People on their way at a road during heavy rain in day hours in Rawalpindi on May 24, 2025.
At least 19 people were killed and over 90 others injured as powerful windstorms and heavy rains battered several parts of the country on Saturday, paralysing road and air traffic, damaging infrastructure and triggering widespread power outages.
Heavy rainfall accompanied by gusty winds and hail also struck Islamabad, leading to water accumulation in several low-lying areas and trees falling at multiple spots.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, strong winds and hailstorms caused extensive damage to crops and power lines but no fatalities were reported. Over 113 power feeders tripped across the province, with areas like Peshawar, Mardan, Khyber, Swabi, Swat and Abbottabad worst affected.
Meanwhile, a private airline from Karachi to Lahore narrowly avoided a disaster when it was caught in severe turbulence while landing at Allama Iqbal International Airport.
Rampur in Himachal Pradesh witnessed a terrifying episode after a sudden cloudburst triggered flash floods and heavy rainfall across the region. Local resident Salim Ahmed described the chaos: "It rained very heavily with a storm. Water started flowing from ditches and drains, and vehicles were swept away. People were scared, and the police urged us to evacuate."
The cloudburst occurred near Jamatkhana, Nirmand, and Ani—areas on the border of Kullu and Shimla districts. Approximately 15 vehicles were swept away, with five reaching the banks of the Satluj River and several others buried under mud and debris. Narayan, a shop owner, recounted, "The incident happened right in front of me. My car got trapped in the debris."
Delali Adogla-Bessa yen.com.gh Sat, 24 May 2025 11:45 UTC
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A 35-year-old woman has died at Adzimakorfe, a suburb of Ho in the Volta Region, after she was reportedly struck by lightning.
The incident happened near her house at about 6 pm.
Class FM reported that a woman identified as Selina Kuma Kle sold kenkey at Ho Bankoe Sorkode Station.
A resident, Christopher Ametefe, said he was buying a lottery ticket when he noticed her.
"I staked my lotto and left. Reaching home, I realised that the agent made a mistake in the numbers, so I returned to the lotto agent to correct it and in less than 5 minutes after the rain started, we heard a strong thunder [with lightning] which struck her down and that ended her life," he recounted.
A 34-year-old mother, her daughter and an eight-year-old boy were drowned in flash floods, spawned by heavy rains, that hit low-lying areas in the adjoining Lebak and Kalamansig towns in Sultan Kudarat province on Friday, May 23.
Local executives and officials of the Lebak Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) told reporters on Saturday, May 24, that the first two fatalities, Maila Pulido and her 12-year-old daughter, Mylene, were residents of Sitio Kitay in Barangay Salaman in Lebak.
Citing accounts of witnesses, personnel of the Lebak MDRRMO and Sultan Kudarat provincial officials said the Pulidos were rushing towards their yard when they noticed the inundation of their surroundings when they got swept away by rampaging floodwaters.
An auto was crushed after a tree fell on it during rain in Ghaziabad district on May 21 night
At least 56 people died in 24 districts in separate incidents after hailstorms accompanied by heavy rain and lightning wreaked havoc at various places in Uttar Pradesh between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, according to Uttar Pradesh relief commissioner office.
As per the data, 6 deaths were reported from Fatehpur, 5 from Kasganj, 4 each in Meerut, Kanpur Nagar, Buldandshahr, Etah and Auraiya, 3 deaths each in Gautam Buddha Nagar and Kannauj, 2 each in Ghaziabad, Firozabad, Kanpur Dehat and Etawah besides one death each in Aligarh, Hathras, Chitrakoot, Ambedkar Nagar, Amethi, Jhansi, Agra, Unnao, Baghpat, Azamgarh and Ayodhya.
Western U.P. that bore the brunt of the hailstorm was the worst hit. The affected districts suffered widespread power outages and agricultural losses were also reported in several districts. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to conduct relief work with full promptness in the districts hit by rain, hailstorm and lightning.
Yogi said the officials concerned should visit the affected areas and conduct survey of the loss of life and property. They should also maintain vigil on the relief work, he instructed. As per a state government spokesperson, senior officials from Lucknow will visit the affected districts to assess the situation and monitor the relief work.
In case of loss of life and cattle, the officials should distribute relief amount to the those affected immediately. The injured people should be given proper treatment, the CM said.
At least four people have been confirmed dead and 17 others remain missing after heavy rainfall triggered landslides in southwestern China's Guizhou province on Thursday, Reuters reported. The torrential downpours led to widespread destruction, with the military and emergency teams dispatched to aid in rescue operations.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, two individuals died in Changshi township and two others in the nearby Qingyang village. The landslide initially trapped 19 people from eight households, but rescuers were able to free most of them, according to Reuters. Despite efforts, 17 people are still unaccounted for.
"The situation remains dire, and we are focused on locating the missing people and preventing further casualties," an official from the local disaster management agency told Reuters.
IndiGo flight encounters sudden hailstorm while operating from Delhi, lands safely in Srinagar
An Indian passenger jet that encountered a hailstorm mid-flight and left passengers terrified, made a safe landing, despite significant damage to the plane.
The IndiGo plane was traveling from Indian capital New Delhi to Srinagar, the largest city in India-administered Kashmir on Wednesday - a flight that typically takes about an hour and a half - when it was met with "a sudden hailstorm en route," according to a statement from IndiGo.
"The flight and cabin crew followed established protocol, and the aircraft landed safely in Srinagar," it said.
The statement did not specify what damage the plane encountered but photographs of the aircraft show a large hole in the nose.
Delhi experienced widespread rain, lightning, and thunderstorms Wednesday night.
Six people have died following a landslide triggered by torrential overnight rain in Ivory Coast's largest city, Abidjan, government officials confirmed on Thursday.
The disaster occurred in Mossikro, a neighbourhood within the Attecoube district, where the landslide destroyed three homes. National Cohesion Minister Myss Belmonde Dogo shared the grim update on social media, stating that seven other people were injured and taken to Yopougon University Hospital for treatment.
"We learned mid-morning of the initial damage caused by last night's rain in Abidjan," she wrote in a Facebook post. She described the event as a tragic consequence of seasonal weather patterns, which often bring destruction to vulnerable urban communities.
One survivor, Audrey Toh Lou, recounted the moment the disaster struck. "We were lying down when the rain started to come. The earth above fell on the house," she told AFP.
"The purpose of GLADIO was to attack civilians, the people - women, children, innocent people, unknown people, far removed from any political game. The reason was quite simple: to force the public to turn to the State and demand greater security. Under a strategy of tension, you 'destabilize in order to stabilize', to create tension within society and promote conservative, reactionary social and political tendencies."
~ Italian neo-fascist whose prosecution led to the discovery of NATO's 'Gladio' networks across Western Europe
- Vincenzo Vinciguerra
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Recent Comments
CSIRO has been involved, you didn't mention them but I'm sure you're aware :-)
Comment: Away from the mountains, hailstones as big as eggs struck the ground.