Heavy rain and powerful winds are pounding the northern California coast and forecasters have warned people to expect more flooding and mudslides.

The powerful storm system known as a bomb cyclone has killed at least two people, including a toddler who died when a redwood tree fell on his home.

California has been under a state of emergency since Wednesday. Over 160,000 home and businesses have lost power.

Officials say the rain is falling on ground already soaked by past rainfall.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defended the timing of evacuation orders issued in Lee County, which bore the brunt of the state’s fatalities from Hurricane Ian.

The southwestern county that includes Fort Myers and Cape Coral did not tell coastal residents to flee their homes until Tuesday evening, 21 hours before the deadly Category 4 superstorm made landfall on North Captiva Island.

At least 35 county residents were reported dead, making up more than half of the 66 deaths reported in Florida by Sunday morning, according to CNN.

One of the biggest typhoons ever to strike Japan has made landfall on the southern island of Kyushu.

Typhoon Nanmadol has brought winds of at least 180 km/h (112mph) and some areas could see 500mm (20 inches) of rainfall over Sunday and Monday.

At least four million people have been told to evacuate their homes.

Extensive flooding and landslides are expected, while bullet train services, ferries, and hundreds of flights have been cancelled.

The typhoon made landfall near the city of Kagoshima, on the southern tip of Kyushu, on Sunday morning.

“A long-awaited evacuation of civilians from a besieged steel plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was under way Sunday, as U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi revealed that she visited Ukraine’s president to show unflinching American support for the country’s defense against Russia’s invasion.” (AP News‍)

‍Many on both sides call for a long-term strategy against ongoing Russian aggression.

Civilians trapped in the grim battle for control of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol have been allowed to start leaving the city by besieging Russian forces, the United Nations and the Ukrainian government said Sunday.

Invading Russian troops have been trying to oust a stubborn detachment of Ukrainian troops at a vast steel mill complex on the edge of the city, with about a thousand Ukrainian civilians also trapped at the site.

Previous efforts to establish a “humanitarian corridor” to bus out the civilians have repeatedly broken down.

Ukrainian authorities are planning to evacuate more civilians from Mariupol on Monday, after dozens were finally brought to safety following weeks trapped under heavy fire in the strategic port city’s Azovstal steel complex.

The civilians had been sheltering in bunkers beneath the steelworks that is the last redoubt for Ukrainian forces in Mariupol.

On Sunday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said about 100 civilians evacuated from the steel works and would arrive in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia on Monday morning.

Russian forces shelled the Azovstal steel plant soon after some civilians were evacuated from the besieged facility, Ukrainian military officials said ahead of fresh evacuations planned for Ukraine's final stronghold in Mariupol on Monday.

The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross began evacuating civilians from the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, and the operation will continue on Monday.

“The Mariupol humanitarian operation will continue until we achieve our goals — saving the lives of our citizens,” Iryna Vereshyuk, Ukraine’s deputy prime minster, said in a message she posted on Telegram, according to an NBC News translation. Around 100 civilians have been rescued so far, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Senior White House and State Department officials failed to grasp the Taliban’s steady advance on Afghanistan’s capital and resisted efforts by U.S. military leaders to prepare the evacuation of embassy personnel and Afghan allies weeks before Kabul’s fall, placing American troops ordered to carry out the withdrawal in greater danger, according to sworn testimony from multiple commanders involved in the operation.

The State Department plans to resume regular evacuation flights from Afghanistan before the end of the year to help U.S. citizens, residents and some visa applicants leave the country, a senior State Department official said.

The small number of U.S. citizens and thousands of Afghans left behind after the chaotic evacuation effort in the final weeks of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan could be eligible for seats on the U.S.-sponsored flights.