The Biblically Disastrous Weekend the Planet Just Had
What happened this weekend? Major flooding killed hundreds in Asia and displaced thousands in Europe, while Russia battled back against peat fires blanketing Moscow in smog. Here, check out some of the breathtaking pictures.
Over the weekend, huge floods hit Pakistan, India and China, killing hundreds and affecting millions more. Water also spilled over in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, forcing thousands to evacuate. And in Russia, the weeks-long peat fires blanketing Moscow in smog hit a peak, with hundreds of fires spotted over the weekend.
So what gives? It's probably the CIA's weather ray, or God. Either way, it's about as globally disastrous a weekend as we've had in recent memory. Look:
Poland, Germany, Czech Republic: Floods
This guy's house, in the town of Bogatynia, Poland, was destroyed during Sunday's flash floods, which struck at the border of Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. (Petr David Josek)
Flash floods also hit Chrastava, a village in the Czech Republic, forcing residents—like these people—to evacuate over damaged bridges. Some had to be rescued from their roofs by military helicopters. The major railway line connecting Prague to Berlin was destroyed in the floods as well. (Petr David Josek)
This is the Neisse river in Eastern Germany, near Goerlitz. (Jens Schlueter)
Russia: Fires
These American tourists, visiting the Red Square, are wearing face masks to protect themselves from the smog, which has raised the concentration of pollutants to a new high. (Pavel Golovkin)
This is a forest near Verkhnyaya Vereya, a village in Nizhny Novgorod, about 255 miles outside of Moscow. The fires are spurred in part by the most intense heat wave on record, and some 600 separate fires were recorded on Saturday. (Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr.)
These chimneys are the only thing left of houses burned in the town of Peredeltsy, in Ryazan, about 100 miles outside of Moscow.
India, Pakistan, China: Floods
In India, flash floods caused mudslides that killed dozens of people and destroyed roads, like this one in Kargil. (Dar Yasin)
Pakistan was even more badly ravaged by floods, and rain continues to pour down, worsening the situation in towns like Mehmud Kot—and further destabilizing the Pakistani government. (Khalid Tanveer)
These Pakistani villagers are looking at what used to be a bridge in Bannu. (Ijaz Mohammad)
China was similarly hit, and rescuers across the Gansu province, which saw severe landslides and flash floods, spent Sunday looking for victims in the water.
[All photos via AP]