Natural Disasters Association blog

Heavy rain in eastern Uganda has claimed the lives of 23 people. The landslides occurred on Monday 29th August affecting two villages in the Bulambuli district, 167 miles northeast of the capital Kampala. Officials claim that the death toll is likely to increase as more bodies are pulled out by the local Red Cross.

Recent heavy rain in Uganda has also caused flooding, which displaced hundreds of people. A landslide also occurred in north eastern Uganda earlier in August, claiming the lives of 7 people in a village.

By Saajeda Bandali

Typhoon Nanmadol struck the Philippines on Friday 26th August 2011 killing 16 people. The category 4 storm which was recorded to have wind speeds of up to 250 km per hour (155 miles per hour), caused numerous landslides and floods in northern Luzon, where all 16 victims lost their lives. According to reports, two children were killed when a landslide struck the city’s rubbish dump.

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Nearly 200 people have been killed and 100 reported missing during floods in southern and eastern China. Heavy rainfall in June followed the worse recorded drought in 50 years, affecting at least 13 provinces according to the ministry. Reports suggest that more than 1.6 million people were evacuated and over 8000 houses were destroyed. In the province of Zhejiang more than 4.4 million people were affected by the flooding.

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On 12^th June Nabro, a 2218 meters high stratovolcano located on the border of northern Ethiopia and Eritrea erupted, threatening the aviation industry in the region. The volcano which is located in the Danakil depression between the two countries, last erupted an estimated 150 years ago.

The eruption was preceded by earthquake swarms, located in the vicinity of the volcano. The earthquakes varied between magnitude 4.3 and 5.1 and lasted over a few hours before the eruption. The two largest earthquakes detected were a magnitude 5.4 and according to the USGS they occurred at 23:32 on 12^th June and 00:03 on 13^th June, with depths of 10.1 km and 9.9 km.

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The Puyehue-Cordon-Caulle volcano range in Chile has erupted, forcing thousands to evacuate their homes.

The eruption, which is about 500 miles South from the capital, Santiago, has created huge ash clouds.

The Grimsvotn volcano has erupted in Iceland creating an ash cloud 8 miles high.

The eruption and consequent ash cloud is not as serious as the Eyjafjallajokull volcano which led to a widespread no fly zone throughout Europe last year.

The international airport in Ireland is currently closed with the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre monitoring the situation closely as the cloud of ash moves towards the UK and Ireland.