Footage on social media showed the deluge of rain in Frankfurt.
Heavy rain in parts of Germany has caused flooding that deluged streets and toppled trees, and led to dozens of flight cancellations at Frankfurt airport, the country's busiest and a key European hub.
The storm swept over southwest Germany on Wednesday evening, dumping huge quantities of water and reportedly unleashing more than 25,000 bolts of lightning in about an hour.
Frankfurt airport said on Thursday it was forced to axe 90 flights while 23 more were re-routed to land at other airports.
Some passengers slept on camp beds while many spent the night at the airport hotel.
"Today, the situation will probably stabilise again," a spokesman told the AFP news agency. "There are still passengers here who need to be booked onto new flights."
Heavy monsoon rains have triggered floods and landslides in India's Himalayan region, killing at least 41 people and trapping many others.
Days of downpours have washed away vehicles, demolished buildings and destroyed bridges in the northern Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, while killing at least 33 and eight in each state, respectively.
A cloudburst in the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday night killed nine people, and 12 people died in two landslides in Shimla, the state's capital, authorities told the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.
At least a dozen others were killed as heavy rains battered the state, sparking flash floods and more landslides.
At least 71 people have died following landslides and heavy rains in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, where Church officials fear the death toll may rise.
"I am afraid the number of causalities may rise once the rescue teams reach far-flung areas as they are facing challenges due to the rain," Bishop Ignatius Loyola Ivan Mascarenhas of Shimla-Chandigarh told UCA News on Aug. 17.
Shimla is the capital of Himachal Pradesh, bordering China.
Bishop Mascarenhas said Church officials have met with the Shimla district collector, the district's top administrative officer, and "assured him of help."
They also donated some money collected from Catholics, he said.
Onkar Chand Sharma, principal secretary of the Disaster Management Department, said at least 71 people have died so far due to the incessant rainfall from Aug. 13 to 15.
Himachal Pradesh, one of the 13 mountain states in India, is characterized by an extreme landscape, featuring several peaks and extensive river systems.
The rainfall recorded in the state this July broke all records in the last 50 years, leading to the most devastating natural calamity in recent times.
"The situation in the area is very bad and it will take years to rebuild. I have asked all our people in the diocese to come forward and contribute in whatever way they can, like dry rations, food packets, clothes and money," Bishop Mascarenhas said.
He said a Chruch-run school in the Sholan area has been damaged due to rains and flooding.
He said that when the state was reeling under heavy rains in July, Church-run institutions and medical centers provided lodging, food, and medicines.
Tanuja Raghunath, the program associate of the New Delhi-based Caritas India, the Catholic Church's social service arm, told UCA News on Aug. 17 that their people are assessing the situation.
"We have distributed money among several houses in Kullu district and also have offered support to the administration," she said.
The state witnessed a massive landslide on Aug. 14 following which rescue operations were launched under the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
Naseef Khan, NDRF inspector, said that "rescue operations have been underway for four days."
Bishop Mascarenhas said that "people were shocked after hearing the news of landslides. We are praying for the bereaved families."
In Shimla, several buildings are facing landslide threats, while in Kangra district 1,731 people have been rescued following the release of water from the Pong dam.
A monetary loss of around 75 billion rupees (some US$ 937 million) has been reported so far, Sharma from the Disaster Management Department added.
Low-lying, neighboring Punjab state was submerged after Bhakra and Pong dams in Himachal Pradesh overflowed.
Civil society organizations have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the situation in Himachal Pradesh a national disaster.
In this photo released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023, Emergency service workers give assistance in a flooded village in Primorye region, Russia's Far East after heavy downpours flooded villages in the region in the aftermath of Typhoon Khanun.
Floods in Russia's Far East had forced the evacuation of more than 2,500 people by Monday, the ministry of emergency situations said, after Russia joined the list of countries battered by rainstorms in the wake of Typhoon Khanun.
After lashing southern Japan last week, Khanun weakened into a tropical depression as it swept across the Korean peninsula to make landfall in northeast China on Friday night, causing mudslides in Liaoning Province that killed at least 21 people.
In the Russian Far East, 28 settlements were cut off by Monday. Large stretches of roads and 4,620 houses were flooded in 15 municipalities, the ministry said on the Telegram channel.
The ministry said floodwaters had begun to recede in most parts of Primorye region, and the worst flooding was on the Malinovka river near the village of Rakitnoye. The Pacific coast port of Vladivostok is the administrative center of Primorye region.
Rachael Bunyan Daily Mail Mon, 14 Aug 2023 11:35 UTC
Cars and campervans were damaged in the mudslide in Bardonecchia on Sunday
This is the terrifying moment a 'tsunami of mud' crashed through an Italian Alpine town, sending people fleeing for their lives.
Dramatic video shows the churning river of mud forming a huge wave as it burst its banks and slammed into a street following heavy rain in the town of Bardonecchia, near Turin in the Val di Susa valley.
Horrified residents and tourists were sent running for their lives as the huge 'mud tsunami' smashed through a gate and sent debris flying towards them on Sunday evening.
At least two people have been killed and 16 others are missing after mudslides and flooding in the northwestern Chinese city of Xian, on Saturday (August 12), reported state broadcaster CCTV. This comes a day after reports that nearly 80 people have been killed across several Chinese provinces, including the capital city of Beijing since storm Doksuri, a former super typhoon, made landfall in southern Fujian province back in July.
According to a report by CCTV, the Chinese city was "affected by short-term local heavy rainfall, at 18:00 (local time) on August 11...there was a sudden mountain flash flood and mudslide."
It added, "A preliminary inspection showed that, at present, two houses in the village have been washed away and infrastructure including roads, bridges and power supply have been damaged."
Chinese officials also rescued four people initially trapped by the mudslide, said the state media report, adding that the emergency response and rescue efforts were continuing on Saturday morning as 16 individuals remained missing.
At least 21 people are dead and six others missing after a flash flood and landslide following torrential rains in the outskirts of northwestern China's Xi'an city, local authorities said Sunday.
The natural disaster, which took place in a mountainside village on Friday, also caused blackouts affecting 900 households and damaged roads, bridges and communications infrastructure, according to the the Xi'an City Emergency Management Bureau.
Heavy rain wreaked havoc at many places in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday, causing floods and landslides and forcing the closure of over 300 roads, as Monsoon bounced back in the hill state.
The local MeT office has issued an orange alert of heavy to very rainfall on Sunday and a yellow warning of heavy rain on Monday.
Twelve passengers were injured when a Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus met with an accident following a caving-in of the road near Kango on the Mandi-Shimla highway in Mandi district in the wee hours, officials said.
The passengers had a narrow escape as the bus stopped over the sunken stretch of the road and did not roll into a khud, they said.
A dramatic video that has gone viral on social media captures the moment a major wadi in Oman, known as "Wadi Al Hajar," in the Wilayat of Ibri, witnessed a sudden soil collapse and subsequent flood, blocking roads and affecting traffic. The flood was a result of heavy rains experienced in various parts Oman by the end of last week.
"Wadi Al Hajar", located in the Al-Dahra region and approximately 50 kilometres from the city centre of Ibri, is a renowned valley visited by locals and tourists alike during the rainy season.
Tropical Storm Khanun poured intense rain on South Korea on Thursday, turning roads into chocolate-colored rivers and leaving at least one person dead, before weakening as it reached major urban centers near the capital.
More than a foot of rain fell in eastern and southern areas after the storm made landfall on the mainland in the morning. Emergency workers responded to increasing reports of flooding and landslides by the afternoon.
More than 15,000 people, mostly in southern regions, were evacuated from their homes as emergency workers responded to landslides, flood-damaged homes and rising rivers and streams. As of Thursday night, workers managed to restore electricity to 38,000 of the 40,300 homes that experienced power outages.
Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Finland, Estonia, Latvia have faced flight delays, road closures, power outages
Norwegian authorities warned Tuesday to prepare for "extremely heavy rainfall" after Storm Hans caused two deaths, ripped off roofs and upended summertime life in northern Europe.
Strong winds continued to batter the region along with rains, causing a lengthy list of disruptions in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Finland, Estonia and Latvia. Ferries were canceled, flights were delays, roads and streets were flooded, trees were uprooted, people were injured by falling branches and thousands remained without electricity Tuesday.
In Oslo, officials urged people to work from home. On its website, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate warned of "extremely heavy rainfall" in the country's south, adding "unnecessary traffic should be avoided."
Comment: Update August 17
ucanews.com reports:
Related: Heavy rains lash Himachal Pradesh, India causing landslides at many places - over 300 roads closed