Storms
S


Tsunami

Moscow hit by torrential rainfall, half a month's worth of rain in a few hours - 2nd such event in a week

bbbbbb
In a shocking turn of events, half a month's worth of rain poured down on Moscow in just a few hours, flooding streets, subways, and homes. The capital of Russia witnessed torrential rainfall and flash floods, causing severe disruption, stranded vehicles, and dramatic scenes captured on camera.


Comment: Details of the earlier episode on July 15: Heavy rain triggers flash floods across Moscow - month's worth of rainfall in under 2 hours


Lightning

3 youths killed as lightning strikes during football match in Odisha, India

nnnnnnn
Three youths were killed in lightning strike while they were watching a friendly football match in Odisha's Sundargarh district on Sunday.

As per reports, the football match was organised between two villages at a playing ground in Tumaran Birual under Brahmanitarang police station in Lathikata block of the district on the occasion of Biswakarma Puja on the day.

Hundreds of villagers from nearby villages thronged the ground to watch the friendly match. The three youths - Vishal Bilung of Lathikata, Shanti Prakash Lakra of Manco and Sunit Oram of Banei - also came to the place. They were watching the match sitting on a motorcycle under a tree.

At around 4 pm, there was thunderstorm along with lightning and heavy rain in the area. While the three youths along with other villagers were under the tree to protect themselves from the heavy rain, lightning struck. On the impact of the lightning, all the three youths died on the spot and several villagers sustained injuries.

On being informed, a team from Brahmanitarang police station went to the spot and sent the bodies for post-mortem. The injured villagers were rushed to Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) for treatment. The police have registered a case and started investigation.

Tsunami

Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia flooded after 5 inches of torrential rain in just hours - roads turn into muddy rivers

Washington D.C. and its suburbs were slammed by torrential rain, dumping over five inches of water in just hours.

A vehicle and fire truck are flooded in Silver Spring, Maryland
© WTOP/Dave DildineA vehicle and fire truck are flooded in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Streets in Maryland and Virginia turned into rivers, leaving cars floating and roads impassable.

Emergency crews rescued dozens trapped in submerged vehicles, while major counties like Montgomery, Fairfax, and Prince George's faced severe flooding.

Officials issued urgent flood warnings, though no immediate injuries were reported.

The sudden storm has left communities on edge, with more rain threatening to worsen conditions.


Cloud Precipitation

South Korea lashed by heavy rain, 17 dead and more than 13,000 evacuated - record rainfall of over 15.7 inches in 24 hours (UPDATED)

South Korea lashed by heavy rain,
South Korea lashed by heavy rain
Four people died and more than 1,000 have been evacuated in South Korea after the country was lashed by torrential rain on Thursday, the safety ministry said.

A driver was killed after a 10-metre-high (33 ft) roadside wall collapsed on top of a moving vehicle on Wednesday in Osan, some 44 kilometres (27 miles) south of Seoul, fire agency officials said.

Another person was found with no heartbeat in a flooded car in Seosan, South Chungcheong province, and could not be revived.

As of 5 p.m. (0800 GMT), some parts of the South Chungcheong region further south of the capital had seen more than 400 millimetres (15.7 inches) of rain since Wednesday, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said.


Comment: Update July 18

Reuters reports:
More than 5,000 people in South Korea have been forced into shelters as heavy rain pounded
parts of the country for a third day, with the deluge killing at least four people and destroying property and infrastructure, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on July 18.

Warnings of torrential rain remain in effect for most of the country's western and southern regions and the weather service has advised extreme caution against landslides and flooding till July 19.

Some parts in the south, including Gwangju city, were hit by record precipitation of more than 400mm in the past 24 hours as at early on July 18, the ministry said.
Update July 20

The Korea Herald reports:
Seventeen people have been killed and 11 have gone missing in the heavy rains and landslides that began across South Korea four days ago, the government said Sunday.

The data from the interior ministry and the National Fire Agency, as of 6 p.m. Sunday, also showed that a large portion of the toll -- 10 dead and four missing -- occurred in the southern county of Sancheong.

The other deaths occurred in Osan and Gapyeong in Gyeonggi Province; Seosan, South Chungcheong Province; and Dangjin, South Chungcheong, and the southwestern city of Gwangju.

Firefighting officials said rescue work was still under way in Sancheong, which could lead to a change in the toll.

Torrential rains have slammed the nation since Wednesday, with Sancheong receiving an accumulated 793.5 millimeters of rain as of 5 p.m. Sunday. The adjacent county of Hapcheon has received 699 mm, while the nearby county of Hadong has received 621.5 mm.

On a daily basis, Gapyeong, 55 kilometers northeast of Seoul, received an accumulated 197.5 mm of rain, the most for Sunday.

Authorities have registered 1,999 cases of flooded roads, soil loss and destroyed public facilities, and 2,238 other cases of damage to private property, such as buildings and farmland.

A total of 13,492 people have taken shelter across 15 major cities and provinces. A total of 62 flights were cancelled.

Authorities expected showers to fall late Sunday in some areas of Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Chungcheong and North Gyeongsang provinces but lifted the highest stage of its emergency response system as of 6 p.m.

Earlier in the day, President Lee Jae Myung instructed the government to find ways to swiftly designate areas hit hard by recent heavy rains as special disaster zones, according to his spokesperson.

Special disaster zones are entitled to government support for damage recovery and victims relief.



Cloud Precipitation

Thai AirAsia flight hit by hailstorm during descent into Chongqing, China

mmmmm
Thai AirAsia flight struck by hail during descent into Chongqing; nose and cockpit damaged, no injuries reported, return flight delayed.
The Facebook page Outsider's Aviation reported on Saturday (July 19, 2025) that Thai AirAsia flight FD552 was struck by a severe hailstorm while descending into Chongqing, China.

The flight, operated by an Airbus A320 (registration HS-BBA), had departed Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok on July 17 and encountered turbulent weather shortly before landing at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport. The aircraft sustained visible damage to its nose cone and cockpit windshield after being battered by hailstones.

Passengers and crew on board, totalling more than 147 people, described the aircraft shaking violently during the descent. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

Due to the damage, the return flight FD553 from Chongqing to Bangkok was delayed for several hours. Thai AirAsia later issued a statement confirming the incident, adding that the aircraft landed safely and that all affected passengers were provided with accommodation, meals, and ground support. A replacement flight was arranged, arriving safely in Bangkok on July 18.

Cloud Lightning

Tourist boat capsizes during severe storm in Vietnam's Ha Long Bay, killing 37

the capsized tourist boat during a search operation in Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh province
The capsized tourist boat in Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh province.
A tourist boat has capsized in Vietnam's Ha Long Bay, killing at least 37 people and leaving five others missing, according to Vietnamese state media.

The Wonder Sea Boat, carrying 48 passengers and five crew, tipped over during a sudden thunderstorm on Saturday afternoon, according to the reports.

More than 20 children were among the passengers.

The official Vietnam News Agency said rescue teams had found 10 survivors by Saturday evening and recovered 37 bodies by Sunday morning.

Four of the victims have yet to be identified.

Rescue teams continued the search through the night and have now brought the salvaged boat to shore, according to VNA.

Most of those on board were Vietnamese families visiting from the capital, Hanoi, the news outlet VNExpress said.

Tsunami

Second major flood this month hits Negros Occidental, Philippines - thousands displaced

Flood-hit residents of Barangay Aguisan in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, were rescued by personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard yesterday, July 18, 2025.
© Coast Guard District-Southern VisayasFlood-hit residents of Barangay Aguisan in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, were rescued by personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard yesterday, July 18, 2025.
Widespread flooding swept through southern Negros Occidental on Thursday, July 17, affecting more than 2,000 families in three cities and seven towns, local disaster officials said, marking the second major flood event in the province in a month's time.

The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) said heavy rain from the southwest monsoon, enhanced by Tropical Storm Crising (Wipha) as it approached Northern Luzon on Friday, July 18, inundated low-lying areas in Negros Occidental's 5th and 6th districts. The rain submerged roads, triggered landslides, and prompted class suspensions in at least 18 localities.

Crising was categorized as a tropical depression on Thursday, but it intensified into a tropical storm at 2 am on Friday.


Tornado2

Waterspout over Mobile Bay, Alabama

mmmmm
Video taken from the Bellefontaine area on the west side of Mobile Bay - video thanks to Amy Cottrell.


Cloud Lightning

33 killed in 2 days by lightning in Bihar, India

nnnnnnn
At least 33 people died this week in the northeastern Indian state of Bihar after being struck by lightning during monsoon storms.

Local officials announced the news, specifying that dozens of people were injured.

According to the state disaster management department, the victims were mostly farmers and laborers working outdoors and the lightning struck between Wednesday and Thursday.

Bihar state disaster management minister Vijay Kumar Mandal said officials in affected districts had been instructed to "sensitize the public to take precautions after a lightning warning." The state government announced compensation of 4 million rupees ($4,600) for the families of those killed by lightning.

At least 243 people have died from lightning in 2024 and 275 last year, according to state government statistics. The eastern region of India, including Bihar, is prone to annual floods that kill dozens and displace hundreds of thousands during the peak monsoon season.

Cloud Precipitation

Pakistan warns of urban flooding, river surges - 63 die in 24 hours - cloudburst dumps 16.6 inches of rain

A man along with his dog while a car wade through a flooded street during heavy monsoon rains in Rawalpindi on July 17, 2025.
© AFPA man along with his dog while a car wade through a flooded street during heavy monsoon rains in Rawalpindi on July 17, 2025.
Pakistan's disaster management authorities on Thursday warned of urban flooding and rising river levels in several regions, including Rawalpindi and Islamabad, as relentless monsoon rains battered large swathes of the country, pushing the seasonal death toll close to 190.
The fresh alert came as intense monsoon activity swept across northeastern and central Pakistan, prompting emergency declarations, evacuation adviseries and a heightened state of alert across provincial administrations.

In Punjab, the country's most populous province, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said 103 people had died and 393 had been injured in rain-related incidents since the start of the monsoon season in late June.

"In the last 24 hours alone, 63 people have died and 290 have been injured due to monsoon-related incidents," the PDMA said in a statement. "Monsoon rains have also damaged 128 houses and killed six livestock animals."