Storms, landslides, and extreme heat hit Asia – More than 900,000 people evacuated in China and the Philippines
By Sandi Sidhu and Susannah Cullinane
22 July 2018
(CNN) – Extreme weather is striking parts of Asia with deadly flash-flooding in Vietnam, a tropical storm prompting evacuations and disrupting travel in China and an ongoing heat wave in Japan.In Vietnam, 21 people have died and more people are missing after Tropical Depression Son Tinh triggered flash floods and landslides, submerging villages in the northern provinces of Thanh Hoa and Yen Bai, state-run Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported Sunday. Local government groups are “searching for missing ones, arranging temporary accommodation for households who have lost their homes, and actively evacuating and relocating people from dangerous areas,” VNA said.The government is also mobilizing forces to fix infrastructure, including homes, heath care centers, hospitals and schools. […]
CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam said forecast rainfall estimates could approach 500 mm (nearly 20 inches) across northern Vietnam and southern China over the next few days.Meantime, Tropical Storm Ampil is bearing down on eastern China — impacting the area from Shanghai to Jiangsu Province.More than 190,000 people have been evacuated to “safer” places in Shanghai as Ampil makes landfall, bringing with it heavy rain and strong winds, Chinese state media Xinhua reported on Sunday. […]Rainfall amounts of 100-200 mm (4-8 inches) are forecast; with localized falls of up to 300 mm (12 inches). […]Further south, the Philippines’ monsoon season has been exacerbated by Son Tinh, Ampil, and now Tropical Depression 13W (known locally as “Josie”).Severe weather has caused two deaths and 728,000 people to be evacuated from their homes, with 585 villages affected by heavy rain, according to state news agency Philippines News Agency (PNA). […]Flooding caused by the tropical depression has caused 6 to 7 inches (15-17 cm) of flooding in metro Manila but the storm is expected to leave the Philippines on Monday, the news agency reports. Another tropical depression is swirling to the country’s east.Meantime, much of central and southern Japan is continuing to swelter in excessive heat.Van Dam says nearly 110 million of Japan’s 128 million people have been impacted by the heat wave over the past two weeks, with roughly 90% of the country experiencing extreme heat.While temperatures remain in the mid-30s Celsius (90s Fahrenheit), the heat index — which factors in relative humidity — has soared into the lower and middle 40s.”Sweating is only as good as your body’s ability to evaporate that sweat off of the skin. Heat indices in the mid 40s are making it nearly impossible for the body’s response to properly take effect,” he says.As of Wednesday, 13 deaths had been linked to the heat wave, following flooding that killed at least 210 in Japan earlier this month. [more]
