Heavy rains devastate Mexico, Central America and Caribbean
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Mexico, Colombia, Central America and the Caribbean region have been scourged in recent days by heavy rainfalls and floods, killing hundreds and affecting at least 1.5 million people.
Tropical Storm Noel has caused heavy rainfall and flooding during this hurricane season, which started June 1 and is expected to end at the end of November, according to weather experts.
Noel became a hurricane on Friday as it passed through the Bahamas and affected Jamaica.
Experts said on Friday that the intensity of the heavy rain fallis increasing, causing more devastation due to climate change triggered by global warming.
Telephone services, electricity supplies and drinking water supplies were interrupted due to the floods in diverse zones of Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba and Honduras.
Highways and roads in all the countries affected by the heavy rainfalls and floods have been blocked due to landslides.
The hardest-hit countries by Noel in the past days were the Dominican Republic and Haiti. In the former, the floods and landslides left at least 79 dead and 27 disappeared, while in Haiti it caused 40 deaths and 14 people were reported disappeared.
The United Nations (UN) has ordered immediate food aid be sent to the two Caribbean countries.
The floods in Mexico's southeastern Tabasco state have left at least one person dead and almost 1 million displaced from their homes.
In a press conference, Tabasco governor Andres Granier said on Friday that over 1 million people were displaced in the past 24 hours in Tabasco's 17 municipalities.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Friday ordered the armed forces to guarantee law and order to avoid looting in Tabasco state.
Calderon said there are currently over 7,500 soldiers and federal policemen helping the victims with helicopters and boats, among other vehicles to speed up the rescue tasks.
An extreme state of emergency remains throughout Tabasco, whereaid continues to arrive from different states and from Mexico City.
On Oct. 23, strong winds and waves caused a collision between Mexican's state oil company's (Pemex) oil platform and an oil drilling tower at sea, killing at least 21 workers in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Campeche state, bordering Tabasco.
In Cuba 30,000 people were evacuated from their homes due to heavy rains caused by Noel, mostly in the provinces of Holguin, Granma, Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo.
In Honduras, the Permanent Contingency Commission (Copeco) declared a preventive alert due to Noel in the municipalities of Colon, Gracias a Dios, Atlantida and Bahia islands, located in the Caribbean area.
In mid October, another storm left at least 34 dead in Central America, five of them in Honduras.
The Disaster Attention and Prevention office of Colombia reported on Friday that at least 100,000 people need urgent aid after losing everything due to the heavy rainfall that has killed 13 and injured 21 people.
"The floods and landslides caused by the rainfall have affected61 municipalities in Colombia, but the higher risk regions are in the northern provinces of Magdalena and Bolivar," office director Luz Pulido said.
rainfall in london and its temperature report
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Hadley Centre is monitoring the average monthly rainfall over England and Wales. The rainfall history goes back until 1766 and is one of the longest rainfall records in the world. As with temperature actual monthly rainfall will be compared against a 30-year average known as the standard reference period. However, with every new decade this period will be shifted ten years further ahead. For example, in the year 2001 the old 1961-1990 reference has been replaced by the 1971-2000 period.
Comparing them provides a lot of important facts on how our most recent climate might have changed. For example, if you compare the 1961-1990 average rainfall with the period of 1971-2000, you will find that England and Wales turned slightly wetter over the last 30 years. Mean total annual r ainfall increased from 915mm to 926.9mm. This is about 1.3% and doesn't seem much at all. However, autumn (September, October, November) and winter (December, January and February) turned significantly wetter, while spring (March, April and May) and summer (July, August and September) became slightly drier. Autumnal rainfall increased from 257.9mm to 270.3mm - which is about 5.2%, and winter rainfall by about 4.3%.
Also extreme months turned even a little more extreme. Between 1961 and 1990 the driest month was April 1984 with a total of 10.8mm and wettest October 1987 with a total of 180.2mm. Both months have been outranked by October 2000, totalling 188mm and dry August 1995 with a mere 9.1mm.
