Recent Events
What is currently happening in the world? Selected news items are presented here to provide an overview of current and important events. The importance of disaster prevention at both national and international level is highlighted.
Recent Events
Largest evacuation in Cologne since the Second World War – bomb disposal
The largest evacuation since the Second World War is currently underway in Cologne after three unexploded bombs from the war were discovered in the Deutz district. Around 20,000 people have to leave their homes, and hospitals, retirement homes and numerous public...
Wildfires in Kanada
Large-scale wildfires are currently raging in central and western Canada. The provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan are particularly affected, where a state of emergency was declared on May 28 due to the ongoing fires. More than 17,000 people have had to be evacuated...
Flooding in Nigeria
In Nigeria, particularly in the city of Mokwa, heavy flooding occurred in a nearby city on May 28 and 29 after hours of heavy rainfall. This was followed by a dam burst, which further exacerbated the situation. As a result, 256 houses were destroyed and over 3,000...
Rockslide in Blatten, Switzerland
On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, a massive rockslide at the Birchgletscher triggered a partial collapse of the glacier ice. As a result, several million cubic meters of ice and debris fell into the Lötschental valley and accumulated over a distance of approximately two...
Heavy Rainfall in New South Wales, Australia Causes Severe Flooding
In recent days, torrential rainfall has affected large parts of Australia, particularly regions in New South Wales (NSW) and along the Mid North Coast. In some areas, up to 500 mm of rain fell within 24 hours, leading to severe flooding [1,2]. As a result of the...
Flooding in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Unusually heavy rainfall in the Argentine province of Buenos Aires since May 16, 2025, has caused massive flooding in the agricultural region. Over the course of just three days, some areas recorded more than 400 millimeters of rain – with San Antonio de Areco...
Power Outage on the Iberian Peninsula
On Monday, April 28, 2025, at around 12:30 p.m. local time, a massive power outage affected large parts of Spain, Portugal, and southern France. The Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica reported a sudden drop in electricity demand. In Portugal, the outage caused...
Earthquake in Myanmar
On Friday, March 28, 2025, at 12:50 PM MMT (6:21 AM CET), a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar (United States Geological Survey USGS; Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences GFZ), with its epicenter near Mandalay in the central part of the country (The Guardian, 2025)....
Tuscany under water: flooding and damage due to heavy rainfall
In March 2025, the Italian region of Tuscany, particularly the province of Florence, was hit by severe storms. On 14 March, 70 liters of rain per square meter fell in Florence in just six hours - an amount that normally corresponds to the entire monthly average. This...