Extreme rainfall accompanied by deadly flooding hit the United States and several other countries over the weekend and last week.
In the U.S., flooding claimed five lives in Upper Makefield Township, Pennsylvania, where a search is ongoing for two missing children. Flooding also struck parts of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey this past weekend. A state of emergency was declared in New Jersey by Gov. Phil Murphy following significant damage from flooding and landslides.
In Ulster County, in New York’s Hudson Valley and in Vermont, some said the flooding is the worst they’ve seen since Hurricane Irene’s devastation in 2011.
There were several dozen fatalities in central and southern regions of South Korea, including the Chongju region where an underpass flooded and drowned motorists who became trapped in their submerged vehicles.
This follows last week’s relentless flooding in India, Japan, China, Turkey and the U.S.
In last week’s flooding, schools in New Delhi were forced to close on July 10 after heavy monsoon rains battered the Indian capital, with landslides and flash floods killing at least 15 people. Farther north, the overflowing Beas River swept vehicles downstream as it flooded neighborhoods.
In Japan, torrential rain pounded the southwest, causing floods and mudslides that left two people dead and at least six others missing. Local TV showed damaged houses in Fukuoka prefecture and muddy water from the swollen Yamakuni River appearing to threaten a bridge in the town of Yabakei.
At least 15 people were killed by flooding in another mountainous region, in southwestern China.