Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:

In the Atlantic Ocean: Hurricane Gert is located about 330 nm ... 530 km northwest of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds ... 90 mph ... 150 km/h. Present movement ... northeast or 45 degrees at 21 mph ... 33 km/h.

In the Western Pacific: Typhoon 14w (Banyan), located approximately 810 nm northeast of Miami Tori Shima, is tracking northeastward at 28 knots.

NewsBytes:

India, Nepal, Bangladesh - Nearly 250 people have died in the last few days as a result of flooding and landslides that have devastated parts of northern India, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Millions of people have been displaced across the region, and 245 people are recorded to have been killed by collapsed buildings or by drowning.

In Nepal, incessant rain has flooded hundreds of villages leaving 110 people dead. The government has come under fire for not responding fast enough to the disaster.

As security forces scrambled to rescue those marooned on rooftops and helicopters distributed food and water to the worst-hit districts yesterday, the home ministry spokesman Ram Krishna Subedi said relief supplies were being mobilised as soon as possible. Elephants were deployed to help rescue those stranded following three days of torrential rain, including 700 tourists in the popular town of Chitwan.

Across Nepal’s southern border, 13 districts have been hit by severe flooding in the Indian state of Bihar, leaving 41 people dead. Boats and helicopters were used to distribute food packets, medicine and drinking water to those affected and some 200,000 people have been provided with temporary shelter across 250 relief camps set up by the authorities in schools and government buildings.

In the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, emergency workers have been scouring the area hit by a massive landslide that swept two buses into a deep gorge on Sunday, killing 46 people.

A further 21 people died in the remote north-eastern state of Assam, where soldiers were deployed to rescue those stranded on rooftops.

Meanwhile a third of Bangladesh is flooded after monsoon rains swept through the densely populated riverine country.

At least 27 people have died and a further 600,000 have been marooned across the low-lying delta region, according to Bangladesh’s disaster management minister, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury.