Storms
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Tsunami

Hong Kong battles floods amid heaviest August rainfall since 1884 - 13.8 inches in a day


Al Jazeera
Tue, 05 Aug 2025 19:12 UTC
King Yin Lane in Tseung Kwan O.
© May TseKing Yin Lane in Tseung Kwan O.
Hong Kong has been hit with record-breaking rains that have seen schools and courts shuttered, hospitals disrupted, and roads badly flooded.

More than 350mm (13.8 inches) of rain had drenched the territory by 2pm (06:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the city's weather authorities said - the highest daily rainfall for August since 1884.

The storms follow deadly flash floods in Southern China over the weekend, which left five dead in Guangdong province and prompted a large-scale search operation involving more than 1,300 rescuers.

Videos showed water cascading down steep hillsides, breaking into whitewater streams as they rushed down the many staircases linking Hong Kong's multitiered cityscape.

Weather authorities extended their highest "black" rainstorm warning until 5pm local time (09:00 GMT).

This was the fourth such warning issued in just eight days, breaking the record for the most frequent issuance of the city's highest weather alert within a single year, according to China's state news agency Xinhua.

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Tornado2

Waterspout in the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica on July 30


The Costa Rica News
Mon, 04 Aug 2025 19:02 UTC
mmmmmmm
A waterspout was captured on numerous cell phones this Wednesday afternoon in the waters of the Gulf of Nicoya. One of these videos captures the water phenomenon off the coast of Lepanto, a district in the central canton of Puntarenas.

No danger

The National Meteorological Institute has previously indicated that a waterspout is a column of air in the form of a vortex or whirlpool, recorded over a body of water. This body of water can be the sea or a lake. Its appearance occurs when there are cumulonimbus clouds that generate local instability, causing the appearance of these columns. Unlike tornadoes, the existence of danger to citizens on land is very low. However, they can be a concern for vessels near these columns.

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Lightning

Lightning strike kills 47-year-old man and 20 cattle in Albania


cna.al
Tue, 05 Aug 2025 12:47 UTC
mmmmmmm
This morning, a 47-year-old man was struck by lightning in the village of Velçan, Pogradec.

The victim was guarding livestock when he was struck by lightning.

Also, about 20 small livestock died from the lightning strike.

Police notification
Pogradec/Preliminary information

At around 10:00, it is suspected that as a result of a lightning strike, while he was guarding livestock in the village of Velçan, citizen L. Ç., 47 years old (shepherd), lost his life. Also, about 20 heads of small livestock died as a result.

The investigation team is at the scene and is working to document the circumstances of the incident.
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Lightning

Three teenagers killed by lightning strike in central Cuba


deultimominuto.net
Mon, 04 Aug 2025 12:42 UTC
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Three teenagers died on Sunday and a fourth was injured after being struck by lightning during an electrical storm in Manicaragua (central Cuba), official media reported on Monday, citing sources from the provincial government of Villa Clara. The deceased are two males and one female between 13 and 14 years old; one of them resided in the United States. The injured, also a 14-year-old minor, was transferred to the Santa Clara pediatric hospital and, according to the newspaper Vanguardia, is "conscious", "oriented" and "evolving favorably".

Events due to electrical discharges are not uncommon in Cuba, especially in July and August, due to summer storms. According to a 2020 study by the Institute of Meteorology (Insmet), the annual average is 54 deaths from lightning strikes.

According to that record, between 1987 and 2017 a total of 1,742 people died from being struck by lightning, a figure that far exceeds the number of human losses left by hurricanes, tornadoes, intense rainfall events and coastal floods and other natural disasters on the island.

EFE
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Tsunami

Heavy rainfall causes flooding, evacuations in southern Korea - nearly a foot of rain overnight


Korean Herald
Mon, 04 Aug 2025 19:37 UTC
A 1-ton truck swept away by floodwaters is submerged in a stream
© YonhapA 1-ton truck swept away by floodwaters is submerged in a stream in Cheonggye-myeon of Muan, South Jeolla Province, Sunday, when the area was hit by a torrential downpour of up to 142.1 millimeters per hour.
Heavy rainfall in South Korea's southernmost provinces led to widespread flooding, evacuations and at least one death, according to local authorities Monday.

Fire departments in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province had reported hundreds of incidents as of 5:30 a.m. Monday. In Gwangju alone, 172 flooding cases were reported, while 406 total damage reports, including loss of life, came in from South Jeolla Province.

Muan in South Jeolla Province received 289.6 millimeters of rainfall from Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday. The hourly rainfall peaked at 142.1 millimeters per hour, a level the agency said corresponds to a once-in-200-years event.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, cumulative rainfall in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province reached 257.5 millimeters. The agency forecast an additional 10 to 60 millimeters of rain in affected areas, with some locations possibly receiving more than 80 millimeters.

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Tsunami

Tornado and flooding: state of emergency introduced in southern Russia


unn.ua
Sun, 03 Aug 2025 19:22 UTC
Terrifying videos: Tornado hurls boat
Terrifying videos: Tornado hurls boat in the air, bridge washed away after floods in the Krasnodar region.
Heavy rains covered the coast of Sochi and Tuapse, causing infrastructure damage, including a bridge collapse. The authorities of the Krasnodar region declared a state of emergency, opening temporary accommodation points for those affected.

The coast of Sochi, near Tuapse, was hit by heavy rains. The authorities of the Krasnodar Krai of the Russian Federation declared a state of emergency. This was reported by UNN with reference to Russian media.

Details

A serious bad weather front has moved into Russia's Krasnodar region. Local residents saw a tornado near the coast of Sochi, and near Tuapse, infrastructure was damaged due to heavy rains; in particular, a bridge collapsed.

Local officials are making statements: the governor of the Krasnodar region of the Russian Federation, Veniamin Kondratyev, stated on his Telegram channel that a municipal state of emergency has been introduced in the Tuapse district.

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Tsunami

4 dead as storms dump record rain on Taiwan, triggering floods and landslides - 9 FEET of rainfall in a week - a year's worth


Malay Mail
Mon, 04 Aug 2025 12:40 UTC
This handout photo released by the Kaohsiung Fire Department shows a landslide that swept away a section of road, sending a car carrying five people plunging into a ravine in a mountainous part of Kaohsiung.
© AFPThis handout photo released by the Kaohsiung Fire Department shows a landslide that swept away a section of road, sending a car carrying five people plunging into a ravine in a mountainous part of Kaohsiung.
Storms dumped more than two metres of rain in parts of Taiwan over the past week, killing four people and triggering floods and landslides in central and southern areas, authorities said today.

Torrential rain has lashed swathes of the island since July 28, forcing several thousand people to seek shelter, damaging roads, and shuttering offices.

Maolin, a mountainous district in southern Taiwan, recorded 2.8 metres (nine feet) of rain since July 28, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Li Ming-siang told AFP.

That's more than Taiwan's annual rainfall of 2.1 metres last year, according to the agency's data.

The unusually heavy downpours were caused by a low-pressure system and strong southwesterly winds, Li said.

"The southwesterly winds have brought heavy moisture from the South China Sea to Taiwan," Li said.

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Tornado2

Twin waterspouts merge near Italian coastline


BBC
Mon, 04 Aug 2025 11:02 UTC
filmed off the coast of Comacchio
Ffilmed off the coast of Comacchio at around 1pm on Sunday, giant waterspouts were seen being formed off Italy's Delta del Po, on the country's east coast
Strong gusts of wind helped two huge waterspouts merge just off Italy's Delta del Po, on the country's east coast.

A local tour boat operator paused an excursion so he could film the spectacle.

Waterspouts are similar to tornadoes that occur over water. Around 500 occur in Europe every year, according to data from the European severe weather database.

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Tsunami

Heavy rain causes catastrophic flooding in Santa Marta, Colombia - month's worth of rain in a day

Josep Freixes
colombiaone.com
Sun, 03 Aug 2025 10:13 UTC
Heavy rain in the Colombian Caribbean caused severe flooding in at least 35 neighborhoods in the city of Santa Marta.
Heavy rain in the Colombian Caribbean caused severe flooding in at least 35 neighborhoods in the city of Santa Marta.
A heavy rain event in the Colombian Caribbean battered the city of Santa Marta this Sunday, just days after the city celebrated its 500 years. The rain has caused a critical situation in numerous sectors of the district. The rains, typical in August for the Caribbean region, intensified this year due to the La Niña climate phenomenon, causing floods, road blockages, and widespread damage.

According to official reports and local media information, the prolonged rainfall exceeded the urban system's capacity, overflowing stormwater and sanitary networks. The Ideam (Colombian Meteorological Institute) warned that these types of events correspond to a seasonal pattern with a high probability of rain in August, exacerbated by La Niña.

Heavy Rains in the Colombian Caribbean Overwhelm Santa Marta

In an unusual rain event this Sunday afternoon, August 3, in the Colombian Caribbean, chaos gripped the urban area of Santa Marta. The amount of rainfall today, according to official Ideam data, exceeds the rain the city typically receives in an entire October.

Traditionally vulnerable neighborhoods like Pescaíto, Alto Delicias, Los Fundadores, and El Pando suffered severe flooding. In these areas, water levels surpassed one meter (3.3 feet) in height, trapping homes and businesses, and forcing evacuations and rescues at various points throughout the city.


Comment: Flash flooding also hit the municipality of San Fernando about 150 kms further south:



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Cloud Precipitation

Hail creates snow-like scenes in outback towns of South Australia's far north

Declan Durrant and Tim McGlone
abc.net.au
Fri, 01 Aug 2025 11:33 UTC
large accumulations of small hail — has covered the roads and red dirt of far north South Australia.
© Rebecca TaylerLarge accumulations of small hail — has covered the roads and red dirt of far north South Australia.
Parts of outback South Australia looked more like a scene from a European winter, after a massive hailstorm covered desert terrain in the state's far north in white.

It was a sight rarely witnessed in South Australia, especially so far north — much to the amazement of locals and travellers — as temperatures dropped to freezing levels on Thursday.

Kath Acton lives in the Riverland but has been travelling through the Flinders Ranges for a couple of weeks.

"We were driving from Wilpena to Rawnsley and it started hailing so we pulled up," she said.

"Then the sound on the roof of the car changed and the drops on the windscreen changed and we all realised we were getting snowed on.

"The outside temperature dropped to 3 degrees. It was very cold."

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