Not Just Southeast United States: Nepal, Mexico In Crushing Floods

Extensive flooding in Kathmandu, as seen in this
aerial view. AP Photo by Gopen Rai.

While we in the United States are dealing with apocalyptic floods in the Southeast, other spots in the world are dealing with much the same thing. 

Both Nepal and Mexico in the past week have endured floods on the scale, or nearly on the scale of what we've seen in North Carolina and surrounding states.  

NEPAL

The flooding in Nepal focused in and around Kathmandu, where torrential rains have hit since Friday. In Nepal, at least 193 people have died and more are missing, according to the Associated Press.

Much like Asheville, North Carolina, Kathmandu was largely cut off from the outside world due to the flooding. Though Kathmandu is much bigger than Asheville, with a population of about 850,000.

Rainfall with this storm ranged from about nine to 12 inches in and around Kathmandu, leading to the flash flooding. That's about the normal rainfall there for the entire month of September. 

The trouble in Nepal was also wide-ranging and multifaceted. One example, according to the AP:

"A landslide killed three dozen people in a blocked highway about 10 miles from Kathmandu. The landslide buried at least three buses and other vehicles where people were sleeping because the highway was blocked."

The flooding hit near what is usually the tail end of Nepal's monsoon season. 

Poor land use made the flooding in and around Kathmandu worse than it otherwise would have been, as Al Jazeera reports:

"Urban planner Neeraj Dangol said multiple factors were behind the latest disaster.

The Basmati River, he says, was narrowed due to haphazard planing and urban development that took place after a drastic population boom in Kathmandu in the early 1990s. 

'In the past 40-50 years, houses and roads have been built on areas that used to be part of the river system,' Dangol explained."

Formerly porous agricultural land, which used to absorb water, is now covered in concrete, which increases runoff. There's also been a lot of deforestation in Nepal, which also contributes to worse flooding.

Finally, as in so many other places the world, climate change has increased the intensify of rain storms, which of course worsens flooding. 

 MEXICO

Severe flooding in Acapulco due to Hurricane John

Parts of Mexico's Pacific Coast and nearby mountains are reeling from what's been described as "Zombie" Hurricane John.

It was called that because it smacked into the Mexican coast southeast of Acapulco last week as a Category 3 hurricane. It then dissipated inland, and you'd think that was that.

But then the remnants drifted back out over the warm Pacific Ocean waters, regenerated into a hurricane and then again hit the Mexican coast. That's why Hurricane John has been called "zombie." 

The effects were devastating. The BBC reports some places had nearly a year's worth of rainfall in just a few days. 

Acapulco, completely trashed by Hurricane Otis last year, was only just getting a recovery into swing when Hurricane John hit, flooding swaths of the resort city. City officials pleaded with anyone had boats to help rescue people in flooded neighborhoods. Some families were stranded on roof while the water rose around them. 

So far the death toll from these floods has been placed at anywhere between 15 and 29, but that is expected to rise.  

Videos

Scenes from Nepal this week really are similar to those I've seen from North Carolina. Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that:

In Mexico, landslides were also part of the disaster due to "Zombie" Hurricane John. Again, click on the  this link to view or if you see the image below, click on that.