Updated


Intense wildfires across Northern California have killed more than two dozen people and destroyed thousands of homes.

The wildfire complex charring the Santa Rosa area is now the deadliest California wildfire ever, surpassing the fatalities caused by the 1991 Oakland firestorm, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Evan Duffey.

More than 20,000 people have been forced to evacuate. At least 8,000 firefighters are working around the clock to tame the blazes. Hundreds of fire engines and additional personnel have been requested to assist California's overworked crews, according to CalFire.

"They are being pushed to limits that have not normally been pushed," Napa's Cal Fire Deputy Incident Commander Barry Biermann said on Wednesday.


With the fires raging in Napa Valley, many wineries have been destroyed or severely damaged. The fires are threatening numerous other wineries, NBC News reported.

"It's going to continue to get worse before it gets better," California State Fire Chief Ken Pimlott said on Wednesday, according to CBS News.

Smoke drifted south to the Los Angeles area earlier in the week, creating apocalyptic scenes against the view of Disneyland. The park was forced to cancel a fireworks display due to wind conditions on Oct. 9.


A tropical depression unleashed horror in Vietnam this week after intense rain led to flooding and mudslides, killing nearly 50 people.

Tropical Depression 23W moved into north-central Vietnam during the early morning hours of Tuesday, local time. Torrential rain inundated northern and central parts of the country. More than 10 inches of rain (261 mm) fell within 24 hours.

"In the past 10 years, we haven't suffered from such severe and intense floods," the country's Agriculture Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong said, according to Reuters.


More than 34,000 homes were submerged or damaged. Another 300 collapsed, Reuters said.

At least nine people are dead after dangerous conditions unfolded from Durban to Johannesburg, South Africa, early this week, stranding vehicles and toppling trees.

Intense rainfall flooded roadways and homes, prompting dozens of water rescues in the cities of Pietermaritzburg, Isipingo and Umlazi.

Puerto Rico continues to deal with the aftermath of Tropical Storm Maria. About 85 percent of the nation is still without power and about 40 percent is still without water, according to the Associated Press.

In a series of tweets on Thursday morning, President Donald Trump said that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) "cannot stay in Puerto Rico forever."

Storms in Chicago on Tuesday night forced MLB officials to postpone game four of the NLDS between the Washington Nationals and the Chicago Cubs. The game was moved one day and the Nationals won amid heavy rain.