Ferguson says the historic floods forced his team to not only delay but reconsider this entire proposal. He says they diverted millions to help flood victims repair their homes in an early action proposal to fast track relief while the legislature debates the budget and this add-on for housing.
A few of the numbers include:
*$225 million for new rental units
*$50 million for a housing trust fund preservation trust fund
*$20 million for manufactured homes
*$81 million for developing new affordable rentals
*$73 million for first time home buyers
*$11 million to support flood victims with housing
The death toll from flash floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island rose to 164 on Friday, with 79 people missing, authorities said.Rescuers were hampered by damaged bridges and roads and a lack of heavy equipment.The death toll in North Sumatra province rose to 116, while 25 people died in Aceh. Rescuers also retrieved 23 bodies in West Sumatra, National Disaster Mitigation Agency’s Chief Suharyanto said.A tropical cyclone is expected to continue hitting the Southeast Asian nation for days, Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency reported.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Rescuers were hampered by damaged bridges and roads and a lack of heavy equipment Friday after flash floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island left 82 people dead and dozens missing.A tropical cyclone is expected to continue hitting the Southeast Asian nation for days, said Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency.Monsoon rains caused rivers to burst their banks in North Sumatra province Tuesday. The deluge tore through mountainside villages, swept away people and submerged more than 3,200 houses and buildings, the National Disaster Management Agency said. About 3,000 displaced families fled to government shelters.Elsewhere in the island’s provinces of Aceh and West Sumatra, thousands of houses were flooded, many up to their roofs, the agency said.The death toll in North Sumatra province rose to 55 as rescue teams struggled to reach affected areas in 12 cities and districts of North Sumatra province, said the National Disaster Mitigation Agency’s spokesperson, Abdul Muhari. He revised the number of people still missing in the province to 41 from the initial report of 88 following a coordination meeting with local authorities Friday.Mudslides that covered much of the area, power blackouts and a lack of telecommunications were hampering the search efforts, said Ferry Wulantukan, spokesperson for North Sumatra regional police.In West Sumatra province, flash floods that struck 15 cities and districts left at least 21 people dead, Muhari said, citing data reported by West Sumatra’s vice governor. The number of people still missing was unclear.West Sumatra’s disaster mitigation agency reported that the flooding submerged more than 17,000 homes, forcing about 23,000 residents to flee to temporary shelters. Rice fields, livestock and public facilities were also destroyed, and bridges and roads cut off by floods and landslides isolated residents.In Aceh province, authorities struggled to bring excavators and other heavy equipment over washed-out roads after torrential rains sent mud and rocks crashing onto the hilly hamlets. At least six people have died and 11 were missing in three villages in Central Aceh district.The extreme weather was driven by Tropical Cyclone Senyar, which formed in the Strait of Malacca, said Achadi Subarkah Raharjo at Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency.He warned that unstable atmospheric conditions mean extreme weather could persist as long as the cyclone system remains active.“We have extended its extreme weather warning due to strong water vapor supply and shifting atmospheric dynamics,” Raharjo said.Senyar intensified rainfall, strong winds, and high waves in Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Riau and nearby areas before dissipating. Its prolonged downpours left steep, saturated terrains highly vulnerable to disasters, he said.Seasonal rains frequently cause flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains.____Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia.
PADANG, Indonesia —
The death toll from flash floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island rose to 164 on Friday, with 79 people missing, authorities said.
Rescuers were hampered by damaged bridges and roads and a lack of heavy equipment.
The death toll in North Sumatra province rose to 116, while 25 people died in Aceh. Rescuers also retrieved 23 bodies in West Sumatra, National Disaster Mitigation Agency’s Chief Suharyanto said.
A tropical cyclone is expected to continue hitting the Southeast Asian nation for days, Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency reported.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Rescuers were hampered by damaged bridges and roads and a lack of heavy equipment Friday after flash floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island left 82 people dead and dozens missing.
A tropical cyclone is expected to continue hitting the Southeast Asian nation for days, said Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency.
Monsoon rains caused rivers to burst their banks in North Sumatra province Tuesday. The deluge tore through mountainside villages, swept away people and submerged more than 3,200 houses and buildings, the National Disaster Management Agency said. About 3,000 displaced families fled to government shelters.
Elsewhere in the island’s provinces of Aceh and West Sumatra, thousands of houses were flooded, many up to their roofs, the agency said.
The death toll in North Sumatra province rose to 55 as rescue teams struggled to reach affected areas in 12 cities and districts of North Sumatra province, said the National Disaster Mitigation Agency’s spokesperson, Abdul Muhari. He revised the number of people still missing in the province to 41 from the initial report of 88 following a coordination meeting with local authorities Friday.
Mudslides that covered much of the area, power blackouts and a lack of telecommunications were hampering the search efforts, said Ferry Wulantukan, spokesperson for North Sumatra regional police.
In West Sumatra province, flash floods that struck 15 cities and districts left at least 21 people dead, Muhari said, citing data reported by West Sumatra’s vice governor. The number of people still missing was unclear.
West Sumatra’s disaster mitigation agency reported that the flooding submerged more than 17,000 homes, forcing about 23,000 residents to flee to temporary shelters. Rice fields, livestock and public facilities were also destroyed, and bridges and roads cut off by floods and landslides isolated residents.
In Aceh province, authorities struggled to bring excavators and other heavy equipment over washed-out roads after torrential rains sent mud and rocks crashing onto the hilly hamlets. At least six people have died and 11 were missing in three villages in Central Aceh district.
The extreme weather was driven by Tropical Cyclone Senyar, which formed in the Strait of Malacca, said Achadi Subarkah Raharjo at Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency.
He warned that unstable atmospheric conditions mean extreme weather could persist as long as the cyclone system remains active.
“We have extended its extreme weather warning due to strong water vapor supply and shifting atmospheric dynamics,” Raharjo said.
Senyar intensified rainfall, strong winds, and high waves in Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Riau and nearby areas before dissipating. Its prolonged downpours left steep, saturated terrains highly vulnerable to disasters, he said.
Seasonal rains frequently cause flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains.
Rainfall and thunderstorms are expected overnight, with the National Weather Service warning of possible flooding in burn scarred areas prompting evacuation warnings
Mayor Karen Bass announced an evacuation warning for the burn-scarred areas of Los Angeles after the National Weather Service forecasted rain and potential thunderstorms through Tuesday.
The NWS also issued a Flood Watch impacting burn scar areas including the Pacific Palisades, Hurst and Sunset burn scars that will go into effect at 10 p.m. Monday night, as peak rainfall is expected to hit its peak Tuesday morning.
“The City is prepared and we are ready to respond during this storm,” Bass said in a statement Monday afternoon.
“The City has bolstered the hillsides and vulnerable areas from potential debris flows in recent burn scar areas – these resources remain in place. Today, we have strategically deployed resources for the Palisades and across the city, including strike teams, rescue teams and helicopters.”
Bass urged caution on the roads and told Angelenos that free sandbags are available to secure properties. The LAPD will be contacting residents at roughly 60 properties that are especially vulnerable to any potential debris flows Monday evening, Bass said.
R
In addition, the City’s Emergency Operations Center was activated this morning and the Mayor’s Office of Public Safety is coordinating with the Emergency Management Department, LAFD, LAPD, L.A. County Public Works, the State of California and relevant City Departments to ensure all personnel are ready to respond as needed to keep Angelenos safe.
Allegany County Schools Superintendent Michael Martirano began his tenure amid recovery efforts from catastrophic flooding in May. With Westernport Elementary School heavily damaged, the community rallied to reopen in time for the new school year.
From saving on school supplies to the impact of federal cuts, the WTOP team is studying up on hot-button topics in education across the D.C. region. Follow on air and online in our series, “WTOP Goes Back to School” this August and September.
Furniture is placed outside the Westernport Library as clean up continues after flooding on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 in Westernport, Md. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)(AP/Gene J. Puskar)
Furniture is placed outside the Westernport Library as clean up continues after flooding on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 in Westernport, Md. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)(AP/Gene J. Puskar)
Allegany County Schools Superintendent Michael Martirano’s first day on the job was July 1.
For any superintendent, that’s a tight turnaround before the first day of school on Aug. 27, but Martirano had a particularly big job ahead in his western Maryland school district.
Martirano took on his new job months after catastrophic flooding struck Allegany County in May.
On the day the flooding hit, Westernport Elementary School’s first floor was inundated, and 150 students and 50 staff members had to retreat to the second floor. They were eventually evacuated from the building by boat.
One of the questions that arose as the new school year approached was whether Westernport Elementary would be ready to reopen for the first day of school.
“There’s a real, real tight-knit sense of community there, and the school is the hub of all the activities,” Martirano said.
It quickly became apparent, he told WTOP, that the community “wanted us to do everything that we could to open the school.” So, they will be holding classes on the top floors of the building as renovations continue.
The idea ahead of the first day of school was “to lead with love, care and compassion for our students who have been traumatized based upon the fact of being in the building that flooded, and they had to be removed by boat,” Martirano said.
He also said the teachers were deeply affected.
There is also an awareness of the need to address any anxiety staff or students across the school district may be feeling.
“If the child has issues outside the classroom, we want to be able to identify those and mitigate them as early as we can,” Martirano said. “We have our counselors, we have pupil personnel workers, we have psychologists, we have designated teams at each one of our schools to be responsive.”
Beyond the flood damage to Westernport Elementary School, Martirano said the school system is also looking to support teachers with materials for classes. He said members of the community have “really stepped up” to pitch on school supplies and other needs.
Every school has its own traditions when it comes to first day ceremonies. This year, the Frostburg State University’s mascot, the bobcat, is greeting the students at Westernport Elementary School.
Martirano explained that after the floods in May, the students were able to close out their school year on the Frostburg State University campus. So to have the bobcat visit on the first day of school makes the day “a real celebration,” Martirano said.
“The kids got to meet the bobcat in the spring, and they loved having him there, and so we just wanted to bring that back to them again this year,” Nicole McDonald, FSU’s assistant vice president for marketing and communications, said.
Asked if the mascot was available for an interview, McDonald politely explained, “The bobcat doesn’t talk.”
But she did say Bobby Cat, as he is known on campus, is the embodiment of school and community pride and “just our genuine feeling of being a Bobcat at Frostburg.”
The link between the Allegany Public Schools and FSU is strong, Martirano said, in part due to the university’s history as a training ground for future teachers.
“Many of our young people are homegrown,” he said. “They graduate from high school here … obtain their teaching degree, do their student-teaching within our schools, and that creates a real pipeline for us.”
Martirano is part of that history: He grew up in Frostburg, graduating from Beall High School. He went on to serve as a superintendent in school systems in St. Mary’s and Howard counties and served as the state superintendent in West Virginia as well.
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In 2019, when the Thai government announced plans to turn an abandoned tobacco factory in the nation’s smoggy capital into a public park, Bangkok-based landscape architect Chatchanin Sung saw an opportunity to address another of the city’s chronic problems: flooding.
For Bangkok, a city of 11 million sitting on low-lying swampland, the management of its water has increasingly become a matter of survival. With the capital facing more frequent and extreme rainfall as well as rising sea levels due to climate change, experts have warned that entire swaths of the city may be underwater within the next few decades.
Los Angeles knows how to weather a crisis — or two or three. Angelenos are tapping into that resilience, striving to build a city for everyone.
Like Los Angeles, where intensifying droughts and floods have revealed limitations of conventional flood control systems like the L.A. River, Chatchanin felt that Bangkok’s own stormwater infrastructure had reached its tipping point.
An aerial view shows pathways through the Benjakitti Park in Bangkok.
(Krit Phromsakla Na Sakolnakorn / Associated Press)
Decades of rapid urban development have encased the city with impermeable concrete surfaces that hinder the natural drainage of water. As a result, the city’s network of over 1,600 urban canals, which were once used for transporting goods and people but now primarily act as stormwater channels, are regularly overwhelmed.
“Because the canal water mixes with public sewage, the water quality is really bad,” Chatchanin said. “The park project was an opportunity to absorb and clean this water.”
To design the new space, a 102-acre expansion to the pre-existing Benjakitti Park, Chatchanin partnered with Kongjian Yu, a Beijing-based landscape architect who has long advocated what is known as a “sponge city” model of urban water management.
The idea is that, unlike “gray” infrastructure, which is designed to flush water away as quickly as possible, cities like Bangkok can mitigate flood risk simply by making its surfaces more absorbent like a sponge, capturing stormwater before it can turn into runoff that pollutes streets and strains drainage systems.
Their winning design, which was opened to the public three years ago, was realized in just 18 months and reflects the idea that such urban water management systems can also provide valuable aesthetic and recreational benefits to communities.
Today, the former brownfield is a popular bird-watching spot. It features forested walkways alongside badminton and pickleball courts built in repurposed cigarette warehouses, all the while capturing and cleaning water.
People take a rest at Benjakitti Park in Bangkok.
(Sakchai Lalit / Associated Press)
Fed by a nearby canal, a long system of wetlands containing thickets of aquatic plants removes pollutants from the water as it winds around the park’s perimeter, releasing what’s left into a large pond dotted with small islets.
This, alongside the park’s porous landscape and additional retention ponds, enable it to capture 23 million gallons of stormwater during Bangkok’s rainiest months. The water that’s entering permeable earth instead of being blocked by concrete is helping to replenish natural underground reservoirs that benefit humans and the environment.
“Last year we had really heavy rains,” Chatchanin said. “The park also flooded but eventually absorbed it much more quickly.”
The park’s long system of wetlands contains thickets of aquatic plants that remove pollutants from the water.
(Sakchai Lalit / Associated Press)
She pointed to the pond, which no longer had the foul odor or the oily sheen of the canal despite being just a few steps away. Dragonflies buzzed overhead — a common sign, she noted, that the water is clean.
Chatchanin acknowledged that one park alone can’t fix Bangkok’s water issues. But its modest success might, at the very least, encourage cities to rethink their relationship to water.
“People want fast answers,” Chatchanin said. “But hiding the problem is no solution. You can’t just raise your house on stilts, or flush out the water. It all comes back in the end.”
The idea that cities need to adapt to — not outrun — their floods has been a lifelong preoccupation of Kongjian Yu, whose work with sponge cities has earned him the prestigious Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize and comparisons to Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of New York’s Central Park.
Yu traces its beginnings to a near-death experience he had as a child growing up in rural China.
At the time just 10 years old, Yu had been playing on the banks of his village’s river, which was more voluminous than usual due to heavy monsoon rains, when he suddenly found himself being swept away by the powerful currents.
What saved him were the river’s reeds and willows, which slowed the water and gave him a chance to pull himself out.
Kongjian Yu’s work has earned him comparisons to Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of New York’s Central Park.
(Gilles Sabrié / For The Times)
“My experience in these villages, my experience with the river and the creek, taught me how to live with nature,” he said.
Later, Yu earned a landscape ecology degree from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and spent two years in Los Angeles working for SWA Group before returning to China in 1997.
Dismayed that the rapidly modernizing country had lined its cities with concrete dams and channelized waterways, Yu began writing to local mayors, warning of the risks of this approach and advocating instead for “rewilding natural water systems.”
“Sponge cities follow three principles: retain, slow down and embrace water,” Yu said. “That means removing all unnecessary concrete and pavement.”
At first, his ideas found few sympathetic ears. Some people, he recalled, sent letters to the Communist Party claiming he was “a spy from the U.S. sent to demolish Chinese infrastructure.”
But things changed in 2012, when severe flooding in Beijing destroyed thousands of homes and killed 79 people, some of whom were caught off-guard in the street.
A man uses a signboard to signal motorists driving through flooded streets following a heavy rain in Beijing. Flooding prompted Chinese leader Xi Jinping to adopt Yu’s “sponge city” philosophy as a national agenda.
(Associated Press)
“Every sort of paradigm shift, you need a crisis,” Yu said. “People dying in the street — that was the critical point.”
The floods prompted Chinese leader Xi Jinping to adopt Yu’s sponge city philosophy as a national agenda in 2015. Since then, the government has pledged more than $28 billion to help fund over 33,000 sponge city projects in 90 cities, aiming to have them capture and reuse at least 70% of their rainwater by 2030.
By 2020, over 40,000 sponge city projects were completed nationwide, contributing to around 3.8 trillion gallons of rainwater being recycled that year, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. The ministry noted that this amount was equal to about one-fifth of China’s annual urban water supply.
Many, like Bangkok’s Benjakitti Park, are wetlands designed to address urban flooding. Others, like a mangrove forest built on the banks of a river in the tropical southern city of Sanya on Hainan Island, act as a natural buffer against saltwater intrusion and coastal erosion from rising sea levels.
“The idea is to not build too close to the water in order to create a buffer zone,” Yu said. “Instead of building a wall, we allow the water to come in.”
Women stop near ponds and water plants at the “Fish Tail” sponge park that’s built on a former coal ash dump site in Nanchang in north-central China’s Jiangxi province.
(Ng Han Guan / Associated Press)
This approach, said Yu, has made sponge city projects uncomplicated and low-cost compared with conventional solutions, deployable just about anywhere.
Benjakitti Park, for example, cost $20 million and was built by the Thai army, which had little experience in environmental landscaping. Yu scribbled the design on a napkin during his flight to Bangkok to meet Chatchanin, keeping it simple enough to be achievable — at least in theory — with only a single excavator.
Still, the program hasn’t been without challenges.
Wetlands are often breeding grounds for mosquitoes. And with local governments expected to foot up to 80% of the cost for their projects, much-needed investments from the private sector have been slow to materialize. Meanwhile, critics have pointed out that some of China’s most touted sponge cities, like Zhengzhou in Henan province, have still experienced devastating floods.
“If a city can’t handle a flood, that means it’s not spongy enough,” Yu said.
“Ultimately, it’s not about getting rid of every piece of concrete. It’s about combining gray and green — upgrading the current model.”
Since 2006, Singapore has been turning its own waterways and reservoirs into public parks that also absorb stormwater, an initiative known as the Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters (ABC Waters) Programme.
In the Netherlands, a flood-prone country famous for mastering the art of keeping water out with techniques like land reclamation, the government has also experimented with a softer approach, strategically allowing its rivers to flood in certain areas in order to spare others.
In L.A., too, there has been a growing awareness that the area’s city’s own impermeable flood control system, which discards billions of gallons of rainwater that might otherwise be stored and reused, is overdue for change.
With around 490,000 acre-feet of stormwater available to be captured a year in an area that includes Long Beach and Anaheim, the L.A. area ranks first in the West in stormwater runoff potential and, 19th out of 2,645 urban areas nationwide, according to a Pacific Institute report last year.
Pedestrians use the Los Angeles River Bikeway.
(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)
Among the efforts to make the city spongier — and therefore less dependent on imported water — is the Safe Clean Water Program, which L.A. County voters approved in 2018 as ballot Measure W.
The program levies a property tax on impermeable surfaces to provide around $300 million a year in grants for municipal stormwater capture projects.
The aim of the program is to capture 98 billion gallons annually. Experts have said that projects like this in the upper L.A. watershed could simultaneously help prevent flooding downstream.
Yet officials have estimated that it will take decades to achieve this goal, and progress has been slow.
Just 30 acres of green space were added to the county in its first three years, according to a report by Los Angeles Waterkeeper, a local watchdog.
And although the program has recently begun to pick up pace, with around $1 billion allocated across 130 projects, Bruce Reznik, the group’s executive director and a member of the Measure W scoring committee, pointed out there are a host of challenges not present in China’s centralized model.
Among them are scant federal support and the slow, costly bureaucratic processes involved with the program, such as cleaning up contaminated project sites and getting permits. He estimated that the projects the county needs will cost around $50 billion, 10 times what Measure W funding can provide over the next 20 years.
“In terms of expenses, that’s a question a lot of us are asking: Why are these projects so expensive?” Reznik said. “I get that there’s inflation, but man, projects we thought were going to be $10 million are now $25 million. I think we’ve got to figure out ways that we can streamline some of this stuff.”
Special correspondents Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul and Xin-yun Wu contributed reporting from Bangkok and Taipei, respectively.
In a matter of minutes, flash floods caused by heavy downpours in eastern Spain swept away everything in their path. With no time to react, people were trapped in vehicles, homes and businesses. Many died, and thousands saw their livelihoods shattered.See some of the devastation in the video aboveFour days later, authorities have recovered 205 bodies — 202 of them in the eastern Valencia region, two in Castilla La Mancha and one in Andalusia. They continued to search for an unknown number of missing people on Friday.Thousands of volunteers were helping to clear away the thick layers of mud and debris that still covered houses, streets and roads, all while facing power and water cuts and shortages of some basic goods. Inside some of the vehicles that the water washed into piles or crashed into buildings, there were still bodies waiting to be identified.Here are a few things to know about Spain’s deadliest storm in living memory:What happened?The storms concentrated over the Magro and Turia river basins and, in the Poyo riverbed, produced walls of water that overflowed riverbanks, catching people unaware as they went on with their daily lives, with many coming home from work on Tuesday evening.In the blink of an eye, the muddy water covered roads, railways and entered houses and businesses in villages on the southern outskirts of Valencia city. Drivers had to take shelter on car roofs, while residents tried to take refuge on higher ground.Spain’s national weather service said that in the hard-hit locality of Chiva, it rained more in eight hours than it had in the preceding 20 months, calling the deluge “extraordinary.”When the authorities sent the alert to mobile phones warning of the seriousness of the phenomenon and asked them to stay at home, many were already on the road, working or covered in water in low-lying areas or garages, which became death traps.Why did these massive flash floods happen?Scientists trying to explain what happened see two likely connections to human-caused climate change. One is that warmer air holds and then dumps more rain. The other is possible changes in the jet stream — the river of air above land that moves weather systems across the globe — that spawn extreme weather.Climate scientists and meteorologists said the immediate cause of the flooding is called a cut-off lower-pressure storm system that migrated from an unusually wavy and stalled jet stream. That system simply parked over the region and poured rain. This happens often enough that in Spain they call them DANAs, the Spanish acronym for the system, meteorologists said.And then there is the unusually high temperature of the Mediterranean Sea. It had its warmest surface temperature on record in mid-August, at 28.47 degrees Celsius (83.25 degrees Fahrenheit), said Carola Koenig, of the Centre for Flood Risk and Resilience at Brunel University of London.The extreme weather event came after Spain battled with prolonged droughts in 2022 and 2023. Experts say that drought and flood cycles are increasing with climate change.Has this happened before?Spain’s Mediterranean coast is used to autumn storms that can cause flooding, but this episode was the most powerful flash flood event in recent memory.Older people in Paiporta, ground zero of the tragedy, claim that Tuesday’s floods were three times as bad as those of 1957, which caused at least 81 deaths and were the worst in the history of the tourist eastern region. That episode led to the diversion of the Turia watercourse, which meant that a large part of the city was spared of these floods.Valencia suffered two other major DANAs in the 1980s, one in 1982, with around 30 deaths, and another one five years later, which broke rainfall records.This week’s flash floods are also Spain’s deadliest natural tragedy in living memory, surpassing the flood that swept away a campsite along the Gallego River in Biescas, in the northeast, killing 87 people in August 1996.What has the state response been?The management of the crisis — classified as level two on a scale of three by the Valencian government — is in the hands of the regional authorities, who can ask the central government for help in mobilizing resources.At the request of Valencia’s president, Carlos Mazón, of the conservative Popular Party, Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced Saturday the deployment of 5,000 more soldiers who will join rescue efforts, clear debris and provide water and food over the weekend.The government will also send 5,000 more national police officers to the region, Sánchez said.At present, there are some 2,000 soldiers from the Military Emergency Unit, the army’s first intervention force for natural disasters and humanitarian crises, involved in the emergency work, as well as almost 2,500 Civil Guard gendarmes — who have carried out 4,500 rescues during the floods — and 1,800 national police officers.When many of those affected said they felt abandoned by the authorities, a wave of volunteers took to the streets to help. Carrying brooms, shovels, water and basic foods, hundreds of people have walked several kilometers each day to deliver supplies and help clean up the worst-affected areas.Sánchez’s government is expected to approve a disaster declaration on Tuesday that will allow quick access to financial aid. Mazón has announced additional economic assistance.The Valencia regional government had been criticized for not sending out flood warnings to mobile phones until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, when the flooding had already started in some places and well after the national weather agency issued a red alert indicating heavy rains.___Associated Press writer Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed to this report.
MADRID (AP) —
In a matter of minutes, flash floods caused by heavy downpours in eastern Spain swept away everything in their path. With no time to react, people were trapped in vehicles, homes and businesses. Many died, and thousands saw their livelihoods shattered.
See some of the devastation in the video above
Four days later, authorities have recovered 205 bodies — 202 of them in the eastern Valencia region, two in Castilla La Mancha and one in Andalusia. They continued to search for an unknown number of missing people on Friday.
Thousands of volunteers were helping to clear away the thick layers of mud and debris that still covered houses, streets and roads, all while facing power and water cuts and shortages of some basic goods. Inside some of the vehicles that the water washed into piles or crashed into buildings, there were still bodies waiting to be identified.
Here are a few things to know about Spain’s deadliest storm in living memory:
What happened?
The storms concentrated over the Magro and Turia river basins and, in the Poyo riverbed, produced walls of water that overflowed riverbanks, catching people unaware as they went on with their daily lives, with many coming home from work on Tuesday evening.
In the blink of an eye, the muddy water covered roads, railways and entered houses and businesses in villages on the southern outskirts of Valencia city. Drivers had to take shelter on car roofs, while residents tried to take refuge on higher ground.
Spain’s national weather service said that in the hard-hit locality of Chiva, it rained more in eight hours than it had in the preceding 20 months, calling the deluge “extraordinary.”
When the authorities sent the alert to mobile phones warning of the seriousness of the phenomenon and asked them to stay at home, many were already on the road, working or covered in water in low-lying areas or garages, which became death traps.
MANU FERNANDEZ
People clean mud from a shop affected by floods in Chiva, Spain, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024.
Why did these massive flash floods happen?
Scientists trying to explain what happened see two likely connections to human-caused climate change. One is that warmer air holds and then dumps more rain. The other is possible changes in the jet stream — the river of air above land that moves weather systems across the globe — that spawn extreme weather.
Climate scientists and meteorologists said the immediate cause of the flooding is called a cut-off lower-pressure storm system that migrated from an unusually wavy and stalled jet stream. That system simply parked over the region and poured rain. This happens often enough that in Spain they call them DANAs, the Spanish acronym for the system, meteorologists said.
And then there is the unusually high temperature of the Mediterranean Sea. It had its warmest surface temperature on record in mid-August, at 28.47 degrees Celsius (83.25 degrees Fahrenheit), said Carola Koenig, of the Centre for Flood Risk and Resilience at Brunel University of London.
The extreme weather event came after Spain battled with prolonged droughts in 2022 and 2023. Experts say that drought and flood cycles are increasing with climate change.
Alberto Saiz
A woman rests as residents and volunteers clean up an area affected by floods in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024.
Has this happened before?
Spain’s Mediterranean coast is used to autumn storms that can cause flooding, but this episode was the most powerful flash flood event in recent memory.
Older people in Paiporta, ground zero of the tragedy, claim that Tuesday’s floods were three times as bad as those of 1957, which caused at least 81 deaths and were the worst in the history of the tourist eastern region. That episode led to the diversion of the Turia watercourse, which meant that a large part of the city was spared of these floods.
Valencia suffered two other major DANAs in the 1980s, one in 1982, with around 30 deaths, and another one five years later, which broke rainfall records.
This week’s flash floods are also Spain’s deadliest natural tragedy in living memory, surpassing the flood that swept away a campsite along the Gallego River in Biescas, in the northeast, killing 87 people in August 1996.
What has the state response been?
The management of the crisis — classified as level two on a scale of three by the Valencian government — is in the hands of the regional authorities, who can ask the central government for help in mobilizing resources.
At the request of Valencia’s president, Carlos Mazón, of the conservative Popular Party, Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced Saturday the deployment of 5,000 more soldiers who will join rescue efforts, clear debris and provide water and food over the weekend.
The government will also send 5,000 more national police officers to the region, Sánchez said.
Alberto Saiz
Vehicles are seen piled up after being swept away by floods in Valencia, Spain, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024.
At present, there are some 2,000 soldiers from the Military Emergency Unit, the army’s first intervention force for natural disasters and humanitarian crises, involved in the emergency work, as well as almost 2,500 Civil Guard gendarmes — who have carried out 4,500 rescues during the floods — and 1,800 national police officers.
When many of those affected said they felt abandoned by the authorities, a wave of volunteers took to the streets to help. Carrying brooms, shovels, water and basic foods, hundreds of people have walked several kilometers each day to deliver supplies and help clean up the worst-affected areas.
Sánchez’s government is expected to approve a disaster declaration on Tuesday that will allow quick access to financial aid. Mazón has announced additional economic assistance.
The Valencia regional government had been criticized for not sending out flood warnings to mobile phones until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, when the flooding had already started in some places and well after the national weather agency issued a red alert indicating heavy rains.
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Associated Press writer Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed to this report.
Chiva, Spain — The death toll from historic flash floods in Spain climbed to at least 205 people Friday, with many more believed to be missing, as the initial shock gave way to anger, frustration and a wave of solidarity. Spanish emergency authorities said 202 of the victims were in the Valencia region alone, and officials warned that more rains were expected in the coming days.
The damage from the storm Tuesday and Wednesday recalled the aftermath of a tsunami, with survivors left to pick up the pieces as they mourn loved ones lost in Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory.
Many streets were still blocked by piled-up vehicles and debris, in some cases trapping residents in their homes.
People wait for supplies close to a pile of wrecked cars, Nov. 1, 2024, following the devastating effects of flooding on the town of Paiporta, in the region of Valencia, eastern Spain.
MANAURE QUINTERO/AFP/Getty
Some places still don’t have electricity, running water, or stable telephone connections.
“It’s a disaster and there is very little help”
“The situation is unbelievable. It’s a disaster and there is very little help,” said Emilio Cuartero, a resident of Masanasa, on the outskirts of Valencia. “We need machinery, cranes, so that the sites can be accessed. We need a lot of help, and bread and water.”
In Chiva, residents were busy Friday clearing debris from mud-filled streets. The Valencian town received more rain in eight hours on Tuesday than it had in the preceding 20 months, and water overflowed a gully that crosses the town, tearing up roads and the walls of houses.
The mayor, Amparo Fort, told RNE radio that “entire houses have disappeared, we don’t know if there were people inside or not.”
So far 205 bodies have been recovered – 202 in Valencia, two in the Castilla La Mancha region and one more in Andalusia. Members of the security forces and soldiers are busy searching for an unknown number of missing people, many feared to still be trapped in wrecked vehicles or flooded garages.
“I have been there all my life, all my memories are there, my parents lived there … and now in one night it is all gone,” Chiva resident Juan Vicente Pérez told The Associated Press near the place he lost his home. “If we had waited five more minutes, we would not be here in this world.”
Maps show scale of Spain floods, where more rain is forecast
Before-and-after satellite images of the city of Valencia illustrated the scale of the catastrophe, showing the transformation of the Mediterranean metropolis into a landscape inundated with muddy waters. The V-33 highway was completely covered in the brown of a thick layer of mud.
Satellite views of the V-33 highway before (above) and after the floods, in Valencia, Spain, taken on Oct. 18, 2024 and Oct. 31, 2024 respectively.
Maxar Technologies via REUTERS
Maps posted online by Spain’s National Meteorological Agency, meanwhile, showed the sheer quantity of rainfall in the hardest-hit areas.
A map posted online by Spain’s National Meteorological Agency shows the rainfall levels received across the country on Oct. 29, 2024, with quantities listed in millimeters, as storms brought historic flash flooding to the eastern Valencia region and some southern parts of the country.
State Meteorological Agency of Spain/CBS News
One image showed some areas just west of Valencia city, including Chiva, receiving more than 325 millimeters, or more than a foot of rain, on Oct. 29 alone. A significant swathe of the Valencia region got between five and 7 inches on the same day.
A map posted online by Spain’s National Meteorological Agency shows the rainfall levels received across a vast swathe of the Valencia region on Oct. 29, 2024, with quantities listed in millimeters, as storms brought historic flash flooding to the area.
State Meteorological Agency of Spain
As authorities have repeated over and over, more storms were still expected. The Spanish weather agency issued alerts Friday for strong rains in Tarragona, Catalonia, as well as part of the Balearic Islands and in western Andalusia in the southwest of the country.
A map posted online by Spain’s National Meteorological Agency shows areas forecast to receive significant rainfall on Nov. 1, 2024, with a portion of the southern Andalusia region expected to get the most heavy downpours and northern Valencia seeing more heavy rains in areas already inundated.
State Meteorological Agency of Spain
Residents blast lack of help and lack of advance warning
The tragedy has unleashed a wave of local solidarity. Residents in communities such as Paiporta – where at least 62 people died – and Catarroja have been walking miles in sticky mud to Valencia to get supplies, passing neighbors from unaffected areas who are bringing water, essential products and shovels or brooms to help remove the mud. The number of people coming to help is so high that the authorities have asked them not to drive there because they block the roads needed by the emergency services.
In addition to the contributions of volunteers, associations such as the Red Cross and town councils are distributing food.
Meanwhile, flood survivors and volunteers are engaged in the titanic task of clearing an omnipresent layer of dense mud. The storm cut power and water services on Tuesday night but about 85% of 155.000 affected customers had their power back on by Friday, the utility said in a statement.
Debris is seen piled up along a street, Nov. 1, 2024, following the devastating effects of flooding on the town of Paiporta, in the region of Valencia, eastern Spain.
JOSE JORDAN/AFP/Getty
“This is a disaster. There are a lot of elderly people who don’t have medicine. There are children who don’t have food. We don’t have milk, we don’t have water. We have no access to anything,” a resident of Alfafar, one of the most affected towns in south Valencia, told state television station TVE. “No one even came to warn us on the first day.”
Juan Ramón Adsuara, the mayor of Alfafar, said the aid isn’t nearly enough for residents trapped in an “extreme situation.”
“There are people living with corpses at home. It’s very sad. We are organizing ourselves, but we are running out of everything,” he told reporters. “We go with vans to Valencia, we buy and we come back, but here we are totally forgotten.”
Rushing water turned narrow streets into death traps and spawned rivers that tore through homes and businesses, leaving many uninhabitable.
The devastating damage caused by flash flooding in a residential area in the town of Massanassa, in the region of Valencia, eastern Spain, as seen on Nov. 1, 2024.
JOSE JORDAN/AFP/Getty
Some shops have been looted and the authorities have arrested 50 people.
Social networks have channeled the needs of those affected. Some posted images of missing people in the hope of getting information about their whereabouts, while others launched initiatives such as Suport Mutu — or Mutual Support — which connects requests for help with people who are offering it. Others organized collections of basic goods throughout the country or launched fundraisers.
The role of climate change in Spain’s flood disaster
Spain’s Mediterranean coast is used to autumn storms that can cause flooding, but this was the most powerful flash flooding in recent memory. Scientists link it to climate change, which is also behind increasingly high temperatures and droughts in Spain and the heating up of the Mediterranean Sea.
Human-caused climate change has doubled the likelihood of a storm like this week’s deluge in Valencia, according to a partial analysis issued Thursday by World Weather Attribution, a group made up of dozens of international scientists who study global warming’s role in extreme weather.
The New Mexico National Guard continued search and rescue operations Sunday in Roswell after record rainfall produced severe flooding in and around the city and Chaves County and left at least two people dead. The flooding even forced a local sheriff to seek safety on top of his police truck when it became stranded in water that rose up to the windows.
Guard officials said 309 people had been rescued since Saturday, 38 of whom were taken to hospitals to treat undisclosed injuries.
New Mexico State Police said two people died as a result of the flash flood, but information on the victims or the circumstances of their deaths wasn’t immediately released.
One Roswell resident told CBS affiliate KRQE-TV he saw part of the city overflow in just a matter of minutes.
“I looked out the side, and in that small amount of time, her basement flooded, this street flooded all the way from house to house all the way across and it was going down like a raging river,” David Heckman told the station.
Rain falls on a flooded road in Roswell, New Mexico, U.S., October 19, 2024, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video.
Roswell city officials said water levels had receded in many parts of the city but remained high in the downtown area. All roads leading to and from the city were closed Sunday, authorities said.
The National Weather Service in Albuquerque said 5.78 inches of rain fell on Roswell on Saturday, breaking the previous daily record of 5.65 inches set on Nov. 1, 1901, for the southeastern New Mexico city.
Meteorologists said more rain and flash floods were possible.
As several homes and businesses began to flood Saturday night, authorities said seven people were rescued after a car was swept away in floodwaters. Other vehicles were swept away into a river channel.
Chaves County Sheriff Mike Herrington posted a video on social media showing him standing on top of his vehicle surrounded by floodwaters. Herrington said he had to go to the roof of his vehicle when it and several vehicles others became stranded in water that rose up to the windows.
“I am completely surrounded by water at this time,” Herrington says in the video.
Authorities set up a shelter at the Eastern New Mexico state fairgrounds for Roswell residents displaced by the flooding.
“We’ve worked all night and continue to work with swift water rescue teams and other partner agencies to help our fellow citizens get to safety,” Maj. Gen. Miguel Aguilar, the New Mexico National Guard’s adjutant general, said in a statement.
Guard officials said they will “remain on duty to help Roswell as long as necessary” with 57 guardsmen on the ground.
They said the Guard had several tactical vehicles at the scene that were capable of driving in 4 feet of water.
Roswell Mayor Tim Jennings said the city lost three fire trucks in the flooding, KRQE reported.
“It was because of flooding, and we had people all over town that were on the tops of cars,” Jennings said.
In comparison, North Carolina’s insurance market looks pretty good. No insurers have exited the state since 2008, while homeowners pay an average of $2,100 per year—high, but avoiding the sky-high rates of states like Florida, California, and Texas.
“What traditionally has happened is that there’s a rate increase every few years of 8 to 9 percent for homeowner’s insurance,” says Hornstein. “That has kept the market stable, especially when it comes to the coast.”
But as natural disasters of all kinds mount, it’s tough to see a way forward for insurance business as usual. The NFIP is undergoing a series of changes to update the way it calculates rates for flood insurance—but it faces political minefields in potentially expanding the number of homeowners mandated to buy policies. What’s more, many homeowners are seeing the prices for their flood insurance rise as the NFIP adjusts its rates for existing floodplains using new climate models.
Many experts agree that the private market needs to reflect in some way the true cost of living in a disaster-prone area: in other words, it should be more expensive for people to move to a city where it’s more likely your house will be wiped off the map by a storm. The cost of climate change does not seem to be a deterrent in Florida, one of the fastest-growing states in the country, where coastal regions like Panama City, Jacksonville, and Port St. Lucie are booming. (Some research suggests that the mere existence of the NFIP shielded policyholders from the true costs of living in flood-prone areas.)
Asheville, at the heart of Buncombe County, was once hailed as a climate haven safe from disasters; the city is now reeling in the wake of Helene. For many homeowners, small business owners, and renters in western North Carolina, the damage from Helene will be life-changing. FEMA payouts may bring, at best, only a fraction of what a home would be worth. Auto insurance generally covers all types of damage, including flooding—a small bright spot of relief, but not enough to offset the loss of a family’s main asset.
“People at the coast, at some point after the nth storm, they start to get the message,” Hornstein says. “But for people in the western part of the state, this is just Armageddon. And you can certainly forgive them for not having before appreciated the fine points of these impenetrable contracts.”
Marlett says that there are models for insurance that are designed to better withstand the challenges of climate change. New Zealand, for instance, offers policies that cover all types of damage that could happen to your house; while these policies are increasingly tailored price-wise to different types of risk, there’s no chance a homeowner would experience a climate disaster not covered by their existing policies. But it’s hard, he says, to see the US system getting the wholesale overhaul it needs, given how long the piecemeal system has been in place.
“I sound so pessimistic,” he said. “I’m normally an optimistic person.”
Updated 10-2-2024 10:00 pm BST: The date of Hurricane Ivan was corrected from 2024 to 2004.
In 2015, Sharyn Alfonsi investigated allegations that thousands of homeowners were underpaid for their flood insurance claims after Hurricane Sandy because engineering reports on damaged houses were altered.
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The National Weather Serive has issued coastal flood and high tide advisories through this evening for the North Shore, from Salem to Newburyport.
Second and third coastal flood advisories were issued for Friday at 11 p.m. to Saturday at 5 a.m., and for Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For the high surf advisory, large breaking waves can be expected in the surf zone Friday through 7 p.m., the weather service said.
For the Friday afternoon coastal flood advisory, through 6 p.m. Friday, 1 to 2 feet of inundation above ground level may expected in low-lying areas near shorelines and tidal waterways (4.2 to 13.9 feet Mean Lower Low Water).
Flooding up to 1 foot deep may affect coastal roads on the North Shore from Salem to Gloucester and Newburyport, the weather service said. Rough surf will cause flooding on some coastal roads around the time of high tide due to splashover.
Mariners should be aware the National Weather Service has issued a gale warning through Saturday morning for coastal waters east of Ipswich Bay and the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and for Massachusetts and Ipswich Bays.
Northeast winds at 20 to 25 knots with gusts up to 40 knots and 6- to 11-foot seas may be expected.
The strong winds will cause hazardous seas which could capsize or damage vessels and reduce visibility, according to the weather service.
Warsaw, Poland — European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday pledged billions of euros in aid for Central European countries that suffered enormous damage to infrastructure and housing during the massive flooding that has so far claimed 24 lives in the region. Von der Leyen paid a quick visit to a flood-damaged area in southeast Poland and met with heads of the governments of the affected countries — Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
She said funds will be made available quickly for infrastructure repair from the EU’s solidarity fund, as well as 10 billion euros ($11 billion) from what is called the cohesion fund — for the most urgent repairs. In a special approach, no co-financing will be required from these countries for the money to be released.
“Here we say it’s 100% European money, no co-financing,” von der Leyen told a news briefing. “These are extraordinary times, and extraordinary times need extraordinary measures.”
A man stands next to sandbags placed along the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary, Sept. 20, 2024.
Marton Monus/REUTERS
Meanwhile, a massive flood wave threatened new areas and heavy rains also caused flooding and forced the evacuation of some 1,000 people in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. In Central Europe, the receding waters revealed the scale of the destruction caused by exceptionally heavy rains that began a week ago.
Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakušan said one more person was reported killed on Thursday in the country’s hard-hit northeast, bringing the death toll there to five. There were also seven deaths each in Poland and Romania, and five in Austria — with the overall death toll now at 24.
Authorities deployed troops to help. In the northeast Czech Republic, soldiers joined firefighters and other emergency crews to help with the recovery efforts. Army helicopters distributed humanitarian aid while soldiers were building temporary bridges in place of those that were swept away.
Some 400 people remained evacuated from the homes in the regional capital of Ostrava. In the southwest, the level of the Luznice River reached an extreme high but the evacuation of 1,000 people in the town of Veseli nad Luznici was not necessary for the moment, officials said.
Firefighters walk across a flooded street, Sept. 15, 2024, in Jesenik, Czech Republic.
Getty
Cleanup efforts were underway in Austria, where flooding washed away roads and led to landslides and bridge damage. Firefighters and soldiers pumped water and mud out of houses and disposed of damaged furniture, broadcaster ORF quoted fire department spokesperson Klaus Stebal as saying.
The governor of Lower Austria province, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, said reconstruction was expected to take years, according to the Austria Press Agency.
The Vienna public transport company has had to pump almost 1 million liters (260,000 gallons) of water since last weekend. Ten towns and areas were still inaccessible on Thursday, APA reported.
In Hungary, flood waters continued to rise as authorities closed roads and rail stations. Ferries along the Danube River halted.
The parliament building is pictured in the background as the Danube River floods its banks in Budapest, Hungary, Sept. 18, 2024.
ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty
In the capital, Budapest, water spilled over the city’s lower quays and threatened to reach tram and metro lines. Some transport services were suspended. Remarkable images showed the water of the Danube creeping up perilously close to the ground floor of Hungary’s Parliament building, which sits directly on its bank.
Further upriver, in a region known as the Danube Bend, homes and restaurants near the riverbanks were inundated.
Nearly 6,000 professionals, including members of Hungary’s water authority and military, were mobilized, and prison inmates were involved in filling sandbags, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said at a news conference Thursday.
The Danube stood at over 25 feet, approaching the 29.2-foot record set during major flooding in 2013.
In southwestern Poland, the high waters reached the city of Wroclaw and an extended wave was expected to take many hours, even days to pass, exerting pressure on the embankments.
The water level on the Oder River just before Wroclaw was 21 feet, some 6.5 feet above alarm levels but still lower compared to the disastrous flooding in 1997.
A car damaged by the flooding of the Biała Ladecka river is seen in Ladek Zdroj, Poland, Sept. 19, 2024.
Kacper Pempel/REUTERS
In the two most-affected towns, Stronie Slaskie and Ladek-Zdroj, tap water and power were restored, said Gen. Michal Kamieniecki, who was put in charge of the recovery operations there after an emotional appeal to Prime Minister Donald Tusk for help the day before by a young woman identified only as Katarzyna.
As concerns mounted, Tusk invited von der Leyen to Wroclaw to see the situation first hand. Government leaders from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria were also there.
In Italy, rivers flooded in the provinces of Ravenna, Bologna and Forlì-Cesena, as local mayors asked people to stay on the upper floors or leave their houses. Those areas were hit by devastating floods in 2023, when more than 20 rivers overflowed, killing 17 people.
Italy’s vice minister for transport and infrastructure, Galeazzo Bignami, said Thursday that two people were reported missing in Bagnocavallo, in Ravenna province.
At least 800 residents in Ravenna and almost 200 in Bologna province spent the night in shelters, schools and sports centers. Trains were suspended and schools closed while residents were advised to avoid travel.
In some areas, homes are such great a risk that they’re too expensive to insure — if private insurance is even available at all.
How much does the average person spend on home insurance?
Home insurance premiums are intended to be cheaper than what it would cost to rebuild your home after a disaster or major damage. That cost is based on numerous factors, including home size and claim history, but it’s also based on location — and as extreme weather events driven by climate change bring a greater risk of floods, severe storms, hurricanes and heat waves, among other things, that location matters more than ever.
Bankrate has found that the average cost of dwelling insurance, which covers the actual structure of your home should it need to be rebuilt, is $2,285 per year in the U.S. for a policy with a $300,000 limit. But that cost is still rising.
“From 2017 to 2022, homeowners insurance premiums rose 40% faster than inflation,” a June report by the Bipartisan Policy Center says. “…For millions of households already struggling to make their mortgage payments, these monthly insurance costs are a significant burden. They can also put homeownership out of reach for prospective first-time homebuyers.”
The range of homeowners’ insurance costs is widespread. In Vermont, Bankrate data shows that people pay an average of $67 a month for a $300,000 dwelling limit, while in Nebraska, the most expensive home insurance state, people pay an average of $471 per month — an annual policy that amounts to more than $3,300 above the national average.
Other parts of insurance coverage are not included in these amounts, such as other structures, personal property and loss of use, which are typically listed as coverage B, C and D, respectively, in coverage policies. And depending on your location, you may also need separate deductibles for wind or storm damage, will likely be determined based on a percentage of your dwelling coverage.
“While inflation has slowed down since its peak in June 2022, insurance rates are reactionary,” Bankrate said in its September report. “The cost of home insurance is still increasing due to the impact inflation has had on the previous losses experienced by the insurance company, the elevated cost of building materials and the high likelihood of future extreme weather-related losses.”
Home location matters for insurance costs
Across the U.S., people are dealing with risk of earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, wildfires and severe storms across the seasons. In California, which, as of Sept. 17, is battling six active wildfires, the growing risk of such events has left some areas “essentially ‘uninsurable‘,” according to researchers at First Street Foundation, a nonprofit that studies climate risks. The group found that about 35.6 million properties — a quarter of all U.S. real estate — are facing higher insurance costs and lower coverage because of climate risks.
That combination also devalues their properties.
San Bernardino County, which accounts for six out of the 10 worst ZIP codes in the state for insurance non-renewals, is also among the most at-risk of natural hazards and climate change, according to FEMA. The county in Southern California is currently combatting both the Bridge and Line Fires, which combined have burned more than 93,000 acres.
The fire risk in California — which has also been battling the historically large Park Fire for nearly two months — is now so high that both Allstate and State Farm have paused sales of property and casualty coverage to new customers in the state.
“The cost to insure new home customers in California is far higher than the price they would pay for policies due to wildfires, higher costs for repairing homes, and higher reinsurance premiums,” Allstate told CBS News.
AAA is also opting out of renewing some policies in Florida, a state that has seen increasingly devastating impacts of flooding and hurricanes. Without private insurance offers, it’s up to insurance policies made available by the government, such as the the National Flood Insurance Program, to assist.
It’s not just an issue for coastal areas and wildfire-prone states. In fact, the most impactful weather events are those that do not get categorized with names.
The Insurance Information Institute found in a May 2020 report that severe convective storms — thunderstorms — “are the most common and damaging natural catastrophes in the United States.” Tornadoes are often a product of those storms, and Nebraska, the most expensive home insurance state on average, was impacted by five of the top 10 costliest U.S. catastrophes involving tornadoes, according to the report.
There have already been 20 billion-dollar disasters nationwide so far this year, as of Sept. 10, with 14 of those involving severe weather or tornadoes.
This map shows the confirmed billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events that have already occurred in the U.S. in 2024.
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
But Bankrate has also found that more than a quarter of homeowners say they aren’t financially prepared to handle the costs that come with it.
And it’s not just homeowners. While last year was not the worst year for overall U.S. insured losses due to extreme weather, it was the worst year since at least 2014 for losses due to severe storms ($59.2 billion), according to data by AON.
Renters are feeling those impacts as well.
Between 2020 and 2023, multifamily housing development insurance rates increased by an average of 12.5% annually, according to a June report by the Bipartisan Policy Center.
“One affordable housing provider, National Church Residences, saw its property insurance premiums increase by over 400% in the six years leading up to 2023, along with higher deductibles and reduced coverage,” the report says. National Church Residences provides affordable housing and independent and assisted living to seniors.
Last fall, NDP Analytics surveyed 418 housing providers across the U.S. who operate a combined 2.7 million units, including 1.7 million affordable housing units. They found that nearly a third of them saw premium increases of 25% or more from 2022 to 2023. To handle those costs, over 93% of respondents said they’d have to increase their deductibles, decrease operating expenses and/or increase rent. More than half said they would need to limit or delay investments in housing stock and projects.
How to lower home insurance costs
The driver behind extreme weather events — rising global temperatures largely fueled by the burning of fossil fuels — is not going away anytime soon. The continued release of greenhouse gases that trap heat within the atmosphere will continue to heat up the planet for thousands of years to come, even if overuse of those gases stopped today, which means that there are still decades to come of worsening climate disasters putting lives and homes at risk.
But home insurance is a game of measuring risk, and there are things you can do to better protect your home that could help lessen the blow of future weather disasters.
According to Massachusetts insurance agency C&S Insurance, resilient home features can make an impact on premium pricing. Storm shutters, reinforced roofing and flood barriers can all help lower the risk of damage to your house, and therefore, your wallet.
NerdWallet says that elevating your home’s water heaters and electrical panels, developing wildfire-resilient landscaping and installing fortified roofing are among the things homeowners can do to reduce the impacts of flooding, fires and wind, respectively.
The Council on Foreign Relations, an independent nonpartisan organization, says that more government regulations on where and how homes can be built can also help reduce the costs. The group says that stopping taxpayer dollars for buildings in high-risk areas and more investment in natural infrastructure, such as wetlands and trees, can also help reduce impacts from storm surges and heat.
Li Cohen is a senior social media producer at CBS News. She previously wrote for amNewYork and The Seminole Tribune. She mainly covers climate, environmental and weather news.
Enormous floods have once again engulfed much of South Sudan, as record water levels in Lake Victoria flow downstream through the Nile. More than 700,000 people have been affected. Hundreds of thousands of people there were already forced from their homes by huge floods a few years ago and were yet to return before this new threat emerged.
Now, there are concerns that these displaced communities may never be able to return to their lands. While weather extremes regularly displace whole communities in other parts of the world, this could be the first permanent mass displacement due to climate change.
In the Sudd region of South Sudan, the Nile passes through a vast network of smaller rivers, swamps, and floodplains. It’s one of the world’s largest wetlands. Flood levels vary significantly from year to year, mostly caused by fluctuations in water levels in Lake Victoria and controlled releases from the dam in Uganda where the lake empties into the Nile.
The Sudd’s unique geography means that floods there are very different than elsewhere. Most floodwater cannot freely drain back into the main channel of the White Nile, and water struggles to infiltrate the floodplain’s clay and silt soil. This means flooding persists for a long time, often only receding as the water evaporates.
People Can No Longer Cope
The communities who live in the Sudd, including the Dinka, Nuer, Anyuak, and Shilluk, are well adapted to the usual ebb and flow of seasonal flooding. Herders move their cattle to higher ground as flood waters rise, while earthen walls made of compressed mud protect houses and infrastructure. During the flooding season, fishing sustains local communities. When floods subside, crops like groundnuts, okra, pumpkins, sorghum, and other vegetables are planted.
However, the record water levels and long duration of recent flooding have stretched these indigenous coping mechanisms. The protracted state of conflict in the country has further reduced their ability to cope. Community elders who spoke to our colleagues at the medical humanitarian aid charity Médecins Sans Frontières said that fear of conflict and violence inhibited them from moving to regions of safe ground they had found during a period of major flooding in the early 1960s.
Around 2.6 million people were displaced in South Sudan between 2020 and 2022 alone, a result of both conflict and violence (1 million) and flooding (1.5 million). In practice, the two are interlinked, as flooding has caused displaced herders to come into conflict with resident farmers over land.
Stagnant floodwater also leads to a rise in water-borne infections like cholera and hepatitis E, snakebites, and vector-borne diseases like malaria. As people become malnourished, these diseases become more dangerous. Malnutrition is already a big problem, especially for the 800,000 or so people who have fled into South Sudan from Sudan following the start of a separate conflict there in April 2023.
You never know what’s lurking in the floodwaters after a hurricane.Officials in Louisiana’s St. Tammany Parish posted a photo on Facebook on Thursday, showing an alligator swimming in the floodwaters.Related video above: Drone video shows flooding caused by Hurricane Francine“We’re not sure what his mission was, but our Public Works crews decided to keep their distance as they checked flooded roads,” officials said in the Facebook post. “If you see a flooded road, keep your distance, too! You may never know what hazards lurk beneath the water.”Hurricane Francine made landfall in Terrebonne Parish Wednesday, bringing heavy rain and major flooding.
You never know what’s lurking in the floodwaters after a hurricane.
Officials in Louisiana’s St. Tammany Parish posted a photo on Facebook on Thursday, showing an alligator swimming in the floodwaters.
Related video above: Drone video shows flooding caused by Hurricane Francine
“We’re not sure what his mission was, but our Public Works crews decided to keep their distance as they checked flooded roads,” officials said in the Facebook post. “If you see a flooded road, keep your distance, too! You may never know what hazards lurk beneath the water.”
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Hurricane Francine made landfall in Terrebonne Parish Wednesday, bringing heavy rain and major flooding.
Is your house ready for the next big storm that may hit the D.C. area? September is National Emergency Preparedness Month so WTOP talked with an expert for tips on simple ways to prepare for emergencies.
Is your house ready for the next big storm that may hit the D.C. area? September is National Emergency Preparedness Month, and WTOP talked with an expert for tips on simple ways to prepare for emergencies.
If there’s a lot of rain in the forecast, you have to think about whether your home is at an increased risk for flooding.
“If you’re less than 10 feet above the bottom of a creek, you should be thinking about the risk of flash flooding,” said Aris Papadopoulos, founder of the nonprofit Resilience Action Fund and a 9/11 World Trade Center survivor.
He said that the month is important, as it helps remind homeowners they should be ready for whatever comes their way.
“If you’re planning to do any improvements, now is the time to think about your priorities,” Papadopoulos said.
One of the most important things you need to think about is right above your head.
“The roof is probably one of the most vulnerable parts of the house, because if the roof gets damaged, all sorts of other damages cascade from there to the rest of the house. And if your roof is over 15 years old, you need to be planning to replace that roof,” he said.
Papadopoulos said that when it comes to removing the risk of fires, make sure you clear trees, debris and other potential flammable items from your property.
“Create what they call a ‘defensive space,’ 5 feet around the house, so that you know if a fire starts at a distance, the house won’t catch on fire that easily,” he said.
For flood protection, the Resilience Action Fund said there are various door and property barrier/dam products that go beyond the traditional “filling-and-piling the sandbags.” To limit wall water damage, the group said there are sealants and coatings that can “dry-proof” walls. All these work best in 1 to 2-feet water situations.
Overall, he said the theme of the month should be a good reminder to all homeowners: “This is a good month to do an annual checkup for your house. … So let’s make a checklist and say, ‘OK, what needs to be fixed in this house? What if a storm comes by? What if the neighbors, the neighborhood, catches on fire?”
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Rising interest rates. Natural disasters. There are a host of reasons not to buy a home in the current real estate market — particularly in certain areas. But the ultra-rich are unfazed.
As most of the market recovers from its pandemic hangover, megamansions in some cities have been immune to the slowdown. Across the country, billionaires are still spending tens of millions of dollars on homes, despite traditional logic telling them to park their money elsewhere.
A new report from Realtor.com says that six cities have emerged as the favorites of the elite so far this year, and two of them are in California. Tops for the fat-cat crew are Malibu, San Francisco, Aspen, New York City, Miami and Palm Beach.
All six have seen sales north of $50 million so far in 2024, and a handful have seen sales much, much higher.
In May, a private island compound in Palm Beach fetched $152 million, setting the all-time price record in the Sunshine State. California saw a record of its own a month later when Oakley founder James Jannard sold his Malibu spread for $210 million.
For every excuse not to buy, billionaires find a workaround, the report said.
For example, climate change and its ripple effects — floods, fires and storms — threaten homes in coastal communities across California and Florida. But Federal Emergency Management Agency regulations and insurance providers have raised the standards for homebuilders and developers, requiring increased wind and flood protection. So well-heeled buyers in Florida, for instance, see many new homes, especially expensive ones, as hurricane-proof.
Storm-prepped homes may be too expensive for some, but not for those with a budget of $50 million or more.
The same logic goes for other environmental disasters, the report said. Wealthy beach-house hunters can minimize the effects of coastal erosion by buying a home with a concrete foundation and brand-new sea wall, which protects against crashing waves and shrinking beaches much better than do the older, less pricey homes built on wood stilts in the 1950s and ’60s.
For mansions in fire-prone areas, billionaires outfit estates with fire suppression systems and even hire private teams of firefighters to protect their homes from the flames.
The other factor barring some potential buyers from the housing market? Soaring interest rates.
Unlike during the pandemic, when rates plummeted to 2% or lower, rates in the modern market hover around 7%.
A mortgage payment with a 7% rate can cost thousands of dollars more per month — or even tens of thousands more for multimillion-dollar properties. But billionaires aren’t at the mercy of interest rates for a few reasons, the report said.
Some affluent buyers can pay all-cash for a luxury property, avoiding interest altogether.
Others are able to broker special deals with banks due to their longstanding relationships and massive holdings. In other words, the more zeroes you have in your account, the better rate you’ll score from a bank.
This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
No matter where you live, extreme weather can hit your area, causing damage to homes, power outages, and dangerous or deadly conditions. If you’re on the coast, it may be a hurricane; in the Midwest or South, a tornado; in the West, wildfires; and as we’ve seen in recent years, anywhere can experience heat waves or flash flooding.
Living through a disaster and its aftermath can be both traumatic and chaotic, from the immediate losses of life and belongings to conflicting information around where to access aid. The weeks and months after may be even more difficult, as the attention on your community is gone but civic services and events have stalled or changed drastically.
Grist compiled this resource guide to help you stay prepared and informed. It looks at everything from how to find the most accurate forecasts to signing up for emergency alerts to the roles that different agencies play in disaster aid.
Flooding in Merced, California, following a “bomb cyclone” in January 2023.
Photograph: JOSH EDELSON/Getty Images
Where to Find the Facts on Disasters
These days, many people find out about disasters in their area via social media. But it’s important to make sure the information you’re receiving is accurate. Here’s where to find the facts on extreme weather and the most reliable places to check for emergency alerts and updates.
Your local emergency manager: Your city or county will have an emergency management department, which is part of the local government. In larger cities, it’s often a separate agency; in smaller communities, fire chiefs or sheriff’s offices may manage emergency response and alerts. Emergency managers are responsible for communicating with the public about disasters, managing rescue and response efforts, and coordinating between different agencies. They usually have an SMS-based emergency alert system, so sign up for those via your local website. (Note: Some cities have multiple languages available, but most emergency alerts are only in English.) Many emergency management agencies are active on Facebook, so check there for updates as well.
Local news: The local television news and social media accounts from verified news sources will have live updates during and after a storm. Follow your local newspaper and television station on Facebook or other social media, or check their websites regularly.
NORTH ANDOVER — A year after two extreme rainstorms hit the Merrimack Valley, local businesses persevered through a trying year to rebuild themselves — and one, owned by a Gloucester man, continues to do so.
Aug. 8 marked the one-year anniversary of a storm that engulfed local businesses and homes with flash flooding. A total of 6 inches of rain fell in a matter of hours that day in the Merrimack Valley. Ten days later, two more inches fell on the region after another intense rainstorm caused additional flooding.
Town Manager Melissa Murphy-Rodrigues estimated North Andover sustained $20 million in damages from the two storms.
Last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency turned down an assistance package. Instead, the town used gas disaster settlement funds to help some residents.
The state provided North Andover with $725,000 in flood relief funds to cover some costs associated with the storms, but it didn’t even come close to cover all the costs. The town used the money to offset deficit spending which the state had authorized it to spend on related costs to the Aug. 8 storm. But North Andover had $1.6 million in costs and needed to use $400,000 from its budget surplus to cover the remaining deficit, Murphy-Rodrigues said.
This month, the town received another $133,150 as part of the Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program to study and manage the Cochichewick Brook floodplain.
High Street is situated adjacent to the brook. Most of the businesses in the East and West Mill Complex on High Street that were hit by the rising water did not have flood insurance.
A rollercoaster year
A year later, one last reminder of the floods remained: Jaime’s Restaurant is still closed — for now.
“I wasn’t going to come in today,” Jaime’s co-owner Jaime Faria, of Gloucester, said on the flood’s one-year anniversary. “But when the furniture is ready to come in, you just show up and take the delivery. “
Jaime’s Restaurant, which has operated at 25 High St. for 14 years, is the last unit in the mills to reopen. Faria hopes to be back in business within a month as he and his staff begin to put the new furniture back into the renovated space. Faria owns the restaurant with Wally Santos.
“It’s been a long year,” Faria said.
He reflected on the rollercoaster year he and Santos have experienced, filled with positives such as strong community support but coupled with many challenges in-between.
On the morning of Aug. 8, 2023, Faria recalled getting the first phone call about water in the basement of the business. He didn’t think much of it other than it was going to require a little cleaning.
An hour later, another staff member informed him the water had crept up to the basement’s second step.
“By the time I got here, you couldn’t even get into the basement as it was already waist deep,” Faria said.
He said the focus shifted to trying to salvage what he could, but there was only so much he could do with the amount of water flooding his business.
“You break windows so the water could get around and then you sit there,” Faria said. “I was just watching mine and Wally’s lives literally run down the river.”
Faria said for about a month and a half after the flood, he was overwhelmed by what had happened to his restaurant.
“I’m not going to lie, there was a period of depression where I had no desire to get out of bed,” Faria said.
Community support, however, helped him focus on how to reopen. The staff came together over lunch during those hard months and came up with a game plan
A GoFundMe page also raised more than $164,000 for the restaurant to cover some expenses in the trying year.
Most of Jaime’s staff will return. Jaime’s is in the process of hiring more workers as well. Loyal customers would stop by and ask if they could help and now they stop by to share their excitement for the reopening, Faria said.
“I tell people at the end of the day, my mom and dad are alive and my kids are doing great. This too shall pass and I’m excited to get people back in here eating burgers,” he said.
Back on track
The businesses in the area have also come together over the last year.
“The storm has made us a family,” Brides Across America CEO and Founder Heidi Janson said.
In the storms, Janson lost 80% of the inventory for her nonprofit organization. She had estimated $7 million in losses.
Brides Across America’s hub is located at 40 High St., where a warehouse stores the wedding dresses and formal wear given as gifts to military families and first-responders across the country.
Janson said she wanted to call it quits after the flood.
“I don’t even know how I had the energy to just keep moving on,” Janson said. “It was devastating.”
Brides Across America received a $5,000 grant for supplies.
“I was happy with that as we got some things we needed,” Janson said. “But we really got nothing. It’s like we didn’t exist anymore.”
Every time it rains, Janson said she thinks about her storefronts which now includes the relocation of her Tulle bridal store and Brides Across America outlet to High Street.
The nonprofit moved into its new home in a vacant space in West Mill. Janson said after the floods, some of the businesses moved to temporary spaces and stayed in their new spots.
While the charity endured challenges and a depletion of inventory for a bit, she said the nonprofit is back on track with donations to be able to hold its annual dress gifting events.
As the new store gets finishing touches, Janson said the future is bright for the nonprofit and hopes to work with a local winery to gift a military wedding soon.
“You have a vision and you know it’s going to work, but it took a lot of sleepless nights,” Janson said. “We persevered and kept pushing.”
Help along the way
Across the street, Good Day Cafe owner Gregg Lindsay and his cafe staff also persevered through the year.
Good Day Cafe, 19 High St., reopened on a limited basis in December and full time with their complete menu in January, five months after the flood.
“It’s been great to be open,” Lindsay said.
“There is always a bit of digging out of holes though because we were closed for so long.”
Lindsay said his business, along with others on High Street, did not initially receive any state or federal funding to help with the cleanup and rebuilding.
“Apparently our area didn’t meet the threshold,” Lindsay said. “It was disappointing because it was just out of nowhere.”
His restaurant received a small grant from the town. North Andover established a grant program through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds specifically for businesses affected by the floods. Murphy-Rodrigues said the town awarded $82,307 to 20 businesses.
But largely self-funding and community support through GoFundMe allowed Good Day Cafe to get back on track, he said.
The North Andover community came together to help the businesses and Lindsay said he experienced it firsthand as the Andover/North Andover YMCA allowed his staff to use its kitchen to fulfill catering orders while they waited to reopen.
“It would have been a lot more difficult to reopen because at least I was able to cover some bills through those months,” Lindsay said, adding they were closed during their busiest months.
Lindsay remembered Aug. 8, 2023 like it was yesterday.
“It was an extraordinarily rainy day,” Lindsay said. “It was coming down in buckets, but the cafe was filled with people.”
Water rose from the basement and made its way through the cafe.
“The hallway here and the street looked like a river,” Lindsay said.
But the plan was always to get back up and running.
“How we did it, that we kind of just made it up as we went along,” he said.
As he sat in the restaurant a year later, Lindsay had a smile on his face seeing the place just as full as it was on the day of the flood, with regular customers enjoying their meals.
Kathmandu, Nepal — A landslide swept two passenger buses carrying more than 50 people into a swollen river in central Nepal early Friday. Continuous rain and more landslides were making rescue efforts difficult.
Three survivors apparently swam to safety, but by late morning rescuers had not found any trace of the buses, which likely were submerged and swept downstream in the Trishuli River. Nepal’s rivers generally are fast-flowing due to the mountainous terrain. Heavy monsoon downpours in the past few days have swollen the waterways and turned their waters murky brown, making it even more difficult to see the wreckage.
Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane told parliament that 51 passengers were missing and that more than 500 rescue personnel had been assigned to the search operation.
Rescuers search for survivors in the Trishuli river, in Simaltar, Nepal, July 12, 2024, at the site of a landslide that swept two passenger buses into the monsoon-swollen river.
RAJESH GHIMIRE/AFP/Getty
Elsewhere in the country, 17 people died and three more were injured due to landslides in different districts over the past 24 hours, he said.
The buses were on a key highway that connects Nepal’s capital to southern parts of the country when they were swept away at around 3 a.m. near Simaltal, about 75 miles west of Kathmandu.
More landslides blocked routes to the area in several places, government administrator Khima Nanada Bhusal said. Additional rescuers and security forces were sent to help with the rescue efforts. Police and army personnel were searching using rubber rafts. Divers with scuba gear were also dispatched, according the Chitwan district police.
The three survivors were being treated in the hospital, Bhusal said, adding that they reportedly jumped out of the bus and swam to the banks, where locals found them and took them to a nearby hospital.
A third bus was hit by another landslide on Friday morning a short distance away on the same highway. Bhusal said the driver was killed but it was not clear if there were any other casualties.
Search and rescue efforts continue after a landslide hit two passenger buses in Chitwan, Nepal, July 11, 2024.
Nepal’s NDRRMA/Anadolu/Getty
Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said he was saddened by the news and expressed concern over recent flooding and landslides. He added that several government agencies were searching for the missing, in a post on the social media platform X.
On Thursday night, a landslide buried a hut and killed a family of seven near the resort town of Pokhara. The family were asleep when the landslide crushed their hut and damaged three more houses nearby.
Monsoon season brings heavy rains to Nepal from June to September, often triggering landslides in the mountainous Himalayan country.
The government has imposed a ban on passengers buses travelling at night in the areas where weather warnings have been issued, according to the Home Ministry.
