Deadly Torrential Rains: Shocking Images of Global Destruction

Murderous torrential rains” raging in the Philippines

Unprecedented natural disasters are hitting the world.

On September 7, Typhoon No. 11 made landfall in Vietnam, killing more than 250 people within a week of its arrival. The total damage caused by the torrential rains is estimated to be worth 490 billion yen. Even after Typhoon No. 11 turned into a tropical depression, heavy rains continued to fall, killing about 220 people in Myanmar, which was also affected, and flooding affected as many as 630,000 people. Weather forecaster Koshi Murayama explains.

Rainfall on the scale of more than 200 mm in a 24-hour period, as in the case of Typhoon No. 11, has become commonplace. If the same level of torrential rain were to occur in the 23 wards of Tokyo, hundreds of people could die, especially in Koto and Edogawa wards, where there are many zones 0 m above sea level.

Southeast Asia was not the only victim of extreme weather; torrential rains in Europe from September 13 to 16 submerged cities in Central and Eastern Europe. In the Czech Republic, eight people died and 250,000 households lost power.

It could happen in Japan, too.

Why are “killer torrential rains” occurring so frequently around the world today? Professor Yoshihiro Tachibana of the Faculty of Bioresources at Mie University offers this analysis.

The heavy rains in Europe are related to a weather phenomenon called a cold vortex. A cold vortex is a type of low-pressure system with strong cold air that normally moves eastward on westerly winds, but this time the westerly winds were weak and the system remained stagnant in the affected area. That cold vortex took in a large amount of water vapor due to the rise in sea water temperature, which increased the amount of precipitation and caused more damage. Heavy rains in Vietnam and Myanmar were also caused by Typhoon No. 11, which took in a large amount of water vapor and increased its strength.”

The stagnation of typhoons and low-pressure systems, which has contributed to the heavy rainfall in recent years, is “fundamentally caused by global warming,” Professor Tachibana continued.

The strength of westerly winds is determined by the temperature difference between low latitude regions such as southern Europe and the North Pole. The greater the temperature difference, the stronger the wind, but in recent years, due to the warming of the Arctic, the temperature difference has become smaller, weakening the westerly winds and causing them to meander violently. Low-pressure systems and fronts that used to move with the prevailing westerly winds are now stagnating in one area.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, heavy rainfall of 80 mm or more per hour has doubled in the past 40 years. Mr. Murayama sounds a warning.

Sea water temperatures are also rising near Japan, making it easier for rain clouds to develop. Recently, torrential rains with a total rainfall of 500 mm class have been occurring frequently. Disasters similar to those in Vietnam and Myanmar could happen in Japan.”

We need to take countermeasures not only at the national level, but also on a global scale.

From the November 1-8, 2024 issue of FRIDAY