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.
More images are coming from European ski resorts in the northeastern Alps as the low-pressure system is moving across the European Alps. While so far only about 50-75 centimeters (20-30 inches) have fallen so far, the brunt of the snowstorm is yet to come. The next 24 hours are expected to be quite dramatic as 200mm of precipitation is forecast in some regions and 400mm over the next 48 hours.
It is expected that this will come down as snow above 1,000 meters (3,280 feet). Massive snow breakage, avalanches, and mudslides are to be expected in those regions. Remote mountain villages could be cut off for several days from the outside world and basic infrastructure, such as transportation, power, etc., is also under threat. Lower areas are anticipated to be at risk of flashfloods. Local authorities are expecting a century flood for regions in Eastern Europe.
The man-eater wolves of Bahraich, responsible for 10 killings in Mahsi tehsil, are perhaps not the only predators on the prowl. In Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor district, more than 60,000 people in around 85 villages across its four tehsils, said to be home to at least 500 leopards, have been facing a huge threat as a leap of man-eater leopards that has claimed 25 lives over the past one and a half years, has been out on a killing spree.
Though UP Forest Department has installed around 107 cages and has launched a grueling operation to catch the man-eater leopards, it is yet to bring any respite to the locals who are forced to stay indoors and are living under constant fear.
Authorities in Washington state reported on Thursday that a young child is on the mend after being hurt by a river otter at a marina and dragged under the water.
The mother and youngster were strolling down a dock at Bremerton Marina in Kitsap County on Thursday morning, according to a news release from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The department did not identify the child or their mother.
The mother of the child claimed that the otter had dragged them underwater. After a short while, the boy came to the surface again, and the mother was able to intervene and rescue her son.
According to authorities, the otter attacked again after the mother saved the child. Sergeant Ken Balazs of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife stated that despite the child's "quick actions," she only suffered "minor injuries" from scratches and bites to the top of the head, face, and legs. The child was rushed to a nearby hospital.
The cold front from the Arctic has hit Germany, and temperatures have dropped from summery 25-30°C (77-86°F) to chilly winter temperatures. As the low is moving north, carrying moisture it gathered over the Mediterranean Sea, and hits the cold front, summer snowfall is being unleashed on parts of the European Alps. Between 5-35 centimeters (2-13 inches) of snow have fallen, and the snowline is dropping to as low as 800 meters (2,625 feet) in some areas of Germany.
The brunt of the snowstorm is supposed to come on Saturday, so stay tuned for more images over the next few days.
According to Copernicus, the European Space Agency, an unusual weather system over Scandinavia is accompanied by cold Arctic air, and moving south across Europe, bringing strong winds, a sharp drop in temperatures, and early snow in the Alps.
Storms once again rolled over Dubrovnik this afternoon, and one scene from the Pelješac Channel, between the island of Korčula and Pelješac was truly frightening.
A huge waterspout rose over the Adriatic Sea sweeping water into the air.
Waterspouts are the result of warm and cold air colliding, and they are usually followed by a storm. Thunder, wind—it looks extremely dangerous, and often is for those out at sea, but it's also a thrill to capture such a display of nature's power.
Torrential rains caused catastrophic flooding in southern Algeria over the weekend, leaving at least six people dead and several others missing. The unprecedented floods destroyed homes and vital infrastructure in the normally arid desert region.
Algeria's interior minister, Brahim Merad, described the situation as 'catastrophic' in a statement on state television. Civil defence and army personnel have been deployed to help with rescue efforts and to assist families trapped by the floods.
Since Saturday evening and Sunday morning, successive communiqués from the civil protection services have reported the rescue of dozens of people trapped by the waters in several Saharan provinces, including Béchar, Tindouf, Naama, Beni Abbes (south-west), Tamanrasset and Illizi (south-east).
The National Gendarmerie (a force under the Ministry of Defence) posted videos on its official Facebook page showing traffic disruption on several roads in the southern provinces due to flooding.
Even golden eagle expert Alv Ottar Folkestad had never heard of people being attacked by the majestic bird. But then, in just five days, there were four attacks in four different places in Norway.
- That the eagle attacks people is so unusual that I have not found it mentioned before, if you disregard very old stories that have not been confirmed.
That's what golden eagle expert Alv Ottar Folkestad says in the nature conservation organization Birdlife.
He says that just one documented case of a golden eagle attacking a human would be a sensation. In the last week there have been four (!) cases.
- It seems incomprehensible that this could happen. Especially the attack on this child, he says.
The early peak of the solar cycle arrived with intense geomagnetic storms that produced amazing auroras around the world, reaching farther south than usual as well as the highest daily sunspot numbers in more than 20 years.
This intense solar activity has been accompanied by extreme weather on Earth this month, particularly severe storms and record flooding around the world.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
...stand therefore with truth and righteousness, peace and faith, salvation and the word of God.
- Ephesians 6: 10-20
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Comment: Another recent attack a day earlier: Group of otters attack, seriously injure jogger in Malaysia