#ICYMI: Flooding affects millions in India, Japan, Barbara becomes 1st major hurricane of 2019 and a wintry scene in Mexico

Residents in the Mexican city of Guadalajara woke up to a rather unusual sight on Sunday morning. Amid a hot summer thus far, some areas of the city were left with 3 feet of ice following a heavy hailstorm.

No injuries or deaths were reported in the city, according to Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro Ramírez.

While hailstorms aren’t uncommon in Guadalajara, the amount shattered records. Part of the reason why the ice accumulated the way it did was because of localized flooding in the area, which likely carried the hail into piles.

After a record-shattering week of rainfall, widespread areas of Japan found themselves dealing with extreme flooding. Over 1 million citizens were ordered to evacuate from southern Kyushu, where the worst of the floods have struck.

Areas in the Kagoshina Prefecture recorded single-day record rainfall totals, including Kanoya, which received 18.6 inches. From Monday to Wednesday, the city had a total over 25 total inches, shattering the previous three-day record total by over 5 inches.

The extreme flooding also triggered mudslides, which proved deadly. In separate incidents, two women were killed in the Kagoshina Prefecture when their homes were buried in mudslides. This prompted Kagoshina Governor Satoshi Mitazono to request military assistance for the rescue efforts.

On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, a prolonged heat wave in Alaska has sparked heightened wildfire fears as the Swan Lake Fire south of Anchorage continues to blaze. As of Wednesday night, the fire was only 14 percent contained, according to Inciweb.

The blaze was initially sparked by lightning in early June. Over 84,000 acres have burned thus far, and air quality concerns prompted the National Weather Service office in Anchorage to issue its first ever dense smoke advisory.

In the advisory, issued on Wednesday, the NWS said near-record temperatures and fairly light winds have made the situation worse. Due to the dry conditions and risky weather, many areas of the state had to cancel their firework displays for Fourth of July celebrations.

The heat continued to grip Alaska through the July Fourth holiday. Anchorage hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit, a new all-time record high for the city.

Hurricane Barbara caused a notable stir in the East Pacific this week, as it nearly became one of the earliest Category 5 hurricanes on record. After becoming the season’s first major hurricane on Tuesday, Barbara almost became a Category 5 storm on Wednesday morning. However, it weakened to a Category 3 storm by Thursday.

With maximum winds estimated at 155 mph at the storm’s strongest point, Barbara posed its largest threat to ships at sea rather than to Hawaii, but it could impact the state as a tropical rainstorm next week.

An unwelcome Independence Day surprise was felt across the Southwest on Thursday. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck in the northern Mojave Desert near Ridgecrest, California, with shaking felt as far away as Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Diego.

While damage was reported to some roads and buildings, there were no reports of fatalities. Over 100 aftershocks were reported.

According to the Los Angeles Times, this is the largest quake to strike the Southern California region since a 6.6 magnitude earthquake occurred in Northridge in 1994.

In India, at least 30 people were killed in Mumbai after the worst monsoon flooding in the city in over a decade, according to city officials. Anupam Srivastava, the commandant of the National Disaster Response force, told CNN that another 17 residents are still missing.

In addition to the flooding, several retaining walls collapsed amid the heavy rain in the state of Maharashtra.

Over 32 inches of rain fell from Friday, June 28, to Tuesday, July 2, in Mumbai. According to India’s Meteorological Department, the nearly 15 inches of accumulated rainfall was the most Mumbai had received in 14 years.

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