Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Western Pacific:

Typhoon Usagi is located approximately 267 nm east of Hong Kong. Usagi - the year's most powerful typhoon - slammed into the Philippines' northernmost islands on Saturday Sept. 21, cutting communication and power lines, triggering landslides and inundating rice fields.

Typhoon Usagi weakened in Taiwan - No deaths have been reported from Typhoon Usagi but nine people have been injured by falling tree branches in Taiwan. The Central Weather Bureau has lifted a warning for Typhoon Usagi but says continued heavy rain is possible in the eastern and southern highlands.

Usagi brought heavy rains across the island on Saturday, causing floods in some low-lying areas in the southern regions. Accumulated rainfall in eastern Ilan county exceeded 500 millimetres. 3349 residents were evacuated and 1388 people stayed in 62 shelters. The storm had weakened but boats sailing on the Taiwan Strait and the Bashi Channel were warned remain cautious. The sea warning may be lifted this afternoon. The storm was moving west-northwest toward Hong Kong and southern China.

Usagi is likely to be one of the five strongest typhoons to affect Hong Hong in the past 50 years. If the eye of the storm hits just west of Hong Kong, a large storm surge capable of causing over a billion dollars in damage will inundate portions of the coast along the bay that Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen share. Dangerous Category 3 Typhoon Usagi was charging through the Luzon Strait between Taiwan and the Philippines on its way towards China, where landfall is expected near 2 pm EDT on Sunday (early Monday morning local time ) near Hong Hong.

Rain, floods devastate Uruguay sheep farms

Stormy weather played havoc with Uruguayan agriculture and livestock farms, killing thousands of animals, disrupting electricity supplies and communications. Massive waves hit some outlying areas, prompting an orange alert from rescue teams on standby in the area. There were no immediate reports of any human casualties but officials said they were struggling to maintain contact with affected areas where sheep recently sheared for wool died in driving rain and cold. About 1,000 farmers were evacuated from flooded areas.

Trouble began after a cyclone hit parts of the country Sept. 17. Heavy downpours and flooding followed, and large tracts of farming regions were inundated by water. At least 30,000 sheep died in the first reports of impact on farms. The sudden death of thousands of sheep will result in wool shortfalls.

Some of the worst hit areas were Uruguay's north and northwest, where sustained rain, flooding and a sudden drop in temperatures claimed sheep that were recently sheared. Officials warned farmers against eating carcasses of animals killed in the storms. Uruguay has about 8 million sheep, most of the stock maintained for wool and meat exports and for the country's human population of about 3.4 million.