From the recent United Nations report, it has been recorded that the number of extreme weather hazards have sharply increased fivefold from the 70s to the present decade and it is believed to be as a result of global warming.
Recently, countries all over Asia, Europe, Australia and America have experienced disastrous weather conditions that have resulted in the damage and loss of properties, death of many beloved ones and loss of jobs as well. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), nearly 500,000 people have died as a result of weather disasters in the last 20 years.
This report comes during this disaster filled summer at global level, with the recent case being that of the United States of America being hit by Hurricane Ida and an onslaught of drought induced wildfires.
As recorded for now, Hurricane Ida has taken 45 lives, Susan Cutter, the director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina also highlighted that Hurricane Ida is an example of heavy damage and what might probably be less of loss of life than past major hurricanes.
Germany is of no exception in the trouble as the nation first experienced heavy floods in July 2021. Heavy rains swept across Western Germany, with the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia were the most affected as well as the neighboring countries of Belgium and Netherlands.
The Floods began in the United Kingdom as flash floods causing damage and inconvenience. Western Europe recorded a total of 230 deaths, 184 in Germany, 42 in Belgium; 2 in Romania; 1 in Italy and 1 in Austria. Property damaged recorded to be worth ten billion pounds and almost 200000 properties left without power.
Japan is also included amongst the nations that have suffered most from these weather disasters. About 1.4 million residents were displaced in Japan as the heavy rains triggered floods and landslides in western Japan, NHK reported. Downpours resulted in a devastating landslide in the central resort town of Atami that killed 23 people, with four who were still missing.
In China, flooding caused by excessive heavy rains killed 21 people in China’s Hubei Province. Over 80,000 residents evacuated their homes in response to the flooding in Sichuan Province, south west of China. The Meteorological Center figures showed that in 24 hours to late 08 August 2021, Qu County in Sichuan had 334.0mm of rain and Dazhou City 325.3mm.
Media reported 100,000 were also evacuated in Bazhong and a total of 589,400 people affected in that province. The floods are believed to have caused 27 million US Dollars’ worth of damage.
India also recorded 400 villages in the state of Uttar Pradesh being flooded after a multiple number of rivers broke their banks. According to the Disaster Management Division of India (DMD), excessive rain in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, a lot of water was released in River Chambal. Heavy rains and overflowing rivers combined to affect other districts including Ballia, Budaun, Gonda, Etawah, Prayagraj and Baghpat to mention a few.
DMD recorded flooding in 466 villages across 21 districts, a total of 104,704 people affected, 274 houses destroyed and 722 others severely damaged.
2021 as many expected, was not much different from 2020, in fact it has been more disastrous than 2020, Covid-19 cases and death cases keep going up and on top of that comes weather disasters.
Let me know of what you think of the events happening in our beloved 2021
Africa Watch 24 