‘I’ve been telling you, watch the weather. Every day the weather is getting worse and worse. The White meteorologists cannot tell you what the weather’s going to be; but my teacher told me. Who’s your teacher, Farrakhan? My teacher is the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Without him and the Great Mahdi, I wouldn’t be here, but he told me there are two of us backing you up: Allah and myself.’ —The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, “The Man Jesus and How Not To Fall Into Idolatry,” July 21, 2019
2 dead in New Jersey after floodwaters carry away vehicle during heavy rains that hit Northeast
NEW YORK—Two people in New Jersey were killed after their vehicle was swept up in floodwaters during a storm that moved across the U.S. Northeast overnight, authorities said July 15.
Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, noted the deaths occurred in the northern New Jersey city of Plainfield, where there were two storm-related deaths July 3. A third person was killed in North Plainfield during that previous storm.
“We’re not unique, but we’re in one of these sort of high humidity, high temperature, high storm intensity patterns right now,” Murphy told reporters after touring storm damage in Berkeley Heights. “Everybody needs to stay alert.”
The heavy rains also caused flash floods in New York and south-central Pennsylvania on July 14 night into early July 15, prompting road closures and snarling some service on the New York City subway.
It was the second-highest one-hour rainfall ever recorded in Central Park at more than 2 inches, surpassed only by the remnants of Hurricane Ida in 2021, according to local officials.
Viral videos posted online showed water flooding down into one Manhattan subway station, submerging the platform while passengers inside a train watched on.
At least 4 dead and 1,300 evacuated after heavy rain in South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea—Two days of heavy downpours in South Korea have killed at least 4 people and forced more than 1,300 others to evacuate, officials said July 17.
One person was killed when their car was buried by soil and concrete after a retaining wall of an overpass collapsed in Osan, just south of Seoul, during heavy rain on July 16, the Interior and Safety Ministry said.
Three other people were separately found dead July 17 in a submerged car, a stream, and a flooded basement in southern regions. Ministry officials said they were still investigating whether those deaths were directly caused by heavy rain.
The heavy rain has forced the evacuation of 1,382 people from their homes, the ministry said in a statement, adding 46 flights have been cancelled.
Parts of southern South Chungcheong province have received up to 16.5 inches of rain since July 16, according to the ministry.
Heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan kill 54 people in 24 hours
ISLAMABAD—Heavy monsoon rains killed at least 54 people in eastern Pakistan in 24 hours, bringing the total rain-related deaths in the country to 178 over the past three weeks, officials said Thursday.
Rainfall has triggered flash floods and inundated several villages as the country experiences 82% more rainfall this month compared to the same period in July 2024, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said.
Since June 26, Pakistan has reported 178 deaths from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the northwest, Sindh in the south and Balochistan in the southwest, officials said.
The 54 deaths in the past day occurred in Punjab province, which received 124% more rainfall between July 1 and July 15 than the same period the previous year, forecasters said.
Heavy downpours continued July 17, flooding streets in several urban areas including Rawalpindi and Lahore. Cloudburst in the Jhelum district in Punjab triggered flash flooding, prompting authorities to use boats to evacuate dozens of people.
Over 1,000 scouts evacuated from Polish camps ahead of heavy rainfall
WARSAW, Poland—More than 1,000 scouts and counselors in summer camps in central Poland were evacuated ahead of heavy rainfall on in early July, local media reported.
TVP state television said 16 camps, where the scouts had been staying in tents outside the capital city of Warsaw, were evacuated on July 8. The Polish scouts and staff were moved indoors, it added.
Deputy Minister of Education Katarzyna Lubnauer told TVP that camp officials must be careful in the face of such storms. She recalled a 2017 tragedy when two girls, aged 13 and 14, were killed by falling trees while trying to shelter in their camp tent during a severe storm.
Heavy downpours slammed the provinces of Masovia, Świętokrzyskie, and Łódź on July 9. Firefighters were repeatedly called out to respond to downed trees and flooding, TVP reported.
Greece imposes work breaks as a heat wave grips the country
ATHENS, Greece—Authorities in Greece imposed mandatory work breaks on July 7 in parts of the country where temperatures exceeded 104 degrees Fahrenheit, with the heat wave forecasted through July 10.
The labor ministry ordered the work stoppage, in effect from midday to 5:00 p.m., for outdoor manual labor and food delivery services, primarily in central Greece and on several islands. Employers were also asked to offer remote work options.
No emergency measures were implemented in Athens, and the current hot spell—following sweltering temperatures across Europe—is not considered unusual.
(Complied from Associated Press reports.)