After years of drought the short rainy season (October to December, OND) in the Horn of Africa brought exceptionally heavy rains, particularly in November, leading to severe flooding in the South of Ethiopia, Eastern Kenya and many regions in southern and central Somalia.
During the first two weeks of September 2023 torrential rain fell in several countries across the Mediterranean, caused by low-pressure systems forming around a blocking high centred over the Netherlands.
At the beginning of May severe flooding around Lake Kivu devastated communities in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Flooding and landslides led to at least 595 fatalities with 460 reported deaths in the DRC and 135 in Rwanda.
During May 2023, the North Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, particularly the provinces of Bologna, Ravenna, Forli-Cesena, Rimini, experienced severe flooding, following three separate heavy rainfall events on the 2nd, 10th, and 16th of May.
From the 12th to the 14th of February 2023, northern and eastern regions of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Te Ika-a-Māui (North Island) were hit by extremely heavy rainfall associated with the passage of ex-tropical cyclone Gabrielle.