Flooding

Festivalgoers brave rain and strong winds as ‘unsettled’ conditions expected to last over bank holiday weekendHeavy rain is expected over the weekend, forecasters have said, with people heading to major music festivals warned of unseasonably strong winds.That came after large parts of England braced for flooding on Friday. The Environment Agency (EA) issued flood alerts across the Midlands and into South Yorkshire, having earlier sent out a more-serious flood warning in the town of Nelson, Lancashire. Continue reading...

Cara Severino calls parents – but still faces trek of more than 110km to reach Kathmandu on footGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn Australian woman has made contact with her family, more than two days after she was reported missing in flash flooding in Nepal.At least 469 people have been killed and more than 1,500 are missing after a catastrophic flash flood hit the China-Nepal border on Wednesday. Cara Severino, 25, is the first of 39 Australians who had been reported missing in the tragedy to have been confirmed safe. Continue reading...

• Catastrophic flash flooding struck the border region of China and Nepal on Wednesday, wiping out entire villages. • More than 1,300 people are currently reported missing, including at least 700 foreign nationals from approximately two dozen different countries. • The scale of the disaster highlights the extreme vulnerability of border settlements to sudden environmental crises and flash floods.

The catastrophic flash flood has killed at least 389 people and left more than 1,300 missing, with hundreds of tourists unaccounted forNearly 1,400 missing, mostly tourists, and hundreds killedVisual guide: how the deadly flooding unfoldedTell us: have you been affected by the flash floods?Chinese authorities have warned that an artificial lake formed after a catastrophic flash flood hit the China-Nepal border on Wednesday faces a “high risk of breaching and sending flood waters downstream”, according to state media.“According to forecasts, inflows into the lake could reach about 3 million cubic meters over the next three days amid continued rainfall, increasing the risk of a breach that could send flood waters downstream and potentially cause further damage in areas including Gyirong Port and elsewhere downstream”, state news agency Xinhua reported late Thursday.Rescue teams and military helicopters are searching for hundreds of missing people along the mountainous Nepal-Tibet border after a huge torrent of water and mud swept through communities following a glacier collapse on Wednesday.More than 390 people were killed, authorities in Nepal and China said, and more than 1,400 were missing, including hundreds of foreign citizens and pilgrims.More than 500 foreign citizens were among 826 people missing in Nepal, police and tourism ⁠officials said. Among those unaccounted for were 177 from India, 90 from the US, 34 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 25 from Canada.Chinese state media said at least 558 were missing on the Tibet side of the border, of whom at least 260 were foreign nationals.UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said he ordered the release of $2m from the UN’s central emergency response fund to help with medical care, shelter and water.US president Donald Trump said the flooding was terrible to see, describing how “strong, well-built buildings were wiped out like they were toothpicks”.Nepalese officials said dozens of bridges were destroyed and nearly 40km of roads damaged, complicating search efforts.The Nepalese army had rescued more than 100 people by helicopter, an army spokesperson said. Army teams also evacuated people trapped inside facilities linked to the Trishuli hydropower project, he said.Dozens of injured people were transported to Kathmandu for medical care.Rescuers found bodies in Nepal’s Chitwan district, hundreds of kilometres downstream from the hardest-hit areas.The Nepal Red Cross Society said the agency has shifted its focus from rescue to large-scale relief operations in the flood-hit districts.China’s premier, Li Qiang, arrived on Thursday in Gyirong to direct rescue efforts, alongside 500 military and paramilitary personnel. Continue reading...

Nepali tour operator fears 15 Australians who had been on a trekking tour near border with China have died after devastating floodingA Nepali tour operator says he fears that 15 Australians trekking with his company in a valley ravaged by flash flooding have died.Sagar Pandey, the founder and chief executive of Himalayan Glacier Trekking, said he has lost all contact with his tour group of 47 people, which included 15 Australians. Continue reading...

Four-year-old boy, two men and three women among those who died since storms began on 11 August, officials sayDays of storms and flooding in Indiana left at least six people dead as flood waters peaked in Indianapolis’s White River – and rains were expected to ease in the state capital region and other parts of the state on Sunday.A four-year-old boy, two men and three women were among those who had died since the storms began on 11 August, state homeland security department spokesperson Liz Woods said. Continue reading...

• Five years after the Taliban seized power in Kabul, Afghans face a starkly divided reality where some report improvements while many others endure increasing hardship. • Syria continues to struggle with the aftermath of over a decade of conflict, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and a massive global displacement crisis. • These reports highlight the ongoing humanitarian challenges and slow recovery processes in regions destabilized by long-term political upheaval and war.