Unprecedented Rainfall and Major Flooding Around the World

Elbrus region, Caucasus montains, on the Russian side.

Russia's Kabardino-Balkaria hit by powerful mudslide
01.08.2025
Mudflow tore through Gerkhojan-Suu gorge, damaging infrastructure; emergency declared in Elbrus district
Shuttles launched for resort evacuees
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More from mk.ru, translated:

A large-scale evacuation of part of the city began in Tyrnyauz in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic after a mudslide
A mass evacuation began in Tyrnyauz due to a second mudslide

In the city of Tyrnyauz (Kabardino-Balkaria), the evacuation of a significant portion of residents began after another mudslide. Earlier, residents of houses located near the mudslide channel were forced to leave their homes, according to the Elbrus District Administration.

The municipality urged residents of the Gerhozhan microdistrict to urgently leave their apartments and head to the temporary accommodation centre set up in Lyceum No. 1. Residents were advised to take their documents, necessary medicines and water with them, if possible.

Earlier, car traffic in the city was completely suspended, and a temporary accommodation centre was set up near the mudflow channel for the safety of citizens.

The regional Ministry of Emergency Situations appealed to residents of Kabardino-Balkaria and tourists to refrain from travelling to the Elbrus district.

The mudslide occurred at around 16:30 Moscow time, the second in the last ten days. A few days ago, damaged communications were restored in Tyrnyauz, water supply was resumed, and a new bypass road was opened. Traffic is currently temporarily suspended.

On 21 July, a mudslide in the Gerhozhan-Suu River area destroyed a bridge on the federal highway, after which a state of emergency was declared in the municipality.
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Video, 8 min long:
 
Mari said:
More landslides in Europe:
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For the holidays I took the train going through the "Macif central" mountain in France. It's large but not height mountains. The train was slowed down since 2 months due to consolidation work. I had the opportunity to talk with someone in the train who was supervising the construction site and who told me it was the rain which was creating all the problems with the rocks that threaten to collapse. So yeah, another indicator of the level of rainfall going on I think.
 
Mari said:
More landslides in Europe:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1964644189674860716
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Without denying the fact that these landslides seem to be occurring more and more frequently, especially in the mountains, I lived in this same village for several years, and these landslides occur from time to time. Note that this one occurred at Cirque du Fer-à-Cheval; the name means 'horseshoe-shaped' as its cliffs form a semicircle; its impressive height (2,000 meters) gives rise to a multitude of waterfalls (more than 30), the number of which varies depending on the season.

The Cirque du Fer-à-Cheval is a place with no dwellings, per se; the heart of the village is about 10 kilometers away, although there are a few hamlets on the road between the two. But, when I lived there, these rockfalls (sometimes very little, sometimes a bit less) occured all around the village which is completely surrounded by mountains.

These mounatains are made of limestone rocks, which are very cracked. According to Wikipédia (in French):
The high rainfall in the area accentuates erosion and has caused numerous landslides throughout history.
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Yes, high rainfall, added to the snowmelt which increases the size of the many waterfalls and the flow of water, which further contributes to rock erosion; we can therefore expect these rockfalls to increase there, as elsewhere in a near future.
 
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