tropical storms have once again placed millions of people on alert in both Southeast Asia and the Americas. In recent days, several storms have intensified and triggered alerts for their destructive potential, threatening flooding, landslides, and severe disruptions to large urban and coastal areas. International and local meteorological agencies are maintaining continuous surveillance and have issued warnings for the possibility of further cyclonic development in the coming days.
The Philippines, the east coast and southern United States, and parts of the Gulf of Mexico are some of the areas most affected or under threat. The consequences of these phenomena are not limited only to material damage, but have also led to evacuations and casualties, with extreme weather conditions expected to continue at least throughout the current season.
Tropical storms in the Philippines: damage and evacuations
In the Philippine archipelago, the passage of Tropical storms such as Crisping and Wipha has forced the authorities to intensify rescue and evacuation effortsWipha, classified as a severe tropical storm, reached a record winds of up to 125 kilometers per hour after leaving the archipelago's area of responsibility, while Crising advanced with the potential to make landfall in the province of Cagayan and the Babuyan Islands.
The rains associated with these systems have caused Floods, landslides and damage in several provincesThe National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council of the Philippines reported missing people and the evacuation of more than 11.000 residents to reception centers. In addition, multiple incidents of landslides and at least 19 major floods have been reported. The Philippines is facing a 20 tropical storms and typhoons per year, especially during the rainy season from June to December, and in recent months the episodes have reached an unusual intensity.
United States: Storm, flood, and threat warnings in the Gulf of Mexico
In the American continent, the east coast and the south of the United States remain under intense alert due to the actions of slow-moving storm systems and extreme rainfall. Urban areas as densely populated as Washington DC, Baltimore or Philadelphia have seen their movements and daily life altered by the rainfall, which has been much higher than usual, with accumulated amounts of up to 12,5 centimeters in some locations and soils already saturated by recent rains.
El National Metereological Service and the National Hurricane Center have pointed out that the current pattern of extreme rainfall, favored by the increase in global temperatures, increases the likelihood of flooding and urban damage. Rainfall records have been broken from Texas to the Northeast, and the infrastructure of many cities remains unprepared to handle these volumes of water, multiplying the risk of flooding.
