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Tag: storm

  • Kumawu residents call for help weeks after storm wrecks homes

    Kumawu residents call for help weeks after storm wrecks homes

    Two weeks after a fierce storm swept through Kumawu in the Ashanti Region, residents and students are still grappling with its aftermath.

    The storm, which struck on March 4, tore off the roofs of over 60 homes and eight schools, leaving the community in distress.

    The schools affected include Apostolic D/A JHS, SDA Basic School, St. Martin R/C Basic School, Anglican Basic School, Nkwanta AME Basic School, Kumawu Presby Primary, Abotanso Methodist Primary, and Oyoko Methodist Primary School.

    As a result of the destruction, many students have been unable to return to school, while others are being forced into overcrowded classrooms due to the lack of available learning spaces.

    Speaking to Citi News, some parents expressed their frustration, explaining that they have had no choice but to take their children to the farm, as there are no safe classrooms for them to study in.

    The NADMO Director for the Sekyere Kumawu District, Emmanuel Obeng, revealed that his office has submitted a report to the appropriate authorities to request support. He also urged individuals and organizations to assist in providing relief to the affected students and residents.

    Meanwhile, Kwasi Amankwaa, the NDC’s 2024 Parliamentary Candidate for Kumawu, has stepped in to support the recovery process by donating roofing sheets to help with repair work. He further called on other stakeholders to contribute to efforts aimed at restoring the damaged schools and homes.

  • Storm-ravaged South America in danger for the second time

    Storm-ravaged South America in danger for the second time

    Severe storms hit the southern US on Thursday while the area was still recovering from earlier bad weather. The storms caused tornadoes, killed three people, and seriously hurt a boy who was playing in a flooded street and got swept into a storm drain.

    A big storm came to Atlanta at the end of the morning traffic. There were delays at busy airports in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina. The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said that there is a higher chance of dangerous weather from Texas to South Carolina. A person in charge of emergencies said there was a lot of damage from strong winds that might have been from a tornado on Thursday afternoon in Vidalia, Georgia. Vidalia is an area where a lot of onions are grown.

    The storms bring heavy rain and tornadoes to the Plains, Midwest, and Southeast this week. For the past few days, severe weather has put 39 states in danger, and at least four people have died. On Wednesday and Thursday, around 220 million people were at risk of severe weather. Matthew Elliott, who forecasts for the Storm Prediction Center, said that some people were in danger for more than one day.

    The weather comes after a very stormy April in the US. There were 300 confirmed tornadoes in April, which is the second-highest number ever for that month and the most since 2011.

    More than 100,000 homes and businesses in the South still don’t have electricity because of storms last night.

    Severe weather in Tennessee caused a lot of damage to homes, hurt people, knocked over power lines and trees, and led to the death of a 22-year-old man in a car in Claiborne County, which is north of Knoxville, according to officials. Another person died in Columbia, south of Nashville, in Maury County. A tornado with winds of 140 mph (225 km/h) damaged or destroyed over 100 homes, according to officials.

    Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said that a woman died in Maury County when her mobile home was thrown into a forest. Lee went to see people who work in emergencies and people who work for the Tennessee Department of Transportation in the area that was hit by the storm on Thursday. He said thank you to the workers who worked all night to remove trees and garbage from the roads.

    Later, Lee told the news people that it’s really sad to see families who have been hurt by the tornado.

    Lee said it is tough to see another family going through a tough time, but it is good to see them talking to their neighbors and saying they will be okay.

    Bob Booth had just come back to his house in Columbia from Georgia. He was about to watch TV when he heard a loud noise.

    Booth said, “I woke up and saw a lot of chaos outside. ” “Then the upper part of one of my trees falls on the road. ”

    Former pastor Walter Shell said he and his wife took their two dogs and went to the basement when his phone told him about a tornado.

    “It just missed us by about 4 inches. ” “It went in circles,” he said. “Praying is worth it, I can tell you. ”

    Heavy rain caused a sudden flood and people had to be rescued from the water northeast of Nashville. The weather service also issued a tornado warning for nearby areas.

    A 10-year-old boy was hurt badly in Christiana, near Nashville. He got stuck in a drainage pipe and was carried away by the water while playing with other kids. Adults were cleaning up debris at the time. His dad, who is the superintendent of Rutherford County Schools, shared the news on social media.

    The boy, Asher, came out of a drainage ditch and stayed alive after getting CPR. “But he is really hurt,” Sullivan wrote on Facebook, and asked for people to pray for him.

    “Asher really needs something amazing to happen,” Sullivan wrote.

    Many people came to the school district’s offices for a prayer event on Thursday. They bent down and shut their eyes to pray, and they sang “Amazing Grace” at the same time.

    Schools in Rutherford and Maury were closed on Thursday and Friday. Some areas north of Atlanta in Georgia had to cancel in-person classes or start later because of storm damage. Fallen trees damaged houses and cars in Clarkesjsonville. Nobody got hurt there.

    “We are currently cleaning up and waiting for the next round,” said Lynn Smith, who is in charge of the Habersham County Emergency Management Agency.

    A big tornado wrecked at least 20 homes in northern Alabama’s DeKalb County and hurt some people but didn’t kill anyone, officials said.

    A big storm hit Gaston County in North Carolina. It caused a lot of damage and knocked down power lines and trees. A car also got hit by a falling tree. The state declared a state of emergency in response to the storm. One person died in the car and another person went to the hospital, according to officials.

    Severe weather hit parts of the central US on Monday, with storms bringing heavy rain, strong winds, hail, and tornadoes. One person died when a tornado tore through a town in Oklahoma. Tuesday, the Midwest got hit the hardest by the bad weather. Tornadoes hit Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, said the weather service.

    The Kalamazoo area in Michigan was hit hard when a FedEx building was destroyed, and about 50 people were trapped by fallen power lines.

    Tornadoes were seen near Pittsburgh, in central Arkansas, and in northern West Virginia. The West Virginia tornado was the 11th tornado in the state this year. Usually, West Virginia has about two tornadoes in a year.

    Tornadoes have hit the Plains and Midwest a lot this spring.

  • Severe storm forces school closures in South Africa’s Western Cape

    Severe storm forces school closures in South Africa’s Western Cape

    A severe storm in South Africa’s Western Cape province, particularly affecting Cape Town, has led to the closure of schools in various districts, including the Cape Winelands and Overberg regions, as well as the Helderberg basin area.

    Education authorities announced the closure on Sunday, emphasizing the decision was made to prioritize the safety of students and staff. Western Cape Education Minister David Maynier underscored the importance of caution in such situations.

    Dramatic footage circulated on social media depicted strong winds toppling vehicles, including a truck, off a bridge. Other images showed vehicles overturned by the powerful gusts. Multiple roads were shut down to prevent accidents.

    Residents have been urged to refrain from unnecessary travel and to stay off the roads due to the dangerous conditions.

    In addition to vehicular incidents, the storm caused significant damage, including roof displacements, tree uprooting, and fueling wildfires.

    A wine farm in Stellenbosch and several properties in the Glencairn area were among the affected locations.

    The destructive winds are forecasted to persist into Monday, with warnings issued for heavy rainfall that may lead to flooding.

  • Bangladesh and Myanmar coast hit by intense storm

    Bangladesh and Myanmar coast hit by intense storm

    A strong cyclone is now striking the shores of Bangladesh and Myanmar after strengthening into the equivalent of a category-five storm.

    195kph (120mph) gusts and heavy rain from Cyclone Mocha could cause severe floods on land near the Bay of Bengal.

    There are worries that it could impact Cox’s Bazar, which is home to almost a million people and is the largest refugee camp in the world.

    Up to four meters of storm surge could saturate low-lying towns.

    Cyclone Mocha, according to forecasters, might be Bangladesh’s strongest cyclone in nearly two decades.

    About 500,000 people have been evacuated to safer locations.

    The Bangladeshi meteorological department office said the maximum sustained wind speed within around 75km (45 miles) of the centre of the cyclone was around 195 kilometres (120 miles) per hour with gusts and squalls of 215 kilometres per hour.

    In preparation nearby airports were shut, fishermen ordered to suspend their work and 1,500 shelters were set up as people from vulnerable areas were moved to safer spots.

    Cyclone Mocha was predicted to bring a deluge of rain, which can trigger landslides – a serious danger for those who reside in hillside camps, where landslips are a regular phenomenon.

    Particular concerns have been expressed for the many Rohingya refugees living in makeshift homes in the the camps of Cox’s Bazaar and people on the western coast of Myanmar.

    “For a cyclone to hit an area where there is already such deep humanitarian need is a nightmare scenario, impacting hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people whose coping capacity has been severely eroded by successive crises,” UN Humanitarian Coordinator A.I. Ramanathan Balakrishnan said.

  • Thunder strike kills two siblings who were plucking mangoes

    Thunder strike kills two siblings who were plucking mangoes

    A Hazardous weather has killed two siblings in Akyem Begoro in the Fanteakwa district of the Eastern Region of Ghana.

    Two siblings have met their untimely death after they were struck to death by thunder

    Report suggests the victims aged 16 and 14 were out looking for plucking mangoes whiles there were heavy rains accompanied by thunder.

    They were said to have been struck by Thunder and died on the spot.

    Their remains have since been deposited at the Akyem Begoro morgue.

    On the whereabouts of their parents, the reporter indicated that they were indoors while their children were in the rain looking for mangoes.

  • California experiences power outages due to storms

    California experiences power outages due to storms

    Over 400,000 customers in the United States are without power as a result of bicoastal storms that brought rain, snow, flooding, and high winds.

    On Tuesday, rivers in California overflowed and mudslides occurred. A state of emergency has been declared in 40 of the state’s 58 counties.

    Some areas of New York, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts have received up to three feet of snow.

    Storms on both coasts abated early Wednesday, but the damage was extensive.

    By late Wednesday morning, 189,492 customers in California were without power, according to Poweroutage.us, while another 165,249 customers across New Hampshire, Maine, New York and Massachusetts endured the same.

    The storm that swept along the north-east brought mounds of snow, downed power lines and toppled trees – one of which nearly flattened a parked car in the Bronx – and had winds recorded over 40mph (64km/h). Hundreds of schools and businesses in the region were closed.

    New York state and multiple counties in New Jersey issued states of emergency that lasted into Wednesday morning.

    In Derry, New Hampshire, a child was struck and pinned down beneath a snow-covered tree knocked over by fierce winds, the Derry Fire Department said in a Facebook post. Through a mix of chainsaws and shovels, “16 firefighters and three police officers worked for 19 minutes to free the child from underneath the tree”, the department said. The child was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

    On the west coast, where a series of storms have hit California since the start of the year, saturated soils have created hazardous conditions for residents.

    A mudslide in Placer County caused severe damage to a home sunk nearly to its roof in mud, according to the local fire department.

    California is experiencing its eleventh atmospheric river since December. The weather phenomenon happens when water evaporates into the air and is carried along by the wind, forming long currents that flow in the sky like rivers flow on land, causing heavy downpours.

    By sunset on Tuesday evening, rivers had overflowed and some roads were impassable. Workers laboured to repair a recently breached levee in Monterey County, where 21,000 people were under evacuation order.

    High winds also plagued the state. Nearly 15 million people were under a high-wind warning on Tuesday as hurricane-force winds in multiple counties exceeded 90mph, CNN reported.

    Californians on Wednesday can expect a slight respite, but it will not last long, the National Weather Service warned.

    “After this latest high-impact atmospheric river sweeps through California by Wednesday, a few days of relief from any heavy precipitation is expected,” the NWS Prediction Center tweeted. “However, the extended range outlook from the Climate Prediction Center forecasts another atmospheric river arriving next week.”

  • California weather: Another winter storm as thousands left without power

    California weather: Another winter storm as thousands left without power

    As another storm bears down on the state, thousands of Californians are still without power following a weekend of torrential rain and flooding.

    On Monday, there was a heavy rain, which only got worse on Tuesday, especially in the state’s northern and central regions.

    Storms that have struck the state in quick succession have claimed the lives of at least 13 persons so far.

    Parts of the East Coast are also currently under a winter storm watch.

    Some counties in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut could see as much as 10in (25cm) of snow on Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

    Further snowfall is also anticipated in western Wisconsin and much of Minnesota – where the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul have already recorded 80in of snow this winter, their eighth snowiest season on record.

    California starts the week with its 11th “atmospheric river” storm since late December.

    Atmospheric rivers are narrow bands of moisture that produce heavy rainfall and snow when they make landfall.

    These weather systems occur when water evaporates into the air and is carried along by the wind, forming long currents that flow in the sky like rivers flow on land.

    The NWS predicted “very heavy rainfall”, snowmelt in mountainous regions and strong winds, with the worst conditions “occurring late during the day Monday, continuing through the day on Tuesday”.

    In addition to heavy rainfall, the San Francisco Bay Area could see wind gusts up to 40 to 50mph (64 to 80kph).

    “Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks,” the weather service added. “Extensive street flooding and flooding of creeks and rivers is likely.”

    Thousands were evacuated on Saturday from Pajaro, a low-income agricultural migrant worker community in northern California famous for its strawberry crop, after the Pajaro River’s levee was breached by flooding.

    In Monterey County, first responders rescued about 200 people – most of those rescues happened near the Pajaro River, according to Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto.

    Fearing floodwater may have contaminated wells with chemicals, officials told residents in the area not to drink or cook with tap water.

    More than 9,500 residents across the state were still without power as of Monday morning.

    Thirteen people have died since snowstorms hit California from late February.

    Two of those deaths have so far been confirmed to be storm-related, while eight others are under investigation.

    Twenty-two other deaths have been recorded amid the foul weather in the state since January.

    A state of emergency has been issued in 40 of California’s 58 counties to support storm response.

    Source: BBC

  • Volta Region records 7 storms in first quarter of 2020

    The Volta Region has recorded seven wind and rainstorms in the first quarter of 2020.

    Mr Divine Bosson, Volta Regional Director, National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), said the storms affected seven communities in five Municipal and Districts.

    He said a total of 139 houses were affected by the storms, and 456 people, made up of 122 male adults, 122 female adults, 103 boys and 109 girls involved.

    Mr Bosson said three female adults out of the 456 affected persons sustained varying degrees of injuries.

    The Regional Director said a municipality recorded one flood situation, which affected a community with 19 houses.

    He said a total of 46 people, made up of ten male adults, 20 female adults, ten boys and six girls were affected by that flood.

    Mr Bosson said the Region recorded a total of 17 bushfires in eight municipal and districts, involving 21 communities and 300.5 acres of farm lands.

    He said a total of 458 people, made up of 123 male adults, 131 female adults, 107 boys, and 97 girls were affected by the fire.

    The Regional Director said 12 municipal and districts also recorded 38 domestic fires, which affected 38 communities and 42 houses.

    He said a total of 249 people, made up of 53 male adults, 76 female adults, 56 boys and 64 girls were affected by the fire, but with no death recorded.

    Mr Bosson said one industrial fire was also recorded in a district, which affected one community and 189 boys, and a school.

    The Regional Director said the estimated cost of damage by the disasters was GHC1,407,436.00

    He said his outfit would continue to educate the people on the need to avoid acts that could lead to disasters and called for support from all.

    Mr Bosson also called for stiffer punishment for people who set fire to bushes and also engaged in indiscriminate felling of trees to deter others from such acts.

    Source: GNA