As a result of April 2022 flooding, a river burst its banks and destroyed a bridge in Durban, South Africa.
Credit: © Rogan War, Reuters/Alamy Images

Several days of heavy rain have caused severe flooding and mudslides on the east coast of South Africa. A new storm came off the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, April 12th, destroying bridges, roads, houses, and other structures. The storm hit the city of Durban, South Africa’s chief seaport and one of its largest cities, killing at least 443 people. Officials report that 63 people remain missing amidst the damage in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.

The influx of rain is a result of a weather phenomenon called a cut-off low, which occurs when a low-pressure system is disrupted and moves slowly across an area. The storm produced the heaviest rains in South Africa in 60 years and is the deadliest storm on record in the country. Meteorologists estimate that over a month’s worth of rain, nearly 12 inches (30.5 centimeters), fell in one day in Durban.

The downpour of rain caused mudslides that washed away entire hillsides, destroying nearly 600 schools and  60 health facilities. More than 12,000 homes have been damaged from the flooding and mudslides. Some schools were in session during the storm, trapping students and teachers inside. Many people sought higher ground and climbed on top of roofs to stay out of reach of the rushing water and mud.

The flooding also washed out complete roads and bridges. One bridge outside Durban collapsed, leaving people stranded on both sides. The rushing water knocked out all power in the area. The mudslides and damage cut off the supply of clean water. Stacks of shipping containers have collapsed into the water.

Rescue efforts continue to find missing people believed to be underneath houses affected by the mudslides. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited with people affected by the disaster and pledged to help rebuild the community.

December 28, 2015

During the Christmas weekend, weather patterns around the world produced a variety of extremes, from torrential rains and flooding in North America, South America, Europe, and Australia to fierce snowstorms in North America and raging wildfires in Australia.

Fire-damaged buildings are seen alongside a house that survived the Christmas Day bushfires at Separation Creek in the Otway Ranges south of Melbourne, Australia, on Dec. 27, 2015. Credit: © Julian Smith, EPA/Landov

Heavy storms pounded the Midwestern and Southern United States with rain and snow. Tornadoes with winds of up to 200 miles (320 kilometers) per hour tore through Texas, killing at least 11 people. Meanwhile, some areas of New Mexico received more than 1 foot (0.3 meter) of snow. At least 43 people died throughout the United States as a result of these storms and the flooding that followed. Meteorologists noted that higher-than-average temperatures contributed to the severity of the storms.

In Australia, a lightning strike in the southeastern state of Victoria on December 19 caused a series of wildfires known as bushfires. The fires grew in size and intensity and destroyed more than 100 homes on Christmas Day. Meanwhile, monsoon rains caused major flooding in the Northern Territory, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate their homes. At the same time, in South America, more than 100,000 people fled their homes in areas of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay to escape flooding caused by heavy rainfall. In northern England in the United Kingdom, downpours led to extensive flooding as dozens of rivers overflowed.

Authorities noted that El Niño conditions were to blame for much of the extreme weather. An El Niño is a part of the interaction between Earth’s atmosphere and the tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean. El Niños occur about every two to seven years, and can affect climate throughout the world. The term El Niño originally referred to a current of warm water that flows southward along the coast of Ecuador and Peru, in western South America, every winter. About every two to seven years, the warm current is abnormally strong, lasts for an unusually long time, and is accompanied by changes in the winds and precipitation across the entire tropical Pacific region. For this reason, El Niño came to refer to the entire interaction of the ocean and atmosphere during the period of the stronger-than-normal current. According to the World Meteorological Organization, a United Nations affiliate, this year’s El Niño is the strongest in more than 15 years.

Other World Book articles: 

• Christmas Eve Storms Hit United States (Dec. 25, 2015) – A Behind the Headlines article
• Meteorology
• Weather

July 31, 2013

Weeks of spring and summer rains across the southeast United States have severely affected crops dependent on hot summer sun. Peaches are tasteless; tomatoes are splitting; and watermelons are rotting on the vine. Watermelon farmers in southern Georgia believe that at least half of their crop is lost. In North Carolina, rain delayed spring planting of the peanut crop, which agronomists say will undoubtedly result in lower yields.

While rainfall across the contiguous 48 states is only about 6 percent above normal for this time of year, the Southeast has been swamped. According to the National Climatic Data Center, rainfall in Georgia through June was 34 percent above normal; North Carolina and South Carolina were 25 percent above normal; and Alabama was 22 percent above normal. By contrast, the region was abnormally dry or in drought at this time last year.

Weeks of rainstorms have severely affected crops across the Southest. (© Marco Alegria, Shutterstock)

State officials in the Southeast predict agricultural losses will mount into the billions of dollars this year. In some areas, water is standing in cornfields, and mold is growing on the stunted ears of corn. Tomato fields are being hit by late blight, a fungus-like pathogen. Pecan farmers fear that a rain-related fungus, scab disease, will cut crop yields by as much as 15 million pounds (6.8 million kilograms). This year’s Georgia beach crop is essentially lost because the rain has diluted the sugar content of the fruit. “The flavor is just not there,” one farmer told The New York Times. “It’s like having a mouthful of cotton.”

On top of compromising quality and fostering disease, the rains have left the ground so wet that farmers may be unable to get equipment into the fields to harvest. Climatologist Jake Crouch, with at the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina, is not hopeful about a drier late summer and fall. “Whenever we get in a pattern like this, we kind of stay in the status quo,” Crouch reported to the Times. “When we’re hot and dry, we stay hot and dry. When we’re wet, we stay wet.”

Additional World Book articles:

• Agriculture
• Climate
• Weather
• Agriculture 2012 (a Back in Time article)
• When the Rain Stops (a special report)