Home > Extreme weather

The combination of extreme weather and high population density has led to dramatic weather catastrophes.

1 2004

• September: Hurricane Charley and Hurricane Francis make back-to-back landfalls in Florida. Hurricane Ivan landed near Gulf Shores, Alabama, near the Florida Panhandle.

2 2003

• August: A heat wave involving temperatures as high as 42 degrees Celsius struck Europe. Because summer temperatures, in much of northern Europe, rarely exceed 30 °C, the area was unprepared for the disaster. The death toll of the heat wave has been estimated to exceed 10,000.

• September: Hurricane Isabel makes landfall on the United States, killing at least 40 people.

3 2002

• September: On September 19, about one-third of the Maili glacier broke off from the Cacausus Mountains and buried Karmadon, Russia under up to 500 feet (150 m) of ice and debris, killing 95, including the young Russian movie star Sergei Bodrov Jr.
  • On the night of September 8 a flash floodFlash flooding is rapid flooding of low-lying areas, rivers and creeks that is caused by the intense rainfall associated with a thunderstorm, or multiple training thunderstorms. Flash flooding occurs when the ground under a storm becomes saturated with wa struck the ScottishScotland or in Scottish Gaelic, Alba is a country and former independent kingdom of northwest Europe, and one of the four nations comprising the United Kingdom. Scotland occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Scotland took part in a p city of InvernessThis article is about the city of Inverness in Scotland. For other places of the same name, see Inverness (disambiguation). Inverness Lieutenancy Site of city shown in red Inverness is the only city in the Scottish Highlands. It lies at the mouth of the R, flooding parts of the city to a depth of 2 metres.
• August: At least 109 are killed by floods caused by torrential rains in Europe, including the Malse , Blanice , and VltavaThe Vltava ( German: Moldau is the longest river in the Czech Republic, draining north from its source in Šumava through Cesky Krumlov, Ceske Budejovice and Prague, merging with the Elbe Labe at Melnik. It is 430 kilometers long and drains about 28 rivers of the Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic ( Czech: Ceska republika is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The republic borders Poland to the north, Germany to the northwest and west, Austria to the south, and Slovakia to the east. Historic Prague, a major tourist attraction, the Black SeaNASA MODIS The Black Sea (also known as the Euxine Sea is an inland sea between southeastern Europe and Asia Minor. It is connected to the Mediterranean Sea by the Bosporus and the Sea of Marmara, and to the Sea of Azov by the Strait of Kerch. There is a resort village of Shirokaya Balka near Novorossiisk in RussiaThe Russian Federation ( Russian: , transliteration: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya or Rossijskaja Federacija , or Russia (Russian: , transliteration: Rossiya or Rossija , is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. With (58 deaths), GermanyThe Federal Republic of Germany ( German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland is one of the world's leading industrialized countries, located in the middle of the European Union. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea, to the east (the Elbe and Pleisse ), and Romania. The downpours have also caused extensive damage in Austria (the Rodl and Danube), Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, and Spain. Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla declared a state of emergency in Prague, Bohemia, Plzen and Karlovy Vary. The Elbe reached record heights in Dresden, flooding much of the city. All shipping on the Danube had to be halted. Premier Silvio Berlusconi approved $50 million in emergency aid in response to the $300 million in damage of northern Italy's crops.
  • About 2000 people are killed by floods and landslides in Asia during its monsoon season.