Storms
S


Lightning

Lightning strike kills 3 in Zimbabwe


zimeye.net
Thu, 20 Feb 2025 10:49 UTC
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A devastating lightning strike at Vanguard Mine in Mberengwa on Wednesday night has claimed the lives of three people, while leaving three others seriously injured. The tragic incident occurred at the mine's shopping center, where the victims had sought shelter in a shop, hoping to escape the storm.

Mberengwa District Development Coordinator, Mr. Vafios Hlabati, confirmed the incident to state media, expressing his condolences to the families of the deceased. Mr. Hlabati also took the opportunity to urge the public to take necessary precautions to avoid being struck by lightning.

The incident serves as a stark reminder of the dangers posed by lightning storms, particularly during this time of year. As the country experiences increased rainfall and thunderstorms, it is essential for individuals to take necessary precautions to ensure their safety.

Mr. Hlabati's warning comes at a critical time, and it is crucial that communities take heed of his advice to avoid similar tragedies in the future.
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Cloud Lightning

Another severe storm hits São Paulo, Brazil causing fatal floods


evrimagaci.org
Wed, 19 Feb 2025 13:06 UTC
Rain sweeps cars down São Paulo avenue
Rain sweeps cars down a São Paulo avenue.
One confirmed death as intense rain leads to widespread flooding and power outages across the city.

A severe storm struck São Paulo on the night of February 18, 2025, resulting in tragic consequences and widespread chaos. Reports indicate at least one person drowned when her vehicle was submerged during the deluge, underscoring the storm's ferocity. The victim, whose identity has yet to be disclosed, was found trapped inside her car along Avenida General Edgar Facó, which became one of the hardest-hit areas.

The city's emergency services were inundated with calls, primarily for fallen trees and flooding incidents. The firefighting brigade responded to 59 reports of trees down, 22 calls related to flooding, and three for landslides during the day. By nightfall, the Center for Emergency Management (CGE) issued severe alerts warning residents of heavy rains and potential floods.


Comment: See also this other report from January: Flash flooding hits São Paulo, Brazil - Subway station flooded, car swept away - 3.2 inches of rain in just 1 hour, also 48.5% of January rainfall

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Boat

Severe flooding impacts South Sulawesi, Indonesia - floodwaters up to 67 inches deep


Borneo Bulletin
Thu, 13 Feb 2025 19:26 UTC
A boat with five people on board was overpowered by flood waters during a rescue attempt in Maros, Indonesia.
A boat with five people on board was overpowered by flood waters during a rescue attempt in Maros, Indonesia.
Numerous areas in South Sulawesi experienced extensive flooding since Tuesday following several days of heavy rainfall, which caused three rivers to overflow, prompting thousands to flee to safer locations.

The flood impacted the provincial capital of Makassar along with Maros and Gowa, leading officials to discharge water from Gowa's Bilibili Dam at an overflow rate of 1,000 cubic metres per second, according to official data.

Flooding also inundated more than 450 electricity substations in the province, resulting in approximately 23,600 households losing power.

In the severely impacted Maros regency, over 100,000 individuals in 14 districts were affected by flooding, with certain regions experiencing a maximum flood depth of 1 metre.

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Snowflake Cold

Montreal breaks snowfall record with 75 cm (29.5 inches) of snow in 4 days, residents asked to stay home


cbc.ca
Mon, 17 Feb 2025 14:19 UTC
The City of Montreal advised residents to work from home on Monday, if possible, and leave their houses only for essential travel and use public transportation.
© Steve Rukavina/CBCThe City of Montreal advised residents to work from home on Monday, if possible, and leave their houses only for essential travel and use public transportation.
Montreal is digging out from unprecedented back-to-back storms, with more snow having fallen between last Thursday and Sunday than any four-day period on record.

A total of 75 centimetres of snow fell on the city when taking into account the two storms, according to Gina Ressler, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. It's the most since at least 1941, when record-keeping began.

While the city did not break any single-day snowfall records, it's unusual to have major snowstorms a few days apart, she said. It's even rarer to have a blizzard across southern Quebec.

"Usually blizzards happen further up north in the Arctic," Ressler said. "To have that come a couple of days after a major winter storm is very exceptional."

Sunday's storm dropped about 40 centimetres on Montreal and Laval, 53 centimetres of snow on Mirabel and up to 35 centimetres in the Eastern Townships as of 11 a.m. Monday.

"Luckily we don't have any major winter storms on tap for the rest of the week so hopefully we do get into a bit of a break so we can dig ourselves out," Ressler added.

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Cloud Lightning

Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Zelia slams Western Australia's iron ore hub with wind gusts up to 180 mph


NBC News
Fri, 14 Feb 2025 11:51 UTC
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Tropical Cyclone Zelia made landfall on Australia's west coast on Friday, the weather bureau said, lashing the world's largest iron ore hub with heavy rain and wind gusts up to 180 miles an hour.

The eye of the storm crossed the coast east of Port Hedland just after 12 p.m. (11 p.m. ET Thursday) as a category five cyclone, the highest rating on the scale.

It then moved south and weakened to a category four, sparing the town's population center from its most destructive winds.

"This is a very dangerous system that will cause significant impact and is causing impacts as we speak," said Matthew Collopy, a forecaster with Australia's Bureau of Meteorology.

Cyclone Zelia is the most severe storm to hit the Pilbara coast since Cyclone Ilsa in April 2023.

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Lightning

Lightning strike kills 7 cows, 6 of them pregnant, on Alabama family farm

Howard Koplowitz
AL.com
Fri, 14 Feb 2025 11:23 UTC
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An Alabama family is grieving the loss of seven cows --six of them pregnant -- killed in a lightning strike during severe weather.

Drew Donaldson, a pharmacist from Damascus, in unincorporated Coffee County, discovered the devastation Thursday morning as he went to check on the 150 cows and calves on his family's 150-acre farm.

Donaldson found the carcasses of six cows and one calf beside a tree struck by lightning, he told AL.com's Rick Karle.

The cows were expected to give birth any day.
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Tsunami

Severe flooding hits the Greek island of Kefalonia- families trapped, roads and homes submerged

Kowalenko Charlie
Greek City Times
Fri, 14 Feb 2025 18:16 UTC
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Heavy rainfall on Thursday night and early Friday morning has caused widespread disruption across Kefalonia, leaving families trapped in vehicles, flooding homes and streets, and triggering landslides and debris flows.

The region of Livathous, in the southern part of the island, bore the brunt of the extreme weather conditions, with significant damage reported to the road network, transport links, and infrastructure. According to local media, parents and children were trapped in their cars, while many drivers were stranded for hours as they attempted to leave the area.

Traffic was severely disrupted, with vehicles arriving from Kyllini being forced to take a longer detour through Sami to reach Argostoli. Some residents were also compelled to find alternative routes to reach the island's capital.

The situation was particularly dire in Karouza, where landslides once again blocked roads, prompting emergency crews from the regional authority to work on clearing access routes. The Argostoli-Poros road was rendered impassable near Vlachata, close to the local cemetery, due to land subsidence and water accumulation.

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Snowflake Cold

Mammoth Mountain in California welcomes 3 feet of snow in a day from recent storm

Liam Cavaletto
kmph.com
Fri, 14 Feb 2025 14:51 UTC
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© Cody Mathison
The recent storm turned Mammoth Mountain Resort into a snow globe.

Officials with the ski resort have measured 3 feet of snow from Thursday's storm and more is forecasted for Friday.

Emily Van Greuning a communications Manager at Mammoth Mountain the the resort is making sure everything is running smoothly but also welcomes the snow.

"This is Mammoth Mountain's biggest storm of the season thus far. We have currently received over 3 feet of new snow at the summit today and significant additional snowfall is expected to continue through tomorrow before things start to clear over the weekend. Our Operations and Ski Patrol Teams are out on the mountain working diligently to assess conditions and open terrain safely. Our employees and our community are very excited for this. February is really turning on for us here in Mammoth and conditions over the holiday weekend are going to be fantastic."

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Tsunami

Severe flash floods hit Elba Island, Italy - residents rescued - 2.5 inches of rain in just 1 hour


evrimagaci.org
Fri, 14 Feb 2025 14:25 UTC
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Heavy rain leads to emergency operations as Portoferraio faces significant damage and danger.

Severe flash floods have wreaked havoc on Elba Island, particularly affecting the main town of Portoferraio, where over 65 millimeters of rain fell within just one hour. This deluge has led to extensive flooding, with city officials and emergency services scrambling to respond to the crisis.

The local mayor took to social media to warn citizens of the dire situation, stating, "Emergency flood situation. The situation is extremely serious in Portoferraio. Do not use cars, do not come toward Portoferraio, and do not try to leave; access routes are blocked." This urgent message highlights the serious risks posed to residents caught off guard by the sudden and intense storm.

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Tsunami

Los Angeles roads buried in mud after powerful storm triggers landslides

Christopher Cann
USA TODAY
Fri, 14 Feb 2025 12:29 UTC
Mud lies on a street, following a mudslide, in Malibu, Los Angeles, California, U.S., Feb. 13, 2025.
© Daniel ColeMud lies on a street, following a mudslide, in Malibu, Los Angeles, California, U.S., Feb. 13, 2025.
Roads remained closed throughout Southern California following an atmospheric river that triggered rounds of evacuations and closures as it unleashed damaging mudslides in the fire-ravaged region.

Multiple mudslides and flash floods were reported through Thursday night. In the Los Angeles area, mud and debris covered several major roads including the Pacific Coast Highway near the Pacific Palisades and Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills.

Evacuations warnings and orders were issued in multiple counties throughout Southern California, though the majority occurred in the Los Angeles area, where the worst of the wildfires broke out last month.


Comment: At least the CIA's 'wild' fires are now finally out.

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