Earth ChangesS


Lightning

Russian tourist survives lightning strike at Black Sea resort

lighting on ocean beach
© Getty Images / Erekle Sologashvili
The 32-year-old man was struck while recording a video on a pier in the Black Sea resort of Batumi

A Russian tourist has survived a lightning strike in the Black Sea resort city of Batumi in Georgia. The man, named as 32-year-old Pavel Smirnov, is reportedly in hospital preparing to undergo an emergency operation.

Smirnov was on vacation with his brother and friends when they gathered on a pier to enjoy the sunset on Wednesday evening.

Arrow Down

Death toll rises to 4 after landslide caused by heavy rain in Jilotzingo, Mexico

Fearing more landslides, authorities have started evacuating residents in the vicinity and have set up an emergency shelter in a local church.
Fearing more landslides, authorities have started evacuating residents in the vicinity and have set up an emergency shelter in a local church.
The heavy rains recorded on Friday, September 13, caused a landslide on the top of a hill in the community of San Luis Ayucan, Jilotzingo, State of Mexico.

In immediate response, municipal, state and federal authorities went to the site to carry out the rescue of 15 people, at that time, reported missing.

According to initial reports, the landslide of land and rocks has buried at least eight houses with people inside.

Despite the adverse weather conditions, emergency services and rescuers continue to work against the clock in the affected area to assist those affected.


(Translated by Google)

Cloud Precipitation

Typhoon Bebinca hits Shanghai, strongest storm since 1949

Pedestrians walk past a downed tree as they struggle with their umbrellas in strong winds and rain from the passage of Typhoon Bebinca in Shanghai on Sept. 16, 2024.
© Hector RetamalPedestrians walk past a downed tree as they struggle with their umbrellas in strong winds and rain from the passage of Typhoon Bebinca in Shanghai on Sept. 16, 2024.
Typhoon Bebinca has made landfall in Shanghai, the strongest storm to hit China's biggest city since 1949.

The typhoon hit at about 7.30am (23:30 GMT) on Monday in the coastal area of Lingang New City in Shanghai's east, the China Meteorological Administration said.

With wind speeds of up to 151 kilometres per hour (94 miles per hour) near its eye, Bebinca is the strongest storm to hit the city since Typhoon Gloria in 1949, the state-run Global Times reported.

Flights and train services were cancelled, highways closed and Shanghai's 25 million residents advised to stay at home ahead of the storm's arrival. A 40km/h (25mph) speed limit was imposed on roads inside the city.


Lightning

5 family members killed in lightning strike in northwest Pakistan

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Five members of a family, including a woman, were killed when a fire broke out after lightning struck a mud house in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to rescue officials.
The incident occurred on Saturday in the Mardan district of the province.

Firefighters rushed to the site after receiving information about the incident and extinguished the blaze, officials of the emergency service Rescue 1122 said.

The bodies of the five family members were shifted to a hospital.

The house, built in a mountainous area, served as an accommodation for the devotees of a nearby shrine, according to the officials.

Separately on Friday night, five people of a family, including three children, were killed in the Charsadda district when the roof of their house collapsed due to a thunderstorm.

PTI

Seismograph

Magnitude 6.5 earthquake reported off British Columbia coast on Sunday

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Officials reported a 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the B.C. coast Sunday afternoon

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck off the southern tip of British Columbia's Haida Gwaii around 3:30 p.m. local time on Sunday afternoon.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported the M6.5 quake was centered about 265 km south of Prince Rupert, B.C., and it occurred at a depth of 33 km beneath the surface.

The U.S. Tsunami Warning Center said that there was no threat of a tsunami from this earthquake

Snowflake

Blizzard on Beartooth Highway, Wyoming with a week left in summer

Wyoming photographer Dave Bell got caught in a blizzard on the Beartooth Highway on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. It left a distinct wintery scene all around the Wyoming high country.
© Dave BellWyoming photographer Dave Bell got caught in a blizzard on the Beartooth Highway on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. It left a distinct wintery scene all around the Wyoming high country.
There's still a week of summer left in Wyoming, going by the calendar. But September snow is already falling in Yellowstone National Park and the highest points of the Cowboy State.

Pinedale photographer Dave Bell was traveling throughout northwest Wyoming on Thursday when he decided to take the Beartooth Highway to Red Lodge. As soon as he reached the 10,947-foot summit, he found himself navigating a blizzard.

"When I got to the top, all hell broke loose," he said. "It was an absolute whiteout for about 45 minutes. You couldn't see a thing. (It was) a heavy, heavy snow squall."

Bell said it was heavy enough that a snowplow was already clearing the road before it was over.


Snowflake

Best of the Web: Day 3 of the summer snow storm in the European Alps - snowfall in excess of 3 feet

Snow in Saalbach Hinterglemm, Austria.
© Saalbach_com InstagramSnow in Saalbach Hinterglemm, Austria.
Saturday has brought more snow to the northeastern Alps. As a cold front from the north brings Arctic cold to the Alps, a storm front from Italy is bringing record precipitation to the Alps. Some regions are counting in excess of 1 meter (3 feet) at this stage and it's not letting up. The weather will continue while the snowline will hover between 1,100-1,700 meters (3,600-5,570 feet)

The cold front and snowfall have also surprised migratory birds, which are sadly dying by the thousands. The birds struggle to find shelter from the rain and snow and cannot find insects for survival, leading to death from starvation and exhaustion.


Tsunami

Severe floods in Central Europe turn deadly in Poland and Austria

The Bela River flows past homes during floods in Mikulovice, Czech Republic, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024.
© Petr David JosekThe Bela River flows past homes during floods in Mikulovice, Czech Republic, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024.
A firefighter has died during a flood rescue in Austria, one person has died in Poland and four are missing in Czech Republic, police say.

Storm Boris has swept by central and eastern Europe with rainfall raising river levels and causing flash floods in dozens of areas in the Czech Republic, Austria and Poland.

In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Sunday morning, "We have the first confirmed death by drowning, in the Klodzko region" on the Polish-Czech border.

Following the heavy rainfall Międzygórze dam in south-western Poland has overflowed. One photo posted on X showed the dam before the floods - and a video posted by Polish TV showed it overflowing overnight.


Comment: Five found dead after torrential rain floods areas of Romania


Volcano

Series of eruptions at Santiaguito Volcano in Guatemala

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A series of eruptions occurred in the early hours of September 11, 2024 at Santa Maria Volcano from the Santiaguito lava-dome complex.

The currently active vent that is featured in this video is known as Caliente.


Tsunami

Five found dead after torrential rain floods areas of Romania

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Five people in eastern Romania have been found dead after torrential rainstorms left scores of people stranded in flooded areas, emergency authorities have said.

Rescue services scrambled to save 95 people in the hard-hit eastern counties of Galati and Vaslui.

The bodies of three elderly women and two men were found in the localities of Pechea, Draguseni, Costache Negri, and Corod, the Department for Emergency Situations said.

Authorities added that it was determined one of the victims had been dead for two days and "did not die due to the effects of the weather", but from other causes.

Emergency authorities released video footage which showed a team of rescuers evacuating an elderly man on a small lifeboat before carrying him to safety.