By Alani Janeke
Over the weekend, devastating floods in Texas, USA, claimed the lives of more than 120 people, with at least 150 still missing. Rescue teams are continuing their search for victims.
Most of the deaths occurred in Kerr County, where a group of young girls had been attending a Christian camp. Other badly affected areas are Travis, Burnet, Williamson, Kendall and Tom Green counties.
According to BBC News and Time several bodies in Texas remain unidentified and unclaimed, while rescue workers press on in the search for survivors. The death toll is expected to rise.
The floods were triggered by the aftermath of Tropical Storm Barry, which lingered after first forming in the Gulf of Mexico. “Combined with moisture from the Pacific Ocean, this created catastrophic flood conditions,” says Johan van den Berg, an independent agricultural meteorologist. “River levels rose by more than 10 metres within hours, catching disaster and rescue teams off-guard.”
Large-scale evacuations were nearly impossible because forecasts did not predict such extreme rainfall, Van den Berg says. “What also happened was that the system became almost stationary for a period, allowing intense rainfall to accumulate in one area. In some places, between 150 mm and 170 mm fell within just three hours.
“In most of the flood-affected areas, the average annual rainfall is about 800mm. So roughly 20% of the yearly total fell in just a few hours.”
Typhoon Danas
Meanwhile, Typhoon Danas made landfall on Taiwan’s west coast early Monday morning, killing two people and injuring more than 500, Reuters reports.
Typhoons are common in Taiwan, but they usually hit the mountainous coastal areas in the east. As the typhoon moved in over the island, winds of up to 220km/h were recorded. According to Taiwan’s weather authority, the typhoon was at its second-strongest level at one point, but it weakened as it moved further across the island. The typhoon is expected to hit China’s Zhejiang province late on Tuesday.
A Lesson for South Africa
Where do these extreme weather conditions come from? “One of the main drivers is the increasing warming of the oceans,” Van den Berg says. “The Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, in particular, are already about 2°C warmer than average. This leads to more intense rain systems and tropical storms.
There is no direct link between these weather events and conditions in other parts of the world, he says, but South Africa can still draw important lessons from them: “Similar events could easily occur in Southern Africa during the summer months, especially with the warming of the Indian Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean is also warming, but current temperatures remain well below the threshold needed for cyclone formation.
“Floods, like those recently experienced in the Eastern Cape, are likely to become more frequent. These systems can develop rapidly and unpredictably, causing large-scale damage and flooding within hours. It would therefore be wise for South Africa to undertake long-term planning to help minimise the impact.”
