Flash floods struck Roswell, New Mexico on Saturday, October 19, 2024, claiming two lives, after approximately 147 mm (5.78 inches) of rain fell over the region setting a new record for the region. Flights were canceled at the Roswell Air Center and the New Mexico National Guard reported conducting nearly 300 rescues.
Category 1 Hurricane “Oscar” made landfall on the northern coast of eastern Cuba at around 21:50 UTC on Sunday, October 20, 2024. Tropical storm conditions are forecast to persist in eastern Cuba on Monday and are expected to affect the southeastern Bahamas tonight (LT) and Tuesday.
Flash floods hit the Roswell area in Chaves County, New Mexico after 102 to 178 mm (4 to 7 inches) of rain fell over the region on the night of Saturday, October 19, 2024, prompting emergency warnings for life-threatening flash floods across New Mexico, with Roswell area being the worst hit.
Tropical Storm “Oscar” formed at 15:00 UTC on October 19, 2024, as the 15th named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season and intensified into a hurricane just 3 hours later. Oscar is expected to produce a dangerous storm surge on the Turks and Caicos Islands beginning this evening. Hurricane conditions are expected in portions of the southeastern Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, and eastern Cuba during the next day or so.
Storm Ashley, Europe’s first storm of the season, was officially named on Friday, October 18, 2024, and is on track to explode in power, with coastal Ireland bracing for hurricane-force winds and rain by Saturday and Sunday. Forecast models take Ashley’s center over Scotland on Sunday afternoon (LT) before the storm races toward Norway and Sweden.
A slow-moving storm brought extremely heavy rains to parts of France on Thursday, October 17, 2024, with the Ardèche Cévennes region experiencing rainfall totals as high as 700 mm (27.6 inches). This led to widespread flooding and approximately 350 rescue operations. Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister of Ecological Transition, said the region is facing a situation that is unprecedented in its scale.
The Al-Sayyal tropical depression dropped 215 mm (8.46 inches) of rain in the state of Sur in Oman during 24 hours between October 15 and 16, 2024; equivalent to what Jeddah receives in 5 years. Several regions were flooded on due to the continuous downpour since Monday, October 14.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 hit Turkey at 07:46 UTC (10:46 LT) on October 16, 2024. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.
Flooding in Nigeria’s Kogi State has displaced nearly 2 million people as of October 14, 2024, with over 200 communities and approximately 60 000 ha (150 000 acres) of land submerged as the Niger and Benue rivers overflowed.
Zambia is facing one of its worst electricity crises due to a severe drought affecting the region since January 2024. The drought has significantly reduced water levels at the Kariba Dam, leaving most of the hydroelectric turbines inoperable.
