Himachal's flood fury to Hawaii's fatal wildfires — A look at extreme weather events across the world

Firefighters struggle to contain the wildfire on Spain's Tenerife island

We take a look at the extreme weather events wreaking havoc across the globe — from wildfires raging across Maui, Canada and Spain, and floods in Frankfurt and Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh — Heavy rains declared “state calamity”

Himachal Pradesh has suffered an estimated loss of Rs 10,000 crore.

The Himachal Pradesh state government has declared the damage caused by heavy rains in the region as a “state calamity”, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu told reporters on August 18. He added that the state is also awaiting a “national calamity” declaration from the Centre in regards to the disaster.

Sukhu told PTI that rescue operations are in “full swing” and the state is also making efforts to help families who lost their houses in the disaster. The state has suffered an estimated loss of Rs 10,000 crore.

Heavy rainfall has caused landslides, floods and house collapses in several districts of the state since last Sunday – August 13. The death toll is now at 75, with six others still feared buried under landslides. As many as 2,074 people have been evacuated from Kangra district since August 16.

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Data from the state’s emergency operations centre shows that since the monsoons began on June 24, as many as 217 people have died in rain-related incidents, while 11,301 houses have been damaged, and 506 roads are closed. Infrastructure-wise 408 transformers and 149 water supply schemes have also been affected.

On August 18, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel also announced financial assistance of Rs 11 crore to Himachal Pradesh, to “extend support for relief and rehabilitation of victims”, a government official told reporters.

Canadian Wildfires — Yellowknife evacuated as furious blaze reaches city

Firefighters battling a wildfire in Canada (File Image)

The 20,000 residents of Yellowknife have all been evacuated as wildfires in the area continued to move towards the northern Canadian city, BBC reported. As of August 17, the wildfires were 15 km northwest of the city and people had time till August 18 afternoon to make their way out on 22 scheduled planes.

This is the most recent of Canada’s 240 summer wildfires in the Northwest Territories — and the worst year on record, BBC added.

Meanwhile, thousands of people have also been evacuated in Kelowna, British Columbia, after a state of emergency was declared.

Overall, the country has recorded 1,000 active wildfires across regions — also the worst number on record. The emergency preparedness level has been declared at the highest Level 5, diverting all firefighters to combat the disasters.

Maui Wildfires — Emergency services chief resigns, 111 dead

Wildfire in Maui County, Hawaii

Administrator Herman Andaya, head of the Maui Emergency Management Agency, has resigned after facing criticism for not activating sirens during the wildfire that swept through Lahaina last week, AP reported. While Andaya a day earlier said he “had no regrets” about not deploying the warning system, he stepped down from the post today.

Also Read | Hawaii Wildfires: What caused the blaze and how it became so apocalyptic in no time

The siren system was installed in 1946 after a tsunami killed more than 150 people on the Big Island. It is among the largest such warning systems in the world.

Lack of sirens, communication missteps, and water shortage have been blamed for crippling rescue and evacuation during the surging fire that killed at least 111 people and damaged several homes and businesses. This is the deadliest wildfire in the US in more than a century, AP added.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green has said at least 1,000 hotel rooms will be set aside for displaced residents, besides accommodation also being provided by Airbnb’s non-profit wing for 1,000 people.

Over 2,100 acres of land in the historic town of Lahaina, on the island of Maui were destroyed in the wildfires which started on August 8.

Tenerife Wildfires — Thousands evacuated from Spanish Island

Wildfire on Spain's Tenerife island spreads

Firefighters on August 17 struggled to contain a wildfire that broke out in a mountainous national park on the Spanish island of Tenerife amid hot and dry weather. The fires have extended for 41 km and prompted authorities to evacuate more 3,000 people during the day.

"The fire is still advancing...but the priority is to defend the population centres tonight," the region's leader Fernando Clavijo told reporters at midnight August 17. He added that this wildfire is the most complex the Canary Islands has faced in the last 40 years.

The emergency services are expecting temperatures to rise on the island over the weekend and a change in winds from the early hours of Saturday (August 19) morning could push the fire westwards from north-eastern Tenerife.

Around 200 firefighters worked through the night; and early in the morning on August 18 water bombing aircraft managed to stabilise the blaze south of the Mount Teide volcano. Authorities deployed 17 aircraft and a combined 350 firefighters and military personnel. On August 18, 16 aircraft resume duties as a result of a helicopter malfunction.

The fire, which broke out on August 16, has burned through at least 3,273 hectares (8,088 acres) of land. Authorities warned the spreading blaze could lead to further evacuations and confinement, advising people to stay tuned to public service alerts.

So far, 3,820 people were ordered to stay home until August 18 and a prison and a migrant reception centre have been put under confinement. Further, all access to the mountains on the island, including tourist-favourite Mount Teide and the Teide Astrophysics Institute, has been closed off to prevent any incidents. Tenerife's two airports were operating normally, Spanish airport operator Aena said.

Frankfurt rains — Floods disrupts flights from German city

An aerial view of Frankfurt's business district

Heavy rainfall in Frankfurt shut down the German city’s airport leading to dozens of flight cancellations, AP reported. Frankfurt is the country’s busiest airport.

Water accumulated on the tarmac on August 16 evening, grounding flights for over two hours – by 11 pm 70 flights were cancelled and 23 planes headed to Frankfurt were diverted.

Southwestern Germany is facing incessant rainfall which has flooded basements and streets. People had to be rescued from their cars stuck under flooded underpasses in Gelsenkirchen, the western Ruhr district.

(With inputs from wire agencies)