Violent Storms wreak havoc in Europe and Turkey, 23 dead
Pastor Dale Morgan
Violent Storms wreak havoc in Europe and Turkey, 23 dead*
Reuters
Monday, May 28, 2007; 10:14 AM
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Heavy storms, landslides, flash floods
and lightning have killed at least 23 people in Europe and Turkey,
officials said on Monday.
Nine people died in eastern Turkey, including six killed in severe
flooding in mountainous Agri province near the Iranian border, where
river waters were swollen by melting snows. Two more people were missing.
In nearby Van province, a two-year-old child died when landslides
triggered by heavy rain demolished a house. Two other girls also died
and another person was injured after being struck by lightning.
Six hikers died in Greece while trying to cross a river in the south.
They were in a group of 18 people swept away by a flood wave in the
rain-swollen Lousios river. Prosecutors charged the hike's organisers
with involuntary manslaughter.
In France, two divers and a yachtsman drowned on Sunday off the western
coast of Brittany in extreme weather.
The yachtsman fell into the sea from his 21-metre boat in heavy seas.
The two divers were part of a group of six who were caught up in strong
waves. The others made it safely to shore.
In northern Bosnia, two 11-year-old children, a boy and a girl, died
after being struck by lightning on Saturday, local media reported.
In Germany, three construction workers building a windmill in the
eastern state of Brandenburg were killed on Sunday when lightning hit a
tractor they were sheltering under, police said.
In Russia, by contrast, meteorologists said Monday was the hottest May
day in Moscow since records began with temperatures hitting 32.7 degrees
Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit).
The city's electricity system shifted into emergency mode to cope with
demand, largely from people using air conditioners.
Extreme weather -- including drought, heavy storms, flooding and flash
frost -- have wreaked havoc across Europe this spring.
Aside from the human toll, it has also destroyed crops and damaged
infrastructure in France, Spain, Poland, Bulgaria, Turkey and other
countries.