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Hard Numbers: Massive US floods, Dagestan attacks, Bad booze, Deadly Hajj, Toodaloo to Taylor Swift

​A drone view shows a flooded area following heavy rainfall in Rock Valley, Iowa, U.S. June 22, 2024, in this still image obtained from a social media video.

A drone view shows a flooded area following heavy rainfall in Rock Valley, Iowa, U.S. June 22, 2024, in this still image obtained from a social media video.

Chris VB/via REUTERS

1,000,000: Over a million people in the Upper Midwest were under flood warnings on Sunday after several days of heavy rain forced thousands to evacuate in parts of Iowa and South Dakota. Iowan officials said the inundation has already exceeded the 1993 flood that killed 50 people, and the worst of the flooding is expected Monday and Tuesday.


15: Terrorists in Russia’s Dagestan province killed at least 15 police officers, four civilians and an Orthodox priest in coordinated attacks on churches, synagogues, and police stations in two cities on Sunday. Dagestan is a majority Muslim region with a history of extremist violence, and the tragedy follows ISIS-K's brutal slaying of 140 civilians in a Moscow concert venue in March, but no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks.

54: At least 54 people in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu have died after drinking alcohol polluted with methanol. Dozens more have been hospitalized. Methanol is, chemically speaking, also a type of alcohol, but it needs to be filtered from ethanol (the fun stuff) or it can cause severe liver damage, blindness, and death. The likely culprit is homebrewed alcohol, which many in India consume despite the health risks because store-bought booze is too pricey.

1,000: Over 1,000 people died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage, Saudi officials said Sunday. No explanations were offered for the deaths, but the governments of Jordan and Tunisia blamed excessive heat, and reporters on the scene witnessed pilgrims passing out, vomiting, and collapsing under the searing sun.

88,446: Taylor Swift said 88,446 people attended her concert in London’s iconic Wembley Stadium on Friday. The Prince of Wales attended – he was celebrating his 42nd birthday – and netted a selfie with the pop star and two of his children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

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The site of a destroyed drug rehabilitation hospital following a Pakistani air strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, on March 17, 2026.

Afghan men stand at the site of a destroyed drug rehabilitation hospital following a Pakistani air strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, on March 17, 2026.

REUTERS/Sayed Hassib
408: The number of people killed in the Afghan capital of Kabul, after a Pakistani strike hit a drug rehabilitation center there, according to Taliban officials. Another 250 were reported injured. Islamabad claimed the facility was being used as an ammunition depot, as the conflict between the two neighbors, which started as border clashes last [...]
​A Boeing C-135 Stratotanker / Stratolifter military aircraft known as KC-135 of the United States Air Force USAF configured as Air Tanker Transport for aerial refueling, powered by 4x CFMI jet engines and tail number 63-8003. The military plane spotted flying over the Netherlands in the blue sky from Mainland USA to Tel Aviv TLV to support the Israel USA - Iran war known as Operation Epic Fury by the US Department of Defense. Venlo, the Netherlands on March 2, 2026

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Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto
4: The number of crew members aboard a US refuelling plane – out of six total – who died after the aircraft crashed in neighboring Iraq on Thursday, US Central Command said this morning. CENTCOM said the cause of the crash is still under investigation, but noted it was neither due to friendly nor hostile fire. The plane was part of Operation Epic [...]
​Participants hold placards during a protest to condemn the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and commemorate students killed in a strike on a girls' primary school in Minab in southern Iran on February 28, in front of the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, March 12, 2026.

Participants hold placards during a protest to condemn the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and commemorate students killed in a strike on a girls' primary school in Minab in southern Iran on February 28, in front of the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, March 12, 2026.

REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon
175: The number of people killed at an Iranian girls’ school in a strike on Feb. 28. Initial intelligence reports suggest that the US was to blame for the strike, per the New York Times, after the military used a now-defunct set of coordinates to deploy the hit. The White House hasn’t claimed responsibility and said the investigation is ongoing. [...]
​Iran player Fatemeh Pasandideh (right) reacts during the national anthem of Iran prior to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Group A match between Iran and Philippines at Gold Coast Stadium on the Gold Coast, Sunday, March 8, 2026.

Iran player Fatemeh Pasandideh (right) reacts during the national anthem of Iran prior to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Group A match between Iran and Philippines at Gold Coast Stadium on the Gold Coast, Sunday, March 8, 2026.

AAP
7: The number of members of the Iranian women’s soccer team who were granted asylum in Australia on Wednesday – including six players and one of the team’s support staff – after they refused to sing the national anthem during the Asian Cup soccer tournament there. However, one of the seven women withdrew her request on Wednesday and is set to [...]