Thousands of Velella velella, also known as by-the-wind sailors, washed ashore on beaches in Ventura County, California, from late April to early May 2025. The mass stranding, driven by onshore winds and warm ocean conditions, reflects seasonal oceanographic changes along the California coast.
Wildfires in Minnesota have destroyed at least 140 buildings and scorched over 8 094 ha (20 000 acres) of land since May 11, 2025, prompting evacuations, road closures, and air quality alerts.
Newly surfaced security camera footage from the March 28, 2025, M7.7 earthquake near Mandalay, Myanmar, shows a rare surface rupture along the Sagaing Fault. The footage captures the ground visibly splitting and shifting laterally, offering a very rare, ground-level view of a strike-slip fault in motion.
A state of emergency was declared for Italy’s Campi Flegrei area on May 13, 2025, following an M4.4 earthquake within a swarm of earthquakes that produced 49 registered events. The swarm began at 12:06 LT on May 13 and ended during the morning hours of May 14, according to the INGV Vesuvian Observatory. The Campi Flegrei caldera is one of Europe’s most closely monitored volcanic areas due to its dense population and history of significant unrest.
A Flash Flood Emergency was issued for parts of western Maryland on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, as floods forced over 200 people to evacuate three schools in Allegany County. Meanwhile, a 12-year-old boy in Albemarle County, Virginia, was reported missing after being swept away by floodwaters from a nearby creek.
A deep earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.4 hit the Tonga region at 04:15 UTC on May 14, 2025. The agency is reporting a depth of 242 km (150 miles). EMSC is reporting 243 km (151 miles).
A strong earthquake registered by the EMSC as M6.1 hit Crete, Greece, at 22:51 UTC on May 13, 2025 (00:51 local time, May 14) at a depth of 71 km (44 miles). USGS is reporting M6.0 at a depth of 74 km (46 miles).
Flood watches have been issued from North Carolina to Pennsylvania, including Washington, D.C., as a severe weather system brings heavy rains to the Northeast starting Tuesday, May 13, 2025. Heavy rainfall is expected to extend from the Southeast to the Great Lakes, with much of the Mid-Atlantic affected through Wednesday, May 14.
An unseasonal heatwave is forecast to bring record-breaking temperatures of up to 44.5°C (112°F) to south-central Texas this week, prompting heat advisories across the region.
Persistent steam, gas, and minor volcanic ash emissions from Whakaari/White Island, New Zealand, have led to several flight cancellations over Tauranga on May 11 and 12, 2025.
