Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Over 30,000 lightning strikes in 24 hours and 150 weather incidents as storm batters Portugal

Michael Bruxo
Portugal Resident
Wed, 05 Nov 2025 18:22 UTC
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Between 20 hours yesterday and 8 hours today, about 23 thousand strikes, associated with the approach and passage of a frontal system, were registered in the IPMA network of detectors, in Continental Portugal, installed in Viana do Castelo, Bragança, Castelo Branco, Santa Cruz and Olhão.
More than 30,000 lightning strikes were recorded across mainland Portugal in just 24 hours as a powerful cold front swept the country, bringing torrential rain, thunderstorms and strong winds, reports the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).

A total of 150 weather-related incidents were also registered by the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), including 91 floods, 42 fallen trees and several reports of collapsed structures and minor landslides.

Lisbon was the hardest-hit region with 65 incidents, followed by Setúbal (12) and the Oeste region (12). The rest were reported across the country but with no serious consequences, ANEPC officials said.

Data from IPMA shows that Portugal experienced over 30,000 electrical discharges (lightning strikes), including 20,000 positive and 9,000 negative lightning strikes, as the storm passed through on Tuesday night and early Wednesday.

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Lightning

Lightning strike kills nearly 40 livestock in Jammu Kashmir, India


Kashmir Life
Wed, 05 Nov 2025 11:37 UTC
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Nearly 40 sheep and goats were killed after lightning struck the Sangar Dhoke area near Soliyan in Poonch district of Jammu Kashmir late on Tuesday night, officials said on Wednesday.

According to officials, the lightning strike caused heavy losses to Khalid Hussain, a resident of Hadi Bari Baik from the Bakarwal community.

Authorities said an assessment of the damage is underway, and necessary cognisance of the incident has been taken.
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Seismograph

Significant earthquake of magnitude 6.0 reported 112 km south of Severo-Kuril'sk, Russia


Volcano Discovery
Wed, 05 Nov 2025 11:29 UTC
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An intermediate magnitude 6.0 earthquake was reported in the morning near Severo-Kuril'sk, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia.

According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the quake hit on Wednesday, November 5th, 2025, at 10:49 am local time at an intermediate depth of 76. km. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.

Our monitoring service identified a second report from The Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences (KB-GS-RAS) which listed the quake at magnitude 6.0 as well. Other agencies reporting the same quake include France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS) at magnitude 5.4, the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 5.7, and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 5.7.
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes kill 3 people including a child in Al-Beheira, Egypt

Nagham Bilal
tesaaworld.com
Tue, 04 Nov 2025 17:59 UTC
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Al-Beheira Governorate in northern Egypt witnessed tragic incidents yesterday, Monday, due to a wave of bad weather and heavy rainfall, resulting in the death of 3 citizens, including a child, and the injury of a woman, as well as causing the death of an animal.

The security authorities in Damanhur reported that farmer Anwar F. A (37 years old) arrived at the teaching hospital dead, while Hagar S. Sh (27 years old) suffered burns on her arm and thigh after being struck by lightning.

In Itay Al-Baroud Center, child Abdul Rahman A. S (11 years old) from the village of Al-Dahriya was killed after being struck by lightning while he was in a farmland, and the incident also led to the death of an animal.

Meanwhile, in Kafr El-Dawar, authorities received a report of the arrival of Ahmed F. S (23 years old) from the village of Sidi Ghazi dead, as a result of being struck by lightning.

Several Egyptian governorates experienced a state of instability in weather conditions, with varying intensities of rainfall, especially in the capital Cairo and coastal governorates overlooking the Mediterranean Sea such as Matrouh, Alexandria, Al-Beheira, Kafr El-Sheikh, Dakahlia, and Port Said, in addition to the northern governorates of Monufia, Gharbia, Sharqia, and some areas of Greater Cairo.

Bad weather also led to reduced visibility on highways due to fog.

The Egyptian Meteorological Authority warned of the continued chances of intermittent rainfall in the coming days, with expectations of the ongoing impact of the atmospheric depression on the country.
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Binoculars

Boat-tailed grackle from the US recorded for the first time in the UK

Miles Cluff
Birdguides.com
Mon, 03 Nov 2025 12:12 UTC
Boat-tailed Grackle, Calshot, Hampshire
© Ian WellsBoat-tailed Grackle, Calshot, Hampshire
In a week of fairly unremarkable winds, a few tasty, unexpected tricks and treats were nonetheless in store.

On Sunday afternoon, news broke of a grackle species wandering around the RNLI lifeboat station at Calshot Spit, Hampshire. When the first photo was revealed, it appeared to be a Great-tailed Grackle, and a nice male to boot. It wasn't until late the same evening when frame-filling photographs were being downloaded that the identification started to be questioned. The slimmer bill, more rounded head and 'cuter' look all fitted the appearance of a Atlantic Boat-tailed Grackle far better than Great-tailed Grackle.

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Arrow Down

Seven climbers dead after Nepal avalanche

Kathryn Armstrong, Diwakar Pyakurel & Phanindra Dahal
BBC
Mon, 03 Nov 2025 10:45 UTC
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At least seven climbers, including five foreigners and two Nepalis, have died after being hit by an avalanche on a Himalayan peak in north-eastern Nepal, expedition agency Seven Summit Treks said.

The incident happened at 09:00 local time (03:15 GMT) on Monday near the base camp of the Yalung Ri mountain in Dolakha district.

Rescuers located two bodies, and are still searching for the remaining five, who are believed to have been buried by snow. Eight others have been rescued and are in the capital Kathmandu getting treatment for their injuries.

All these climbers were part of a group that set out over an hour before the avalanche hit, the district police chief told BBC Nepali.

The bodies of the other five deceased climbers "may be 10-15 feet below the snow", said Mingma Sherpa, chairman of Seven Summit Treks. "It will take time to find them."
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Seismograph

6.0 magnitude earthquake - North Pacific Ocean, Kamchatka, Russia


Volcano Discovery
Tue, 04 Nov 2025 09:18 UTC
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A very strong magnitude 6.0 earthquake occurred in the North Pacific Ocean 312 km (194 mi) from Kamchatka, Russia, in the early afternoon of Tuesday, Nov 4, 2025 at 2.45 pm local time (GMT +11).

The quake had a shallow depth of 35 km (22 mi) and was felt by many near the epicenter.

The shallow depth of the quake caused it to be felt more strongly near the epicenter than a deeper quake of similar magnitude would.
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Lightning

Lightning strike kills 2 children in Uganda


The Observer (Uganda)
Mon, 03 Nov 2025 20:51 UTC
The aftermath after lightning strike
The aftermath after lightning strike
Two children were struck and killed by lightning on Saturday evening in Alipan East village, Pajule sub-county, Pader district in northern Uganda.

The victims, Emily Amaro-rwot, aged 3, and Jacob Omara, aged 8, died instantly around 6 p.m. after lightning struck their grass-thatched house during a heavy downpour. Their mother, Dorcus Adokorach, 25, said she was outside at the time of the incident.

She said that the children had run into the house to take shelter from the rain just moments before tragedy struck. The lightning also ignited a fire that destroyed the family's modest belongings including four sacks of harvested maize, two sacks of beans, household clothing, cooking utensils, and Shs 500,000 she had earned from selling produce.

Adokorach, who is divorced, now faces the painful task of rebuilding her life from scratch. Pajule sub-county councillor Charles Komakech described the incident as tragic and warned that lightning strikes have become increasingly common in the area.
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Tsunami

15 people, mostly children, missing after floods in Papua, Indonesia


freemalaysiatoday.com
Mon, 03 Nov 2025 19:58 UTC
Residents of Dal District, Nduga Regency, are searching for relatives who were lost due to flooding that hit the Panpan River, causing 15 people to go missing, in Kenyam.
Residents of Dal District, Nduga Regency, are searching for relatives who were lost due to flooding that hit the Panpan River, causing 15 people to go missing, in Kenyam.
At least 15 people, mostly children, are missing and are likely to be dead after floods and landslides hit Indonesia's easternmost Papua region after torrential rain, a local official said on Monday.

Thirteen of the victims were children aged between eight and 17 years old, Alfredo Agustinus Rumbiak, the police chief of the remote Nduga region, told Reuters.

The children were heading home after playing volleyball and had attempted to cross a river when the floods happened, he said.

They initially took refuge on some big rocks, but the current was too strong and they were swept away. Also, some rocks fell and buried them, Rumbiak said.

Residents, police and military personnel, as well as the local disaster mitigation agency are continuing to search for the victims, Rumbiak said, but their efforts are being hampered by the difficult, mountainous terrain.

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Tsunami

Heavy rains cause flooding and damage in Barahona, Dominican Republic


DominicanToday.com
Mon, 03 Nov 2025 19:42 UTC
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Barahona experienced severe flooding on Sunday as heavy rains turned streets into rivers, overflowed ravines, and caused landslides in the El Derrumbao area, leaving several resorts damaged by mud, water, and debris.

According to the National Meteorology Institute, the torrential downpours began early Sunday due to an upper-level trough combined with the passage of a tropical wave. In Villa Central—where a new maternal and child hospital is under construction—rainwater flowed more heavily than some rivers during storm season.

The most affected areas included Villa Central, El Derrumbao, Villa Mirian beach, the boardwalk, the city market, and the neighborhoods of La Playa and Villa Estela. The city government and Fire Department worked together to alleviate flooding on key streets. At the Lisandra Aponte School, a wall collapsed, prompting emergency teams to evacuate several families from high-risk zones.

Authorities noted that the soil in Barahona was already saturated from the recent rains brought by Hurricane Melissa, which had drenched parts of the Dominican Republic before moving toward Jamaica as a Category 5 storm.

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