Storms
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Cloud Lightning

7 people dead and 81 missing after cyclone Mora hits Bangladesh

Ashitha Nagesh
Metro (UK)
Thu, 01 Jun 2017 13:06 UTC
A satellite photo, taken by NASA, of Cyclone Mora as it caused devastation
© AFP/Getty ImagesA satellite photo, taken by NASA, of Cyclone Mora as it caused devastation
A major search and rescue mission is underway for 81 people still missing from a devastating cyclone that killed at least seven people.

Cyclone Mora, which ravaged the north east with 85mph winds, also injured 50 and left thousands of people destitute and homeless in Bangladesh and northeast India.

Among them are 81 fishermen from Cox's Bazar, a sliver of land in southeast Bangladesh bordering Myanmar.

The men have not been seen since the cyclone first ravaged the area on Tuesday.

'Still 81 fishermen are missing out of 144 fishermen,' Mostaque Ahmed, head of the Cox's Bazar Mechanised Fishing Boat Owners Association, said.

'The Bangladesh Naval Force has rescued 33, and the Indian Naval Force has rescued 30.'

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Bizarro Earth

Rare tidal wave hits beach at Zandvoort, Netherlands

Jan Koning
YouTube
Mon, 29 May 2017 06:03 UTC
Zandvoort tidal wave
© YouTube/Jan Koning (screen capture)
A rare tidal wave caught on camera early in the morning. Location: Zandvoort Noord-Holland, Netherlands.

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Tornado2

Waterspout look-alike 'hail shaft' captured on camera near Toronto

The Weather Network
YouTube
Wed, 31 May 2017 05:39 UTC
Hail Shaft in Canada
© YouTube/The Weather Network (screen capture)
Called a hail shaft, it's created when intense rain is combines with hail and a strong downdraft.

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Tornado1

Rare red tornado tears through a town in Mexico - terrifying locals into thinking that the world was ending

Liz Dunphy
Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 31 May 2017 16:44 UTC
red tornado
© CENWitnesses feared that it was the 'end of the world' they said, so violent was the swirling tornado
A giant tornado tore through a Mexican town, terrifying locals who feared it was 'the end of the world'. Locals filmed the dramatic weather event in the town of Sainapuchi, in Mexico as it ripped panels off roofs and drew up sand and dirt into its vortex. Witnesses feared that it was the 'end of the world' they said, so violent was the swirling tornado.

But although residents were terrified by the event, luckily nobody was badly injured. The unusual tornado - which is known as a 'snake'- has a conical shape connecting both ends of the wind swirl as it spirals high into the sky. The State Civil Protection Coordination service said that is called a 'feeder' or energy feeder.


Additional images
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Cloud Lightning

Three children killed by lightning bolt in Bihar, India


India Today
Tue, 30 May 2017 13:27 UTC
lightning
Three minor boys were killed and another sustained burn injuries after lightning struck them today at a village in Jamui district, a police officer said.

The incident took place at Harihar village when the boys were standing under a mango tree to avoid getting drenched in rain, Khaira police station in-charge Srikant Kumar said.

While three boys, identified as Dilkhush Kumar (13), Suraj Kumar (12) and Vipin Kumar (13) died on the spot, another 13 year-old boy Rajiv Kumar sustained burn injuries, he said.

The injured was admitted to a government hospital, the police officer added.

Source: Press Trust of India

Comment: Elsewhere across Asia recently 2 teenagers out on a motorcycle were killed by a lightning strike in Myanmar while a farmer in Bangladesh also succumbed after being hit.

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Road Cone

Updates: Worst ever natural disaster: Death toll from Moscow storm rises to 16 (VIDEOS)


Stuff.co.nz
Tue, 30 May 2017 02:49 UTC
Moscow storm
© REUTERS/ALEXANDER PANCHENKOA car uplifted by the roots of a fallen tree in Moscow.
As many 12 people were killed and scores injured by falling trees and debris from buildings as a violent storm swept through Moscow.

Pictures posted on social media showed uprooted trees, shattered bus shelters and a construction crane that blew over in the storm.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin offered his condolences to the victims and said that several hundred trees were uprooted. "We are taking the necessary measures to deal with the consequences," he said on Twitter.

"The hurricane was unprecedented for Moscow," TASS news agency quoted him as saying.

He said hundreds of trees were toppled, as meteorologists reported winds of up to 80kmh.


Comment: Monday's storm is one of the deadliest on record in the Russian capital. Nine people died and 165 were injured in the city in a similar disaster in 1998, while at least nine people were killed in a storm in 1904.

"Winds gusted as high as 70 mph during the storm, which is rare for Moscow," said weather.com meteorologist Brian Donegan. A top emergency official said that 60,000 people in Russia's Stavropol region are being evacuated due to the threat of flooding.

Update 30 May 2017, 21.30 CET

The latest figures place the death toll at 16, with at least another hundred people injured, and the number of fallen trees at 27,000. And it was all over in just ten minutes...

This was therefore the worst storm to hit Moscow in living memory, and probably the worst since the 19th century.

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Cloud Lightning

Woman killed by lightning bolt while cycling in Aachen, Germany


The Local de
Tue, 30 May 2017 18:51 UTC
Two bolts of lightning strike in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia in 2016.
© DPATwo bolts of lightning strike in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia in 2016.
A 73-year-old woman was struck by lightning and killed in the western city of Aachen.

The woman was riding her bike in the outskirts of the city, and was evidently caught off guard by the thunderstorm, according to a police spokesperson.

Her body was then discovered by a passerby under a tree on Monday evening.

The fire department reported that the surge of electricity had caused the bike chain to melt. When emergency responders arrived, they could not do anything but declare her dead.

The incident comes after warm weather triggered thunderstorms in several parts of Germany on Monday night, going into Tuesday.
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Cloud Lightning

More than 120,000 lightning strikes recorded within 12 hours over southeast England and northern France


The Times
Tue, 30 May 2017 18:09 UTC
The superstorm, the size of Wales, battered southeast England
© Geoffrey SwaineThe superstorm, the size of Wales, battered southeast England
More than 120,000 flashes of lightning were recorded in 12 hours over southeast England and northern France early yesterday as a superstorm "the size of Wales" swept across the Channel.

Between 6pm on Sunday and 6am on Monday morning there were up to 500 flashes a minute.

Experts described the conditions as an "intense, dangerous supercellular storm". A supercell storm is the least common — and most perilous — of the four classifications of thunderstorms.

The storm battered Kent from about 1am after a sudden change of course, setting the roof of one house, in Staplehurst, on fire when it was hit by lightning. A second house, in Folkestone, was also struck. Residents described losing TV and phone signals.

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Cloud Lightning

Violent 'Super Storm' hits the UK with 70,000 lightning strikes

Joshua Nevett
The Star (UK)
Mon, 29 May 2017 12:52 UTC
LIGHTNING: 70,000 bolts hit the UK over the bank holiday weekend
LIGHTNING: 70,000 bolts hit the UK over the bank holiday weekend
Thousands of holidaymakers have been forced to abandon getaways across the country as an "intense, dangerous supercellular storm" struck last night.

Britain's bank holiday "weather curse" has dampened spirits as Brits quit resorts early due to unsettled conditions threatening thundery downpours, flooding and power cuts.

In some regions, up to a month's worth of rain could fall in one hour today with deluges delivering up to 40mm.

The Met Office said the UK was hit with around 70,000 lightning strikes overnight - sparking safety fears across the nation.


Comment: See also: More than 120,000 lightning strikes recorded within 12 hours over southeast England and northern France

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills farmer in Pangasinan, Philippines


North Bound Asia
Tue, 30 May 2017 12:40 UTC
lightning
A farmer from Barangay Laguit Centro in Bugallon town died instantly when was hit by lightning at 7:00 p.m. Sunday.

The victim was identified by the Bugallon police as Elvis Ochoco,30, who suffered third degree burns all over his body.

The incident was reported to the police by Ochoco's live-in partner Mary Jane Cruz, also of Barangay Laguit Centro, more than an hour later.

Investigation conducted by the police showed that the victim was working on the farm owned by an Alex Garacho when the lighting struck.

The remains of the victim now lies at the Angel Funeral Parlor located at Sitio Balat in Cayanga, Bugallon, Pangasinan

Source: Philippine News Agency
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