Storms
S


Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike kills 2 soldiers in the Philippines

NNNNNNNN
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.

Cloud Precipitation

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

mmmmm
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

mmmmmm
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

mmmmmmm
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

NNNNNNNN
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.

Tornado1

Tornadoes, severe storms leave 3 dead in Tennessee, North Carolina as damage trail stretches 900 miles

mmmmm
The nation's deadly severe weather outbreak continued Wednesday with severe storms from the Carolinas to the Midwest, with fatalities in two states.

Severe storms caused over 900 miles of damage from Kansas to eastern North Carolina, resulting in 13 reports of tornadoes. The storms appeared to impact the country in clusters, with Tennessee, southern Illinois and northern Alabama being the hardest hit by tornadoes. There were also hundreds of hail and damaging wind reports in other nearby states.

Two Tornado Emergencies - the most dire warnings from the National Weather Service - were issued in Maury, Marshall, Rutherford and Williamson counties in Tennessee and Dekalb County in Alabama. This came after two other Tornado Emergencies were issued earlier this week in Oklahoma and Michigan, marking the most Tornado Emergencies in a three-day period since March 31, 2023.

Additionally, 136 Tornado Warnings and 563 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were issued on Wednesday.


Snowflake

May snowstorm dumps 3 feet of snow at Snowbird ski resort in Utah

nnnnnnn
Thirty six inches of snow have fallen at Snowbird over the past several days.

This morning, Snowbird announced that it had surpassed 600 inches of seasonal snowfall and—weather and conditions permitting—will remain open through at least Memorial Day.

Like several other ski resorts throughout the West, Snowbird has benefitted from a late-season snowstorm cycle.

"We got 3 more inches overnight, bringing our storm total up to 36 inches," the resort's daily snow report reads. "This refresh should set us up really well to keep skiing some great snow through the remainder of our spring season."

Snowbird averages 500-plus inches of snow during the winter.


Cloud Precipitation

Kajang in Malaysia hit by flash flood

nnnnnnnn
© VCFV
The sudden rain in Klang Valley has caused flash floods and traffic congestion in Kajang.

Videos and images shared on social media showed parts of Kajang inundated by waters almost at knee length, with vehicles caught in the flood waters.

The flash floods also caused several main roads in Kajang to be closed, with social media users informing others to use alternative roads and to be careful.


Snowflake

Bariloche, Argentina buried by 4-8 feet of early-season snowfall

The snow storm caused roads and schools in the area to close.
The snow storm caused roads and schools in the area to close.
Patagonia is experiencing a "historical" Fall.

Spring showers are bringing May flowers north of the equator, but our friends to the south are bundling up as Fall settles in.

Bariloche, Argentina, on the other hand, has skipped Fall entirely and has jumped straight into Winter with four to eight feet of snow falling in the first week of May of 2024.

Ski resorts aren't expected to open for over a month, but as you can imagine, that's not stopping skiers from getting after it.


Cloud Precipitation

17 killed in northern Haiti as heavy rains flood thousands of homes (UPDATE)

nnnnnnnn
At least a dozen people are dead in northern Haiti, where heavy rains have triggered deadly landslides and washed out thousands of homes.

Most of the deaths occurred in Cap-Haïtien, where heavy downpours on Thursday destroyed a home in the southern part of the city, Barrière Bouteille. The house then took out two other homes below it.

"Initial assessments show 2,225 houses flooded and 15 houses damaged," Haiti's Civil Protection office said in its latest situation report.

The agency said heavy and moderate rains over the last four weeks have affected several regions of the country but the second largest city, Cap-Haïtien, has been hard it. Since gangs began launching coordinated attacks against key government infrastructure on Feb. 29 in the capital in hopes of bringing down the government, Cap-Haïtien has increasingly become a place of refuge for those trying to escape the violence or leave the country through its Hugo Chavez International Airport. The migration, however, is creating pressure on an already crowded city.


Comment: Update May 7

The Miami Herald reports:
The first days of Haiti's rainy season continue to prove destructive and deadly for the country's vulnerable population. The death toll from heavy rains has risen to 17, while the number of homes flooded has doubled to more than 4,000, the country's Civil Protection authorities said.

Most of the destruction has occurred in the northern region of the country in Haiti's second largest city, Cap-Haïtien, the office said in its most recent update on the weather-related disaster.

The report shows that in addition to the loss of lives, more than 4,910 homes have been flooded while at least 40 homes have been either been damaged or destroyed during the rains.