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Tag: Storms

  • Southern California braces for more floods as tropical storm soaks region from coast to desert

    Southern California braces for more floods as tropical storm soaks region from coast to desert

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    LOS ANGELES — Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Southern California from the coast to inland mountains and deserts Sunday evening, prompting rescues from swollen rivers and forcing some of the nation’s largest school districts to cancel Monday classes. Millions braced for more flooding and mudslides, even as the storm began to weaken.

    The first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, Hilary dropped more than half an average year’s worth of rain on some mountain and desert areas, including the desert resort city of Palm Springs, which saw nearly 3 inches of rain by Sunday evening.

    Forecasters warned of dangerous flash floods across Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, and fire officials rescued 13 people from knee-deep water in a homeless encampment along the rising San Diego River. Meanwhile, rain and debris washed out some roadways and people left their cars stranded in standing water. Crews pumped floodwaters out of the emergency room at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage.

    The storm walloped California after making landfall in Mexico‘s arid Baja California Peninsula on Sunday in a sparsely populated area about 150 miles (250 kilometers) south of Ensenada. It then moved through mudslide-prone Tijuana, threatening the improvised homes that cling to hillsides just south of the U.S. border.

    The storm was projected to weaken as it continued moving northward over California and into Nevada, but threats remained. Richard Pasch, a hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center, said the storm should become a “post-tropical cyclone” sometime Monday as it loses a well-defined center, but that “very heavy” rain and strong winds are still likely.

    The Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest school system, and said all campuses would be closed on Monday, as did districts across the region. San Diego schools postponed the first day of classes from Monday to Tuesday.

    “There is no way we can compromise the safety of a single child or an employee, and our inability to survey buildings, our inability to determine access to schools makes it nearly impossible for us to open schools,” Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said at a media briefing.

    Southern California got another surprise in the afternoon as an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 hit near Ojai, about 80 miles (130 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was felt widely and was followed by smaller aftershocks. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injury, according to a dispatcher with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.

    Hilary is just the latest major climate disaster to wreak havoc across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Hawaii’s island of Maui is still reeling from a blaze that killed over 100 people and ravaged the historic town of Lahaina, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. Firefighters in Canada are battling that nation’s worst fire season on record.

    As Hilary bore down on Mexico, one person drowned Saturday in the Mexican township of Mugele, on the eastern side of the Baja Peninsula, when a vehicle was swept away by an overflowing stream. Rescue workers saved four other people, said Edith Aguilar Villavicencio, the mayor of Mulege.

    Mexican army troops fanned out across the area, where some of the worst damage occurred Saturday. Soldiers used bulldozers and dump trucks to help clear tons of boulders and earth clogging streets and roads that were turned into raging torrents a day earlier.

    Power lines were toppled in many places, and emergency personnel were working to restore power and reach those cut off by the storm.

    On Sunday morning in California, the warnings from officials didn’t keep everyone indoors. In coastal Carlsbad, just north of San Diego, 19-year-old Jack Johnson and his friends kept an eye on the huge waves, determined to surf them at some point Sunday.

    “It’s really choppy out there, not really surfable yet, but I think we can find a good break somewhere later,” Johnson said. “I can’t remember a storm like this.”

    Also Sunday, one of several budding storm systems in the Atlantic Ocean became Tropical Storm Emily, according to the National Hurricane Center. It was far from land, moving west in the open ocean. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Franklin formed in the eastern Caribbean. Tropical storm watches were issued for the southern coasts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

    In Sept. 1939, a tropical storm that roared into California ripped apart train tracks, tore houses from their foundations and capsized many boats, killing nearly 100 people on land and at sea.

    ___

    Lebrija reported from Ensenada, Mexico. Associated Press contributors include Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida; Ignacio Martinez in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Mark Stevenson in Mexico City; Eugene Garcia in San Diego; Ryan Sun and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and Walter Berry in Phoenix.

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  • Tropical Storm Hilary makes landfall in Mexico’s Baja California, pushing torrential rains on northward path (CORRECTS: A previous APNewsAlert erroneously reported that Hilary was still a hurricane)

    Tropical Storm Hilary makes landfall in Mexico’s Baja California, pushing torrential rains on northward path (CORRECTS: A previous APNewsAlert erroneously reported that Hilary was still a hurricane)

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    Tropical Storm Hilary makes landfall in Mexico’s Baja California, pushing torrential rains on northward path (CORRECTS: A previous APNewsAlert erroneously reported that Hilary was still a hurricane)

    ENSENADA, Mexico — Tropical Storm Hilary makes landfall in Mexico’s Baja California, pushing torrential rains on northward path (CORRECTS: A previous APNewsAlert erroneously reported that Hilary was still a hurricane).

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  • Hilary grows into major hurricane in Pacific off Mexico and could bring heavy rain to US Southwest

    Hilary grows into major hurricane in Pacific off Mexico and could bring heavy rain to US Southwest

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    MEXICO CITY — Hurricane Hilary strengthened into a major storm Thursday evening off Mexico’s Pacific coast, and it could bring heavy rain to the southwestern U.S. by the weekend.

    The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Hilary’s maximum sustained winds had risen to 120 mph (195 kph), making it a Category 3 hurricane.

    The storm was expected to grow into a Category 4 hurricane Friday while on a projected path that threatened landfall on the central Baja California peninsula by Sunday or possibly keep just offshore while heading for Southern California.

    Hilary was centered about 445 miles (715 kilometers) south of Los Cabos on the southern tip of the Baja peninsula. It was moving west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph), but was expected to take a more northward heading in the coming days.

    The hurricane center said that as Hilary moves onto or brushes the Baja pensinsula, it could possibly survive briefly as a tropical storm or tropical depression and cross the U.S. border.

    No tropical storm has made landfall in Southern California since Sept. 25, 1939, according to the National Weather Service.

    “Rainfall impacts from Hilary within the Southwestern United States are expected to peak this weekend into Monday,” the hurricane center said. “Flash, urban, and arroyo flooding is possible with the potential for significant impacts.”

    The area potentially affected by heavy rainfall could stretch from Bakersfield, California, to Yuma, Arizona, as well as some parts of southern Nevada.

    SpaceX announced Thursday that the hurricane caused a delay in the launch of a satellite-carrying rocket from a base on California’s central coast until at least Monday. The company said conditions in the Pacific could make it difficult for a ship to recover the rocket booster.

    In Southern California, an outlook for excessive rainfall stretched from Sunday to Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles weather office.

    While the odds are against Hilary making landfall in California as a tropical storm, there is a high chance of major rain and flooding, UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said in an online briefing Wednesday.

    The Mexican government said a weakened Hilary might hit the coast Sunday night between the cities of Playas de Rosarito and Ensenada, in Baja California state.

    Meanwhile, the city of Yuma was preparing Thursday by providing residents with a self-serve sandbag filling station.

    The sandbag station will be stocked with sand and empty bags for self-filling while supplies last. Residents were allowed five sandbags per vehicle.

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  • Death toll from devastating Maui fire reaches 106, as county begins identifying victims

    Death toll from devastating Maui fire reaches 106, as county begins identifying victims

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    LAHAINA, Hawaii — Federal officials sent a mobile morgue with coroners, pathologists and technicians to Hawaii to help identify the dead, as Maui County released the first names of people killed in the wildfire that all but incinerated the historic town of Lahaina a week ago and killed at least 106 people.

    A week after the fires started, some residents still had with intermittent power, unreliable cellphone service and uncertainty over where to get assistance.

    Some people walked periodically to a seawall, where phone connections were strongest, to make calls. Flying low off the coast, a single-prop airplane used a loudspeaker to blare information about where to get water and supplies.

    Just two victims have been named so far, while the county said it has identified three more and will release the names after notifying the next of kin.

    “It’s going to be a very, very difficult mission,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services deputy assistant secretary Jonathan Greene said. “And patience will be incredibly important because of the number of victims.”

    A portable morgue unit arrived Tuesday morning with more than 22 tons of supplies and equipment needed for victim identification and processing remains, such as mortuary examination tables and X-ray units.

    Crews using cadaver dogs have scoured about 32% of the area, the County of Maui said in a statement Tuesday. The governor asked for patience as authorities became overwhelmed with requests to visit the burn area.

    Maui Police Chief John Pelletier renewed an appeal for families with missing relatives to provide DNA samples. So far 41 samples have been submitted, the county statement said, and 13 DNA profiles have been obtained from remains.

    The governor warned that scores more bodies could be found. The wildfires, some of which have not yet been fully contained, are already the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century.

    When asked by Hawaii News Now if children are among the missing, Green said Tuesday: “Tragically, yes. … When the bodies are smaller, we know it’s a child.”

    He described some of the sites being searched as “too much to share or see from just a human perspective.”

    Another complicating factor, Green said, is that storms with rain and high winds were forecast for the weekend. Officials are mulling whether to “preemptively power down or not for a short period of time, because right now all of the infrastructure is weaker.”

    The local power utility has already faced criticism for not shutting off power as strong winds buffeted a parched area under high risk for fire. It’s not clear whether the utility’s equipment played any role in igniting the flames.

    Hawaiian Electric Co. Inc. President and CEO Shelee Kimura said many factors go into a decision to cut power, including the impact on people who rely on specialized medical equipment and concerns that a shutoff in the fire area would have knocked out water pumps.

    Green has said the flames raced as fast as a mile (1.6 kilometers) every minute in one area, fueled by dry grass and propelled by strong winds from a passing hurricane.

    The blaze that swept into centuries-old Lahaina last week destroyed nearly every building in the town of 13,000. That fire has been 85% contained, according to the county. Another blaze known as the Upcountry fire was 75% contained as of Tuesday evening.

    The Lahaina fire caused about $3.2 billion in insured property losses, according to calculations by Karen Clark & Company, a prominent disaster and risk modeling company. That doesn’t count damage to uninsured property. The firm said more than 2,200 buildings were damaged or destroyed by flames, with about 3,000 damaged by fire or smoke or both.

    Even where the flames have retreated, authorities have warned that toxic byproducts may remain, including in drinking water, after the flames spewed poisonous fumes. That has left many unable to return home.

    Victoria Martocci, who lost her scuba business and a boat, planned to travel to her storage unit in Kahalui from her Kahana home Wednesday to stash documents and keepsakes given to her by a friend whose house burned. “These are things she grabbed, the only things she could grab, and I want to keep them safe for her,” Martocci said.

    President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he and first lady Jill Biden would visit Hawaii “as soon as we can” but he doesn’t want his presence to interrupt recovery and cleanup efforts. During a stop in Milwaukee to highlight his economic agenda, Biden pledged that “every asset they need will be there for them.”

    The two victims identified were Lahaina residents Robert Dyckman, 74, and Buddy Jantoc, 79.

    Lahaina resident Kekoa Lansford helped rescue people as the flames swept through town. Now he is collecting stories from survivors, hoping to create a timeline of what happened. He has 170 emails so far.

    The scene was haunting. “Horrible, horrible,” Lansford said Tuesday. “You ever seen hell in the movies? That is what it looked like. Fire everywhere. Dead people.”

    ___

    Kelleher reported from Honolulu and Weber from Los Angeles. Associated Press journalists Bobby Caina Calvan in Kihei, Hawaii; Haven Daley in Kalapua, Hawaii; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri; and Darlene Superville and Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed.

    ___

    Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Videos put scrutiny on downed power lines as possible cause of deadly Maui wildfires

    Videos put scrutiny on downed power lines as possible cause of deadly Maui wildfires

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    Awakened by howling winds that tore through his Maui neighborhood, Shane Treu went out at dawn and saw a wooden power pole suddenly snap with a flash, its sparking, popping line falling to the dry grass below and quickly igniting a row of flames.

    He called 911 and then turned on Facebook video to livestream his attempt to fight the blaze in Lahaina, including wetting down his property with a garden hose.

    “I heard ‘buzz, buzz,’” the 49-year-old resort worker recounted to The Associated Press. “It was almost like somebody lit a firework. It just ran straight up the hill to a bigger pile of grass and then, with that high wind, that fire was blazing.”

    Treu’s video and others captured the early moments of what would become the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. Now the footage has emerged as key evidence pointing to fallen utility lines as the possible cause. Hawaiian Electric Co. faces criticism for not shutting off the power amid high wind warnings and keeping it on even as dozens of poles began to topple.

    A class-action lawsuit has already been filed seeking to hold the company responsible for the deaths of at least 99 people. The suit cites the utility’s own documents showing it was aware that preemptive power shutoffs such as those used in California were an effective strategy to prevent wildfires but never adopted them.

    “Nobody likes to turn the power off — it’s inconvenient — but any utility that has significant wildfire risk, especially wind-driven wildfire risk, needs to do it and needs to have a plan in place,” said Michael Wara, a wildfire expert who is director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford University. “In this case, the utility did not.”

    “It may turn out that there are other causes of this fire, and the utility lines are not the main cause,” Wara said. “But if they are, boy, this didn’t need to happen.”

    Hawaiian Electric declined to comment on the accusations in the lawsuit or whether it has ever shut down power before due to high winds. But President and CEO Shelee Kimura noted at a news conference Monday that many factors go into that decision, including the possible effect on people who rely on specialized medical equipment and firefighters who need power to pump water.

    “Even in places where this has been used, it is controversial, and it’s not universally accepted,” she said.

    Maui Police Chief John Pelletier also expressed frustration at the news conference that people were complaining both that power was not cut off earlier and that too many people were unaccounted for because of a lack of cellphone and internet service.

    “Do you want notifications or do you want the power shut off?” he said. “You don’t get it both ways.”

    Mikal Watts, one of the lawyers behind the lawsuit, told the AP this week that he was in Maui, interviewing witnesses and “collecting contemporaneously filmed videos.”

    “There is credible evidence, captured on video, that at least one of the power line ignition sources occurred when trees fell into a Hawaiian Electric power line,” said Watts, who confirmed he was referring to Treu’s footage.

    Treu recorded three videos to Facebook on Aug. 8 starting at 6:40 a.m., three minutes after authorities say they received the first report of the fire. Holding a hose i n one hand and his phone in the other, he streamed live as the first police cruisers arrived and can be heard warning officers about the live power lines laying in the road.

    At one point, he zooms the camera in on a cable dangling in a charred patch of grass, surrounded by orange flames.

    Treu’s neighbor, Robert Arconado, also recorded videos that he provided to the AP. Arconado’s footage, which starts at 6:48 a.m., shows a lone firefighter headed toward the flames as they continued to spread west downhill and downwind along Lahainaluna Road, toward the center of town.

    By 9 a.m., Maui officials declared the fire “100% contained,” and the firefighters left. But about 2 p.m., Arconado said the same area had reignited.

    A video he filmed at 3:06 p.m. shows smoke and embers being carried toward town as howling winds continued to lash the island. Arconado continued to film for hours, as towering pillars of flame and smoke billowed from the neighborhoods downhill, forcing people to jump into the ocean to escape.

    “It was scary, so scary,” Arconado said. “There was nowhere to go. … I witnessed every single thing. I never go to sleep.”

    Treu’s and Arconado’s homes were spared, but satellite imagery reviewed by the AP shows that starting about 500 yards downwind whole neighborhoods were reduced to ash. Though experts say the early evidence suggests multiple blazes may have been ignited in and around Lahaina on Aug. 8, there were no recorded lightning strikes or other apparent natural causes for the fires.

    Robert Marshall, CEO of Whisker Labs, a company that collects and analyzes electrical grid data, said sensors installed throughout Maui to detect sparking power lines showed a dangerously high number of such live wire incidents that night and into the following morning. The sensors, 70 in all, record breaks in electric transmission after trees fall on power lines or other accidents, and they showed dozens of such faults in areas where fires likely broke out and around the time the blazes probably started.

    The faults, which Marshall likened to a series of circuit breakers tripping at the same time, were remarkable for the amount of power lost, a third of the usual 120 volts coursing through lines. Marshall said he couldn’t say whether any of the sparks resulted in a fire, only noting that there were many opportunities for it to happen.

    “A substantial amount of energy was discharged,” said Marshall, pointing to a graph on his computer screen with several lines plunging at the same time. “Any one of these faults could have caused a wildfire, any could have been an ignition source.”

    After the 2018 Camp Fire in northern California killed 85 people in a disaster caused by downed power lines, Pacific Gas & Electric agreed to pay more than $13.5 billion to fire victims. State regulators adopted new procedures requiring utilities to turn off the electricity when forecasters predict high winds and dry conditions that might cause a fire to spread.

    In Maui, the National Weather Service first began alerting the public about dangerous fire conditions on Aug. 3. Forecasters issued a “red flag warning” on Aug. 7, alerting that the combination of high winds from a Category 4 hurricane churning offshore and drought conditions driven by climate change would create ideal conditions for fire.

    Even though Hawaiian Electric officials specifically cited the Camp Fire and California’s power shutoff plan as examples in planning documents and funding requests to state regulators, on the day of the Maui fire there was no procedure in place for turning off the island’s grid.

    Wara said the video posted by Treu also raised questions about Hawaiian Electric’s assertion that it had disabled an automatic recharge mechanism that turns electricity back on after a failure because it appeared that the downed wire Treu recorded was still live.

    Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez announced last week that she opened “a comprehensive review of critical decision-making and standing policies leading up to, during and after the wildfires.”

    Hawaiian Electric’s Kimura said the company had started its own investigation. Its shares have plummeted by 60% over the last week on fears the company may have to pay big damages.

    Watts, one of the lawyers suing the company, said the fire that destroyed Lahaina was predictable, given the weather and fuel conditions. He said Hawaiian Electric documents show the company knew its grid on Maui was degraded after decades of neglect. Old power poles were supposed to be replaced between 2019 and this year, but he alleges the company delayed the work.

    “That is why the town of Lahaina is decimated, thousands are now homeless and hundreds will mourn the loss of their innocent loved ones,” he said. “This is an unprecedented tragedy that was an entirely preventable tragedy.”

    Jennifer Potter, who lives in Lahaina and until last year was a member of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, said a comprehensive wildfire mitigation plan should have been established years ago.

    “There’s more that could have been done. Now we have 20/20 hindsight,” she said. “This just doesn’t need to happen anymore.”

    ___

    Biesecker reported from Washington, Condon from New York and McDermott from Providence, Rhode Island.

    ___

    Contact AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org.

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  • Railway bridge collapses in southeastern Norway after last week’s torrential rain

    Railway bridge collapses in southeastern Norway after last week’s torrential rain

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    A railway bridge in southeastern Norway that ran across a river swollen by torrential rain has collapsed

    A section of a railway bridge collapsed into the water over the Laagen River in Ringebu, Norway, Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. A railway bridge in southeastern Norway, running across a river that had swollen following last weeks of torrential rain, collapsed on Monday, authorities said. (Lars Skjeggestad Kleven/NTB Scanpix via AP)

    The Associated Press

    COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A railway bridge in southeastern Norway that ran across a river swollen by torrential rain collapsed on Monday, authorities said.

    BaneNOR, a government agency in charge of the Norwegian rail infrastructure, said the central section of the steel truss bridge over the Laagen River slid into the water “due to damage to the central bridge foundation.”

    All traffic across the bridge was halted a week ago out of fear that it would collapse because of the large volume of water.

    “Bane NOR had just begun investigating the extent of the damage to the bridge on Monday morning when the middle part slid into the river,” the agency said in a statement.

    The bridge is 172.5 meters (189 yards) long with three spans. It has a direct foundation on the riverbed, and was built in 1957.

    Eivind Bjurstrøm at Bane NOR said that the collapse of the bridge “never involved a danger to life and health, which I am very happy about.”

    The rain led to the evacuation of thousands in southeastern Norway, where a huge amount of water, littered with broken trees, debris and trash, thundered down the usually serene rivers after days of torrential rain.

    Storm Hans battered northern Europe, leading to transportation disruption, flooding and power cuts across the Nordic and Baltic region. At least three people were killed.

    A hydroelectric river dam in southeastern Norway collapsed as water forced its way through, and a train derailed in neighboring Sweden when a railway embankment was washed away by floods.

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  • Death toll in China mudslide rises to 21, with six people missing

    Death toll in China mudslide rises to 21, with six people missing

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    A Chinese emergency agency says the death toll from a mudslide that struck a village on the outskirts of the western Chinese city of Xi’an has risen to 21 and rescuers are still looking for six missing people

    In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, an aerial photo shows the aftermath of a mudslide in Weiziping village of Luanzhen township on the outskirts of Chang’an district, Xi’an of northwestern China’s Shaanxi Province on Saturday Aug. 12, 2023. The mudslide caused by torrential rains killed multiple people on the outskirts of Xi’an in western China, an official news agency said Saturday, while some trains in the northeast were canceled as a powerful storm lashed the region. (Zou Jingyi/Xinhua via AP)

    The Associated Press

    BEIJING — The death toll from a mudslide triggered by heavy rain on the outskirts of the western Chinese city of Xi’an rose to 21 on Sunday and rescuers were still looking for six missing people, the government said.

    The mudslide and a flash flood Friday evening also damaged a highway and knocked out power to 900 households, the Xi’an Emergency Management Bureau said on its social media account. It said rescue teams totaling 980 people with dogs were looking for the remaining missing people.

    Parts of China suffer heavy rains and flooding every summer, but this year has been unusually severe in some areas, while other regions struggle with drought that is damaging crops. The government earlier reported 142 people were killed by flooding and landslides in July.

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  • More evacuations considered in Norway where level in swollen rivers continues to rise

    More evacuations considered in Norway where level in swollen rivers continues to rise

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    More evacuations are being considered in southeastern Norway where the level of water in swollen rivers and lakes continues to grow after days of torrential rain

    Water overflows the dam at Braskereidfoss, Norway, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Authorities in Norway say a dam has partially burst following days of heavy rain that triggered landslides and flooding in the mountainous southern parts of the country. Communities downstream already had been evacuated. (Cornelius Poppe/NTB Scanpix via AP)

    The Associated Press

    COPENHAGEN, Denmark — More evacuations were being considered Friday in southeastern Norway, where the level of water in swollen rivers and lakes continued to grow after days of torrential rain.

    Huge amounts of water, littered with broken trees, debris and trash, were thundering down the usually serene rivers. It flooded abandoned houses, left cars coated in mud and swamped camping sites.

    One of the most affected places was the town of Hønefossen where the Begna river had gone over its banks and authorities were considering moving more people downstream for fear of landslides. Up to 2,000 people have already been evacuated.

    “We constantly try to think a few steps ahead. We are ready to press an even bigger red button,” Magnus Nilholm, a local emergency manager in the Hønefossen region, told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

    Ivar Berthling of Norway’s Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) told Norwegian news agency NTB that the water levels around Hønefossen, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Oslo, were expected to continue rising and remain high until at least Monday. Up north, near the Strondafjorden lake, the water level was reported to be 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) above normal.

    Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was to visit Hønefossen later Friday while King Harald and Queen Sonja were to visit the headquarters of the NVE.

    Authorities did not provide a nationwide count of evacuees. According to a rough estimate, damage could so far amount to 1 billion kroner (nearly $100 million).

    Storm Hans on Monday and Tuesday battered northern Europe, leading to transportation distruption, flooding and power cuts across the Nordic and Baltic region. At least three people.

    Southeastern Norway was particularly badly affected. A hydroelectric river dam collapsed Wednesday as water forced its way through, and earlier this week a train derailed in neighboring Sweden when a railway embankment was washed away by floods.

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  • It’s very windy and dry in Hawaii. Strong gusts complicate wildfires and prompt evacuations

    It’s very windy and dry in Hawaii. Strong gusts complicate wildfires and prompt evacuations

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    HONOLULU — Several Hawaii communities were forced to evacuate from wildfires that destroyed at least two homes as of Tuesday as a dry season mixed with strong wind gusts made for dangerous fire conditions.

    The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which was passing to the south of the island chain at a safe distance of 500 miles (805 kilometers), was only partly to blame for gusts above 60 mph (97 kph) that toppled power lines, rattled homes and grounded firefighting helicopters.

    “It’s kind of because of Hurricane Dora, but it’s not a direct result,” said Jeff Powell, a meteorologist in Honolulu. “It’s just a peripheral result.”

    Hawaii was sandwiched between high pressure to the north and a low pressure system associated with Dora, he said, noting how it was sunny and very dry.

    The dryness and the gusts “make a dangerous fire situation so that fires that do exist can spread out of control very rapidly,” Powell said.

    Maui and the Big Island were contending with wildfires. One Maui fire in Lahaina was contained, but firefighters were still dealing with another in the Kula area. Two homes were destroyed in a fire that engulfed about 1,100 acres (1.72 square miles), Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said. About 80 people were evacuated from 40 homes, he said.

    “We’re trying to protect homes in the community,” Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth said of evacuating about 400 homes in four communities in the northern part of the island. As of Tuesday, the roof of one house caught on fire, he said.

    Because of the wind gusts, helicopters aren’t able to dump water on the fires from the sky — or gauge more precise fire sizes, Roth said.

    Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, who is acting governor while Gov. Josh Green is out of state, signed an emergency proclamation authorizing the activation of the Hawaii National Guard.

    Fires in Hawaii are unlike many of those burning in the U.S. West. They tend to break out in large grasslands on the dry sides of the islands and are generally much smaller than mainland fires.

    Fires were rare in Hawaii and on other tropical islands before humans arrived, and native ecosystems evolved without them. This means great environmental damage can occur when fires erupt. For example, fires remove vegetation. When a fire is followed by heavy rainfall, the rain can carry loose soil into the ocean, where it can smother coral reefs.

    The island of Oahu, where Honolulu is located, was dealing with power outages and traffic problems, said Adam Weintraub, communication director for Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

    There have been reported of multiple downed power lines, he said.

    “Extreme fire danger will continue until these winds subside and we get a little more humidity here,” Weintraub said.

    The weather service had in effect a high wind warning and red flag warnings for dangerous fire weather, Powell said.

    These conditions were expected through Tuesday, decreasing throughout the day Wednesday and into Thursday. “It’s going to feel windy for a few days,” Powell said.

    ___ Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy contributed to this report.

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  • Flights and ferries halted in South Korea ahead of storm that’s dumped rain on Japan for a week

    Flights and ferries halted in South Korea ahead of storm that’s dumped rain on Japan for a week

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    Dozens of flights and ferry services were grounded in South Korea ahead of a tropical storm that has dumped rain on Japanese islands for a week

    ByKIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press

    People walk in a rainstorm brought by Tropical Storm Khanun in Kagoshima, southern Japan Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. The storm has meandered around Japan’s southwestern islands for more than a week, dumping heavy rain, knocking out power and damaging homes. (Kyodo News via AP)

    The Associated Press

    SEOUL, South Korea — Dozens of flights and ferry services were grounded in South Korea on Wednesday ahead of a tropical storm that has dumped rain on Japan’s southwestern islands for more than a week.

    Khanun’s heavy rains and winds were expected to arrive in South Korea’s southern and eastern regions Wednesday afternoon, South Korea’s weather agency said. It is expected to reach the southern resort island of Jeju hours later and then make landfall near the mainland port of Tongyeong early Thursday.

    The agency says Khanun could have a punishing impact as it will likely slice through the center of the country over several hours while packing winds blowing at 90 to 154 kph (56 to 97 mph) before moving to North Korea early Friday.

    The Korean Meteorological Administration measured Khanun at typhoon strength with maximum winds of 126 kph (78 mph) as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, as it passed through waters 360 kilometers (223 miles) southeast of Jeju while moving northward at a speed of 12 kph (7.4 mph).

    Japan measured Khanun as a severe tropical storm with sustained winds of 108 kph (67 mph) and higher gusts. Warnings for stormy conditions, potential flooding and other risks were issued for the southwestern part of Japan’s southern island of Kyushu and nearby areas.

    As a stronger typhoon last week, Khanun lashed Okinawa and other Japanese islands, causing injuries and damage.

    South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has called for officials to be aggressive with disaster prevention measures and evacuations while stressing the perils posed by the storm, which comes just weeks after the country’s central and southern regions were pounded by torrential rain that triggered flashfloods and landslides that killed at least 41 people.

    The Korea Airport Corporation said at least 144 flights going in and out of Jeju were canceled as of 11 a.m. as Khanun approached. Ferry services connecting the island with mainland ports were also cancelled while authorities shut down at least 39 roads, 26 riverside parking lots and 613 hiking trails nationwide as part of broader preventive measures.

    Khanun has forced South Korea to evacuate the World Scout Jamboree that had been taking place at a coastal campsite in the southwestern county of Buan. Officials on Tuesday mobilized more than 1,000 buses to transfer 37,000 global scouts to university dormitories, government and corporate training centers and hotels in the capital Seoul and nearby areas.

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  • Stormy weather across northern Europe idles ferries and delays flights

    Stormy weather across northern Europe idles ferries and delays flights

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    COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Stormy weather across the Baltic Sea region Monday killed at least one person and caused airport delays, suspended ferry services and a train’s partial derailment.

    Three people had been taken to hospital in Sweden when two of the train’s passenger cars went off the tracks in Hudiksvall, a town 280 kilometers (174 miles) north of Stockholm, police said.

    The derailment happened because ”the embankment has been undermined by the heavy rain and landslides,“ they said, adding that the extent of their injuries is unclear. There had been 120 people on the train, Swedish media said.

    Ferries linking Poland to Sweden, two German islands to mainland Germany and Norway to Denmark remained in harbor. Ferries and water taxis to the German islands of Hiddensee and Ruegen were canceled for Monday and Tuesday morning, and vacationers were asked to change their travels plans to Wednesday.

    In Lithuania, a 50-year old woman was killed by falling trees near the Latvian border. The area was badly damaged with numerous roofs ripped off, and thousands remained without electricity.

    In the neigboring Baltic country of Latvia, television reported trees getting knocked over in wind gusts of up to 108 kph (67 mph), and meteorologists also reported golf ball-sized hail in Apgulde, a village southwest of Riga, the capital.

    The Baltic News Service said the storm caused extensive damage in the nearby Dobele region. Posts on social media showed one of the affected properties was a park in Tervete, a popular recreational area that includes a children’s play area inspired by Latvian fairy tales. The park will remain closed until next week.

    Heavy rain and hail was also reported in Estonia, the third Baltic country.

    In Denmark, police in the northeastern part of the country said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that “the weather is still harsh.”

    The fire department for greater Copenhagen urged people to stay away from parks and forests, saying “the combination of rain-soaked ground and storms increases the risk of trees falling.”

    In southern Norway, authorities raised the extreme weather warning alert to its highest due to heavy rain, mudslides and flash floods. Flooded streets were also reported in Oslo, Norway’s capital.

    On Sunday, thousands of lightning strikes were reported in Sweden.

    ___ Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, and Liudas Dapkus in Vilnius, Lithuania, contributed to this report.

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  • Tropical Storm Eugene is moving away from Mexico’s Pacific coast and expected to weaken

    Tropical Storm Eugene is moving away from Mexico’s Pacific coast and expected to weaken

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    Tropical Storm Eugene is moving away from Mexico’s Pacific coast and is expected to steadily weaken

    MEXICO CITY — Tropical Storm Eugene headed away from Mexico’s Pacific coast Sunday and was expected to weaken.

    Eugene brought some rain to Baja California.

    The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Eugene was centered about 210 miles (340 kilometers) west of the Baja resort of Los Cabos on Sunday afternoon. Its maximum sustained winds remained at about 70 mph (110 kph) and it was moving west-northwest at 20 mph (31 kph).

    The Mexican government warned the system could cause “heavy rains” along the coast, but Eugene was expected to head out to sea.

    It was the fifth named storm of the eastern Pacific hurricane season.

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  • Deadly flooding in China worsens as rescues and evacuations intensify

    Deadly flooding in China worsens as rescues and evacuations intensify

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    BEIJING — Heavy rain and high water levels on rivers in northeastern China were threatening cities downstream on Friday, prompting the evacuation of thousands, although the country appears to have averted the worst effects of the typhoon season battering parts of east Asia.

    Hebei province, which surrounds the capital Beijing on three sides, issued alerts for several of its cities. The province of Heilongjiang to the north was evacuating entire villages in anticipation of life-threatening deluges.

    Rescue work remains underway. At least 20 people have been reported killed in Beijing’s outer suburbs and another 27 were missing following the weekend storms that quickly overwhelmed drainage systems.

    Beijing usually has dry summers, but had a stretch of record-breaking heat this year that broke dramatically over the weekend with almost a week of constant rain and drizzle. Power was knocked out in areas, public transport and summer classes were suspended and citizens of the metropolis of more than 20 million people were told to stay home.

    The nearby cities of Tianjin and Zhuozhou were also hit hard. Fire services aided by volunteer rescue groups searched apartment buildings and railway tunnels for stranded people, bringing hundreds to safety.

    With it’s status as the nation’s capital, the headquarters of the ruling Communist Party and home to cultural treasures such as the ancient Forbidden City, Beijing has provided special protection from flooding through the diversion of waters to neighboring regions. That sparked complaints on social media Friday of flooding in surrounding areas that could allegedly have been avoided if the rainwater had been flushed through the capital’s system of canals and rivers.

    Other regions, especially in China’s south, have suffered unusual deadly summer flooding. Other parts of the country are struggling with drought, putting further pressure on food supplies for the nation’s 1.4 billion people already struggling with the disruption in grain shipments resulting from Russia’s war against Ukraine.

    Muddy water surging down streets washed away cars in the hilly Mentougou district on Beijing’s western edge.

    “A couple of cars parked behind my apartment building disappeared in just one minute,” said resident Liu Shuanbao.

    In Zhuozhou, southwest of Beijing, about 125,000 people from high-risk areas were moved to shelters, Xinhua said.

    President Xi Jinping issued an order for local governments to go “all out” to rescue those trapped and minimize loss of life and property damage.

    The government of Tianjin, a port east of Beijing, said 35,000 people were evacuated from near the swollen Yongding River.

    As much as 500 millimeters (almost 20 inches) of rain has fallen in some places since Saturday, according to the Hebei province weather agency. Some areas reported as much as 90 millimeters (3½ inches) of rainfall per hour.

    Thirteen rivers exceeded warning levels in the Haihe Basin, which includes Beijing, Tianjin and Shijiazhuang, Xinhua said, citing the Ministry of Water Resources.

    About 42,000 people were evacuated from areas of Shanxi province to Hebei’s west, it reported, citing emergency officials.

    In early July, at least 15 people were killed by floods in the southwestern region of Chongqing, and about 5,590 people in the far northwestern province of Liaoning had to be evacuated. In the central province of Hubei, rainstorms trapped residents in their vehicles and homes.

    China’s deadliest and most destructive floods in recent history were in 1998, when 4,150 people died, most of them along the Yangtze River.

    In 2021, more than 300 people died in flooding in the central province of Henan. Record rainfall inundated the provincial capital of Zhengzhou on July 20 that year, turning streets into rushing rivers and flooding at least part of a subway line, trapping passengers in the cars.

    Meanwhile, in the eastern Shandong province, authorities also warned of flooding risks as water levels on the Zhangwei River continued to rise.

    China was largely spared by Typhoon Khanun, which on Thursday lashed Japan, damaging homes and knocking out power on Okinawa and other islands. China’s National Meteorological Center had initially expected the typhoon to make landfall in the southeastern Zhejiang province, where local authorities called ships into port and halted passenger ferry services.

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  • Beijing records 29 inches of rain from Saturday to Wednesday, its most in at least 140 years

    Beijing records 29 inches of rain from Saturday to Wednesday, its most in at least 140 years

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    ZHUZHOU, Hebei — China’s capital has recorded its heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years over the past few days after being deluged with heavy rains from the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri.

    The city recorded 744.8 millimeters (29.3 inches) of rain between Saturday and Wednesday morning, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said Wednesday.

    Beijing and the surrounding province of Hebei have been hit by severe flooding because of the record rainfall, with waters rising to dangerous levels. The rain destroyed roads and knocked out power and even pipes carrying drinking water. It flooded rivers surrounding the capital, leaving cars waterlogged, while lifting others onto bridges meant for pedestrians.

    Among the hardest hit areas is Zhuozhou, a small city in Hebei province that borders Beijing’s southwest. On Tuesday night, police there issued a plea on social media for lights to assist with rescue work.

    It’s unknown how many people are trapped in flood-stricken areas in the city and surrounding villages.

    On Wednesday, waters in Gu’an county in Hebei, which borders Zhuozhou, reached as high as halfway up a pole where a surveillance camera was installed.

    Gu’an county resident Liu Jiwen, 58, was evacuated from his village on Tuesday night. “There’s nothing we can do. It’s natural disaster,” he said.

    Two other people were trying to pass through the flooded areas to rescue a relative trapped in a nearby village.

    Chinese authorities said Tuesday the torrential rains around Beijing had caused at least 20 deaths and 27 people were missing. Nearly 850,000 people have been relocated due to the downpour and flooding, local authorities in Hebei province said.

    The previous record for rainfall was in 1891, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said Wednesday, when the city received 609 millimeters (24 inches) of rain. The earliest precise measurements made by machines are from 1883.

    The record rainfall from Typhoon Doksuri may not be the last. Typhoon Khanun, which was lashing Japan on Wednesday, is expected to head toward China later this week. The powerful storm, with surface winds of up to 180 kph (111 mph), may also hit Taiwan before it reaches China.

    Thousands of people were evacuated to shelters in schools and other public buildings in suburban Beijing and in nearby cities. The central government is disbursing 44 million yuan ($6.1 million) for disaster relief in affected provinces.

    The severity of the flooding took the Chinese capital by surprise. Beijing usually has dry summers but had a stretch of record-breaking heat this year.

    ___

    Wu reported from Taipei, Taiwan. Associated Press news assistant Caroline Chen contributed to this report.

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  • High winds stall efforts to tow a burning cargo ship packed with cars off northern Dutch coast

    High winds stall efforts to tow a burning cargo ship packed with cars off northern Dutch coast

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    Dutch authorities say high winds in the North Sea are delaying efforts to tow a burning cargo ship carrying thousands of new cars to safety off the coast of the Netherlands

    Smoke is seen from a freight ship in the North Sea, about 27 kilometers (17 miles) north of the Dutch island of Ameland, Friday, July 28, 2023. Salvage crews were waiting Friday for a chance to board a cargo ship loaded with cars that has been burning for more than two days off the northern Dutch coast. (Kustwacht Nederland/Coast Guard Netherlands via AP)

    The Associated Press

    THE HAGUE, Netherlands — High winds blowing across the North Sea are delaying efforts to tow a burning cargo ship loaded with thousands of new cars to safety off the Dutch coast, the government said Sunday.

    The Fremantle Highway was unlikely to be moved Sunday because of the southwesterly wind, according to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

    “The wind will continue to blow from the southwest for the next few days. The towing of the Fremantle Highway to the new temporary location may therefore still take several days to start,” the ministry said in an update Saturday night.

    “The smoke from the fire and the wind direction mean that during the towing operation of the ship smoke is blowing over the tugboat,” it added.

    Salvage crews on Saturday attached a second towing cable to the ship, which is transporting 3,783 new vehicles, including 498 electric vehicles, from the German port of Bremerhaven to Singapore. The salvage teams ultimately want to tow the stricken ship to a port but it is not yet clear where or when that will happen.

    The ship has been burning since Tuesday. Firefighters decided not to douse the flames with water for fear of making the nearly 200-meters (219-yard) ship unstable as it floats close to North Sea shipping lanes and a world-renowned migratory bird habitat.

    One crew member died and others were injured after the fire broke out. The crew was evacuated in the early hours of Wednesday.

    The cause of the fire has not been determined.

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  • High winds stall efforts to tow a burning cargo ship packed with cars off northern Dutch coast

    High winds stall efforts to tow a burning cargo ship packed with cars off northern Dutch coast

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    Dutch authorities say high winds in the North Sea are delaying efforts to tow a burning cargo ship carrying thousands of new cars to safety off the coast of the Netherlands

    Smoke is seen from a freight ship in the North Sea, about 27 kilometers (17 miles) north of the Dutch island of Ameland, Friday, July 28, 2023. Salvage crews were waiting Friday for a chance to board a cargo ship loaded with cars that has been burning for more than two days off the northern Dutch coast. (Kustwacht Nederland/Coast Guard Netherlands via AP)

    The Associated Press

    THE HAGUE, Netherlands — High winds blowing across the North Sea are delaying efforts to tow a burning cargo ship loaded with thousands of new cars to safety off the Dutch coast, the government said Sunday.

    The Fremantle Highway was unlikely to be moved Sunday because of the southwesterly wind, according to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

    “The wind will continue to blow from the southwest for the next few days. The towing of the Fremantle Highway to the new temporary location may therefore still take several days to start,” the ministry said in an update Saturday night.

    “The smoke from the fire and the wind direction mean that during the towing operation of the ship smoke is blowing over the tugboat,” it added.

    Salvage crews on Saturday attached a second towing cable to the ship, which is transporting 3,783 new vehicles, including 498 electric vehicles, from the German port of Bremerhaven to Singapore. The salvage teams ultimately want to tow the stricken ship to a port but it is not yet clear where or when that will happen.

    The ship has been burning since Tuesday. Firefighters decided not to douse the flames with water for fear of making the nearly 200-meters (219-yard) ship unstable as it floats close to North Sea shipping lanes and a world-renowned migratory bird habitat.

    One crew member died and others were injured after the fire broke out. The crew was evacuated in the early hours of Wednesday.

    The cause of the fire has not been determined.

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  • 9 die, including 3 children, as strong winds hit tourist camp in central Russia, officials say

    9 die, including 3 children, as strong winds hit tourist camp in central Russia, officials say

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    Russia’s emergencies ministry says at least nine people have died, including three children, after high winds tore through central Russia

    MOSCOW — At least nine people — including three children — have died after high winds tore through central Russia, emergency services and a local official reported Sunday.

    Eight of the dead were part of a group of tourists camping close to Lake Yalchik in the Mari-El region when the storm hit Saturday, Russia’s emergencies ministry said.

    The strong winds caused a large number of trees to fall in the area, including where the group’s tents had been pitched on a stretch of wild beach, regional leader Yuri Zaitsev wrote on social media. He said that three children were among the dead.

    Across the wider Volga Federal District, 76 people were injured in the storm, with thousands of households losing power, emergency services said.

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  • The extreme heat wave that blasted the Southwest is abating with late arriving monsoon rains

    The extreme heat wave that blasted the Southwest is abating with late arriving monsoon rains

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    PHOENIX — A historic heat wave that turned the U.S. Southwest into a blast furnace throughout July is beginning to abate with the late arrival of monsoon rains.

    Forecasters expect that by Monday at the latest, people in metro Phoenix will begin seeing high temperatures under 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) for the first time in a month. As of Friday, the high temperature in the desert city had been at or above that mark for 29 consecutive days.

    Already this week, the overnight low at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport fell under 90 (32.2 C) for the first time in 16 days, finally allowing people some respite from the stifling heat once the sun goes down.

    Temperatures are also expected to ease in Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Death Valley, California.

    The downward trend started Wednesday night, when Phoenix saw its first major monsoon storm since the traditional start of the season on June 15. While more than half of the greater Phoenix area saw no rainfall from that storm, some eastern suburbs were pummeled by high winds, swirling dust and localized downfalls of up to an inch (2.5 centimeters) of precipitation.

    Storms gradually increasing in strength are expected over the weekend.

    Scientists calculate that July will prove to be the hottest globally on record and perhaps the warmest human civilization has seen. The extreme heat is now hitting the eastern part of the U.S, as soaring temperatures moved from the Midwest into the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, where some places are seeing their warmest days so far this year.

    The new heat records being set this summer are just some of the extreme weather being seen around the U.S. this month, such as flash floods in Pennsylvania and parts of the Northeast.

    And while relief may be on the way for the Southwest, for now it’s still dangerously hot. Phoenix’s high temperature reached 116 (46.7 C) Friday afternoon, which is far above the average temperature of 106 (41.1 C).

    “Anyone can be at risk outside in this record heat,” the fire department in Goodyear, a Phoenix suburb, warned residents on social media while offering ideas to stay safe.

    For many people such as older adults, those with health issues and those without access to air conditioning, the heat can be dangerous or even deadly.

    Maricopa County, the most populous in Arizona and home to Phoenix, reported this week that its public health department had confirmed 25 heat-associated deaths this year as of July 21, with 249 more under investigation.

    Results from toxicological tests that can takes weeks or months after an autopsy is conducted could eventually result in many deaths listed as under investigation as heat associated being changed to confirmed.

    Maricopa County confirmed 425 heat-associated deaths last year, and more than half of them occurred in July.

    Elsewhere in Arizona next week, the agricultural desert community of Yuma is expecting highs ranging from 104 to 112 (40 C to 44.4 C) and Tucson is looking at highs ranging from 99 to 111 (37.2 C to 43.9 C).

    The highs in Las Vegas are forecast to slip as low as 94 (34.4 C) next Tuesday after a long spell of highs above 110 (43.3 C). Death Valley, which hit 128 (53.3 C) in mid-July, will cool as well, though only to a still blistering hot 116 (46.7 C).

    In New Mexico, the highs in Albuquerque next week are expected to be in the mid to high 90s (around 35 C), with party cloudy skies.

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  • Typhoon Doksuri is downgraded to tropical storm status as it leaves southern China

    Typhoon Doksuri is downgraded to tropical storm status as it leaves southern China

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    Typhoon Doksuri weakened into a tropical storm late night Friday after bringing heavy rain and winds that left more than a million people without power in southern China

    ByHUIZHONG WU Associated Press

    A man steps over a fallen tree in the aftermath of Typhoon Doksuri in Jinjiang city in southeastern China’s Fujian province Friday, July 28, 2023. Typhoon Doksuri has made landfall in China after bringing deadly landslides to the Philippines. (Chinatopix via AP)

    The Associated Press

    TAIPEI, Taiwan — Typhoon Doksuri weakened into a tropical storm late Friday night after bringing heavy winds and rain that left more than a million people without power in southern China.

    After making landfall Friday morning in southern Fujian province, where at least 400,000 people were evacuated, the storm flooded streets and toppled electric transmission towers in the province. Over a million households were left without power, according to the state-backed Xiamen Evening News.

    The typhoon was downgraded to a tropical storm at 11 p.m. Friday night, China’s state-owned broadcaster CCTV announced.

    Businesses and summer school classes had been ordered suspended and the public was urged to stay indoors. In the city of Quanzhou by China’s southern coast, authorities reported some 50 individuals sustained minor injuries. Residents shared photos on social media showing downed trees with roots fully out of the ground Saturday morning.

    The tropical storm is expected to move its way farther inland in China, bringing heavy rains to the capital, Beijing.

    Earlier in the week, the storm grazed past Taiwan’s main island after hitting the Philippines ‘ main island of Luzon, where it produced landslides, flooding and downed trees. The storm displaced thousands and caused 41 deaths — including 27 killed in the capsizing of a passenger ship. About 20 others remained missing, including four coast guard personnel whose boat overturned while on a rescue mission in hard-hit Cagayan province, officials said Saturday, adding that they were monitoring another approaching storm.

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  • Nearly 200 million people in US are under heat or flood advisories

    Nearly 200 million people in US are under heat or flood advisories

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    Nearly 200 million people in the United States, or 60% of the U.S. population, are under a heat advisory or flood warning or watch as high temperatures spread and new areas are told to expect severe storms.

    The National Weather Service said a “dangerous” heat wave began to scorch the Northeast and mid-Atlantic on Thursday and will continue into the weekend. Severe thunderstorms and flash floods are possible for parts of the Northeast and South, New England and South Florida. Meanwhile, the string of record-breaking temperatures will persist for the Southwest and Midwest.

    “It’s (hitting) all the big cities,” said Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center. “That’s why the population (affected) is so high.”

    Scientists have long warned that climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, will lead to more and prolonged bouts of extreme weather.

    The prediction for continued excessive heat comes a day after the World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service declared July 2023 the hottest month on record.

    On Thursday, heat and humidity in major cities along the East Coast, including Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City, created a real feel above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius). Forecasters expect several records may break Friday with temperatures 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 to 8 degrees Celsius) above average.

    In New England, communities are bracing for the “dual threats,” as Oravec called them, of extreme heat and flash floods.

    “You could have really bad heat for a good part of the day and then get a strong thunderstorm that produces heavy rains and then can produce flooding,” he said.

    The Southwest and southern Plains continue to experience record-breaking heat. There, the oppressive temperatures have been blanketing the region for weeks. One meteorologist based in New Mexico called the prolonged period of temperatures over 100 degrees (37.8 C) unprecedented.

    “They probably aren’t going to have a lot of sympathy for the rest of the country,” Oravec said.

    Due to the extreme heat, two of the nation’s largest power grids are under stress, which could affect Americans’ ability to cool off.

    The country’s largest power grid, PJM Interconnection, declared a level one energy emergency alert for its 13-state grid on Wednesday, meaning the company is concerned about its ability to provide enough electricity.

    “PJM currently has enough generation to meet forecast demand, but operators continue to monitor the grid conditions for any changes,” said Jeffrey Shields, a spokesperson for the company.

    PJM isn’t the only electrical grid to issue such an alert. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which mostly covers states in the Midwest and Northern Plains, issued a similar alert on Thursday.

    The California Independent System Operator also issued an energy emergency alert for the evening on Wednesday, in part due to excess heat in Southern California, but it expired the same day. Anne Gonzales, a CAISO spokesperson, said they expect to be able to meet demand the next few days.

    And a spokesperson for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which covers most of Texas, said they expect their grid will operate per usual during this latest blast of extreme weather across the country.

    ___

    Follow Drew Costley on Twitter: @drewcostley.

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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