Storms
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Snowflake

Unexpected spring snow blankets high-altitude regions in Türkiye

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In a surprising turn of weather events in mid-May, various regions of Türkiye defied the imminent arrival of summer with snowfall.

Snowfall blanketed high-altitude areas, transforming landscapes into wintry wonderlands but also disrupting travel plans for tourists and locals alike.

One such incident unfolded in the Haldizen Valley on the Trabzon-Bayburt border, located in northern Türkiye. Here, the 1900-altitude Demirkapı Plateau, renowned for its lush flora, became enveloped in a white veil as snowfall descended upon the region.

The snowy weather also affected the 2,740-altitude Yedigöller (seven lakes) region, encompassing Dipsiz Lake, İkiz Lake, Kara Lake, Sarıçiçek Lake, Pirömer Lake, Aygır Lake and Balıklı Lake. Roads became impassable due to lingering snowfall from the winter season, prompting efforts by municipality teams to clear blocked roads to restore access.


Comment: A report from 2 days prior: Cyclone from Russia brought snow to Turkey - European Russia has coldest early May on record


Cloud Precipitation

Flooding hits the city of Milan, Italy

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The lamination basin of the Seveso river, which has been in operation since 6.30 am, has filled up on the outskirts of Milan due to torrential rain that has caused the city's other river, the Lambro, to break its banks and flood parts of the northern city, local officials said.

The Civil Protection's municipal operations centre has been active since Tuesday to monitor the level of the river and coordinate interventions in the city, where Civil Protection and MM teams are at work, also with water pumps, to guard the basin and subways.

In the meantime, the rain continues and the Lombardy Region's Natural Hazards Monitoring Functional Centre has confirmed the orange (moderate) criticality warning for hydrogeological and hydraulic risk for today as well.


Boat

Heavy floods claim at least 7 lives in Iran's second biggest city Mashhad

Several people are believed to have been trapped in the latest downpour
Several people are believed to have been trapped in the latest downpour to hit Khorasan in Iran.
Sudden floods around the Iranian city of Mashhad have taken the lives of at least seven people, with three more missing. Severe flooding warnings are now issued for the entire northern stretch of the country from May 16 to May 20.

Areas close to the northern border with Turkmenistan have seen heavy rainfall and large hail with streets, homes and shops all under more than 90cm of water in some locations.

At the same time, further rain is expected across central Asia, with more predicted close to the Afghan and Tajik border.

City fire brigade divers retrieved the bodies of a man and a woman, both approximately 50 years old, in the northern Iranian city, which has seen several recent days of floods and freak weather events in part due to the wetter regional climate this year.


Attention

U.N. contributing scientist: 'Culling' human population could avert climate catastrophe

The suggested way of doing this would be a new, very fatal pandemic, so reports One America News (OAN)


Volcanologist and ultra-hysterical climate scientist Prof. Bill McGuire posted a comment on X: "If I am brutally honest, the only realistic way I see emissions falling as fast as they need to, to avoid catastrophic #climate breakdown, is the culling of the human population by a pandemic with a very high fatality rate."
Bill McGuire
© NoTricksZone
Reaction McGuire's comment came swiftly and harshly, so much you that McGuire took down the callous comment, claiming he didn't mean it and that readers misinterpreted the comment.

If anything, it tells us what kind of twisted fantasies are floating around in the heads of the members of the climate doomsday cult.

Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike kills 2 soldiers in the Philippines

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Two soldiers hunting down communist guerrillas along the border of Pasil and Lubuagan towns in Kalinga were killed by a lightning strike on Sunday.

"My heart bleeds for them," Major General Audrey Pasia, commander of the Philippine Army's 5th Infantry Division (ID), said of fatalities Corporal Andrew Monterubio of Gamu, Isabela, and Private 1st Class Inmongog Aronchay of Sadanga, Mountain Province.

The two were traveling on foot with other members of their when lightning struck their path.

Four other soldiers identified by Mr. Pasia as Sergeant Dennis Bananao of Tanudan, Kalinga; PFC Melvin Danggalan of Paracelis, Mountain Province; PFC Abegil Awingan of Pinukpuk, Kalinga; and PFC Riel Angya of Pasil, Kalinga were also injured from the incident.

Boat

Best of the Web: 137 dead, 125 missing after heavy rains and floods in Brazil - Worst flood in over 80 years (UPDATED)

Aerial view of flooded areas in Encantado city, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, taken on May 1.
© AFPAerial view of flooded areas in Encantado city, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, taken on May 1.
At least 10 people have died in floods caused by torrential rains in Brazil's south, authorities said Wednesday, as rescuers searched for nearly two dozen individuals reported missing.

Deluges in the state of Rio Grande do Sul have displaced some 3,300 people in more than 100 municipalities, many of whom have been moved to shelters.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced he would visit the area, which governor Eduardo Leite said was dealing with "the worst disaster in the history of our state."

Leite said work was continuing to locate the missing even as more heavy rains were forecast.


Comment: Update May 3

The BBC reports:
A hydroelectric dam has collapsed in southern Brazil after days of heavy rains that triggered massive flooding, killing more than 30 people.

Officials say another 60 people are missing in Rio Grande do Sul state.

About 15,000 residents have fled their homes since Saturday. At least 500,000 people are without power and clean water across the state.

The burst dam triggered a two-metre (6.6ft) wave, causing panic and further damage in the already flooded areas.

The dam is located between the municipality of Cotiporã and the city of Bento Gonçalves.
Update May 4

CGTN reports:
The death toll keeps climbing from continuous rains in Brazil's southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. At least 58 people have been killed, while another 67 remain missing according to the state's civil defense agency. The rains have triggered the worst floods in more than 80 years.

Update May 7

Reuters reports:
Rescuers rushed to evacuate people stranded by devastating floods across the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul on Tuesday, with 90 reported dead and desperate survivors seeking food and basic supplies.

On the outskirts of Eldorado do Sul, 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) from the state capital of Porto Alegre, many people who left their homes were sleeping on the roadside and told Reuters they were going hungry. Entire families were leaving on foot, carrying belongings in backpacks and shopping carts.

"We've been without food for three days and we've only just got this blanket. I'm with people I don't even know, I don't know where my family is," said a young man who gave his name as Ricardo Junior.

The flooding has hampered rescue efforts, with dozens of people still waiting to be evacuated by boat or helicopter from stricken homes. Small boats crisscrossed the flooded town searching for survivors.


The state's Civil Defense agency said the death toll has risen to 90 with another four deaths being investigated, while 131 people are still unaccounted for and 155,000 are homeless.

Heavy rains that began last week have caused rivers to flood, inundating whole towns and destroying roads and bridges.

In Porto Alegre, a city of 1.3 million inhabitants on the Guaiba river, downtown streets were under water.


Porto Alegre residents faced empty supermarket shelves and closed gas stations, with shops rationing sales of mineral water. The city distributed water in trucks to hospitals and shelters.

The floods have also impacted water and electricity services, with more than 1.4 million affected overall, according to Brazil's Civil Defense.
Update May 12

The Anadolu Agency reports:
The death toll from floods caused by heavy rains in Brazil has risen to 137, authorities reported Saturday.

Following heavy rains that have been affecting the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul since last week, the loss of life and property is steadily increasing.

According to a statement from the Civil Defense of the state, the number is 125 people still missing.

The number of injured has risen to 756, and more than 2 million people have been affected.

Additionally, the statement noted that more tha 600,000 people have been displaced.


The statement highlighted that hospitals have reached full capacity, necessitating additional support for patient care.



Cloud Precipitation

Rains, floods claim 315 lives in Afghanistan, cause widespread destruction (UPDATED)

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The heavy downpour, followed by floods in Afghanistan, has claimed the lives of at least 14 people, and has also resulted in widespread destruction across the nation, TOLOnews reported, citing the Taliban-led State Ministry for Disaster Management Affairs.

According to Janan Saiq, the ministry's spokesperson, 140 residential dwellings have been destroyed by floods and rainfall in 14 provinces, and over 2,000 livestock have died.

"In the last three days, due to the rain, approximately 14 of our fellow citizens have died, and one person is missing. 140 homes have been either completely or partially demolished," TOLOnews quoted Saiq as saying.


Comment: Update May 11

Bdnews24.com reports:
The death toll from devastating flash floods in northern Afghanistan has risen to 153 people across three provinces, the Taliban's interior ministry said on Saturday.

At least 138 people have also been injured in the flooding across northern Baghlan, Takhar and Badakhshan, caused by heavy rains on Friday, ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qaniee told Reuters.

Taliban authorities sent helicopters to try to assist civilians overnight after receiving reports that over 100 people were stranded.

Many people had been left homeless and transportation, water and waste systems were "severely disrupted", according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

"The impact has been profound, leading to loss of life and injuries, with many individuals still unaccounted for," the WHO's Afghanistan office said in a statement late on Friday.

It added that four health centres had been damaged and one destroyed by the floods and said the agency was sending health teams to provide treatment in the inundated areas.

Update May 12

Reuters reports:
Flash floods caused by heavy rains have devastated villages in northern Afghanistan, killing 315 people and injuring more than 1,600, authorities said on Sunday, as villagers buried their dead and aid agencies warned of widening havoc.

Thousands of homes were damaged and livestock wiped out, the Taliban-run refugee ministry said, while aid groups warned of damage to health care facilities and vital infrastructure, such as water supply, with streets left coated in mud.

In the Nahrin district of Baghlan province, people carried their shrouded dead to a gravesite.

"We have no food, no drinking water, no shelter, no blankets, nothing at all, floods have destroyed everything," said Muhammad Yahqoob, who has lost 13 members of his family, children among them.

The survivors were struggling to cope, he added.

"Out of 42 houses, only two or three remain, it has destroyed the entire valley."

Just last month: At least 66 killed in Afghanistan as heavy rains set off flash floods


Boat

Puerto Rico declares state of emergency after heavy flooding, landslides

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Puerto Rico's governor has declared a state of emergency following heavy rains, widespread flooding and landslides in the U.S. territory. One person has been reported missing.

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi also activated the National Guard on Wednesday to help 22 of the island's 78 municipalities that were hardest hit by incessant rains.

More than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain were reported over two days in Puerto Rico's interior, with some streets turning into flowing rivers.

Police issued a statement Thursday noting that numerous rivers have broken their banks and that several roads are impassable. They said an unidentified man was swept away by a river in the northwest town of San Sebastián, where several people also were trapped by rising waters, waiting on a roof before they were rescued.

Flooding has also decimated crops across the island.

The Associated Press


Arrow Down

10 killed in another landslide triggered by heavy rainfall in Kasese, Uganda

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About 10 people in Kasese District have died after their homes were swept by landslides.

The landslides were triggered by heavy rainfall that has been pounding the area for several days.

Kasese Deputy Resident District Commissioner in-Charge of Bukonzo County East, Lt. Maate Magwara, says the situation in the district is dire.

People who live in landslide-prone areas have been advised to relocate to safer areas.


Cloud Lightning

74 killed by lightning across Bangladesh in 38 days

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At least 74 people, including 35 farmers, were killed by lightning strikes in the past 38 days across the country, according to a report by a voluntary organisation.

The research cell of the Save the Society and Thunderstorm Awareness Forum published the report on Thursday, according to a press release.

The report said that at least 31 people were killed by lightning strikes in April, of whom 20 were male and 11 were female.

It also said that at least 43 people were killed by lightning from May 1 to May 8. Of them, 34 were male and nine were female.