The rainfall brought on by Harvey has set a new record for the continental United States, dumping more than 50 inches of rain on parts of Houston. That has resulted in catastrophic flooding, evidenced by river gauges in the city reporting severe flood levels and a nearby levee failing under intense pressure.
A rescue team evacuates residents from their flooded houses in Jakarta on Wednesday. Photo: Agung Fatma Putra/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
At least 21 people have died in flash floods and landslides in and around the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, and the heavy rainfall that triggered the disaster is set to return Thursday, authorities said, per Reuters.
The impact: The heaviest rainfall in over a decade triggered the "deadliest floods in years," displacing over 30,000 people and bringing power outages to parts of the biggest city in Southeast Asia, Channel News Asia reports. The rain fell over Tuesday night.
Computer model simulation of water vapor and winds over the Southeast, Jan. 11. Credit: Earth Simulator
At least 11 people have died in severe storms that brought tornadoes, high winds and rain through parts of the South and Midwest, AP reports.
Where it stands: Severe thunderstorms were still possible over Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi through Sunday morning, per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Sporadic damaging gusts" and tornadoes were possible for far eastern Georgia and parts of the Carolinas Saturday night, the National Weather Service said.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Momentum for smart cities projects, which has been fed by big promises from industry and big hopes in government, is slowing down in the face of a wave of public skepticism.
Driving the news: Alphabet-owned Sidewalk Labs, which has proposed a futuristic smart-city development for Toronto's waterfront, has pledged not to sell personal data collected at the project or use it for advertising to assuage privacy concerns.