Weather News by John Hammond

   10/05/2003

Severe tornadoes in the States continue to grab the world’s attention, with yet more storms predicted for the Midwest today. However even greater devastation is taking place on the other side of the world.

A series of storms has swept Bangladesh since the middle of April.
Five days ago the year’s worst storm killed scores of people, and yet another on Thursday night left dozens injured in the capital Dhaka, with power supplies cut and homes destroyed.

Storms and cyclones are common in Bangladesh, but this summer the strong winds and heavy rains seem to be more ferocious - the worst for three years, say local meteorologists.

Hopping across Asia to China, there are fears that floods will soon engulf the Yangtse River basin.
Our old friend El Nino could well be to blame. This phenomenon of shifting sea temperatures in the Pacific looks like resulting in persistent low pressure and heavy rainfall across the catchment of the Yangtse.

Some experts are concerned that the Yangtse’s behaviour early this year has been uncannily similar to 1998, when China experienced its worst floods in decades.

Following the 1998 floods, the Chinese Government invested billions of pounds in strengthening and rebuilding embankments. So let’s hope the fortifications hold, because the Chinese will depend on them until the Three Gorges dam project is completed in 2009.

When the dam starts it will be able to store 22.15 billion cubic metres of flood water, dramatically alleviating the risk of flooding.

Related Links:
El Nino article

Weather News from the last five days
09/05/2003
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