Floods

Italy floods leave 13 dead and force 13,000 from their homes

More bodies were found on Thursday after almost every river flooded between Bologna and the north-east coast 115km (70 miles) away.

Some 280 landslides have taken place.

"It was a very bad 48 hours. Water and mud took over our whole village," said Roberta Lazzarini, 71.

Her home of Botteghino di Zocca, south of Bologna, was hit by a torrent on Wednesday. Streets, houses and gardens were inundated and Roberta said she was still scared.

"I've never seen anything like that here. We were stuck and didn't know what to do. I just hope it doesn't happen again."

Record-breaking Queensland flood peak predicted

Reuters reports the flood, triggered by heavy rain over the past week, is worst in the remote Gulf Country town of Burketown, about 2100km northwest of state capital Brisbane.

Dan McKinlay, chief executive of the local council responsible for Burketown, said on Sunday that 97 residents had been airlifted out in the past 48 hours.

Australia flood crisis: 'Once in a century'

An emergency services minister said it was "the worst flooding Western Australia has had in its history".

The crisis in the Kimberley region started last week after the severe weather system Ellie, a former tropical cyclone, brought heavy rain.

     

Australia floods kill seven as severe weather pummels Queensland

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk compared the weather to a cyclone event, as Brisbane, the Queensland capital, was bracing for flooding on Sunday, before the rainfalls ease by Monday.

At least 26 killed as rescuers step up efforts

Five children are among the dead. There are fears the death toll could rise further as many people are missing.

Several houses were washed away and people became trapped in the district of Kottayam in Kerala state.

Video from the area showed bus passengers being rescued after their vehicle was inundated.

Kottayam and Idukki are two of the worst affected districts in the state, where days of heavy rainfall have caused deadly landslides.

Swollen rivers have also washed away bridges connecting many small villages.

Deadly flooding hits Sardinia after heavy rains

Dramatic footage posted on social media shows rivers of mud flowing through the town of Bitti in Nuoro province.

Italian media say the three who have died there include an older man who drowned at home and a man killed in his vehicle.

Strong winds and rain have battered the island since Friday, cutting off power and forcing some people to evacuate.

Andrea Soddu, mayor of the province's main town of Nuoro, warned of "particularly heavy" rainfall in the area and asked citizens to exercise "maximum caution" in a post on Facebook.

Floods and landslides hit France and Italy

Named Alex, the storm brought fierce winds and torrential rain.

A number of villages north of Nice in France suffered serious damage from floods and landslides, with roads, bridges and homes destroyed.

In north-western Italy, flooding was described as "historic". A section of a bridge over the Sesia river collapsed.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex has deployed the army and released emergency funds to tackle the worst floods for decades in south-eastern France.

Up to 20 people are either missing or have not checked in with relatives.

Many feared dead in Japan in flooded care home

Fourteen victims were found in the same flooded nursing home while the other was pulled from a landslide. The deaths have yet to be formally certified.

The authorities have ordered more than 200,000 to evacuate and 10,000 soldiers are being sent to help rescuers.

Heavy rain is predicted to continue overnight into Sunday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged people to be on "maximum alert".

The prefectures of Kumamoto and Kagoshima have been worst hit.

Storm near Samoa could become cyclone

At five o'clock on Wednesday evening the tropical disturbance was about 260 kilometres west of Apia.

The service said the system, which was moving southeast, had a low to moderate potential of developing into a cyclone.

Samoa can expect heavy downpours, strong and gusty winds with flying objects and uprooted trees, it said.

Conditions will be foggy and roads slippery. There is also a danger of landslides, and coastal inundation.

South Africa hit by floods and power cuts

At least 700 homes have been washed away near the capital, Pretoria, public broadcaster SABC reported.

The state-run power company warned of further electricity cuts, saying heavy rains had affected its operations.

The crisis has forced President Cyril Ramaphosa to shorten his trip to Egypt.

The power cuts, known as load shedding in South Africa, have halted gold and diamond production at some leading mines.

Harmony Gold said it had called off underground shifts.