South-Eastern Europe Face Increased Flood Danger Because of Rainy Weather
Although cyclones and typhoons have swirled in the Atlantic Ocean and eastern Pacific, the continent has experienced extreme weather of its own. An atmospheric depression that developed over the Mediterranean Sea midweek traveled towards the northeast into south-eastern European countries on Thursday morning, bringing widespread rain showers, thunderstorms and prolonged rains.
Continuing Rains and Critical Alerts
The low-pressure area is forecast to persist into Friday and beyond, with models suggesting 48-hour period amounts of three to five inches of rain across much of the Balkan Peninsula. Highest-level advisories were declared for the nation of Serbia, south-west Romania, northeastern Greece, and the Dodecanese and North Aegean Islands, underscoring the threat of floods and risk to human safety. Powerful gusts also closed schools on the island of Zakynthos in the Ionian sea islands.
Frigid Air Intensifies Severe Conditions
Chilly air masses pulled in from Eastern European regions increased the intensity, causing significant snowfalls across the Dinaric Alps, with certain forecasts forecasting accumulations of as much as 80 centimeters by the weekend.
Previous Flooding in Spanish Regions
Earlier in the week, eastern Spain and the Balearic Islands experienced severe flooding as the remains of the former hurricane passed over the Iberian region before stalling over the nearby sea. The city of Valencia and Ibiza were most impacted; Gandia registered 356.8mm in a 12-hour period – over tenfold its average for the month, while Ibiza had 10 inches in 24 hours, its most precipitation in a day since at least the mid-20th century.
Streets, railway stations, public parks, and schools were obliged to cease operations, while one gauge near Aldaia recorded over two inches in just half an hour, resulting in the La Saleta waterway to burst its banks. The floods come almost a year after catastrophic floods in Valencia in 2024 that killed more than 230 people.
Storm Bualoi Affects Vietnamese Regions
Typhoon Bualoi made landfall across central Vietnam this recent days, causing intense rainfall, powerful gusts, and huge sea swells. In excess of 12 inches of precipitation was measured within a 24-hour period on Monday, causing rapid flooding and rock slides that obstructed thousands of routes and isolated communities across provinces in the north. Many airplane journeys were halted or rescheduled, and railway services between the capital Hanoi and the southern metropolis were stopped.
Authorities reported 36 lives lost and 147 casualties, with 21 individuals still missing. More than 210,000 houses were impacted or inundated, with in excess of 126,000 acres of rice and other crops ruined. Vietnam’s government has estimated that the typhoon has resulted in more than $350m in damage to property this past week.
