At least 84 people have been killed and dozens remain missing after severe floods and landslides struck Indonesia’s Sumatra island this week. Rescue teams confirmed the toll on Friday, with North Sumatra province reporting 62 deaths and 95 injuries, while West Sumatra recorded 22 deaths and 12 missing persons. The city of Sibolga has been among the hardest hit, with over 30 fatalities. Ongoing heavy rains have hampered rescue operations, cutting off access to several areas. Authorities are focusing on evacuating residents and delivering relief supplies, though poor weather and damaged infrastructure have slowed progress. In Aceh province, about 1,500 people have been displaced and power outages reported after flooding and landslides. Indonesia’s state electricity company is working to restore power after a transmission tower collapse. Experts warn that climate change is intensifying monsoon storms, prolonging rainy seasons, and increasing the frequency of flash floods across the region.

Cyclone Ditwah, currently positioned over the southwest Bay of Bengal and adjacent to the Sri Lankan coast, is moving in a north-northwesterly direction, according to a special bulletin issued by the Bangladesh Meteorological Department on Friday morning. At 6 a.m., the cyclone was located about 1,955 km southwest of Chattogram, 1,900 km southwest of Cox’s Bazar, 1,845 km southwest of Mongla, and 1,840 km southwest of Payra seaports. Within 54 km of the cyclone’s center, sustained wind speeds reached 62 km/h, with gusts up to 88 km/h, causing very rough sea conditions. Authorities have advised Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla, and Payra ports to keep hoisted distant cautionary signal No. 2. Fishing boats and trawlers in the northern Bay of Bengal have been instructed not to venture into the deep sea until further notice as the system continues to intensify and move northward.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department reported that Cyclone Ditwah, currently located over the southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining Sri Lankan coast, is moving north-northwestward. As of Friday morning, the cyclone was positioned about 1,955 km southwest of Chattogram port, 1,900 km southwest of Cox’s Bazar, 1,845 km southwest of Mongla, and 1,840 km southwest of Payra. Within 54 km of the cyclone’s center, maximum sustained wind speeds reached 62 km/h, with gusts up to 88 km/h, making the sea very rough near the system. Authorities have advised Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla, and Payra seaports to continue hoisting distant warning signal No. 2. Fishing boats and trawlers in the northern Bay of Bengal have been instructed to remain close to shore and avoid deep-sea ventures until further notice as the cyclone continues its movement toward the north-northwest.

At least seven people have been killed in a devastating landslide on the French Pacific island of Tahiti following a week of continuous heavy rainfall. French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the casualties on Thursday, noting that several others remain missing. The landslide struck early Wednesday morning in an eastern village, destroying numerous homes and prompting a large-scale search and rescue operation. Authorities temporarily suspended rescue efforts due to the risk of a second landslide but have since resumed operations. The French government expressed condolences to the victims' families and pledged full support for recovery efforts. Tahiti, though geographically distant, is an overseas territory under French administration, and the incident has drawn national attention in France as well as international concern over the increasing frequency of climate-related natural disasters in the Pacific region.

Bangladesh experienced several mild earthquakes over the past week, including a magnitude 4 tremor in the Bay of Bengal on November 26. A day later, a 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia, though no major tsunami followed. Experts say Bangladesh faces limited tsunami risk unless a powerful quake occurs near the Andaman or Nicobar Islands. The country lies at the junction of two tectonic plates stretching from Chattogram-Arakan to the Andaman region. Historical records show a major 8.5 magnitude quake off the Arakan coast in 1962 caused a significant tsunami, but such events are rare, with recurrence intervals of 500–900 years. Meteorologists note that while small undersea quakes are frequent, they rarely cause damage. Bangladesh’s funnel-shaped coastline could amplify tsunami effects from distant sources, but the greater current concern is strong inland earthquakes rather than tsunamis.

A deep depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining Sri Lankan coast has intensified into Cyclone Ditwah, according to a special weather bulletin issued on Thursday, November 27. The storm was located about 1,935 to 2,040 kilometers southwest of Bangladesh’s major sea ports—Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla, and Payra—and is moving north-northwestward. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department has advised these ports to replace distant cautionary signal No. 1 with distant warning signal No. 2. Within 54 kilometers of the cyclone’s center, maximum sustained winds are reported at 62 km/h, gusting up to 88 km/h, with very rough sea conditions prevailing nearby. All fishing boats and trawlers operating in the northern Bay of Bengal have been instructed to remain close to shore and avoid deep-sea ventures until further notice.

Ghorashal in Narsingdi district experienced four earthquakes within a single week, sparking fear among residents though no casualties or damage have been reported. The most recent tremor occurred on Thursday, November 27, at 4:15 p.m., registering a magnitude of 3.6 on the Richter scale. The first and strongest quake, measuring 5.7, struck on November 21, followed by two more on Saturday morning and evening, each measuring 4.3. The repeated tremors caused people in Ghorashal, Palash, and nearby areas to rush out of homes and offices in panic. According to the Meteorological Department, all four quakes originated in Narsingdi, with the latest epicenter located in Ghorashal itself. Authorities have urged residents to remain cautious but assured that there is no immediate cause for alarm as monitoring continues.

At least 31 people have died and 14 others remain missing in Sri Lanka following severe floods and landslides triggered by continuous heavy rainfall this week, according to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC). The worst-hit area is the hilly Badulla district, where 16 people were killed after being buried by landslides, while four more deaths occurred in nearby Nuwara Eliya. More than 400 homes have been submerged, affecting over 4,000 people across 17 districts. Authorities have evacuated over 1,100 families to temporary shelters and issued red alerts for landslides in eight mountainous districts. The DMC warned that river levels are rising rapidly and urged residents in low-lying areas to move to higher ground. The government has suspended national examinations for two days due to the extreme weather. Meteorologists attribute the intensified rainfall to a low-pressure system over the island’s east, with some regions recording over 300 millimeters of rain. Experts warn that climate change is increasing the frequency of such disasters in the country.

Bangladesh experienced three mild to moderate earthquakes within a span of 13 hours, according to the country's earthquake monitoring center. The first tremor occurred around 3:29 a.m. near Teknaf, originating 118 kilometers offshore in the Bay of Bengal, with a magnitude of 4.0. Just a minute later, at 3:30 a.m., another quake measuring 3.4 struck Sylhet, though most residents did not feel it. The third and final quake was recorded at 4:15 p.m. in Narsingdi’s Ghorashal area, registering a magnitude of 3.6. Officials described all three as minor, causing no reported damage or casualties. The incidents follow a stronger 5.7-magnitude earthquake on November 21 that shook the entire country, killing 10 people and injuring over 600. Authorities continue to monitor seismic activity closely amid rising public concern over frequent tremors in recent weeks.

A mild earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale was felt in Dhaka and several surrounding regions on Thursday afternoon, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department. The tremor, which occurred at 4:15 p.m., had its epicenter in Ghorashal, Narsingdi, and a depth of approximately 6.2 miles below the surface, as reported by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC). This follows a series of recent quakes in the region, including four tremors recorded within 31 hours around Dhaka last weekend. The strongest of those, a 5.7-magnitude quake centered in Narsingdi’s Madhabdi, struck on Friday morning, resulting in 10 deaths and more than 600 injuries. Authorities have urged residents to remain cautious but confirmed that Thursday’s quake caused no major damage or casualties. Experts continue to monitor seismic activity in central Bangladesh, where minor tremors have become more frequent in recent weeks.

A 3.5 magnitude earthquake struck India’s Manipur state early Thursday morning, according to the National Center for Seismology. No casualties or damage were reported. Earlier, two minor tremors were recorded in Bhutan and the Bay of Bengal — a 3.0 magnitude quake in Bhutan late Wednesday night and a 4.0 magnitude quake in the Bay of Bengal at a depth of 10 kilometers. Meanwhile, Indonesia experienced a stronger 6.3 magnitude earthquake off the western coast of North Sumatra on Thursday, following a 5.1 magnitude quake in North Sulawesi the previous night. Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency reported that the Sumatra quake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers. Despite the sequence of tremors across South and Southeast Asia, no major damage or tsunami warnings have been issued so far.

A mild earthquake measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale was felt in Sylhet early Thursday, November 27, at 3:30 a.m., according to the Sylhet Meteorological Office. The quake originated in Manipur, India, and was too weak to be widely felt across Bangladesh. Meteorologist Shah Md. Sajib Hossain confirmed that such minor tremors occur frequently and are usually not officially reported. This incident follows a stronger 5.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Bangladesh on November 21, shaking Dhaka and other regions. That earlier quake caused the deaths of 10 people, including a child, and injured over 600 others. Narsingdi reported the highest number of fatalities with five deaths, followed by four in Dhaka and one in Narayanganj. Many residents panicked and jumped from buildings during the tremor, while several structures tilted or developed cracks.

A mild earthquake struck Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar early Thursday, November 27, at around 3:29 a.m. The quake, measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale, originated about 118 kilometers away in the Bay of Bengal. According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the tremor occurred at a depth of approximately 10 kilometers. Local authorities, including Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sheikh Ehsan Uddin, reported that most residents did not feel the quake due to its low intensity. International monitoring site Volcano Discovery described the shaking as very light and short-lived, with no reports of panic or damage. Residents who were awake at the time said the tremor was barely noticeable. The event passed largely unnoticed as most people were asleep, and no casualties or structural impacts were reported in the area.

A 160-foot section of the boundary wall at Barapukuria Coal Mine in Dinajpur collapsed on Wednesday due to excessive coal pressure, not an earthquake, officials confirmed. The mine’s storage yard, designed to hold 220,000 tons, currently contains around 500,000 metric tons of coal—more than double its capacity. The surplus buildup occurred because the adjacent Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant, the mine’s sole coal buyer, has been shut down since October 27 after all three of its units went offline due to mechanical failures. The plant, with a total generation capacity of 525 megawatts, has faced recurring technical issues since its establishment in 2006. With coal extraction continuing at an average rate of 3,000 tons per day, storage limitations have intensified, leading to the wall collapse. Authorities now face challenges managing the growing coal stockpile and are concerned about safety and production continuity until the power plant resumes operations.

Rajshahi University (RU) has introduced five environment-friendly electric cars to facilitate student transportation within the campus. The service was inaugurated on Wednesday morning in front of the university’s administrative building, with financial and logistical support from the Rajshahi University Alumni Association (RUAA). Initially, five e-cars will operate only inside the campus, with fares expected to range between five and ten taka. More vehicles may be added later. RUAA President Rafiqul Islam Khan stated that the association plans to expand the service and also initiate scholarships for underprivileged meritorious students. RU Vice-Chancellor Professor Saleh Hasan Naqib praised the alumni association’s efforts, noting that the e-car project is part of their ongoing initiatives for student welfare and institutional development. Student leaders expressed hope that the new service would ease transportation difficulties on campus. The inauguration ceremony was attended by university officials, alumni representatives, and student leaders.