Battering in U.K. & Ireland, deaths in Thailand & Malaysia as storms keep coming

Hundreds of thousands of people were left without electricity across the U.K. and Ireland after the onslaught of Storm Darragh this past weekend, local media reported.  Darragh, which brought wind gusts of 154 kilometers per hour (96 miles per hour), is the fourth named storm of the 2024-25 European windstorm season, which runs from Sept. 1, 2024, to Aug. 31, 2025.  Multiple flood warnings were raised in parts of the U.K. and Ireland, some of which are still recovering from the widespread flooding that Storm Bert caused last month. Two people died in separate incidents after adverse weather caused trees to fall on vehicles. U.K. national weather service the Met Office earlier issued a rare red weather warning for Storm Darragh, usually reserved for potentially life-threatening weather. Flight and train services remained disrupted. Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive of the government’s independent climate advisory body, told the BBC that the U.K. must plan better for extreme weather events like Darragh. “We’re off track against where we should be — and that’s things like flood defences, or are our houses built on flood plains?” she said. Thailand and Malaysia also experienced severe flooding last week due to monsoon rains, leaving at least 29 people dead in Thailand and at least six in Malaysia, according to reports. Tens of thousands of people were reported to be staying in evacuation centers.  Schools and almost 100 health facilities were also forced to close. Rescue teams were deployed to the southern Thai provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat,…This article was originally published on Mongabay