Recent Natural Disasters | Calamities | Hazards

The disaster management councils are on alert as Typhoon Soulik is expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Wednesday morning. Latest report published by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council at 05:00 pm has located typhoon Soulik 1,570 kilometers east of Basco in northern province of Batanes. Typhoon Soulik is locally codenamed as Huaning. The regional disaster management councils are ordered to undertake precautionary measures. Disaster management councils have also planned pre-emptive evacuation of families in low-lying and mountainous areas. Similarly the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has warned fishermen against sailing into the rough seas off northeastern Luzon. According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), typhoon Soulik would not have any direct effect on any part of Philippines until Wednesday. Typhoon Soulik is forecast to exit early morni

Hurricane Erick which is currently downgraded to a tropical depression has claimed life of one and left three missing in Mexico. Flood waters swept away a 44-year-old man in the Indio River in Mexico, AFP reported. Three others are reported to be missing in Xalisco area. Erick has caused extensive flood damage in Nayarit and left around 5,000 people homeless. A state of emergency has been declared by Governor Roberto Sandoval in Tepic. Erick reached the level of a category one hurricane on Saturday but on July 7 at 15:00 UTC, Erick was downgraded to a tropical storm. Erick is the fifth named storm and fourth hurricane of the 2013 Pacific hurricane season. Meanwhile another tropical storm Chantal is causing havoc in Barbados currently. Original post: Natural Disasters List July 9, 2013

China meteorological station has issued a yellow alert for rainstorms across the country, China Network Television reported. Storm is expected to bring heavy rainfall along with flooding and landslides in Sichuan, Yunan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Liaoning and Jilin province of China. According to China Network Television, the bridge over the Tongkou River in Jiangyou, Sichuan has collapsed at around 11 a.m. Tuesday morning leaving unknown number of vehicles and pedestrians missing. Recent floods have affected about 16,900 people in Ya'an City in Sichuan Province of China. According to the latest report by the National Commission for Disaster Reduction, rainstorm-triggered natural calamities in China since July 3 have claimed lives of 33 people. Original post: Natural Disasters List July 9, 2013

Storm has caused heavy rains, power outages and flash flooding in Toronto, Canada. More than 90 mm of rainfall, more than a month's average, has been recorded in Toronto. A flood warning has been issued for Toronto rivers. Porter Airlines has cancelled all flights to and from Toronto due to the severe weather. Toronto flooding has also shut down the Don Valley Parkway.  According to Toronto Hydro, about 300,000 residents are without power across the Greater Toronto Area. Related post: List of natural calamities in Canada This photo taken from the Bloor St bridge shows flooded DVP (by Sylvie Vannier from Ontario, Canada). Photo below taken by Elena Lappo, meteorologist at the weather network, shows people and flooded cars at 427 and Burnhamthorpe. Cars flooded at King Street and Atlantic Avenue after a flash flood in Toronto (Peter J. Thompson/Nation). This photo shows flooding in Don Valley Parkway in Toronto on Monday, July 8 2013 (

M 4.2 light shallow earthquake shakes Indian state of Tripura, the India Meteorological Department said. According to the India Meteorological Department, the quake's epicenter was located in western Tripura on the border with Bangladesh. It was 2.5 miles deep. Earthquake in Tripura occurred at 9:14 Monday morning. Tremor was felt in several parts of northeast India and Bangladesh but no damage or injury has been recorded, disaster management official said. The Union department of disaster management has claimed North Tripura and Dhalai districts as “most vulnerable” to earthquakes. Tripura lies in the zone-V of the seismological map of India which is a high seismic risk zone. 03:44 UTC (local time Monday July 8, 2013 at 09:14 A.M. @ epicenter) Original post: Natural Disasters List July 8, 2013