Expert rejects flood fear as Peruvian sues German energy firm RWE
In the lawsuit, which began in 2015, 44-year-old mountain guide and farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya from the town of Huaraz wants RWE to contribute to the costs of protective measures for his house, which is threatened by a potential flood wave from the Palcacocha glacial lake in the Andes.
RWE does not operate in Peru but the farmer is being supported by German environmental organizations Zukunftsfähigkeit and Germanwatch in the civil case in the western German city of Hamm.
He says RWE shares responsibility for the risk to his house because the company produces large quantities of greenhouse gases through its power plants in Germany, Europe and the United States.
This contributes to global warming, which may lead to the glacial lake melting, he argues.
Geoscientist Rolf Katzenbach told the Hamm Higher Regional Court that the probability of a flood feared by the farmer is a "ridiculously small" 1%.
If a flood wave does occur, the plaintiff's property will be flooded to a maximum height of 20 centimetres and the structure of the building would not be affected, Katzenbach added.
The first oral hearing is expected to conclude on Wednesday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
10 hours ago
- Newsweek
German Shepherd Owners Shave Their Dog, Owners Forced To Issue Apology
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A couple's attempt to help their German shepherd cope with the extreme heat in Arizona has sparked backlash online. A TikTok video posted by Rachael Rodriguez showed her dog, a double-coated breed, after he had been shaved. What she intended as a tribute to her husband's love for their pet became an instant example of what not to do as commenters quickly told the couple they should never shave their double-coated dog. Newsweek spoke to Rodriguez, 34, about how she felt being on the receiving end of the backlash, and how she and her partner are taking it in good stride. Photos from Rachael Rodriguez's TikTok video of her partner shaving their German Shepherd. Photos from Rachael Rodriguez's TikTok video of her partner shaving their German Shepherd. @ "So, we posted a video of us shaving our German shepherd! Not thinking anything of it at all," the caption read. "I was just a happy wife that asked her husband to shave him due to the heat, and he did it! Posted because I thought it was so sweet how much our dog trusts him! But instead, I got bashed by 90 percent of people on the internet about being a terrible dog owner!" Rodriguez explained her reasoning to Newsweek. "We decided to shave our dog due to the extreme heat. He has been panting a lot and it's a fan of going outside much we figured due to the heat," she said, adding that with baby number four on the way, the couple were also concerned about pet hair and sanitation on their hardwood floors. The Science Behind a Double Coat The immense backlash stemmed from the fact that German shepherds are a double-coated dog breed and shaving them can be harmful. The undercoat and protective outer coat provide a natural insulation system that helps them regulate their body temperature, keeping them cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Rodriguez acknowledged the mistake, writing that she was happy to have gained some knowledge that she didn't have before. She was surprised by the information, too. "If you Google anything about German shepherd shaving, their fur doesn't come up. Only if you specifically Google 'Can I shave my German shepherd' does the education come up," she said. A Lesson in Pet Care and Compassion Despite the harsh criticism, Rodriguez said she believes the post ultimately helped her and many others. "The negative comments didn't affect me," she said. "I feel like this post helped me learn a lot about our German negative comments are more sad than anything, because it really can't learn something educational without being made to feel 'stupid' in the process." The viral attention also led to an unexpected discovery about her dog's health. "I also learned about 'shadow chasing' and how it causes OCD in dogs," she said. The dog's penchant for chasing everything from "shadows to laser pointers" was something she always joked about, but she is now taking steps to minimize his OCD by distracting him and providing a reward. Rodriguez stressed that their intention was never to harm their pet, and she encourages other owners to learn from her mistake. "Although many people believe something like this is common sense, it's really not," she said. "We didn't shave him to harm him in any way. We did it to help him cool down—little did we know that this would cause four million people to get upset." She finished with a message of hope and empathy for other pet owners, saying that "mistakes happen," and that she hopes their mistake helps educate other pet owners about shaving a double-coated dog.
2 days ago
Mountaineers set off on foot to retrieve the body of a Chinese climber who died on K2
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- A team of mountaineers set off on foot Thursday to recover the body of a Chinese climber from the world's second-highest peak after bad weather grounded helicopter flights, a Pakistani official said. Guan Jing was struck by falling rocks on Tuesday while descending K2, a day after reaching its summit with a group in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region. She died on the mountain, known for its treacherous slopes, frequent rockfalls, and extreme weather conditions, according to Faizullah Faraq, a local government spokesperson. He said her body lies between 100 and 150 meters (328 to 492 feet) above the advanced base camp at about 5,400 meters (17,716 feet) and has not yet been retrieved. K2 rises 8,611 meters (28,251 feet) above sea level and is widely regarded as one of the most difficult and dangerous peaks to climb, with a far higher fatality rate than Mount Everest. 'The weather is currently not suitable for a helicopter flight, which is why the body has not yet been brought down' from the mountain, he said. Faraq said Jing was part of an expedition organized by a Nepali company. He said a Nepali Sherpa, Jangbu, was sent on Wednesday to recover her body but was injured on the way and stranded. The Nepali was later rescued by helicopter and transferred to Skardu Hospital, where he is receiving medical treatment. Deadly incidents are common on K2, where steep gradients, thin air and sudden storms can turn even routine descents into life-threatening ordeals. The latest death comes two weeks after German mountaineer and Olympic gold medalist, Laura Dahlmeier, died while attempting another peak in the region. Efforts to retrieve her body were abandoned when Dahlmeier's family informed authorities that she had stated that no one should risk their life to recover her body if she dies in any accident.
Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Yahoo
Video compilation misrepresents old, unrelated clips as Wyoming hailstorm
A video compilation shared across platforms purports to show hailstones pelting the US state of Wyoming as a powerful storm pummeled Cheyenne on August 1, 2025. While reports indicated that the city experienced large hail, the clips spreading online are old and unrelated, with many filmed years earlier in Australia and other locations. "August 1, 2025 Baseball size hail hammers south side of Cheyenne, WY," says text over an August 3, 2025 TikTok video viewed more than 3.5 million times. Similar posts spread in English and Spanish and across TikTok and other platforms, including Facebook and X, with some users invoking conspiracy theories about weather modification. "This isn't 'just weather' anymore..." says one post on X. "#WeWantAnswers." The posts follow extreme weather in Cheyenne that, according to local news outlets and the National Weather Service (NWS), included severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings. NWS local storm reports say the city saw hail as big as tennis balls (archived here). But the dramatic video footage in the compilation is unrelated to the August 1 hailstorm. AFP could not verify the origin of two of the 14 clips in the montage. But the other 12 are all outdated and recorded outside Wyoming, AFP determined using reverse image searches, keyword searches and geolocation. Arkansas, June 2023 The compilation's first video traces to a hailstorm that hit Lake Hamilton, a census-designated place in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in June 2023. The footage appeared in local news reports and on the video-licensing website ViralHog (archived here and here). Germany, August 2023 The second video, of hail damaging a Tesla, originated on TikTok. The owner of the vehicle posted it in August 2023 alongside other footage of the car (archived here and here). The original video is geotagged to the German state of Bavaria, and the license plate begins with TÖL, the code for the town of Bad Tölz. A sign visible in another video of the Tesla appears to advertise a pet-supply company located in the same district. Texas, April 2023 The third clip, which shows a bull trotting as hail splashes into a pool in front of him, dates to April 2023 and was filmed in Dublin, Texas (archived here and here). Homeowner Gary Clayton told local media the animal was seeking shelter under trees. AFP confirmed the location using Google Earth satellite imagery. Australia, January 2020 The compilation's fourth video is an inverted version of a recording showing workers at the National Gallery of Australia taking cover from a January 2020 hailstorm in Parkes, a town in New South Wales. The footage was originally posted to Facebook -- where its visibility has since been restricted -- and published by the video-licensing agency Storyful (archived here). AFP geolocated the footage to the art museum, where umbrellas, tables and a water fountain in the video match Google Street View imagery from the site (archived here). Australia, October 2020 The fifth video from the mashup is a flipped version of footage captured as hail rained down on Springfield Lakes, a suburb in Queensland, Australia. It is featured in a highlight reel of hailstorms on the YouTube channel called "Severe Weather Australia" (archived here). A caption on the original video, which shows the same kiddie pool and hose, says the incident took place in October 2020 (archived here). Missouri, March 2025 The sixth recording, of hail piling onto a balcony, inverts and misappropriates a video posted in March by a TikTok user who said it was filmed in St. Louis, Missouri (archived here). "This is what I get for visiting Missouri," the user wrote. Minnesota, July 2023 The eighth clip in the compilation, which is also inverted, shows a hailstorm over a lake in Deer River, Minnesota. Storyful and the Weather Channel both published the footage, dating it to July 2023 (archived here and here). Australia, November 2019 The ninth clip, of ice chunks pounding a pool deck, also appears in the YouTube montage of hailstorm videos from "Severe Weather Australia" (archived here). A text overlay places the footage in Palmview, a locality in Queensland, in November 2019. Australia, December 2017 The tenth video is similarly lifted from the "Severe Weather Australia," which published it to Facebook in December 2017 and later included it as part of its Australian hailstorms compilation on YouTube (archived here and here). The Facebook post says the footage was captured in Oakley, another town in Queensland. Arkansas, June 2023 The 11th visual being misrepresented online, which shows frozen rain smacking against the hood of a truck, was first posted to TikTok in June 2023 (archived here). A hashtag on the TikTok post says it took place in Arkansas. An article about the video on GM Authority, a website for General Motors fans, further specifies that the location was Hot Springs (archived here). Calgary, August 2024 The 13th clip in the compilation has been online since August 2024, when a TikTok user shared it in connection with a hailstorm in Calgary, a city in Alberta, Canada (archived here). Texas, May 2020 The 14th shot is an inverted version of footage uploaded to to a storm-chasing YouTube channel in May 2020 (archived here). The caption says a thunderstorm produced large hail near Quanah, Texas, along Oklahoma Highway 6 north of the Red River. A search of the area on Google Street View uncovered what appears to be a matching street sign (archived here). AFP has debunked other misinformation about weather here.
