August tropical storms
Two typhoons are currently causing flooding in Asia. Meanwhile, Louisiana and Mississippi await Hurricane Isaac.
Storms continue to batter the northwest Pacific at the moment. Typhoons Bolaven and Tembin have now been downgraded to tropical storms, but have both caused widespread damage across southern Japan and Taiwan respectively.
Bolaven is currently hitting the Korean Peninsula and concerns surround the fact that having hit Taiwan twice, Tembin looks set to follow Bolaven’s path up the East China Sea into the Yellow Sea by the end of the week. This will inevitably exacerbate the widespread flooding already in place.
Meanwhile, in the Gulf of Mexico, energy companies have evacuated offshore oil rigs and shut down U.S. Gulf Coast refineries as Tropical Storm Isaac threatened to reach hurricane strength and batter the country’s oil refining belt.
Tropical Storm Isaac emerged over warm Caribbean waters on Saturday slightly weaker but ready to regroup after dumping torrential rains on Haiti, where thousands of people remain homeless more than two years after a devastating earthquake.
At least 13 people are known to have died across Hispaniola. As yet, Cuba has not reported any fatalities and all eyes now turn to the northern directions of the Gulf as the storms strengthens on its passage towards Louisiana and Mississippi.