Statistics: Sharp increase in natural disasters over the past 20 years

Statistics: Sharp increase in natural disasters over the past 20 years

A new United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) report confirms how extreme weather events have come to dominate the disaster landscape at the beginning of 21st century. Floods and storms were the most prevalent disaster events, followed by…

Category 2 Hurricane “Delta” makes landfall in Louisiana, U.S.

Category 2 Hurricane “Delta” makes landfall in Louisiana, U.S.

Hurricane "Delta" made landfall near Creole, Louisiana at 23:00 UTC on October 9, 2020, with maximum sustained winds of 155 km/h (100 mph), making it a Category 2 hurricane. The storm had a minimum central pressure of 970 hPa at the time of landfall and…

World record waterspout outbreak over the Great Lakes

World record waterspout outbreak over the Great Lakes

232 waterspouts/funnels have been confirmed over the Great Lakes from September 28 to October 4, 2020, in the second world record waterspout outbreak of the year, according to the International Center for Waterspout Research (ICWR). From August 16 to 19, 2020, a…

Storm Alex hits Europe with extremely heavy rain and destructive winds

Storm Alex hits Europe with extremely heavy rain and destructive winds

Storm Alex made landfall in France on October 2, 2020, with powerful winds and extremely heavy rains. It caused severe floods in France and Italy, with some of them described as the worst in living memory. At least 2 people have died and 34 remain missing in both…

Increase in frequency of severe cyclones over the North Indian Ocean

Increase in frequency of severe cyclones over the North Indian Ocean

From 1981 to 2017, statistics show that an average of five cyclones developed over the North Indian Ocean per year. However, recent studies indicate that there has been an increase in the frequency of cyclone formation from 2017 to 2019. As a result, there was also…

Mainland Portugal hit by its first (sub)tropical cyclone on record

Mainland Portugal hit by its first (sub)tropical cyclone on record

Subtropical Storm "Alpha" — the 22nd named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season and the earliest 22nd Atlantic named storm on record — made landfall near central Portugal at 18:30 UTC on September 18, just 2 hours after its formation. Alpha is the…

Widespread destruction after Medicane Cassilda (Ianos) strikes Greece

Widespread destruction after Medicane Cassilda (Ianos) strikes Greece

Medicane Cassilda (Ianos) made landfall in Argostoli, Kefalonia, western Greece at 02:20 UTC on September 18, 2020, with maximum sustained winds up to 110 km/h (70 mph), gusts to 135 km/h (85 mph), and heavy rain. Widespread destruction was reported. At least 3…