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The risk of life-threatening landslides and floods was rapidly increasing in parts of Kyushu Island as the storm lashed it with relentless rain, the authorities warned.The storm unleashed torrential rain, hurricane-force winds and the threat of landslides.Kyodo, via Reuters More
More than 20,000 customers were without power by Sunday afternoon, but neither the winds nor the flooding from the storm were dramatic.Hurricane Hone passed within 60 miles of Hawaii’s Big Island early Sunday, bringing heavy rain, knocking out power to thousands of customers and snapping native ohia trees like twigs.More than 20,000 customers were without electricity on Sunday afternoon on the island, which has a population of about 206,000. But Mitch Roth, the mayor of Hawaii County, which covers the Big Island, said there were no reports of injuries or major damage.Kazuo Todd, the fire chief for Hawaii County, said that nearly 18 inches of rain had fallen around the volcanoes in the southern part the island. But so far, neither the winds nor the flooding had been dramatic.“We do live on an island in the Pacific where the water can drain off into the ocean relatively quickly,” Chief Todd said.Forecasters predicted that Hone, which was a Category 1 storm as it was spinning westward below the islands on Sunday, could still bring up to 20 inches of rain to some areas. As the storm moves, it will slow down and push moisture over all the islands, increasing the potential for heavy rainfall statewide and the threat of flash flooding in some areas.Floodwaters flow through a soccer complex in Hilo, Hawaii, as a result of heavy rains.Bruce Omori for The New York TimesWe 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
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
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
Extreme rainfall made 10 percent heavier by human-caused climate change triggered landslides that killed hundreds, according to a new study.A sudden burst of rainfall on July 30 caused a cascade of landslides that buried hundreds of people in the mountainous Kerala region of southern India.That downpour was 10 percent heavier because of human-caused climate change, according to a study by World Weather Attribution, a group of scientists who quantify how climate change can influence extreme weather. Nearly six inches, or 150 millimeters, of rain fell on soils already highly saturated from two months of monsoon and marked the third highest single-day rain event on record for India.“The devastation in northern Kerala is concerning not only because of the difficult humanitarian situation faced by thousands today, but also because this disaster occurred in a continually warming world,” said Maja Vahlberg, a climate risk consultant at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre. “The increase in climate-change-driven rainfall found in this study is likely to increase the number of landslides that could be triggered in the future.”In a state that is highly prone to landslides, the Wayanad district is considered the riskiest part. As of Tuesday, at least 231 people had died and 100 remained missing.The Kerala landslides were the second extreme landslide event in July, following one in Ethiopia that killed 257 people. July was the second-worst month on record, after July 2019, with 95 landslide events that caused 1,167 fatalities, according to data maintained by Dave Petley, the vice-chancellor of the University of Hull. Together, they caused roughly one-third of the more than 3,600 deaths resulting from some 429 fatal landslides recorded this year, Dr. Petley said in an email.Already, 2024 is an outlier, Dr. Petley posted to The Landslide Blog on Tuesday. He wrote that he could “only speculate on the likely underlying reasons for this very high incidence of fatal landslides,” but “the most likely cause continues to be the exceptionally high global surface temperatures, and the resultant increase in high intensity rainfall events.”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
Right now, every moment of every day, we humans are reconfiguring Earth’s climate bit by bit. Hotter summers and wetter storms. Higher seas and fiercer wildfires. The steady, upward turn of the dial on a host of threats to our homes, our societies and the environment around us. We might also be changing the climate […] More
There is at least some risk of tornadoes in New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania and southeast New York on Friday.The remnants of Tropical Storm Debby were moving up the East Coast on Friday morning, prompting warnings for flash floods and tornadoes and causing airport delays at some of the major Northeast cities.“Unfortunately, even in Debby’s weakened state, dangerous flash flooding and severe weather will continue” through Saturday across portions of the Carolinas, Mid-Atlantic, Interior Northeast and New England, forecasters from the Weather Prediction Center said.The weather was causing delays at some airports in the region.La Guardia Airport in New York issued a ground delay just after 8 a.m. on Friday and flights were delayed by an average of 82 minutes, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. In a post on social media, the airport warned passengers of flight disruptions and advised them to check in with their airlines regarding their flight status.Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport were also experiencing delays ranging between 30 and 60 minutes, the F.A.A. said. In Boston, no delays were reported, but authorities at Logan International Airport warned passengers to check with their airlines before arriving at the airport.In Washington, D.C., flights to and from Ronald Reagan National Airport were facing delays, the F.A.A. said.Overnight, the storm system brought rain once again to coastal Carolina, escalating the flooding situation in the northern suburbs of Charleston, S.C. Some residents who had been thinking the worst had already passed them woke to the surprise of floodwaters in their homes. Showers or thunderstorms could return to coastal Carolina on Friday afternoon.Debby’s remnants on Friday were simultaneously weakening and accelerating northeastward along the spine of the Blue Ridge, forecasters said. As it moves through the region, some storms have been acting like train cars on a track, repeating over the same areas and prompting flood warnings in Virginia, especially around Washington, D.C.Tornadoes spawned by Debby ThursdayLocations of tornado sightings or damage reported by trained spotters. More
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.”
Forecast risk of excessive rain for Thursday More
