Joyful Parisians take a historic plunge into the Seine after 100 years
Public swimming was allowed in designated areas of the Seine, including two newly built wooden decks near the Eiffel Tower and the Île Saint-Louis in central Paris. Before sunrise, a municipal officer skimmed away the last few patches of algae with a fishnet. Soon after, a line of eager Parisians formed, towels in hand, waiting for their chance to jump in.
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Vancouver Sun
an hour ago
- Vancouver Sun
Search for 27 missing girls plows forward after flash flood kills at least 51 people in Texas
KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — The gruelling, desperate search for 27 missing girls stretched into a third day on Sunday after raging floodwaters surged into a summer camp as rescuers maneuvered through challenging terrain, while Texans were asked to pray that any survivors would be found. At least 51 people , including 15 children, were killed, with most of the deaths coming in Kerr County in the state's Hill Country. Besides the 43 dead in Kerr County, four deaths were reported in Travis, three in Burnet and 1 in Kendall. Rescuers dealt with broken trees, overturned cars and muck-filled debris in a difficult task to find survivors. Authorities still have not said how many people were missing beyond the children from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County where most of the dead were recovered. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. With each passing hour, the outlook became more bleak. Volunteers and some families of the missing who drove to the disaster zone began searching the riverbanks despite being asked not to do so. Authorities faced growing questions about whether enough warnings were issued in area long vulnerable to flooding and whether enough preparations were made. The destructive, fast-moving waters rose 26 feet (8 meters) on the river in only 45 minutes before daybreak Friday, washing away homes and vehicles. The danger was not over as flash flood watches remained in effect and more rain fell in central Texas on Sunday. Searchers used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and to rescue people stranded in trees and from camps isolated by washed-out roads. Officials said more than 850 people were rescued in the first 36 hours. Gov. Greg Abbott vowed that authorities will work around the clock and said new areas were being searched as the water receded. He declared Sunday a day of prayer for the state. 'I urge every Texan to join me in prayer this Sunday — for the lives lost, for those still missing, for the recovery of our communities, and for the safety of those on the front lines,' he said in a statement. In Rome, Pope Leo XIV offered special prayers for those touched by the disaster. History's first American pope spoke in English at the end of his Sunday noon blessing, 'I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were in summer camp, in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States. We pray for them.' The hills along the Guadalupe River are dotted with century-old youth camps and campgrounds where generations of families have come to swim and enjoy the outdoors. The area is especially popular around the Independence Day holiday, making it more difficult to know how many are missing. 'We don't even want to begin to estimate at this time,' Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said on Saturday. Survivors shared terrifying stories of being swept away and clinging to trees as rampaging floodwaters carried trees and cars past them. Others fled to attics inside their homes, praying the water wouldn't reach them. At Camp Mystic, a cabin full of girls held onto a rope strung by rescuers as they walked across a bridge with water whipping around their legs. Among those confirmed dead were an 8-year-old girl from Mountain Brook, Alabama, who was at Camp Mystic, and the director of another camp up the road. Locals know the area as ' flash flood alley' but the flooding in the middle of the night caught many campers and residents by surprise even though there were warnings. The National Weather Service on Thursday advised of potential flooding and then sent out a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours of Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies — a rare alert notifying of imminent danger. At the Mo-Ranch Camp in the community of Hunt, officials had been monitoring the weather and opted to move several hundred campers and attendees at a church youth conference to higher ground. At nearby Camps Rio Vista and Sierra Vista, organizers also had mentioned on social media that they were watching the weather the day before ending their second summer session Thursday. Authorities and elected officials have said they did not expect such an intense downpour, the equivalent of months' worth of rain for the area. U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, whose district includes the ravaged area, acknowledged that there would be second-guessing and finger-pointing as people look for someone to blame.
Toronto Star
2 hours ago
- Toronto Star
UN teams deploy to Syrian coast as wildfires force hundreds to flee
LATAKIA, Syria (AP) — United Nations teams have deployed Sunday to the Syrian coast, where firefighters are battling wildfires for a fourth day. U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria Adam Abdelmoula said in a statement that the fast-spreading blazes in the northwestern province of Latakia 'have forced hundreds of families to flee their homes, while vast tracts of agricultural land and vital infrastructure have been destroyed.'
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
UN teams deploy to Syrian coast as wildfires force hundreds to flee
LATAKIA, Syria (AP) — United Nations teams have deployed Sunday to the Syrian coast, where firefighters are battling wildfires for a fourth day. U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria Adam Abdelmoula said in a statement that the fast-spreading blazes in the northwestern province of Latakia 'have forced hundreds of families to flee their homes, while vast tracts of agricultural land and vital infrastructure have been destroyed.' U.N. teams are 'conducting urgent assessments to determine the scale of the disaster and to identify the most immediate humanitarian needs,' he said. Firefighting teams from Turkey and Jordan have joined Syrian civil defense teams, providing support from the air with helicopters. Syria's state-run SANA news agency reported that emergency crews are attempting to prevent the blazes from reaching the al-Frunloq natural reserve, with its 'large, interconnected forests.' Syrian Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed al-Saleh called the situation 'extremely tragic.' In a statement posted on X, he said the fires had destroyed 'hundreds of thousands of trees' covering an area estimated at 10,000 hectares. 'We regret and mourn every tree that burned, which was a source of fresh air for us,' al-Saleh said. The Syrian Civil Defense had expressed concerns over the presence of unexploded ordnance left over from the country's nearly 14-year civil war in some of the wildfire areas. Summer fires are common in the eastern Mediterranean region, where experts warn that climate change is intensifying conditions. Below-average rainfalls over the winter have also left Syrians struggling with water shortages this summer, as the springs and rivers that normally supply much of the population with drinking water have gone dry.
