Earth Changes
Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) said on 31 March that 11 people had died in flash flooding across the country. Fifteen people were injured, around 288 houses destroyed, 400 damaged, and about 500 hectares of land damaged.
ANDMA reported they had distributed relief supplies to flood-hit areas of Takhar province (79 families) on 28 March and Shindand district in Herat Province (219 families) on 30 March. Local media reported damage to power supply infrastructure in Salang district, Parwan province.

Chamise Hartman of the Tri-Cities captured this view of the tornado Tuesday from the parking lot of the At Home store near the Columbia Center mall in Kennewick.
The agency was emailed photos and videos that show a rotating dark cloud column that appears to touch the ground.
Meteorologists checked their radar images and saw possible evidence of a tornado between 2:30 and 2:45 p.m.
"As best we can tell from reports and our own data, it was brief and weak," according to the weather service.
It could have lasted from a few minutes to many minutes, it said.
Shawn Alton was taking pictures of the dramatic spring cloud formations against a blue sky above the Tri-Cities on Tuesday afternoon.
About 1 p.m. she posted a photo of the clouds, saying, "I love spring weather!"
About an hour and a half later she just happened to look up and see the tornado and captured some video of the dark funnel.
Until Susie Baker looked up and saw all the hanging aisle signs swinging back and forth.
"Then I thought I heard a sound ... and the floor was moving," said Baker, a checker at the store.
It was the force of the most powerful earthquake to strike the Gem State since 1983, a magnitude 6.5 temblor that jolted people across Idaho and three neighboring states. No injuries or damage were immediately reported.
The quake was centered 73 miles northeast of Meridian, near Boise, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and, for some, conjured up memories of the state's worst such natural disaster, the 6.9 magnitude Borah Peak earthquake nearly four decades ago that killed two people and resulted in millions in damages, according to the Idaho Geological Survey.
"At first I thought it was thunder, weird thunder, but then the house was moving and I realized this is an earthquake — a really big earthquake," said Melissa Hawkins, 44, who lives in northwest Boise with her family. "It felt like it was in Boise."
Eighteen firefighters and a local guide were confirmed dead, from a group of 21 firefighters who went to fight the blaze that had spread over more than 1,000 hectares of land near Xichang, a city in Sichuan province.
The fire started on a farm on Monday (March 30) afternoon and quickly spread to nearby mountains due to strong winds, according to local reports.
Sources
The storm couldn't have come at a worse time - at the start of South Africa's 21-day coronavirus lockdown.
Evidence of the storm's intensity could be seen by the broken windows of houses and schools, reports Middelburg Observer.
According to Peru's National Institute of Civil Defense (Indeci), 30 homes, a church and a bridge were destroyed and a further 80 homes were damaged in Huacrachuco district, in the province of Marañón, Huánuco region. Drinking water and power supply have been interrupted.
Affected families were evacuated to safe areas and relief items distributed, according to Indeci.
Floods and mudslides struck on 28 March after heavy rain in the area caused local streams to overflow.
Resident deputy collector Lalitkumar Warhade of Yavatmal said the six farm workers died at Barad village of Ralegaon tehsil. The incident came to fore when a villager spotted their bodies.
The deceased have been identified as Abhiman Vishvanath Ambadare (60), his wife Mandatai (50), Laxman Bapurao Koyare (50), Subhash Raju Nehare (20), all from village Neemgawhan of Kalamb tehsil, Sahebrao Gulabrao Devnale (45) and his wife Pisabai Devnale (40), both residents of Khodpakhindi village in Kalamb tehsil.
Cleveland firefighters say a man was rescued from the basement of an apartment building on the city's East Side. WOIO-TV reports that the man called 911 saying the water was up to his chest. Fire Chief Angelo Calvillo told the station that firefighters broke a window and bent steel bars on the windows to get him out. One firefighter had a minor injury and 10 people were displaced.
Cleveland police say emergency medical personnel took an officer and sergeant to a hospital Saturday night for treatment of exposure after they entered frigid water to aid civilians.
The National Weather Service says the Cuyahoga River in downtown Cleveland is currently at the seventh-highest level recorded. Forecasters say it's considered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be a 1-percent flood "commonly known as a 100-year flood."
The National Park Service said the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park has been closed due to flooding. People were being urged to stay off all park trails pending damage assessments.














Comment: Some other earthquakes to hit the United States very recently include:
Shallow 5.0 magnitude earthquake rattles West Texas (March 26)
7 earthquakes rattle Oklahoma in 24 hours (March 23)
5.7M earthquake strikes Salt Lake City - First ever to directly hit Utah's capital (March 18)