Environmental disasters across globe in May 2021

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - A host of environmental disasters, including deadly rains and floods in Afghanistan and Iran, volcanic eruptions in Iceland and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as wildfires in Greece and storms in China and Finland, were reported in May.

Below is a timeline compiled by Anadolu Agency:

May 2:

- Several powerful tornadoes sweep through the US state of Mississippi, with damages to buildings, trees and power lines.

May 3:

- Huge lava fountains at the Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland, the biggest since the start of an eruption.

May 4:

- Flash floods caused by heavy downpours kill at least 19 people in Afghanistan’s western Herat province.

May 6:

- Severe flash floods in Iran kill at least 10 people; provinces of Yazd, Kerman and South Khorasan are worst-affected.​​​​​​​

- A severe snowstorm is forecast to hit Finland with accumulations of up to 30 cm (12 inches) possible, the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) warns.

May 7:

- At least 25 people are killed and 25,000 affected after heavy rains hit parts of Somalia, including the capital Mogadishu.

May 10:

- At least two people are killed after a severe thunderstorm hit Wuhan, capital of China's Hubei province.

May 11:

- Landslides caused by heavy rain kill at least seven people and injure nine at a gold mine in Indonesia's western Sumatra province.

May 12:

- At least 84 people are killed and more than 2,500 houses destroyed as heavy rainfall and flash floods hit Afghanistan.

May 15:

- Nearly 70 homes are damaged or destroyed while around 500 people are affected due to severe floods that hit Cuenca, capital of Azuay province in Ecuador.

May 16:

- Ecuador's Sangay volcano erupts; ash rises up to 7 miles above sea level.

May 19:

- At least 37 people, 12 in Maharashtra, eight in Karnataka, 13 in Gujarat and two each in Goa and Kerala states are killed in India from Cyclone Tauktae.

- Wildfires blazes across Canada's Manitoba province cause evacuations while the government issues air-quality warnings for western and central Canada due to smoke.

May 20:

- A large wildfire breaks out in regional unit of Corinthos in southcentral Greece, prompting authorities to evacuate at least 14 villages and two monasteries.

May 22:

- Mount Nyiragongo, one of the world's most active volcanoes, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, erupts and forces thousands of residents in North Kivu’s Goma to flee to Rwanda.

May 25:

- Severe cyclone storm Yaas to mostly hit West Bengal of India and fall over Bangladesh with warning signal number two, according to official Bangladeshi sources.

May 27:

- Yaas batters Bangladesh, affecting 27 subdistricts in nine southern coastal districts, according to official sources.