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The Recent Climatic Disasters across five Continents

Miami-Area Building Collapse: The early morning hours of June 24 were the scene of a catastrophic building collapse in Surfside, Florida. The south section of the Champlain Towers housing complex collapsed around 1:30 a.m. local time, affecting 55 units. The cause of the failure, which saw floors pancake on top of one another, is still under investigation as heavy urban search and rescue (HUSAR) teams from across the United States and the world continue the laborious effort of safely searching the debris pile in a race against time. As of the morning of June 28, nine people are confirmed dead and more than 150 are still missing as the HUSAR teams continued to search for survivors.

Tornadoes – Multiple Countries: As climate change continues to ravage the world, the incidences of severe weather are increasing. When talking about the weather, we often refer to the “average” day, but the reality of climate change is that there is no such thing anymore. Although we still have weather averages, they are made up of increasingly frequent bouts of severe weather – and they’re popping up in places they very rarely have before:

Chicago: Tornadoes struck the Chicago area several times in the past week, the first occurring shortly after 11 p.m. on June 22. This EF-3 tornado swept through the southern suburbs of Chicago, touching down near the suburb of Woodridge before moving west toward Naperville. An unborn child was killed, and 11 people were injured. The tornado damaged more than 630 homes, including four dozen that were destroyed. At least 22,000 people were left without power after the storms passed. The second round of tornadoes occurred on June 25 and 26 when four tornadoes roared through the area. On Friday, an EF-1 tornado was reported in Danforth in Iroquois County (about 93 miles south of Chicago), with peak winds estimated at 95 mph. Two others were reported but not confirmed yet. On Saturday, three EF-0 tornadoes moved through the area. One moved through Chatsworth in Livingston County, south of Chicago. Another passed through the community of Crete, and the third moved through the communities of Dyer and Schererville in Indiana, injuring one person.

China: Three tornadoes swept across China on June 25, leaving at least eight people dead. The first struck Inner Mongolia, where six people died and numerous homes were destroyed. The second tornado struck just minutes later in the neighboring Hebei province, where it killed two people and completely destroyed brick buildings. Another tornado touched down in Hebei, sending wood through brick walls but not injuring or killing anyone. Although not yet confirmed, initial reports indicated that the first two tornadoes were EF-3 based on damage assessments, while the third was an EF-2. Czech Republic: A major long-lasting tornado swept across a 15 mile (25 km) swath of the Czech Republic on June 24. Tennis ball-sized hail and heavy rain accompanied the tornado, leaving the area looking like a “war zone”. Five people died and 150 more were injured. Approximately 1,200 homes were damaged by the tornado or accompanying hail and more than 30,000 more were left without power.

France: A series of severe storms pounded the country from June 19-21, leaving heavy damage from hail, flooding and a tornado. The country recorded 44,000 lightning strikes from the storm, which destroyed stone buildings and sent tennis ball-sized hail through car windows. One man was reported missing and is now presumed to be dead. Indiana: Two tornadoes touched down on June 25, one in Tippecanoe County and one in Carroll County. Damage was reported to trees and homes, but no injuries or deaths were reported. Michigan: At least five tornadoes swept across the state on June 26, as severe weather blanketed the Great Lakes. The most damaging tornado occurred in the town of Port Austin in Michigan’s “thumb,” where debris, including snowblowers, compressors and deep freezers, spread across the affected area. The day before, the region around Detroit saw 6 inches of rain that overloaded sewer systems and caused flooding in Wayne County.

Ontario, Canada:

At least one tornado touched down around the town of Chatsworth, two hours northwest of Toronto, on June 26 as storms swept across the Great Lakes region. The tornado caused significant damage, but no injuries or deaths. Environment Canada is also investigating reports of an unconfirmed second tornado. Poland: Another tornado, likely from the same system as the one that devastated the Czech Republic, touched down in Malopolskie on June 24, damaging approximately 60 buildings and injuring one person. Quebec, Canada: Severe storms swept across the Canada-U.S. border near Montreal on June 21, spawning a tornado in the suburb of Mascouche. One man died as he took shelter in a shed when he couldn’t get to his house before the tornado hit. An unknown number of people were injured and several dozen buildings were damaged by the weather.

United Kingdom:

A suspected tornado touched down in the east London suburb of Barking on June 25 during an intense thunderstorm. No injuries were reported, but the area saw significant damage to roofs, collapsed garden walls and debris. U.S. Midwest (Iowa, Missouri, Ohio): The evening of June 20 saw at least two tornadoes touch down in the Midwest, one near Bernard, Iowa, one near the Ohio-Indiana border, as well as damage from a severe storm in Missouri. There were no deaths or injuries reported with any of these incidents.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue works tirelessly as search and rescue efforts continue in the Surfside building collapse, June 25, 2021. (Photo credit: @MiamiDadeFire via Twitter) We know all too well that disaster can strike at any time, in any place in the world. Some disasters make headlines; others do not. Here at the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP), we keep an eye on the status of disasters worldwide and compile a list of the ones we’re tracking weekly, along with relevant disaster-related media coverage.

Here’s what we’re watching for the week of June 21, 2021.

New or Emerging Disasters

Miami-Area Building Collapse: The early morning hours of June 24 were the scene of a catastrophic building collapse in Surfside, Florida. The south section of the Champlain Towers housing complex collapsed around 1:30 a.m. local time, affecting 55 units. The cause of the failure, which saw floors pancake on top of one another, is still under investigation as heavy urban search and rescue (HUSAR) teams from across the United States and the world continue the laborious effort of safely searching the debris pile in a race against time. As of the morning of June 28, nine people are confirmed dead and more than 150 are still missing as the HUSAR teams continued to search for survivors.

Tornadoes – Multiple Countries: As climate change continues to ravage the world, the incidences of severe weather are increasing. When talking about the weather, we often refer to the “average” day, but the reality of climate change is that there is no such thing anymore. Although we still have weather averages, they are made up of increasingly frequent bouts of severe weather – and they’re popping up in places they very rarely have before:

Chicago:

Tornadoes struck the Chicago area several times in the past week, the first occurring shortly after 11 p.m. on June 22. This EF-3 tornado swept through the southern suburbs of Chicago, touching down near the suburb of Woodridge before moving west toward Naperville. An unborn child was killed, and 11 people were injured. The tornado damaged more than 630 homes, including four dozen that were destroyed. At least 22,000 people were left without power after the storms passed. The second round of tornadoes occurred on June 25 and 26 when four tornadoes roared through the area. On Friday, an EF-1 tornado was reported in Danforth in Iroquois County (about 93 miles south of Chicago), with peak winds estimated at 95 mph. Two others were reported but not confirmed yet. On Saturday, three EF-0 tornadoes moved through the area. One moved through Chatsworth in Livingston County, south of Chicago. Another passed through the community of Crete, and the third moved through the communities of Dyer and Schererville in Indiana, injuring one person.

China:

Three tornadoes swept across China on June 25, leaving at least eight people dead. The first struck Inner Mongolia, where six people died and numerous homes were destroyed. The second tornado struck just minutes later in the neighboring Hebei province, where it killed two people and completely destroyed brick buildings. Another tornado touched down in Hebei, sending wood through brick walls but not injuring or killing anyone. Although not yet confirmed, initial reports indicated that the first two tornadoes were EF-3 based on damage assessments, while the third was an EF-2.

Czech Republic:

A major long-lasting tornado swept across a 15 mile (25 km) swath of the Czech Republic on June 24. Tennis ball-sized hail and heavy rain accompanied the tornado, leaving the area looking like a “war zone”. Five people died and 150 more were injured. Approximately 1,200 homes were damaged by the tornado or accompanying hail and more than 30,000 more were left without power.

France:

A series of severe storms pounded the country from June 19-21, leaving heavy damage from hail, flooding and a tornado. The country recorded 44,000 lightning strikes from the storm, which destroyed stone buildings and sent tennis ball-sized hail through car windows. One man was reported missing and is now presumed to be dead.

Indiana:

Two tornadoes touched down on June 25, one in Tippecanoe County and one in Carroll County. Damage was reported to trees and homes, but no injuries or deaths were reported.

Michigan:

At least five tornadoes swept across the state on June 26, as severe weather blanketed the Great Lakes. The most damaging tornado occurred in the town of Port Austin in Michigan’s “thumb,” where debris, including snowblowers, compressors and deep freezers, spread across the affected area. The day before, the region around Detroit saw 6 inches of rain that overloaded sewer systems and caused flooding in Wayne County.

###Ontario, Canada: At least one tornado touched down around the town of Chatsworth, two hours northwest of Toronto, on June 26 as storms swept across the Great Lakes region. The tornado caused significant damage, but no injuries or deaths. Environment Canada is also investigating reports of an unconfirmed second tornado.

Poland:

Another tornado, likely from the same system as the one that devastated the Czech Republic, touched down in Malopolskie on June 24, damaging approximately 60 buildings and injuring one person.

Quebec, Canada:

Severe storms swept across the Canada-U.S. border near Montreal on June 21, spawning a tornado in the suburb of Mascouche. One man died as he took shelter in a shed when he couldn’t get to his house before the tornado hit. An unknown number of people were injured and several dozen buildings were damaged by the weather.

United Kingdom:

A suspected tornado touched down in the east London suburb of Barking on June 25 during an intense thunderstorm. No injuries were reported, but the area saw significant damage to roofs, collapsed garden walls and debris. U.S. Midwest (Iowa, Missouri, Ohio): The evening of June 20 saw at least two tornadoes touch down in the Midwest, one near Bernard, Iowa, one near the Ohio-Indiana border, as well as damage from a severe storm in Missouri. There were no deaths or injuries reported with any of these incidents.

Previous/Ongoing Disasters

North American Wildfires:

As of June 28, the National Interagency Fire Center’s situation report listed a total of 30,219 wildfires across the country that had burned more than 1,389,087 acres. A total of 7,801 personnel are deployed on 74 active fires across the U.S.; 37 are considered to be large uncontained fires.

There are eight large fires in Arizona, along with others in Montana, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. In Canada, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre reported 2,466 fires that had burned more than 800,000 acres as of June 27. CDP regularly updates the North American Wildfires Season Disaster profile with information on the fires and advice on how funders can help address critical needs.

2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season – Tropical Storm Danny: A tropical depression off the coast of South Carolina rapidly strengthened to become Tropical Storm Danny on June 28. Danny will make landfall near the South Carolina – Georgia border late in the day or overnight June 28 before rapidly losing strength as it moves inland.