Severe flash floods swept through the Elephant Nature Park in northern Thailand on Thursday, killing two elephants and prompting the urgent evacuation of about 100 more, along with dozens of tourists. The flooding, described as the worst in the sanctuary’s history, has sparked a desperate plea for help from park staff and volunteers.

Video footage from the sanctuary, located near the city of Chiang Mai, showed elephants wading through deep water as they were led to higher ground. “It was the biggest evacuation we have ever done to save their lives; the water rose rapidly,” Saengduean “Lek” Chailert, founder of the Elephant Nature Park, told CNN. She added that the floodwaters were the most severe the park had ever experienced.

Footage captured the dramatic scene as mahouts, elephant caretakers, guided the animals through the floodwaters, urging them to move quickly to safety. Many of the elephants managed to find refuge on a nearby mountain by Thursday night, but by morning, the situation remained critical. Thirteen adult elephants were still trapped in their quarters, and according to Saengduean, they were “panicking.”

Among the casualties was Ploy Thong, a blind elephant who was swept away by the floodwaters. Two other elephants are still missing, Saengduean confirmed on Saturday, sharing her heartbreak over witnessing the disaster firsthand.

Severe Weather Worsens Across Northern Thailand

The flash floods are part of a larger disaster affecting northern Thailand, which has been hit by severe flooding and landslides in recent weeks due to torrential rains brought by Typhoon Yagi, Asia’s most powerful storm this year. The storm has left dozens dead across the region since mid-September, with water levels rising dangerously along the Ping River in Chiang Mai.

As floodwaters around the sanctuary continue to rise, there is a growing fear that the animals may need to be evacuated again. Saengduean has issued urgent pleas for help, requesting boats and volunteers to assist in moving the remaining elephants to safety. With roads cut off in both directions, the park has been unable to access outside aid.

The sanctuary also houses around 5,000 rescued animals, including dogs, cats, horses, and pigs, some of which were evacuated after flood warnings were issued.

Local authorities have dispatched officers to assist but have been hampered by the flooding. The Thai Department of National Parks has called for flat-bottomed boats and additional volunteers to help with the evacuation efforts. Meanwhile, several nearby villages in Chiang Mai’s Mae Rim district have been submerged by the floods, compounding the crisis.

Elephants, Thailand’s national animal, have faced numerous threats in recent decades from tourism, logging, and habitat loss. The country’s wild elephant population has dwindled to just 3,000-4,000, a sharp decline from more than 100,000 at the start of the 20th century.

The Negro River, a key waterway in the Amazon rainforest, has reached its lowest level in over a century, as a severe drought continues to devastate the region and other parts of Brazil. On Friday, the river’s water level at the port of Manaus dropped to 12.66 meters, significantly below the usual 21-meter level for this time of year. This marks the lowest water level recorded since measurements began 122 years ago.

The previous record low was set just last year in late October, but experts warn that this year’s levels could fall even further. Forecasts predict continued low rainfall in upstream areas, potentially causing the water level to decline even more before the end of the month. Andre Martinelli, hydrology manager at Brazil’s geological service in Manaus, stated that the river’s level is expected to keep dropping until the dry season concludes.

Drought’s Widespread Impact on the Amazon Basin

While the Amazon region is accustomed to seasonal fluctuations in river levels, this year’s dry season has been especially harsh. Major rivers across the Amazon basin, including the Madeira River, the largest tributary of the Amazon River, are also facing critically low water levels. The prolonged drought has disrupted ecosystems and local communities that rely on these waterways for daily life.

The Negro River, which drains around 10% of the Amazon basin and is the sixth-largest river in the world by water volume, flows into the Amazon River at Manaus, the largest city in the rainforest. The drought has had a profound impact on the city and its surrounding communities, severely restricting river navigation and making daily activities challenging for many residents.

Local Communities Struggling Amid the Drought

For people living along the Negro River, the historic drought has turned routine tasks into near-impossible challenges. Gracita Barbosa, a 28-year-old cashier who works at a floating shop on the river, has been unable to work due to the low water levels preventing boats from reaching the shop. The drought has also forced her to travel further to collect drinking water, and she can no longer bathe in the river as she once did.

As the drought continues, locals are bracing for even tougher conditions in the coming weeks. The situation underscores the broader challenges facing the Amazon region, as climate change and deforestation intensify the severity of seasonal weather patterns, leaving communities vulnerable to the environmental impacts.

Scientists at the University of Oxford are pioneering the world’s first ovarian cancer vaccine, a potentially life-saving breakthrough aimed at preventing a disease that claims nearly 26,000 women’s lives annually across the European Union.

The vaccine, named OvarianVax, is designed to train the immune system to recognize and fight the earliest stages of ovarian cancer, a common form of cancer in women that is often not detected until later stages, making it harder to treat effectively.

The project is primarily focused on women with genetic mutations that increase their risk of ovarian cancer. Many of these women currently opt for preventive surgery to remove their ovaries and fallopian tubes, a procedure that eliminates the possibility of having children. Dr. Ahmed Ahmed, an Oxford gynecological oncologist leading the OvarianVax project, emphasized the importance of finding new ways to combat ovarian cancer.

“We need better strategies to prevent ovarian cancer,” Dr. Ahmed said in a statement. “Teaching the immune system to recognize the very early signs of cancer is a tough challenge. But we now have highly sophisticated tools, which give us real insights into how the immune system recognizes ovarian cancer.”

The vaccine aims to help the immune system detect proteins on the surface of ovarian cancer cells at the earliest stages of the disease. Researchers will conduct laboratory tests to measure how effectively the vaccine kills organoids, tiny models of cancer grown from tumor tissue taken from patients. If these initial tests are successful, clinical trials will be conducted to evaluate the vaccine’s effectiveness in patients.

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, which is funding the project with up to £600,000 (€719,960), expressed optimism about the research’s potential impact. “This project could lead to crucial discoveries in the lab which will realise our ambitions to improve ovarian cancer survival,” she said. However, Mitchell cautioned that it could take many years before the vaccine is available to the public.

This ovarian cancer vaccine is part of a broader movement toward cancer immunotherapy. In March, Oxford scientists announced a lung cancer vaccine using similar technology developed for their COVID-19 shot in collaboration with AstraZeneca. Vaccines to treat existing cancer cases are also in development. The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is conducting a clinical trial to test personalized vaccines targeting specific mutations in cancer patients, potentially offering new hope for those already battling the disease.

This new wave of cancer vaccines signals a promising shift in the global fight against cancer, offering a future where early detection and prevention could save countless lives.