floods - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Dubai faces massive clean up after deluge swamps glitzy desert city

DUBAI, a city in the desert proud of its modern gloss, faced the towering task of clearing its water-clogged roads and drying out flooded homes two days after a record storm saw a year's rainfall in a day. Dubai International Airport, a major travel hub, struggled to clear a backlog of flights and many roads were still flooded in the aftermath of Tuesday's deluge. The rains were the heaviest experienced by the United Arab Emirates in the 75 years that records have been kept. They brought much of the country to a standstill and caused significant damage. Flooding trapped residents in traffic,…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Why are floods in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal so devastating? Urban planning expert explains

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE devastation caused by the recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa demonstrates again that the country is not moving fast enough to adopt appropriate urban planning. It should integrate risk assessment and management in the design and development of cities. This is becoming more urgent as the frequency of floods increases. HOPE MAGIDIMISHA-CHIPUNGU, Full Professor, University of KwaZulu-Natal Most South African cities were built a long time ago before climate change was predicted. KwaZulu-Natal experienced flooding in July 2016, May 2017, October 2017, March 2019, April 2019, November 2019, November 2020, April 2023, June 2023, and now in January 2024.…

Jan

2024

By ANGE ADIHE KASONGO and BENOIT NYEMBA

Hundreds dead as Congo River basin submerged by generational floods

NEWS

THE Congo River has risen to its highest level in more than 60 years, causing flooding throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Congo Republic that has killed more than 300 people over the past months, according to authorities. Poor urban planning and weak infrastructure have made some African countries vulnerable to flash floods after intense rains, which have become more frequent due to climate change. Ferry Mowa, a hydrology specialist at the DRC riverways authority, part of the transport ministry, said his office had flagged the high water level in late December, warning that almost the entire flood…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

At least 40 more people die in floods and landslides in DR Congo

NEWS

AT least 40 more people have died in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local authorities said, after heavy downpours overnight that unleashed floods and landslides that left residents digging through the mud to find bodies. In the city of Bukavu, onlookers gathered to watch on Wednesday as a group of men hauled a car out of the mud to recover a woman's body from underneath, a Reuters witness said. At least 20 people died in Bukavu and at least 20 more were killed in the village of Burinyi, 50 km (31 miles) from Bukavu, according to officials in the two…

Dec

2023

By NUZULACK DAUSEN

Tanzania flood deaths rise to 63, prime minister says

NEWS

THE death toll from floods in northern Tanzania following torrential rains this weekend has risen to 63, the prime minister said, adding to hundreds of other deaths caused by extreme weather in East Africa since seasonal rains began in October. Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said in comments broadcast on television that the number of injured stood at 116 people. Landslides had destroyed half of one village he visited, he said. "We are here in front of bodies of our fellows. We have lost 63 loved ones. Of the total fellows we lost, 23 are men and 40 are women," he…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

Floods kill more than 20 people in northern Tanzania

NEWS

AT least 20 people have been killed by floods after heavy rain in the Manyara region of northern Tanzania, the Ministry of Health said. Severe flooding caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon has killed hundreds of people in Kenya and Somalia in recent weeks. The rains have also left a trail of destruction, ruining infrastructure like roads and submerging towns in East Africa, displacing hundreds of thousands of people. "We are very shocked by this event," President Samia Suluhu Hassan said in a video message posted online by the Tanzanian Ministry of Health. She directed security agencies, the Ministry…

Sep

2023

By The African Mirror

Addis Ababa faces growing climate change risks like heat, drought and floods, study warns

AFRICITIES

ADDIS Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city, will likely face increased heatwaves, droughts and severe flooding over the next 67 years. These changes will pose risks to public health and infrastructure. They’ll also be felt most acutely by the city’s most vulnerable residents: those living in informal settlements. ABAY YIMERE, Postdoctoral Scholar in International Environment and Resource Policy, The Fletcher School, Tufts University Addis Ababa is one of the fastest-growing cities in Africa, and its current metropolitan population of about 5.4 million is projected to reach close to 9 million by 2035. This increase in the city’s population will be absorbed by…

Jul

2023

By JOYCE LEE

South Korea landslides, floods kill more than 20

WORLD

TWENTY-two people have died, 14 were missing and thousands evacuated in South Korea as, according to ministry data, as a third day of torrential rains caused landslides and the overflow of a dam. As of 6 p.m. (0900 GMT), 4,763 people had been evacuated nationwide, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, as water overtopped the dam in North Chungcheong province on Saturday morning. Local governments' evacuation orders covered more than 7,000 people at various times, according to provincial authorities. The tally is expected to rise as more heavy rain is expected on the Korean peninsula on Sunday, the Korea Meteorological…

Jun

2023

By VIKTORIIA LAKEZINA and MAX HUNDER

Ukrainians face homelessness, disease risk as floods crest from breached dam

WORLD

UKRAINIANS abandoned inundated homes as floodwaters crested across a swathe of the south after the destruction of a vast hydroelectric dam on the front line between Russian and Ukrainian forces that each blamed on the other. Residents waded through flooded streets carrying children on their shoulders, dogs in their arms and belongings in plastic bags while rescuers used rubber boats to search areas where the waters reached above head height. Ukraine said the flood would leave hundreds of thousands of people without access to drinking water, swamp tens of thousands of hectares of agricultural land and turn at least 500,000…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Almost 250,000 flee floods in Somali city that ‘became like an ocean’

NEWS

FLOODS have caused almost a quarter of a million people to flee their homes after the Shabelle River in central Somalia broke its banks and submerged the town of Beledweyne, even as the country faces its most severe drought in four decades, according to the government. Aid agencies and scientists have warned climate change is among the key factors accelerating humanitarian emergencies, while those impacted are some of the least responsible for CO2 emissions. Seasonal rains in Somalia and upstream in the Ethiopian highlands triggered flash floods that washed away homes, crops, and livestock, and temporarily closed schools and hospitals in…