Heavy snow and bitterly cold weather have caused scores of deaths and major disruption in parts of Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia and Pakistan.
Some areas have seen snow for the first time in years, with people struggling to keep warm in sub-zero temperatures amid power shortages.
In Iran, heavy snow over recent days has seen eight people frozen to death after being trapped in their cars.
Tens of thousands of other motorists were rescued from their vehicles.
Some desert areas in Iran reported snowfalls for the first time in living memory.
Earth Changes
Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano is poised for a major eruption, a volcanologist said Wednesday. Authorities last week evacuated 10 villages from its western slopes as a precaution.
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| ©AP Photo |
| Ecuador's Tungurahua Volcano |
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the central Oregon coast at 8:37 p.m. EST tonight, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
A strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked southwest Canada Wednesday, shaking the Queen Charlotte Island region of British Colombia, the US Geological Survey said.
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| ©Mark Schiefelbein/AP |
| Lightning flashes through the sky as neighbors look through the wreckage of a home destroyed by a tornado near Niangua, Missouri, on Monday, January 7, 2008. |
A freak cluster of tornadoes raked across an unseasonably warm U.S. Midwest, demolishing houses, knocking railroad cars off their tracks, and even temporarily halting justice in one courthouse.
Record temperatures were reported across much of the country Monday, and storms continued to pummel the nation's midsection as darkness fell. More warmth and storms were in store for Tuesday.
Shortly after 9 o'clock on a Sunday morning in January 2007, Raymond Rodriguez was in his driveway, changing a tyre on his car. Parked close by in the quiet cul-de-sac in Tampa, Florida, was a cherry red Ford Mustang. It belonged to Andre Javage, who had come to visit the night before. Out of nowhere, Rodriguez heard a high-pitched whistling. Then a 13-kilogram chunk of ice landed smack on the roof of Javage's Ford. The windshield blew out and the car bounced, Rodriguez said, a metre into the air. The roof was squashed flat.
A herd of wild elephants on Indonesia's Sumatra has repeatedly outsmarted efforts to stop them stealing crops, wising up to attempts to chase them off with burning torches, a report said Monday.
The head of Way Kambas natural reserve in Lampung province, Hudiono, told the state-run Antara news agency that a herd of 25 to 30 elephants had been nightly roaming out of the reserve to raid crops since Thursday.
The head of Way Kambas natural reserve in Lampung province, Hudiono, told the state-run Antara news agency that a herd of 25 to 30 elephants had been nightly roaming out of the reserve to raid crops since Thursday.
Two earthquakes struck eastern Papua New Guinea on Wednesday but there was no fear of a tsunami or reports of damage, seismologists said.
The first quake, which reached 6.2 on the Richter scale, struck at 4:55 am (0025 IST) 90 kilometers of the largest city Lae at a depth of 47 kilometers.
The first quake, which reached 6.2 on the Richter scale, struck at 4:55 am (0025 IST) 90 kilometers of the largest city Lae at a depth of 47 kilometers.
CONEJOS, Colo. - Six snowmobilers missing for three days in the snowy Colorado mountains called for help Monday and reported they were hungry but alive, authorities said.
Crews were on their way to meet the six, who are all from New Mexico, said Barbara Smith, a spokeswoman for the Conejos County Sheriff's Department.
The snowmobilers called 911 from an isolated and snowbound train station and said they were cold but otherwise all right, Smith said. They had been missing since Friday amid heavy snow in the area.
Crews were on their way to meet the six, who are all from New Mexico, said Barbara Smith, a spokeswoman for the Conejos County Sheriff's Department.
The snowmobilers called 911 from an isolated and snowbound train station and said they were cold but otherwise all right, Smith said. They had been missing since Friday amid heavy snow in the area.
Heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures that hit Bulgaria this week claimed a ninth victim Sunday, Info radio reported as the country struggled to get back to normal.
A severely frostbitten man found near the northeastern town of Kavarna died in hospital, the station reported.
The body of another victim of the cold, a 64-year-old gardener, was found Saturday in the southern region of Pazardzhik, Trud daily newspaper reported.
A severely frostbitten man found near the northeastern town of Kavarna died in hospital, the station reported.
The body of another victim of the cold, a 64-year-old gardener, was found Saturday in the southern region of Pazardzhik, Trud daily newspaper reported.
