Cyclone Seroja destroys homes, cuts power to 31,500 on Australia’s west coast
A tropical cyclone on Australia’s west coast destroyed several homes and cut electricity to tens of thousands of people overnight before weakening on Monday morning.
Officials said around 70% of the structures in the coastal town of Kalbarri, about 500 kilometres (310 miles) north of state capital Perth, had sustained damage when the category three storm made landfall late on Sunday.
“The devastation caused by Cyclone Seroja is widespread and severe,” Western Australia state premier Mark McGowan told reporters.
Around 40% of the damage was “major”, WA Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said.
No deaths or major injuries have been reported.
A recovery effort is now underway as the biggest threat has passed, McGowan said. There are 31,500 customers still without power supply, which he said could take days to restore.
Tropical cyclone Seroja was downgraded after making landfall to a category two system and was later downgraded further to a tropical low, but bringing heavy rain and strong winds.
Photos on social media and local broadcasts showed downed powerlines, debris and houses stripped of roofs and walls. Western Australia state authorities opened three evacuation centres for displaced residents.
The region was on high alert for the storm, given that houses and other buildings were not built to withstand tropical cyclones, which usually do not push so far south.
“This is a rare weather event for people in southern and eastern parts of WA,” the Bureau of Meteorology said.
Courtesy of whbl.com
Death toll of Cyclone Seroja rises to 179 in Indonesia
The death toll of Cyclone Seroja in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province rose to 179 and 45 others are still missing, an official said on Monday.
“We have been able to reach all the affected areas and there are no more isolated villages,” East Nusa Tenggara’s Deputy Governor Josef Nae Soi told a virtual press conference with the National Disaster Management Agency.
Soi said several broken bridges have not yet been rebuilt, hampering economic activities.
He said temporary solutions including using army ships and state-owned ferries have been suggested.
Courtesy of xinhuanet.com
Large explosion reported at La Soufrière Volcano in St Vincent
The Trinidad-based Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of the University of the West Indies (UWI) today reported a “large explosion” at the La Soufriere volcano.
In a brief update posted on its website, the SRC said that its team monitoring the volcano, which erupted last Friday, “has observed a large explosion at approximately 4:15 am (local time) and pyroclastic density currents(flows) have been observed on the flanks of the volcano”.
The SRC said that it is continuing to monitor the situation and will update later.
Volcanologist Professor Richard Robertson yesterday warned that the ongoing eruption of La Soufriere volcano is in keeping with the events surrounding the 1902 eruption which claimed 1,600 lives at a time when early warning systems and evacuation capabilities were not as advanced.
Speaking on the state-owned NBC Radio, Professor Robertson, the lead scientist monitoring the volcano, said that while most people know of the 1979 eruption, what is currently happening at La Soufriere is more akin to more a century ago.
“The activity pattern we have currently is more similar to a 1902 type of eruption of that kind of scale, rather than a 1979 scale. The people who lived through 1979 know the kind of eruption we have had.
“What does that mean? It means, unfortunately, that it is likely going to cause more damage and destruction to St Vincent but it also means that there will always be a safe place in the south of the country, which might have a lot of ash every now and then, but you can still sustain life and limb and it would not — which is what we all worry about — get so big that it destroys the whole country. That currently doesn’t seem to be the case.”
Courtesy of jamaicaobserver.com
1 dead, 7 injured after tornado rips through Louisiana parish, USA
Photo Illustration
A tornado ripped through a portion of Louisiana early Saturday morning causing extensive damage and leaving at least one person dead and seven others injured, officials said.
Seven people were taken to hospitals and multiple other victims were treated on scene, KLFY reported. Search and rescue crews were still assessing the area for other victims.
The storm caused extensive damage to homes and vehicles. A trailer from a truck was in the middle of a road and other vehicles were flipped over, KLFY reported.
Jose Antonio Higareda, 27, was killed when the tornado hit the home where he was living with 130 to 140 mph winds, The Advocate reported.
Courtesy of fox23.com
MAGNITUDE 6.0 NORTHERN ALGERIA
Distances: 84 km NNW of Sétif, Algeria / pop: 288,000 / local time: 01:04:07.6 2021-03-18
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