Southeastern Europe Face Elevated Flooding Threat Due to Soggy Circumstances
While tempests and tropical storms have churned in the Atlantic and Pacific east, Europe has faced extreme conditions of its own. A weather disturbance that formed over the Mediterranean Sea in the middle of the week traveled northeast into south-eastern European countries on Thursday morning, causing extensive rain showers, electrical storms and lengthy precipitation.
Persistent Rains and Serious Warnings
The system is forecast to remain into the end of the week, with weather models suggesting two-day amounts of 80 to 130 millimeters of rain across much of the Balkan states. Highest-level advisories were activated for the nation of Serbia, south-west Romania, north-east Greece, and the Aegean island groups, emphasizing the risk of flooding and risk to human safety. Powerful gusts also forced the closure of classes on Zakynthos in the Ionian archipelago.
Frigid Air Adds Harshness
Frigid temperatures drawn in from eastern Europe worsened the seriousness, producing significant snowfalls across the Alpine region, with certain forecasts estimating depths of up to 80cm by the weekend's end.
Recent Inundation in Spain
Earlier in the week, the eastern part of Spain and the Balearics endured serious floods as the leftovers of the former hurricane moved across the Iberian region before stalling over the Balearic Sea. Valencia and the island of Ibiza were most impacted; Gandia measured over 350 millimeters in half a day – more than 10 times its average for the month, while Ibiza had 10 inches in one day, its most precipitation in a day since at least 1952.
Roads, transit hubs, parks, and school buildings were obliged to cease operations, while one gauge near Aldaia registered 57 millimeters in just 35 minutes, causing the La Saleta ravine to overflow. The floods come nearly one year after destructive flooding in the region in 2024 that killed over 230 individuals.
Tropical Cyclone Bualoi Affects Vietnam
Typhoon Bualoi arrived onshore across central Vietnam this past week, delivering intense rainfall, strong winds, and massive ocean waves. More than 300mm of rainfall was measured within a 24-hour span on Monday, leading to flash floods and mudslides that blocked thousands of routes and cut off local populations across provinces in the north. Many airplane journeys were halted or rescheduled, and railway services between the capital Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were stopped.
Authorities reported 36 fatalities and 147 people injured, with 21 individuals still missing. Over 210,000 homes were damaged or flooded, with more than 51,000 hectares of agricultural produce ruined. Vietnam’s government has calculated that the storm has resulted in in excess of £260 million in economic losses this week.
