A strong tornado struck several villages in central Vietnam, killing two people and damaging hundreds of homes, an official said Friday.
The tornado hit Trieu Son district in Thanh Hoa province Wednesday, collapsing or stripping roofs from nearly 500 houses. It also knocked down electric poles and thousands of trees, district official Le Xuan Duong said.
Anton Ferreira
The TimesFri, 15 Jun 2007 18:09 UTC
The worst floods in more than 20 years caused damage of at least R85-million over a wide swathe of the Cape west coast and left hundreds of people in need of blankets and food.
Municipal officials from Malmesbury to Vredendal are still counting the cost of the floods that swept the region after a week of storms dumped nearly 300mm of rain on the region.
Alexandra Topping and Helen Pidd
The GuardianSat, 16 Jun 2007 01:21 UTC
A teenage soldier who fell into a swollen river was still missing and more than 40 workers remained trapped inside a factory yesterday after thunderstorms and torrential rain caused severe flooding across the UK. Train services were disrupted, homes flooded and motorists stranded after heavy rainfall which is expected to continue into the weekend.
A rare whirlwind struck an outdoor concert site today in Venice, Italy, forcing the cancellation of tonight's show by Seattle rock band Pearl Jam.
An earthquake with a magnitude measuring six has been recorded on the Papua New Guinea island of New Britain.
There are no immediate reports of damage from the affected region and the United States Geological Survey office says it is unlikely to have caused a tsunami.
APFri, 15 Jun 2007 17:27 UTC
The Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet has issued a water shortage watch for 61 counties in Kentucky.
A water shortage watch is issued when drought conditions have the potential to threaten the normal availability of drinking water supply sources.
State Climatologist Stuart Foster says precipitation deficits for the past four months place Kentucky's four climatic divisions in the driest periods on record since 1895. Drought conditions across Kentucky range from moderate to severe.
APFri, 15 Jun 2007 17:25 UTC
An earthquake of at least magnitude 5 jolted a central Philippine farming town where a landslide killed more than 1,000 people last year, but no casualties or damage were reported from the quake, officials said Friday.
The earthquake, which the U.S. Geological Survey said measured magnitude 5.6, struck late Thursday, sending residents of St. Bernard township in Southern Leyte hurrying from their beds.
The Environment Agency issued flood warnings across many parts of Britain on Friday as torrential rain swamped northern and central areas and weather forecasters warned there could be more downpours overnight.
Homes in Northamptonshire and South and West Yorkshire were hit by flooding on Friday, while train services were suspended between Birmingham and the east Midlands.
The Met Office said 88 millimetres (3.5 inches) of rain had fallen on Birmingham in 24 hours, more than it normally gets in a month at this time of year.
JOHN FLESHER
APFri, 15 Jun 2007 14:09 UTC
It hardly seems fair, but water creatures nimble enough to avoid being gobbled up by predators might harm their species more than help, new research suggests.
Genaro C. Armas
APThu, 14 Jun 2007 12:25 UTC
Picnickers in East Coast woods may get some hungry visitors this summer. But at least they won't ask for sandwiches.
Leaf-eating gypsy moth caterpillars are out in force in parts of the mid-Atlantic following a warm, dry spring - just the kind of weather that can make the insects thrive.
Experts are predicting an especially bad year for trees, primarily oaks, which are the caterpillars' favorite snack. The moths will also munch on 475 types of foliage.
