The Midwest and the South of the U.S. faced severe storms, damaging winds, heavy rains and flash floods

Three people died due to severe storms accompanied by damaging winds, heavy rains and flash floods in parts of the Midwest and the South. The dead included a couple of two children in Michigan and Arkansas apart of a woman in Ohio. Loss of power led to cancellation of classes in many schools as well as problems to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in Indiana and Michigan. One of the girls killed in the Michigan City was a 14-year-old who was electrocuted in the backyard of her home. She had come into contact with an electrical line knocked down by a thunderstorm. In the Detroit-area community of Warren, two boys were hospitalized. One of them touched a power line that was down. Moreover, in Arkansas, an 11-year-old boy lost his life after being swept into a storm drain during heavy rainfall. A woman who tried to help the child was also pulled from the drain and had to be moved to a hospital for treatment. 3 killed, including 2 children, after severe storms hit the Midwest and South.

The National Weather Service revealed that slow-moving thunderstorms brought heavy rainfall to the area and caused localized flash floods. An official of the weather service in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said – “Those heavy rains, when they fell, a lot of them fell really quickly and in a short time." In Ohio, a woman lost her life after a tree fell on her behind her home in Toledo. At that time, a strong storm had passed through the area. Threw were widespread storms in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. High speed winds downed branches of trees and power lines at different locations. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency after excessive rainfall added to the problems in one of the water-treatment plants. It caused to low water pressure through much of the capital city. Incidentally, a swollen Pearl River led to floods in Jackson. It happened after storms dumped heavy rain. The flooding in Mississippi was less severe than flooding that caused death and destruction recently in Kentucky. At the time, the floods left at least 39 dead and robbed thousands of families of all of their possessions.

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Jaipur tragedy - 16 of marriage party electrocuted in moving bus

It was a tragedy of no mean proportions when a bus carrying a marriage party touched a live dangling wire resulting in electrocution and death of 16 members – eight of them were minors.
This has been reported in zeenews.com date 13 June 2015.

The bus was moving through a less traveled road when it came in contact with a live wire in the Pahewar area of Tonk. The bus was on its way to the nearby Morla village. It was an interior area and heavy vehicles like buses and trucks normally do not pass through that road.
The groom was in a separate vehicle and was not informed about the incident till late. The wedding ceremony was carried out in the presence of just a few people and the groom was informed later about the tragic incident.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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16 revelers killed in Haiti carnival - an event of joy turns into one of mourning

#haiticarnival #portauprince #fantom #mardigras It was supposed to be an event of joy and celebrations in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, but it turned into one of death and mourning when at least 16 people died and 78 others were hurt after a carnival float hit a power line in the Caribbean country of Haiti. This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 17 February 2015.
It seems most of the victims were trampled to death in a stampede that followed after the float struck a high-voltage overhead cable. According to amateur video released in the social media, there were sparks after a singer called Fantom, who was on the float, was jolted by the power line near a stand that was packed with spectators.
The death was of seven people who were present on the float – they were electrocuted. Others were trampled to death in the stampede. Incidentally, the three-day event coincides with many Mardi Gras carnivals internationally.
Prime Minister Evans Paul has declared three official days of mourning and officials of Haiti have short closed the celebrations and cancelled the final day of events. They have also announced a state funeral and vigil on Saturday for the victims.
Haiti's president, Michel Martelly, has expressed his "sincerest apologies" to victims and their families. It may be recalled that before the celebrations began, Haiti's US embassy had cautioned visitors to be vigilant for robberies, assaults and pick-pockets.
The singer Fantom is part of the hip-hop band Barikad Crew and was among the injured – he is expected to survive.