Storms and Floods

Snowstorm in Kiev, Ukraine

A state of emergency has been declared due to heavy snowfall in Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine.

Kiev received 20 inches of snow in a 24-hour period. This is what Kiev usually receives per month during this season.

Winter Storm in Britain Continues.

Numerous roads in many regions became impassable after snow on Friday and Saturday. For Sunday the Met Office has warned that lying snow in many areas will melt on roads and pavements by day, refreezing by night to give icy patches. Some places, mainly in eastern England, will continue to get light snow, possibly up to a couple of inches. Also, snow blowing off fields in strong to gale force winds will affect some roads, especially over high ground.

Up to 18,000 properties in Northern Ireland, 10,000 in Scotland and 2,000 in Wales have been without power overnight despite efforts by energy firms to reconnect them. Weather warnings also remain in place across much of the UK after two days of wintery conditions. Two people are known to have died - one in Lancashire and one in Cornwall.

U.S. Snowstorm takes aim at Plains, Midwest

Baseball-sized hail and an early spring snowstorm forced the cancellation of more than 100 flights at Denver International Airport and closed several roads Saturday as it moved eastward, dumping more than a foot of snow in some places.

The major early spring storm brought heavy snow, severe thunderstorms and floods as it moved east across the United States on Saturday, closing highways, forcing flight cancellations and causing a pileup involving dozens of vehicles. Blowing and drifting snow closed several roads in Colorado, including Interstate 70 in both directions east of Denver to the Kansas state line.

Other News:

Three soldiers have died after struck by lightning Saturday afternoon at Upper Orakzi agency in Pakistan. Five others were injured.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Cyclone Tim located approximately 240 nm north-northeast of Cairns, Australia.

Cold and Snow in Russia

Central Russia is bracing itself for a powerful snowy cyclone, one that may prove the most powerful for March in the past half a century, according to weather forecasters. Anomalous snowfalls with gusts of wind are due in the Moscow Region later today. The peak of bad weather is expected on Friday and Saturday. Up to 25 centimetres of snow may fall summarily. All public utilities in Moscow have been alerted.

But weather has uncorked some unpleasant surprises in other Russian regions, too.

An avalanche has engulfed a small town of Ust-Katav in the Chelyabinsk Region, luckily, without any loss of life. In Voronezh, a powerful snowfall caused numerous road accidents.

Landslides:

At least eight people have died in landslide in Mofala of Sinja region in Jumla, Nepal. The landslide collapsed a house killing eight, including five members of same family.

Landslide in Sylhet, Bangladesh has killed three people and injured 10 others.

Landslide in Kudpora Waghama, in Bijbehara area, India has killed a 15 years old girl and injured 2 others.

Mudslide in Heilongjiang, China

At least eight miners are trapped in a mudslide in Zhenxing coalmine in Heilongjiang province of Northeast China.

Chinese mine disasters are the deadliest in the world.

Other News:

Thunderstorm in Kulim, Malaysia has damaged around 30 houses.

Traffic along Grandjean Junction and Banner Summit has been closed by Idaho Transportation Department, USA due to an avalanche.

Great Lakes in Australia has been declared a flood disaster zone. Natural disaster recovery assistance will now include Gloucester, Great Lakes, Shoalhaven, Upper Hunter and Walcha areas.

Storms and Floods

Avalanche near Haines, Alaska

An avalanche in the mountains near Haines, Alaska has killed a guide for a heli-ski operationone and injured two others.

Extreme Snowfalls

Japan has had a record winter for snow, and northern Japan is currently coated by unprecedented volumes of snow – more than five meters at higher altitudes, with houses turned into igloos and roads into snow tunnels. In the Hakkoda Mountains the depth of snow has been measured at 5.61 meters – a record for Japan. Even lower down, in the city of Aomori, snow is standing at almost 1.5 meters and bulldozers have to work round the clock.

This has also been a record winter for snow in parts of Russia – a couple of weeks ago snow piles of more than five meters caused gridlock in Moscow.

Switzerland has also been experiencing dramatic snowfalls, with depths of up to three meters.

These snowfalls, especially those in northern Japan, are remarkable by any standards. But they still fall well short of the all-time record-breakers. Tamarack in California claims the record for the deepest snow ever recorded: 11.5 meters on 11 March 1911. That year, Tamarack also recorded the largest snowfall in a single month in the US: almost 10 meters.

Environment

Snow Cathedral in Norway.

Great image of snow covered trees in Norway forming a natural cathedral.

Storms and Floods

Flooding in Isoka, Zambia

Four people have been killed in flooding in Isoka district of Muchinga province in Zambia. Two people died in Milongo in the flooded Kaumba River and two others died in the flooded Ntonga River.

A landslide displaced at least 20 families in Kampumbu agricultural block in Isoka district.

Flooding in Wellington, New Zealand

Heavy rainfall caused flooding in Wellington, New Zealand.

A severe weather warning is issued for the Wairarapa, Wellington, Fiordland, Otago, Westland, Nelson and Taranaki.

Storms in Hai, Tanzania

Storms in Hai, Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania destroyed 50 houses.

Heavy rain displaced 100 families.

The storms also destroyed a total of 255 acres of maize and 177 acres of banana plants.

Infrastructure Damage

The recent floods in Queensland, Australia have damaged approximately 12 per cent of Queensland's main roads, (between four and five thousand kilometres), leaving a damage bill of billions of dollars.

Snow across Britain - January 2013

This satellite image shows snow blanketing most of Great Britain in late January 2013, stretching from London to the northern tip of Scotland.

Storms and Floods

Avalanches

Avalanche in Uttarakhand, India

Avalanche in Dehradun district of India killed two people. Both fatalities were from Lohari village going to Bagni village to celebrate Magh festival.

They were buried under 3 ft of snow near Chuirmari Dhang.

Avalanche in Cairngorms, Scotland

Avalanche in the Coire an t-Sneachda area of Cairngorms, Scotland injured three people.

Three mountaineers were airlifted to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

Storms and Floods

Flooding in Demerara region of Guyana

Strong winds and high tides caused flooding in Cornelia Ida and Anna Catherina, on the West Coast of Demerara, Guyana.

Giant wave in South Atlantic Ocean

A giant sea wave between Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica injured four crew members of a ship. The ship was carrying 133 passengers and 113 crew members. All others are safe and the ship has returned to Ushuaia in Argentina where the cruise was cancelled by the operator.

United Kingdom - Snow

Schools and transport hit by disruption. A blanket of snow was expected to cover the UK today, with up to 30cm falling on higher ground. Hundreds of schools have been closed and transport disrupted as a band of heavy snow affects most of the UK. Cardiff, Bristol and Southampton airports are closed and part of the M4 is shut in Wales. Train companies have put revised timetables in place.