Earth ChangesS


Lightning

Lightning deaths surge in India


gktoday.in
Wed, 13 Aug 2025 10:09 UTC
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The year 2025 has seen a sharp increase in lightning-related deaths in India. Between April and July alone, over 1,600 people died due to lightning and rain-related incidents. This rise is linked to changing climate patterns and expanding lightning zones across the country. Lightning now poses a growing threat not only in rural but also urban areas.

Rising Fatalities and Historical Data

Lightning kills more people annually in India than any other extreme weather event. From 1967 to 2020, over 101,000 deaths were recorded due to lightning. Nearly half of all weather-related deaths between 2002 and 2024 were caused by lightning. The World Meteorological Organisation reported about 1,300 deaths in 2024 alone. The eastern states bear the brunt, especially during the monsoon sowing season.

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Fire

Spain's government activates pre-emergency phase amid multiple wildfires around the country

Miguel G. Casallo
surinenglish.com
Tue, 12 Aug 2025 19:11 UTC
Area affected by the fire in the town of Carcastillo in Navarre.
© EFEArea affected by the fire in the town of Carcastillo in Navarre.
The Ministry of the Interior of Spain has announced the activation of a 'pre-emergency phase' in view of the multiple forest fires affecting different parts of the country. The measure seeks to coordinate and reinforce the deployment of state resources in support of the most affected regions, which include Castilla y León, Navarra, Andalucía, Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and Galicia

General director of civil protection and emergencies Virginia Barcones activated the measure in the early hours on Tuesday morning, which has allowed the national centre for monitoring and coordination of emergencies (Cenem) to initiate a reinforced communication protocol with the regional centres to monitor the situation and anticipate the evolution of the outbreaks. Barcones has also called an urgent meeting of the state coordination and management committee (Cecod) to assess the emergency, with the participation of the heads of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, state meteorological agency Aemet and the Ministry of the Defence, among other bodies.

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Tsunami

Cape Verde floods kill at least 8 people - 7.5 inches of rain in just 5 HOURS on August 5


Reuters
Tue, 12 Aug 2025 13:10 UTC
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At least eight people were killed after flooding on Cape Verde's Sao Vicente island overwhelmed emergency services and cut key roads, a regional civil protection councillor said on Tuesday.

On Monday morning torrential rains lashed the northern island in the Atlantic archipelago located off West Africa, swamping roads and sweeping away vehicles and people.

Municipal councillor Jose Carlos da Luz told a state broadcaster seven people had died in floods and one person was electrocuted, adding that three others were still missing.

In a report on Monday, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies put the death toll at nine and said 1,500 people had been displaced on Sao Vicente.

Sao Vicente usually records 116 mm of rain in a year, according to Cape Verde's meteorology institute. But early on Monday 193 mm fell in just five hours, according to Ester Brito, an executive at the institute.

"It is a rare situation because what was recorded is above our 30-year climatological average," she told Reuters, adding that in just two hours more rain fell than the island typically receives annually.

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Attention

Eight-year-old boy mauled to death by sloth bear in Tamil Nadu, India - 2nd such incident in the reserve in 2 months


ap7am.com
Tue, 12 Aug 2025 12:56 UTC
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An eight-year-old boy from Assam was killed in a sloth bear attack at Waverly Estate in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) in Tamil Nadu's Valparai, said officials on Tuesday.

The attack happened on Monday night. This is the second fatal incident involving a child in the reserve in the past two months.

The victim, identified as S. Noor Islam, was a Class 3 student living with relatives in the estate's labour quarters while his parents remained in Assam.

Forest department officials said the boy had gone to a grocery shop about 200 metres away from his quarters at around 7.30 p.m. to buy milk. When he failed to return after 45 minutes, worried relatives alerted estate staff and neighbours, who began a search. His body was eventually found about 500 metres from the quarters, concealed in dense bushes.
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Volcano

Indonesia's Mount Marapi erupts again, ash reaches 1.6 km


news.az
Tue, 12 Aug 2025 12:40 UTC
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Mount Marapi, located between the Agam and Tanah Datar districts in Indonesia's West Sumatra province, erupted Tuesday morning.

Volcanology officials reported that volcanic ash rose approximately 1,600 meters above the summit, News.Az reports, citing Indonesian media.

"An eruption occurred at Mount Marapi in West Sumatra at 8:39 a.m. local time, with the ash column observed at approximately 1,600 meters above the summit," an officer from the Mount Marapi Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PGA), Ahmad Rifandi, informed on Tuesday.

The PGA reported that the ash column was white-gray, thick in intensity, and drifting northeast. Seismograph readings recorded a maximum amplitude of 30.4 millimeters, with the eruption lasting around 34 seconds.

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Tsunami

Best of the Web: More record-breaking rainfall for August hits Kyushu, Japan leaving 3 dead - 14.5 inches of rain in just 6 HOURS


deshsewak.org
Tue, 12 Aug 2025 11:35 UTC
road is flooded follwoing a heavy rain in Nagasu town, Kumamoto prefecture, southern Japan
© Naoki Hiraoka/Kyodo NewsA road is flooded follwoing a heavy rain in Nagasu town, Kumamoto prefecture, southern Japan Monday, Aug. 11, 2025.
Record-breaking rainfall caused by a seasonal front hit Japan's Kyushu region on Tuesday, resulting in three confirmed deaths in Kagoshima, Kumamoto, and Fukuoka prefectures, local media reported.

Local authorities reported that the victims were caught in landslides and river flooding, according to national broadcaster NHK.

At least two people were also feared dead and several others remained missing in southwestern Japan on Monday as heavy rain continued to hit the region, sparking floods and landslides.

The mother and two children were rescued, while local police said they are confirming the identity of a man who was later found nearby with no vital signs, the report said.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a heavy rain emergency warning for parts of Kumamoto Prefecture but downgraded it to a heavy rain warning in the afternoon, while still calling for residents in the affected areas to stay vigilant.

In the six hours through early Monday, Kumamoto Prefecture's hardest-hit Tamana logged 370 millimeters of rainfall, nearly doubling the city's average precipitation for all of August, according to the JMA.


Comment: A report from 4 days prior: 360,000 urged to evacuate in Kyushu, Japan as floods and landslides hit - record rainfall of 19.6 inches in 24 hours - twice the average for August

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Fire

'Extreme' California wildfire rages in hot weather - threatening thousands

Matt Caputo
New York Post
Sat, 09 Aug 2025 11:04 UTC
The fire, which started on Aug. 1, has resulted in massive evacuation orders across the state.
© ReutersThe fire, which started on Aug. 1, has resulted in massive evacuation orders across the state.
A southern California wildfire that has threatened thousands of homes is still only 21% contained, officials said Saturday, warning of the blaze's "extreme" behavior amid low humidity and summer heat.

The Gifford Fire, which started Aug. 1, has prompting widespread evacuation orders and scorched more than 104,000 acres across San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, where evacuation orders and warnings are in place.

Nearly 3,600 firefighters are battling the flames amid hot, dry conditions.

"We have hot weather, and we have low relative humidity," said Santa Barbara County Fire Department Capt. Scott Safechuck.

"So, we expect extreme fire behavior."

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Seismograph

Shallow magnitude 6.3 quake hits Papua in eastern Indonesia: USGS


Arab News
Tue, 12 Aug 2025 09:12 UTC
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A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the eastern Indonesian region of Papua on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, but a monitor said there was no tsunami threat.

The epicenter of the quake, which struck at around 5:24 p.m. (0824 GMT), was around 193 kilometers northwest of the town of Abepura in Papua, USGS said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

USGS earlier gave a magnitude of 6.5 before revising it downward.

Comment: The US Geological Survey also reported a shallow depth of 10kms.

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Windsock

Watch: Moment storm blows roof off Nebraska prison on August 9


BBC
Mon, 11 Aug 2025 17:21 UTC
Roof blown off Nebraska prison during severe weather
Roof blown off Nebraska prison during severe weather
Security cameras at Nebraska State Penitentiary captured footage of the moment the roof blew off the prison housing unit in a severe storm on 9 August.

No one was injured and everyone impacted was safely relocated according to the State Penitentiary.

"In corrections, we train for the unexpected," Director Rob Jeffreys said, adding that "while many of our staff were facing damage to their own homes, they still showed up to keep their teammates, the population and Nebraska safe."

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Tsunami

12 dead as flood wreaks havoc in Ebonyi, Nigeria on August 1

Casmir Nwankwo
Daily Post (Nigeria)
Mon, 11 Aug 2025 16:56 UTC
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No fewer than 12 people have been confirmed dead and over 800 farmlands were submerged in a flood that wreaked havoc on a plantain plantation in Enohia Itim, Afikpo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

The Chairman of Afikpo Local Government Area, Engr. Timothy Nwachi, who confirmed the incident, consoled the families of the deceased and assured that the local government will do everything humanly possible to prevent a recurrence.

He urged residents still living in flood-prone areas to relocate to safer ground, adding that the constant rainfall is capable of causing more floods, as warned by relevant authorities.

"We express sadness over the unfortunate incident and use this medium to extend our condolences to the families that lost their loved ones.

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