Earth ChangesS


Tsunami

Heavy rain floods southern China's Guangdong, Guangxi, forcing school closures, evacuations - 30 inches of rain in 24 hours

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Heavy rain flooded parts of southern China over the weekend, forcing school closures in Guangdong Province and prompting emergency rescues in neighboring Guangxi, local authorities said.

In Lufeng city in Guangdong, torrential rain from Saturday night to Monday morning brought an average of 329 millimeters of rainfall, according to local meteorological authorities.

Several villages reported severe flooding. In Xiaqianliao village in Nantang town, floodwaters submerged streets to depths of nearly 1.5 meters in some areas.

Firefighters were deployed on Sunday night to search for trapped residents and evacuate them by boat to temporary shelters.


Arrow Down

Massive sinkhole forms near I-70 and the Dome in St. Louis, Missouri

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A massive sinkhole emerged Saturday in St. Louis underneath Interstate 70, just blocks from The Dome at America's Center.


Snowflake Cold

Arctic cold vs the melt season

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The High Arctic is entering melt season at the cold edge of the modern record.

DMI data for daily 2 m air temperature north of 80N show 2026 running far below the normal June climb. The red line is pressed against the lower boundary of the 1958-2026 spread. Veteran meteorologist Joe Bastardi called the cold "unprecedented."

On June 12, the 80N average fell to -4.2C (24.5F). By June 14, it was still below freezing at -2.3C (27.8F).

June is when the high Arctic normally pushes toward 0C (32F). Below that line, surface melt remains constrained.

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The public is fed amplification warnings, while the core Arctic basin is sitting at/near the coldest June level in data back to 1958.

And the polar cold is not confined to the Arctic.

Both GFS and ECMWF show a broad cold pool across Antarctica, including the South Pole region.

Seismograph

Shallow magnitude 6.7 earthquake strikes near Indonesia's Palu

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A strong earthquake measuring 6.7 magnitude struck Indonesia's Sulawesi island early Tuesday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The quake occurred at 11:27 a.m. local time (0327GMT), with its epicenter located approximately 46 kilometers (28.5 miles) east-southeast of Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi province.

The earthquake struck at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6.21 miles), which can increase the intensity of ground shaking. There were no immediate reports of casualties or significant damage. Indonesia's disaster management and meteorological agencies did not immediately issue a tsunami warning.


Seismograph

Magnitude 6.2 earthquake strikes off southern Philippines

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A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck off the coast of Davao Oriental province in the southern Philippines on Monday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The earthquake was centered about 67 kilometers southeast of Pondaguitan, a coastal community in Davao Oriental, at a depth of 111.9 kilometers, USGS data showed.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or significant damage, local authorities said.

The Philippines' disaster monitoring agencies continued to assess the situation, while officials reported no tsunami threat following the quake.

The tremor occurred days after a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the Mindanao region on June 8, killing at least 61 people and injuring more than 1,040 others, according to official figures.

The Philippines lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismically active zone where earthquakes and volcanic activity occur frequently due to the movement of tectonic plates.

The latest quake is not expected to cause widespread damage because of its relatively deep depth, though authorities urged residents to remain alert for possible aftershocks.

Seismograph

Best of the Web: 61 killed, 1,200 injured after 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocks southern Philippines - 3 aftershocks of mag. 6.5, 6.0 and 6.0 (UPDATE)

People stand near a collapsed building after a magnitude 7.8 quake in General Santos, Philippines, June 8, 2026.
© ReutersPeople stand near a collapsed building after a magnitude 7.8 quake in General Santos, Philippines, June 8, 2026.
A powerful offshore earthquake struck southern Philippines on Monday, killing at least 32 people and injuring over 200.

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake also triggered tsunami waves exceeding a metre that impacted nearby coastlines.

The city of General Santos bore the brunt of the event, experiencing building collapses and significant damage to critical infrastructure. The bustling port city is home to some 700,000 people and a hub for the tuna export industry.

Tsunami damage was reported in at least one coastal village while smaller waves were observed as far afield as Indonesia, Palau, and southern Japan.

"It's a major earthquake and we're expecting damage," Teresito Bacolcol, the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said.


Comment: Details of the 3 aftershocks from Earthquake Track available here, here and here.

Update June 13

The Anadolu Agency reports:
The death toll from a powerful earthquake that struck the southern Philippines earlier this week has risen to 61, authorities said Saturday, as search and rescue teams continued operations in the hardest-hit areas of Mindanao.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said deaths increased after additional bodies were recovered in affected areas.

The GMA News broadcaster said 33 people are missing while 1,221 have been injured.

Authorities indicated that search, rescue and retrieval operations are ongoing as emergency crews continue to look for survivors and recover victims trapped by landslides and collapsed structures.

The Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC) reported that the earthquake affected 553,068 people in the Mindanao region.

About 9,393 people are staying in evacuation centers, while 54,274 have sought temporary shelter with relatives and friends outside official evacuation facilities, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Initial damage assessments indicate that 8,865 houses were destroyed and 36,691 sustained partial damage.

Rescue efforts have been hampered by aftershocks, unstable buildings and damaged roads, making it difficult for aid workers to reach some affected communities.



Cloud Precipitation

Severe hailstorm strikes Ankara, Türkiye leaving layer of ice 5 cms thick

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Heavy rain and hail hit the capital, bringing life to a standstill
A sudden downpour and hailstorm in Ankara around midday paralyzed life in the city.

Many houses were flooded, and vehicles were swept away by the floodwaters, particularly in Yenimahalle and Kahramankazan districts.


Tsunami

Intense rains cause severe flooding in San Pedro Sula, Honduras

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Man fighting against the flood.
A vehicle was trapped in the middle of a strong current of water this Thursday in San Pedro Sula, one of the scenes that reflected the impact of the intense rains that hit the city during the afternoon.

The image shows the moment a person tries to stabilize a vehicle as the force of the water surrounds it and threatens to sweep it away. The current turned the street into a raging river, creating a high-risk situation for drivers and pedestrians.

The incident occurred in the middle of traffic and the man was fighting to prevent the current from carrying his vehicle away.


Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike kills shepherd and 13 goats in Maharashtra, India

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A shepherd and 13 of his goats were killed after being struck by lightning in a farmland at Takli village in Wani taluka of Yavatmal district on Thursday.

As per sources, the shepherd Vilas Tumram had taken his goats for grazing in the fields near the village when a thunderstorm accompanied by heavy rain lashed the area.

A lightning hit a large tree, killing Tumram and 13 of his goats on the spot. After the thunderstorm subsided, nearby farmers alerted villagers. The incident was reported to the local police and revenue authorities.

Revenue department officials carried out a panchnama and sent body for autopsy .

Black Cat

Child killed in lioness attack in Gujarat, India - 6th such attack in the state in 7 months

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A seven-year-old boy was killed in a lioness attack near Ghantiyan village in Bagasara taluka. The victim, Nanu Ram Dinesh Mankar, belonged to a family from Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh who had been coming to Amreli for around 15 years during the farming season to work as agricultural labourers. The incident also sparked anger among local residents, who staged a protest against the forest department.

According to forest officials, the incident took place around 8 pm on Thursday when the child stepped out to relieve himself and was reportedly attacked by a sub-adult lioness, estimated to be three to four years old, which was roaming in the area. The animal dragged the boy nearly a kilometre into a nearby reserved forest.

Assistant Conservator of Forest (Social Forestry) Rajan Jadav said forest personnel immediately rushed to the spot and launched a search operation after receiving information about the attack.

The child's body was recovered at around 9 pm. By then, hundreds of villagers and residents from nearby areas had gathered at the site and begun protesting. The agitated crowd initially refused to accept the body, accusing the forest department of failing to safeguard people from recurring wildlife threats.

The forest department later captured a lioness and two cubs suspected to be linked to the fatal incident. Ghantiyan village lies along the Bagasara - Visavadar border, a region that regularly witnesses lion movement from the Gir landscape.

Comment: See also: 4-year-old killed in lion attack in Gujarat, India - 5th such attack in the state in 5 months