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      Study Finds Climate Change Doubled Likelihood of Recent European Floods

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      Storm Boris dumped record amounts of rain over Central and Eastern Europe this month. A new study found climate change made the deluge more likely.Europe faced catastrophic floodwaters that affected two million people earlier this month and transformed neighborhoods and urban centers into muddy rivers. At least 24 people died, and some were reported missing.That lethal deluge, known as Storm Boris, was made twice as likely by human-induced climate change, according to a new analysis by World Weather Attribution, an international group of scientists and meteorologists who study the role of climate change in extreme weather events.The storm dropped 7 to 20 percent more rain than a similar one would have in a preindustrial world, before humans started burning fossil fuels and releasing greenhouse gases that have increased global temperatures.The world is heating up quickly: 2023 was the warmest year on record, and 2024 could still surpass it, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In the simplest terms, warmer air holds more moisture that contributes to more intense and frequent rainfall.More than a half-dozen countries in Europe — including Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Romania, Hungary, Germany and Slovakia — saw record-breaking amounts of rain between Sept. 12 and Sept 15. The slow-moving, low-pressure system dumped up to five times September’s average rainfall over those four days. The floodwaters led to power cuts and the closure of schools, factories and hospitals.But it was only one of many flooding events that have wreaked havoc across the world in recent months.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      What We Know About the Deadly Floods in Central Europe

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      At least 17 people have died and thousands have been displaced. “Relief is not expected to come before tomorrow, and more likely, the day after,” an official in Austria said.At least 17 people were dead and several others missing on Monday after days of flooding in Central Europe. Thousands were displaced, and with heavy rains continuing in some places, officials feared there could be more destruction ahead. The floodwaters have ravaged towns, destroyed bridges and breached dams since intense rainfall from Storm Boris — a slow-moving low-pressure system — began in some places late last week. Emergency workers have made daring rescues of people and even pets as officials assessed the scale of the damage.For some, the disaster recalled the devastating floods that struck the region in July 1997, killing more than 100 people and driving thousands of others out of their homes.“This was a very traumatic one for Poland — the one that is remembered,” Hubert Rozyk, a spokesman for Poland’s Ministry of Climate and Environment, said of that disaster. “And in some places, the situation is even worse than in 1997.”Here’s what we know about the destruction in some of the worst-hit countries.RomaniaTwo men rescued a third from rising floodwaters in the Romanian village of Slobozia Conachi on Saturday.Daniel Mihailescu/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesSeven people have died in Romania, Dr. Raed Arafat, the head of the Department for Emergency Situations in the Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a phone call on Monday.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Floods Kill More Than 1,000 People in West and Central Africa

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      Flooding caused by heavy rains has left more than 1,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed.Aishatu Bunu, an elementary schoolteacher in Maiduguri, a city in Nigeria’s northeast, woke up at 5 a.m. to the sound of her neighbors shouting.When she opened her front door, she was greeted by the sight of rising waters outside. “We saw — water is coming,” Ms. Bunu said.In a panic, she and her three young children grabbed some clothes and her educational certificates and fled their home into waters that quickly became chest high, eventually finding temporary shelter at a gas station.Ms. Bunu was speaking on Friday from the bed of a truck that she managed to board with her children after several days of sheltering at various sites across the flood-stricken city. The floodwaters inundated Maiduguri early last week after heavy rainfall caused a nearby dam to overflow.Flooding caused by the rain has devastated cities and towns across west and central Africa in recent days, leaving more than 1,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed. Up to four million people have been affected by the floods and nearly one million forced to flee their homes, according to humanitarian agencies.The exact number of deaths has been difficult to tally given the scale of the disaster, and the officially reported figures are not up-to-date. In Nigeria, the authorities said that at least 200 people had died, but that was before the floods hit Maiduguri, which has added at least 30 people to that toll. In Niger, more than 265 have been reported dead. In Chad, 487 people had lost their lives as of last week. In Mali, which is facing its worst floods since the 1960s, 55 died.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      In Hawaii, a Sense of Alertness Without Panic Ahead of Tropical Storm Hone

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      Although the storm is not expected to pass directly over the Big Island, forecasters warned of threats including flooding and damaging winds.Debbie Arita, an office manager at a supermarket in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii, took stock of the conditions. Tropical Storm Hone was approaching the region, but the scene on Friday was far from chaotic — no frantic rush for supplies, no desperate boarding up of windows.To Ms. Arita, who said she has been through her fair share of hurricanes and tsunamis, the prevailing mood seemed to be alertness without anxiousness.“There’s no sense of panic here,” she said.Hone (pronounced ho-NAY) is expected to deliver a glancing blow to Hawaii as it passes near or south of the Big Island late Saturday into early Sunday. Forecasters have warned of the potential for damaging winds, life-threatening surf and flash floods.Officials and residents largely said they were preparing, but not with alarm. While a landfall of a named storm on Hawaii is rare, storms frequently come close enough to affect the islands’ weather. Mitch Roth, the mayor of Hawaii County, which covers the Big Island, wants residents to remain watchful. “We want people to be prepared for any kind of hazard,” Mr. Roth said. In August 2018, Hurricane Lane drenched the Big Island with 58 inches of rainfall, damaged over 100 buildings and killed one person — despite the eye of the storm passing over 100 miles south of the state.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Heavy Rain and Flash Flooding in Connecticut Leads to Car Rescues

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      Heavy rainfall in southwestern Connecticut led to mudslides, washed-out roads and flash flooding on Sunday, while thunderstorms sweeping through New York City disrupted flights and train service.The National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency or flash flood warning into Sunday evening for parts of Fairfield, New Haven, Litchfield and Hartford Counties, as overfilled rivers crested their banks and additional thunderstorms were predicted. Emergency crews carried out widespread water rescues, especially in the Southbury area, and several mudslides were reported, according to the Weather Service.The New York City area was also getting inundated on Sunday evening, as heavy rains caused all major airports in the region to ground flights. Officials warned of potentially damaging wind gusts. Flash flood warnings were issued in Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island and several counties north and west of New York City. Video on social media showed water pouring from the ceiling of Chelsea Market.Chelsea Market in NYC flooding #nyc #storm pic.twitter.com/D3Qt3vuWY3— Haley Morgan Ryger (@hmryger) August 18, 2024

      There was heavy flooding in Central Park, where the New York Police Department said drivers should avoid the 86th Street Transverse. Parts of Harlem River Drive in Manhattan, Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx and Long Island Expressway in Queens were blocked because of the flooding, the police said.Amtrak and New Jersey Transit said at about 8:20 p.m. that all trains between New York and Philadelphia were temporarily suspended. By 10:25 p.m., services had been restored but delays continued. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority issued a travel alert on closures along the Turnpike and Garden State Parkway.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      After Soaking the Carolinas, Debby Will Bring Rain to the Northeast This Week

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      Tropical Storm Debby will continue to loiter off the South Carolina coast on Wednesday, moving a little faster than an average human walking while pummeling the region with rain. The storm will then accelerate north, shifting the flood risk to the Northeast later in the week.Here’s how it is forecast to play out.Wednesday: The Carolinas get more heavy rain.Debby appeared to show some modest strengthening early Wednesday morning. But despite opportune conditions, the storm’s structure is likely too ragged at this point for more than mild intensification.The storm’s center was sauntering northeast and should begin to move more to the north later Wednesday, reaching the coast of South Carolina and making landfall, again, near Bulls Bay just after midnight.Rain will persist across portions of northeastern South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina through the day and, in some places, increase in intensity in places that have already been battered with rain.Significant rainfall of four to eight inches will add to the already staggering totals, increasing the risk of flooding. Places like Summerville, S.C., have already measured over 17 inches of rain.The main place for concern, experts said Wednesday, is just inland of Wilmington, N.C. This area, they said, has the opportunity for a two-day rainfall total exceeding 15 inches, leading to the threat of a “prolonged life-threatening flash flood scenario.”

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      Tropical Storm Debby Could Bring ‘Historic’ Rainfall to Southeast

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      Forecasters are warning of serious flooding in parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina this week as the storm moves along the coast.As Tropical Storm Debby moves inland off the Gulf of Mexico this week, it is expected to bring intense rainfall and flooding across northern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.After making landfall on Monday, the storm is expected to slow significantly and then meander over the Southeast, pounding the region with “potentially historic” amounts of rainfall, according to the National Hurricane Center.The National Weather Service forecast a rare high risk of excessive rain for the region.Widespread flash flooding and river flooding are expected, with 10 to 20 inches of rainfall along the coast. Some areas could get up to 30 inches of rainfall through Friday morning.The most intense rainfall is expected to spread over the area Monday night into Tuesday.“We’re going to be into a catastrophic rain situation,” Kevin Guthrie, the executive director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, said at a news conference on Sunday. To the east of where the storm makes landfall in Florida, six to 12 inches of rainfall could drop. As the storm drifts inland, it will move slowly, saturating its path and drawing moisture off the Atlantic Ocean before streaming it into the low country of South Carolina and Georgia.“The heaviest rainfall is likely to remain closer to the coast,” said forecasters with the Weather Service in Charleston, S.C. Extreme flooding could affect areas from Savannah, Ga., to Myrtle Beach, S.C.The actual rainfall totals will largely depend on whether Debby shifts offshore into the Atlantic on Tuesday, where it could restrengthen before moving back inland. More