Deadly Flash Floods Hit Northern Iraq

Severe thunderstorms swept across the Middle East on Saturday, bringing deadly flash floods to northern Iraq and neighbouring Iran. The city of Erbil bore the brunt of the impact, suffering widespread destruction to local homes and commercial properties. Torrential precipitation inundated urban streets in a remarkably short timeframe. Precipitation levels drastically surpassed prior forecasts, with an estimated 80 millimetres of rain drenching the municipality against predicted figures of 30 millimetres. Tragically, two people lost their lives during the inundation.

Meanwhile, adverse weather conditions extended across other global regions. In Europe, Storm Bruna is projected to bring gale-force winds to Portugal throughout the week, particularly impacting western coastal zones. Forecasters anticipate gusts reaching 50 miles per hour alongside heavy downpours and thunderstorms, with cumulative precipitation potentially hitting 200 millimetres by week's end. The same weather system previously impacted the Canary Islands, where Tenerife registered an 80-mile-per-hour gust late Saturday.

Severe storms and heavy rainfall have caused fatal flash floods and widespread property damage in northern Iraq.

Across Asia, Japan encountered a frigid and wintry conclusion to the previous week, with additional snowfall forecasted for Hokkaido and mountainous districts of Honshu. Temperatures are projected to drop beneath seasonal norms early in the week. Sapporo anticipates plunging to 10 degrees Celsius below average, with daily maximums resting at four to six degrees on Monday and Wednesday, and Tuesday's peak hovering near zero. Minimum readings could sink to minus six degrees by Wednesday, and potentially minus eight degrees in western sectors of Hokkaido on Tuesday.

Ski facility operators are making final preparations for incoming guests following the onset of snowfall on Friday. Aggregate snow accumulation is anticipated to reach 30 to 50 centimetres around Kiroro and Niseko, alongside 20 to 30 centimetres across Furano, Rusutsu, and Sapporo. Additional areas might accumulate up to 20 centimetres of snow by Wednesday. Gale-force winds accompanied the initial snowfall over the weekend, registering gusts near 75 miles per hour in Kiroro and Niseko.

In South America, Peru continues to experience elevated air temperatures ranging from five to 10 degrees Celsius above seasonal averages. This phenomenon follows peak equatorial Pacific sea surface temperatures reaching approximately 3.5 degrees Celsius above climatological norms during the strong El Niño event in late October. Unusually warm conditions are projected to persist into the following week.

Why it matters

These extreme weather events highlight the localized devastation that sudden meteorological shifts can cause, disrupting infrastructure and endangering lives across affected territories. The disasters underscore ongoing vulnerabilities to severe storms, heavy snowfall, and temperature anomalies globally.