A powerful atmospheric river had mostly moved through California after causing at least six deaths and dousing much of the state, but lingering thunderstorms brought the risk of mudslides in areas of Los Angeles County that were recently ravaged by wildfire. Flood advisories remain in place for LA, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, where localized showers were still possible after heavy downpours on Saturday and Friday. Authorities on Sunday are still searching for a 5-year-old girl who was swept into the ocean by 15-foot waves at a state beach in Monterey County. The girl’s father was killed Friday while trying to save his daughter, sheriff’s officials say.
Typhoon Fung-wong has blown out of the northwestern Philippines after causing floods and landslides. The storm knocked out power to entire provinces, killed at least eight people, and displaced over 1.4 million. It was next forecast to head toward Taiwan. Fung-wong hit the northern Philippines while the country was still dealing with the fallout from Typhoon Kalmaegi, which left 224 dead in central provinces. The storm weakened as it moved through mountainous areas and agricultural plains. More than 1,000 houses were damaged, and roads were blocked by landslides.
The death toll from a deadly landslide in western Kenya has risen to 26 after four more bodies were retrieved. The latest update on casualties came as rescue efforts were suspended on Sunday due to a flash flood in the Rift Valley area. Kenya’s interior minister said 25 people are still missing and that the government had intensified the search, with the military deploying four aircrafts to help teams access the area that has been completely cut off after roads were washed away during Saturday’s landslide.
Hurricane Melissa is making its way across Cuba as a Category 2 storm, a day after making landfall in Jamaica as one of the region’s strongest storms on record. Melissa is forecast to move into the Bahamas later Wednesday. An official in southern Haiti says flooding from the storm killed 25 people in the coastal town of Petit-Goâve when a river burst its banks and swamped homes. Authorities in Jamaica are preparing to assess the damage after it arrived with 185 mph (295 kph) winds. Landslides and power outages have been reported. Scientists link Melissa’s rapid intensification to climate change. It’s the fourth storm this year to undergo such a transformation.
Hurricane Melissa has hit southwestern Jamaica as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, causing heavy flooding and wind damage. Melissa made landfall Tuesday in southwestern Jamaica with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph. Officials prepared to respond to the devastation, the scale of which would not be known until the storm passed. Melissa's winds tied records for the strongest Atlantic storm at landfall. The hurricane had still-strong 130 mph winds late Tuesday and was moving toward Cuba, where people were evacuating. Relief preparations are underway, with supplies being moved into place and emergency services ready to assist.
Hurricane Melissa has intensified into a Category 5 storm as it draws closer to Jamaica, where forecasters say it will unleash catastrophic flooding, landslides and widespread damage. The intensification happened Monday. At that strength, the system would be the strongest hurricane to hit the island since record-keeping began in 1851. Melissa has been blamed for six deaths in the northern Caribbean as it heads toward the island. It was on track to make landfall Tuesday in Jamaica before coming ashore in Cuba later in the day and then heading toward the Bahamas. It was not expected to affect the United States.
Hurricane Melissa has strengthened into a major Category 3 hurricane, unleashing torrential rain and threatening to cause catastrophic flooding in the northern Caribbean, including Haiti and Jamaica. Melissa became a hurricane on Saturday and then intensified rapidly into a major storm. U.S. forecasters have issued a hurricane warning for Jamaica and say Melissa could further strengthen into a Category 4 storm. Melissa was centered about 125 miles (200 kilometers) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica late Saturday night, and about 280 miles (455 kilometers) west-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It had maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph), the hurricane center said.
Tropical Storm Melissa is nearly stationary in the central Caribbean, with forecasters warning it could soon strengthen and brush past Jamaica as a powerful hurricane. Catastrophic flooding and landslides are likely in southwest Haiti in the coming days. U.S. forecasters said the storm's slow movement will mean days of exposure to heavy rain and strong winds, which will worsen flooding and other dangers. Melissa had 65 mph winds early Friday. It could strengthen into a hurricane Saturday and a major hurricane later in the weekend. Authorities were opening shelters and making other preparations in Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Tropical Storm Melissa is lumbering through the Caribbean Sea and bringing a risk of dangerous landslides and life-threatening flooding to Jamaica and the southern part of the island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Officials urged residents of flood-prone areas to seek higher ground. The storm was blamed for downing a large tree that killed an elderly man in southern Haiti, while five others were injured in flooding in the central Artibonite area. Schools and offices were closed in the Dominican Republic and Jamaica and storm shelters were opening. Melissa could be a hurricane by Friday and a major hurricane by the late weekend.
Hopes for a resumption of long-stalled talks to heal Cyprus’ decades-old ethnic rift have been buoyed after Turkish Cypriots elected a leader who campaigned on getting back to negotiating a two-zone federation with rival Greek Cypriots after an eight-year stalemate. Unofficial figures broadcast on BRT TV and other stations showed 55-year-old Tufan Erhurman winning Sunday by a landslide, receiving 62.76% of the vote, against incumbent Ersin Tatar’s 35.81%. In his first remarks, Erhurman sent out a message of unity, saying he would embrace all citizens regardless of their party affiliation. Turkish Cypriots turned away from Tatar’s vision for a two-state deal in Cyprus that Turkey has championed since 2017 when the last major push to resolve the dispute collapsed.