Southeastern European Nations Face Heightened Flooding Threat Because of Wet Weather
As storms and tropical storms have swirled in the Atlantic Ocean and eastern Pacific, the continent has experienced intense weather of its own. A low-pressure system that emerged over the Mediterranean Sea midweek drifted north-east into southeastern Europe on Thursday morning, bringing extensive downpours, thunderstorms and prolonged rains.
Persistent Rainfall and Critical Alerts
The system is predicted to persist into Friday, with forecasting tools suggesting 48-hour period amounts of 80-130mm of rain across much of the Balkan Peninsula. Severe weather alerts were activated for Serbia, Romania's southwest, northeastern Greece, and the Greek isles, emphasizing the risk of inundation and danger to residents. Powerful gusts also forced the closure of classes on the island of Zakynthos in the Ionian archipelago.
Chilly Air Intensifies Harshness
Frigid temperatures brought in from Eastern European regions added to the severity, producing significant snowfalls across the Dinaric Alps, with several predictions predicting snow levels of nearly three feet by the weekend.
Earlier Floods in Spain
Earlier in the week, the eastern part of Spain and the Balearics endured severe inundation as the leftovers of Tropical Storm Gabrielle crossed the Iberian region before stalling over the nearby sea. The city of Valencia and the island of Ibiza were worst affected; Gandia measured 356.8mm in half a day – over tenfold its average for the month, while the island had 10 inches in a full day, its most precipitation in a day since at least 1952.
Streets, train stations, parks, and educational facilities were compelled to shut down, while a rain gauge near the area of Aldaia measured 57 millimeters in just 35 minutes, leading to the La Saleta waterway to overflow. These inundations come almost a year after catastrophic flooding in Valencia in the previous year that caused the death of more than 230 people.
Storm Bualoi Hits Vietnamese Regions
Typhoon Bualoi struck the coast across central Vietnam this recent days, bringing intense rainfall, strong winds, and large swells. Over 300 millimeters of precipitation was observed within a 24-hour span on the start of the week, causing flash floods and mudslides that blocked more than 3,000 roads and isolated communities across the northern regions. Numerous air travel routes were cancelled or delayed, and rail transport between the capital Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were suspended.
Officials confirmed 36 lives lost and 147 people injured, with 21 people still unaccounted for. More than 210,000 houses were impacted or inundated, with in excess of 126,000 acres of farmland ruined. The Vietnamese authorities has assessed that the storm has resulted in over $350 million in property damage this past week.
