Unprecedented flooding strikes Kazakhstan and Russia, marking the worst in decades for the region. The worse than usual seasonal floods have been caused by melting snow. Across the border in Russia, an oil refinery in the city of Orsk, 1,800km southeast of Moscow, has stopped operations because of the floods.

Workers are using sargassum and sand to rebuild the beach, with shore retention and reef protection in mind.

Powerful storm surges, coinciding with the monthly astronomical high tide, are flooding low-lying streets in Portland and other coastal communities.