Earth Changes
Floods in the Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy
Communities in the region of Emilia-Romagna are still recovering from catastrophic flooding earlier this month when at least 2 people lost their lives. At the time, the President of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Stefano Bonaccini, described the situation as unprecedented.
Further heavy rain fell in the region from 15 May 2023, increasing river levels and triggering landslides. Italy's fire and rescue service, Vigili del Fuoco, said 500 firefighters were working in the affected areas of Ravenna, Forlì-Cesena, Rimini and Bologna Provinces.

Wildfire smoke covers the Denver skyline on May 19, 2023.
Around 150 wildfires are burning across northern Alberta and British Columbia, pouring acrid smoke across western Canada that is carrying south into the United States along the upper-level winds. Smoke has reached into the Pacific Northwest, Rockies, northern Plains and even into the Great Lakes and Mississippi Valley.
Smoky skies have been reported as far south as St. Louis and Paducah, Kentucky and as far west as Seattle and Denver.

The orcas let up the chase after an hour but the steering on the boat failed so they headed back to shore.
Janet Morris and Stephen Bidwell, from Cambridge, were enjoying a sailing course off the coast of Morocco when they spotted a pod of orcas.
Some of the deadly mammals then started bumping the boat - an attack which continued for an hour, it is claimed.
Also faced with high winds and big swells, the able crew managed to navigate to calmer waters - and to safety.
Business consultant Janet, 58, said: 'I couldn't believe it when I saw them - it's extremely rare. We were sitting ducks.
Around 9 am on Thursday, the child was headed to a washroom in the area alone when he noticed a pack of dogs approaching him, sources said. The boy tried to run but fell down, when the dogs violently attacked and killed him on the spot.
The police have taken cognizance of the incident.
In a similar incident, a nine-year-old from Meerut was attacked by a stray pit bull earlier on Thursday. The boy survived with severe injuries to his face, thighs and stomach. The local police were alerted about the incident and authorities have ensured adequate action.
Officers shot dead the animal after the attack in Leigh, Wigan, on Thursday evening.
Hogg was found by officers in Westleigh Lane with serious injuries shortly after 9.10pm. He was taken to hospital but died in the early hours of Friday.
Paying tribute to him, his family said: "Jonathan was a well-loved, sensitive, and kind person who will never know how loved and appreciated he was by everyone who knew him.
The epicentre was 35 kilometres (22 miles) deep and located about 300 kilometres (190 miles) east of the New Caledonian archipelago, it said. Any tsunami waves are expected to be less than 0.3 metres (one foot), the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in its latest update.
The waves may reach the Pacific islands of Fiji, Kiribati, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna, it said, after earlier issuing a warning for coasts within 300 kilometres (185 miles) of the epicentre.
On Friday, a 7.7-magnitude quake in the same area sent people scrambling for higher ground on several Pacific islands for fear of giant waves. A tsunami warning was lifted hours later.
Source: AFP
Comment: Earthquake Track also reports a 6.5 magnitude aftershock about 20 minutes after the above event.
Details of the earlier earthquake: New Caledonia lifts tsunami warning after 7.7-magnitude quake

It may be just a month until summer starts, but no one told that to the mountains in New Hampshire, which saw a thick coating of snowfall at some of its highest elevations on Thursday
The Mount Washington Observatory noted the absurdity of seeing the white stuff this time of year in a Facebook post after the beauty spot was given a thick coating.
'The calendar might read mid-May but the White Mountains will feel more like late March Weds into Thurs morning,' the observatory said.
Clarksville, New Hampshire - a town about two hours east of Montreal - also saw visible snowfall on Thursday, although it did not lay on the ground.
Areas at 4,000 feet above sea level saw a possibility of three inches of snow Wednesday going into Thursday.
Rain and hail in various parts of Andalusia. The storm has hit the Sierra de Cádiz with force, especially in Zahara de la Sierra and El Bosque. We find a similar situation in Ronda, Málaga, and in some municipalities of Seville. In places some crops have become waterlogged.
Comment: Update May 18
From the same source: Update May 20
Agence France-Presse reports: