Southeastern European Nations Confront Increased Flood Risk Due to Rainy Circumstances
While tempests and hurricanes have churned in the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific east, Europe has experienced severe weather of its own. An atmospheric depression that emerged over the Mediterranean Sea midweek drifted towards the northeast into south-eastern European countries on Thursday afternoon, bringing broad showers, thunderstorms and prolonged rainfall.
Persistent Rains and Severe Alerts
The system is expected to persist into the end of the week, with weather models showing 48-hour period accumulations of 80-130mm of rainfall across much of the Balkan Peninsula. Red weather warnings were declared for Serbia, southwestern Romania, Greece's northeast, and the Dodecanese and North Aegean Islands, highlighting the risk of inundation and danger to residents. High winds also closed schools on the island of Zakynthos in the Ionian archipelago.
Cold Air Adds Severe Conditions
Frigid temperatures brought in from Eastern European regions increased the severity, producing deep snow across the Alpine region, with some models estimating accumulations of up to 80cm by the weekend.
Recent Floods in Spanish Regions
Just days before, the eastern part of Spain and the Balearics suffered severe flooding as the leftovers of the former hurricane passed over the Spanish peninsula before slowing over the nearby sea. Valencia and Ibiza were worst affected; The town of Gandia recorded over 350 millimeters in a 12-hour period – more than 10 times its average for the month, while Ibiza had 10 inches in a full day, its rainiest day since at least 1952.
Streets, train stations, green spaces, and school buildings were compelled to shut down, while a measuring device near Aldaia measured 57 millimeters in just half an hour, causing the local ravine to burst its banks. The floods come nearly one year after catastrophic floods in the region in 2024 that claimed the lives of hundreds of residents.
Tropical Cyclone Bualoi Impacts Vietnamese Regions
Tropical storm Bualoi arrived onshore across the central part of Vietnam this week, causing intense rainfall, high winds, and large swells. Over 300 millimeters of rainfall was measured within a 24-hour span on the start of the week, leading to sudden floods and landslides that closed over 3,000 highways and stranded villages across northern provinces. Numerous air travel routes were halted or rescheduled, and rail transport between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were stopped.
Authorities reported 36 fatalities and 147 casualties, with 21 individuals still lost. More than 210,000 houses were impacted or inundated, with in excess of 126,000 acres of farmland destroyed. Vietnam’s government has assessed that Bualoi has led to over $350 million in economic losses this past week.
