At least 13 people have lost their lives in northern Haiti over the past couple of days due to floods and landslides triggered by severe rainfall that has also left thousands of homes destroyed or severely damaged. The most significant impact was felt in Cap-Haïtien, where a landslide caused by torrential rains demolished multiple homes.
The Indonesian government has decided to permanently relocate 9 800 people living within 7 km (4.3 miles) of Ruang volcano, North Sulawesi, following a series of significant volcanic eruptions that began on April 16, 2024.
Southeastern Texas experienced severe flooding this week, affecting areas from College Station to Houston. The flooding has led to the overflowing of rivers, including the Trinity and San Jacinto, causing significant disruptions and leading to urgent evacuations. Heavy rain and flooding continued into Friday, May 3, 2024.
Tropical Cyclone “Hidaya” formed on May 1, 2024, north of Madagascar, Comoros, and Mayotte as the 9th named storm of the 2024/24 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season. The cyclone peaked around 00:00 UTC on May 3 at 148 km/h (92 mph) but is now starting to come down, albeit slowly. Widespread heavy rainfall is forecast in Tanzania, starting this evening, May 3, and continuing until Sunday morning, May 5. Severe flooding is likely.
A large landslide destroyed a significant portion of the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, China, at around 02:10 local time on May 1, 2024. The collapse caused 23 vehicles to plummet down a steep slope, igniting some in flames and resulting in 48 fatalities and 30 injuries as of May 2, 2024.
New activity/unrest was reported for 6 volcanoes from April 24 – 30, 2024. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 22 volcanoes.
A powerful atmospheric river has caused destructive flooding across Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil since Monday, April 29, 2024, leading to the deaths of at least 55 people, with more than 70 others missing. The state governor described the situation as the worst disaster in the state’s history.
The tornado that hit Marietta, Oklahoma at 23:08 CDT on April 27, 2024, was rated EF-4 by the National Weather Service (NWS), making it Oklahoma’s first violent tornado in nearly 8 years. This event resulted in one fatality and extensive structural damage across multiple counties.
Another high-level eruption started at Indonesia’s Ruang volcano at 18:15 UTC on April 29, 2024 (01:15 LT, April 30), producing an ash column to an estimated height of about 19.2 km (63 000 feet) above sea level. Authorities raised the Alert Level to 4 and the Aviation Color Code to Red. This powerful eruption comes just 2 weeks after a similar eruption on April 16.
The Sonmarg region of Jammu and Kashmir was hit by a severe avalanche on April 29, 2024, amidst ongoing heavy rain and snowfall, leading to the closure of critical transport routes including the main Jammu-Srinagar highway.
