1,342 homes damaged) |
Part of the tornado outbreaks of 2019 |
On March 31,2019,a powerful "rainstorm" swept across two districts of southern Nepal killing at least 28 and injuring more than 1,100 people. [1] It was later identified as the first confirmed case of a tornado in Nepal. [2] [3] Lacking advanced technologies to predict or record a tornado,the scientists instead based their findings on forensic evidence,including witness accounts. The government has insisted that technological upgrades are being instituted to improve the country's virtually non-existent weather-warning system.
The tornado originated in Chitwan National Park and followed a path 200–250 metres (220–270 yd) wide and 30 kilometres (19 mi) long through several villages in Bara and Parsa districts,accompanied by rain,hail and thunderstorm. [4] The tornado was later determined to have been strong,estimated to have been of EF2 or EF3 strength. [5] [3] A humanitarian crisis ensued in the impoverished rural farming communities affected by the disaster. Emergency aid and response began soon after,with the Nepalese Army and Nepal Red Cross Society distributing supplies,while hospitals in the affected areas were overwhelmed with the number of injuries. Relief worth millions of rupees were announced for the victims in the aftermath of the tragedy. [3] The government of Nepal also paid for the health expenses of all injured. [6]
Prior to the 2019 event,no tornado had ever been officially confirmed in Nepal;the lack of such events is reflected by the Nepali language not having a word for "tornado". [2] However,elderly residents in the Terai have a Maithili and Hindi word for tornado:chakrawat. [7] Nepal has a limited meteorological network and records of past weather events are sparse. Some parts of the country had no log of data prior to 1956. In that year the India Meteorological Department established weather stations,later turning over responsibility to the Nepalese government in 1966. Concerted efforts to steadily expand the observation network began in the 1980s,with 60 rain gauges established by 1985. [8] In 2019,the government built a Doppler weather radar in Surkhet and had plans for two more. [9] Usage of weather balloons was also being tested. Hirohiko Ishikawa,a meteorologist at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute of Kyoto University stated there is a possibility of unrecorded tornadoes in the plains of southeastern of Nepal. [2] A plausible tornado was reported in February 1968:a weather observer recalled a 120 m (390 ft) diameter "pillar of dust and rain" that traveled 0.80 km (0.5 mi) and caused extensive crop damage. [8] Kiran Nepal of the Nepali Times asserts that the 2019 tornado was not the first of its kind and that prior events documented in literature and folklore were overlooked by media. [10]
The Ganges Basin to the south of Nepal occasionally sees tornadoes. [2] Tornadoes in this region are most common during the pre- and post-monsoon months. [11] The United States' National Centers for Environmental Information highlights an increased likelihood of tornadoes from Ganges Basin northwest along the southern slopes of the Himalayas,through Nepal,and into northeastern Pakistan. [12] Reports of tornadoes in this region are primarily clustered in Bangladesh,with only sporadic events farther northwest. [11] The pre-monsoon months (March to May) display the most favorable conditions for severe weather. During this time,convective available potential energy—an indicator of atmospheric instability whereby higher values denote a greater likelihood of thunderstorms—and wind shear are conducive to the development of rotating thunderstorms. [13] Some of the deadliest tornadoes on record occur in these areas;one such tornado in 1989 killed an estimated 1,300 people in Bangladesh's Manikganj District. [14]
Before the tornado on March 31,the meteorological division of Nepal had issued a general forecast of possible rain for a large region,but it lacks the ability to determine the exact nature,strength or location of an incoming storm. [1] The Indian Department of Meteorology had also issued a warning against strong winds in the neighbouring areas across the border. [15] The rural farming communities hit by the storm live mostly in huts made of mud,grass and bamboo sticks. [16] Electric transmission lines have been built to pass through residential areas or vice versa with little regard for safety and regulations. On the evening of the storm,most of the families were gathered in their homes and getting ready for dinner. Some people were still on the road trying to make it home.
On March 31,2019,at around 07:45 pm local time (GMT +5:45),a supercell thunderstorm spawned a strong tornado in the Chitwan National Park [2] [7] which swept through the districts of Bara and Parsa in southern Nepal. Traveling along a 90 km (56 mi) path—30 km (19 mi) of it visible from space [17] —and reaching a maximum width of 200 m (660 ft),it ravaged many rural communities in the two districts for a half hour,wreaking havoc. [6] Hardest-hit were the villages of Bharbalia,Parwanipur,and Pheta in Bara. [2] A total of 1,273 homes were destroyed and a further 1,348 sustained damage. Many of these homes were poorly constructed,though multiple well-built masonry homes were completely destroyed as well. The majority of damage took place in Bara where 1,183 homes were destroyed. [18] In some instances,concrete slabs were shifted 50 m (160 ft) and cars were blown away. Numerous trees were snapped and denuded,and a mosque was leveled. [2] In Pheta rural municipality of Bara district alone,26 people lost their lives from falling bricks and roofs,being buried under rubble or getting crushed by uprooted trees,electric poles or pylons. Many more were injured on the road when buses and private transports were blown or toppled over. [1] Many families lost their food stock,clothes and other essentials in the rubble when their homes were destroyed. [16] Official figures put the death toll at 28 (27 in Bara and 1 in Parsa) [19] The actual numbers were reported to be as high as 50. The tornado also injured 1,176 people and a total of 3,291 families were reported affected. [20] 1,505 hectares (3,720 acres) of crops were destroyed and 2,231 hectares (5,510 acres) were damaged. Dozens of livestock and 5,000 hens were killed. Total damage from the tornado and the parent thunderstorm reached Rs.90 million (US$800,000). Based on the damage,the tornado was estimated to have been an EF2 or EF3. [18] [5]
At 10:37 pm,Prime minister KP Sharma Oli informed the world of the disaster via a tweet. [21] He also informed that security personnel had already been deployed for rescue. On April 1 critically injured were airlifted to Kathmandu in Nepal Army's sky truck and M17 chopper. [6] The security personnel,members of the civil service,medical personnel,volunteers,politicians and public office holders as well as organisations like Red Cross participated in search and rescue efforts. Medical teams from Nepal army,the Red Cross and local hospitals treated the injured. [6]
The provincial government announced cash relief worth 300,000 rupees per casualty to the surviving family members of each dead. It also urged the federal government to announce a state of emergency in the affected areas. [1] [6] The prime minister inspected the damage by visiting the affected areas. [6] The Government of Nepal declared a state of emergency on 1 April 2019. [22] The Nepalese Army placed a helicopter on standby for relief efforts soon after the tornado;however,continued bad weather inhibited its use. Two ground units were deployed with aid and reached affected communities on the morning of 1 April. [23] The Ministry of Home Affairs provided 468 sets of tents and tarpaulins and 4,138 units of clothing. The Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) distributed food and emergency items,with the Chitwan District chapter providing 500 kg (1,100 lb) of beaten rice,150 kg (330 lb) of puffed rice,and 15 cartons of noodles. [24] Bagmati Province provided Rs.10 million (US$90,000) to Province No. 2. [9] The Nepalese Army established tent cities to accommodate displaced persons;however,living conditions became difficult with temperatures reaching 34.5 °C (94.1 °F) in the following weeks. [25]
Local hospitals in Bara were overwhelmed with the number of injured persons and ran out of beds. Floor mattresses were used to accommodate additional victims. [23] Kalaiya Hospital in Bara,which was understaffed and without power,received 354 patients;two spinal injury victims were transferred to Kathmandu and eight with head injuries were moved to Birganj. [10] Mountain Heart Nepal established a clinic in Kalaiya and treated 160 people by 4 April. [26] The Parsa chapter of the NRCS collected 300 pints of blood from donation centers to support injury treatment. [24] Humanity &Inclusion distributed mobility aid to assist victims with rehabilitation. [27] Doctors at the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division noted an increased risk of diseases with people left homeless,a lack of clean water,dead animals out in the open,and an abundance of mosquitos. [19]
Numerous irregularities were observed in the distribution of relief materials to the affected villages. Consequently,District Administration Office of Bara had to enforce stringent measures. Many of the victims reported that they never received any relief while the influential people had hogged all the relief materials intended for them. [28] Victims were critical of famous people flying into affected regions to take selfies of themselves distributing relief goods. The Pathlaiya-Birganj road became gridlocked with people bringing in aid and/or coming in to see the damage firsthand. [9]
Members of the Canadian Centre for International Studies and Cooperation in Nepal assisted in damage assessment and the needs of victims. [22] With assistance from the Government of Australia and the United Nations Population Fund,WOREC Nepal established psychosocial counseling for women in Devtaal,Parwanipur,Pheta and Suvarna. [20]
A team of researchers from The Small Earth Nepal and the country's Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) collaborated on a review of the damage. Reports of "spinning winds" from locals prompted Archana Shrestha,a meteorologist at the DHM,to investigate. The team conducted a four-day survey of affected towns,documenting and measuring damage. They also utilized imagery from the Sentinel-2 satellite and geolocated social media posts to compile a complete picture. Their results indicated a strong EF2 to EF3 tornado,with winds between 180 and 265 km/h (112 and 165 mph). [2] With the help of forensic evidence,including satellite and drone images,as well as eye-witness accounts,a group of scientists concluded that the event was a tornado. [5]
A severe thunderstorm warning is a type of public warning for severe weather that is issued by weather forecasting agencies worldwide when one or more severe thunderstorms have been detected by Doppler weather radar, observed by weather spotters, or reported by an emergency management agency, law enforcement, or the general public. Unlike a watch, a warning is issued to areas in the direct path of active severe thunderstorms, that are expecting a direct impact typically within an hour. Severe thunderstorms can cause property damage and injury due to large hail, high winds, and flooding due to torrential rainfall. The exact criteria to issue a warning varies from country to country.
An anticyclonic tornado is a tornado which rotates in a clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere and a counterclockwise direction in the Southern Hemisphere. The term is a naming convention denoting the anomaly from normal rotation which is cyclonic in upwards of 98 percent of tornadoes. Many anticyclonic tornadoes are smaller and weaker than cyclonic tornadoes, forming from a different process, as either companion/satellite tornadoes or nonmesocyclonic tornadoes.
The Daulatpur–Saturia tornado occurred in Manikganj District, Bangladesh on 26 April 1989. There is great uncertainty about the death toll, but official estimates from the World Meteorological Organization indicate that it was devastating and that it killed approximately 1,300 people, which would make it the deadliest tornado in history. In 2022, this tornado's status as the deadliest tornado in history was challenged, claiming it did not kill more than 922 people. The tornado affected the cities of Daulatpur and Saturia the most, moving east through Daulatpur and eventually northeast into Saturia. Previously, the area that the tornado hit had been in a state of drought for six months.
The April or Spring nor'easter of 2007 was a nor'easter that affected mainly the eastern parts of North America during its four-day course, from April 14 to April 17, 2007. The combined effects of high winds, heavy rainfall, and high tides led to flooding, storm damages, power outages, and evacuations, and disrupted traffic and commerce. In the north, heavy wet snow caused the loss of power for several thousands of homes in Ontario and Quebec. The storm caused at least 18 fatalities.
On February 10–11, 2009, a broad-scale damaging wind event and small tornado outbreak affected the Central and Eastern United States. During the two-day period, 14 tornadoes touched down in seven states. Oklahoma was struck by six tornadoes, the most of any state. The six tornadoes in Oklahoma also tied the record for the most tornadoes ever recorded in the state during the month of February, which would later be broken in 2023. The first day of the outbreak produced the most tornadoes; the second brought mainly high wind damage and rain or snow in most of the Northeast.
The tornado outbreak of April 9–11, 2009 was a tornado outbreak that affected large portions of the Southern United States on April 9–11, 2009. At least 5 people were killed by tornadoes including three in Mena, Arkansas and two in Murfreesboro, Tennessee just south of Nashville. A total of 85 tornadoes were confirmed over the two days. Three people were killed in Texas due to wildfires caused by strong winds stemming from the same storm system. This event is sometimes referred to as the Good Friday tornado outbreak of 2009.
In the early morning hours of April 4, 1981, an unusual and deadly anticyclonic F4 tornado struck West Bend, Wisconsin. It killed three people, and injured another 53. The tornado was largely unexpected and the storm that produced it did not display features of a typical severe storm. Because of this, the National Weather Service issued only a Severe Thunderstorm Warning prior to the tornado which caused local law enforcement to not sound the tornado sirens in time for residents to take shelter.
At approximately 11 pm local time, 13 April 2010, a severe storm struck parts of Bangladesh and eastern India. It lasted about 90 minutes, with the most intense portion spanning 30–40 minutes. As of 16 April, more than 140 deaths have been reported. At least 91 people died in the Indian state of Bihar, 44 in West Bengal, and 4 in Assam. In Bangladesh, five deaths and two hundred injuries were reported. Most of the deaths were women and children crushed when their huts were destroyed. Over 91,000 dwellings were destroyed in India and several thousand in Bangladesh; approximately 300,000 dwellings were at least partially damaged. Both mud and pucca housing was damaged by the storm. Nearly 500,000 people were left homeless or otherwise affected by the storm.
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This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2013. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Bangladesh, Brazil and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also appear regularly in neighboring southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer season, and somewhat regularly in Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Near the end of 2012, a massive storm complex developed that produced both a tornado outbreak and a blizzard across the southern and eastern United States. On Christmas Day 2012, a tornado outbreak occurred across the Southern United States. This severe weather/tornado event affected the United States Gulf Coast and southern East Coast over a two-day span. It occurred in conjunction with a much larger winter storm event that brought blizzard conditions to much of the interior United States. In total, 31 tornadoes were confirmed by the National Weather Service in five states from Texas to North Carolina. All but one of the tornadoes that occurred during the outbreak touched down on December 25, with the other occurring the following day in North Carolina. Two of the tornadoes were destructive enough to be rated EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. At least 16 people died as a result of the related blizzard, and thousands were without power.
On Sunday, February 10, 2013, a large EF4 multiple-vortex wedge tornado devastated the cities of West Hattiesburg, Hattiesburg, and Petal, Mississippi. The tornado was one of eight that touched down in southern Mississippi and southwestern Alabama that day. It reached a maximum path width of 0.75 miles (1.21 km) in its path through the Hattiesburg area and reached estimated maximum sustained winds of 170 mph (270 km/h) in Oak Grove neighborhood of West Hattiesburg. It destroyed many structures and impacted University of Southern Mississippi and two high schools. Mississippi was declared a federal disaster area by President Barack Obama, and a state of emergency was issued by Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant.
On November 17, 2013, the deadliest and costliest November tornado outbreak in Illinois history took shape, becoming the fourth-largest for the state overall. With more than 30 tornadoes in Indiana, it was that state's largest tornado outbreak for the month of November, and the second largest outbreak recorded in Indiana. Associated with a strong trough in the upper levels of the atmosphere, the event resulted in 77 tornadoes tracking across regions of the Midwest United States and Ohio River Valley, impacting seven states. Severe weather during the tornado outbreak caused over 100 injuries and eleven fatalities, of which eight were tornado related. Two tornadoes—both in Illinois and rated EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale—were the strongest documented during the outbreak and combined for five deaths. In addition to tornadoes, the system associated with the outbreak produced sizeable hail peaking at 4.00 in (10.2 cm) in diameter in Bloomington, Illinois, as well as damaging winds estimated as strong as 100 mph (160 km/h) in three locations.
The 2014 Nepal snowstorm disaster occurred in central Nepal on 14 October 2014 and resulted in the deaths of at least 43 people of various nationalities, including at least 21 trekkers. Injuries and fatalities resulted from unusually severe snowstorms and avalanches on and around the mountains of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. The incident was said to be Nepal's worst trekking disaster.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2015. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Bangladesh, Brazil and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and somewhat regularly at other times of the year across Europe, Asia, and Australia. Tornadic events are often accompanied with other forms of severe weather including strong thunderstorms, winds and hail. There were 1,178 tornadoes reported in the United States in 2015 according to the Storm Prediction Center (SPC), of which at least 1,178 have been confirmed. Worldwide, 109 fatalities have been reported: 45 in Pakistan, 36 in the United States, 14 in Mexico, seven in China, three in Myanmar, two in Brazil and one each in Italy and Russia.
Events in the year 2019 in Nepal.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2019. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Eastern India, but can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and somewhat regularly at other times of the year across Europe, Asia, Argentina, and Australia. Tornadic events are often accompanied by other forms of severe weather, including strong thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail.
A significant and deadly severe weather event that affected the Southeastern United States on March 3, 2019. Over the course of 6 hours, a total of 42 tornadoes touched down across portions of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. The strongest of these was an EF4 tornado that devastated rural communities from Beauregard, Alabama, through Smiths Station, Alabama to Talbotton, Georgia, killing 23 people and injuring at least 100 others. Its death toll represented more than twice the number of tornado deaths in the United States in 2018 as well as the deadliest single tornado in the country since the 2013 Moore EF5 tornado. An EF3 tornado also destroyed residences to the east of Tallahassee in Leon County, Florida, and was only the second tornado of that strength in the county since 1945. Several other strong tornadoes occurred across the region throughout the evening of March 3 and caused significant damage. A large number of EF0 and EF1 tornadoes also touched down.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2022. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Eastern India, but can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and somewhat regularly at other times of the year across Europe, Asia, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. Tornadic events are often accompanied by other forms of severe weather, including strong thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail. Worldwide, 32 tornado-related deaths were confirmed: 23 in the United States, three in China, two each in Poland and Russia, and one each in the Netherlands and Ukraine.
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