Nine dead and 15 trapped after tunnel collapse at India hydropower project
At least nine people have died and 15 others remained trapped after a tunnel collapsed at an under-construction hydroelectric project in India's remote northea…
Disasters & Incidents
Published stories in Disasters & Incidents.
MapBiomas says Brazil Amazon fires fell to record low in 2025
On 21 July 2026, environmental monitoring network MapBiomas reported that fires in the Brazilian Amazon fell to their lowest level in 2025 since its records be…
Chile official says storms have killed at least 10 people
At least 10 people have died in Chile after storms brought heavy rainfall since last week to the country's typically arid north, an official said Monday. Alic…
Canada faces severe wildfire season with nearly 1,000 active fires
Canada is facing one of the most intense wildfire seasons in its history, Prime Minister Mark Carney said, with nearly 1,000 active fires and about three million hectares, or 7.4 million acres, already burned. The report said virtually all Canadian provinces…
At least 20 killed and more than 100 missing in Afghanistan flooding
At least 20 people were killed and more than 100 remained missing after flooding hit Afghanistan's Nuristan province on Monday, officials said. Afghanistan's disaster agency, ANDMA, said 20 bodies had been recovered and more than 80 people were injured. The c…
Afghanistan floods kill at least 20, disaster agency says
At least 20 people have been killed and more than 80 injured in flooding in Afghanistan's Nuristan province, the country's disaster management agency said Monday. The agency, ANDMA, said more than 100 people were missing. It said casualties were reported in P…
Afghan rescuers search for missing after Nuristan flood toll rises
Rescuers were trying to reach people trapped under mud and boulders in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday after a major flood hit Nuristan province, killing at lea…
Chile reports at least 10 dead after northern rainfall emergency
Chile declared a state of emergency on Monday after heavy rainfall killed at least 10 people and destroyed or severely damaged more than 1,100 homes, officials…
More than 1,200 people flee wildfire north of Madrid
More than 1,200 people have fled a major wildfire north of Madrid, firefighters said on Monday. The fire has been burning through a mountainous area with small villages. The fire started on Thursday in a forest-covered mountainous area near La Mierla, in the…
Survivors found after deadly Nigeria boat sinking as search continues
Rescue operations were under way on Monday after a boat capsized while crossing a river in Jigawa state in northwestern Nigeria. Authorities said at least five people had drowned and around a dozen people were still missing. Police had initially said up to 40…
At least eight die in stampede after Burundi evangelical gathering
At least eight people were killed in a stampede after an evangelical gathering in Bujumbura, Burundi's largest city, police said. Police said eight worshippers died and nine others were injured. Thousands of people had attended a sermon by Burundian preacher…
Wildfire in southern France burns homes and forces evacuations
A fast-moving wildfire in southern France forced evacuations on Sunday as more than 600 firefighters and water-bombing aircraft worked to contain it, authorities said. The fire broke out near Draguignan in the Mediterranean Var region after days of extreme he…
Peru quake kills five and leaves 300 homeless, officials say
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake in Peru's Andes region killed five people and injured 21 others, officials said Sunday. The Geophysics Institute of Peru said the tremor struck on Saturday night and shook Chongos Bajo, about 300 kilometers, or 180 miles, east of Li…
India floods and landslides kill at least 19 people
Flash floods and landslides caused by monsoon rains killed at least 19 people in India on Sunday, officials and local media said, as rescue operations continued in affected areas. Eight people were killed in Nagaland, a northeastern state next to Myanmar. Wen…
Firefighters say wildfire north of Madrid has burned 26,000 hectares
Firefighters said a wildfire north of Madrid has burned 26,000 hectares, or 65,000 acres. An earlier account from Spanish authorities had put the burned area at about 13,000 hectares, or 32,000 acres, and said around 700 residents had been evacuated. That ear…
Guyana ferry disaster leaves at least 27 dead and 83 missing, prime minister says
At least 27 people have died after the MV Barima ferry capsized off the coast of Guyana, Prime Minister Mark Phillips said Monday. Phillips said 69 people had been rescued since the vessel overturned on Saturday night, while 83 people remained missing. He sai…
Two more survivors found after Indonesia boat sinking
Two more survivors from a passenger boat that sank off eastern Indonesia were found on an uninhabited island on Sunday, a rescue official said, a day after five others were rescued while floating in the sea. The boat sank on Wednesday as it sailed near Selaya…
Wildfires force evacuation of West Bank settlement
Multiple fires broke out on Saturday in the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, forcing the evacuation of one settlement and injuring at least two firefighters, according to police and rescue officials. The first blaze was reported in the early afternoon…
Floods and landslides kill at least four in Vietnam
Severe flooding and landslides caused by heavy rains killed at least four people in Vietnam, state media reported Saturday. Vietnam's disaster and dyke management authority said more than 238 hectares of rice and other crops across four northern mountainous p…
Magnitude 5.0 earthquake felt across southeastern Turkey
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck southeastern Turkey on Saturday morning, the country's disaster management agency said. AFAD said the quake occurred at 6:20 am local time, or 0320 GMT, in the Battalgazi district of Malatya province. It said the tremor was f…
Remote Venezuelan village faces shortages after quake cuts off income and supplies
A remote Venezuelan coastal village that avoided the worst physical damage from the June 24 earthquakes is facing shortages and lost income after the disaster disrupted travel, tourism and trade. World Food Programme trucks travelled along a winding coastal r…
Venezuela to use $346 million from IMF for earthquake rebuilding, Rodriguez says
Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez said Friday that the country would use $346 million from the International Monetary Fund for earthquake reconstruction. Rodriguez said in a statement on Telegram that the money would help support affected families…
Wind threatens to spread large wildfire in northeastern Spain
Firefighters in northeastern Spain prepared for another difficult night on Friday as shifting winds threatened to spread a large wildfire in the Aragon region. The fire began on Wednesday in a rural area and has burned almost 14,000 hectares, or 34,600 acres.…
Tsunami threat passes after 7.3 quake off southern Mexico
A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off southern Mexico on Friday and was felt in parts of Central America, while a tsunami warning for Pacific coastal areas of Mexico and Guatemala was later lifted after the US government said the threat had passed. Authoritie…
Southwest China landslide kills at least eight and leaves 34 missing
A landslide in southwest China killed at least eight people and left 34 missing on Friday, local authorities said, as rescue work continued in Chongqing's Pengshui County. The landslide happened at about 9:10 am local time, or 0110 GMT, according to state bro…
Hong Kong fire survivors seek apology as inquiry ends
Survivors of Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades called for an apology and accountability from officials as a months-long inquiry into the Wang Fuk Court disaster ended on Friday. The November fire killed 169 people and displaced thousands after flames spre…
Uganda school bus crash death toll rises to 24, police say
Ugandan police said Friday night that the death toll from a school bus crash had risen to 23 children and one adult, and that all school field trips had been cancelled. The bus was returning to Kampala from a school trip to Sipi Falls in eastern Uganda on Thu…
At least 14 dead and five injured in northern Peru road accident
Local authorities said at least 14 people died and five others were injured on Thursday when a van or minibus went off a road and fell into a ravine in northern Peru. Ricardo Chilon, head of institutional communications for the San Juan municipality, said aut…
Aragon wildfire has burned more than 12,000 hectares, authorities say
Regional authorities said on 17 July that a major wildfire in northeast Spain had burned more than 12,000 hectares of land after raging for two days, and warned that there was a very high risk it could spread further. Roberto Bermúdez de Castro, who is respon…
One dead and 24 missing after boat sinks near Indonesian island
A passenger boat sank off an Indonesian island, killing at least one person and leaving 24 others missing, the local search and rescue agency said Thursday. Muhammad Arif Anwar, the head of the local search and rescue agency, said an engine failure caused the…
New Zealand issues tsunami warning after 5.9-magnitude quake
New Zealand authorities issued a tsunami warning after a 5.9-magnitude earthquake on the western coast of the South Island. The National Emergency Management Agency warned people in affected areas to move immediately to high ground, leave tsunami evacuation z…
Police say air conditioner spark caused deadly Algiers orphanage fire
Algerian police said on Friday that an electrical spark from an air conditioning unit caused a fire that killed 11 people at an orphanage in the capital. The blaze broke out before dawn on Thursday at a childcare facility in the Mohammadia suburb of Algiers.…
IAEA chief condemns reported killing at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
The head of the United Nations atomic agency condemned the reported killing of Aleksandr Yakovlev, described by Russia as the chief engineer of Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, in a drone strike that no one has claimed. Russia blam…
One dead and three missing after boat sinks near Alcatraz
One person died and three others were missing after a privately owned boat carrying 20 people sank near Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, US officials said. Local fire and police teams, the US Coast Guard, helicopters, planes and rescue boats were involve…
Official toll from Venezuela earthquakes reaches 5,278
The official death toll from Venezuela's June 24 earthquakes has risen to at least 5,278, according to figures updated Monday. The two earthquakes had magnitu…
Six killed in Brussels tower renovation fire, authorities say
Six people died Tuesday in a fire at a residential tower under renovation in central Brussels, local authorities said. Workers became trapped in a lift as the fire spread through the lift shaft and reached several floors of the Oxy Tower, the site in the Belg…
Spain says foreigners made up 12 of 13 Andalusia wildfire victims
Spanish authorities said 12 of the 13 people killed by a wildfire in Andalusia in southern Spain were foreign nationals. After post-mortem examinations were completed, officials said seven victims were from the United Kingdom, three from Belgium, one from Fra…
Bus crash in Ivory Coast kills 24 people, ministry says
A bus went off a bridge in western Ivory Coast on Monday and fell into the Bafing river, killing 24 people, the transport ministry said. The bus was travelling from the northern town of Odienne to Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast’s political capital. The AFP report…
Two Romanian climbers found dead in Italian Alps
The bodies of two Romanian climbers who had been missing since last week were found on Monday in the Gran Paradiso massif in the Italian Alps, authorities told AFP. Authorities in the Aosta Valley, a northern Italian region bordering Switzerland and France, s…
Spain urges stronger prevention after Almeria wildfire kills 13
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for stronger wildfire prevention after a blaze in Almeria province killed 13 people and burned a large rural area near the Mediterranean coast. Sanchez visited the southern municipality of Turre on Monday to meet em…
Bangkok bar fire death toll rises to 34 after woman dies in hospital
A 20-year-old woman died on Sunday from injuries sustained in a large Bangkok bar fire one week earlier, raising the death toll to 34, health authorities said. The fire swept through the Rong Beer Na Lad Phrao bar and restaurant on the night of July 12 and qu…
Bangladesh monsoon floods and landslides kill at least 50, officials say
Flash floods and landslides caused by monsoon rains have killed at least 50 people in Bangladesh over the past week, officials said on Sunday, and tens of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes. Bangladesh is a low-lying delta country crosse…