Torrential monsoon rains along a stalled frontal boundary near the Yangtze River in China have killed 186 people, left 45 people missing, and caused at least $7.6 billion in damage. In the Hubei Province, 1.5 million people have been evacuated or are in need of aid, almost 9,000 houses have collapsed or are seriously damaged and more than 710,000 hectares of crops have been affected, the provincial civil affairs department said. According to the May 2016 Catastrophe Report from insurance broker Aon Benfield, the $7.6 billion in damage from these floods would make them the world's most expensive and second deadliest weather-related disaster so far in 2016. The only deadlier weather disaster in 2016 was an April heat wave in India that claimed 300 lives.
H/t Mike Hudema
What a mess. Ordinarily when I see a scene like that depicted above I first wonder how much topsoil is being swept out into the waterways. In this case, however, I found myself wondering what contaminants are being swept into the Chinese surface water supply.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of global weirding, did you see that Nunavut broke 30C today? Yes, that's right, inside the Arctic Circle, 30 degrees Celsius. What could possibly go wrong?
Incredible and totally disheartening, Mound. The earth has a fever that is going to rage for a long, long time.
DeleteJesus, Lorne, now those poor buggers are going to be hit by a super-typhoon. Winds are being clocked at 163 mph.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/07/china-taiwan-brace-for-super-typhoon-after-dozens-killed-in-floo/
Thanks for the link, Mound. Whether next door or halfway across the world, these weather disasters demonstrate that all of us have every reason to be very, very worried.
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