Earth ChangesS


Fire

Wildfires scorch Greece for a second day, thousands evacuated

Louiza Vradi
Reuters
Wed, 13 Aug 2025 17:58 UTC
Greece battles wildfires
Greece battles wildfires
Firefighters battled multiple wildfires across Greece on Wednesday, including blazes threatening villages and towns near the western city of Patras and on two tourist islands.

Fires have burned houses, farms and factories and prompted the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists since Tuesday.

Dozens of people have been taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation since Tuesday, public broadcaster ERT reported. Some 13 firefighters have been treated for burns and other injuries, fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told a televised briefing on Wednesday.

Nearly 5,000 firefighters assisted by 33 aircraft were deployed from dawn to contain the flames stoked by winds and hot, dry conditions near Patras, on the tourist islands of Chios and Zakynthos and in at least three inland spots.

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Lightning

Lightning strike hits transformer causing huge fireball in South Carolina on August 11


Yahoo! News
Wed, 13 Aug 2025 17:49 UTC
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Intense scenes were caught on dashcam in South Carolina on August 11 after a powerful lightning strike hit a transformer along Highway 17 in Mount Pleasant.

Footage captured the moment the bolt of lightning struck, sending a column of flames erupting into the sky.

Fortunately, no one was injured and crews were quickly able to fix the power outages.

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Tsunami

3 dead in historic rain and flash flooding in Tennessee, authorities say

Marlene Lenthang and Kathryn Prociv
NBC News
Wed, 13 Aug 2025 17:33 UTC
Major flooding trapped cars and shut down parts of Interstate 24 on Tuesday.
© Chattanooga Fire DepartmentMajor flooding trapped cars and shut down parts of Interstate 24 on Tuesday.
At least three people have died after heavy rain and flash flooding lashed Chattanooga, Tennessee, overnight Tuesday and shut down interstates, stranded cars and prompted swift-water rescues.

A family of two adults and one child died after a tree fell on their car in East Ridge Wednesday morning, the Hamilton County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

At least one man is also missing in the floodwaters, authorities said. First responders saw the man being swept away and attempted to look for him by swift-water boat, but were unable to find him. The search for that man is a "top priority this morning at first light," the Office of Emergency Management said.

Chattanooga Airport recorded 6.42 inches of rain on Tuesday, the second wettest day in the city's history since records began in 1879, the National Weather Service Office in Morristown said.

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Windsock

Typhoon Podul lashes southern Taiwan leaving one person missing


Al Jazeera
Wed, 13 Aug 2025 17:11 UTC
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Typhoon Podul has blown through Taiwan's south with winds as powerful as 191km/h (118mph), leaving one person missing, forcing thousands of people to evacuate, schools to close, and hundreds of flights to be cancelled.

The typhoon made landfall on Wednesday, slamming into the southeastern city of Taitung at about 1pm (05:00 GMT), passing through the southern tip of the island and then passing into the Taiwan Strait some five hours later, Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.

One person was reported missing and 33 others injured, the government said.

It is expected to next make landfall on China's southern coast late on Wednesday or early Thursday, affecting Fujian and Guangdong provinces, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

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Tsunami

Seoul in South Korea hit by flash floods as record rain of 8 inches pounds capital region

Choi Hye-seung, Park Su-hyeon
The Chosun Daily
Wed, 13 Aug 2025 12:40 UTC
The Dongbu Expressway is submerged in water in Seoul, Aug. 13, 2025.
© YonhapThe Dongbu Expressway is submerged in water in Seoul, Aug. 13, 2025.
Torrential downpours swept through Seoul and surrounding areas on Aug. 13, triggering flood warnings, closing major roads and halting train services across the capital region.

The Han River Flood Control Office issued a flood advisory at 1:10 p.m. for the Jungnangcheon stream near Jungnang Bridge in the city's Dongdaemun district, warning of possible lowland flooding and river overflow.

Authorities sealed off all 29 city streams, including Cheonggyecheon and Anyangcheon, and shut several roads, among them the Jeungsan Bridge underpass, the Gaehwadong underpass and the Dongbu arterial road in both directions.

Heavy rain alerts were upgraded through the morning from advisories to warnings in northeastern, southwestern and northwestern districts. Seoul raised its emergency response to Level 2, forecasting flooding in nine districts including Gangseo, Eunpyeong and Mapo.

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Arrow Down

Tsunami-causing landslide in Alaska on August 10 was largest in decade, earthquake center finds

Rod Boyce
gi.alaska.edu
Tue, 12 Aug 2025 12:10 UTC
East side of Sawyer Island, heading west. The island was stripped of vegetation except for the lone tree at the top. Nick Heilgeist’s kayaking group was picked up and got a ride from their campsite on Harbor Island to Sawyer Island.
© Nick Heilgeist.East side of Sawyer Island, heading west. The island was stripped of vegetation except for the lone tree at the top. Nick Heilgeist’s kayaking group was picked up and got a ride from their campsite on Harbor Island to Sawyer Island.
Sunday's massive tsunami-causing landslide in Southeast Alaska likely sent more than 100 million cubic meters of debris into an icy fjord and onto a prominent glacier in one of the largest slides in at least 10 years, according to analysis by the Alaska Earthquake Center.

The center's rapid characterization and pinpointing of the landslide demonstrates the center's growing capability in a new area of real-time hazard analysis. The center, located at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, has been working for several years to advance its rapid characterization and detection of landslides.

The center's preliminary analysis, using a method its team has been developing, estimates the landslide's volume is likely larger than 100 million cubic meters, equivalent to the content of 40,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

"​​This is larger than anything in the past decade in Alaska," Alaska Earthquake Center Director Michael West said. "It's going to get a lot of attention from scientists."

Sunday's landslide occurred at about 5:30 a.m. at the head of Tracy Arm, where the South Sawyer Glacier reaches the water. Tracy Arm is a fjord located about 50 miles southeast of Juneau.


Comment: The Alaska Earthquake Centre reports:
[...]

This event is extremely interesting scientifically. The landslide was preceded by hours of small magnitude 1-2 earthquakes leading up to the slide. These were first recognized by Western Washington professor Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, who previously held a postdoc position at UAF. The precursors are very clear in the ~18 hrs prior to the slide and likely well before that. Our seismic data analysts have analyzed about a hundred of these precursors and they emanate from the same area as the landslide.

[...]


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Tsunami

Best of the Web: Cloudburst triggers flash flood in Uttarakhand, India - Death toll likely to hit over 70 (UPDATE)

Geeta Pandey, Nitin Ramola
BBC
Tue, 05 Aug 2025 15:06 UTC
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Rescuers are looking for dozens of people who are feared to be trapped after a massive cloudburst triggered heavy rains and flash floods in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.

Teams, including army and paramilitaries, have reached Dharali village in Uttarkashi district, which is believed to have borne the brunt of the floods.

Dramatic videos of the disaster show a giant wave of water gushing through the area, crumpling buildings in its path. A tourist spot, Dharali is populated with hotels, resorts and restaurants.

A cloudburst is an extreme, sudden downpour of rain over a small area in a short period of time, often leading to flash floods.

It took place at around 13:30 India time (08:00 GMT) when a large amount of water came down, swelling the Kheerganga river and sending tonnes of muddy waters gushing downwards on the hilly terrain, covering roads, buildings and shops in Dharali.


Comment: Update August 13

Agence France-Presse reports:
Officials in India say at least 68 people remain unaccounted for a week after a deadly wall of icy water swept away a Himalayan town and buried it in mud.

On top of four people reported to have been killed, the figure takes the likely overall toll of the Aug. 5 disaster to more than 70 dead.

Videos broadcast by survivors showed a terrifying surge of muddy water sweeping away multistory apartment blocks.




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Tsunami

Unseasonal hailstorms and flooding hit Saudi Arabia


travelandtourworld.com
Wed, 13 Aug 2025 11:19 UTC
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Saudi Arabia is facing a sudden weather crisis that is throwing everyday routines, plus trips and holidays, into chaos. On August 12, social media was quickly filled with clips of storms acting far from the summer script. The videos, shot from pockets of the kingdom, show the kind of downpours and hail that usually wait for winter.

Taif, in the south, was hit hard; the streets there ran with water and a chill that is never in the summer forecast has arrived. The force of the storms has triggered small-scale flooding and made the temperatures plunge, which is now leaving countless visitors rethinking schedules and wondering what to do next.

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Doberman

Colorado police chief's 3-year-old daughter killed in dog attack involving former K9

Aspen Andrews
kktv.com
Tue, 12 Aug 2025 10:58 UTC
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A 3-year-old girl, the daughter of a Colorado police chief, was killed in a dog attack involving a former K9, according to the Burlington Police Department.

The Kit Carson County Sheriff's Office (KCCSO) said dispatchers received a report of a child being attacked by a dog on Monday. When the sheriff and a deputy arrived on scene, they said they found a mother and her unresponsive 3-year-old girl in the backyard of the home.

When officials arrived, they say the dog was not actively attacking and was secured in a kennel.

The girl was taken to a local hospital, where KCCSO said she was pronounced dead.

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Lightning

Two brothers killed in lightning strike in Uganda

Bakashaba Godfrey
theserverug.com
Tue, 12 Aug 2025 10:20 UTC
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A devastating incident has occurred in Sheema district, where two brothers, Tugabiirwe Demus, 14, and Twinomugisha Triva, 12, both pupils at St. Charles Lwanga primary school, lost their lives in a lightning strike on August 11, 2025.

According to eyewitnesses, the brothers were grazing goats in Kisizi central cell, Shuuku town council, when the incident occurred at around 5:45 pm. The lightning strike is believed to have been the cause of death, although the exact circumstances are still under investigation.

The Sheema district Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the tragic event. The bodies were delivered to Kabwoohe health centre IV for a postmortem examination to determine the exact cause of death.

Greater Bushenyi Police Spokesperson, Sp Apollo Tayebwa, has urged the public to continue partnering with the Police in securing lives and property. "We strongly urge the public to continue partnering with Police in securing lives and property," he said.

The Police will provide updates on the investigation as more information becomes available. The community is in shock following the tragic incident, and the Police are working to ensure that justice is served.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the deceased brothers, who have lost two young lives in such a tragic manner. May they find strength and comfort during this difficult time.
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