Landslide forces residents to evacuate as wild weather lashes Sydney, Australia
Sydney has been plunged into chaos after severe weather swept through the state, causing flash flooding and triggering a landslide at a remote walking trail in the city’s north.
Aerial footage shows the land spill at the Mackerel trail near Palm Beach that came within metres of several properties and caused severe damage to at least one home at Mackerel Beach.
Another two properties were “partly” damaged.
Residents at 18 addresses – totalling 25 people – have been evacuated, while officials at the Northern Beaches Council have been called in to assess the damage, a NSW SES spokesman said.
Sydney’s Northern Beaches have already copped 100mm of rain in the last three days with more on the way as flash flooding prompted road closures and left many homes without power.
The news comes as Australia’s east coast battles a hammering from mother nature.
Australia has been hit by more than 2.24 million lightning strikes in just 48 hours, while damaging winds of up to 100km/h continue to rip through multiple states, with volunteers inundated with calls for help.
More storms are expected this week.
“This is peak storm season,” BOM meteorologist Dean Narramore said.
Sydneysiders can expect the storms to hit on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the peak predicted for the latter.
Courtesy of news.com.au
Train derailment sparks chemical fire, residents evacuated in Lilburn, Georgia, USA
Authorities responded to the scene of a “major” train derailment in Lilburn along the CSX line early Sunday morning.
Drone video revealed the crisscrossed mess authorities will spend the next few days untangling after a washed-out track derailed at least a dozen CSX cars and locomotives.
A conductor and engineer were inside but able to free themselves from the wreckage and walk to a nearby command post, where they were taken to a nearby hospital, according to a CSX spokesperson.
Authorities told FOX 5’s Emilie Ikeda most of the derailed cars were in the front sections, falling down the embankment between Camp Creek and Harmony Grove Road.
The crash spilled material around 1:45 a.m., fueling what Gwinnett County Fire officials are calling a chemical fire with potentially hazardous material.
The resulting pinkish-orange plume of smoke was the main cause for concern. Lilburn police went door-to-door, evacuating about a square-mile swath of residents, largely in the cul-de-sacs of Bailey Drive and Jon Jeff Drive.
CSX blamed the severe rain and flash flooding conditions in the area for the derailment.
The crash happened along a river, swollen by the remnants of Delta.
Authorities would not specify the cause of the distinct smell in the air, but local officials said atmospheric testing was showing safe levels, allowing residents to re-enter their homes around 5:45 a.m.
The incident impacted the line from Main Street in Lilburn to Harmony Grove Road.
Drivers traveling between the Main Street and Rockbridge Road areas should expect delays throughout Sunday, police are asking the area to be avoided if possible.
In a Facebook post, the Lilburn police department said Greenway Trail between Main Street and Harmony Grove is expected to be closed for the next few days.
State and federal water management personnel will be examining the impact of any runoff.
Courtesy of fox5atlanta.com
Storm Ianos: Two dead after ‘medicane’ lashes Greece and sparks islands emergency #StormIanos #Medicane #Greece
At least two people have been killed after a “medicane” – a rare Mediterranean hurricane – toppled trees, cut power and flooded streets in Greece.
Storm Ianos hit the Ionian islands and the western Peloponnese on Friday before lashing the centre of the country on Saturday.
Greece’s weather agency warned of damage and threat to life as it issued alerts for many areas.
An elderly woman was found dead in a flooded house in Farsala and the body of 63-year-old man was discovered near a hospital in Karditsa.
“We’re dealing with a total catastrophe,” one Farsala resident told state television.
Areas of Karditsa, one of Greece’s biggest plains – around 125 miles (200km) north of Athens, were swamped with water and a bridge collapsed.
The fire service said it had received more than 2,450 calls since the storm began – to rescue people, cut down trees and pump water from houses and businesses.
Five boats also sank off the holiday islands of Zakynthos (also known as Zante) and Lefkada on Friday, said the coastguard.
Greece’s civil protection agency declared a state of emergency on Kefalonia, Ithaca and Zakynthos as power was cut in many areas.
Kefalonia’s mayor, Theofilos Michalatos, said no one was hurt but that homes, roads and water facilities had been damaged.
The storm reached the Athens area on Saturday but there have so far been no reports of damage. Trains between the capital and the second city of Thessaloniki were suspended.
A medicane is a hybrid phenomenon with “some characteristics of a tropical cyclone and others of a mid-latitude storm”, according to the UN’s World Meteorological Organization.
They have strong winds spinning around a central core and torrential rain, but are smaller in diameter than hurricanes and don’t last as long – typically 24 to 48 hours.
Such storms first appeared in Greece in 1995 and, while far less common than hurricanes, have become more frequent in recent years.
Courtesy of Sky News
Tornado touches down near Annapolis amid evening of strong storms #Tornado #Storms #Annapolis #Maryland #USA
A severe weather system brought heavy rain, high winds, hail and at least one confirmed tornado Thursday evening.
The weather service said the main threat from the storms will be “damaging wind gusts, but tornadoes cannot be ruled out.”
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for parts of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, including Annapolis, Parole and Edgewater, until 6:30 p.m.
Just after 6 p.m., the weather service confirmed that a tornado touched down just south of Annapolis in Anne Arundel County. They said the tornado was moving east toward the Bay Bridge and advised everyone in the area to take cover.
WTOP’s Dave Dildine reported scenes of damage consistent with a tornado along Route 2, just south of the South River Bridge. Numerous trees and power lines down along with damage to the siding and shingles of some houses.
The weather service also issued a flash flood warning for D.C. and eastern Montgomery County that will remain until 8:30 p.m.
Much of the D.C. region is under a tornado watch until 10 p.m.
The weather service asked that residents stay alert to current weather conditions in their areas and to be ready to respond if hazardous conditions form.
Several tornado warnings were issued in Carroll, Howard, Montgomery, Baltimore and Prince George’s counties Thursday afternoon. The weather service reported seeing storm systems that were generating the rotating air currents needed to form a tornado in those areas.
Storm Team 4 meteorologist Mike Stinneford said the threat for serious storms would not diminish until after sunset.
“The main trigger for these storms is a strong cold front that is not likely to arrive until sometime around noon on Friday,” said Storm Team 4 meteorologist Chuck Bell.
He said that makes timing out the storm chances a little tricky and could help to keep the storms going well after sunset.
Courtesy of wtop.com
Majorca suffers severe damage after ‘golf ball’ hail and tornado sweep island #Hailstorm #Tornado #Majorca #Spain
A violent storm and tornado have swept across Majorca, leaving a trail of destruction across the tourist hotspot in its wake.
Giant hailstones measuring up to two centimetres pelted down on the island mid-morning, bringing down hundreds of trees and causing power outages, after the storm arrived in the town of Banyalbufar on Saturday, August 29.
The damage was of such high magnitude it left Banyalbufar’s council considering whether to declare a “disaster area”.
The mayor, Mateu Ferra, expressed his concerns, saying the landscape “will take years to recover”.
He added that while there were no serious injuries, many residents “are going to need help”.
Several witnesses captured and shared footage of the storm on social media.
Some mentioned that hail the size of golf balls fell from the sky.
Motorists said strong gusts of wind had caused pine trees to fall and block the roads, preventing them from advancing.
A couple of elderly people and their daughter had to be rescued after after a fallen pine tree left them trapped inside their home, according to the Civil Guard.
Majorca firefighters, Civil Guard teams with Special Mountain Intervention Rescue Groups went to the disaster area and are still working to quantify the extent of the damage, a process which Ferra claims will be “endless”.
Hundreds of people have been left with no fresh water, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin.
Community manager of electric company Endesa, Magdalena Frau, says staff have been working non-stop since noon on Saturday to restore electricity supplies through alternative routes.
The company has been forced to install temporary generators in the area. but locals still remain without Internet service and telephone coverage.
Frau explained it could take some time for normal services to resume due to the damage caused to the lines.
Courtesy of dailystar.co.uk
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