Earth Changes
Local media reported on 15 February that around 3,000 houses were flooded in Maputo Province. Around 1,200 of those are in Matola district. Parts of Maputo city were affected, along with Marracuene district where the Incomáti River broke its banks, and Boane District where the Umbeluzi River overflowed.
The country's disaster agency, Instituto Nacional de Gestão Redução do Risco de Desastres (INGD), issued warnings of heavy rain and flooding from 10 February.
He had left on his own for a ski tour on Saturday. His family gave the alert on Sunday when he failed to contact them.
His car was found late on Sunday and a full search began early this morning. An avalanche was spotted in the Couloir de Chamoissière and the man's body was found under 30cm of snow using the signal from his avalanche beacon.
The man had been carried 400 meters down slope by the slide. The couloir is a steep, east facing slope of around 45° and is accessed directly from the summit.
The cold front, dubbed "Medea" after the mythical Greek sorceress of the Argonauts, sent temperatures plunging, with a maximum low of minus 19 degrees Celsius in the northwestern city of Florina.
"The last time we saw so much snow in the centre of Athens was in February 2008," meteorologist Costas Lagouvardos told AFP.
On the island of Evia near Athens, two elderly men suffering from respiratory problems died after their breathing apparatus failed during a power outage, state TV ERT reported.
On Crete, a livestock farmer in his 60s was found dead in the snow outside his granary at the village of Kaminaki in the east of the island, TV ERT added.

This photo of the Ocean Isle Beach area shows the destruction Tuesday morning following the potential tornado February 15, 2021
The massive winter storm that overwhelmed a Southwestern power grid and immobilized the Southern Plains was carrying heavy snow and freezing rain eastward, with bad weather spreading through into New England and the Deep South, the National Weather Service said.
The storm system left behind record-setting cold temperatures with wind-chill warnings extending from Canada into Mexico.
The Southwest Power Pool (SPP), which manages a 14-state grid from North Dakota to Oklahoma, on Tuesday ordered the second day of rolling blackouts, the news outlet reported.
SPP executive vice president and chief operating officer Lanny Nickell said in a statement that the move was a "last resort" and SPP had never before ordered such interruptions.
Comment: Check out Austin, Texas this week: it's covered in ice!
Mexico's government-owned utility, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), said on Monday its operations were interrupted as the winter storm in Texas froze natural gas pipelines.
Mexico uses gas to generate about 60 percent of its power, compared with about 40 percent in the United States, and the country built pipelines to take advantage of cheap natural gas from its northern neighbour.
A deep freeze across Texas during the weekend took a toll on the energy industry in the largest US crude-producing state, shutting oil refineries and forcing restrictions from natural gas pipeline operators.
A severe blizzard battered the northern island of Hokkaido on Tuesday and a storm surge inundated homes in part of the island, according to the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper.
A gust of 162km/h was recorded at Cape Erimo on Hokkaido and 135 km/h in the city of Sakata, Yamagata prefecture.
The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of "the most powerful blizzard in years," which could produce white-out conditions, for part of the island through Wednesday.
In a video provided by RT's Ruptly video agency, dark orange lava can be seen shooting out of the top of Mount Etna and dripping down its sides.
According to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, which observes the volcano, the eruption came from the south east crater, with activity from the other craters, too.
But perhaps nothing was as terrifying as seeing the word "Snownado" come across my Twitter timeline.
In the East Texas town of Gun Barrell City witnesses recorded what looked like a tornado in the middle of the blizzard. The now-dubbed "Snownado" swirled above Cedar Creek Lake for a bit before dissipating.
Here is a video capturing the event that was thankfully uploaded to the Internet:














Comment: Cold front Medea brings snow to northern Greece