Earth ChangesS


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Large sinkhole forces closure of Bangkok bridge road in Thailand

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A large sinkhole has appeared at the Kesakamol Bridge in Bangkok, measuring 10 metres wide, 5 metres long, and 3 metres deep, prompting an urgent closure of the road.

Yesterday, October 6 at around 9.30pm, the road at the Kesakamol Bridge intersection on Nakhon Chaisi Road in Dusit district, Bangkok, collapsed. The incident forced officials to immediately close the area to traffic.

Witnesses reported that cracks began to appear on the road surface around 7pm but vehicles were still able to pass. By 9pm, the road rapidly sank, creating a large hole.

Nipon Sriuang, director of the Canal System Division at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's Drainage Office, explained that the collapse occurred at a bridge section under construction as part of the Khlong Prem Prachakorn dam project. This project involves the pouring of concrete to reinforce a 2-kilometre canal embankment.


Attention

Bear kills man picking mushrooms in northern Slovakia

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A 55-year-old man has died after a bear attack in a forest in northern Slovakia, emergency services said on Saturday.

The incident happened in an isolated area near Hybe, a town near the High Tatra mountains, as the victim was picking mushrooms with another person, police said.

"Unfortunately (the) man succumbed to injuries despite the efforts of rescuers," emergency services said on Facebook.

The last death as a result of a bear attack in Slovakia occurred in 2021, local media reported.

Reuters

Tsunami

7 die as flood situation worsens in Sherpur, Bangladesh

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The flood situation in Sherpur district has deteriorated due to the heavy rains coupled with onrush of upstream water from the hilly regions, claiming the lives of seven people and affecting more than 200 villages in 28 unions under five upazilas of the district.

Besides, over 1.5 lakh people have become stranded due to the flood in five upazilas- Sherpur Sadar, Nalitabari, Jhinaigati, Nokla and Sreebardi. Upstream water from India's Meghalaya has continued to inundate lowland areas.

Army, police, fire service and local volunteers have continued rescue operations in the affected areas.

Crops, livestock, poultry, and homes were destroyed, leaving many farmers devastated. Roads remained submerged or damaged, causing suffering to residents.

The local administration designated schools as temporary shelters.

Control rooms were set up, and separate teams were coordinating relief efforts.


Comment: 2 days earlier: 3 million stranded as flood hits eight districts of Bangladesh - at least 8 killed


Tsunami

Storm flood kills man in western Greece

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A man was swept away and killed by a flood in western Greece on Saturday after torrential rains driven by Storm Cassandra lashed the region, state-run media reported.

News outlet ertnews.gr said the 52-year-old man was found on Saturday afternoon about six kilometres (nearly four miles) away from his post as a guard near the village of Stratos.

It said he was thought to have been swept away by the rushing waters of the torrent.

Cassandra also flooded the old city of Corfu and forced an Aegean Airlines flight heading for that western island to return to Athens.


Cloud Precipitation

10 dead, no connectivity, flash floods cause devastation in Meghalaya, India

Incessant rainfall has triggered multiple landslides, mudslides and flash floods across Garo Hills.
Incessant rainfall has triggered multiple landslides, mudslides and flash floods across Garo Hills.
Santa N Marak, 57, was working in a kitchen with her 28-year-old daughter Moralistic Marak when a fatal landslide struck Koinadubi in Dalu village on Friday morning, leading to her death. Moralistic was injured and admitted to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Dalu. Incessant rainfall has triggered multiple landslides, mudslides and flash floods across the Garo Hills region in Meghalaya, claiming 10 lives and leaving several others injured.

The natural calamity has also caused infrastructure loss with wooden bridges being washed away, houses damaged and road connectivity from Dalu to Baghmara and other places completely cut off.

Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma reviewed the flood situation in the morning and directed the district administrations to seek any assistance from the government and ensure relief work is carried out in the affected areas.


Snowflake

More big autumn snowfalls in the Alps - up to half-a-metre of snow

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Ski areas in the Alps have reported up to half-a-metre of snowfall on high slopes in the past 24 hours.

Although it's far too early to say that we're looking at a great start to the main season, still more than two months' away, this latest snowfall, coming after even bigger falls in mid-September, has certainly raised spirits.

Italy's Passo Stelvio, one of 10 glacier ski areas that have already opened for their 24-25 season in Austria, Italy and Switzerland is pictured top this morning after reporting 40cm of snowfall.

Austria's Schladming, due to start its season in late November, is pictured above.

Now we just need it to stay cold and keep snowing for the next 2-6 months.


Cloud Precipitation

Heavy rains, landslides claim 37 lives in northern Ethiopia

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At least 37 people have died due to ongoing heavy rains in northern Ethiopia, where landslides and flooding have devastated the region, an official said Monday.

Around 731 livestock were swept away in the Wagkhmra zone of the Amhara region, according to Mihiret Melaku, head of the Zonal Disaster Prevention and Food Security Coordination Office, who spoke to a local FM station.

Melaku also said that floods and landslides destroyed 277 farmers' homes, according to the Addis Standard.

Landslides have claimed over 500 lives since July in the Horn of Africa nation.

Tsunami

Rainstorms and heavy floods hit large parts of Bosnia, killing at least 21 people (UPDATE)

A car is submerged in flood waters outside an apartment building in the village of Kiseljak, northern Bosnia, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024.
© Armin DurgutA car is submerged in flood waters outside an apartment building in the village of Kiseljak, northern Bosnia, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024.
A severe rainstorm struck Bosnia overnight Friday, killing at least 14 people and flooding several towns and villages in central and southern parts of the country.

Rescue services in the south of the country reported several people missing and called on volunteers and the army to assist as roads were closed and houses left without electricity.

Darko Jukan, a spokesman for the local administration in the southern town of Jablanica, said at least 14 people had died.

Defense Minister Zukan Helez told N1 regional television that troops have been engaged to help and that the casualties were reported.


Comment: Update October 5

Euronews reports:
Rescue teams in the south said several people were still missing and called on volunteers and the army to assist with search and rescue operations.

Rescue teams on Saturday searched for those still missing after flash floods and landslides hit parts of Bosnia, killing at least 21 people and injuring scores more.

Train track left hanging in the air after Bosnia landslides
Train track left hanging in the air after Bosnia landslides
Construction machines worked to remove piles of rocks and debris covering the central town of Jablanica after the rainstorm early on Friday.

Huge quantities of rain fell in the area around Jablanica and nearby Konjic, causing sudden floods that broke into people's homes as they were sleeping.

Surging waters also triggered landslides that collapsed roads and hills, covering villages in mud and cutting off entire areas.



Lightning

Lightning kills 297 in 8 months in Bangladesh

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The number of casualties due to lightning is increasing day by day in Bangladesh. In eight months of this year, 297 people have died due to lightning across the country. 242 of them are men. Among these, the highest number of people died in May, according to the "Save the Society and Thunderstorm Awareness Forum." This information was released at the organization's office on the capital's Topkhana Road on Saturday (October 5).

According to the organization, from last February to September 30, 297 people died due to lightning across the country. 73 people were injured. Among the dead, there are 11 children, and 55 women. 6 of the women are teenagers. Of the total deaths, 242 were men. There are 17 juveniles among males.

According to the organization, one died by lightning in February. 9 people died in March. Among them 8 men and one woman. 6 people were injured in March. 6 of them are men. 31 people died in April. Among them are 20 men, 11 women, one child, and two teenage girls. A man was injured in April.

Comment: More recently on October 5th a fisherman was fatally struck and 2 schoolboys were also killed by another bolt in the same country.


Tsunami

Over 5 million people in 16 African countries impacted by floods: UN

People affected by floods are escorted through flood water on a military boat in Maiduguri, Nigeria, September 12, 2024.
© CFPPeople affected by floods are escorted through flood water on a military boat in Maiduguri, Nigeria, September 12, 2024.
More than 5 million people in 16 countries in Africa have been impacted by floods so far this year.

In Africa, floods have reached catastrophic levels, with Chad, Niger and Nigeria among the hardest hit countries accounting for more than 80 per cent of people affected, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Thursday.

More than 1,000 people have been killed, and at least 740,000 people have been displaced, the office said. In addition, hundreds of thousands of homes, more than 100 schools, and dozens of health facilities have been damaged. Nearly 500,000 acres of farmland have been affected, Xinhua news agency reported.

OCHA said that without sufficient support, the floods threaten to hinder the reopening of schools, with the new school year set to begin this month. The floods could also aggravate existing food insecurity, particularly in Chad and Niger.


Comment: Also pertinent and related: