Ten people are confirmed dead and several others are missing after torrential rain and heavy floods hit eastern Bulgaria, officials say.
Floodwaters in the Black Sea port city of Varna surged up to 3.2ft.
Ten people are confirmed dead and several others are missing after torrential rain and heavy floods hit eastern Bulgaria (photo AP)
Many residents had to be rescued as cars were swept away. Hundreds have been left without electricity or food.
There have been hailstorms and heavy rain in several parts of Bulgaria in recent days. Forecasts say the extreme weather is set to continue.
Forecasters said that the equivalent of a month’s worth of rain fell in the regions of Varna and Burgas over the last 24 hours.
“The tragedy is enormous. I am here on a street in the suburb of Aspruhovo. The street is not here, the houses are not here, there are cars on top of each other,” Varna mayor Ivan Portnih was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Fire-fighters in the town of Kilifarevo in central Bulgaria rescued 11 people from the tops of their houses, police said.
Last month nearby Serbia and Bosnia were hit by the worst flooding since modern records began.
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Fifty-eight people have been killed and hundreds of villagers left stranded in devastating flash floods in northern Afghanistan, officials say.
The governor of Jowzjan province warned that the number of victims was likely to rise.
Fifty-eight people have been killed and hundreds of villagers left stranded in devastating flash floods in northern Afghanistan
People have been left trapped on the roofs of their homes and rescue helicopters have been deployed.
There are reports of flooding in other provinces in the north and west.
More than 80 people are missing and that 3,000 homes have been destroyed.
Heavy rain and storms on Thursday night created a perilous situation for villagers whose homes are largely built out of mud.
Mauritius officials have said that at least 11 people have died after sudden rains caused flooding in capital Port Louis on Saturday.
At least eight of the victims were caught in underground areas as the flood waters rose rapidly. Another died of a heart attack.
Mauritius’ meteorologists said 152 mm (6 in) of rain fell in less than an hour, 70 mm less than the March average.
At least 11 people have died after sudden rains caused flooding in the Mauritian capital Port Louis on Saturday
Prime Minister Navin Rangoolam declared April 1 a day of mourning.
Speaking on national radio, Navin Rangoolam said Mauritius was suffering badly from the effects of climate change.
The floods caused chaos in Port Louis, with a huge traffic jam paralyzing its centre, L’Express de Mauritius newspaper reported.
The bodies of six people were recovered from a pedestrian subway and another two from an underground car park.
More rain is expected on Sunday, and people have been advised to stay at home.
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Philippine officials say that at least 16 people have died in severe floods in the capital, Manila.
More than 80,000 people are in emergency shelters, as torrential rain left low-lying areas under water.
Soldiers and rescuers are using rubber boats to reach people stranded in their homes, but some are refusing to leave amid fears of looting.
The flooding – neck-deep in some parts of the city – forced the closure of offices and schools around the city.
More than half the amount of rain normally seen in August has fallen in the capital in 24 hours, reports say.
In the worst reported incident of casualties, nine members of one family died after a landslide hit shanty houses in Manila’s Quezon City.
At least 16 people have died in severe floods in Philippine capital, Manila
Others died from drowning and electrocution, according to the country’s disaster response agency. A state of calamity has been issued in at least four areas, it added.
“We’re still on a rescue mode,” said Benito Ramos, head of the country’s disaster response agency.
“Floods are receding in many areas but people are still trapped on their roofs.”
President Benigno Aquino called for the public’s co-operation, warning that the government did not have “infinite capabilities” to deal with the natural disaster.
People are said to be stranded in homes all over the city.
Soldiers, police and volunteers are trying to reach them by boat, but some people are refusing to leave, scared their possessions will be taken by looters.
“The flooding has impacted everyone here. Even if your house did not flood – and ours didn’t – the streets flooded badly and so much of Manila has been impassable and people have been stranded,” said Julie Green, an Australian currently living in Manila.
“All businesses have been closed except for 7-11s and some sari-sari [convenience] stores. Everyone’s stocks are getting quite low now so you have to wake up early and battle the rains to get some food.
“It rained hard again all last night, but it seems now that the rains might have abated. People are starting to come out again.”
Officials have warned that more rain is expected, however, and are urging people to consider their safety first.
Manila and the northern Philippines have been hit by severe weather since Typhoon Saola struck just over a week ago, killing more than 50 people.
The government is better prepared this time than when typhoons hit the country previously – tens of thousands of people have been evacuated, says our correspondent.
Typhoon Ketsana hit the Philippines in September 2009, causing flooding that killed more than 400 people and Typhoon Nestat and Nalgae struck two years later, leaving more than 100 dead.
The current rain and floods are said to be the worst to hit the country since 2009. However, the state weather bureau has said that weather conditions may get better later this week.
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North Korea has requested immediate food aid after devastating floods last month, the United Nations says.
UN officials in Pyongyang said the need for aid was urgent after visiting flood-hit parts of the country to assess damage.
North Korea state media said that at least 119 people died and tens of thousands were left homeless.
Damage to infrastructure and farmland has affected the country’s already dire food shortage problem.
North Korea has requested immediate food aid after devastating floods last month
The most badly affected areas are Anju city and Songchon County in South Phyongan Province, and Chonnae County in Kangwon Province, said the UN.
Residents in these areas are in urgent need of food supplies, as well as clean water, as wells have been contaminated by sewerage during the floods.
A UN spokesman in New York confirmed that the North Korean government has asked the UN to release emergency supplies such as food and fuel.
Some international aid groups have already begun gathering supplies and donations. On Thursday, the Red Cross said it would allocate more than $300,000 for flood victims.
Recent images from Anju taken by state news agency KCNA showed houses underwater, flooded agricultural land and people sheltering in the upper stories of buildings.
Kim Kwang-Dok, vice-chairman of the Anju City People’s Committee, told the Associated Press news agency that the flooding was the worst in the city’s history.
The floods – which followed a severe drought earlier this year – have sparked fresh concern over North Korea’s struggle to feed its people.
North Korea relies on food aid because it cannot grow enough food to feed its people. Famine in the mid-1990s is believed to have killed hundreds of thousands of people.
A UN report released last month estimated that two-thirds of North Korea’s 24 million population suffer from a chronic shortage of food.
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