Jan 2, 2020

Floods kill 21 people and displace 30,000 in Indonesian capital

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.

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Rashaan Ayesh

Death toll rises in Indonesia following landslides and flooding

Photo: Bay Ismoyo/AFP via Getty Images

At least 53 people have died and more than 173,000 remain displaced after landslides and floods hit Indonesia's capital Jakarta as rescuers search for people trapped under tons of mud, officials told AP on Saturday.

The state of play: This is the worst flooding to plague the area since 2007, when 80 people died in 10 days, AP notes. Monsoon rains and rising rivers which started on Dec. 31 have flooded multiple districts surrounding Jakarta.

Go deeperJan 4, 2020

Rebecca Falconer

Rain hits Australia's fire-ravaged states, but bushfires still burn

A downpour in Sydney, where a severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for some parts as the city experiences its wettest weekend in four months, but bushfires continue to burn. Photo: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

Heavy rain has triggered flash floods in the fire-ravaged Australian state of Queensland, SBS News reports. New South Wales also got a soak and further rainfall and thunderstorms were expected. But bushfires continued to burn over the weekend.

The state of play: There were over "50 reports of flooded roads across Queensland's southeast," per SBS, which notes flooded theme parks were forced to close. Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms were forecast for Victoria, where 15 fires were still burning, according to the Guardian. In NSW, over 1,300 firefighters were tackling flames across "69 firegrounds," the state's Rural Fire Service said, with 19 fires still not contained.

Go deeperJan 19, 2020

Orion Rummler, Rebecca Falconer

Deadly storms pummel Midwest and South

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.

Go deeperUpdated Jan 12, 2020