High-impact weather and climate events
in July 2006

The information summarized has been culled from international press reports and is indicative only. For official information, including final statistics, readers are advised to contact the National Meteorological Service of the country in question.

Heavy rain/monsoon/flash flood/landslides/lightning
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Chile, China, India, Japan, Mauritania, Nepal, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Pakistan, USA 

Afghanistan
Flash floods caused by heavy unseasonal rains, killed at least 13 people in eastern and south-eastern provinces.  

Bangladesh
Monsoon rains triggered flooding in the north and south-east, killing at least 30 people and displacing thousands.  

Chile
Flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rain left at least 11 people dead and forced 30,000 to flee their homes. 

China
Floods and landslides killed more than 30 people and led to the evacuation of over 7 600 people from their homes.  

India
At least 21 people were killed when monsoon rains inundated parts of Uttar Pradesh.

Japan
At least nine people died and 11 were missing and homes and roads were destroyed after heavy rain.

Mauritania
At least seven people were killed and 19 injured in severe storms and flooding.  

Nepal
At least 10 people were killed in a landslide following torrential rain. 

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Some 150 people were killed and many declared missing after heavy rains. 

Pakistan
At least 13 people were killed and about 300 injured in the north-western part of the country after heavy rain. 

USA
At least one person was killed in flash floods that inundated homes and roads in many parts of the country. Many major roads were blocked.   

Drought
Afghanistan, Italy, Kenya, USA 

Afghanistan
North and west parts of the country suffered from severe drought that hampered agricultural harvests. 

Kenya
Severe drought decimated millions of heads of livestock. 

Italy
Severe drought caused losses to farmers estimated at 500 million euros (US$ 637 million). Rice and
maize producers were particularly affected. 

USA
Drought in the Plains forced ranchers to sell livestock because of lack of grazing. The amount of cattle sent for slaughter increased to the second largest level in 10 years. 

Heat wave
Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom, USA 

Denmark
The country experienced the warmest July ever with an average temperature (day and night) of 19.8°C, breaking the record of 19.5°C set in 1994. It was the second warmest month ever, behind August 1997 at 20.4°C. 

France
At least 64 people died and many crops were destroyed as temperatures hit 40°C (104°F) in Paris and Bordeaux.

Germany
The month of July was the hottest in Germany since records began in 1900. The average temperature was 37°C.

Netherlands
The country experienced the second heat wave of the year for the first time since the summer of 1948. Some 500 more people than usual died in July 2006.

Sweden
The city of  Lund in Skåne in southern Sweden had the highest daily average temperatures (21.6°C or 70.9°F) for the month of July since records began in 1859.

United Kingdom

Temperatures hit an all-time high, reaching 36.3°C (97.34°F) south of London, passing the previous record set in 1911. Schools across the country were closed.

USA
The first six months of the year were the hottest ever recorded in more than a century.  In northern California, it was hotter for longer than ever on record, reaching 43°C (110°F). At least 126 people died in the region; livestock, crops, power and energy were badly affected.

Severe storms 

Tropical storm Bilis
China, Philippines 

China
At least 164 people were killed and another 138 missing when Bilis triggered torrential rains that swept away houses and set off devastating mudslides in the southern provinces of Guangdong, Fujian and Hunan. 

Philippines
Homes and cars in the northern city of Baguio were buried in a landslide triggered by Bilis, killing at least two people and leading to the closure of schools and cancellation of flights.  

Typhoon Kaemi
Philippines 

Typhoon Kaemi with winds of 128 km/h and gusts of up to 160 km/h triggered heavy rains and winds in the northern Philippines, shutting down classes and government offices in Manila. 

Typhoon Ewiniar
Republic of Korea

Typhoon Ewiniar triggered heavy rain and strong winds that lashed the west coast.  

Tornado
USA
Rain and a tornado in south-east Colorado caused heavy downpours, damaging buildings and disrupting highway traffic. 

Tsunami
Indonesia
A tsunami triggered by a strong undersea earthquake off the coast of Java killed at least 80 people and injured over 200 with some 2 000 displaced. Buildings and fishing boats were damaged.