NOVEMBER 2017

MEDITERRANEAN

Flash floods caused by heavy overnight rain have killed at least 14 people and caused destruction in central Greece (15^th). The industrial towns of Mandra, Nea Peramos and Megara, west of the capital Athens, were the most affected. Many of the dead were elderly people whose bodies were found inside their homes, reports say. Fast-flowing torrents of red mud flooded roads. "Everything is lost. The disaster is biblical," Mandra Mayor Yianna Krikouki told state broadcaster ERT. At least 13 people have been taken to hospital, and some are still missing. Heavy rain has hit parts of Greece for about a week.

UNITED STATES

Damaging thunderstorms and several tornadoes struck Middle Tennessee. Widespread damaging winds were reported in many counties along and north of the Interstate-40 corridor, the National Weather Service said (18^th). Three tornadoes were confirmed, but no injuries were reported. Two of the tornadoes were rated EF1, while a third was given an EF0 classification.

ASIA

A tornado tore through Indonesia's East Java province on Wednesday (22^nd), injuring at least 35 people and damaging 600 homes. Dwidjo Prawito of Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency told Reuters the tornado churned for roughly five minutes with speeds of 70 km/h.

EUROPE

Firefighters have rescued more than 70 people as torrential rain caused widespread flooding and power blackouts across north-west England and north Wales (22^nd-23^rd). Parts of north Lancashire, including Lancaster and the village of Galgate, were the worst affected as heavy rain fell in areas badly hit by Storm Desmond two years ago. Emergency crews received about 500 flood-related calls and attended more than 100 incidents in Lancashire overnight, evacuating 30 people from their homes and rescuing 20 horses from the rising flood water. The Met Office said about 43 mm of rain had fallen in 24 hours in parts of Lancashire, while further north in Cumbria about half a month's rain, 89 mm, was recorded in 36 hours at Shap. Hundreds of homes on Lancashire's Fylde coast, near Blackpool, were without electricity on Thursday morning as residents woke up to power blackouts, travel disruption and school closures. The Environment Agency issued 25 flood alerts and warnings across the north-west of England on Thursday morning, with a further 12 in place in north Yorkshire and the north-east of England.

Glencoe Mountain has become the first of Scotland's mountain outdoor snowsports centers to open for skiing and snowboarding for the new season (28^th). The center said it had enough snow to make available some of its runs that are accessed by chair and ski lifts. CairnGorm Mountain, Nevis Range and Lecht hope to be able to open soon with the help of expected further falls of snow. Glenshee said it has enough snow at the moment for sledging. The first of Scotland's outdoor snowsports centres to open for the new season was Lowther Hills Ski Area in the south of Scotland. The area was able to open for snowsports on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Last season's Scottish snowsports season has been described as challenging, with mild temperatures and a lack of snow. Glencoe Mountain, which dates to 1956, said last season was its worst on record. Only 32 days of skiing was possible in poor conditions.

TROPICAL

Tourists were given just 15 minutes to evacuate their hotels after a typhoon caused serious flooding and strong winds in Vietnam (5^th-6^th). Tourists staying in the holiday hotspot of Hoi An, on Vietnam's cental coast, said they were given short warning to exit the building after flooding from Typhoon Damrey became "more serious". Officials said 27 people have been killed as Typhoon Damrey struck Vietnam's central and southern regions. Footage from the city showed roads and properties submerged by water while rescue boats were scene travelling to the hotel to take occupants out one by one. Typhoon Damrey, the 12th major storm to hit Vietnam this year, made landfall on Sunday with winds of up to 90 km/h. It damaged more than 40,000 homes, knocked down electricity poles, and uprooted trees. The country's steering committee for disaster prevention said 626 houses had collapsed entirely in a trail of destruction that has forced the evacuation of more than 30,000 people.

The death toll from typhoon downpours and floods wreaking havoc along Vietnam's south-central coast has risen to 69 as the country prepares to host a world leaders' summit (7^th). Typhoon Damrey struck days before Vietnam is set to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in Danang next weekend. It will bring together US President Donald Trump, China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin, among other leaders. While Danang itself was spared the worst damage, muddy floodwaters have submerged the hardest-hit provinces and swamped nearby Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was due to host APEC spouses later this week.