South-Eastern European Nations Confront Increased Flood Danger Because of Rainy Weather

As cyclones and typhoons have raged in the Atlantic and Pacific east, the continent has encountered severe weather of its own. A weather disturbance that emerged over the Mediterranean midweek moved north-east into southeastern Europe on Thursday afternoon, bringing widespread rain showers, stormy weather and prolonged precipitation.

Ongoing Precipitation and Critical Warnings

The system is predicted to continue into Friday, with models showing two-day amounts of 80-130mm of rain across much of the Balkans. Severe weather alerts were issued for Serbia, Romania's southwest, north-east Greece, and the Dodecanese and North Aegean Islands, underscoring the danger of inundation and risk to human safety. High winds also shut down classes on Zakynthos in the Ionian archipelago.

Cold Air Adds Harshness

Frigid temperatures pulled in from Eastern European regions worsened the severity, producing heavy snowfall across the Dinaric mountain range, with certain forecasts predicting depths of nearly three feet by the coming weekend.

Previous Flooding in Spanish Regions

Just days before, eastern Spain and the Balearic Islands experienced serious inundation as the remnants of Hurricane Gabrielle passed over the Iberian region before stalling over the Balearic Sea. Valencia and the island of Ibiza were worst affected; The town of Gandia measured over 350 millimeters in a 12-hour period – more than 10 times its typical September rainfall, while the island had 254mm in one day, its most precipitation in a day since at least 1952.

Roads, transit hubs, parks, and educational facilities were obliged to cease operations, while one gauge near Aldaia measured over two inches in just 35 minutes, resulting in the La Saleta waterway to overflow. The flooding come nearly one year after destructive flooding in the region in the previous year that killed hundreds of residents.

Typhoon Bualoi Affects Vietnamese Regions

The powerful typhoon made landfall across Vietnam's central region this week, bringing intense rainfall, high winds, and huge sea swells. More than 300mm of rainfall was observed within a 24-hour period on the start of the week, triggering sudden floods and mudslides that obstructed over 3,000 highways and stranded communities across provinces in the north. Many airplane journeys were disrupted or postponed, and train operations between the capital Hanoi and the southern metropolis were suspended.

Authorities reported 36 lives lost and 147 casualties, with 21 people still lost. More than 210,000 houses were damaged or flooded, with over 51,000 hectares of agricultural produce ruined. National officials has assessed that the storm has caused in excess of £260 million in economic losses this week.