Worst hailstorm in 30 years hits Thailand's Nakhon Phanom province

What is described as the worst hailstorm in 30 years hit NE Thailand's Renoo Nakhon district of Nakhon Phanom province on Wednesday, May 3, 2017. The storm brought heavy rain and ping-pong sized hail for several hours, forcing residents to run for cover.

Authorities said the storm hit several villages in the district late afternoon, May 3, knocking down power poles and damaging dozens of houses, at least two heavily. However, more damage is expected as they reach other areas of the district.

The storm dropped heavy rain accompanied by ping-pong ball sized hail which lasted for several hours. Residents said they haven't experienced such storm in the past 30 years and described it as worst in memory.

Source: https://watchers.news/2017/05/04/record-hailstorm-in-30-years-hits-... 

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=1...

Tropical Cyclone Donna becomes Category 5 storm, worst May storm on record in South Pacific

Cyclone Donna covers Vanuatu's vast archipelago.

Cyclone Donna is now the worst-ever tropical storm to hit the South Pacific in May after reaching Category 5 this morning. 

Weatherwatch.co.nz said according to CNN's Severe Weather Team Donna now had sustained winds of 215km/h gusting up to a ferocious 260km/h, making it the strongest May cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere. 

It eclipses Tropical Cyclone Nadu which struck in 1986. 

New Caledonia is next in Donna's firing line as the vicious storm heads south but it's still not clear if it will bring havoc to our shores. 

The Fiji MetService is yet to officially confirm any change in storm category. New Zealand's MetService says the Fijian weather agency is responsible for the cyclone and there is no expectation the storm will be upgraded in the its next update due around 1pm. 

As Donna ramps up, forecasters are closely watching its projected path across the Pacific. 

While it's expected to weaken as it moves down towards New Zealand both MetService and Weatherwatch.co.nz say it's unlikely there will be a direct hit. 

But there was an outside chance of it colliding with a spell of bad weather from Australia due to hit the country late on Thursday. 

Even if it passed by it was also likely to cause big swells and bring rain to parts of the country. 

Forecasters say it won't be until midweek that they'll have the best idea of when, or if, Donna will pose any major problems. 

Donna is currently buffeting Vanuatu where entire villages in the northern Torres group have sought shelter in caves. Elsewhere parts of Vanuatu's capital Port Vila have been submerged after heavy rain flooded low-lying areas. 

Roofs have been lifted and buildings destroyed as Donna carves a trail of destruction across islands in the Torba province. Authorities are warning residents across central Vanuatu islands to get ready to go to shelter. 

Floodwaters have left homes in ruins carving large chunks of land from properties in Port Vila. 

Weatherwatch.co.nz said after a "bouncy" tracking at the end of last week the tropical cyclone had finally turned south after waiting for the fine weather parked over New Zealand to leave. 

Donna is expected to track past Noumea early Wednesday morning. 

The cyclone would likely weaken once it left New Caledonia but could link up with a low crossing the country and bring incredibly heavy downpours. 

There was also a chance the remnants of Donna could develop into a new low pressure system east of the North Island and deepen further. 

MetService says Donna poses no immediate risk to New Zealand. 

The next major weather feature coming our way was a complex trough currently south of Adelaide and expected to cross New Zealand later this week bringing widespread rain and strong winds. 

https://www.rt.com/news/387384-south-korea-forest-fire-dust/

Raging forest fire forces hundreds from their homes in South Korea 

https://www.rt.com/news/387552-montreal-flooding-state-emergency/

Montreal declares state of emergency as Canada floods continue to rage (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

People row a boat in a flooded residential area in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, 

Several streets and bridges in the Montreal region have been closed due to flooding. More than a dozen schools were told to remain closed on Monday, Montreal Gazette reported.

Nearly 1,900 homes in 126 Quebec municipalities have been flooded, with more than 1,000 residents leaving the affected areas, the Canadian Press reported, adding that some 1,200 troops were deployed to help evacuate local residents.

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said some 220 people in the city had been evacuated from their homes, warning that authorities would be forced to remove people if they refused to comply with evacuation orders.

“I understand that morally or psychologically, physically, mentally, people are very, very tired. We’re talking 24 hours in a row of people helping each other,” Coderre told reporters on Sunday, as cited by the Canadian Press.

“But sometimes we need to protect people from themselves,” he added.

The state of emergency, which was declared after three dikes gave way in Montreal's Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough, will remain in place for 48 hours. On Tuesday, city officials will decide whether emergency should be prolonged for five more days, Montreal Gazette reported.

Quebec Environment Minister David Heurtel warned on Friday that the rain was forecast to reach unprecedented levels, “beyond the worst scenarios that have occurred in the last 55 years.”

Federal and provincial buildings in Gatineau, a city in western Quebec, located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, closed on Monday, CBC News reported.

Gatineau resident Thomas Little spent days piling sandbags around his property, saying local authorities should have seen the flood coming.

“The Ottawa Valley watershed is controlled by dams. People should have known that the water was coming and was rising,” Little told CBC News.

Little said he decided to stay on his house’s upper floors, his basement filled with water, for fear of looting. 

“I don't even want to estimate what it's going to cost to fix the structure. It's going to be very expensive.

“I've been here 20 years, I've seen nothing like this.”

A small town of Rigaud, west of Montreal, issued a mandatory evacuation order on Sunday. Mayor Hans Gruenwald Jr. said firefighters would be going door to door to make sure people moved out.

“This is not a request, this is an order. People have to leave,” he said, as cited by Global News. 

“If there is any resistance, provincial police will intervene if need be,” the mayor noted.

“People are not in a position to decide their own future anymore.”

Severe and dangerous Tropical Cyclone Donna to threaten life and property in New Caledonia into midweek

NASA Sees Tropical Cyclone Donna and Ella "Bookend" Fiji The island of Fiji appears to be "bookended" by tropical cyclones in imagery from the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite.
Tropical Cyclone Donna is west of Fiji and newly developed Tropical Cyclone Ella has developed east of the island.

The very dangerous tropical cyclone Donna is now bearing down on New Caledonia, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to the islands
AccuWeather reports; Donna has weakened to a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone, or the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific basins, but threats continue across New Caledonia. Torrential rain and destructive winds will impact New Caledonia with the Loyalty Islands at greatest risk as the cyclone passes through the area on Wednesday.
Massive seas in excess of 8 meters (26 feet) have built over the eastern Coral Sea around Donna, posing extreme dangers to those with shipping interests.

Source: http://www.thebigwobble.org/2017/05/severe-and-dangerous-tropical-c...

http://floodlist.com/africa/kenya-mombasa-may-2017

Kenya – Deadly Floods in Mombasa After 235 mm of Rain, Thousands Displaced in Taveta

In a statement on 09 May, Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya said that 5 people had died in various parts of the county. He also said that at least 1,500 families have been displaced by the floods. Bridges and roads have suffered damage and livestock have been lost.

Meanwhile in Mombasa, the number of fatalities caused by the heavy rain and floods has risen to 9. Six people were killed when a wall collapsed in Kizingo, Mombasa town on Monday following heavy rains.

Further reports from Mombasa say that 2 people died in a landslide late on Monday in Mikindani, Mombasa. The body of an unidentified man, believed to be a flood victim, was found in Bamburi on Tuesday morning.

Original report, 10 May 2017:

Torrential rain has caused deadly flooding and landslides in southern and eastern parts of Kenya. According to WMO, 235 mm of rain fell in Mombasa in a 24 hour period between 08 and 09 May, 2017.

At least 6 people have died in Mombasa as a result of the heavy rain. Mombasa Governor H.E Hassan Ali Joho, said via Social Media, “I am deeply saddened by the death of six people who were crushed by a perimeter wall which collapsed near Mbaraki Primary due to heavy rains.”

He added, “Let’s all exercise great caution at this time. There have been higher than expected rains and this poses unusual stress on our infrastructure.”

Local media report that over 5000 people in Taveta, Taita Taveta County near the Kenya coast have been displaced by flooding and heavy rain. Local Red Cross said that over 900 families were affected.

Several rivers have overflowed in other areas, including in in Kwale County where bridges and communication routes have been damaged in Lunga-Lunga and Maji Ya Chumvi .

Elsewhere, flooding has also impacted parts of Garrissa County, including Dadaab, the location of UN refugees camps, according to Kenya Red Cross.

The flooding Mbadi River. Photo: Kenya Red Cross

The heat index or "init factor" approaches 50C (122F) as dangerous Heat Wave impacts the Philippines

Photo newsinfo.inquirer.net
The heat index or "init factor" may not be a measure of actual temperature, but it can make for very scorching days.
This was especially true this past week, as PAGASA noted heat indexes in the high forties at several monitoring stations across the country.
On Thursday, May 11, the heat index in Sangley Point, Cavite, hit 47.5°C.
In San Jose City, Occidental Mindoro, and Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, the heat index was up to 48.1°C and 47.5°C, respectively, according to PAGASA data shared with GMA News' 24 Oras.
But Dagupan posted the highest heat index record to date this year, at a blistering 53.6°C last May 8. Dagupan also holds the distinction of having the highest heat index on record, at 55.8°C on May 6, 2016.
The heat index is an indication of apparent heat, based on actual temperature and humidity.
A heat index of just 41°C is already considered dangerous as it poses potential health risks.

Source: http://www.thebigwobble.org/2017/05/the-heat-index-or-init-factor.h...

http://floodlist.com/america/chile-floods-atacama-coquimbo-may-2017

Chile – Deaths and Evacuations After Floods in Atacama and Coquimbo

Disaster management authorities in Chile say that flooding in the regions of Atacama, and Coquimbo since Friday 12 May has left 2 people dead and forced almost 3,000 to evacuate their homes. Some heavy rain has also been reported in Antofagasta and O'Higgins regions. 

National Emergency Office of the Ministry of Interior And Public Security (ONEMI) said that 2 people died in an area near Monte Patria, Limarí Province, after being dragged in their vehicle by flood water. 

Over 1,500 people evacuated their homes near Ovalle. ONEMI said people had to move to higher ground as levels of the Limarí River increased dramatically. A nearby reservoir also threatened to overflow. 

ONEMI added that 20 homes have been severely damaged and 1 completely destroyed. Over 50,000 people were left without drinking water as of 13 May. 

Flooding has damaged or blocked roads in areas around Andacollo, to the north of Ovalle, leaving over 11,000 people isolated. 

Atacama region 

In Atacama evacuations have been carried out in Chañaral, Diego de Almagro and Freirina. 

The Minister of the Interior, Mahmud Aleuy, said the Government has declared Chañaral Province a catastrophe zone to help aid recovery. 

As of 13 May, over 1,300 people in affected areas of the region had left their homes to stay in temporary accommodation. Around 3,000 homes have been damaged. Thousands of homes have been left without power. 

Flooding has left some communities cut off and ONEMI says around 1,248 people are isolated. 

Previous floods 

Parts of northern Chile suffered devastating flooding in April 2015. Twenty-six people died, 2,000 homes were destroyed and a further 6,000 damaged during that time. 

Deadly floods struck parts of northern and central Chile in February this year. At least 3 people died and thousands were left without drinking water in Metropolitan region including the country's capital, Santiago. 

Rainfall 

The Meteorological Direction of Chile said that the heavy rain has been the result of an area of low pressure, which is thought to have since moved away from the country and into Argentina. 

Minister of the Interior said that La Serena, capital of the Coquimbo region and situated on the coast, recorded more than 100 mm of rainfall in under 8 hours. The city would normally see 2.8 mm for the whole of May. 

Agencia Informaciones de Chile said via Social Media that over 20 locations recorded more than 100 mm of rain during the period of severe weather, and 2 locations saw more than 200 mm.

Jamaica Battered! Heavy rains destroy roads, bridges; flood communities

This is what is left of the Guy's Hill main road after flood waters converted it into a river yesterday. (Photo: Garfield Robinson) 

The Government says it is too early to give an estimate, but the cost to the country from relentless rains over the past three days could be staggering, considering that the damage from showers just a few weeks ago was preliminarily put at close to $500 million.It was only on Monday that the local government ministry allocated $175 million in emergency funds to six parishes to help restore access to communities which were cut off as a result of those rains.

And now, three days of heavy rains associated with a trough across the central Caribbean have again wreaked havoc on the island's infrastructure, dumping up to a month's volume of rainfall on some areas, washing away bridges, tearing up roads, forcing rivers to burst their banks, and leaving a number of Jamaicans marooned.

While there were no reports of deaths up to yesterday evening, more than 30 people have so far had to be rescued by the Jamaica Defence Force and the Jamaica Fire Brigade.

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) says the community of Aenon Town in Clarendon — the hardest hit parish — was inundated by up to 17 feet of raging waters.

Flood waters also converted the Guy's Hill main road in St Catherine into a river.

Yesterday, at a Jamaica House press conference, Acting Prime Minister Dr Horace Chang said St Thomas, Kingston, St Andrew, St Catherine, Manchester, parts of Westmoreland, St Mary, Portland, and sections of northern St Ann were also severely impacted.

“The volume of rainfall over the last 24 hours (between Monday and Tuesday), in particular, has caused severe infrastructural and agricultural damage, dislocation, and major inconvenience, especially for students who are sitting secondary exit exams. The reports have been coming in fast from Westmoreland to St Thomas and Trelawny to Portland of inundated roads and farmlands, lost crops, flooded communities, breakaways and landslides, and citizens who have been marooned or were in distress,” Dr Chang stated.

In the meantime, Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie said the parishes of St James, Trelawny, and Hanover were the only ones spared the wrath of the relentless rains.

The National Works Agency (NWA) reported extensive flooding in southern Clarendon in areas such as Sedge Pond, Water Lane, Foga Road, McGilchrist Pen, and Four Paths. Also, the Green River Bridge, which gives access to Frankfield, as well as the Dam Head Bridge, have been washed away, the authorities reported. Major landslides have occurred in communities in the parish, blocking roads, such as that which joins Danks to Croft's Hill. A long list of other roads have all been impacted by landslides.

With the Bog Walk Gorge flooded, the NWA has asked that motorists either go through Sligoville or use the North-South link of Highway 2000, as the other alternative route, through Barry, was impassable.

In rural St Andrew, there were two massive landslides, at Flamstead and Milepost 16 in Newcastle, while in Mammee Bay, St Ann, and parts of Mandeville, Manchester, there were reports of flooding. Westmoreland, though not as severely impacted, has also experienced flooding in Little London and a number of other communities.

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/front-page/battered-heavy-rains-dest...   

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/lameque-power-outages-s...

Power poles were knocked down during a huge thunderstorm in the Acadian Peninsula Thursday night.

More than 4,000 NB Power customers are still without power this morning after a violent thunderstorm ripped through the Acadian Peninsula on Thursday night.

At its peak, close to 7,000 NB Power customers in some regions of the province were without power. 

• Huge thunderstorm rips through Acadian Peninsula

Heavy winds split power poles in half and tore large roofing tiles off a store in downtown Caraquet, one of the areas that saw the most impact. Lamèque and Shippagan were also hit hard by the storm. 

Robert Duguay, spokesperson with New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization [NBEMO], said a bridge between the town of Shippagan to Lamèque Island has been closed after several electric poles fell onto the bridge. He said the Canadian Coast Guard also had to rescue a boat that was stranded in the water during the storm.

Duguay said Lamèque, located in the northern part of the province, is currently cut off from the mainland and will be without power for the next several hours.

Repair work to be complex

"We're talking about electric poles that are located in very awkward situations, very difficult locations on the bridge, so that could require more time," he said. "That bridge is directly to the wind and got hit very hard."

The road was secured by NB Power crews on Thursday night, but the bridge will remain closed to traffic and pedestrians. The only access will be for emergency vehicles. The bridge is expected to open again by Saturday morning.

Duguay said the repair work will be complex, as both transmission and distribution lines have been damaged. 

"All the poles fell down and fell directly in the middle of the road, which made the road very dangerous last night," he said.   

Duguay said Thursday night's storm was a replica of the January ice storm that hit the area earlier this year, but the impact is limited to a very small area and the storm was brief.

"The situation is now stable," he said. "It was a very quick … major storm that hit very hard on the Acadian Peninsula." 

'It was a very sudden and intense thunder and lightning storm.'- Marie Andrée Bolduc

He said there have been no reports of injuries or fatalities and that NBEMO has activated its Regional Operation Emergency Centre within the Peninsula.

Air patrol will also be used Friday morning to help with damage assessment, as crews work to restore power and replace poles and equipment as necessary.

Marie Andrée Bolduc, spokesperson with NB Power, said up to 20 poles fell following Thursday night's thunderstorm.

"It was a very sudden and intense thunder and lightning storm," said Bolduc.

She said NB Power will assess what needs to be done in the area on Friday morning and that additional crews from across the province will be helping restore power lines, as well as providing replacement equipment, such as more poles. 

"All hands are on deck, but the assessment and repairs will continue throughout the day," she said. 

Estimated restoration times will be posted on the NB Power website as they become available.

Residents are also advised to stay clear of downed lines, trees and equipment for safety reasons. Residents are asked to drive slowly in affected areas and watch for crews working to restore power near the roads.

Massive flooding hits Russia's Tyumen region

May 18, 2017

https://watchers.news/2017/05/18/massive-flooding-hits-ishim-tyumen...

A massive flooding is affecting Russia's Tyumen region in Siberia since May 11, 2017, after a large discharge of water from the reservoir in Kazakhstan. Tyumen governor said the actual release was much higher than Kazakstan officials claim. A state of emergency is in place in the city of Ishim and three municipalities of the Tyumen region.

The governor said preparations in Tyumen began in March due to expected snowmelt, but the floods that hit the region this year have a different source. "It is the water that came from the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, where there was a release or a large volume of water from Sergeevskoye reservoir," he said. He noted that they were informed about the planned release, but the information proved to be unreliable.

River Ishim, which runs through the city of Ishim, received a huge volume of water within three days and city's levees broke.

Tyumen GU Ministry of Emergency Situations said that more than 4 000 houses were flooded in Ishim and Ishimsky district. The government opened 13 evacuation centers for about 2 000 people.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2xMdvrlSjc

Tyumen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyumen

Deadly heatwave in India claims 161 lives as temperatures approach 50 Celsius (122 Fahrenheit ) with no end in sight

Photo reuters.com
Telangana had been burning over 40 degree Celsius for some days.
According to MeT department the situation will prevail for at least one more week.
At least 161 people in Telangana have died due to heat stroke during this summer.
Meanwhile the weather department has issued fresh warning predicting heatwave conditions at isolated places in all the districts of Telangana for next 5 days.
Bhadrachalam, Ramagundam and Nalgonda were the hottest places in the state with each recording maximum temperature of 46 degrees Celsius, while the maximum number of deaths were reported from Khammam and Karimanagr districts of the state.
On Friday the highest temperature recorded at Nalgonda was 46 degrees, while Ramagudem recorded 45.8, Khammam 45.2, Bhadrachalam 45.4, Nizamabad 44.4, Nizamabad 44.9, Adilabad 44.8, Hanamkonda 44.5.
Hyderabad too recorded a temperature of 42.5 degrees Celsius. Government of Telangana has formed a three-member committee in all mandals consisting the local Sub Inspector, a civil surgeon and tahsilda to determine and verify the sunstroke death.
Government of Telangana is providing Rs 50,000 as compensation to the victims' families under its Apathbandu scheme.
Neighbouring Andhra Pradesh is also witnessing abnormal hike in temperature.
Yesterday Bapatla of Guntur recorded a maximum temperature of 46.2 degrees, while Nandigama, Ongole, Janagamaheshwarapuram recorded temperature over 45.
IMD has issued a 5 day heatwave warning for districts of coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayaleseema region of the state.
Meanwhile Andhra Pradesh govternment has asked people to remain indoors till evenings after getting the heatwave alerts.

Source: http://www.thebigwobble.org/2017/05/deadly-heatwave-in-india-claims...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/92809604/oh-buoy-southern-hemisp...

Oh buoy! Southern Hemisphere's largest wave recorded by Kiwi scientists

 

A Kiwi buoy recorded the largest ever wave in the Southern Hemisphere on Saturday. (file photo)

A giant wave south of New Zealand earlier this weekend was the biggest ever recorded by a buoy in the Southern Hemisphere - and scientists expect even higher waves to follow over winter.

The 19.4-metre wave - higher than a five-storey building - was captured by a newly-deployed buoy in the Southern Ocean on Saturday morning.

Waves in the area are among the biggest in the world, and researchers say this one "isn't as big as it gets".

The data will help the NZDF better understand conditions in the Southern Ocean to design its future vessels.

"There's a possibility we'll get something even bigger, and we are starting to get towards the biggest waves ever measured anywhere," says David Johnson, the technical director of MetOcean, which partnered with the New Zealand Defence Force to deploy the buoy in February.

"The main excitement is, basically, we're measuring something in a place that's never really been measured before, and we're capturing some quite exceptionally large waves."

Source: METOCEAN

Saturday's wave was some way off the world's highest individual wave: in 2013, British scientists one about 27 metres high in waters northwest of Scotland.

The New Zealand buoy is the southernmost that's ever been deployed, and if one went further south, it would likely capture even bigger waves, Johnson says.

Before the buoy, Kiwi scientists relied on satellite data for estimates of "significant wave height" - a rather technical average across several waves, on which "biggest wave" records are usually based.

The buoy offers a greater level of accuracy of data about individual waves, and helps build a sharper picture of conditions in the Southern Ocean.

Its primary purpose is to collect information that helps NZDF design its future vessels with a greater understanding of conditions in the Southern Ocean.

"At the moment, when they're designing these vessels, there's very little understanding of the sea states they're going ot have to deal with. Obviously for safety of personnel and what-not, that's extremely important," Johnson said.

It also provides for scientists modelling and measuring waves, both in New Zealand and around the world.

The buoy runs on solar power, and a lack of sunlight in the Southern Ocean over winter may thwart its ability to record wave heights, but there's "an outside chance" that it may do, Johnson says.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/19/arctic-strongho...

It was designed as an impregnable deep-freeze to protect the world’s most precious seeds from any global disaster and ensure humanity’s food supply forever. But the Global Seed Vault, buried in a mountain deep inside the Arctic circle, has been breached after global warming produced extraordinary temperatures over the winter, sending meltwater gushing into the entrance tunnel.

The vault is on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen and contains almost a million packets of seeds, each a variety of an important food crop. When it was opened in 2008, the deep permafrost through which the vault was sunk was expected to provide “failsafe” protection against “the challenge of natural or man-made disasters”.

But soaring temperatures in the Arctic at the end of the world’s hottest ever recorded year led to melting and heavy rain, when light snow should have been falling. “It was not in our plans to think that the permafrost would not be there and that it would experience extreme weather like that,” said Hege Njaa Aschim, from the Norwegian government, which owns the vault.

“A lot of water went into the start of the tunnel and then it froze to ice, so it was like a glacier when you went in,” she told the Guardian. Fortunately, the meltwater did not reach the vault itself, the ice has been hacked out, and the precious seeds remain safe for now at the required storage temperature of -18C.

But the breach has questioned the ability of the vault to survive as a lifeline for humanity if catastrophe strikes. “It was supposed to [operate] without the help of humans, but now we are watching the seed vault 24 hours a day,” Aschim said. “We must see what we can do to minimise all the risks and make sure the seed bank can take care of itself.”

The vault’s managers are now waiting to see if the extreme heat of this winter was a one-off or will be repeated or even exceeded as climate change heats the planet. The end of 2016 saw average temperatures over 7C above normal on Spitsbergen, pushing the permafrost above melting point.

“The question is whether this is just happening now, or will it escalate?” said Aschim. The Svalbard archipelago, of which Spitsbergen is part, has warmed rapidly in recent decades, according to Ketil Isaksen, from Norway’s Meteorological Institute.

“The Arctic and especially Svalbard warms up faster than the rest of the world. The climate is changing dramatically and we are all amazed at how quickly it is going,” Isaksen told Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet.

http://strangesounds.org/2017/05/tornado-nuevo-laredo-mexico-us-bor...

A destructive tornado hit Nuevo Laredo, a city in Mexico, on the border with Texas (US) on May 21, 2017.

The Mexico-US border has been closed indefinitely.

And here from inside the damaging twister:

The unexpected tornado destroyed many buildings, among others the custom facilities of International Bridge 3 “Las Americas” thus closing it indefinitely until complete rehabilitation.

Border between USA and Mexico closed after tornado destroys custom facilities in Nuevo Laredo (Mexico).
The unexpected tornado also damaged trucks and electricity poles at the border between Texas and Mexico. 
All custom facilities have been destroyed within minutes in Nuevo Laredo.

Moreover, the heavy traffic has been suspended as the wind overturned trucks, damaged communication antennas and electric power poles cutting power in hundreds of households and companies.

Targeted tornadoes? A new way to limit immigration in the US? 
Even the biggest trucks didn’t resist the strong tornado in Nuevo Laredo. 
Electricity poles and power supply were caught off after the tornado in Nuevo Laredo. 

Costs and time for reparation have not been communicated, but emergency troops are on site to estimate damages.

Are targeted tornadoes a new way to limit illegal immigration in the US?

http://infotel.ca/newsitem/flood-watch-2017-last-nights-winds-were-...

KELOWNA - The high winds produced by last night's storm that blew through the Interior left serious damage behind in the Central Okanagan.

Environment Canada predicted the northeasterly wind could reach 70 km/h overnight, and with the lake level already well above full pool, waves were expected to crest most docks. The forecasters were not far off. The top wind gust recorded in Kelowna was 74 km/h.

It was enough to down branches, break up docks and knock out power to hundreds of Southern Interior residents.

"High winds on overfilled lakes last night caused localized flooding for residences in low lying areas on Central Okanagan lakes," Central Okanagan Emergency Operations officials from say in a media release. "Emergency crews are out today clearing windfall from streams, inspecting and assessing flood protection measures and infrastructure to determine the top priorities for further action. Residents should be aware of the risk of falling trees within saturated ground conditions near lakes and creeks."

It also brought tonnes of sand on shore, creating beaches where they didn't exist before.

Branches in City Park in Kelowna were knocked down during the wind storm last night.

Okanagan Lake rose 4.5 centimetres overnight to a level of 342.95 metres, only five centimetres below the highest level of 343 metres recorded in 1948.

"A break in the weather today offers residents a chance to fortify flood protection," emergency officials say. "With lakes approaching historic volumes, the high water levels are expected to remain well into July. Residents are urged to keep protection in place for the foreseeable future."

In Penticton today, city crews are assessing the damage public lake... The North Okanagan and Shuswap weren't spared, with trees uprooted and damaging wave action on area lakes.

In the wake of the cold front that produced the stormy weather, freezing levels have dropped on mountain pass highways in the Inter...

The forecast is for warmer weather to return later this week, which could accelerate the snow melt and further boost creek flows into Okanagan Lake. 

Sandbagging stations are stocked and replenished daily at locations throughout the Central Okanagan. A map is available at the CORD website.

A dock at a West Kelowna mobile home park was completely destroyed during the wind storm last night, Tuesday, May 23, 217.

Rotary Beach is getting more sand to help prevent damage to the shore.

Lake water has saturated a large portion of Kinsmen Park, in Kelowna.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw or call 250-718-0428 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

http://strangesounds.org/2017/05/wildfire-rages-through-hundreds-of...

Three people have been killed and hundred of homes burned down as Russia declares a state of emergency in the Krasnoyarsk region after an apocalyptical inferno engulfed Siberia on May 24, 2017.

More than 340 people are now homeless, among others 47 children. State of emergency has been declared.

3 people died and more than 170 houses burned down as an apocalyptical dry grass fires swept across several hundreds of hectares of prairies in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia.

Mainly two cities have been severely affected: Lesosibirsk and Kansk.

Deadly wildfires swept across Siberia burning down 200 homes in villages on May 24 2017. 
A house burning during apocalyptical wildfires in Siberia on May 24 2017.

The uncontrollable fire killed two people in Kansk and more than 40 houses burned down.

180 houses burned down in Siberia villages in May 2017. 
Officials are investigating the source of the furious fire. 

Another one died in one of the horticultural cooperatives in the city of Bratsk.

Desolation after a complete part of a city has disappeard, burned down by an apocalyptical fire in Siberia. 
Een churches didn’t resist the Siberian inferno. 

In Lesosibirsk, more than 40 homes burned down and the threat of the spread of fire is maintained.

Luckily onl 3 people died in the blaze. 
A cow in the Siberian city destroyed by the flames. 

State of emergency has been declared in both cities.

About 400 people are looking for another home after the destruction of their homes in Siberia.
Happy to be ae at home! Have a prayer for them! 

In overall more than 171 houses have burned down during this intense blaze. Have a prayer for them!

Moscow, Russia 29 may 2017

The devastating storm that swept in Moscow last night , with wind speed to 140 miles per hour.

https://www.facebook.com/Khneisser.weather/videos/1095354580564777/...

Severe Weather Europe

Severe winds on a downburst in Moscow, Russia today: fatalities reported,

Over 200 Killed In Sri Lanka's Worst Flood Since 2003

A house is submerged under floodwater at a village in Matara, Sri Lanka. (Reuters Photo). Source: news.sky.com

At least 202 have died in Sri Lanka's flood while 94 people are missing in the island nation's worst torrential rains since 2003 that displaced nearly half-a-million people. The Disaster Management Centre or DMC said at least over six lakh people are affected. The DMC said 1,505 houses were fully damaged and 7,617 houses were partially damaged due to floods and landslides.

Over 77,000 people have been displaced. "There was good news on the receding water levels in rivers during the past 24 hours due to low rainfall that ended at 3.30 pm," the Irrigation Department said.

Hydrology Director P Hettiarachchi said water level in Kalu Ganga and Gin Ganga was falling. Indian Navy divers and medical teams have joined rescue efforts in Sri Lanka's flood-hit regions. 

India, P. T. (2017, May 31). Over 200 Killed In Sri Lanka's Worst Flood Since 2003. Retrieved May 31, 2017, from http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/over-200-killed-in-sri-lankas-worst-...

WIND KILLER STILL THIS TIME IN MEXICO. WHAT IS HAPPENING ???

JUNE 1, 2017

What's happening on the planet? Sudden winds from the power of a hurricane suddenly spin dragging everything as it happened in Russia
A few days ago. A similar event seems to have happened in Mexico where inflatables have been literally scorched by a wind blow, seriously injuring some children.

https://web.facebook.com/alertaperiodismoalternativo/videos/1931833...

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=it&tl=en&js=y&...

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Tornado em Riva Palacio, Chihuahua-México

MAY 30 2017

https://web.facebook.com/SuperCelula/videos/1375905992489569/?pnref...

FROM MEXICAN TELEVISION Meteorologist

This tornado was formed by the shock of three air masses:

- A cold air mass in Chihuahua-México region

- A hot air mass from Gulf of Mexico

- an air mass from North West of the country.

https://watchers.news/2017/06/02/taiwan-flood-nuclear-plant-shut-do...

Deadly 600 mm (23.6 in) of rain within 11 hours floods Taiwan, shuts down nuclear plant

Posted by TW on June 02, 2017 in categories Earth changes, Featured articles, Floods, Nuclear events, Severe storms

Brutal amounts of rainfall hit northern Taiwan today, June 2, 2017, killing at least 1 person, leaving 2 missing and injuring more than 20. Heavy rain toppled electricity pylon near New Taipei's Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant, resulting in the automatic shutdown of the plant. The rains have since moved toward the center and south of the island and are expected to continue through the weekend.

Some areas of the affected region saw water surging into cars, homes and businesses after more than 600 mm (23.6 inches) of rain fell in under 11 hours. Channel News Asia reported the body of a female motorcyclist was found after being washed into a ditch in New Taipei City, one of the worst hit areas.

According to the National Fire Agency, two people, one from New Taipei City and the other from the city of Keelung are missing after being swept off, while a road bridge in the area was smashed in half by a swollen river. At least 20 people were hurt in the deluge, including a driver injured when his truck overturned and another man hurt after being buried in a mudslide.

Around 15 hikers were also stranded on a mountain in central Miaoli because of a surging river, but were thought to be unharmed and with sufficient supplies. At a kindergarten in Taipei, 53 children had to be evacuated as floodwater poured in, local media said. More than 300 flights were delayed at Taiwan's Taoyuan International Airport.

Taipower said the 345-kV tower fell at 10:31 local time, resulting in the automatic shutdown of the New Taipei's Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant reactor No. 2 - a safety mechanism activated whenever a reactor cannot transmit power, The China Post reported. Local media sources indicated that neither the reactor nor the generator was damaged during the incident. However, for safety reasons, the restarted reactor will remain running at 75% capacity - the level at which it was running when the shutdown occurred - until it runs out of fuel, which is estimated to be June 10 or 11.

The rain started late Thursday, June 1, and was easing up in Taipei by Friday afternoon (local time). However, huge amounts of rain that fell within just 11 hours caused major flooding. Friday's record holder is Sanzhi District in New Taipei City whose Sanzhi station registered staggering 645.5 mm (25.4 inches). Nantianchi station in Taoyuan District of Kaohsiung City received 638 mm (25.1 inches).

72 hours of rainfall accumulation by 12:00 UTC (20:00 local time) on June 2, 2017.

Rainfall accumulation by station for June 2, 2017 - Taiwan. Source: Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau

Total accumulated precipitation - Taiwan, June 2, 2017. Credit: Central Weather Bureau

According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Adam Douty, moisture from what was once Tropical Cyclone "Mora" moved along the Mei-yu front across southeastern China and Taiwan, leading to the very heavy rainfall. 

"The Mei-yu front is a semi-stationary boundary that forms during the late spring and summer across southeastern Asia," he said.

Douty added that this front is notorious for triggering torrential rainfall and that he expects additional rounds of rainfall along the front to exacerbate the flood risk into this weekend.

The heaviest downpours are likely to focus on southern Taiwan on Saturday before spreading back to the north on Sunday.

Featured image: Extreme amounts of rainfall flood northern Taiwan on June 2, 2017. Credit: NOWnews

June snow in Moscow – just as Trump pulls US out of Paris climate deal (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

© Grigory Sysoev / Sputnik

Source: https://www.rt.com/viral/390647-moscow-snow-climate-change/

Summer Snow in Lapland Prompts Ski Resort to Reopen (Jun 5)

The skiing season ended in Northern Lapland in mid-May, but the weather there is still so cold and snowfall so frequent that the Saariselkä resort will reopen its slopes, which are currently up to a metre deep in snow.

May 2017 will go down as one of the coldest spring months on record in Finland, and in Lapland the beginning of summer has been the second-snowiest in the Meteorological Institute's recorded history.

The situation has lead the Saariselkä ski resort in Inari to reopen its skiing slopes, weeks after the official season ended.

"We're all set in terms of snow, more will even fall this week," says ski centre manager Jarmo Katajamaa. "We are glad to offer our customers this unique post-season possibility."

Early June has been unusually snowy even for Lapland, and at Saariselkä the drifts are 50-100 cm deep.

Local hotels have taken the reopening into consideration by offering bargain packages in June.

The winter skiing season officially ended on May 14th at Saariselkä this year.

Source

https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/summer_surprise_snow_in_lapland_...

Water, Water Everywhere - US Drought Conditions Hit Record Low

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-11/water-water-everywhere-us-...

After reaching record drought conditions just a few short years ago (with over 60% of the nation more than abnormally dry), the USDA's Drought Monitor site shows that the second-wettest April on record has shrunk the area of the U.S. suffering from drought to a new low of less than 5%.

As Bloomberg reports, the milestone was mentioned in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly report Wednesday on American farm production and may bode well for crop yields.

According to the gauge, there’s an “extreme drought” in south-central Florida and it’s “abnormally dry” in parts of the Southwest.

The map also shows the grain and soybean belt from Iowa to Ohio looks to have plenty of soil moisture -- maybe even too much in flooded areas -- as the growing season moves into full swing.

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Previous Years:

Here is the relationship between the Jet Stream and the STORM cells

2 June 2017 -

Bad weather: the profile of today's afternoon thunderstorms is given by Jet Stream

http://www.meteoweb.eu/2017/06/ecco-la-relazione-tra-le-jet-stream-...

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=it&tl=en&js=y&...

We have repeatedly noticed that currents at 7000 meters (Jet Stream) can determine the weather conditions on the ground. We have an example today.

Just look at the image of the afternoon at 15.50 pm in which Italy is seen a lot of thunderstorms. Storm cells, especially those formed on Sardinia but not only, are all very elongated, synonymous with their particular intensity.

To observe the elongation direction well, it coincides exactly with those of the arrows on the radar image, the arrows that indicate the Jet Stream.

Here's how you can notice how bad weather lies exactly in the direction expressed by currents at altitude.

Moreover, the same Jet Streams are of high intensity, the stiffer stretches of the cells are stronger and therefore the level of their intensity is even more marked.

http://strangesounds.org/2017/06/weather-in-cape-town-is-going-out-...

Weather in Cape Town is going out of control.

The worst winter storm in 30 years is currently hitting South Africa’s province of Western Cape and the Cape Town metropolitan area with powerful winds, huge waves and coastal flooding, frequent lightning, heavy rain and snow at higher elevations. It has already killed 8 people and we are not close to an end.

Massive winter storm hits Western Cape, South Africa on June 7, 2017. 

Wind gusts in excess of 80 km/h (50 mph) brought destruction across the region. Around 700 structures in Cape Town have been affected by flooding. Thousands of people are now homeless.

The storm killed at least 8 people and injured many. A lightning killed a family of four ater striking their home in Kraaifontein:

The worst storm to hit the region in 30 years brought Cape Town and neighboring cities to a standstill on Wednesday morning.

At the same time, a massive wildfire is spreading through Southern Cape, forcing evacuations and road closures. 3 people died in flames in their homes in Rheenendal, today.

The storm came amid the worst drought the region has seen in more than 100 years, but experts predict it will take at least 3 wet winters to replenish drinking water supplies.

wildfires in cape town. via Twitter

Due to this severe weather anomaly, schools across the Western Cape have been closed today, and are expected to re-open tomorrow, June 8.

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2017/06/11/severe-storms-hail-power-o...

Storms Leave 165,000 Without Power in Minnesota and Wisconsin

 

More than 100,000 homes were without power Sunday morning after storms lashed central Minnesota and western Wisconsin with heavy rains, hail and strong winds. 

Xcel Energy reports that the fast-moving storm, which felled trees and power lines in communities throughout central Minnesota, initially affected 132,000 households, most of which were in the Twin Cites metro and St. Cloud areas. 

The utility company says more than 500 people were dispatched Sunday to repair outages, adding that by mid-day 45,000 households had their power restored. Still, around 88,000 households remain without power. 

By 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Xcel reported nearly 131,000 customers had their power restored. Around 34,000 households were still without power as of Sunday night. 

Xcel said some customers could be without power for multiple days. 

The severe weather started overnight in the Dakotas before pushing east into central Minnesota, dumping heavy rain and up to tennis-ball-sized hail. Wind gusts whipped up to 70 mph. 

The front edge of the storm system slammed directly against the Twin Cities metro, felling trees and power lines. Cars and homes were hit with debris, and authorities reported fires believed to be caused by lightning strikes. 

Streets in many communities were flooded with rainwater. In several places, mounds of hail could be seen floating on the floodwaters like small icebergs. In Coon Rapids, so much hail fell that streets had to be plowed. 

Meteorologist Mike Augustyniak says the storm could likely have caused more than $100 million worth of damage in the Twin Cities. 

Outside the metro, WCCO viewers sent in images of mangled grain bins and farming equipment. One dairy farm in Pennock, in west-central Minnesota, says the storm destroyed its barns, leaving its cows and heifers homeless. 

While the storm moved through Minnesota in just a few hours, it pushed into western Wisconsin, prompting tornado warnings. Just last month, a tornado killed a man at a trailer park in Chetek. 

As clean-up and damage assessment gets underway, efforts could be hindered by storms Sunday evening. 

The National Weather Service says that afternoon and evening storms could develop, again hitting the metro area and southeastern Minnesota with strong winds and hail.

Massive hailstorm coming out of nowhere pounds gathering in Bengladesh – People flee for their lives (video)

http://floodlist.com/america/honduras-floods-choluteca-june-2017

Honduras – Deadly Floods in Choluteca After 190 mm Rain in 24 Hours

Two people have died and over 250 forced from their homes after flooding in Choluteca Department, southern Honduras.

A yellow level alert for heavy rain was issued on 10 June for the southern and western departments of Choluteca, Valle, Lempira, La Paz, Intibucá, Santa Bárbara, Copán and Ocotepeque.

Rainfall warnings in Honduras. 

National Permanent Commission of Emergencies (COPECO) says ravines flooded and rivers overflowed in the city of Choluteca on Saturday 10 June.

The city recorded 83.2 mm of rain in 24 hours to 10 June, with 68.0 mm falling in just 6 hours. During a 24 hour period between 10 and 11 June, Choluteca recorded 190.6 mm of rain.

Over 100 houses have been damaged and 10 totally destroyed. As many as 253 people have been displaced and 554 have been affected by heavy rain and floods in the 9 neighbourhoods of the city.

COPECO also reported two deaths as a result of the severe weather in the department. One death occurred in Choluteca when a man attempted to cross a flooded ravine. A fatality in Talanga was caused by a tree falling on a house.

COPECO has delivered humanitarian aid to around 500 people who were affected by the floods.

Many of those evacuated were housed in local buildings such as churches in the neighbourhoods of San Francisco del Palomar, La Providencia and Sampile.

The city has a population of around 100,000 and sits on the river Choluteca River in the south of the country between El Salvador and Nicaragua.

Parts of El Salvador also recorded heavy rain recently, with 55 mm falling in 24 hours to 11 June in Acajutla.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4614930/Portugal-forest-fir...

Portugal forest fires claim at least 57 lives with 18 people 'incinerated' as they are trapped in their cars

• The the devastating forest blaze broke out on Saturday in central Portugal 
• 59 people are injured, 'many' people are still missing and homes are ruined
• Portugal has had temperatures of up to 40C with wind and lightening storms which have fuelled the flames
• Some 600 firefighters have been fighting the blaze, helped by Spanish rescuers
• It is possibly the deadliest-ever single forest to rage through the country

At least 57 people are now known to have died and 59 people are injured in the devastating forest fire in Portugal.

At least 18 people died while trapped in their cars as flames swept over a road, in what the prime minister has called 'the biggest tragedy of human life that we have known in years.' 

It is possibly the deadliest ever single forest blaze to hit Portugal.

Flames rise during a forest fire in Pedrogao Grande, Leiria District, Center of Portugal. At least 57 people have been killed, including many people who were trapped in their cars as flames swept over the road 

Of the 59 people injured, four are in a serious condition, and four firefighters and a child are all injured. 

Teams of psychologists have been deployed to care for survivors, who are 'in shock' and have lost relatives.

The blaze has been described as 'almost impossible to control' and emergency services have spoken of a 'horrible scenario'. 

Firefighters work to put out a forest fire near Bouca, in central Portugal. The forest fires have already claimed 39 lives, 59 people are injured and at least two people are missing

A lightning strike is believed to have sparked the blaze in the Pedrogao Grande area after investigators found a tree that was hit during a 'dry thunderstorm,' the head of the national judicial police told Portuguese media.  

The death toll is expected to rise further during the day as 'many' people were said to be still missing. 

A man stands on the roadside watching a wildfire at Anciao, Leiria, central Portugal. The wildfire has killed at least 43 people and injured 16 others, many of them burning to death in their cars, the government said today

Several roads of Pedrógão Grande have been cut off as firemen still battle the blaze on four different fronts, fanned by the heat and wind. 

The Pedrógão Grande area is 50 km (30 miles) south-east of Coimbra, a UNESCO world heritage site and university town popular with tourists and international students.  

It is not yet known if any British people have been impacted by the deadly blaze. 

The updated death toll was released today by Jorge Gomes, the secretary of state for internal affairs, having climbed from the 19 initially announced dead late yesterday.

Portuguese National Republican Guard firefighters work to stop the fire from reaching the village of Avelar at sunrise today. 16 people died in their cars when fire reached the road

'We are facing the greatest tragedy of human victims of recent times by a disaster of this type,' said the Portuguese prime minister, António Costa.

Dry thunderstorms - which it is now believed are responsible for fueling the fire - are frequent when falling water evaporates before reaching the ground because of high temperatures. 

Portugal, like most southern European countries, is prone to forest fires in the dry summer months.

'This is a region that has had fires because of its forests, but we cannot remember a tragedy of these proportions,' said Valdemar Alves, mayor of Pedrogao Grande. 'I am completely stunned by the number of deaths.'

Authorities had previously said that 40 C (104 F) heat in recent days might have played a part in the inferno about 150 kilometers (95 miles) northeast of Lisbon.  

A huge wall of thick smoke and bright red flames towered over the top of trees near houses in the wooded region. Local resident Isabel Brandao told The Associated Press that she had feared for her life.

'Yesterday we saw the fire but thought it was very far. I never thought it would come to this side,' she said. 

'At 3:30 a.m., my mother-in-law woke me up quickly and we never went to sleep again. We were afraid the fire would reach us.'  

The European Union has activated its civil protection efforts to help fight the fires. EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides said the 'EU is fully ready to help'

Prime Minister Antonio Costa said that firefighting crews were having difficulties in approaching the area because the fire was 'very intense.' He added that Portuguese authorities were working on identifying the victims and that Spanish rescuers would assist in efforts to control the blazes.

Portugal's civil protection agency, which coordinates the firefighting efforts, issued a warning of the increased risk for forest fires in Friday. Citing the high temperatures, it said that all outdoor fires were prohibited. 

At least 16 people died in their cars on a road between the towns of Figueiro dos Vinhos and Castanheira de Pera - an inland area with many hotels and holiday resorts. 

18 people are currently confirmed as having died in their cars.

Interior Ministry official Jorge Gomes said that three others died from smoke inhalation in Figueiro dos Vinhos.

The blaze broke out on Saturday afternoon in the municipality of Pedrógão Grande, central Portugal. 

'Many' people are said to be missing and homes have been destroyed.

Portugal has been experiencing soaring temperatures of up to 40 degrees and this, coupled with the wind, has been fueling the flames.

Portugal has been experiencing soaring temperatures of up to 40 degrees and this, coupled with the wind, has been fueling the flames. Some 600 - 700 firefighters have been fighting the blaze, helped by Spanish rescuers

600 - 700 firefighters have been fighting the blaze, helped by Spanish rescuers.

Efforts are now being made to confirm the identity of the victims. 

The European Union has activated its civil protection efforts to help fight the fires.

EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides said the 'EU is fully ready to help'.

He said Spain and France are both sending aircraft to help fight the flames.

Portugal's soccer team has expressed its condolences for the victims of forest fires that have claimed at least 57 lives. The team's players, including Cristiano Ronaldo and coach Fernando Santos, signed a statement saying 'in this sad hour we send our deepest sympathies to the families, friends and loved ones of the victims of the fires'

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy tweeted that he is 'overwhelmed by the tragedy at Pedrogao Grande. The Portuguese people can count on our solidarity, support and care'. 

Pope Francis has led thousands of people in a moment of silent prayer for the victims of the Portugal fire.

Francis referred to the 'devastating fire' at the end of his Sunday prayer, delivered from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square.

The crowd fell silent and Francis bowed his head to recall the 'many victims' of the blaze.

Francis visited the Portuguese shrine of Fatima last month. 

Portugal's soccer team has expressed its condolences for the victims of forest fires that have claimed at least 57 lives.

The team's players, including star Cristiano Ronaldo and coach Fernando Santos, signed a statement saying 'in this sad hour we send our deepest sympathies to the families, friends and loved ones of the victims of the fires.'

Portugal's team is in Russia, where it is set to start the Confederations Cup later on Sunday against Mexico.

IT'S BRUTAL! Record breaking heatwaves across Britain Europe and US as roads melt in the UK and too hot to fly in parts of US

Photo funtobebad.blogspot.com

• Roads melting in the UK 
• Hottest June day since 1976
• Commuters in Croydon refused to use trams after noticing the track appeared to be disintegrating
• Streets of Las Vegas and Phoenix have been reduced to ghost towns as temperatures hit 118F 
• Elsewhere, extreme heat baked southern Spain as the mercury eclipsed 44 C (112 F) in Cordoba

UK heatwave
Gritters were deployed to shore up failing roads as temperatures on the surface reached 104F (40C), causing them to melt.
Cambridgeshire County Council took the decision to deploy the vehicles after motorists complained that their tyres had started 'ripping the tarmac off the roads.'
Drivers were warned by police to take care on the B1165 near Newton in Cambridgeshire, where the tarmac has melted, and Agnes Owen, who works at a service station nearby, said that it 'sounded like cars were driving on water.'
Evan Laughlin, from Cambridgeshire County Council, said gritters had been used to distribute granite dust to stabilise the road surface and stop bitumen becoming stuck on wheels.
"Normally the roads stand the summer temperatures we get, but just this week it's very hot," she said. Motorists in Tarleton, Lancashire also discovered tar on their wheels as the roads melted., while some commuters in Croydon refused to use trams after noticing the track appeared to be disintegrating. Transport for London said they had thrown sand down to help protect the rails.
Rory O'Neill, TfL's Director for London Trams, said: "The flexible sealant near the track has been softened by the current hot weather and although it is having no impact on the safe running of the tram network, we appreciate it may look concerning to customers.
"Our engineers are on site and, as is standard procedure, they are applying sand to mitigate the effect of the heat."
Elsewhere pupils were sent home from a school in East Yorkshire after refusing to wear blazers as temperatures soared past 86F (30C). Kingswood Academy in Hull said the children were defiant over their uniforms, but parents complained that teachers had put their health at risk.
Allergy charities also warned that the hot weather could trigger fatal attacks and said sufferers should stay away from rural areas and avoid leaving windows open at night and early in the morning when pollen counts were at their highest.

US heatwave
As for how hot is too hot for planes to fly at all, experts tell us it shouldn't be an issue unless temperatures get over 120 degrees and that is exactly the type of temperatures California and Arizona have been suffering as many flights have been suffering
The Daily Mail reports, the streets of Las Vegas and Phoenix have been reduced to ghost towns as temperatures hit 118F and climbing during a punishing heat wave that has grounded planes and left door handles so hot they can leave people with burns.
Temperatures are predicted to reach 120F on the first day of summer in Phoenix, and the heat wave is threatening to bring the 'deadly' temperatures to several parts of Arizona, Nevada and California as well.
Las Vegas is likely to hit 117F on Wednesday, as excessive heat warnings cover almost all of California.
The National Weather Service has been forecasting Tuesday highs of 120F or above in Phoenix for the past several days, a number not seen in the desert city for more than 20 years.

 Europe heatwave
Accu weather reports the historic heat that developed across much of Spain over the past week will continue this week with no relief until this weekend.
Madrid set an all-time June high temperature on Saturday when the temperature reached 40.3 C (104.5 F) at Madrid-Barajas Airport.
High temperatures will range from 35-39 C (95-102 F) each day through the weekend in Madrid. 

Elsewhere, extreme heat baked southern Spain as the mercury eclipsed 44 C (112 F) in Cordoba last week.
High temperatures between 39 and 42 C (102 and 108 F) are expected this week.
All of France will endure the highest temperatures of the year so far as the heat builds each of the next several days.
The high temperature reached 35 C (95 F) in Paris on Tuesday, and similar temperatures expected on Wednesday and Thursday.
The last time the temperature surpassed 35 C (95 F) in Paris in June was 2011 when the temperature reached 36 C (97 F).
Similar temperatures are impacting Holland and Belgium.

Source: http://www.thebigwobble.org/2017/06/its-brutal-record-breaking-heat...

https://www.rt.com/viral/394721-berlin-floods-weather-surfer/

Cyclists persevere, surfer thrives as monster floods hit Berlin (VIDEOS, PHOTOS)

A cyclist rides on a flooded street during heavy rain in Berlin, Germany, June 29, 2017. © Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters

Houses have been evacuated and the Berlin fire brigade had been called to nearly 800 incidents as the city’s infrastructure struggles to deal with the widespread floods, Die Welt reports.

Firefighters have declared a state of emergency in the German capital. 

Traffic has been hugely affected as many roads have become impassable because of flood water or fallen trees. Sections of the city’s A100 motorway have also been temporarily shut.

Public transport has been severely restricted with some subway stations forced to close because of the deluge.

The empty flooded entrance of Spichernstrasse subway station Berlin, Germany, June 29, 2017. ©Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters

Numerous cars have been submerged by the flood waters. However, despite all of this, people are still finding ways to move around the city.

The floods gave one man the opportunity to hop on a paddleboard and surf through the flooded streets.

Unfortunately for Berliners there is no end in sight as Friday looks set to bring further torrential downpours. Die Welt report that there will be between 30 and 70 liters of rain per square meter.

Heavy rain has also caused flooding in other parts of Germany, including Niedersachsen and Baden-Württemberg.

Sky split open: Moscow hit by ‘downpour of the century’ (VIDEOS, PHOTOS)

© anniegreen_12 / Instagram

“In less than 12 hours the city expects 15-20 mm of rainfall, which is almost a third of the monthly norm. The daily maximum precipitation for June 30 is 22.3 mm, it was marked in 1923,” Moscow weather services told TASS, adding that the capital hasn’t seen a storm like this in 94 years.

Muscovites were awed by apocalyptically overcast skies just before the storm.

View image on Twitter

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“This post is for those who forgot their umbrellas at home,” one person wrote.

The winds could reach 24mps, according to the Moscow emergency services, which advised people to stay at home. 

Blitzortung.org website, which provides lightning and thunderstorm information in real time, released a map of the Moscow storm online.

Some parts of the city were battered with quite sizeable hail.

Muscovites did not lose their sense of humor in the storm. “It’s nice when ice for cocktails is falling from the sky,” one person wrote.

One of the hashtags launched was #ливеньвека (#downpourofcentury).

“And this is called ‘Summer!’” another person wrote with some bitterness.

At least eight passenger planes which were due to arrive in Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo airports, had to land in Domodedovo airport which was the least affected by the storm, an official from State ATM Corporation, an air navigation service, told RIA Novosti. Two more planes had to divert to St. Petersburg and Kazan, the official added.

Around 4,400 people were left without power in Moscow and Moscow Region on Friday, the Energy Ministry said in a statement. 

With streets flooded across the city, a video emerged apparently showing a Moscow man tackling the waters in his inflatable boat. He was wearing fishing gear and even took his fishing rod with him, apparently hoping for a catch.

Source: https://www.rt.com/news/394826-moscow-storm-hail-rain/

Severe storms leave flooding in Rockford IL area

http://wgntv.com/2017/06/28/severe-flooding-reported-in-the-rockfor...

Heavy rain pounded the Rockford area Wednesday night.

Tornado warnings were issued and severe thunderstorms dropped torrential rainfall across portions of north central Ilinois Wednesday evening with severe flooding reported in around Rockford. Numerous cars were stranded, viaducts are flooded and Kent Creek is out of its banks.

Many basements are flooded as the heavy rainfall continues.

Doppler estimates indicate that 3 to upwards of 5 inches of rain have already fallen in the area. The Rockford Airport has measured 2.37 inches within two hours with the rain still falling.

In Loves Park, streets were covered with several inches of water. Cars stalled when they tried to navigate the flooded roads.

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Heavy Rain Leads To Flooding, Floating Cows Around Maryville, Missouri

http://kcur.org/post/heavy-rain-leads-flooding-floating-cows-around...

The National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, issued a Flash Flood Warning for counties in northwest and north-central Missouri Thursday morning after a string of severe storms dumped up to a foot of rain in the area, starting Wednesday night. 

Video I took of what appears to be a tornado (unconfirmed) on the ground in far eastern Nodaway County, Missouri. #mowx pic.twitter.com/08fubJRMFJ

— Mark Zinn (@NPNowZinn) June 28, 2017

The heaviest flooding seemed to be focused around Maryville. There were reports from the Nodaway County Sheriff's Office of cows floating across highways east of Maryville.

"There have been numerous road closures, we have heard of one water rescue, there have been reports of  floating cows, floating livestock up by the Maryville area," said Scott Watson senior service hydrologist with the Kansas City National Weather Service.

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Heavy rain brings flash floods and havoc in Mexico City

http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/heavy-rain-brings-flash-floods-and-...

Transportation infrastructure hard hit as up to 70 millimeters recorded in Mexico City

The rainy season is in full swing once again in Mexico City where a deluge caused havoc yesterday.

Heavy rains lashed the city beginning in the late afternoon, causing flash flooding that stranded motorists in their submerged vehicles, forced the closure of key transportation infrastructure and flooded people’s homes.

Up to 70 millimeters of rain fell on some parts of the city.

The boroughs of Miguel Hidalgo and Azcapotzalco were the worst hit although the deluge also affected other boroughs and the wider metropolitan area.

There have been no reports of fatalities.

Last night Mexico City Mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera stated that 2,000 government workers on 20 teams were working to restore affected roads in the capital.

Flooding was particularly severe on the city’s most famous boulevard Paseo de la Reforma and important ring road Circuito Interior, with some vehicles completely submerged by the rapidly accumulating waters.

Police and other emergency services came to the rescue of stranded motorists.

The city government also granted free access to the elevated road network known as the segundo piso to relieve traffic congestion after several arterial roads were cut off.

Line 7 of the Metro system was also affected with nine stations closed. Metro chief Jorge Gaviño said that some 30,000 people were affected.

Water inundated tunnels on the line and although pumps were working at their full capacity they couldn’t cope so it was decided to suspend service.

The rest of the system remained unaffected.

The river Río de los Remedios also burst its banks, mainly affecting the México State metropolitan municipalities of Naucalpan and Ecatepec.

State authorities deployed the emergency response team Grupo Tláloc — aptly named after the Aztec god of rain — to the area to attend to around 120 homes that were inundated by the rains and consequent flooding of the river. Some families were evacuated to a temporary shelter at a public hospital in Naucalpan.

State Infrastructure Secretary Francisco González Zozaya attributed the flooding to a blocked drainage system caused by an accumulation of trash, a common occurrence in the city.

More rain is forecast for later today possibly accompanied by electrical storms and hail in Mexico City and parts of the State of México although the boss of Mexico City’s water system ruled out any possibility of it matching the intensity of yesterday’s downpour.

Several other states in the central part of the country are also experiencing wet weather.

Temperature in Iran hits 129F (53.7C) - the hottest in the country's history and one of the highest ever in the world

• Temperatures hit 129F (53.7C) in the city of Ahvaz in south west Iran on Thursday
• It came close to world record 134F (56.6C) set in Death Valley, California in 1913
• Conditions in Ahvaz are forecast to dip back down to below 117F (47C) today

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4653924/Iran-temperature-hi...

Temperatures in Iran have reached 129F (53.7C) making it the hottest day in the country's history and one of the highest ever in the world.

The scorching conditions were recorded in the city of Ahvaz in Iran's south west on Thursday, according to a French meteorologist.

It was a June record for Asia and came close to the world record 134F (56.6C) measured in Death Valley, California, on July 10, 1913.

Temperatures in Iran have reached 129F (53.7C) making it the hottest day in the country's history and one of the highest ever in the world.

The scorching conditions were recorded in the city of Ahvaz in Iran's south west on Thursday, according to a French meteorologist.

It was a June record for Asia and came close to the world record 134F (56.6C) measured in Death Valley, California, on July 10, 1913.

Kapikian said the mercury climbed to 53.7C - eclipsing Iran's previous high of 53C. 

According to USA Today, the heat index, which takes humidity into account, was even higher reaching 142F (61.1C)

Temperatures in the region are forecast to dip to below 117F (47C) today.

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It was 129 degrees in Iran Thursday, which is one of the Earth's hottest temperatures ever recorded

https://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2017/06/29/129-degrees-iran-...

The southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz soared to a brutal 129 degrees Thursday, which is Iran's highest temperature ever recorded. 

It's also one of the world's hottest reliably measured temperatures and the highest June temperature in Asia on record. 

The information comes from Etienne Kapikian, a meteorologist with Meteo France, the French national weather service.

Officially, he said the temperature was 53.7 degrees Celsius, which is 128.7 degrees Fahrenheit. Iran’s previous hottest temperature was 127.4 degrees.

Another weather source, the Weather Underground, said Ahvaz hit 129.2 degrees Thursday afternoon. The heat index, which also takes humidity into account, hit an incredible 142 degrees. 

Fortunately, the weather forecast for Ahvaz on Friday is for "cooler" weather, with a high of only 119 degrees, according to AccuWeather.

The official all-time world record temperature remains the 134-degree temperature measured at Death Valley, Calif, on July 10, 1913. 

https://www.rt.com/viral/394840-rome-fountain-drought-heatwave/

Rome fountains run dry as heat wave sparks ‘exceptional’ drought across Italy

The fountains – nicknamed ‘nasoni,’ or big noses for their long nozzles – are a source of relief for residents and tourists alike during the hot summer months, continuously dispensing water on piazzas and street corners.

© Andrea Ronchini / Global Look Press

The water, which is drawn from the volcanic Lake Bracciano to the north of the city, will be stopped Monday.

“We know perfectly well the inconvenience that this will cause, but it is due to the exceptional drought,” Paolo Saccani, the head of the utility company that manages the fountains, wrote in a letter to Virginia Raggi, Rome’s mayor.

Local authorities are alarmed by the falling level of the lake in recent months – but while the city has laid the blame for the measures on the heat wave, others have highlighted the city’s poor plumbing and infrastructure.

“There will be negative consequences for everyone,” said Carlo Rienzi, the president of Codacons, a consumer rights organization. “Turning off the fountains will force tourists and citizens to buy bottles of water in bars and shops and prices will no doubt be hiked up. The fountains represent just one percent of Rome’s wasted water, against 50 percent caused by pipeline leaks.”

Almost all regions of Italy have experienced lower than average rainfall so far this year. Such is the water shortage in regions such as Emilia Romagna and Tuscany, some northern areas have declared a regional state of emergency.

With temperatures topping 43 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country on Friday, meteorologists are predicting that temperatures will remain high for the remainder of the summer.

There are more than 2,800 fountains in Rome, with some dating back over 2,000 years.

Many tradespeople, including food vendors and market stalls, use the fountains on a daily basis and are likely to be dramatically affected by the shutdown.

Mercury rising: Heatwave in Bulgaria kills 5 with many more taken to hospital as temperatures hit 44 degrees Celsius (111.2 degrees Fahrenheit)

photo ibtimes.co.uk
Five people died on Saturday as soaring temperatures hit the Bulgarian capital Sofia where the mercury was expected to reach as high as 44 degrees Celsius (111.2 degrees Fahrenheit), hospital sources said.
By midday (0900 GMT), the city's emergency services had provided assistance to around 200 people who felt unwell, emergency services spokeswoman Katia Sungarska said.
She advised residents not to leave the house during the day and not to call the emergency services except in cases of urgency in order to allow ambulances to reach those in serious need.
Sofia has for years suffered from a chronic shortage of ambulances, with a fleet of just 25 vehicles serving a city of around two million people.
The red alert for extreme heat was activated on Saturday in 17 regions across the country for the first time this summer.

Source: www.thebigwobble.org/2017/07/mercury-rising-heatwave-in-bulgaria.html

China - Major Yangtze River tributary breaks record flood level 

The submerged Orange Isle scenic area is seen in flood-hit Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, July 2, 2017. Days of torrential rain in Hunan Province raised the water level of the Xiangjiang River, a major tributary of Yangtze River, to exceed its record flood level Sunday morning. (Xinhua/Long Hongtao)

CHANGSHA, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Days of torrential rain in central China's Hunan Province raised the water level of the Xiangjiang River, a major tributary of the Yangtze River, to exceed its record flood level Sunday morning.

The water level in the section of the river in Changsha, capital of Hunan, reached 39.21 meters at 6:30 a.m., higher than the previous record of 39.18 meters set by a massive flood in 1998.

Already at 3.2 meters above the warning level, the water level is expected to continue to rise as heavy rain is forecast for upstream regions over the next few days.

As of 2 p.m., the water level had risen by another 0.21 meters to 39.42 meters, according to Changsha flood control office.

Local authorities issued a red alert Sunday afternoon, warning that water levels along the whole course of the Xiangjiang River are forecast to be near or above record levels during the next three days.

Meanwhile, the water levels in Dongting Lake and several other major rivers in Hunan have all risen above warning levels, worsening the flood control situation.

Currently Changsha is on high alert with workers inspecting every 50 meters of the dikes to guard against potential breaches.

Hundreds of officials and residents in Yuhua district worked overnight Saturday building a wall of 65,000 sandbags to block water from flowing into the city area.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 workers in Tianxin district were reinforcing dikes and pumping water to manage potential flood threats.

More than 2,000 paramilitary police have joined locals to repair damaged dikes and helped evacuate over 7,000 residents in cities of Shaoyang, Yiyang, and Huaihua.

Hunan has experienced severe flooding after ongoing torrential rain over the last 10 days. Since June 22, flooding has inundated parts of several cities, forced 311,300 people to evacuate, damaged 295,160 hectares of crops and destroyed 6,369 houses.

Rainstorms lashed 832 towns in southern and eastern Hunan from Saturday morning to Sunday morning, with Huangtang in Ningyuan County receiving the most precipitation at 264.2 mm within 24 hours.

The water flow from the Three Gorges Reservoir was reduced to 12,700 cubic meters per second Sunday afternoon to reduce the flood pressure downstream.

A rain-triggered mudslide that hit a village in Hunan's Ningxiang County Saturday afternoon has left five people dead, four missing and injured 19 others.

Many parts of the county received over 200 mm of precipitation within 24 hours, with flooding disrupting traffic and telecommunications and raising water levels in reservoirs and rivers above warning levels.

In neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, flooding disrupted railway services with 45 trains canceled, returned to origin or detoured.

The latest round of torrential rain since Saturday has affected more than 230,000 people in 20 counties and districts in Guangxi, left two people dead and one missing.

The National Meteorological Center issued a blue alert for rainstorms at 6 p.m. Sunday, forecasting heavy rain for many parts of east and south China within the next day. The southern coastal regions of Guangxi are expected to receive precipitation of up to 180 mm in 24 hours.

Read more: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-07/02/c_136411593.htm   

IDF halts training exercises due to extreme heat ISRAEL

03.07.17
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4984110,00.html

Due to extreme temperatures being observed throughout Israel, the IDF has cancelled all training exercises over safety concerns.

Heat wave sizzles throughout Israel

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4984120,00.html

Like something out of a certain Johnny Cash song, Israel seems to be in a burning ring of fire, with extreme temperatures being recorded all throughout the country, causing emergency services to issue special instructions warning citizens of heat-related dangers.

Israel is currently in the midst of an extreme heat wave, with severe temperatures being observed in all parts of the country.

"In some areas, temperatures are approaching extreme values that are not normally measured," said meteorologist Tzachi Waxman.

According to Waxman, temperatures are expected to be around 47 degrees Celsius (116 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Jordan Valley, Beit She'an, the Dead Sea and the Arava.

In fact, temperatures are so high in certain parts of the country that one man cooked an egg on the hood of his vehicle.

The extreme heat poses a significant safety issue and the IDF has even taken precautions, cancelling all training exercises Monday for fear of heat strokes and dehydration.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-weather-idUSKBN19P1AH?il=0

Too much rain: China's floods roil hydropower, corn supplies

Rescuers pile up sandbags to block flood waters at a flooded village in Yiyang, Hunan province, China July 4, 2017. 

Severe flooding across southern China has forced the world's largest power plant to slash capacity on Tuesday, delayed grain on barges and damaged farms along the Yangtze River, as the death toll rose to 56 and economic costs hit almost $4 billion.

Heavy rainfall, mudslides and hail caused by the annual rainy season has killed 56 people and 22 people were missing across 11 provinces and regions as of Tuesday morning, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

More than 750,000 hectares (1.85 million acres) of crops have been damaged and direct economic losses totaled more than 25.3 billion yuan ($3.72 billion), it said.

The government said it had disbursed 700 million yuan ($103 million) in emergency aid to four flood-hit provinces - Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan and Guizhou.

Rain in the southern provinces is expected to ease in the coming days, but weather forecasters predict downpours will move to the southwestern province of Sichuan.

In what analysts said was a move unprecedented in its scale, the Three Gorges and Gezhouba, two of China's top hydropower plants, closed as much as two-thirds of their capacity to avert flooding further downstream on the Yangtze River.

The move stoked concerns about electricity supplies from China's second-largest power source as a heatwave continued to scorch northern parts of the country, raising the export prices of coal, the fuel the country uses to produce most of its power.

Coal from Australia's Newcastle terminal rose to its highest since April, with mining outages tightening supply amid strong northern hemisphere summer demand.

The annual rainy season, which arrived in the second half of June, has hit southern Hunan province, one of the nation's largest hog and freshwater fish producers, the most.

High water levels on the Yangtze, Asia's largest river, also slowed barges carrying grain from northern ports to the south, spurring a rise in freight rates and physical corn prices in some regions, analysts and corn buyers said.

Zhang Yi, a purchase manager at a feed producer in Hunan, said he had three ships carrying about 5,000 tonnes of corn stuck on waterways near the port of Changsha, the capital of Hunan, since Friday.

CORN PRICES RISE ON BARGE DELAYS

Spot corn prices at major ports along the Yangtze and its tributaries, including Changsha, Nanchang in Jiangxi province, and Wuhan in Hubei province, have risen by 30 yuan to 1,800 yuan a ton since last week, according to data provided by China National Grain and Oils Information Center, a government think tank.

China usually transports corn from northern growing regions to the ports in the south. Then the grain is shipped along the Yangtze and its branches, to central and western provinces including Hunan, Hubei, and Sichuan.

The Yangtze river's large watershed also accounts for 60 percent of the nation's freshwater fish output.

Cao Delian, manager of the Dabeinong Changlin fish farm, estimated that he has lost about one-third of his carp due to the deluge.

"It's the biggest loss we've seen in at least 5 years," he told Reuters.

On Monday, a natural gas pipeline in Guizhou owned by China National Petroleum Corp collapsed due to a mudslide, causing an explosion that killed at least eight people and injured another 35.

In his office in Liuyang, a city near Changsha, Zhang was hoping water levels would continue to subside on Wednesday.

"I have stocks of corn that can last for four to five days. As long as it does not rain tomorrow, Changsha port can resume operation and I will get my corn offloaded," Zhang said.

doovi.comdoovi.comAnother glimpse of the future! After deadly heatwave of 44 degrees Celsius 200 liters of rain per square meter floods parts of Bulgaria

Photo doovi.com
Another glimpse of the future, an astonishing amount of rainfall hits Bulgaria after heatwave kills 5 with many more taken to hospital as temperatures hit 44 degrees Celsius (111.2 degrees Fahrenheit). In the Western Bulgarian town of Samokov, the municipality is assessing the damage done by the torrential rainfall experienced Monday.
Mayor Vladimir Georgiev told Bulgarian National Television (BNT), last night, 15 teams had been busy draining people's homes after the rain had turned streets into rivers.
In Samokov itself, but also in villages around the town, a lot of damage had been registered to the infrastructure.
According to Georgiev it is too early to release figures, since the damage needs to be calculated first. Several streets were damaged, while basements, houses and apartments were flooded.
This includes public buildings.
During the heavy rainfall, the authorities on site received 560 calls.
In the region around Samokov, 200 liters of rain per square meter had fallen on July 3, 2017.
By now, the situation in Samokov has normalized.
Mayor Georgiev has promised help to affected inhabitants.
Five people died on Saturday as soaring temperatures hit the Bulgarian capital Sofia where the mercury was expected to reach as high as 44 degrees Celsius (111.2 degrees Fahrenheit), hospital sources said.
By midday (0900 GMT), the city's emergency services had provided assistance to around 200 people who felt unwell, emergency services spokeswoman Katia Sungarska said

Source: http://www.thebigwobble.org/2017/07/another-glimpse-of-future-after...

Kenya enjoys rare snowy feel, but meteo agency says it was hail storm

 http://www.africanews.com/2017/07/05/kenya-enjoys-rare-snowy-feel-b...

 Kenyans on Tuesday evening (July 4) took to social media to celebrate a rare case of snow falling in the East African country.

Photos and videos shared on social media showed whitish substance on the streets of the town of Nyahururu located in the country’s Laikipia County.

The Kenyan Meteorological Agency, however, clarified and explained that the incident was a case of rare hail storm and not snow. ‘‘For it to snow temperatures are usually below 0°C,” they explained.

Zambians enjoy snowy feel in May

Zambians in the capital Lusaka and surrounding towns in May had their fair share of the snowy feel as residents woke up one morning to find streets and backyards filled with ice.

In the case of Zambia, local news portals reported that the incident was as a result of a rare hail storm that fell after a heavy rainfall the previous night.

Snow rarely falls in Africa but on mountains in South Africa, the Maghreb and on Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro. However, hailstones do fall sometimes in southern Africa when the temperature hits record lows.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-06/japan-floods-almost-500000-as...

Japan floods: 11 missing, 500,000 to evacuate after days of torrential rain in Fukuoka and Oita

Landslides were reported in several areas, and one man was dug out from the mud without signs of life, public broadcaster NHK said.

At least 11 people were missing or could not be reached, including a child, and many more were stranded and calling for help across areas of Fukuoka and Oita prefectures on the Japanese island of Kyushu.

Children and teachers at a school were among those cut off by the floodwaters.

Japan's weather bureau said the amount of rain in the region had broken all records and was continuing to fall.

Parts of Fukuoka prefecture were hit by 774 millimetres of rain in nine hours on Wednesday, more than two times the amount of rain that falls in a normal July, NHK said.

The massive landslides caused by the flooding left at least two houses swept away.

PHOTO: Record amounts of rain have fallen in parts of south-western Japan...

Some 7,500 rescuers, including police, firefighters and soldiers from Japan's Self Defence Forces, were mobilised to help with evacuations and search for the missing.

Officials said the military presence could be expanded up to 5,000 people and 50 helicopters if needed.

Residents flee to higher ground

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said: "There are many reports of people whose safety cannot be confirmed, things like 'a child was swept away by the river' and 'my house was swept away and I can't get in touch with my parents'."

"We will keep in close contact with the disaster-hit areas and work with all our energy to save lives and ascertain the extent of the damage," he told an early morning emergency early morning news conference.

Fukuoka and Oita prefectures, both largely rural areas, were the worst-hit by the rain, which was caused by a low pressure area on the Pacific Ocean that fed warm, moist air into Japan's seasonal rainy front.

Residents spent a worried night at evacuation centres set up at schools and government buildings on high ground.

PHOTO: The flooded area in Asakura, Fukuoka prefecture, south-western Jap...

"I heard this tremendous rumbling noise and then the house exploded. A tree burst through the wall into the room," a man told NHK.

A schoolboy sitting with his family told NHK: "I haven't heard from some of my friends, and I'm really worried."

There were no immediate reports of major transportation problems, but television footage showed a railway line left broken and twisted and roads swept away by floodwaters.

All operations were stopped at a Daihatsu Motor plant in Oita because road conditions stopped staff and parts getting to the plant.

The same area was pounded by heavy rain earlier this week from Tropical Storm Nanmadol, which has since passed out to sea.

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/100-mile-house-fire...

Thousands forced to flee as over 150 wildfires rage in B.C.

Saturday, July 8, 2017, 8:51 PM - Thousands of people have been forced from their homes in central and coastal regions of British Columbia as over 180 wildfires continue to rage across the province.

Now at 3,200 hectares and growing, the so-called "Gustafsen Fire" was first reported on Thursday and is spreading rapidly, less than 10 kilometres from 100 Mile House.

Emergency management made the decision to expand evacuation orders to an estimated 2,050 properties in 150 Mile House, 108 Mile Ranch, and Lac La Heche on Friday amid fears that the fire will continue to spread aggressively. The Cariboo Regional District (CRD) also issued an alert for about 220 other properties.

The B.C. Wildfire Service reported the blaze as 0 per cent contained as of Saturday afternoon, adding that the 3,200 hectare size was an estimate as smoke made ascertaining the exact extent difficult.

The service's Saturday afternoon statement warned the public to be cautious on roads and stay away from the fire area, saying the fire "is expected to grow substantially in the next hours and the amount of growth is dependent on weather and wind conditions."

B.C.'s Chief Fire Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek told Global News the fire is, “burning in some relatively dense timber, so it’s an aggressive fire, it’s burning quite hot and that has challenged our efforts."

The fire, initially estimated at 500 hectares in size after its discovery on Thursday, blossomed overnight thanks to very dry conditions and increasing winds. A ridge of high pressure is expected to keep the area hot and free from showers through at least Monday, though dry lightning is possible; all things that would work against crews working to contain the blaze.

"The weather is key," Al Richmond, chairman of the CRD told CBC Saturday. "If the weather stays low, that helps. But if things pick up again, that'll be tough."

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. 

Ashcroft Reserve Fire

Further south, the Ashcroft Reserve Fire - which also sparked on Thursday - has spread to an estimated 4,000 hectares as of Saturday afternoon. The entire town of Cache Creek remains under an evacuation order. 

The B.C. Wildfire Service reports that structures have been "impacted" by the fire, but it is not possible to determine how many, due to poor visibility in thick smoke.

Highways 1 and 97 C between Cache Creek and Ashcroft have been closed due to the blaze.

The fire in the community of 150 Mile House, which is just south of Williams Lake, is an estimated 2,000 hectares. The cause remains under investigation.

About 10 km northeast of Princeton, another wildfire continues to rage, scorching an estimated 1,500 hectares. It's zero per cent contained and is currently classified as "out of control."

A mandatory evacuation order in the area has been expanded to 54 total properties. Smoke has made it difficult to safety fight the fire from the ground, according to B.C. Wildfire Service.

Lagos floods: Heavy rain, storms cause chaos - Nigeria WEST AFRICA

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/09/africa/lagos-flood-storms/index.html

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN)Lagos, one of Africa's most populous cities, has been hit by torrential downpour and thunderstorms over the weekend that has left many parts of the city flooded.

Residents in the Lekki and Victoria Island suburbs woke up on Saturday morning to flooding in their homes and their cars submerged under water.

One brave resident took to swimming in the infested waters on Lekki road, an affluent suburb that is home to some of the most expensive real estate in the coastal city.

Another was spotted kayaking across Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, a usually bustling business district.

Nigeria's largest city and commercial capital has been hit by days of persistent heavy rain and storms at the height of the rainy season.

The state government issued a statement urging residents in affected areas to stay at home and for those living in lowlands to 'move uplands.'
"You are implored as much as possible to stay indoors unless it is essential to your safety and livelihood," said Samuel Adejare, the city's environment commissioner.

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