Jharkhand recorded 322 human deaths and 882 animal deaths due to lightning strikes in 2020-21 - the highest in the last three financial years - according to data released in the state Assembly in a response to a question by a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MLA Sudivya Kumar.

This is the first time that the state has released such specific data. Earlier, the Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council (CROPC), a non-profit organisation that works closely with India Meteorological Department (IMD), released an all-India report in December 20202, which stated that in Jharkhand in 2018-19 and 2019-2020, 118 and 172 people died respectively.

To MLA Kumar's query on the number of lightning deaths and whether lightning rods have been installed in all districts, Disaster Management Minister Banna Gupta responded in writing, "332 and 882 animals died in 2020-21...There is no provision for installing lightning rods through State Disaster Response Fund as per Central government's criteria."

A strong storm of rain and hail hit the cities of Paraná and Concepción del Uruguay at dawn this Monday. In the provincial capital, the stones were registered in the southern area and the residents of the place evidenced their size with photos and videos. Meanwhile, the National Meteorological Service foresees for the day of this Monday, September 13, rains and storms in a large part of the province.

In Concepción del Uruguay, the hailstorm occurred around 6 in the morning and residents of the area shared photos the size of stones on social networks, which they bought with "chicken eggs." Likewise, they published videos in which you can hear the sound of knocks on the roofs of the houses in different parts of La Histórica.

Severe flooding in the state of Gujarat on the western coast of India has affected over 1.6 million people according to disaster authorities in the country. Some areas of the state recorded more than 500 mm of rain in 24 hours.

The Disaster Management Division of the country's Home Affairs Ministry reported on 13 September that flooding over the last few days has affected 1,660,254 people across 44 villages in the districts of Rajkot, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Valsad and Junagadh.

Evacuations have been carried out and 72 evacuation centres set up to house almost 7,000 displaced residents. As of 13 September, 2,553 people were displaced in Rajkot district, 3,966 in Jamnagar district, 224 in Porbandar district and 5 in Junagadh district.

Flooding has destroyed at least 5 houses and damaged 28 more. Two fatalities were also reported, including one person who drowned in flood water and another who died after a wall collapsed.

At least 4 people lost their lives after flash floods swept through areas of Abuja and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Nigeria.

Flooding struck after hours of heavy rain on 12 September 2021. Severe flooding affected areas on the southern outskirts of the city, in particular Trademoore, Light Gold, Wisdom and Lugbe.

FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) confirmed that 4 people lost their lives and 26 vehicles were swept away, damaged or destroyed. A total of 166 houses were damaged. As of 13 September the Agency was still assessing the full extent of the damage.

LARRY DELIVERS RECORD-SMASHING SUMMER SNOW TO GREENLAND

Hurricane-force gusts topped 100 miles per hour at Kulusuk Airport near Greenland's southeast coast, while record-smashing accumulations of summer snow battered the world's largest island.

The snow reached blizzard conditions at Summit Camp, a weather station at the island's highest point more than 10,000 feet above sea level, with winds and snow so heavy that visibility was reduced to all-but zero.

"Ex-hurricane Larry is still haunting us," wrote the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI).

"Any way you cut it, this is going to be one for the record books," said Josh Willis, a lead scientist with NASA's Oceans Melting Greenland mission (who I assume will soon be out of a job).

Storm Conson brought torrential rain to parts of Vietnam from 10 September, triggering flash floods which resulted in 2 fatalities and hundreds of homes damaged.

According to figures from the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority (VDMA), in a period from 10 to early 13 September, Storm Conson dumped 908 mm of rain in Binh Tan, Quang Ngai Province. During the same period Tra Hiep in Quang Ngai recorded 807 mm of rain; Thuong Lo in Thua Thien Hue saw 772 mm; Tam Tra in Quang Nam saw 772mm; and Tra Kot in Quang Nam recorded 685 mm.

VDMA said the worst of the flooding was in Quang Ngai, where 775 houses were damaged. Flooding also affected Quang Tri (10 houses damaged), Kon Tum (07 houses), Gia Lai (03 houses). Around 750 people from 215 households were evacuated from low-lying areas in Tra Bong, Ba To and Binh Son districts in Quang Ngai province. Over 8,000 hectares of rice and crops were flooded or damaged.

As many as 17 cattle were killed while the three persons grazing them had a narrow escape after a lightning strike at Sudhakhunta village under Telerai gram panchayat in Kalimela block of Malkangiri district.

Reportedly, Erma Kabasi, Shanti Kabasi, and Rama Madkami of the village were returning home from a nearby hill after grazing the cattle yesterday evening when lightning fell on them.

As a result, around 17 cattle were killed and the three fell unconscious. After regaining their senses, they rushed to the village and informed their family members and villagers about the incident.

Immediately, villagers rushed to the spot and found the cattle, including nine cows and eight bulls, dead. Four more cows were also found missing.

The most devastating tornadoes are often preceded by a cloudy plume of ice and water vapor billowing above a severe thunderstorm. New research reveals the mechanism for these plumes could be tied to "hydraulic jumps" - a phenomenon Leonardo Da Vinci observed more than 500 years ago.
When a cloudy plume of ice and water vapor billows up above the top of a severe thunderstorm, there's a good chance a violent tornado, high winds or hailstones bigger than golf balls will soon pelt the Earth below.

A new Stanford University-led study, published Sept. 10 in Science, reveals the physical mechanism for these plumes, which form above most of the world's most damaging tornadoes.

Previous research has shown they're easy to spot in satellite imagery, often 30 minutes or more before severe weather reaches the ground. "The question is, why is this plume associated with the worst conditions, and how does it exist in the first place? That's the gap that we are starting to fill," said atmospheric scientist Morgan O'Neill, lead author of the new study.

The research comes just over a week after supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes spun up among the remnants of Hurricane Ida as they barreled into the U.S. Northeast, compounding devastation wrought across the region by record-breaking rainfall and flash floods.

Understanding how and why plumes take shape above powerful thunderstorms could help forecasters recognize similar impending dangers and issue more accurate warnings without relying on Doppler radar systems, which can be knocked out by wind and hail - and have blind spots even on good days. In many parts of the world, Doppler radar coverage is nonexistent.

"If there's going to be a terrible hurricane, we can see it from space. We can't see tornadoes because they're hidden below thunderstorm tops. We need to understand the tops better," said O'Neill, who is an assistant professor of Earth system science at Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (Stanford Earth).

At least 14 people, including women and children, were killed as lightning struck three homes in a remote village of northwest Pakistan on Sunday.

Violent rains, coupled with lightning and thunder, began on Saturday night and continued till the early hours of Sunday, destroying the three mud houses in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province's Torghar village, officials said.

These mountainous districts under Hazara Division are usually prone to mudslides and rain-related incidents during the monsoon months.

People in the Canadian Atlantic coast province of Newfoundland woke up Saturday to streets littered with branches and debris, torn and tossed around by the ferocious winds of Hurricane Larry.

Larry made landfall as a Category 1 storm just after midnight Friday along the southern coast of the island, bringing sheets of rain and sustained winds of 130 km/h (80 miles) across the Avalon Peninsula, which includes the provincial capital of St. John's.

The city's streets were lined with fallen branches Saturday morning, and trees were uprooted and overturned on many lawns.

A small crowd gathered around Mary Queen of Peace elementary school Saturday, shaking their heads slowly as fragments of the school's shredded roof whipped around in the remaining winds. A large part of the roof was blown clear off the building and lay in a heap of siding and nail-riddled boards on the ground some distance away.