Lake Powell, the huge reservoir on the Colorado River on the Utah-Arizona border, rose about 20 feet after heavy storms in late October and early November. The rain sent torrents through normally dry or small creeks, flooding local communities, and the runoff brought rare relief to reservoirs across the US Southwest. Lake Powell and Lake Mead supply water and hydropower to millions of people and farms, and both have been badly depleted by two decades of drought and overuse. A rise of 20 feet is welcome but small compared with the long-term deficit, and a few wet weeks cannot fix a basin where use has long exceeded supply.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.