Increasing levels of water vapor drive stronger, longer storms and heavier rainfall
Libya floods, already forgotten, were one of the planet’s worst disasters of the year.
17,000+ dead in combo cause catastrophe
SEPTEMBER
Storm Daniel swept across eastern Libya, affecting most of the region of about 1,000,000 people. More than 17,000 people were killed by the storm, which caused dams to burst and destroyed buildings in Al Bayda, Al Marj and in the coastal city of Derna. The storm also caused significant damage to critical infrastructure, including bridges, roads, and electricity grid.
Fueled also by unusually warm sea-surface temperatures, Daniel strengthened rapidly, delivering torrential rains and high winds to the southern Balkan peninsula and western Turkey. Parts of central Greece received as many as 29.5 inches (750 mm) of rain—almost the same amount the area typically receives in one year—in only 24 hours. Daniel also generated waterspouts in the Aegean and Tyrrhenian seas. The storm then tracked southwest over the Ionian Sea before bending southeast toward eastern Libya.
One of the two dams that burst had been flagged as unstable in the months previous. Nothing was done.
Colombia landslides kill dozens following record flooding:
JAN | JULY
In Medellín in January at least 2 people died after severe stormy weather and flash floods struck the city on 14 January 2023.
In July, 15 more people died and 6 were injured after a massive landslide struck the village of Naranjal in the Municipality of Quetame, overnight 17 to 18 July 2023. The landslide buried or destroyed 22 homes and authorities are continuing to search the area for several people still feared missing under the rubble.
A road bridge was also destroyed and a long stretch of an important highway has been blocked, causing severe disruption to travel in the area. The road connects the capital Bogota to the southeast of the country.
Heavy rain has triggered floods and landslides in numerous areas of the department. On 12 January 2023, heavy rain caused a landslide in the municipality of Anolaima, blocking part of a road, and floods in the municipality of Cajicá, which damaged 5 houses and displaced around 20 people.
2023 blew through all previous records for planetary heat
Hundreds dead in Congo floods
MAY | DECEMBER | DEAD 400
Floods and landslides killed at least 400 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s South Kivu province in spring 2023.
A week of sustained heavy rainfall caused rivers to overflow and created mudslides that devastated the villages of Bushushu and Nyamukubi in South Kivu’s Kalehe territory..
Videos from the area showed buildings swept away in the water and mud, with debris strewn across the villages.
Severe thunderstorms also hit the country’s eastern coast December 25 – 26, bringing large hailstones, high winds and torrential rain. Rivers flooded and the winds ripped off roofs and brought down trees in some of the worst-affected areas.
65 Countries set all time records for hottest August in 2023
Storm Ciaran Brings New Catastrophic Floods to Northern Italy
NOVEMBER | DEAD 13
Twenty-one rivers overtopped their banks in Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany as thousands of people were evacuated from their submerged villages. Dozens were killed. Violent storms also initiated landslides in the same area that suffered similar catastrophes in September 2022.
Drought | Flood | Drought
Italy is in the grip of an increasingly common weather pattern in which extended droughts are punctuated by catastrophic flooding. The mega storm also hit France and Greece.
India smashed by December cyclone, Assam province landslides and GLOF disaster
JULY | OCTOBER | DECEMBER DEATH 175+
Cyclone Michaung hit the southern Indian coast with intense winds, torrential rains and flooding. Dozens of villages and 500,000 people were displaced as the Chennai airport was flooded.
A GLOW (Glacial Lake Outburst Flood) in the Himalayas was caused by torrential rain in the northeastern state of Sikkim, as walls of water poured down river valleys from Lohnak Lake. The burst lake damaged a dam and destroyed villages in Rangpo town.
The state of Tamil Nadu was drowned with 20 inches of rain in a day, about 6 months worth of precipitation normally. India is especially vulnerable to climate change driven flooding disasters.
East Coast USA record floods
DECEMBER | DEAD 8
A lethal storm hit the coast of South Carolina and moved north through Maine and into Canada, bringing death, smashed infrastructure and mass evacuations. Charleston recorded a record high rainfall in one day of 4 inches, flooding the city with 2 ft. of water.
Fatalities were reported in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey.
France surprised by November floods in Pas-de-Calais
NOVEMBER | DEAD 1 | 1,500 evacuations
Heavy rain from consecutive storms caused rivers to rise. More than 100 towns were on red alert, and some 200 schools in the region were closed. Rescue workers have also had to evacuate cattle.
The floods began again in 2024.
Sierra Leone
MAY | DEAD 7
7 people died after storms and heavy rain caused flooding and mudslides in parts of Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone in West Africa.
Stormy weather caused Flash flooding swept through city streets, washing away cars and damaging buildings. Six people died and 2 were injured when a wall collapsed due to flooding in Cline Town. Another fatality was reported after a mudslide in the Moyeiba area of the city.
As is usually the case, the tragedy was caused by a combination of global warming changes to weather patterns and unenlightend human governance.
A year of deadly deluge in Brazil
FEBRUARY | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER | DEAD 100 +
Three epic flood events killed hundreds in Brazil in 2023.
In February (During the Carnival holiday weekend, record-breaking rainfall triggered deadly floods and landslides across the state of São Paulo. At least 65 people were killed.
A state of emergency was declared in Santa Catarina, Brazil after days of heavy rain and flooding took at least 2 lives in October. The storm dumped 26 in. of water in 24 hours.
The floods follow earlier lethal September storms in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Over 50 people died. More than 12 in. of rain fell in 24 hours leaving thousands homeless.
2 dead in great Vermont flood
“Historic and catastrophic.”
JULY | DEAD 2
Catastrophic flash flooding and river flooding occurred across much of Vermont in early to mid-July 2023. Extensive flooding to communities, washouts of numerous roads and bridges, as well as land and mudslides resulted in significant property losses (monetary values are still being tallied). The most significant flood damage occurred as a result of prolonged heavy rainfall during the 10-11 July 2023 period when rainfall amounts of 3 to 9 inches were recorded across the state over 48 hours. Reports of 4 to 8 inches in 48 hours were tallied along the spine of the Green Mountains and adjacent communities.
In early 2024, Montpelier’s federal building remains closed due to damage.
Unprecedented: Auckland’s record storms kill at least four
JANUARY | DEAD 4
A summer’s worth of rain.
Like many many places around the planet, Auckland, NZ is poorly prepared to face what is coming, some of which arrived spectacularly beginning Jan 27, 2023. Record rainfall brought a summer’s worth of rain in a three day onslaught, driving lethal flooding, major infrastructure damage, power and water outages and evacuations.
New Zealand is experiencing more violent weather events due to the warming atmosphere’s ability to hold more moisture and generate more destructive energy
2.5 in. of rain in 2 hours marks expensive Arizona flash floods
JULY / AUG / SEPT | DEAD dozens
Over $5 million in damage and dozens of fatalities marked multiple episodes of extreme flash floods that have hit Flagstaff and Northeast Arizona in July and August. The floods come in the midst of an ongoing drought, which diminishes the ability of the land to absorb water.
Domincan Republic floods displace hundreds
AUGUST | DEAD 34
8 in. rain in 24 hours.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic report dozens of deaths, 2 people are missing, 2 injured and thousands displaced from their homes after heavy rain and strong winds brought by Tropical Storm Franklin. It was the highest rainfall total recorded in the Caribbean nation. Floods, landslides and wind damage impacted 2,760 roads, leaving at least 6 communities isolated.
Hundreds of homes were damaged, forcing around 37,000 people to evacuate. Damage to electrical and water infrastructure left thousands temporarily without power or drinking water.
Double typhoons power Hong Kong | Taiwan floods
SEPT | DEAD 26
Typhoons Saola and Haikui chased each other through the Far East the first week of September, causing widespread damage in Taiwan, Hong Kong and parts of southern China including Shenzhen.
Though Typhoon Saola shut down Hong Kong schools and businesses for two days, the real damage came a week later when the city was lashed by a sudden storm, with flash flooding submerging metro stations and trapping drivers on roads.
The storm brought the highest hourly rainfall ever recorded: 6 in. / hour.
Cry me an atmospheric river: Pacific NW
DECEMBER | DEAD 2
2 dead amidst record rainfalls.
Another state of emergency was declared in Oregon as a relentless atmospheric river brought record rainfall to parts of Washington and Oregon states in December 2023.
As of 05 December, two fatalities were reported. Dozens of homes have been flooded and several people rescued, including some by Coast Guard Helicopter teams.
Nevada floods drown Burning Man
SEPT
Black Rock Desert was faced with two to three months worth of rain in just a matter of hours on Friday, Sept. 1.
On average, the area gets only 0.2 inches of rain or less in September — but Burning Man festivalgoers were met with up to 1 inch in some areas, in a desert that gets only about 5 to 6 inches of rain per year.
In response to the unusual weather, event organizers shut down traffic in or out of Black Rock City — including the local airport.
Chile flooding double header
AUGUST
Disaster authorities in Chile report that over 30,000 people have evacuated their homes after heavy rainfall brought by a frontal system caused floods and mudslides. President Gabriel Boric declared a State of Catastrophe for the hardest hit areas in Biobío and O’Higgins Regions. This is Chile’s second major flood event in 8 weeks.
The heavy rain also triggered multiple mudslides and landslides and caused dozens of major rivers to overtop their banks.
Guatemala floods
SEPT | DEAD 32
At least 32 people people have lost their lives in over 800 rain-related incidents during the current rainy season.
The ramshackle shanty towns are especially vulnerable to climate driven disasters due to lack of infrastructure.
Eight fatalities in Jalisco, MX floods
At least eight people were killed and another three were injured after a river in the Mexican state of Jalisco burst its banks following unusually heavy rains, another extreme weather event as climate change helps whip up ever deadlier storms.
The “atypical” rains completely destroyed four houses and another 50 homes were being evaluated for damages.
The deadly event followed similar severe Guadalajara floods in August.
Multiple deaths in Bali, Indonesia floods and landslides
JULY | DEAD Dozens
Three days of hellish weather hit Balii and the region of lower Indonesia in early July 2023, leading to dozens of deaths, landslides, damages to buildings and other infrastructure devastation impact on the region. Heavy rainfall resulted in widespread flooding, while strong winds downed trees across roads. The heavy rain falling on unstable ground triggered numerous landslides that injured and displaced hundreds.
Japan gets record rainfall in July
“Heaviest Rain Ever!”
JULY | DEAD 6
Heavy rainfall in southwestern Japan caused devastating flooding and mudslides that left at least six people dead, five missing and 19 injured,.
Four people died in Japan’s Kyushu region and two people in the Chugoku region.
Japan’s Kyushu region experiencing torrential rainfall beginning in early July, culminating in new records of 24 inches in the first week.
Antarctic sea ice extent reaches new low
Spring brings floods and death to Cameroon
MARCH | DEAD 30
Days of heavy rain in the city of Yaoundé, capital of Cameroon, caused mudslides and flooding in hillside communities in Mbankolo district on the outskirts of the city.
30 people lost their lives and more were feared missing. Around 50 people were reported injured. At least 30 homes are thought to have been destroyed. Relief items have been made available to for distribution
The most destructive flooding was caused by heavy rain and run-off which destroyed a water retention dam at Nkol Etam, which in turn triggered a torrent of mud and flood waters down the slopes in the area to settlements of Mbankolo district below.
Colombia floods kill dozens in massive landslides
JAN | JULY | DEAD 15
15 people died and 6 were injured after a massive landslide struck the village of Naranjal in the Municipality of Quetame, in mid July 2023. The landslide buried or destroyed 22 homes; authorities are continuing to search the area for several people still feared missing under the rubble.
A road bridge was destroyed and a long stretch of a key highway was blocked, causing severe disruption to travel in the area.
In January, heavy rain triggered floods and landslides in numerous areas, causing a deadly landslide in the municipality of Anolaima.
140 die in Tanzania landslides and floods
DECEMBER | DEAD 140
A late year disaster struck in the Hanang District of the northern Manyara Region of Tanzania in December 2023. Heavy rain in the area triggered flooding and landslides to gush down steep slopes of Mount Hanang, and into areas around the towns of Katesh and Gendabi.
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Summer mudflows and landslides in Georgia kill dozens in later summer
AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | DEAD 35
Heavy rain in August and September caused landslides and flooding in the Guria region of Georgia. The country’s Emergency Situations Management Service said 200 people have been evacuated and 3 people lost their lives.
The September tragedy follows a late August mudflow in Shovi, Racha which killed 32 people.
Killer Afghanistan flash floods amidst third year of drought
JULY | DEAD 100s
Hundreds of homes were destroyed and the death toll reached into the hundreds after flash floods swept through Bamiyan province and western Kabul. The missing are believed to be under the rubble of collapsed homes and agricultural buildings.
Crops over hundreds of square miles of agricultural land were destroyed and the main highway to Kabul was closed.
The country is facing its third consecutive year of drought, its second year of severe economic hardship and decades of war and natural disasters.
Brutal summer in Algeria brings dozens of deaths
AUGUST | DEAD 46+
The North African nation was swamped by a succession of torrential rains that turned roads into rivers and swept dozens of people to their deaths.
The waters trapped dozens of residents in the area in their homes and cars as rain fell at 1.5″ / hr. Houses and roads were also damaged, vehicles swept from roads and transport severely disrupted.