Environmental disasters across globe in March 2021

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - March saw a host of environmental disasters, including floods in Colombia and the US state of Hawaii, volcanic eruptions in Italy's Mt. Etna, and Indonesia's Mt. Merapi, as well as an avalanche in Pakistan.

Here is a timeline compiled by Anadolu Agency.

March 1:

- Landslides in Zimbabwe hit places around the resort town of Kariba, including the country's largest dam, following incessant heavy rains.

March 3:

- Body of 60-year-old Panamanian consul Telma Deleise Barria Pinzon found after the vehicle she was traveling in was swept away by the rising Frio River in the municipality of Rivera in Colombia's Huila department.

March 5:

- Mt. Merapi in Central Java, Indonesia, releases incandescent lava 81 times in a span of just 12 hours on Friday with a maximum sliding distance of 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles).

March 6:

- According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Severe tropical cyclone "Niran" (Category 5 on the Australian scale) is heading toward New Caledonia.

March 8:

- At least seven people killed while three others were missing as flash flooding swept through Chlef Province in Algeria.

March 10:

- The US state of Hawaii declares an emergency amid heavy flooding, which caused widespread damage in the state.

March 11:

- Ecuador's Sangay volcano erupts, volcanic ash rises up to 29 miles above sea level.

March 12:

- Wildfires ravage Patagonia, Argentina and destroy 250 homes while 15 people are missing.

March 13:

- More monkeys die from yellow fever in Santa Catarina, southern Brazil, authorities report.

March 15:

- At least six people are killed, dozens of others missing as Beijing, northern China and Mongolia hit by the worst sandstorm in a decade.

March 16:

- Floods and landslides caused by heavy rains in western Colombia kill at least seven people and affect thousands of families.

March 17:

- Four people are killed, houses and infrastructures are damaged as heavy rains cause severe flash flooding in the cities of Kinshasa and Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo.

March 19:

- State Emergency Service (SES) orders evacuation as New South Wales, Australia, is battered by wild weather and heavy rain.

March 22:

- Nearly 18 000 people evacuate their homes after torrential rains hit New South Wales, Australia, causing severe flooding in many parts of the state as the country sees the worst floods since 1971.

- Water shortages in Somalia leave around 70% of families without safe drinking water in the African country, according to reports.

March 23:

- Heavy rains cause flooding and landslides in northern Peru, affecting as many as 3,000 homes.

March 24:

- Italy's Mt. Etna, one of the active volcanoes in the country's south, once again erupts, spewing lava and a giant cloud of ash, local media reported.

March 25:

- As many as 45 people in Colombia die while 23 injured and three people are missing in floods caused by excessive rains, said the country's national disaster body.

- At least five people killed when an avalanche hit a village in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, according to state-run media.