The deadly flash flood in Nepal on Wednesday was likely caused by a huge chunk of a glacier that broke off and temporarily dammed a river, according to preliminary investigations by scientists. That may have led to the backed-up water surging downstream with enormous force a few hours later, they suggested.

Scientists are still piecing together information from satellite and ground-level data to figure out exactly what happened to cause the flood, which killed at least 353 people and left more than 1,300 missing, including foreigners and pilgrims.

Torrential rain struck Japan's north-central prefectures of Ishikawa and Toyama on Thursday, triggering flooding and landslides, closing roads and stranding people in flooded homes and vehicles.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued the Level 5 heavy rain warning for parts of the Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures, urging residents in the affected areas to take precautionary measures against possible flooding and landslides.

Rescue teams searched on Thursday for hundreds of missing people along the Nepal-China border after a catastrophic and deadly torrent of floods and mud swept through several communities a day earlier following a glacier collapse.

The disaster left at least 168 people dead and more than 1,300 missing, including foreigners and pilgrims, and displaced hundreds of people across the Himalayan region.

Hundreds of people were reported missing after an avalanche of ice and rock triggered massive flash floods that swept through parts of Nepal on Wednesday, killing at least eight people and causing widespread damage to villages and infrastructure.

Officials said 384 tourists, including 291 from countries including India, the United States, the United Kingdom and Malaysia, were reported missing as a result of the flash flood.

As extreme heat fuels wildfires worldwide this summer, Lebanese officials and residents have accused Israel's military of systematically sparking blazes that have burnt swathes of forest and farmland in the country's south.

In the village of Shaqra, Haidar Qoteish, 36, says he has watched fires devour fields and orchards in his hometown of Houla, just five kilometers away but under Israeli military control.

A tornado ripped through a small village in southern France, damaging about 300 homes, destroying several cars and injuring dozens of people, authorities said Tuesday.

The tornado struck Pomas, a village of about 1,000 people, on Monday and rescue teams continued their search through ruins on Tuesday, though no people were immediately reported missing.

Tropical Storm Moke was swirling past Hawaii on Sunday, close enough to dump heavy rain on Big Island communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Lala.

The National Hurricane Center located Moke's center about 320 miles (515 kilometers) south-southwest of Hilo around midday. Top sustained winds were around 40 mph (65 kph), though the real impact was expected from rainfall in places where last weekend's hurricane flooded communities, triggered mudslides and damaged roads and power lines. Two deaths linked to the hurricane have been reported in Hawaii.

Outside the Acropolis, a sea of hats bobs up and down the hill to the ancient site: straw boaters, Panama hats, baseball caps and bucket hats in the relentless heat.

Hat racks are hard to miss in central Athens this summer. Kiosks and stores keep outdoor stands piled high as more tourists in the Greek capital seek relief from the midday heat.

Indonesia on Monday intensified ground and aerial firefighting operations as huge blazes in central and western parts of the country scorched thousands of hectares of forests and peatland, created a choking haze that blanketed cities and crossed borders.

Indonesian authorities have been battling fires driven by an intensifying El Nino pattern and a prolonged dry season, generating dense smoke that crossed into Malaysia and Brunei, according to Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency, or BNPB.

Champagne producers are racing to pick their grapes as the region's earliest harvest on record gets underway, after extreme heat and drought accelerated ripening, leaving growers a narrow window to preserve the quality of the region's world-famous sparkling wine.

On the hillsides of Hautvillers, teams of grape pickers start work at 6:30 a.m. among rows of vines that were recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2015.