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☆ Dam Collapses in Western Kenya, Killing at Least 40
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A dam collapsed in western Kenya early Monday, killing at least 40 people after a wall of water swept through houses and cut off a major road, the police said. The collapse of the Old Kijabe Dam, in the Mai Mahiu area of the Great Rift Valley region that is prone to flash floods, sent water spilling downstream, carrying with it mud, rocks and uprooted trees, a police official, Stephen Kirui, said. Vehicles were entangled in the debris on the roads, and paramedics treated the injured as waters submerged large areas. The rains in Kenya have caused flooding that has already killed nearly 100 people and postponed the opening of schools. Heavy rains have been pounding the country since mid-March, and the Meteorology Department has warned of more rainfall.

Persons: Stephen Kirui Organizations: Vehicles, Meteorology Department Locations: Kenya, Mai

☆ Devastation in Derna
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Swathes of Derna, a city of 125,000 residents, were obliterated by the flood on Sunday night, bringing down multi-storey buildings while families were asleep. Map showing the footprint of buildings in Derna, highlighting those which appear to be completely washed away. Drone shots of Derna, Libya. REUTERS Drone shots of Derna, Libya. A view shows the damaged cars, after a powerful storm and heavy rainfall hit Libya, in Derna, Libya.

Persons: Abdulmenam, Ghaithi, Hichem Abu Chkiouat, Mustafa Salem, “, hydrologist, Omar Al, Mukhtar, Storm Daniel, ”, Suzanne Gray, Muammar Gaddafi, Omran Organizations: Planet Labs PBC, Reuters, REUTERS, Plant Labs, Mukhtar University, Britain's University of Reading, Al, National Meteorological Centre, NATO, of National Unity, Fetori Locations: Libya, Derna, Greece, Tripoli

General view of flood water covering the area as a powerful storm and heavy rainfall hit Al-Mukhaili, Libya September 11, 2023, in this handout picture. As the storm moved along the North African coast, Egypt's authorities sought to calm its worried citizens by telling them Daniel had finally lost its strength. For Greece, the storm that formed on Sept. 4 followed a period of blazing heat and wildfires. Before Storm Daniel struck, hydrologist Abdelwanees A. R. Ashoor of Libya's Omar Al-Mukhtar University had warned that repeated flooding of the wadi posed a threat to Derna. Yet even better-resourced Greece struggled to deal with the power of Storm Daniel.

Persons: Daniel, Storm Daniel, Suzanne Gray, Christos Zerefos, Leslie Mabon, hydrologist, Omar Al, Mukhtar University, Edmund Blair, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Ahram, Britain's University of Reading, International Federation of, Red Crescent Societies, Academy of Athens, The Open University, Homes, Thomson Locations: Mukhaili, Libya, Handout, Greece, Derna, ATHENS, LONDON, Thessaly, Britain

☆ Rain Keeps Coming at Wimbledon, but the Court Crews Have It Covered
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( David Waldstein | Jane Stockdale | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Similar to coastal warning pennants, it is a signal system — from 1 to 8 — issued from Wimbledon’s own crack meteorology department, for the tarpaulin crews to standby or rush into action. A “2” means the chair umpire has the discretion to halt the match. On Saturday, when the first rain drops fell on an already rain-soaked Wimbledon, the signal clicked to “4” from “3.”Instantly, Richard “Winston” Sedgwick, standing on the last row of Court No. 3, where he could see across to the digital beacon on Centre Court, used a simple hand signal to relay the information to the crews, which rushed to action. So, we have to work really hard and really fast.”

Persons: —, ”, Richard “ Winston ” Sedgwick, ” Sedgwick Organizations: Court, Wimbledon Locations: “

Countries from Spain and France to as far north as Norway and Sweden are experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures for this time of year. When the band of air is wavier than normal, it can move warm air northward or conversely cause polar air to reach farther south. Still, it’s clear that climate change is amplifying the consequences of jet stream anomalies, O’Reilly said. Across western and central Europe, unseasonably warm temperatures are expected to persist for the next two weeks. While it’s unusual, the anomalous warm spell fits within the bigger pattern of global warming, Pershing said.

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