Extreme Weather in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand (March 2012)

March 10, 2012

Updated on April 1

Asia

(March 30) Three people have been killed and 21 injured by falling objects caused by strong winds sweeping Urumqi, capital of China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region since Friday morning.  (Source) (March 21) Turpan City, in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, was hit by floating dust and strong gale. Visibility decreased to less than 500 meters in some areas and rail services were halted. (Source)

(March 30) A severe heatwave is sweeping several parts of India, including coastal Saurashtra and Kutch where temperature rose to 41 degrees Celcius. (Source)

(March 28) Intermittent rains triggered flooding in Oriental Mindoro and several areas in Visayas in the Philippines, forcing at least 395 individuals to flee their homes. (Source)

(March 22) Persistent snowfalls have battered a county in southwest China’s Sichuan province since late January, killing more than 90,000 livestock and affecting about 25,000 people. More than 25,000 people from 10 townships have faced food shortages, as well as a lack of warm clothing. A total of 668 people have suffered injuries due to exposure. (Source)

(March 21) An avalanche triggered by recent rains has killed at least one man in the Himalayan territory of Kashmir, while strong winds, gusting up to 44 kilometres per hour,  ripped trees from their roots and damaged thousands of homes. (Source)

(March 21) Tidal waves destroyed hundreds of homes in southern Kalimantan, Indonesia. (Source)

(March 20) As a result of tidal waves and high winds, four people were killed and more than 7,000 people displaced in Nusa Tengara Barat, south central Indonesia.  (Source)

(March 19) A forest fire rages in southwest China. A severe drought has lingered in the heavily-forested province for three consecutive years, causing water shortages for several million residents and posing fire risks. (Source)

(March 7) A landslide triggered by rainstorm killed seven people in South China’s Guangdong province Tuesday evening. (Source)

(March 15) Widespread flooding and landslides continue in various places in Indonesia. In Bali, four people died in flash floods/landslides and two people remain missing. Hundreds of houses are flooded in South Central Indonesia and Java. Residents in coastal Sumatra and West Java are increasingly weary of high tides that continue to damage homes and shops with up to 3m high of sea water. (Source)

(March 1) Besides flooding the settlement in West Jakarta, the Pesanggrahan River overflows also inundated hundreds of houses in South Jakarta for the third time happened since January. (Source)

Australia/New Zealand/Fiji

(April 1) NEARLY 7000 people have been displaced in flood-stricken Fiji, with conditions set to worsen. Two people have died in the floods, which have damaged homes and forced nearly 7000 people into evacuation centres. Fiji officials are considering declaring a state of emergency. (Source)

(March 30) About 70 per cent of New South Wales in Australia – an area the size of Spain – has been affected by flooding since January. This has been the most significant flood event that inland New South Wales has witnessed in a generation. (Source)

(March 23) Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, received 130mm of rain in an hour, which turned roads into rivers and inundated 200 homes and dozens of businesses – it was a once-in-a-century weather event. (Source)

(March 20) A freak storm tore through the city of Townsville Tuesday with recorded winds of up to 111 kilometres (69 miles) per hour, ripping roofs off houses, snapping trees in half and injuring 13 people as wild weather pounded northern Australia. The weather bureau forecast further heavy rain. (Source)

(March 19) Australian government says the New South Wales flood is not going away soon and floods inflicted huge costs on both state and local government, with the repair bill expected to exceed $500 million in unbudgeted funds. (Source)

(March 19) Many communities in Northland, New Zealand, experienced what would normally be a month’s worth of rain in just 12 hours. Residents are hunkering down for another night of severe weather after a day that saw emergency services rescue a number of people from cars and homes threatened by floodwaters. The storm spread further south overnight, with heavy rain lashing the top of the North Island and winds gusting to 120km/h in the central and lower North Island. (Source)

(March 18) Tropical cyclone has battered communities along Western Australia’s north-west coast with torrential rain and damaging winds. There have been reports of extensive damage on the Pilbara coast but so far no casualties. (Source)

(March 16) THE Murrumbidgee River is expected to flood yet another Riverina town in New South Wales, Australia, over the weekend with about 1000 people preparing to flee the deluge. (Source)

(March 11) Perth in Western Australia is sweltering through the eighth heatwave of the summer and autumn seasons, the first time such an event has happened since records started being kept in 1897. (Source) A FIERCE bushfire is threatening lives and homes in Western Australia’s southwest, with authorities warning residents that they need to “act immediately to survive”. (Source)

Australia is living up to its description as a land of flooding rains, with parts of Victoria, the Northern Territory and almost three quarters of New South Wales affected by floods. (March 9) The damage bill from NSW’s flood crisis is heading “way north” of $500 million and April is set to heap even worse misery on the sodden state. (Source) Mass evacuation is on-going in New South Wales as the Murrumbidgee River crept towards its highest level in 159 years. (Source)  Sydney has suffered its heaviest rainfall in five years, bringing the city’s transport system to a halt and causing hundreds of rescues and evacuations. (Source) Victoria received possibly its heaviest rain since December 1893. (Source)

(March 5) Wild weather this weekend caused major landslides on State Highway 2 this weekend in New Zealand. The gorge that links Gisborne and the Bay of Plenty could be closed for up to six weeks. (Source)

(March 9) Fearing that climate change could wipe out their entire Pacific archipelago, the leaders of Kiribati are considering an unusual backup plan: moving the populace to Fiji. There are increasing instances of sea water contaminating the island’s underground fresh water, which remains vital for trees and crops. Changing rainfall, tidal and storm patterns pose as least as much threat as ocean levels, which so far have risen only slightly but due to accelerate due to climate change. (Source)

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