Heavy rainfall and rare winter hailstorm hit Kuwait
Heavy rainfall and a rare winter hailstorm hit Kuwait on December 27, 2022, bringing joy to people used to the hot arid climate.
Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.
Shallow M6.0 earthquake hits southeast of Loyalty Islands
A strong and shallow earthquake registred by the USGS as M6.0 hit southeast of Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia at 16:34 UTC on December 28, 2022. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.
Asteroid 2022 YA6 flew past Earth at 0.3 LD
A newly-discovered asteroid designated 2022 YA6 flew past Earth at a distance of 0.369 LD / 0.00095 AU (141 711 km / 88 055 miles) at 07:59 UTC on December 26, 2022.
At least 44 fatalities, 29 people missing as severe floods hit the Philippines
Heavy rains affecting parts of the Philippines since December 25, 2022, caused severe floods in which at least 29 people lost their lives. At least 10 people were injured while 25 remain missing.
Ancient city of Petra flooded after 6 months’ worth of rain in a day, Jordan
Popular ancient city of Petra, Jordan experienced unusually heavy rains on December 26, 2022, resulting in severe flooding that forced around 1 700 people to evacuate the archeological site. Tourist routes at the site have been reopened on December 27 and movement across the city restored.
Nearly 4 500 homes damaged as rare hailstorm hits Assam, India
Nearly 4 500 homes in four districts of upper Assam, India were damaged during a massive hailstorm that hit the region late December 26 into December 27, 2022.
Extremely heavy snow claims 17 lives, leaves dozens injured in Japan
Extremely heavy sea effect snow affecting Japan since December 14, 2022, claimed lives of at least 17 people and left at least 90 people injured, as of December 26.
Buffalo hit by most devastating winter storm on record, New York
A massive Christmas winter storm buried parts of western New York with up to 109 cm (43 inches) of snow, leaving at least 27 people dead. Sadly, authorities said the death toll may rise because some people have been trapped in cars for more than two days. Nationwide, the death toll stands at 49, as of late December 26.
Destructive flash floods hit Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Heavy overnight rains hit the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia on December 23, 2022, damaging properties and buildings. The event comes just one month after the city of Jeddah, Mecca Province witnessed record rainfall.
Historic winter storm turns deadly, more than 1.1 million customers without power, U.S.
A massive and historic winter storm affecting much of the United States has left at least 37 people dead from December 21 to 24, 2022, and more than 1.1 million customers without power.
