© Reza Hoseini/FacebookFloods in Tehran
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© AFPFlooding in Nadi
At least four people have died in some of the worst flooding the country has seen in decades.
Officials in Fiji say locals are likely to be spared a further heavy downpour, with Cyclone Daphne, which formed on Monday afternoon, expected to pass the island.
Tafazul Gani, a correspondent for a Fijian magazine, says many of the island's residents are struggling to cope.
© Associated Press/Weather This NOAA satellite image taken Monday, March 19, 2012 at 10:45 AM EDT shows dense cloud cover over much of the Plains as active weather ramps up across the region.
The National Weather Service said a tornado touched down Monday evening about 25 miles southwest of San Antonio. The twister damaged several homes, trapping some people inside their mobile homes, but no fatalities were reported, according to The San Antonio Express-News.
The fresh crop of storms comes after two tornadoes damaged homes and railcars in North Platte, Neb., on Sunday. The EF3 twister with winds up to 165 mph injured four people.
Flooding remains a serious concern across the affected areas.
© UnknownIllustration only
The forecast for northern Texas and southeast Oklahoma also calls for baseball-sized hail, damaging winds and possibly tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. Two tornadoes damaged homes and rail cars in North Platte, Neb., on Sunday.
Eight inches of rain are expected in southeastern Kansas, which has been unusually dry for nearly a year. The area has had less than three-fourths of the precipitation it typically gets since last April, state climatologist Mary Knapp said.
States of emergency were in force Tuesday in four Louisiana parishes after torrential rain left homes and roads under several feet of water. Hundreds fled their homes and dozens of motorists had to be rescued.
Flooding closed the major highway through St. Landry Parish, and many roads across the four parishes remained closed on Tuesday.
"In my 28 years in law enforcement I have never seen the interstate closed," St. Landry Sheriff's Capt. Jimmy Darbonne told weather.com.
Dozens of homes in Carencro, a town in Lafayette Parish, were evacuated on Monday when some 15 inches of rain fell within five hours.
"We had up to 7 feet of water on some streets," said Capt. Kip Judice, the local sheriff's spokesman. "We had no deaths or injuries but a lot of near calls."
They are one of the least attractive of all fish species and are normally found lurking in oceans and rivers.
But when part of New Zealand was hit by a 'weather bomb' recently, a number of eels suddenly sprung up in some surprising locations.
Residents in one street in Masterton, Wellington, were left shocked to discover dozens of the slimy creatures swimming in large puddles and gutters in the road.
People could be spotted in the streets attempting to help the eels back into deeper water as a number became stranded on the side of the road.
It follows days of appalling weather in the region.
But when part of New Zealand was hit by a 'weather bomb' recently, a number of eels suddenly sprung up in some surprising locations.
Residents in one street in Masterton, Wellington, were left shocked to discover dozens of the slimy creatures swimming in large puddles and gutters in the road.
© YoutubeSlimy: When part of New Zealand was hit by a 'weather bomb' recently, a number of eels suddenly sprung up in the streets
© YoutubeWhat lies beneath: Residents in a street in Masterton, Wellington, discovered dozens of eels swimming in large puddles and gutters
It follows days of appalling weather in the region.
Massive amounts of rain are set to soak large parts of NSW, southern and central Australia with falls of up to 100mm starting from later today amid warnings of widespread flooding .
The drenching will be "one of the biggest rain events in recent history'' according to The Weather Channel.
Tom Saunders, Senior Meteorologist at The Weather Channel said this morning that the rain will start today over Victoria, South Australia and southern NSW.
"Thunderstorms will drop up to 100mm of rain, enough to cause severe flash flooding,'' he said.
"The rain and storms will head north on Tuesday and stall over NSW and central Australia until at least Friday.
"Daily rain will exceed 50mm in some regions, enough to cause flash flooding.
"With rain continuing through the week, weekly totals should easily climb above 100mm across the Murray Basin, northern South Australia and the southern Northern Territory.
"Canberra and Sydney's wettest days should be Wednesday and Thursday.''
The drenching will be "one of the biggest rain events in recent history'' according to The Weather Channel.
Tom Saunders, Senior Meteorologist at The Weather Channel said this morning that the rain will start today over Victoria, South Australia and southern NSW.
"Thunderstorms will drop up to 100mm of rain, enough to cause severe flash flooding,'' he said.
"The rain and storms will head north on Tuesday and stall over NSW and central Australia until at least Friday.
"Daily rain will exceed 50mm in some regions, enough to cause flash flooding.
"With rain continuing through the week, weekly totals should easily climb above 100mm across the Murray Basin, northern South Australia and the southern Northern Territory.
"Canberra and Sydney's wettest days should be Wednesday and Thursday.''
Many properties, such as this one near Wee Waa, could remain isolated for weeks.
The State Emergency Services says about 7,000 people are currently isolated around the state, including 2,000 at Wee Waa.
Around 1,700 people in Walgett could be stranded for up to a fortnight, while several hundred people living in Goodooga may be cut off for as long as eight weeks.
The towns of Lightning Ridge, Mundindi, Collarenebri and Bourke are also likely to be affected, along with many farms.
SES spokesman Phil Campbell says communities are stocking up and there will be helicopter support to fly in more supplies to the thousands who are stranded.
'Next two weeks will be very difficult' due to snow melt, European official says
Sofia, Bulgaria - Much of Europe is still covered in snow and ice, but some areas are already seeing deadly flooding amid concerns that it will get worse before it gets better.
Swollen rivers in Greece and Bulgaria burst their banks Tuesday, leaving dozens of homes underwater, as Bulgarian officials declared a day of mourning for eight people confirmed killed after a dam collapse nearly washed away their village.
Bulgaria's civil defense agency warned that two other, bigger dams were also on the brink of spilling over and residents were urged to prepare for an evacuation. Authorities have started a controlled release of water from the dams to prevent overflow.
Europeans across the continent have been battling more than a week of extreme weather. Thousands are still trapped by snow in remote, mountain villages in the Balkans. Hundreds - most of them homeless - have died after temperatures hit as low as minus 33 Fahrenheit; and authorities now face flooding caused by melting snow.
A day after the dam burst, the Bulgarian government declared a day of mourning, and streets in the village of Bisser were covered with sticky mud as people returned to their water-logged homes.
© ReutersFlooding from a burst dam in Bisser, Bulgaria, destroyed much of the town and killed at least eight people.
Swollen rivers in Greece and Bulgaria burst their banks Tuesday, leaving dozens of homes underwater, as Bulgarian officials declared a day of mourning for eight people confirmed killed after a dam collapse nearly washed away their village.
Bulgaria's civil defense agency warned that two other, bigger dams were also on the brink of spilling over and residents were urged to prepare for an evacuation. Authorities have started a controlled release of water from the dams to prevent overflow.
Europeans across the continent have been battling more than a week of extreme weather. Thousands are still trapped by snow in remote, mountain villages in the Balkans. Hundreds - most of them homeless - have died after temperatures hit as low as minus 33 Fahrenheit; and authorities now face flooding caused by melting snow.
A day after the dam burst, the Bulgarian government declared a day of mourning, and streets in the village of Bisser were covered with sticky mud as people returned to their water-logged homes.
Flood waters rose Monday in parts of Queensland but residents of a threatened town in the Australian state were thrown a lifeline with news that the levee on a swollen river might hold.
Thousands of Australians have been forced to abandon their homes as a record deluge sweeps through areas still reeling from last year's devastating flooding, with St George, in Queensland's south, under most threat Monday.
Many of its residents fled Sunday evening to evacuation centres in nearby Dalby or the state capital Brisbane, although some 400 stayed to help limit the damage despite a mandatory evacuation order.
Local mayor Donna Stewart said the Balonne River in St George, flooding for the third time in less than two years, had reached 13.48 metres (44 feet) and was expected to keep rising until at least Tuesday night.
Thousands of Australians have been forced to abandon their homes as a record deluge sweeps through areas still reeling from last year's devastating flooding, with St George, in Queensland's south, under most threat Monday.
© AFP
Local mayor Donna Stewart said the Balonne River in St George, flooding for the third time in less than two years, had reached 13.48 metres (44 feet) and was expected to keep rising until at least Tuesday night.
