2007 Storm Events - floods, landslides, wind
Storm Events from 2005
Storm Events from 2006
11/15/07 -
LA NINA - Indications point to a much drier winter than would be expected from a
typical La Nina.
"The high pressure cells that typically develop over the eastern central Pacific Ocean
during a La Nina phase appear to be setting up further to the north than in other such
winters. This may shunt the northwesterly jet stream to the north, which would otherwise
bring moisture-laden storms into the [western U.S.] region, translating into fewer storms
throughout the winter."
This winter outlook, if it holds up, could be devastating to regions already hard
hit by drought, such as southern California and the desert Southwest. And Colorado, which
is one of the few western states without current drought concerns, could lose some of the
ground it has slowly regained after the severe drought of 2000-2002.
"I am very concerned that Colorado, which is essentially drought-free on the
national drought monitor, might see regions of drought develop by spring."
This La Nina also is UNUSUAL because it came on quickly and strong so late in the
year. La Nina most often develops in the spring, but this one took off in August.
"It was ONE OF THE MOST DRAMATIC TRANSITIONS FROM NEAR NORMAL OR NEUTRAL IN THE
PACIFIC to a moderately strong La Nina, based on records from the last 60 years."
PAPUA NEW GUINEA - a flood warning has been issued by the National Weather Service
after ONE OF THE HIGHEST RAINFALLS IN A DAY was recorded in Port Moresby.
The deluge began on Monday afternoon and continued till yesterday afternoon, flooding
parts of the city and damaging food crops and poultry in at least one suburb.
Up until 10am yesterday, Port Moresby recorded 143.2mm of rainfall — the HIGHEST RECORDED
FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER IN 30 YEARS.
“This is UNPRECEDENTED. That is a huge amount.” Although the onset of a rainy season
varies, on average an onset was about the first week of December. But this year,
conditions favoured an early onset, although an onset takes five days of continuous rain
to be confirmed.
PNG is experiencing the La Nina season, and the country could expect a lot of rain for
the next three months.
AUSTRALIA - A huge landslide at one of Victoria's biggest power plants - Yallourn
power station - has slashed electricity production.
The landslide has left Yallourn running at less than a third of its capacity ahead of a
week of forecast 30C days.
The State Government will investigate the landslip, which opened a giant chasm and let
the rain swollen Latrobe River pour into the Yallourn open cut mine.
Heavy rainfall this month has been blamed for putting pressure on the mine's wall,
causing it to collapse and cover two major conveyor belts with coal and earth.
Work has started on diverting the river to stem the flow of water into the mine. The
Environment Protection Authority is monitoring the river for possible contamination, and
Southern Rural Water has advised farmers and domestic customers downstream of Thoms
Bridge to stop using river water until further notice.
Consultants were hired last week to review seepage into the brown-coal mine, but there
was no indication the wall was about to collapse. "Due to the significant subsidence and
resulting leakage, the river will now need to be diverted to restore downstream river
flows."
The National Electricity Market Management Company said the collapse would not jeopardise
the security of Victoria's power supply.
(photo)
11/14/07 -
UKRAINE - More than 1,000 settlements remain without the power supply in Ukraine for
the third day since the cyclone. [this is the same storm that sunk ships in the Black
Sea, see next item]
The power supply was fully resumed only in five regions – the Cherkassy, Poltava, Rivne,
Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr regions.
The situation is more difficult in the regions that were the hardest hits of the natural
disaster. According to the Emergencies Ministry, from 1,015 power-cut settlements, 650
are located in the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea, the Mykolayiv and Kherson regions.
The power supply was resumed only in 17 out of 236 settlements in the Crimea over the
past day.
In Berdyansk, the storm left without power, water, heating and gas supplies more than
100,000 residents of the port.
Emergency works are underway in the Kiev, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad and Lviv regions.
The storm that moved over the Black Sea and sank 10 ships was an UNSUALLY powerful
one for the Black Sea. The storm formed over the Mediterranean Sea along the tail end of
a very strong cold front. This front was the same cold front that pushed through the
North Sea on Friday, bringing winds near hurricane force, flooding in southeast England,
and a storm surge over 10 feet high to the coast of the Netherlands. The new storm fed
off the relatively warm waters of the Mediterranean and pushed eastward across Greece and
Turkey, intensifying to 980 mb as it struck the Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula late in the
morning Sunday. Simperopol, Ukraine, on the tip of the Crimean Peninsula, measured
sustained winds of 54 mph, gusting to 72 mph, on Sunday afternoon. The pressure bottomed
out at 980 mb. Kerch, Ukraine, on the west side of Kerch Strait, recorded sustained winds
of 45 mph and a minimum pressure of 988 mb as the storm blew through. On the other side
of the strait, in Anapa, Russia, sustained winds of 47 mph, gusting to 65 mph were
observed. Waves up to 18 feet high buffeted the waters in the Kerch Strait. This was too
much for the Volganeft-139 oil tanker, which was designed for river travel. (satellite
photo)
CHINA - Floods and other natural disasters killed 600 people in the reaches of the
Yangtze River in its May-October flood season.
About 90 million people in 812 counties along the country's longest river were
affected and 440,000 houses were brought down by disasters.
The disasters caused direct economic loss of 43.4 billion yuan (5.8 billion U.S.
dollars).
While no serious flooding occurred along the river, certain areas experienced
RECORD-HIGH WATER LEVELS or heavy rainfall.
Chongqing, a major city along the river, experienced its WORST STORM IN MORE THAN A
CENTURY on July 17 when precipitation of up to 350 millimeters fell in 24 hours in
certain areas. Floodwater inundated most of the municipality's downtown area.
In July, a RECORD-HIGH WATER LEVEL occurred on Qujiang River, a branch of the
Yangtze's major tributary Jialing River. The flood crest at Qujiang's Luoduxi reached
0.33 meters higher than historical records.
11/13/07 -
CANADA - About 156,000 British Columbians remained without electricity Monday
night after a massive storm struck the province's south coast, downing
power lines and toppling trees.
Vancouver Island was lashed by heavy rain, swollen seas and raging winds Monday.
The first big storm of the fall of 2007 was a one-day-wonder, typical for November.
"No doubt about it - these are really strong winds. But what strikes fear in your heart
is remembering what last November was like. It was truly one of the wettest Novembers on
record. People don't want a repeat of the devastation that occurred last year."
Monday's storm wreaked havoc on ferry sailings between Vancouver Island, the mainland and
the Gulf Islands, as winds, gusting up to 100 km/h, bashed white-capped waves onto the
coast. Thousands of passengers were stranded for hours as they tried to return home.
Trees fell on power lines causing power outages in Greater Victoria and throughout
Vancouver Island. At the height of the storm, more than 195,000 homes across the province
and 70,000 homes on Vancouver Island were without power.
B.C. Hydro crews struggled to repair more than 330 separate outages as falling branches
and toppled trees knocked out power to a wide swath of southern British Columbia.
The bad weather was blamed on a storm system with warm fronts and cold fronts north of
Vancouver Island. As the storm moved north, the winds that were blowing from the
southeast veered around to blow from the southwest.
The front also brought copious amounts of rain to the south coast. Rainfall in the
Greater Victoria area was between 20 and 40 mm. Other parts of the Island, particularly
the west coast near Tofino, got between 100 and 150 mm of rain. Up to 100 mm of rain was
forecast for inland Vancouver Island and north and east Vancouver Island.
(photo)
VIETNAM - Floods triggered by new heavy rains have killed at least 13 people in
central Vietnam over the weekend, as victims now face a new threat from hundreds of
escaped crocodiles swimming around the floodwaters, disaster officials said on Monday.
The weekend's heavy rains, brought on by Typhoon Peipah, which had faded to a tropical
depression before making landfall, saw waters rising again in central Vietnam.
"Flood water level keeps rising and it is still raining very heavily now following the
Storm Peipah. We are afraid that the death toll will continue to rise."
Rainfall in central provinces averaged 300 millimetres on Sunday. In some areas in Thua
Thien Hue province, the rainfall reached 1,000 millimetres and in Quang Nam province it
reached 625 millimetres.
"It just keeps raining and FLOODS ARE OVERLAPPING FLOODS." Floods have continued to
plague central Vietnam four times since early October this year, killing at least 175
people, including around 90 people killed in the Storm Lekima and the floods it
triggered.
RUSSIA - An environmental disaster began to unfold in southern Russia on Monday as
tens of thousands of oil-slicked seabirds and globules of heavy oil dotted the shoreline,
a day after at least 11 ships, including a small oil tanker, sank or broke apart in a
fierce storm. Three bodies washed ashore, and 20 sailors were missing when searches were
called off late Monday because of rough weather. Any survivors were at risk of freezing
to death before they could be found.
The heavy fuel oil also settled onto the seabed, surely destroying marine habitat and
killing fish.
The tanker, Volganeft-139, split apart as it was pounded by 18-foot waves in the Kerch
Strait which links the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea. Its 13 crew members were rescued,
but 1,300 tons of heavy, viscous oil — the equivalent of 560,000 gallons — were
discharged into the sea.
The Russian authorities said captains disregarded storm warnings, but survivors said the
seas picked up suddenly and little could be done.
“The waves were too high, so we could not lift the anchor. Everything happened instantly.
We listed, and then we sank.”
The spill on Sunday, in a relatively narrow body of water and close to the shoreline, has
the potential to be particularly harmful.
11/12/07 -
RUSSIA - Up to 2,000 metric tons of fuel oil have leaked near the Black Sea after a
Russian oil tanker split in half.
It came apart after it was smashed by 108km/h (67 mph) winds and 5m (16ft) waves in the
Kerch Strait between the Azov and Black Seas.
Four other ships sank in the storm, some of them carrying dangerous cargos, and several
more were in trouble.
The tanker's 13 crew were rescued after several hours, but more than 20 were reported
missing from the other ships.
Dozens of vessels have reportedly been evacuated from the busy Russian commercial port of
Kavkaz because of the storm.
The tanker accident is a "very serious environmental disaster".
The heavy oil is sinking to the seabed and could take years to clean up.
Three other vessels that sank in Sunday's storm were carrying thousands of tons of
sulphur.
Meanwhile, 15 crew members were reportedly missing from a scrap metal ship that sank
300km (187 miles) further west, near Sevastopol on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.
Yet more ships ran aground or slipped anchor and drifted at the mercy of the storm.
A second oil tanker was being monitored closely because its hull had developed cracks.
11/11/07 -
THAILAND - Nakhon Si Thammarat in the mid-South declared seven districts as disaster
zones, after one resident drowned and about 100 schools closed because of torrential
rains and resulting floods.
More than 30,000 residents have been affected by flooding.
RECORD HIGH RAINFALL was measured in the provincial seat with 241 millimetres.
"The water level of rivers and canals is still increasing, so government workers have
built embankments to prevent floods with the municipality,"
Friday, heavy rain was still pouring down on the rain- and flood-drenched province.
Flooding on Samui island is still worrisome due to forest run-off and high tides. Local
government workers face difficulty in draining water into the sea due to the volume of
water involved.
Meanwhile, the meteorological department said that a low pressure cell covering lower
southern Thailand continued to cause abundant rain and heavy rainfalls from Chumphon to
the south.
11/09/07 -
CUBA - Torrential rains have caused the WORST FLODDS IN 40 YEARS in Cuba leaving one
person dead and $500 million in damages.
Of the 80,000 evacuated last week, half have not been able to return home.
Sugar and coffee crops have been severely affected.
Officials said 50,000 hectares (123,000 acres) of sugar cane fields had been flooded or
damaged.
Nearly 22,000 homes in the east of the country were damaged or destroyed.
Incessant rains which soaked the east of the country from 11 October to 5 November also
wrecked thousand of kilometres of roads.
Cuba has not seen such devastating floods since 1963.
11/8/07 -
Millions of people have been affected by severe flooding as storms swept parts of
Mexico, the Carribean, Vietnam and Australia in the past fortnight.
Tropical Storm Noel brought heavy rain that devastated parts of central America and the
Carribean.
The Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas saw the worst flooding in the area in more than
50 years, with aid agencies estimating more than a million people were affected.
The storm also triggered floods in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, just weeks after the
region had been hit by heavy rain, adding to the death toll.
More than 70 people were killed by flooding in Vietnam and more than 90,000 homes were
deluged in the central province of Phu Yen.
Just last month 89 people died after Typhoon Lekima triggered floods and landslides and
officials fear another tropical storm, Peipah, could hit the country in the next few
days.
Hundreds of people in the Australian state of Victoria were also left counting the cost
after flash flooding swept through homes and businesses.
A freak hail storm also hit Colombia in South America this week, blocking roads with ice
before melting and leaving the streets awash with water.
Although the individual incidents cannot be attributed directly to climate change,
scientists predict that extreme weather events such as floods will become more frequent
and intense as average global temperatures rise.
CUBA - A massive evacuation was carried out on Monday in the eastern municipality of
Cauto River due to severe flooding.
11/7/07 -
CHINA - Five members of the same family in northwest China were killed on Tuesday
after a landslide buried their house in which they were sleeping.
Debris from a nearby hill buried the house in Niwan village, near Lanzhou, capital of
Gansu province.
Police have evacuated dozens of households under threat. Villagers have blamed
continuous rain for the landslide.
[Best not to go to the link as it got a warning rating from my site advisor, but here it
is if you need it - http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-11/06/content_7022151.htm]
11/5/07 -
JAMAICA - and the rest of the Greater Antilles - seems to have been oversupplied with
rain over the last four years and has been visited by a variety of weather systems
including storms and hurricanes, which seems without parallel in the memory of at least
one resident.
The truth is that global warming is already changing their weather in unpredictable ways.
Over the past few weeks, in Stony Hill, views of Kingston have been occluded by more mist
/ fog / low cloud than a resident can remember in the 34 years he has lived in his
house.
UNITED KINGDOM - In a frightening scenario that could see large parts of Wales sink,
the Environment Agency has outlined the devastation a major flash flood could cause to
Wales and its coastline.
The EA says a flood could strike at any time and maps show the chaos they would cause to
Wales, without even taking into account the future threat posed by climate change.
Large parts of Wales could disappear or face serious devastation if a major flood was to
strike – and that includes large areas of Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and North Wales.
If such a serious flood were to strike, similar to the floods which battered
Gloucestershire this summer, many people could be left homeless.
With the increased likelihood of storms, the EA says this makes coastal cities on the
banks of rivers which flow from the mountains, like Cardiff for example, particularly
vulnerable to the affects of climate change.
Adjacent areas, such as the Gwent levels and low-lying areas along the Severn estuary,
are already inundated by storm tide and may become uninhabitable as the sea level rises.
“In England and Wales, five million people already live in flood-risk areas and about 12
per cent of farmland and a quarter of industrial sites are at risk.
The combined effects of increased sea-level rises and greater storm surges has the
potential to increase risk of floods in 2080 by up to 30 times present levels...
by 2080 flood levels that are now expected once in 100 years could be recurring every
three years. People at high risk of flooding in Britain will double to nearly 3.5
million. If no work is done, coastal erosion in Britain will increase nine-fold."
11/4/07 -
MEXICO - Some 300,000 people are still trapped in their homes in Tabasco, waiting to
be rescued by boat or helicopter.
Overall, floods have claimed at least five lives in southern Mexico.
The entire air force has been ordered to help bring supplies into the region and move
people out.
Villahermosa is completely overwhelmed by murky, filthy water. The Mexican government has
admitted that the scale of this disaster has taken them by surprise and for those still
trapped in the remote areas of Tabasco aid is still a long way off.
As the massive operation continues, there are now fears that disease could spread and
forecasters say more heavy rain is on the way.
The flooding was described as "NOT JUST THE WORST NATURAL CATASTROPHE IN THE STATE'S
HISTORY BUT, I would venture to say, ONE OF THE WORST IN THE COUNTRY'S RECENT HISTORY".
(photos)
CUBA - As of Wednesday morning, the province of Guantánamo had reported 516.9
millimeters of rain in October, almost 300% MORE THAN THE PREVIOUS RECORD AMOUNT FOR THE
MONTH, 187.7 millimeters. The evacuation of some 1,800 people, the suspension of flights
and the continuous monitoring of reservoir capacities almost 99% full are among the
measures taken in Santiago de Cuba as a result of the intense and unrelenting rain.
In Guantánamo the Pozo Azul reservoir in the Caujerí valley was spilling Wednesday for
the first time since its construction 24 years ago.
In the eastern mountainous region, rainfall of more than 100 mm was reported and the
coffee harvest has been significantly compromised.
INDIA - Unseasonal rains accompanied by lightning claimed 13 lives and damaged crops
across several regions of India's western Maharashtra state.
GREECE - Officials and ecologists in northern Greece were in an uproar after garbage
from neighbouring Bulgaria flooded into protected wetlands following heavy rains.
"Massive" quantities of waste from households and industry were swept into the Nestos
River on October 22 and 23.
"This is the fourth time this has happened ... and we just completed a costly cleanup
from waste coming from your country last year. Obviously the garbage was swept from
disorganised (Bulgarian) landfills after the heavy rains that fell recently," the mayor
wrote.
11/2/07 -
MEXICO - Tens of thousands of Mexicans were trapped on rooftops and others clung to
lightposts today after heavy rains flooded nearly the entire southern state of Tabasco.
At least 500,000 people were made homeless and one person was killed in the WORST
FLOODING IN MORE THAN 50 YEARS in the swampy state.
The floods began last week and now cover 80 per cent of Tabasco, affecting about one
million people.
"Of the 2.1 million Tabasquenos, more than half are suffering from this serious problem
that HAS NOT BEEN EXPERIENCED IN THE HISTORY OF TABASCO."
More than 850 towns have been flooded in the Gulf of Mexico state.
"People are frantic, families are split up everyone is searching for someone."
"The amount of water is shocking. One hundred per cent of crops are lost. The state is
devastated." State officials warned that rivers continue to rise, one week after the
first flooding started.
The floods began last week when a cold front brought heavy rain that caused rivers to
break their banks. The flooding could get even worse as forecasters say a new cold front
could bring more rain over the weekend.
(photo)
CONGO - After days of heavy rainfalls in Congo and Congo-Brazzaville dozens of people
were reported dead and hundreds missing on Thursday.
In the Congolese capital Kinshasa alone, at least 32 people were killed. Some 800 people
are considered missing, while 1,500 families were made homeless.
Brazzaville also reported serious damage. Houses and streets were destroyed, while no
details were given on the number of victims.
11/1/07 -
VIETNAM - Torrential rains drenched many districts in Quang Nam Province Tuesday
while cyclones hit several districts in Thua Thien-Hue Province, seriously injuring 23
locals in the latter.
In Quang Nam, rains flooded some streets under one meter of water, separating Nam Tra My
and Phuoc Son districts.
MEXICO - A week of heavy rains unleashed massive flooding Wednesday in southeastern
Mexico, where tens of thousands fled the rising waters for shelters in Tabasco and
Chiapas states.
At least 20,000 people had sought shelter in Tabasco's oil-rich capital of Villahermosa,
where floodwaters reached the rooftoops of homes, and the governor was urging residents
to evacuate. The flooding, which is not related to Tropical Storm Noel, also apparently
caused the soil supporting a 10-inch natural gas pipeline to give way and spring a leak.
Tabasco state officials said the pipeline had exploded, but that there were no deaths or
injuries.
More than 300,000 homes were flooded, damaged or cut off.
In the southern state of Chiapas, 7,000 people were evacuated due to floods.
In Villahermosa, rooftops barely jutted above the surface of brackish waters flooding the
city's streets after at least one major river overflowed its banks.
"Tabasco (normally) has water on 34 percent of its territory, but I can tell you that
now, it's more than 70 percent water. In 48 hours, our state has been devastated, totally
devastated."
Heavy rains started swelling rivers on Sunday.
(photos)
The floods, caused by a cold front that has wreaked havoc with the oil industry along
Mexico's Gulf coast, were THE WORST EVER IN TABASCO'S STATE HISTORY. Bad weather from the
cold front caused an oil platform to collide with another rig last week, killing at least
21 workers. Stormy seas closed Mexico's three main oil ports on Sunday, halting almost
all exports and a fifth of production. Two of the ports were operating again on
Wednesday.
(VIDEO)
----------------------------
10/31/07 -
AUSTRALIA - Vicious storms with winds equal to a category three cyclone have lashed
towns in central and southeast Queensland.
The broad area of storm cells brought wind gusts of 180km per hour to Gayndah in the
north Burnett region, where four houses were unroofed, tree branches brought down and
fuel tanks tipped over properties.
The area was also hit by heavy rain.
The area's main business centre was also hard hit by another storm, with about 32 calls
for help to the State Emergency Services.
Wind speeds in Emerald hit 144km/h and hail the diameter of a 50 cent coin was reported.
The storms follow wild weather earlier in the day across the southeast.
The WORST FLOODING IN MORE THAN 50 YEARS hit the Appila plains on Tuesday
afternoon – devastating farmers already ravaged by five consecutive years of drought.
About four inches of rain fell in The Hog's Head in a two-hour spate on Tuesday – when it
reached Appila it washed fences away and filled others with debris.
They lost acres of crops. While most of the water flowed away, it had left a lot of silt
behind, along with ruining fences. Because damage was hit and miss throughout the Mid
North it was expected to take a week before the full damage was known.
10/30/07 -
MALAWI - Meteorologists in Malawi are warning of possible flooding during the rainy
season which runs from November to March. The heavy rains would be caused by a weather
pattern over the Pacific Ocean called La Niña. It’s defined as cooler than normal
sea-surface temperatures that affect global weather patterns, with one result being
increased moisture in southern Africa.
Some doubt the accuracy of the forecast – saying past predictions have been wrong.
10/29/07 -
PHILIPPINES - At least five people were killed in the series of landslides caused by
heavy rainfall on Saturday, in the province of Catanduanes, in the eastern Philippines,
officials said on Sunday.
Several provinces in Catanduanes experienced landslides, which blocked some roads in the
area.
The heavy rainfall was caused by a Pacific Ocean low pressure area, which was about 25
miles north of Catanduanes province.
10/28/07 -
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - At least 30 people have died and 100 been injured in
flooding in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Heavy rain caused waterways to burst their banks, washing away roads and bridges and
knocking down power lines.
Some of the victims were electrocuted, others drowned or were crushed when their homes
collapsed.
Officials said the number of people killed could rise as relief workers reach districts
cut off by the floods.
The torrential rain began falling late on Thursday and continued until Friday morning. A
particularly heavy rainy season across a broad stretch of Africa since June has led to
the worst floods in 30 years.
The latest floods in the DR Congo brings the number killed to more than 400. Two million
people across the continent have been affected, with many requiring shelter and food aid.
AUSTRALIA - A FREAK tornado with winds up to 150 kmh that tore through a northern NSW
village was ONE OF THE RAREST WEATHER EVENTS TO HAPPEN IN A POPULATED AREA OF AUSTRALIA.
The tornado rampaged through the village of Dunoon after clipping nearby Lismore, causing
millions of dollars in damage.
Destructive twisters are more commonly associated with the Midwest of the United States,
and RARELY seen by Australians.
The tornado came out of the bottom of a thunderstorm about 4pm on Friday. Large
hailstones and destructive winds were battering Dunoon, Lismore, Byron Bay and
Mullumbimby.
10/26/07 -
KENTUCKY - Louisville had its HEAVIEST TWO-DAY OCTOBER RAINFALL ON RECORD Monday and
Tuesday.
MINNESOTA - the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus reported that the first 16
days of October were THE CLOUDIEST STRETCH FOR THAT TIME OF YEAR IN 45 YEARS that the
observatory has been measuring solar radiation, measuring less than three-quarters of
average. The 18.91 inches of rain that fell in the Twin Cities during August, September
and October SET A RECORD FOR THE 3 MONTH PERIOD - well before October ends.
The drought has been retreating, particularly in the past week, having largely
disappeared along the Canadian border and the North Shore of Lake Superior.
It continues to hang on stubbornly in a pocket of central Minnesota, near Wadena County.
That news is good for the state's farmers, already looking toward next year's growing
season, though the recent rains came too late to have much effect on this year's crops.
An exceptionally wet early fall says precisely nothing about the coming winter.
"The pattern could break any day now, or it could hang around awhile."
10/25/07 -
GULF OF MEXICO - At least 10 people died after two oil platforms crashed into each
other in high winds in the Gulf of Mexico, causing a gas leak that forced the evacuation
of all workers in the area.
58 of 81 Pemex employees and contract workers on the oil rig had been rescued, including
five sailors taking part in the rescue operation.
Pemex did not say what had happened to the other people unaccounted for, but there were
eight helicopters and four ships from the Mexican navy searching the area for survivors.
The accident occurred late on Tuesday amid high winds and heavy seas when the two
platforms crashed into each other.
"Due to wind gusts of up to 130km/h and waves of 6m-8m ... the Usumacinta drilling
platform struck the valve train of Kab-101 platform. Weather conditions in the are have
made it impossible to reach an emergency life boat that has already been spotted and
which we presume could be carrying the staff that was working on the platforms."
The crash triggered some fires around the damaged platforms.
COSTA RICA - Since 12 October, Costa Rica has been affected by various atmospheric
disturbances such as the passing of a tropical wave and a direct influence of a low
pressure system. These events have provoked intense and continuous rain in the Pacific
coast area and the central valley causing floods in the communities of the Brunca, Huetar
Norte, Los Santos, Central Pacific and Chorotega regions. The rains are still affecting
the entire country. The National Meteorology Institute forecasts strong to moderate rain
throughout the entire Pacific slope.
COLUMBIA - A total of 43,200 people have been affected in October by intense rains
affecting almost all Colombia in the winter season which started this month.
Heavy rains have caused ravages in 39 municipalities in 18 of the 32 Colombian
departments.
The main affectations are due to floods that have affected hundreds of houses and
cultivation areas, landslides, and overflowing of rivers and streams.
The Institute of Meteorology and Environment Studies warned that intense rains would
affect the Andean, Caribbean and Pacific regions of Colombia up to Saturday.
Some zones at the center of Colombia would be affected with electric storms and some
other things.
BRAZIL - Heavy rain wreaked havoc in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, causing a mudslide
that cut off the main tunnel linking the Brazilian city's north and south. An average of
180,000 vehicles go through the Reboucas Tunnel every day and its closing caused huge
traffic jams across the city. Five mudslides since late Tuesday had left some 5,000
tonnes of debris in tunnels and there was a risk of more collapses.
The Reboucas Tunnel, more than 2 kilometres long, could be closed for up to a week. Power
was cut off in some neighbourhoods, causing further traffic jams as traffic lights did
not work.
THAILAND -
No districts were left unaffected when more than 10,000 houses were damaged yesterday by
floods which swept across most of Chumphon province.
An active low pressure trough just above the southern region caused the heavy rainfall.
Four lanes of highway 41 in Thung Tako district were covered by 20-40 centimetres of
water yesterday morning, bringing traffic to a standstill.
In the Central province of Sing Buri, already reeling from earlier floods, more than 591
monks in 39 temples in In Buri, Muang, and Phrom Buri districts are facing food shortages
after being left stranded by high floodwaters and a lack of boats.
The Royal Irrigation Department reduced the amount of water being released through
Bangkok from 3,000 to 2,800 cubic metres per second to try and avert possible flooding in
the capital.
However, people should still be on alert for possible floods between Sunday and Wednesday
due to high tides, the city governor warned.
10/24/07 -
AUSTRALIA -
Communities in northern South Australia are counting the cost of flash flooding late
yesterday.
Up to 50mm of rain fell in just over half an hour yesterday, as thunder and hail storms
swept across South Australia's Yorke Peninsula and north-west regions.
Two major roads were cut by the downpour, which caused extensive flooding in several
regional centres.
Crops have also suffered extensive damage, but farmers say at this point it is too early
to tell what can be salvaged from the sodden paddocks.
10/22/07 -
PHILIPPINES - This year the beginning of the northeast monsoon is earlier than
expected. The northeast monsoon is now the current weather system in the country, and
will bring rains to the eastern side of the country until early 2008.
The northeast monsoon is usually prevalent during the period from November to March or
April.
It is also responsible for the cool atmosphere during the last part of the year until the
early part of the next year before the beginning of the summer season.
The southwest monsoon usually brings rains in the western side of the country, including
Metro Manila, from May to September.
Earlier this year, the southwest monsoon had not brought rains to the country until
August, and there had been an absence of tropical cyclones in the country during the
typhoon season, particularly during the month of June and the entry of only one tropical
cyclone in July.
This led to a dry spell in most parts of Luzon.
Tropical cyclones enhance the southwest monsoon and bring rains in the western side of
the country. They also enhance the northeast monsoon that brings rains in the eastern
side of the country.
So far this year, only nine tropical cyclones have entered the Philippine Area of
Responsibility.
The Philippines is visited by an average of 19 to 20 tropical cyclones each year due to
its geographical location within the Pacific "Typhoon Belt."
NIGERIA - No fewer than 60 communities have either been submerged or ravaged by a
charging flood in four states of the Niger-Delta, specifically, Delta, Edo, Bayelsa and
Ondo states, in the past few weeks, with more than 120,000 persons reportedly dislodged
following the overflow of the River Niger and the bordering tributaries. The kind of
flooding that was experienced, this year, HAS NEVER BEEN EXPERIENCED IN THE LAST FIVE
DECADES in the riverside communities of the Niger-Delta and the situation was not helped
by the fact that most of the communities do not have foreshore protective walls and there
was no piling or concrete measures taken to prevent flood disaster.
Worse hit is Delta state where at least 50 communities were affected at Ndokwa-East,
Patani, Bomadia and Burutu local government areas. The palaces of two royal fathers in
Ndokwa-East were destroyed in addition to other residential buildings, farmlands,
economic crops and domestic animals in the endangered communities.
THAILAND - Two more districts in Ayutthaya were declared disaster zones yesterday,
bringing the number of severely flooded districts in the province to eight.
The worst-hit areas are in Bang Ban district where the flood rose as high as 2.5 metres.
10,187 houses in the provinces were reported to be inundated by last night.
The water level in the Chao Phraya river is rising by 10 centimetres a day. It threatens
to inundate ancient riverside temples and Siriyalai Palace.
Yesterday soldiers helped build a 400-metre wall of sandbags in front of the palace to
keep the water back.
The weather office said rain would continue to lash southern Thailand until later this
week as a low pressure front moved slowly across the area.
Heavy rains warnings were issued for nine provinces in the South, including Chumphon
where 150 village roads and 15 bridges have already been damaged by the flood.
Officials have been also told to stay alert in 267 areas prone to mudslides.
MINNESOTA - Before the flood of the century on August 18-19, the part of the Upper
Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge that lies just beyond Minnesota City was a
sanctuary.
Now it looks like an asteroid hit it. The woods around Garvin Brook have been erased. A
crushed car sits buried in chocolate-colored muck. A semitrailer container still slumps
in the brook bed, all but buried.
The impact of August's floods on the refuge may not be as jaw-dropping as the demolished
foundations and waterlogged homes along the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. But federal
officials estimate the raging waters caused nearly half-a-million dollars damage on the
refuge - blowing out culverts, ripping new paths for Mississippi tributaries and leaving
behind tons of sediment and debris. "That kind of rain event hasn't happened in our
recorded history."
Now boaters must watch out for new sandbars. Fish could have a tough time surviving the
winter. Aquatic plants could starve for sunlight next spring.
The refuge - a collection of islands, channels, forests and marshes - stretches about 260
miles from southern Minnesota to northern Illinois.
The floodwaters were so powerful they forced the Whitewater River over its banks. Before
the flood the Whitewater emptied into the Mississippi just north of Minnieska, but the
volume of water was so overwhelming the river carved a new bed and now joins the
Mississippi a half-mile farther north, complete with a fresh, sediment-built delta.
The story was the same with the Root River near Brownsville, which pumped so much dirt
into its Mississippi mouth it, too, created a new delta.
Biologists aren't sure what long-term effects the flooding may have, but the refuge's
backwaters were "severely affected."
SRI LANKA - A landslide threat is looming in several places due to the developing
inter-monsoonal weather conditions in the island.
Hilly areas in the Central Province could be affected by landslides.
Certain places in Pussellawa, Hanguranketha, Walapane and Kandy subject to landslides
earlier have been mapped out as high landslide prone areas.
In addition, hilly areas in the Sabaragamuwa, Uva and Southern Provinces have also been
detected as landslide prone and residents are advised to be vigilant.
10/21/07 -
U.S. - A wave of severe weather cut a brutal path across the United States overnight
Thursday, killing six people.
Three dozen tornadoes were reported since Wednesday, starting in Oklahoma and continuing
into Florida and throughout the Mississippi Valley Thursday. Tornadoes were reported from
the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico as UNUSUALLY warm temperatures created instability
not normally seen this late in the year.
The storms that spun tornadoes and dropped pounding hail in the central United States,
barreled toward the east coast Friday, bringing hope for relief to parched southern
states suffering the worst drought in a century.
Tornadoes and thunderstorms had been thought of as being too localized, as weather
events, to tie to larger climatic shifts. But a NASA study this August suggested that a
warmer climate would produce more updrafts and keep more heat energy in the atmosphere —
two pre-conditions to strong storms like thunderstorms and tornadoes.
The weather is UNUSUALLY severe for late October.
This type of "UNUSUAL” weather event could become more and more commonplace if the
atmosphere continues to warm up.
INDIA - Twelve people died and eleven sustained severe injuries in southern India
when an apartment building collapsed after heavy rain.
CUBA - As a result of the heavy rains which fell on Thursday night, focused in the
northern area of the city of Camagüey, the rivers crossing the city overflowed, affecting
the low grounds of the neighbours La Norma, José Martí, El Jardín, Saratoga and La
Zambrana.
Some 130 millimetres of rain fell in less than an hour and runoffs caused people living
near the banks of the rivers to go into a state of alert.
Floods were also reported in Albaisa and Lenin de la Paz, in northern Camaguey, because
of the saturation of the soils and the inability of runoffs in the same proportion.
The Defence Council in the province and the municipality of Camaguey adopted measures for
the possible evacuation of the people living in vulnerable zones.
10/19/07 -
RUSSIA - a storm warning was announced in the Primorye territory on Thursday over the
approach of a powerful cyclone. The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry reported that
on October 19-20 the region will be affected by heavy rains and the wind force will reach
23-25 metres per second. The heaviest rains are expected in the west of the territory on
the night to Friday and during the day heavy rains are also possible. After passing of
the cold front on Saturday, northern winds will cause air temperatures to fall and it
will snow.
The bad weather conditions may cause disruptions in the work of sea and air transport,
work of the housing and public utilities sector, damage of communication and power
transmission lines and an increased number of road accidents.
VIETNAM - Flood waters threatened the central Vietnam World Heritage town of Hoi An
on Thursday, drowning at least 10 people and forcing thousands from their homes.
There were also threats of flash floods and landslides in three key coffee growing
provinces in the Central Highlands, where rivers were rising following heavy rains
earlier this week. Heavy rain was falling in Hue, 660 km (410 miles) southeast of Hanoi,
swelling floods that have isolated many areas along the north-south Highway One and
forcing people to move around by boat.
At least 30,000 people had been moved to higher ground in the provinces of Thua Thien-Hue
and Quang Tri, where two people drowned as their boat capsized on Wednesday. The
flood-stricken region is not a significant rice producer, but floods have flushed away
farmers' food reserves.
BELIZE - Rains over the past week have resulted in rivers being flooded especially in
the Cayo District. The result has been UNUSUAL flooding occurring in the Belize River
because of the influx of water coming down the Macal and the Mopan River. A lot of rains
occurred over the Peten area over the northern part of Guatemala and this has also
resulted in runoffs to that Mopan River and has been adding to the flooding situation on
the Belize River. The Iguana Creek wooden bridge that joins Blackman Eddie and the
Mennonite community across the river is still under some three feet of water and it’s
impassable. It has been reported that this bridge has been impassable for the past 72
hours which is A RECORD, since this has not been noted to have occurred over the last
five years. So the waters that have been coming down across the Belize river has been
UNPRECEDENTED in this area.
NEW ZEALAND - Geologists have found that the Young River landslide in Mt Aspiring
National Park is the BIGGEST LANDSLIDE IN NEW ZEALAND SINCE 1991 when the top fell off
Mount Cook in 1991.
The volume of the landslide has been measured at 13 million cubic meters.
The Young River landslide occurred on August 29 and was discovered by a helicopter pilot
three weeks later. Seismic waves generated by the landslide were the equivalent of a
magnitude 2.9 earthquake, and were recorded by seismic instruments in the central South
Island.
The landslide impounded a lake measuring about 2km long and 500m wide. It is about 60m
deep and contains about 26 million cubic metres of water. The rising lake overtopped the
debris dam on October 5 and water is draining away through a natural channel.
Large rock avalanches and landslides ranked with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes as
major earth forces that have been shaping New Zealand’s landscape for millions of years.
“While big landslides are not weekly events, they are a natural landforming process that
occur worldwide."
THAILAND - Nakhon Ratchasima is now suffering from the WORST FLOOD IN 13 YEARS as
more than 200000 people have lost the use of tap water after flood waters rose over 1.5
metres and damaged an electricity transformer at a water-treatment station on Tuesday
night. Many houses in the province are now submerged.
UNITED KINGDOM - A Welsh village has been devastated by a 'tsunami' wave of water
even though it is 20 miles from the sea. Ten people were rescued and three homes
evacuated
when a canal burst its banks - sending a 4ft wave surging through the country village.
Mystery surrounds the reasons why the 200-year-old Brecon and Monmouthshire canal burst
its banks - sending the torrent down a hillside into the village.
Families in Gilwern, near Abergavenny, South Wales, have been clearing up after thousands
of gallons of canal water carried tons of mud and debris into their homes. "It is
terrible what has happened here, and there was no warning it was about to happen.
A huge crater has been left next to one house and the canal has very little water left in
it. It really is shocking, and the residents and businesses here will be badly affected."
"It could be an issue elsewhere. Canals are so old they're not constructed how they would
have to be constructed now. How many banks of canals are leaking that we don't know
about?"
(dramatic photos)
10/18/07 -
SOUTH DAKOTA - Yankton officially received 2.15 inches of rain for Oct. 16,
SHATTERING THE OLD PRECIPITATION RECORD of 1.74 inches set in 1968.
MINNESOTA - Wednesday the Twin Cities BROKE A CENTURY-OLD RECORD FOR THE WETTEST
AUGUST, SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER. After a near summer-long drought, now Mother Nature won't
turn off the spigot. If history repeats itself, the record rain this fall might be a
harbinger of lighter-than-normal snowfall this winter. After the wet fall of 1900, the
winter of 1900-01 produced only 41.5 inches of snow, which is below the historic average
of nearly 55 inches annually.
COSTA RICA - The Costa Rican government declared a national state of emergency
Wednesday after heavy damage and casualties were caused by heavy rainfall over the last
week. The floods have already claimed 18 lives. Intense rainfall added to the rain of
recent months, causing an estimated 80 million dollars in damage. Roads across the
country have been badly damaged, particularly in the Costa Rican south and in the
northern province of Guanacaste.
"The damage to the traffic infrastructure is immense."
Neighbouring countries Nicaragua and Panama and several Caribbean islands have also been
affected by flooding.
THAILAND - Three heavily-flooded districts of Ayutthaya have been declared disaster
areas as the province is opening up fields to absorb water and lessen the knock-on
effects of the floods expected to be felt in Bangkok from Sunday to Monday.
Bang Ban, Sena and Phak Hai districts, which are part of the province's major
rice-growing areas, are bearing the severest brunt of the inundation.
More areas in the province could be declared disaster zones if the floods continue to
cause widespread destruction.
Only last year, much of Ayutthaya remained under water for weeks. Water was pushed into
fields to mitigate flood problems for Bangkok, and the practice is being repeated with
the onset of the flood season.
Ayutthaya and neighbouring provinces were expecting the worst as Chao Phraya dam in Chai
Nat was almost full and had already started releasing water.
River water was rising fast and some 50 ancient riverside temples in Ayutthaya were
racing against time to put up sand-bag flood walls. However, at some temples the surging
floods were impossible to beat.
SPAIN - A Danish woman motorist was swept to her death on Wednesday by a flash flood
on the Spanish island of Majorca.
The 30-year-old woman abandoned her car and tried to escape the rising floodwaters after
torrential rain near the town of Puigpunyent in the centre of the Balearic island.
Two passengers in the vehicle, a man and a baby, were rescued.
10/17/07 -
BANGLADESH - Tornadoes, mudslides and boat and trawler capsizes killed at least nine
persons and injured over 100 across the country while 32 others have remained missing as
heavy rainfall fell, caused by a well-marked low in the Bay which inundated the
Chittagong region.
The low pressure developed in the northern Bay of Bengal and started moving towards the
shore in the evening. It may turn into a land depression and may cause heavy rainfall in
Chittagong, Dhaka and Sylhet divisions until this afternoon.
All fishing boats have been advised to stay in shelter until further notice. Movement of
vehicles smaller than 65 feet in length on 108 river routes was also suspended until
further orders.
Torrential rainfall completely paralysed normal life yesterday.
Logged water has made movement of city dwellers completely impossible in most areas.
Rickshaws and vans became the only modes of transport for the people stuck at different
places.
The rain also caused immense suffering to day labourers and low-income people. The city
kitchen markets faced a serious dearth of supply of essentials.
Three people including two children were killed and two others were injured in a
landslide caused by the onrush of heavy shower in Kaukhali upazila of Rangamati yesterday
morning.
Sources said a large chunk of earth fell straight on the thatched house around 8.30am
yesterday.
In Bandarban, road connection with other districts was snapped due to heavy rainfall and
mudslide from hills.
In Khagrachhari, over 20,000 people were marooned and took shelter on high land and
structures yesterday as the onrush of hill water and heavy rain flooded 25 villages under
six upazilas.
In Patuakhali, four trawlers with 29 fishermen were capsized in rough sea.
A Kuakata-bound trawler rescued 24 fishermen swimming in the sea.
Relatives of the missing fishermen gathered in Kuakata and Mohipur areas to see if they
returned.
At least five people were killed and more than one hundred injured when tornadoes ripped
through the southern coastal districts and the south-central parts of the country on
Monday night.
Over 100 fishermen were reported missing as 18 fishing trawlers capsized in the River
Passur during storms caused by land depression.
The gale also damaged hundreds of thatched houses and crops and uprooted trees in their
thousands and some electrical poles, disrupting road communication and snapping power
supply in the districts.
A tornado that lashed five remote villages of Shahrasti upazila on Monday injured at
least 25 people and damaged around 100 houses.
10/16/07 -
PHILIPPINES - More than a hundred families were evacuated by the municipal government
following flash floods that damaged more than 50 houses in at least five villages in
Sorsogon.
Lahar and mud flows from the slopes of Bulusan volcano hit the villages of Patag, Monbon,
Cogon, Mapaso and Bagsangan following heavy rains Monday, which lasted until Tuesday.
Residents in Barangay Monbon said they heard thundering sounds before the flash floods
hit the houses past midnight.
NIGERIA - Residents of Sili town in Guyuk local government area of Adamawa State are
now living in fear following a major landslide which destroyed their farmlands at the
weekend.
A previous landslide in the area last occurred in 1964, but it produced less impact than
the one of this year.
This year's occurrence devastated the community and destroyed farmlands when millions of
Naira worth of produce went under the ground as a result of the land slide.
Although no life was lost, many were injured during the landslide.
"Those of us who witnessed the 1964 landslide are deeply shocked at the impact of the
disaster this year. Our forefathers witnessed a similar occurrence in the past but none
can be compared to this year's and we fear that the future ones may be more devastating."
NEBRASKA - A NEW MONTHLY RECORD RAINFALL AMOUNT for the Omaha area has been set.
Total precipitation at Omaha Eppley through Sunday was 5.9 inches. The old record was
5.86 inches from 1877. A RECORD FOR DAILY RAINFALL was also set at Eppley Airfield
Sunday, 1.71 inches.
The National Weather Service reports more than eight inches of rain fell in Cass County,
Iowa since Saturday morning.
OKLAHOMA -
A NEARLY 100-YEAR-OLD RECORD FOR RAINFALL IN ONE YEAR HAS BEEN BROKEN in Oklahoma City,
with about two-and-a-half months left in the year.
A line of thunderstorms moved through central Oklahoma before midnight on Sunday and
dropped 1.4 inches of rain at Will Rogers World Airport.
That brings the rainfall total for 2007 to 53.34 inches to break the record of 52.03
inches set in 1908.
MICHIGAN - Water temperatures on Lakes Erie and St. Clair have exhibited an UNUSUAL
pattern this fall. They were in the 60s in the last two weeks of September, climbed back
into the 70s when hot weather returned early this month and now are in the high 50s.
Smallmouth bass have begun their pre-winter feeding binge, and it is some of the best
bass fishing that some fishermen have ever seen.
LIGHTNING POWER - Anyone who's seen 'Back to the Future' knows how awesome a power
source lightning is. Now an inventor from Illinois is getting serious about harnessing
lightning storms as an alternative energy source.
He has developed a system whereby a lightning's tremendous power can be captured and
harvested. He created a demo model, including a lightning generator that shoots out bolts
three feet in length, each capable of powering a 60-watt light bulb for 20 minutes. Since
an average Midwest thunderstorm contains enough energy to power the entire U.S.A. for 20
minutes, if the idea could be expanded and implemented over a large area, we could really
be onto something here. Even just one lightning strike could power 30,000 homes for a
day.
10/15/07 -
TURKEY - rain starting on the second day of 'Bayram' paralyzed life in Istanbul and
in many other cities.
After the days of drought in summer, the rain shower caused floods. Rain was strong,
especially in Marmara, the Aegean Sea and the Western Black Sea. The rainfall BROKE A
RECORD in Istanbul for October. The waves in the Black Sea reached five meters. In
Istanbul, three people died and nine people were injured because of the rain.
SOUTH AFRICA - Storms in South Africa are going to become more severe, an analyst at
the South African Weather Service has warned. And while residents in Mamelodi, Soweto,
were mopping up water and clearing up the damage to their houses this week, the weather
man warned that people in low-lying areas could expect more flooding.
“This year alone South Africa has seen MANY WEATHER RECORDS TUMBLING. South Africa will
have to learn to cope with these extreme weather conditions. They are not going to stop.”
Floods are becoming heavier and they will be a major problem in informal settlements.
Climate experts have warned that there will be “an increase in severe storms, such as
those associated with cut-off low-pressure systems”.
“This will lead to more frequent flooding and consequent damage to farmlands,
infrastructure and inhabitants of flood-prone areas."
The weather service is concerned that the velocity of hailstorms on the Highveld could
increase and it has detected much stronger and more damaging winds during the traditional
thunderstorms that Gauteng is famous for.
Last Saturday a man died in Lenasia when a tree uprooted by powerful winds fell on him.
The storms also caused power failures and infrastructural damage in the south and west of
Johannesburg. Several uprooted trees blocked the N12 highway.
In addition, snowfalls in South Africa are increasing. Johannesburg had its first
snowfall since 1981 and the weather man said that for the first time this winter snow had
fallen as far north as Giyani in Limpopo. People up north are not used to the plummeting
temperatures, exposing them to the dangers of hypothermia.
In August the United Nations Weather Agency said that many parts of the world have
experienced record extreme weather conditions since the beginning of the year, including
unusual floods, heatwaves, storms and cold snaps.
And the global land-surface temperatures in January and April reached the highest levels
recorded for those months.
Africa has had a particularly severe flooding season, affecting 22 countries including
Ethiopia, Niger, Uganda and Sudan.
Torrential rains uprooted the lives of more than 1.5-million people on the continent.
Recent floods in Africa:
2004 and 2005: In Kenya floods rendered 80,000 people homeless. There were livestock
deaths, property was destroyed and thousands of hectares of farmland containing mostly
maize were ruined.
2005: In Ethiopia hundreds of people from Somaliland lost their lives. Many survivors
lost their homes and other property.
2006: In Mozambique 21 people were killed, 35,000 left homeless and many died because of
the increase in diseases such as malaria and cholera.
2007: In Uganda houses and latrines collapsed and crops were damaged, leading to food
insecurity. People were washed away, waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea, upper
respiratory diseases, gastroenteritis and malaria were rife. Overall 300,000 people were
affected. In Sudan the Upper Nile region saw about 365,000 people affected by heavy
flooding. In Mozambique Cyclone Favio and associated floods killed 45 people and 170,000
people were displaced.
10/14/07 -
COSTA RICA & PANAMA - Flooding from days of heavy rain left 14 people dead in a
mudslide in Costa Rica and sowed chaos in neighbouring Panama, displacing scores of
people. The mudslide struck poor homes in Atenas, west of the Costa Rican capital on
Thursday in a torrential downpour. Rescuers later found 14 bodies as they picked through
the mud, timber and rubble.
The mudslide engulfed a complex housing the families of poor farm workers. It was the
WORST WEATHER DISASTER FOR YEARS in the Central American country.
Parrita on the western Pacific coast was also flooded when rain-swollen rivers burst
their banks.
To the south-east in central Panama, heavy rain since Friday left two people missing and
more than 100 displaced in remote areas.
Even worse flooding struck across the Caribbean Sea on the island of Haiti.
HAITI - At least 45 people have died in the poverty-stricken island of Haiti as homes
were swept away in floods triggered by heavy rain. More than 6000 people have had to
leave their flooded homes in Cabaret, where neighbourhoods have been completely
submerged. Thousands of families are displaced and hundreds of homes destroyed or damaged
across the country. Roads are swamped and plantations wiped out.
Farming has been particularly affected and numerous crops have been destroyed after more
than a week of rain.
CUBA - There are reports of more than 200 millimeters of rain having fallen in
different locations. The Defense Councils are activated with the prospect of swollen
rivers and flooding. The presence of a widespread area of low pressure in the northeast
region of the Caribbean Sea, together with favorable conditions at different levels
within the atmosphere, was ensuring the increased probability of showers, heavy rainfall
and electrical storms in the eastern region of Cuba.
Las Tunas reported that the region
received 117% of the normal rainfall
for October during the first 10 days
of the month alone. The province of Guantánamo remained cut off from Santiago de Cuba by
road because of the continuous rising levels of La Yaya reservoir, the largest in the
territory. Several points in Niceto Pérez municipality are also isolated.
The National News Agency reported the evacuation of 390 inhabitants from the Río Cauto
municipality in Granma, where flooding has affected more than 1,000 homes in low-lying
areas. It has also been reported that territories linking Holguín and Las Tunas are
presenting a more complex situation.
The Sagua de Tánamo and Mayarí Rivers in Holguín have burst their banks and the number
of evacuees exceeded 2,200.
TUNISIA - At least nine people died and eight others went missing in torrential rains
that caused serious damage in and around the Tunisian capital.
SPAIN - Torrential rain on Spain's eastern Mediterranean coast caused flooding that
blocked highways and forced people to flee their homes on Friday.
The Valencia region, one of Europe's most popular tourist destinations, was hardest hit.
Residents of Denia were forced to flee after the Girona river burst its banks.
Valencian towns such as Calpe and Alcoy also suffered flooding and the city of Valencia
closed its port and diverted aircraft from its airport.
On the Balearic island of Ibiza, a kitesurfer was killed when a gust of wind slammed him
into the wall of a hotel.
THAILAND - The flood situation in the northeastern province of Kalasin has eased but
the inundation is reported to have damaged some 80,000 rai of farmland and affected about
50,000 households.
A 50 year-old man was drowned yesterday in flood water while fishing in Phitsanulok's
Muang district, bringing the province's death toll to five.
The flooding situation in the district remained critical, with residents having suffered
inundation for a week due to continuing northern run-offs and steady rain.
Heavy downpours all over the country could lead to flash floods in waterfalls. A survey
found 267 flash flood-prone waterfalls, mostly located in national parks and wildlife
sanctuaries.
Down south, following days of heavy rain, residents of Tambon Nong Chang Lan in Trang's
Huay Yot district urged authorities to inspect a seven-metre-deep and six-metre-wide
sinkhole and nearby cracks in the earth's surface in a rubber plantation, as they feared
it might affect their residential areas.
AUSTRALIA - Lismore faces a damage bill likely to reach into the tens of millions
after a FREAK storm yesterday threw tennis ball-sized hailstones onto the city.
Witnesses said the deluge left some buildings looking like they had been bombed.
17 people were taken to Lismore Base Hospital's emergency department with cuts and
bruises after being hit by hailstones or broken glass.
The storm caused extensive damage across Lismore and Bexhill. Cars across the city were
badly damaged, with hundreds suffering dents and smashed windscreens from the hail.
Yesterday's storm intensified when it combined with a trough off the coast and a
southerly change.
CALIFORNIA - With almost an inch of rain in parts of Solano County, Friday was ONE OF
THE WETTEST OCTOBER 12THS SINCE PRECIPITATION RECORDS HAVE BEEN KEPT.
IOWA - Giant atmospheric waves over Iowa. Giant waves -"undular bore waves"- were
photographed Oct. 3rd flowing across the skies of Des Moines, Iowa. "These waves were
created by a cluster of thunderstorms approaching Des Moines from the west. At the time,
a layer of cold, stable air was sitting on top of Des Moines. The approaching storms
disturbed this air, creating a ripple akin to what we see when we toss a stone into a
pond."
Undular bores are a type of "gravity wave"- so called because gravity acts as the
restoring force essential to wave motion. "We're all familiar with gravity waves caused
by boats in water. When a boat goes tearing across a lake, water in front of the boat is
pushed upward. Gravity pulls the water back down again and this sets up a wave."
Playing the role of boat, the thunderstorms tearing across Iowa on Oct. 3rd spawned a
train of four waves. Undular bores may play a surprising role in severe weather.
"For one thing, we believe undular bores can amplify tornadoes. Furthermore undular bores
may be a source of thunderstorms." That's right, thunderstorms make undular bores and
undular bores return the favor. "These waves churn up the atmosphere, causing
instabilities that can initiate and sustain severe storms."
Typical waves measure 5 miles from peak to peak and race across the sky at 10 to 50 mph.
"An undular bore passes over any given point in the United States about once a month," a
scientist estimates. [SITE NOTE - the 3rd was the same day that fireballs were spotted
over Iowa.]
(photo)
10/12/07 -
AUSTRALIA - Severe storms hit Queensland again today as the clean-up continued from a
week of extreme weather, damaging winds, large hailstones, and what has been described as
a "mini tornado". A severe storm cell hit the town of Mitchell in southwest Queensland
about 11pm (AEST) yesterday, ripping roofs from buildings and causing extensive damage.
160,000 homes and businesses in southeast Queensland had lost power at some stage since
Sunday.
HAITI - Heavy flooding caused by five days of rain has killed at least three children
in Haiti.
Rising waters have flooded roughly 4,000 homes across the country since the start of the
month.
Widespread deforestation has left much of the Haitian countryside unable to absorb
rainfall, while poor drainage and shabby home construction put many residents at further
risk during sustained rain.
The rain in Haiti stems from the same system that has been affecting Jamaica's weather
for the past few days.
10/11/07 -
FLORIDA - A half-year's rain comes down in 3 weeks -
In Jacksonville, just over 23 inches of rain, almost a half-year's worth, fell at the
Beaches through the last three weeks as northeasters and other turbulence soaked the
region.
The deluge from Sept. 17 to Oct. 5 brought the Beaches' 2007 rainfall total to 47.7
inches. The Beaches typically receive about 50 inches of rain a year.
10/10/07 -
AUSTRALIA - The northern New South Wales town of Lismore was bombarded by large
hailstones today as a severe storm swept through the area.
The state's far northeast was being lashed by a series of severe storms for the second
day in a row.
Hailstones reported to be up to the size of tennis balls smashed windows, car
windscreens, and skylights, and broke roof tiles, as well as damaging the police and
ambulance stations in Lismore.
Damage to a local telephone exchange was hampering attempts to call for assistance.
There had been reports yesterday of larger hailstones "the size of apples", but they had
fallen on remote areas.
The weather bureau said the thunderstorms were likely to produce destructive winds, very
heavy rainfall, flash flooding and large hailstones in the area over several hours.
10/10/07 -
CHINA - More than 3,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in southwestern
China after a huge landslide dammed a river, creating a menacing lake that threatened to
burst.
The landslide occurred Friday when an estimated 500,000 cubic meters (18 million cubic
feet) of mud and rock tumbled into a river near Guangyuan city in Sichuan province.
No one was hurt in the landslide, but it created a dam 150 meters (492 feet) long,
blocking the river and creating a lake that began to expand as water flowed in.
The lake has submerged about 187 hectares (462 acres) of nearby crop land.
Local authorities began evacuating residents near the site out of fear the landslide dam
could collapse at any moment, and have begun work to drain the lake.
Reports did not mention the name of the river or what might have triggered the landslide.
NEW ZEALAND - Parts of Wellington copped 150mm of rain yesterday – more than the
average MONTHLY total. A slow-moving low pressure front doused the region with heavy,
thundery downpours, compounded by gale-force winds.
Thirty millimetres of rain fell overnight on Sunday, and parts of State Highway 2 between
Upper Hutt and Petone were covered in up to 300mm of water.
The Hutt River peaked at over 4.3 metres above normal flow early yesterday afternoon.
In Wairarapa, gales of more than 120kmh ripped through exposed areas.
Another low is due to move along the troublesome front, bringing continued wild weather
for northern and eastern parts of the country.
While Wellington would miss the worst of the weather, Hawke's Bay is likely to experience
heavy wind and rain.
VIETNAM - Fifty-one people have been killed and 14 others are missing since THE MOST
SEVERE FLOODS OVER THE PAST 45 YEARS in Vietnam started hitting the country's northern
and central regions on Oct. 4. The flooding triggered by torrential rain damaged some
58,000 houses, inundated 120,000 hectares of subsidiary crops, and submerged transport
systems in many areas.
Natural disasters, including typhoons and hails in Vietnam killed 339 people, left
274 persons missing, and injured 2,065 others in 2006.
SOUTH DAKOTA -
A storm on Sunday dropped a DAILY RECORD of 1.5 inches of rain in Sioux Falls, the
previous record was 1.35 inches in 1970.
10/7/07 -
PORTUGAL - Many towns and cities throughout Portugal were flooded this week, causing
the evacuation of school children and the elderly as bad weather affected the whole of
the country.
The emergency services had to intervene and the Meteorological Institute placed the
entire country on yellow alert, the second of four levels.
In Beja, as well as severe rain flooding 14 different areas of the city, it was also
affected by strong winds which caused seven trees in the region to fall.
Meanwhile, in the capital, Lisbon, the Alcãntara area was the worst hit as blocked drains
overflowed onto the roads.
10/5/07 -
CAMEROON - On September 27, 23 homes were damaged by landslide, including vast
farmlands in Abuh village, Fundong Sub Division in the North West Province. Eye witnesses
say debris and boulders rolled down toward the steep hills to meet inhabitants in their
Abuh valley settlements at about 2 pm last Thursday.
The mass movement of land also damaged crops, mud brick houses and fruit trees including
maize, kolanuts and raffia palms. 185 people are seriously affected, with 22 families in
great pain.
Abuh is a dangerous settlement with houses perched on hill sides. Its loose soils,
sandwiched by debris and boulders, often come rolling upon the roofs during heavy rains.
The assistant Divisional Officer has ordered families residing at the site to quit to
safer areas.
UGANDA -
The United Nations is continuing to deliver aid to the hundreds of thousands of Ugandans
suffering from the WORST FLOODING the Central African nation has SEEN IN DECADES. The
latest reports indicate that flooding has spread to two additional districts, bringing
the total affected to 32, and the banks of the Rwizi River in south-western Uganda have
burst.
Water and sanitation systems have been severely disrupted by flooding, raising the risk
of an outbreak of waterborne diseases.
GHANA - The United Nations and partner organizations launched a $10-million flash
appeal for 75,000 people in northern Ghana, where entire communities have been hit by
floods after heavy and persistent rain in late August and mid-September.
Farmers in the already vulnerable Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions have lost
their crops, vast tracts of land, food storage and processing facilities are submerged,
and houses, bridges, schools and health facilities have been destroyed by the waters,
which are part of a wider flood crisis across a whole swath of sub-Saharan Africa.
"Although floods are common in Ghana, this year's abnormally heavy rain has resulted in
flooding that is stretching the ability of affected communities to cope. Food security is
a particular concern in areas of the country where people's lives were already
precarious."
Preliminary assessments reveal an estimated loss of 144,000 metric tons of crops,
including maize, sorghum, millet, peanuts, yam, cassava and rice. In addition, prices of
all staples have doubled since the flooding, and not all food commodities are readily
available at markets due to flooded roads and submerged bridges.
This leaves around 75,000 people at risk of malnutrition until next year's harvest, which
will take place only if irrigated crops can be planted on schedule.
10/4/07 -
CALIFORNIA - A major hillside collapse in La Jolla caused massive damage to the
overlying four-lane road and forced evacuations in a residential neighborhood Wednesday,
as San Diego city officials scrambled to determine the extent of the damage.
One home was destroyed and at least eight others were in danger as the collapse buckled
and folded a 50-yard span of asphalt, leaving deep trenches in the road. Rescue crews
were evacuating residents and power and gas lines had been shut off in the area. No
injuries were reported. The sinkhole in the La Jolla neighborhood of million-dollar homes
cut in a cone shape and was about 50 yards long.
"This area has had some slide problems dating back a number of years."
Street cracking began on Soledad Mountain Road in July and escalated in August, along
with breaks in water and gas lines.
At least three significant hill slides have occurred in the general vicinity between 1961
and 1994, including a major failure in 1961 that destroyed seven homes under
construction.
(photos)
10/3/07 -
INDIA - At least 14 people were washed away in flash floods in Guntur, Prakasam and
Krishna districts in the last 36 hours.
This year, Goa has witnessed its highest annual rainfall in last six years,
experiencing altogether 3264.8 mm rainfall (through 9/23) since the beginning of the
monsoon season on June 1.
They also received 113.8 mm of rainfall during the month of May. Though the monsoon in
the state is supposed to end on September 30, it had continued till mid-October last
year. “But this year, the rain has far surpassed all the records of the previous six
years.”
Meanwhile, the incessant rains in the state would prove to be detrimental to crops,
especially paddy grown in the fields.
10/2/07 -
ITALY - Long accustomed to sea surges which swell their canals, swamp their piazzas
and threaten the foundations of their buildings, Venetians are now looking up to the
skies with trepidation as FREAK rainstorms are blamed for bringing chunks of masonry
crashing down from landmark palaces.
Locals and tourists fled for cover on Saturday as a 30kg (66lb) block of white marble,
40cm wide, dislodged from a window frame at the Ducal palace, close to St Mark's Square,
and fell 20 metres (65ft) to the crowded pavement below. The chunk missed passersby
although flying shards of marble from the impact left a German tourist bleeding from a
leg wound. Days earlier, another tourist destination, the Correr museum in St Mark's
Square, lost a large piece of marble from its facade which fell into an internal
courtyard.
The Ducal palace had been restored just three years ago, but water infiltration due to
RECORD RAINFALL may have done the damage.
After a long dry summer, heavy rains set in last Wednesday, causing floods that closed
the airport and shut down local industry. Old iron rods holding the marble blocks in
place at the Ducal palace may have rusted to the point of disintegration in the heavy
rain.
City officials have already warned of tiny cracks appearing in Venice's palaces thanks to
pigeons which peck at facades while searching for food scraps.
INDIA - Bihar recorded their HIGHEST RAINFALL IN 25 YEARS THIS SEASON with 1531 mm so
far.
Patna also saw a RECORD 74.8 mm rain in two days, 9/28 & 9/29, bringing life to a near
standstill.
"More than three million people have been displaced by the flooding in eight
districts" in September and 88 people have been killed.
The southwest monsoon will end this year’s season with a surplus of five percent
(three
percent till last week) on the back of a scorching late-in-the-season run powered by
‘low’ twins to the east and west of the country.
This RARE rally saw it dump an UNPRECEDENTED 40 percent area-weighted surplus rain
week-on-week with Saurashtra topping the chart with +540 percent in the west and the
Gangetic West Bengal +415 percent in the east.
Thirty Met subdivisions recorded excess or normal rainfall, with deficits being limited
to the rest in north and northwest India. The whole of Uttar Pradesh ended up in the red,
with the Met subdivision of west Uttar Pradesh being the hardest hit at -40 percent.
All six subdivisions ran the deficit almost throughout the season. The break-down is as
follows; Himachal Pradesh (-36 per cent); Punjab (-28 per cent); Haryana (-33 per cent);
west Uttar Pradesh (-40 per cent); east Uttar Pradesh (-22 per cent) and east Madhya
Pradesh (-32 per cent).
Even the latest rally could not make much impression, with the causative monsoon system
in east India petering out sooner than expected.
This year’s rains have been better than expected after official forecasts in June
predicted the country as a whole would receive 93 percent of the normal rainfall. The
surplus monsoon would leave good moisture conditions for winter crops which are sown in
November.
Meanwhile, early indications by international models on weather for the
October-November-December quarter suggest that winter rains would be deficient in extreme
south Tamil Nadu, but above average in parts of central India and almost the whole of
east India.
But rainfall for the quarter in north and northwest India brought about by passing
western disturbances will range between average and less than average. As for mercury, a
cold snap will extend from the whole of Gujarat and southwest Rajasthan to the east over
Madhya Pradesh, parts of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal and
the North-eastern States.
Current weather trends in the northwest indicate that the westerlies fanning across Iran,
Afghanistan and Pakistan into west Rajasthan are bringing drying, and a slow withdrawal
of the monsoon and its rain. According to AccuWeather.com, it would seem that between one
third and one half of the subcontinent will be outside of the sway of the monsoon.
NEPAL - At least four people were killed and thousands of others affected by flooding
across western Nepal on Sunday.
AFRICA - Thousands in Africa wait for aid amid catastrophic floods - At least 300
have died in the flooding since heavy rains began sweeping across the continent two
months ago.
The Red Cross said Friday that it had observed a "worrying" eightfold increase since
2004 in the number of African flood disasters it has to deal with.
GERMANY - Heavy rain in central Germany has caused severe flooding, and more is
expected in the coming days. Riverbanks have burst and mudslides cut off nearby towns.
10/1/07 -
BRAZIL - Heavy rainfall in late September caused severe flooding in Brazil's
southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul.
LIBERIA - Floods in Nimba have worsened during a second week of heavy downpour,
leading to the St. John River on the border with Guinea and the Cestos River along the
Ivory Coast border bursting their banks, forcing the two borders to close down.
(photo)
OREGON - A tornado hit just north of the Linn County town of Lebanon early Saturday
night.
Weather officials say the tornado began as a funnel cloud, and touched down briefly in
Lebanon, damaging several barns and roofs, and uprooting several trees.
The funnel cloud was active for about a half hour, but the tornado was categorized as an
F-zero.
That's the weakest classification.
Tornados are a RARE event in Oregon and form when vertical wind speed changes.
---------------------------------
9/28/07 -
VIETNAM - Thousands of households in the Mekong River Delta risk being swept away in
landslides during this flood season as a result of local farmers digging too many fish
ponds along river banks. An Giang has been one of the hardest hit provinces in the region
with 42 areas affected. Tens of kilometres of river banks have collapsed. In Tan Chau
District, about one hectare of land along Hau River was struck by landslides.
The landslides have stretched 20 metres inland, forcing local authorities to quickly
evacuate tens of households from affected areas.
In several river sections in Cho Moi District, An Giang Province, landslides following
torrential rains in the last few days have threatened human lives and property.
Local weather officials predict that rising floodwater in the coming days may cause
sudden landslides. In Dong Thap Province, landslides affected 162km of riverbanks. Local
officials plan to evacuate 800 of the 4,200 households from these areas.
9/27/07 -
NEW ZEALAND - A massive landslide in the Southern Alps, thought to be THE BIGGEST IN
DECADES, has created a 2km-long lake.
The landslide came down near Mount Aspiring on Monday and was spotted by a helicopter
pilot.
The dam created by the slip is thought to be up to 70 metres high and has stopped the
flow of water in the north branch of the Young River.
Scientists say there is no chance the dam created by the slip will burst, but sightseers
are being warned to stay away until the water begins flowing over the top, and the rocks
can stabilise.
There has been heavy rain in the area recently and an earthquake, though it is not known
what caused the slip.
A field ranger says it is the biggest slip he has ever seen.
This is the second major landslide this year in Mt Aspiring National Park.
The slip started at an altitude of 1500m on Haunted Spur and hundreds of thousands of
tonnes of rock plunged 900m to the valley floor, creating a dam 70m high. The dam is made
up of massive rocks.
In January, near Lake Wakatipu on the other side of Mt Aspiring National Park, another
massive landslide about 150m wide and 150m long sent at least half a million cubic metres
of rock and debris crashing into the John Inglis valley floor.
It buried an alpine lake and blocked a tributary of the Joe River.
A geologist said at the time that climate change was probably a major factor with a lot
of glacier melt in the area making many of the mountain slopes in the area unstable.
INDIA - The Bay of Bengal is warming again, with a new cyclonic circulation expected
to spring up around September 30 when, normally, the withdrawal schedule of the southwest
monsoon would be complete.
Early indications are that monsoon might start withdrawing from parts of extreme west
Rajasthan after Tuesday’s ‘low’ over east India weakened gradually and the trough in the
mid-and-upper level westerlies pulled itself out of reckoning.
But the anti-cyclone would now have to contend with a fresh bout of wet weather over the
southeast coast (Andhra Pradesh-Orissa) resulting from the brewing cyclonic circulation.
Worse, a few weather models suggest that the circulation could descend to suitable levels
to set up yet another ‘low.’ The anti-cyclone normally brings clear weather and cloudless
skies and marks the transition from monsoon to autumn and progressively winter in north
and northwest India. Western disturbances then become increasingly frequent and herald
winter rains in the region.
THAILAND -
Some areas of Phuket and Phangnga were flooded yesterday following torrential rain on
Tuesday. Low-lying areas in tambon Rawai in Phuket's Muang district were under 50 to 80cm
of water and about 10 houses were inundated.
In nearby Phangnga, mountain run-off flooded 25 houses and cut off roads and bridges in
Khura Buri district. Several sections of a road through Kao Sok mountain were made
impassable by landslides.
In Bangkok, City Hall said it expected high sea tides to push the level of the Chao
Phraya river up to 1.75m above the mean sea level around 6.30pm yesterday. People living
along the river, and along Bangkok Noi and Mahasawat canals outside the city's dykes,
were told to take precautions.
The Meteorological Department forecast that tropical depression Francisco, though
weakened, would cause another day of heavy rain in the North and the upper Northeast.
The moderate southwesterly monsoon is expected to bring heavy rain across the South and
waves about two metres high in the Andaman Sea.
NEVADA - The BIGGEST ONE-DAY DELUGE to hit Pahrump in years caused washouts in
numerous locations.
"I don't recall ever having that much in a 24-hour period." A few streets still closed
this week from sinkholes and road collapses.
The heavy rain made a dent in the drought. Until Friday, Pahrump had only experienced
0.45 inches of precipitation this year. The last measurable rain had been 0.13 inch on
Aug. 27.
The official total on Friday was 2.7 inches. That brings the yearly rainfall total to
3.15 inches, almost up to the 3.64-inch average annual rainfall for Pahrump through Sept.
30.
NIGER - Torrential rains and menacingly high waters in Niger have displaced
landmines, sparking fears of explosions as the risk of hitting one is increased. Nearly
50,000 people have been affected by the flooding in Niger, one of the driest countries in
Africa, with no end in sight to the pounding rains throughout East, West and Central
Africa.
9/26/07 -
BRITAIN - Tornadoes have caused widespread damage to homes and businesses across the
UK as the country experienced a spate of freak weather.
They struck Hampshire, Bedfordshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, Northamptonshire and
Warwickshire.
BRITAIN - Monday, as firemen picked their way through wreckage caused by a tornado
for a third year in a row, it was time to ask experts in extreme weather whether Britain
is now experiencing an annual "tornado season".
The towering vortex of air ripped roofs off homes and factories and was one of at least
five tornadoes which hit the UK Monday.
The twisters struck less than a year after a 100mph tornado in London reduced houses in
Kensal Rise to rubble. The previous autumn, two whirlwinds in Birmingham destroyed
hundreds of homes, hospitalised 39 people and caused millions of pounds worth of damage.
Reports suggested that as many as 11 twisters formed separately as a cold front moved
north-east across England. Residents reported hearing "horrendous" noises as violent
winds tore down trees, pulled off roofs, knocked off chimney pots and, in one case,
overturned a caravan.
"It's nothing uncommon now to hear of a tornado damaging a roof, whereas 20 years ago it
was a very rare event indeed."
THAILAND - Several of Thailand's lower northern provinces have been hit by floods,
swamping hundreds of homes and prompting local schools to close.
The new floods are quite severe, and spreading. Hundreds of homes have been invaded by
the floodwaters and about 100 fishponds and orchards have been damaged. Meanwhile, the
water level of the Wang Thong River has risen with no sign of stopping, inundating many
households.
INDIA - Barely 15 hours after a tornado struck Bagnan, Minakha, Parganas experienced
a cyclone early Monday morning. The cyclone blew away the roofs of more than 25 huts in
the thickly populated area of Bamanpukur and a few residents sustained minor injuries.
Several trees and electric poles were uprooted. The embankment of the Bidyadhari river at
Minakha was also destroyed.
AFRICA - Fresh rainfalls and slow relief have deepened the humanitarian crisis caused
by RECORD FLOODS in Africa which have affected more than 1.5 million people and killed at
least 300.
The worst floods in three decades have now affected 22 countries, displacing hundreds of
thousands and starkly raising the risk of epidemics.
The worst-hit country, since unprecedented downpours swept across the continent in
August, has been conflict-wracked Sudan, where the United Nations said up to 625,000
people could be in need of emergency aid.
Sudan, Africa's largest country, has been hit by several waves of torrential rainfalls in
different regions and the floods have worsened a cholera outbreak that has already caused
68 deaths.
SUDAN - Half a million people have been hit by devastating floods in Sudan which have
washed away homes, drowned thousands of cattle and marooned villages.
With no end in sight, a new wave of flooding has upped the number of those affected by
100,000, and is set to increase.
More than 113 people have been killed in Sudan since July because of the surging waters.
9/24/07 -
INDIA - Continuous and heavy rainfall has submerged Bhadrak and thrown normal life
out of gear. All the roads in the town have become water logged due to lack of the
drainage system. Major residential areas in the town have become submerged. “The people
of the town are habituated with the problem as the municipality has done nothing after
several demands.”
The town has experienced 270 mm of rainfall in the last two days.
Sources said that the highest water level the Hadgarh reservoir can hold is 82.30 mt. Now
the level is at 81.15 mt. “As the Salandi flows through Bhadrak town, the people residing
in the low lying areas may face a deluge."
Similarly the Baitarani river, near Akhuapada is flowing above the danger level.
The people of Dhamnagar and the Bhandaripokhari blocks are facing floods for the fifth
time this year.
Heavy rains continued to lash coastal Orissa for the third consecutive day, even as the
depression formed over the Bay of Bengal has crossed over to the coast, weakening as it
moved inland in a north westerly direction, and lay centred over Angul today.
Torrential rains disrupted normal life and roads in several towns have been submerged.
Several rivers showed a rising trend.
The forecast for the next 48 hours is heavy rainfall in a few places in the state with a
wind speed which is likely to reach 50 km.
9/23/07 -
BANGLADESH - Eighty Bangladeshi fishermen are missing after 10 fishing boats sank in
the Bay of Bengal during a storm overnight.
Strong winds and high waves were preventing rescuers from launching a search for the
missing fishermen.
Meteorologists said a storm was churning in the Bay of Bengal, heading towards India's
eastern coastal state of Orissa. Bangladesh ports have been asked to show storm warnings.
Fishermen who had managed to return to shore said they had seen several fishing boats
sink in the storm.
INDIA -
Three successive waves of floods in Assam this monsoon have taken a toll on its
agriculture produce, destroying standing crops in over six lakh hectares of farmland,
causing prices of essential food items to spiral skywards.
Inundation of agricultural fields damaged standing crops and vegetables thereby causing
scarcity of vital food items and causing their prices to rise beyond the reach of the
common man, particularly in the capital city Guwahati.
Despite government measures to control the price rise, buyers were hard-pressed to buy
vegetables, rice, meat, fish, mustard oil, milk powder, kerosene and the likes, as their
prices have risen phenomenally.
Official sources said due to the first wave of floods destroying rice and pulse
cultivation the farmers resorted to growing vegetables on high land. But their production
was very low causing shortage in the supply of essential food items.
SLOVENIA - on Tuesday, torrential rains in Slovenia damaged hundreds of houses, swept
away bridges and cars and buried a national monument.
Two villages remain cut off from outside help, as a bridge and a road leading to them
have been washed away. Helicopters are dropping food and other necessities to the
residents.
The death toll is currently at six.
GUATEMALA - Heavy rains triggered mudslides and flooding that killed at least three
people and left as many as eight missing in Guatemala.
COLUMBIA - Since March, continuous heavy rains in Colombia have caused floods
affecting 600,000 people in 247 municipalities and 27 departments. Some families who were
originally displaced by the internal armed conflict in Colombia had sought refuge
settling in marginal areas along riverbanks. With the ensuing floods, families then found
themselves swept up into another emergency. "Although the water has receded from most of
the houses, the resulting effects have created a significant health situation. In the
communities there are no basic services, water systems or adequate toilets."
CALIFORNIA - An out-of-season storm lashed Southern California with thunderous
squalls Saturday and wreaked havoc across the region, trapping cars in mud, sending so
much polluted water to the coast that officials warned people not to go into the ocean,
and contributing, officials suspect, to traffic accidents that killed at least five
people.
The RARE storm, the product of a low-pressure system known as an "orphan," moved out of
the area Saturday night.
In perhaps the most dramatic incident, mud, ash and debris swept down hillsides near the
west end of Griffith Park, overflowing a clogged drainage basin, oozing across Forest
Lawn Drive and trapping 14 vehicles.
Most vehicles were parked and unoccupied at the time, though several drivers got stuck
while stopped at red lights. Witnesses described a frenzied scene, with lava-like goop
seeping down the hills and victims racing to their cars to try to escape.
9/21/07 -
AFRICA - Severe flooding caused by torrential rains stretching across Africa is
probably linked to the "La Nina" weather pattern thousands of mile away in the Pacific.
The World Meteorological Organisation warned in July that the combination of tropical
wind patterns over the Pacific Ocean and cooler than normal sea temperatures off western
Latin America could have a "planetary" impact.
The link between "La Nina" and flooding in western Africa has been closely studied since
the 1990s.
"We have found a very close relationship between La Nina and the phenomenon of flooding
in West Africa. It was therefore very probable that a rather rainy season would occur in
the region extending from Sudan in the east to Senegal in the west."
KOREA - Heavy rains hit a number of provinces in the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea (DPRK) this week causing enormous losses.
Since Tuesday, up to 30 cm of rain fell in the provinces of South Phyongan, North
Hwanghae and South Hwanghae.
The capital city of Pyongyang was also struck by over 268 mm of rain in the past two
days.
"Torrential rain and strong winds have caused enormous losses in many areas."
Heavy rains have hit most parts of the DPRK last month, leaving at least 600 people dead
and 100,000 people homeless.
FLORIDA - Wednesday's deluge dumped more than 4 inches of rain on Daytona Beach by 8
p.m., a RECORD for Sept. 19 in the city. The pounding rain knocked down power lines and
flooded neighborhoods.
Constant rain after weeks of unseasonable drought in Central Florida created the
perfect mix to open up sinkholes. Inspectors examined two houses in Lake County with
major cracks to determine whether or not sinkholes are to blame.Just three weeks ago a
sinkhole swallowed an entire kitchen in Apopka. Ten people were renting the home when
the sinkhole forced them out.
(photo / video)
9/20/07 -
AFRICA - Flood zones face more rain - A million Africans already suffering from
severe flooding have been warned of further misery to come with heavy rain predicted from
West to East.
250 people have died and more than 600,000 people been made homeless across 17 countries.
North-eastern Uganda has lost most of its crops to flooding, after the HEAVIEST RAINS IN
THREE DECADES.
"We anticipate that the situation will worsen," with a flood zone already stretching
"from the Atlantic coast to the Red Sea."
In Ethiopia, more than 4,000 people are stranded in the eastern Afar region after a dam
collapsed. More than 250,000 have been left homeless in Sudan alone.
In northern Ghana, more than 30 people have died and flooding has ruined the supply of
clean water.
INDIA - The retreating south-west monsoon in Andhra Pradesh claimed 21 lives in the
past 72 hours. An additional fifteen people were struck and killed by lighting.
Fog in September in India? Sounds strange, but it’s true. On
Wednesday morning, Ambala in Haryana, and from Zirakpur to Ludhiana in Punjab experienced
poor visibility due to fog.
For the past three days, Banur residents have been wondering why visibility on roads is
low. They have never seen fog in September. "It’s strange despite such high day
temperature, there’s fog early in the morning." The air was laden with 95% moisture.
Met officials and city-based environmentalists said this climatic condition was ‘RARE’.
"Earlier, we had experienced mist and haze during this season, but fog is rare. It’s been
happening since the last three days. However, it’s a natural phenomenon. Humidity is
present in the atmosphere. Low speed of winds, stable weather and a plunge in the morning
temperature make a perfect condition for fog to occur. Fog can also happen because of
more moisture in the air and a clear sky." "Abrupt changes in climate are expected.
Though fog is rare in September, but it can be due to heat entrapment in atmospheric
layers. This is also a result of global climate change."
AUSTRALIA - Wellington Dam may overflow by the weekend if heavy rain continues.
The dam is south-west Western Australia's largest water resource and is used for
irrigation.
Heavy rains have increased the dam level by 40 per cent since July.
It is more than 96 per cent of capacity.
The region's largest drinking water supply dams, Harris and Stirling, are two-thirds
full.
The corporation says eight of the 23 south-west dams are currently overflowing.
"We had the worst rainfall on record last year, this year wasn't looking much better
until the middle of July and then the heavens opened up and they basically haven't
stopped since, leading to the position where we are closing in on the best position we
have been since 2000...It's a strange thing because even though the dam levels are very
high, the actual rainfall totals for the year are so far down on average."
(photo)
9/19/07 -
JAPAN - Torrential rain lashed the northern part of the Tohoku region Tuesday,
leaving three people missing due to floods after RECORD DOWNPOURS hit some districts.
Akita and Iwate prefectures were hit particularly hard, and authorities were searching
for the missing people and attempting to restore utilities.
Heavy rains prompted the authorities to order 36,120 residents in 14,233 households in
Akita, Iwate, Miyagi and Aomori prefectures to evacuate, but the order was lifted by
Tuesday evening in most areas.
Ten weather observation spots in Akita Prefecture recorded their HEAVIEST-EVER-24-HOUR
RAINFALL through 3 a.m. Tuesday.
(photo)
CANADA - A tornado that hit Elie, Manitoba, in the summer has been rated the
STRONGEST DOCUMENTED TWISTER IN CANADIAN HISTORY.
9/18/07 -
NEW YORK - this year has been ONE OF THE WETTEST – AND MOST EXTREME – YEARS IN
WEATHER HISTORY for the city of New York.
Coming off both the fourth wettest spring and summer ever, New York City could actually
see its second wettest year in history if this year’s strange weather trends continue.
Between January and August, officials measured 46.55 inches of precipitation in Central
Park.
If averages count for anything, then the 23 inches averaged during each of the first
two-thirds of the year would mean we could finish with upwards of 70 inches, well past
the 67.03 inches measured in 1972 – the second highest total ever.
The record for highest precipitation total ever in New York City is 80.56 inches measured
in 1983. "We’re in a pattern of extreme cycles, weather extreme cycles that could
continue for the next couple of decades. We’ve been in extremes as far as record
precipitation. For example, the last couple of years we’ve seen some of the wettest
springs and summers of all time. Severe storm threats have been UNUSUALLY high, with RARE
occurrences happening more frequently, such as the tornado in Brooklyn and the flooding
in Queens.”
Those strange events, not to mention the UNUSUALLY warm winter – in which temperatures
hit 70 degrees in early January – have led many to wonder how global warming has fit into
the equation.
“If you’re thinking about global warming keep this in mind: during the past year it's the
FIRST TIME EVER that just about every single state was averaging above normal
temperatures."
Winter has seen its fair share of extremes too. This past February was one of the coldest
ever, with an average temperature of 28.2 degrees. In February of 2006, a record snowfall
measuring 26.9 inches fell in Central Park, falling within just 24 hours, and breaking
the previous record set back in December of 1947.
This coming winter could be even colder, with the possibile return of La Niña. The
extremes aren’t happening just in New York City.
“We’ve been in extremes as far as the hurricane cycle with super hurricanes becoming more
common. This past hurricane season we’ve already seen two category five hurricanes – some
of the strongest hurricanes to make landfall ever. Dean and Felix were some of the most
powerful hurricanes to strike land, not to mention happening within two weeks of each
other. I’ve never seen anything like that ever."
List of summer's of RECORD-BREAKING WEATHER - worldwide.
9/16/07 -
AFRICA - Some African countries have endured months of flooding.
The severe flooding across Africa has wrecked hundreds of thousands of homes and left
many people vulnerable to water-borne diseases.
Scores of people have died and much of the continent's most fertile farmland has been
washed away in what is being described as a humanitarian disaster.
More rain is expected and the need for food, shelter and medicine is urgent.
Some 17 countries have been affected in West, Central and East Africa.
"The rains are set to continue and we are really concerned because a lot of people are
homeless and infectious diseases could emerge. Some of the poorest countries, like Mali,
Burkina Faso and Niger - the poorest nation in the world - are badly affected."
The floods could lead to locust infestations and outbreaks of diseases such as cholera
and dysentery. Countries in East Africa regularly flood at this time of year so they have
set up some contingency plans, but West African nations, which do not regularly flood,
are much less able to deal with the deluge. Ghana has been hit badly by the flooding,
with three northern regions being declared an official disaster zone after whole towns
and villages were submerged.
"It is a humanitarian disaster. People have nowhere to go. Some of them are just hanging
out there waiting for help to come." French military helicopters are helping relief
efforts in nearby Ivory Coast, while officials in Togo are dealing with more than 60,000
displaced people and a wrecked infrastructure.
In East Africa, the brunt of the torrential rain was felt in Uganda, Ethiopia and Sudan.
Rwandan officials reported 15 deaths and 500 homes washed away since Wednesday.
(map)
The situation is devastating. "Houses are completely destroyed. In most of these
villages houses are built of mud. Of course they just disappear, no housing, nothing. And
the water takes all of their belongings in the process, so they have to start over from
scratch."
Disasters hit hardest in poor regions like West and Central Africa where people have
nothing to fall back on if they lose their houses or become sick. "If you compare it to
the U.K. or the United States where the governments have the capacity to support the
people in such situations, it is not the same in Africa. Let us face the realities. Our
governments try, we are here to support them, but the resources are just not there."
A worker who has been doing humanitarian work for decades says the floods seem to be
getting worse every year and the climate more unpredictable."Two years ago we were doing
drought relief and now we are doing flood relief. So it is a complex situation."
"People are having to cope with floods that are higher and bigger than they are used to,
and people cope with periods of droughts that are bigger than they are used to. They cope
with extremes of temperature - extremes of heat and extremes of cold. The weather is
becoming unpredictable. It is the unpredictability aspect that is hitting people
hardest." Humanitarian workers say preventing the outbreak of water-borne disease, such
as cholera, is now a major concern. Cases have already been reported in Ghana.
BANGLADESH - The death toll from flooding this year in impoverished Bangladesh
crossed 1000 on Saturday with a further 2.5 million people displaced or marooned.
ILLINOIS - Last month, when some of the worst rain storms in recent memory pelted the
area, was the WETTEST AUGUST SINCE 1895 when the state began keeping track of regional
rainfall data in northeastern Illinois.
The entire summer in the region (June through August) also was the WETTEST ON RECORD.
Rainfall for northeastern Illinois (including those counties from Boone to LaSalle and
eastward) averaged 11.47 inches last month, 7.33 inches above normal, eclipsing the old
record of 11.02 inches set in 1987. From June through August, an average of 20.05 inches
of rain fell on the area, 8.02 above normal. That beat the 1972 record of 19.26 inches.
Many individual rainfall collection stations also set records for August going back more
than 50 years.
GEORGIA is reaping the benefits of Tropical Depression Humberto, which helped Macon
SET A RAINFALL RECORD for Sept. 13. About 1.3 inches of rain fell in Macon Thursday, a
record for the date.
In Atlanta, the 1.64 inches of rain that fell at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
Airport made that the wettest day this year.
The previous record was 1.42 inches on Jan. 7.
MINNESOTA - In addition to damaged homes and muck-covered belongings, residents and
volunteers in the flood-ravaged town of Rushford are facing a new problem - wasps.
The situation is so bad that 3,000 wasp traps were donated. So many people have been
stung that two nurses are on hand at Rushford's command center. The Mayo Clinic in
Rochester has been sending a steady supply of Benadryl and EpiPens for severe allergic
reactions.
Residents say the wasps are making recovery more difficult.
The wasps were likely displaced from their underground nests by the floodwaters.
One nest can hold hundreds of thousands of wasps. And wasps can sting many times, unlike
bees, which die after stinging.
The flood also brought about more mosquitoes. Officials have been battling the mosquitoes
too, but a few nights of below-freezing temperatures would kill them off.
9/14/07 -
UGANDA - The heavy rains in the past three weeks have unleashed floods across Teso, Lango and
Acholi regions and wrecked havoc on the properties and lives of thousands of people in those
regions. People's homes have been flooded and sometimes washed away just like their food stores.
Food crops in gardens have been inundated by the floods and are rotting away. Roads have been
flooded and bridges washed away making movement of people, their livestock and properties
impossible. The people are in desperate need of shelter, food, sanitation facilities, medical
care, clothing etc.
Instead of rushing to the northern and eastern regions of Uganda devastated by these floods to
coordinate governments relief efforts, President Museveni has been in Luweero sounding war drums.
The response of the government to the new catastrophe in northern and eastern Uganda has been
slow, meagre, uncoordinated and visibly wanting. The Ministry for Disaster Preparedness has
openly stated that it has no resources to attend to these disasters.
NIGERIA - almost every part of the country has suffered the effect of the flood, in A SCALE
OF DESTRUCTION NEVER BEFORE EXPERIENCED. From Maiduguri to Maitama, Gombe to Ughelli, it was the
same story of how flood sacked homes, communities, farmlands and claimed lives.
TOGO - Heavy rain has left 20 people dead and 58 injured in northern Togo.
Non-stop rain for several days also washed away or damaged 22,000 huts, more than 100 bridges and
46 schools and colleges, along with 1,500 hectares of food crops, and made 34,000 people
homeless.
ALASKA - More than half the residents of an isolated Arctic village were evacuated as storm
surges threatened to flood their slender barrier island Thursday, the latest chapter in their
losing battle against the sea.
With no road system within hundreds of miles of Kivalina, about 100 people, mostly seniors and
children, boarded small propeller planes to the regional hub city of Kotzebue. More than 100
others embarked on a grueling 70-mile nighttime journey by boat, all-terrain vehicle and bus to
shelter at the mountain headquarters of a zinc mine.
The National Weather Service predicted storm surges Thursday afternoon as the tide rises and
winds strengthen to 25-40 mph.
It was the only inhabited area under the flood warning along the Chukchi Sea, but is one of three
villages along Alaska's storm-battered western coast that probably will have to be moved within
the next 10 to 15 years because of erosion. "The people have lost their peace of mind. Since the
village started eroding, we have lost a lot of land and people have become fearful of the fall
storms."
A storm last year tore away a portion of a wall soon after it was completed.
OKLAHOMA - RECORD RAINFALL caused severe flooding in the southwest part of Oklahoma City.
Between 2 and 5 inches of rain fell in a two- to three-hour period early Monday.
Between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., 2.73 inches of rain fell at Will Rogers World Airport. That broke the
mark for Sept. 10 of 2.4 inches that had stood since 1925.
But weather officials said additional rainfall had increased the day's total to 4.82 inches by
6:45 a.m. and more was falling.
The total was also the second greatest September daily precipitation total on record behind the
7.53 inches of Sept. 22, 1970.
Thus far, the annual precipitation for Oklahoma City stands at 49.17 inches, ranking as the
second wettest year on record behind the 52.03 inches of 1908.
Oklahoma City's weather records date back to November 1891.
9/13/07 -
BANGLADESH - With the rise of water levels at most points of major rivers Padma and Jamuna,
the flood situation further deteriorated yesterday affecting 1.13 crore people in 256 upazilas of
46 districts.
Hundreds of thousands of people are living on highlands and roadside areas amid food and water
crises.
The death toll stood at 861 due to flood-related reasons including drowning, diarrhoea and
snakebites. This year's floods destroyed crops on some 819,985 acres of land completely and on
983,383 acres partially, while some 3,621 kilometres of roads were destroyed completely and
25,590km partially. The floods also destroyed 65,984 houses completely and 927,650 partially, 557
educational institutions completely and 7,686 partially, 88 kms of embankments completely and 863
kms partially, and 78 bridges and culverts were completely destrpyed and 1,692 partially.
INDIA - More than three million people have been displaced in Assam over the past week as the
Brahmaputra river inundated vast swathes of the region, a situation the government described as
"very critical".
"The situation is still very critical with the third wave of floods wreaking havoc in at least 20
of the state's 27 districts with an estimated three million people stranded since Wednesday."
The floods that began in July have so far hit more than 10 million people covering about 9,000
villages. "This is ONE OF THE MOST PROLONGED FLOODS and by FAR THE WORST EVER IN RECENT YEARS."
There are about 500 makeshift camps now where thousands of people are sheltered, while many more
are staying in raised embankments and other such platforms under tarpaulin tents.
CENTRAL AMERICA - The passage of two major hurricanes pushed the rivers in Central and South
Mexico, Guatemala, and Nicaragua well over their banks in early September.
9/12/07 -
SOUTH ASIA - Flooding in India and Bangladesh has now left some 1.5 million people homeless.
9/11/07 -
VIETNAM - Flash flooding triggered by torrential rain killed two people and swept five others
away in northern Vietnam.
CHINA - Four people have been killed by a landslide that pushed their vehicle into a valley
in southwest China's Yunnan Province.
OKLAHOMA - Heavy rainfall pounded south Oklahoma City early Monday, causing flash flooding
and SHATTERING AN 82-YEAR-OLD DAILY RAINFALL RECORD in less than one hour.
By 8:30 a.m. Monday, 6.28 inches of rain had fallen at Will Rogers World Airport since midnight,
including 2.73 inches between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.. The previous record for rainfall in a 24-hour
period at the site was 2.4 inches in 1925.
"The record was actually broken in less than one hour." Oklahoma has had an UNUSUALLY WET summer,
with heavy rains that resulted in major flooding in dozens of counties in recent months. For the
year, 50.55 inches of rainfall has fallen in Oklahoma City so far, less than 1 1/2 inches from
the all-time record of 52.03 set in 1908.
Monday morning's rainfall was caused by a weak front draped from northeast Oklahoma down to
southwest sections of the state. A stronger front later Monday was expected to push into
Oklahoma, bringing an additional chance for rain in central portions of the state, with a chance
for some heavy rainfall.
TEXAS - North Texans were battling flooded roads and flight delays Monday as heavy,
RECORD-SETTING RAINFALL bombarded areas across the Metroplex.
Downpours began overnight and were expected to continue throughout the Monday. The previous
Dallas-Fort Worth rainfall record was 1.86 inches, set in 1992. As of 11:06 a.m., Monday's total
rainfall was 3.23 inches. Flooding was reported at multiple locations.
9/10/07 -
INDIA - The flood situation in the country has deteriorated further due to incessant rains
over the basins of the Ganges, Meghna, Brahmaputra and southeastern hills.
Authorities are struggling to protect the Surma and Kushiara embankments while the civil
administration and the military are working together to save the vulnerable parts of the Teesta
barrage.
The Padma is flowing over the 1,296-foot-long town protection embankment in Rajbari.
People are ill again after having contaminated water and stale food. The fresh flood has
destroyed crops worth millions of taka and left hundreds of thousands homeless in a number of
districts.
Academic activities have been seriously hampered as the institutions are being used as flood
shelters in the affected areas.
Experts fear that flooding this time might drag on for a longer period of time and the eastern
fringe of the capital might be inundated within four or five days.
"The flooding of the Brahmaputra-Jamuna is UNUSUAL and alarming ...we have had floods there only
last month."
Usually the Ganges-Padma and its tributaries swell up during late August and early September and
the Meghna basin is vulnerable to floods all throughout the monsoon season. But what is
significant this time is the fresh floods in the Brahmaputra-Jamuna.
The flood is likely to deteriorate in the next 72 hours and it might linger till the second week
of September. In the WORST FLOOD IN 50 YEARS in Khagrachhari, over one lakh people of eight
upazilas in Khagrachhari have been marooned and took shelter on high lands and at various flood
shelters. Newly transplanted Aman plants on about 50,000 hectares of land have been washed away
along with fish worth about Tk one crore.
Heavy landslides occurred at Lower Shajouba village two and half km from Tadubi NH 39. The
crack which developed in the morning worsened at dawn thereby displacing around 40 houses.
The Tadubi-Ukhrul road is totally cut off by the landslide which is the main connectivity to the
people of the north eastern parts of Manipur. The agricultural products which are ready for the
market have been blocked by the landslide, affecting severely the economy of the people.
The conditions are still grim with the continuous incessant rains threatening to worsen the
situation.
BANGLADESH - Large areas of Bangladesh are underwater again after heavy rains, adding to the
misery of millions of people hit by flooding that has killed more than 830. "We are into the
second round of flooding. This is happening barely within a fortnight of reprieve from the first
bout we had endured in the July-August period. Predictions are grim. Floods beginning in
September are usually longer lasting. If it rains in the next few days as heavily as it did in
preceding two days, we then have the beginning of a flood of greater intensity. The effects of
the first flood have been devastating. Now with the onset of the second we are catapulted on to a
rescue and relief mission on a very short notice. Already, thousands have been rendered
destitute, huge acreage of cropland inundated, communications disrupted and river embankments
washed away. Even the rehabilitation activities we have just carried out after the first flood,
especially the transplanted Aman and compensatory vegetable cultivation are most likely to go
waste.
Flash floods triggered by torrential rains and swelling rivers inundated parts of Bangladesh
over the weekend, leaving at least five people dead and hundreds stranded.
Some areas are still reeling from the affects of a recent monsoon deluge that submerged most of
the delta nation for two months — from June to August — leaving more than 500 dead and thousands
without homes.
Many flood victims had just started rebuilding their homes and replanting their fields.
The floodwaters also submerged stretches of highways and breached mud embankments, while washing
away newly cultivated crops and fish in ponds.
Stormy weather, spawned by a low depression, also disrupted life in coastal areas, with
authorities warning passenger ferries and fishing boats to stay close to shore.
NEPAL - At least nine people were killed in Nepal in a landslide and flooding triggered by
heavy rains on Saturday.
PHILIPPINES - The Department of National Defense advised local chief executives in the region
to be on guard in the last three months of the year, saying the change in the country's weather
pattern should not be taken for granted.
"We should not be complacent about the change in the weather pattern," particularly referring to
the weather bureau's prediction that the country would experience UNUSUAL heavy downpour in the
next three months. "There is a need for us to plan and prepare for any eventuality. We need to
plan quickly in the coming days, (due to) warnings of greater typhoons."
BRITAIN - FREAK storms which battered the region, leaving hundreds of homes under water, was
a 'ONE IN 400 YEARS EVENT', experts have claimed.
The storms on June 25 were so RARE there is only a quater of a percent chance they would happen
again next year.
There is normally a one percent chance of a severe flood every year - but the severity of the
rains on June 25 meant this was more of a 'once in 400 years' event.
"What happened in June and July was far in excess of the design standards of the rivers and
sewers. You can't realistically defend against the floods."
The storms had, in total, dumped more than nine inches of rain on the region.
"The rain was unrelenting - we think everybody will agree it was UNPRECEDENTED."
9/9/07 -
POLAND - Another day of torrential downpours in the south of Poland claimed two lives on
Friday. Rivers are overflowing in Silesia, Opolszczyzna, the ‘Little Poland’ region and
Podkarpacie and several towns have been flooded.
Heavy downpours were expected to occur in the region for at least twenty four more hours.
The forecasted amount of rainfall in the Silesian voivodship is 30-45 litres per square metre.
The most difficult situation in the Zywiecki region is in the Rajcza, Milówka and Slemien
communes.
Every second about 900 cubic metres of water flow into the Zywieckie Lake.
The heaviest downpour was noted in Koniakowo, where during 10 hours 99 litres of water fell per
square metre.
The police have closed down several stretches of road because of flooding.
ROMANIA & AUSTRIA - Floods following stormy weather have inundated houses and roads in
eastern Romania, causing 7 deaths and prompting nearly 1,400 people to evacuate their homes.
Five people were reported dead on Thursday, and two more on Friday.
More than 1,000 houses have been flooded after days of heavy rain in eastern Romania. Traffic
resumed on main roads Friday, but smaller country roads were still waterlogged.
The floods hit four counties and caused flooding in 47 towns and villages. Worst hit was the town
of Tecuci. Flooding also affected Austria, where authorities issued flood warnings in the
country's north and west on Friday after the Danube River and other waterways burst their banks.
In Lower Austria province, the Danube's water LEVELS REACHED A 20-YEAR HIGH, and officials were
asking some residents in low-lying towns near the border with Slovakia to leave their homes and
move to higher ground as a precaution.
SUDAN - The rainy season of 2007 brought what the Sudanese government called the WORST FLOODS
IN LIVING MEMORY to Sudan. From the start of the rains in early July to September 4, 122 people
died and at least 200,000 were made homeless in floods throughout the country. With the September
end of the rainy season in sight, Sudan is still flooded.
(satellite photos)
WASHINGTON - Summer's weather was UNUSUAL; a warmer fall, a colder winter likely -
July and August in inland Southwest Washington were somewhat wetter and a bit cooler than normal.
It wasn't just the wet weekend pattern that made summer weather UNUSUAL - it was the greater
number of cloudy days and the unsettled pattern.
The normal summer pattern of long stretches of mostly sunny, dry weather didn't occur. Also, they
had only about half the usual number of days - about a week - of temperatures into the 90s
during June, July and August.
In fact, in much of the Lewis County area, August was absent any days with temperatures in the
90s, which is UNUSUAL.
The average high temperature for the month was about 2 degrees below normal.
As to rainfall, July's totals were nearly twice to more than three times normal, while August
rainfall was from only about half normal at Olympia, increasing to near normal southward toward
Longview-Kelso, which had twice (11) the normal number of rainy days during August.
The wetter, slightly cooler trend was in sharp contrast to the unusually dry and hotter weather
during those two months into September in most recent years. A moderate La Nina, developing now,
tends to bring "pretty wet" winter conditions to the Northwest and a strong La Nina brings
"really cold" conditions.
9/7/07 -
INDIA - Flood situation grim in Cooch Behar - The Teesta, Kaljani and Mansai rivers are still
flowing above the danger mark in Cooch Behar district. One person, meanwhile, is feared drowned
in the floodwaters in Mathabhanga sub-division.
The water levels in the Gadadhar and the Kaljani rivers in Tufanganj are showing a rising trend.
The situation might turn worse if the downpour continues.
In Mekhliganj sub-division, the Teesta breached about 90-metre of its embankment at Kuchlibari
area. About 5,000 people of the area are suffering from fear.
In Tufanganj, the river erosion has continued unabated. Rise of water levels in the Kaljani and
the Gadadhar has worsened the situation.
The water level in the Ganga rose in Malda district following heavy rainfall in Uttar Pradesh and
north Bihar. The river has started eroding its bank line.
The Malda irrigation officials said that the water level in the Ganga would continue to rise in
the next four days.
AUSTRIA is bracing for more floods. Heavy rains are set to produce heavy flooding along some
parts of the Danube. The river is expected to peak this evening.
In Upper Austria, the Enns river overflowed early Thursday, flooding the streets of the town of
Steyr. By Thursday afternoon, the towns of Mauthausen on the Danube and Schärding on the Inn
river were also bracing for floods.
In Lower Austria, Danube tributaries, such as the Traisen, Pielach, Ybbs and Erlauf rivers, are
also expected to burst their banks. Several roads near Lilienfeld and St. Pölten in Lower Austria
were shut down Thursday afternoon because of flooding.
Emergency services have been in constant service in both areas to cope with flooded cellars.
Volunteers have also been filling sandbags following reports the rains were to continue through
Friday. According to weather officials in Vienna, the heaviest rainfall was recorded in Reichenau
an der Rax which saw 121 litres of rain per square metre fall over a 24-hour period.
9/6/07 -
UTAH - A powerful storm blew across Utah Tuesday evening, toppling trees, downing power lines
and making it difficult just to walk in downtown Salt Lake. The storm even spawned a funnel cloud
and caused trouble throughout Utah and even into Idaho.
Tooele County took brunt of the storm. There was a lot of damage in Stansbury Park. The winds
were so strong they buckled a garage door. Trampolines flying through the air caused damage to
fences and windows. The storm also caused hydroplaning accidents on the freeway. The water came
so fast that two cars rolled into a ditch.
The storm came on quickly and carried with it a lot of dust and debris. As it moved through
Tooele County, it spawned a funnel cloud and then exploded as it worked its way through portions
of Salt Lake County, into Davis County, Weber County and Cache County.
There was a lot of damage in the Salt Lake valley as well.
WASHINGTON - 28 days’ worth of rain fell in 24 hours - Between 5 p.m. Monday and 5 p.m.
Tuesday, meteorologists measured 1.12 inches of rainfall at SeaTac Airport – far above the
average daily rainfall for this time of year.
Normally in early September, the Puget Sound region gets 0.04 inches of rainfall a day.
Rainfall on Monday and Tuesday did SET RECORDS FOR THE MOST DAILY RAIN RECORDED ON THOSE DATES of
the year, even if the numbers weren’t as dramatic as those from overnight.
The previous record for rainfall on Sept. 3 was 0.43 inches, and Monday brought 0.46 inches.
Tuesday saw 0.66 inches of rainfall before 6 p.m., a bit more than the previous Sept. 4 record of
0.50 inches.
TEXAS - a RECORD 2.93 inches of rain fell Wednesday in Waco, breaking the old record of 1.65
inches set in 1935. In Falls County, trees are down from high winds and most of Central Texas
received rain.
INDIA - the only link between India and Kashmir was suspended on Wednesday as heavy rains
triggered landslides at Panthal.
Hundreds of angry flood victims looted animal fodder from a goods train in Bihar's Khagaria
district on Wednesday.
The victims attacked the standing train near Mansi in the district and looted the fodder meant
for distribution in the flood-affected areas.
Animal fodder is scarce in the flood-affected districts of Bihar. Over 600 animals, mostly cows
and buffaloes, have died in the flood-hit areas of the state.
MAURITANIA - As Mauritania tries to recover from floods that totally submerged the
southeastern town of Tintane in early August, more recent rains have caused additional damage in
other regions of the country.
Heavy rains on 29-31 August have affected hundreds of families in the southern regions of Gorgol
and Assaba. Dozens of families have been made homeless. In Assaba, around 100 families have been
affected in the village of Barkeol, and at least 97 homes were destroyed in the municipality of
Kankossa. In Tintane, all public and private infrastructure in the town - including the health
centre, banks, pharmacies, mosques and the water decontamination system - are flooded.
The latest census says 3,164 families (15,820 people) in the town and neighbouring villages have
lost everything.
In addition, the government has identified another 10,000 people who will no longer have easy
access to food as Tintane was a thriving commercial marketplace for southeastern Mauritania.
"The magnitude of this flooding is such that the consequences on the populations and the
infrastructures are enormous."
Seventy percent of people in Tintane are merchants who can no longer work, because flooding has
stopped all commerce. The other 30 percent are farmers, who have lost all their livestock and
whose crops are at risk. "We will not be in a 'normal' situation for at least 6-9 months. [In the
coming months], we will have problems because our food stocks will be insufficient."
9/5/07 -
ETHIOPIA - Widespread flooding across Ethiopia is affecting more than 100,000 people, with
the number of those driven from their homes topping 36,000 and rising.
Authorities fear further flooding is imminent and the outbreak of waterborne disease likely.
"Particularly in the western part of the country, the risk of further flooding remains high."
Ethiopia faces seasonal flooding between June and September, with 48,000 Ethiopians uprooted by
floods last year, but this latest round has hit non-flood-prone areas.
9/4/07 -
GREECE - As fires raging for ten days in southern Greece died out, nature struck Greece once
again, this time, it's floods.
Rainstorms have caused heavy flooding in two villages, where cars were carried away into the sea
by the currents. (photo)
Streets were covered in rivers of water and trees have been uprooted.
Meteorologists predicted that more rain can be expected in the next few days.
Rain is also expected to touch the fire stricken regions of the Peloponnese where one fire front
still continues to burn.
CANADA - heavy rain caused a 12-metre-deep crater in a Cape Breton road and flooded several
other highways. It will take a few days to fix minor damages, but it could take several weeks to
repair the 30-metre long chunk of the Long Island Road that washed away Friday night.
The missing road runs between Georges River and Barrachois, and another part of the road
collapsed Saturday night.
Dozens of people were trapped between the crater and the washed out road, but no one was hurt.
Roads across four Cape Breton counties as well as Guysborough and Antigonish on the mainland were
also damaged.
Environment Canada estimates over 60 millimetres fell in Barrachois, while close to 100
millimetres fell in other places across the province.
9/2/07 -
INDONESIA - On the Indonesian island of East Kalimantan, police say at least four people have
been killed in a landslide which has buried dozens of houses. More may be missing.
Hundreds of people fled their homes in the area after the landslide occurred yesterday morning
due to heavy overnight rains.
TEXAS - summer 2007 is destined to go down as one of the weirder ones in San Antonio weather
history.
The last time some remember the same confluence of weather factors was back in the 1940s - with
dreary skies, daily rain and the cool weather of a summer that really wasn't.
June, July and August didn't produce a single 100-degree day, the hallmark of a Texas summer. In
fact, San Antonio struggled to reach 95, the so-called average daily high for a typical Texas
summer day. The mercury at International Airport topped 95 on just four days, Aug. 12-15. The sun
seemingly never shined and the temperatures were more like Minnesota than Texas.
Almost 24.4 inches of rain fell between June 1 and Aug. 30. The rain total is 15.6 inches above
normal, and a whopping 21.4 inches more than fell last summer, when grass withered and parched
earth cracked as the region endured a drought.
Through Aug. 24, the city has seen 43.9 inches of rain, the RAINIEST EIGHT MONTHS ON RECORD.
Upper levels of the atmosphere have been conducive to letting low-pressure systems take hold.
Meanwhile, the high-pressure dome that usually sits over the state instead is parked farther
north, giving eastern cities the hot, dry weather that usually defines a Texas summer.
SOUTHERN AFRICA - July and August saw flooding across Africa in countries just south of the
Sahara desert, as well as in Kenya, Uganda and Mozambique. South Africa, which is experiencing
the Southern Hemisphere’s winter, has seen flooding, too — along with FREAK snowfalls heavy
enough to close the border between South Africa and Lesotho for a time.
Half a million Africans are affected. Some have lost their food stocks or seeds for the next crop
cycle. Others have seen their houses, made from dried-mud bricks, dissolve in the heavy rain.
Normally, in the rainy season, the bricks melt a bit but people can repair them when the sun
comes out. Not this year in many places in the Sahel, a normally semi-desert area just south of
the Sahara that stretches from Senegal to Sudan.
Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad also had major problems with flooding. The water
didn’t relieve their droughts since it came in torrents that couldn’t be absorbed by the soil.
In Sudan, the floods that began in early July and are predicted to last until mid-September.
As many as 1 million Sudanese could lose their houses and possessions and require food aid as
well as water. The northern part of Nigeria, Africa’s largest country, is also in the Sahel and
suffered from drought before this year’s flooding.
-----------------
8/31/07 -
GEORGIA - showers brought 2.40 inches of rain to the area, BREAKING THE PREVIOUS RECORD for
the date of 2.37 inches set in 1981.
Yet that will do little to ease a 21-inch rainfall deficit for the year in Floyd County.
8/30/07 -
Climate change may carry a higher risk of flooding than was previously thought.
Researchers say efforts to calculate flooding risk from climate change do not take into account
the effect carbon dioxide (CO2) has on vegetation.
Higher atmospheric levels of this greenhouse gas reduce the ability of plants to suck water out
of the ground and "breathe" out the excess.
Plants expel excess water through tiny pores in their leaves.
Their reduced ability to release water back into the atmosphere will result in the ground
becoming saturated.
Areas with higher predicted rainfall have a greater risk of flooding. But this effect also
reduces the severity of droughts.
The findings suggest computer models of future climate change may need to be revised in order to
plan for coming decades. "It's a double-edged sword. It means that increases in drought due to
climate change could be less severe as plants lose less water.
"On the other hand, if the land is saturated more often, you might expect that intense rainfall
events are more likely to cause flooding."
SINGAPORE - In the Bukit Timah area yesterday, more rain fell than the average monthly
rainfall for August for the whole of Singapore in the past 25 years.
By 4pm, the highest rainfall recorded was 150.8mm at the Bukit Panjang Telecom weather station.
This is higher than Singapore's average total rainfall for the month of August between 1982 and
2006, which is 143.4mm.
Some areas were hit by flash floods.
COSTA RICA - Intense rain that destroyed roofs, walls and a dike in the Central Valley and
Southern Zone Monday also BROKE NATIONAL RECORDS.
In the northern suburb of Tibás, about 80 millimeters of rain fell in one hour, at least 10
centimeters more than the national record. The rest of the San José area as well as the Southern
Zone also experienced rain so intense it turned some roads into muddy rivers, damaging homes and
infrastructure.
In the Southern Zone canton of Corredores, a dike broke, flooding neighborhoods in nearby Ciudad
Neilly. Three bridges were also washed away near Ciudad Neilly.
About 27 families had to evacuate their homes in the Corazón de Jesús neighborhood of the
northwestern San José district of La Uruca.
In Tibás, a vehicle was nearly swallowed by a hole in the road as it attempted to make it through
thigh-deep water, and residents of one condo in the western suburb of Escazú saw a chunk of their
ceiling cave in from the pressure of accumulated water.
“The intensity was extremely high, and we also saw a lot of electric activity” in the form of
thunder and lightning. There's lots more rain and possibly tropical storms to come in September
and October, typically the wettest months of the rainy season.
INDIA - Road links that are the life-line to the northeastern states of Tripura, Mizoram and
parts of Assam and Manipur remained cut off from the rest of India for the fourth consecutive day
Wednesday following massive landslides.
A stretch on National Highway No 44 at Sonarpur in Meghalaya has remained blocked since Sunday
after heavy rains triggered landsides with huge boulders and trees covering the road.
Communication services in the land-locked region have been badly hit with rail links snapped for
the past two months after a bridge collapsed in the Assam sector.
Thousands of trucks carrying essentials have been stranded on both sides of the landslide-hit
area as about 300 metres of the road now remains covered by the debris.
WISCONSIN - Areas of Vernon County received between 6.5 and 11 inches of rain on Aug. 18 and
Aug. 19. They call it a “1,000-YEAR FLOOD.”
It’s the standard to which they built the 20-plus flood-control dams in Vernon County. That
standard is to withstand a flood that statistically may happen only once every 1,000 years.
Those who built the county’s dams in the 1950s and 1960s did a pretty good job, because after
dealing with the rain they received on Aug. 18 and Aug. 19, the dams in some cases withstood
pressure two times greater than that for which they were designed.
There have been bad floods in Vernon County stretching through history, but as far as recorded
history, they only know of two other floods, the flood of 1951 and the flood of 1978, that rival
the flood of 2007. And in places like Chaseburg and Gays Mills, the flood of 2007 takes the cake.
Perhaps overall, countywide, it does as well.
The magnitude of the Aug. 18-Aug. 19 flood waters might be something a meteorologist deals with,
“only two or three times over their entire career,” and that’s covering an area of thousands of
square miles.
Seven people in Minnesota died because of the flooding. While there was no loss of life in
Wisconsin, the damage totals are not yet fully tallied and are already at unbelievable levels.
Vernon County’s totals are $24.8 million for public property and $8 million for agriculture.
That’s $32.8 million and private property hasn’t even been totalled yet.
8/29/07 -
ROMANIA - After a heat wave that hit Romania in recent days, the country is now struggling
with flooding that left two people dead and hundreds of homes damaged.
About 500 households were affected by the floods that destroyed property with logs, rocks and
dislocated trees swept up by the high water.
Heavy weekend rains created the flooding that has affected almost two-thirds of the Balkan
country’s territory, especially in the northern and central regions.
Authorities warned that more Romanian counties are in danger. Weather forecasters predict heavy
rain, lightning and wind gusts will hit areas spreading from southern Romania to the country’s
north.
LIBERIA - Hundreds of people living in parts of Bushrod Island, just outside of Monrovia, on
Monday were badly hit by floods created by an upsurge of water, which overflowed the banks of the
St. Paul River; leaving residents strangulated in their homes as well as being deprived of
tangible properties and personal belongings.
The St. Paul River overflowed its banks Sunday night due to the heavy downpour of rain. The
ravaging waters besieged approximately ten communities on the Bushrod Island. Residents were seen
trying to salvage what was left of most of the damaged domiciles; transporting their effects in
canoes and makeshift rafts, while others were seen carrying their belongings on their heads in
almost shoulder-deep water.
Major vicinities affected by flood include the St. Paul Bridge, Jamaica Road, Logan Town, Samuel
K. Doe, Caldwell, New Georgia communities among others.
The situation compelled many residents to abandon their homes while others who apparently had
nowhere to go, chose to remain in their water-engulfed homes despite the appalling situation.
The flood has affected the country's main water treatment plant, located in White Plains, outside
Monrovia.
Residents living in some of the affected communities said that this is the FIRST TIME THAT THEY
HAVE EVER BEEN AFFECTED BY FLOOD.
The situation was described as "grave."
"We are finding it difficult to do anything in our houses because the water has entered and
destroyed nearly everything."
Due to the gravity of the situation, the Liberian National Red Cross has quickly moved in to
swiftly bring relief to the incapacitated localities so as to provide material and other
essential assistance to the victims.
Additional actual causes of the overflow of the river's banks are not known, but some
environmentalists and residents of the affected areas point directly to the massive illicit
mining of sand and rocks for commercial purposes by some individuals.
CYPRUS - An out-of-season downpour in the Troodos area on Sunday provoked floods in Saittas,
emphasising the damages caused by last June’s fire.
Despite the government’s efforts to deal with the land erosion provoked by the June 29 blaze in
the Pelendri-Kato Amiandos-Saittas region, one of the biggest fires the island has suffered in
recent years, the area was still nowhere near equipped to deal with the weekend’s sudden storm.
As a result, works to deal with the erosion were being sped up, aiming at being complete by the
end of September.
“Nobody was expecting rain at this time of year.”
MINNESOTA - First, high and dry... now, wet and wild. What's up with the weather? A couple of
weeks ago lawns were brown and Minnehaha Creek was running dry. Then on Tuesday the Twin Cities
BROKE THE RAINFALL RECORD FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST. Less than three weeks ago, fish were dying in
what was left of metro rivers and creeks. The recent rains were fueled by an UNUSUAL channel of
moisture coming from the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, plus the customary summer
moisture from the Gulf of Mexico that was stalled by an east-west flow of air about 12,000 feet
above the ground. A weather front that hasn't moved out of the Midwest - the same one that caused
the major flooding across southeastern Minnesota, southwestern Wisconsin and parts of Illinois
and Ohio - has poured 5.39 inches of rain on the Twin Cities over the past two weeks through
Tuesday afternoon. That's more than fell in June and July together. Throw in the 3.93 inches that
fell in the first half of the month and you get 9.32 inches, exactly .01 more than the monthly
record set in 1977. The storms also brought damage from heavy rains, high winds and hail. Many
locations from the Twin Cities across southern Minnesota are now above average for yearly
rainfall. North of the metro area, most of Minnesota is still struggling through drought for the
second straight summer. Alexandria may wind up with only about an inch of rain for July and
August together. Duluth has been well below average since May 1. Even after recent rains, many of
the state's rivers are still running low. The rain hasn't improved the state's crop outlook,
either. On Monday, the Minnesota Agricultural Statistics Service rated 40 percent of the state's
corn crop as good or excellent. Soybeans were 59 percent good or excellent Monday. Rains are also
not likely to revive much of the state's forests. Healthy trees across much of Minnesota have
pulled into crouch as a defense against drought, dropping leaves early and signaling a drab fall.
Some roadside pines and spruce that struggled to find moisture last winter have already died
after a second drought season, while weakened oaks are under attack from beetles.
BRITAIN - "What's happening to our weather?" Britain is just a few showers away from
recording a record wet summer, at the climax of THE MOST REMARKABLE PERIOD OF BROKEN WEATHER
RECORDS IN THE COUNTRY'S HISTORY. All of the smashed records have to do with temperature and
rainfall - the two aspects of the climate most likely to be intensified by the advent of global
warming. The pattern of increasing heat and wet weather has been visible in the same period all
around the globe, with temperature and rainfall records broken in many other countries, from
Australia (record drought) and India (record monsoon rains) to Greece (record forest fires).
In the UK, in the past 14 months, they have experienced the hottest July, the hottest April and
the wettest June since records began. They have seen the hottest autumn and the hottest spring,
and the second-hottest winter. They have also seen the hottest single month, and - by a
considerable margin - the hottest single 12-month period.
Now they are on the brink of seeing the soggiest British summer as a whole - defined as June,
July and August - since records were first kept for the United Kingdom in 1914. By Friday morning
of last week, the average rainfall in Britain since the beginning of June was 356.6mm - just over
14 inches - and nudging up to the record of 358.4mm, set in 1956. It is increasingly likely a new
record will be set if there is any significant rainfall between now and Saturday. Even if there
is none, summer 2007 has already passed the second-wettest summer mark. And the three months from
May to July have easily broken the record for rainfall for that period.
In particular, April 2007 and the summer just ended produced quite unprecedented weather for
Britain - with quite unprecedented effects.
April was so warm (contributing to the warmest spring on record) that the natural world was put
completely out of sync: swifts arrived (from Africa) a month early, as did the hawthorn flowers -
known as May - which prompted suggestions they should be renamed April blossom.
And summer was so wet that it produced the worst flooding Britain has ever seen - with the two
catastrophic "extreme rainfall events" of 24 June and 24 and 20 July, which did the damage, each
being of a severity likely only once in 200 years, or even longer.
8/28/07 -
WISCONSIN - Another round of thunderstorms brought more rain and flash-flood warnings to an
already deluged southwestern Wisconsin on Monday, forcing residents below four dams to evacuate.
Strong wind knocked out power to parts of Vilas and Oneida counties.
With more storms expected overnight Monday, about 80 people living below the earthen Runge
Hallow, Hidden Valley, Yettri-Primmer and Seas Branch dams were told to evacuate beginning at 4
p.m.
A week ago, the same dams filled when torrential rains of up to 12 inches caused flooding. All
the dams held, but overflow at the Hidden Valley dam caused some erosion.
Elsewhere, cleanup and recovery were underway in Ohio and the rest of the Great Lakes region hit
hard by last week's storms.
The electricity was back on for most of the more than 1 million customers who lost power.
The weather service confirmed that tornadoes touched down in six areas of Michigan along an
80-mile line Friday, destroying at least 250 homes and businesses in the town of Fenton. The
tornado's path there widened to about one-quarter mile.
Another tornado struck the small town of Northwood, North Dakota, about 30 miles southwest of
Grand Forks, on Sunday, destroying two small mobile home parks and damaging much of the rest of
the town. One man was killed.
MINNESOTA - what does a RECORD RAINFALL do to a town?
In Hokah, it altered the landscape for years to come - several landslides ripped into hills
around town, scarring the landscape and devastating the city's prized Como Falls Park.
Apartments and mobile homes were evacuated. Businesses were ruined, and backyards
collapsed.(photos)
MICHIGAN - the Monroe County region has SET A RECORD FOR RAINFALL in August. Friday night's
storm did the trick as .75 inch was recorded.
ILLINOIS - August rainfall HEAVIEST ON RECORD -
Rain totals counted at Morris (11.42 inches) and Peru (8.89 inches) are the highest in more than
50 years of recording data.
INDIANA - RECORD SET FOR RAINFALL Monday -
Record rainfall for the same date had previously been 1.77 inches, which fell in 1904. Record
rainfall also hit several Indiana regions.
ALABAMA - Montgomery had 1.50 inches of rain on Saturday, BREAKING THE OLD RECORD of 1.26
inches.
KOREA - The weather has been fickle this month and will continue that way.
Two major reasons are cited for the unexpected weather changes. A hot and humid North Pacific
anticyclone collided with cold air from China and that made air above Korean peninsular unstable,
causing the fickle weather. Experts also pointed to an ABNORMAL CLOUD BELT that formed in the air
above the Korean Peninsula. "The most extraordinary phenomenon this summer was that the cloud
belt aligned north-south instead of east-west." The reason was a massive inflow of hot and humid
air from subtropical regions while the rim of North Pacific anticyclone was aligned north-south.
"The fact that hot air from the equator flowed into the Korean Peninsula indicates that the
climate in Korea is now becoming subtropical."
In Seoul, it rained almost every day in early and mid-August, but the average temperature until
Aug. 26 was counter-intuitively one degree Celsius higher than the previous year. "Another
UNUSUAL weather phenomenon is that it has rained often but the precipitation in this summer was
less than last year."
That has also meant an increase the number of tropical nights, when the nocturnal low does not
fall below 25 degrees. In Seoul, as of Sunday, there had been 11 tropical nights in August, four
times more than the average number of 3.2, between 1971 and 2000. In Daegu, there were a whopping
15 tropical nights, up from the average 4.2, and in Seogwipo 23 while the average was 10.8. In
addition, experts said it rained more in early August than in the actual rainy season, and the
average temperature was higher in the end of August than the middle of the month.
(satellite photos)
CHINA - Seventeen people were killed and three others missing as torrential rains pounded
southwest China's Sichuan Province from last Wednesday.
Among the 17 victims, all from southeast Sichuan's Yibin city, eleven were killed by
landslide and mud-rock flows, three by lightening strike, two by flash floods and one most
unlucky was hit by a rock rolling down a hill.
Six people were injured as the Pingshan county saw the maximum of rainfall measured at 303
millimeters. Two two-storey buildings were toppled down by landslide. Five others are among the
dead list. A total of 213,000 people were affected by the rainstorm.
Experts believe the rainstorms were brought by typhoon Sepat that churned ashore in east China's
Fujian Province last Sunday, leaving a trail of chaos as it stormed through the neighboring
Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Hunan provinces.
China reported 39 death and nine people missing in floods and mud-rock flows triggered by
Sepat in eastern and central parts of the country.
8/27/07 -
ROMANIA - At least 1,400 villagers have been stranded in northern Romania amid heavy rains
that caused rivers to overflow, killing a 19-year-old man.
The 17th-Century Sambata de Sus monastery was evacuated in the floods, which also cut power to
130 villages in the north and east of the country.
Six of Romania's 41 counties have been affected, with authorities warning that seven more
counties were in danger.
The rain comes after three days of high temperatures of up to 40C.
Swollen rivers also caused flooding in six towns in central Romania.
U.S. MIDWEST - Tens of thousands of people in the US Midwest remain without power following
heavy storms, while floodwaters in some areas are still rising.
Skies cleared over Chicago as the storms moved east and south, while tornado warnings were issued
for parts of Ohio.
Storms have battered US states from Minnesota down to Ohio in the last week or so, killing at
least 17 people.
The weather has eased but many problems still remain for residents.
More than 650,000 customers in Illinois lost their power supply after a major storm on Thursday.
A utility company said it had restored power to the majority of homes by Saturday, but that it
might be several days before everyone had electricity.
OHIO - Mansfield ABSOLUTELY SHATTERED THEIR AUGUST RAIN RECORD with 10.32" - more than an
inch-and-a-half over the old record of 8.65" set in 1995.
ILLINOIS - Floodwaters bring deluge of mosquitoes - Thankfully, the aedes vexans comprising
the most recent infestation isn't the same species that carries the West Nile virus. But
floodwater mosquitoes are more aggressive than their Culex cousins. "Floodwater mosquitoes tend
not to carry virus. Their life-span is a very short period - two weeks. But during that period,
they take a lot of blood meals and lay a lot of eggs."
The dramatic increase in rainfall in August - more than 15 inches or 400 percent of normal levels
in some parts of Kane County - has meant the annoyance factor is skyrocketing.
Mosquitoes lay their eggs in damp spots and hope that water soon will be added. In normal
circumstances, the liquid commodity isn't always forthcoming, so the eggs die. But with northern
Kane County seeing between 10 and 15 inches of rain in the past three weeks, all of a sudden
water and baby mosquitoes are in abundant supply.
"In 17 years, you see a lot. But generally, you don't see a lot of this. I don't know if I've
seen rainfall in the same spot for so long."
OKLAHOMA - On August 20th, an amateur astronomer in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, was hunting for
meteors using a low light video camera when instead he caught two Gigantic Jets. Gigantic Jets
are lightning-like discharges that spring from the top of thunderstorms, reaching all the way
from the thunderhead to the ionosphere 50+ miles overhead. They are enormous and powerful. "They
were much brighter than a typical meteor - more like a fireball." To appreciate the size of these
things, consider the following: "They came from a thunderstorm more than 100 miles away in
Missouri. "This means the Jets were about 48 miles tall measured upward from the top of the
thundercloud."
"Gigantic Jets are RARE. The first one was discovered in 2001 in Puerto Rico. Since then fewer
than 30 jets have been recorded - mostly over open ocean and on only two occasions over land."
Because they connect thunderstorms directly to the ionosphere, Gigantic Jets play some role in
the global flow of electricity around our planet, but how big is that role? "No one knows."
[Site note - These jets were sighted around the same time that Tropical storm Erin was
unprecedentedly regenerating over Oklahoma -
In what the National Weather Service termed "AN EXTRAORDINARY EVENT,” the storm
re-intensified just south of the Red River and developed sustained winds GREATER than tropical
storm magnitude. The result: 10-plus inches of rain in some areas. "To see what we saw on
satellite, where the system reorganized and had the look of a very well-organized system like
you'd see over the Atlantic or the gulf, that's REALLY RARE.” The storm system hardly resembled
what a tropical storm, or even a hurricane, is supposed to look like [as it should weaken] three
days and 450 miles after landfall.]
BANGLADESH - The death toll from flood-related incidents in Bangladesh rose to 702 by Sunday
morning.
NORTH KOREA - The flood toll in North Korea is at 454 Dead, 156 Missing.
BRITAIN - A new £20 billion Thames barrier to save London from a potentially disastrous
flooding threat is the centrepiece of a series of measures planned by the Government.
In addition, new flood defences are being planned for all major police, fire and power stations
and other vital infrastructure in a bid to avoid more disastrous flooding of the kind that hit
Britain last month.
During the floods, which caused up to £3 billion worth of damage, parts of Gloucestershire came
within minutes of the biggest peacetime evacuation Britain has seen. It came after a crucial
electricity sub-station was nearly destroyed.
Flood experts say the existing Thames barrier, completed in 1983, may not be able to cope with
rising tides by 2030. A second barrier, long rumoured to be in the planning, would be located
farther east than the current defence system at Woolwich which has seen a dramatic increase in
the number of times it has been put into use. When it first came on stream it was closed on
average every couple of years - but in 2003 it was used 19 times.
Asked whether they thought London would flood in the next 25 years - "It may do. The environment
agency are doing a feasibility study. When the Thames Barrier was built it was built on the
assumption that there was a one in 2,000 year chance that London would flood.
That estimate now is one in 1,000 years. In other words from 1983 to today the probability has
doubled."
8/26/07 -
U.S. - Storms have continued to drench the US Midwest, which is already enduring record
floods that are reported to have killed at least 25 people.
States from Iowa to Texas have all been deluged.
Early in the day on Friday, another band of thunderstorms dumped more rain on Missouri, Iowa and
Wisconsin. The National Weather Service warned that Illinois residents could expect another 2in
(5cm) of rain on Friday afternoon and evening.
While some areas have seen the worst of the weather, with a high pressure system expected to dry
things out over the weekend, others may still have more rain to come.
"This is UNPRECEDENTED."
WISCONSIN - The series of storms that has pummeled the Upper Midwest is part of a VERY
UNUSUAL weather pattern.
It only comes around once every 100 or 200 years.
Energized by warm air and fueled by moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, the storms start in
Nebraska and Iowa in the afternoon, roll through southern Minnesota and then into Wisconsin and
Illinois.
They've been running on schedule for six days.
The storms had caused more than $48 million in damage in Wisconsin by Friday.
IOWA BROKE A 135 YEAR-OLD RAIN RECORD - The heavy thunderstorms that rumbled across southern
Iowa Thursday night and Friday morning helped break an August record for Iowa precipitation that
covers 135 years of statewide weather reports.
As of 7 a.m.Friday, Iowa has had an average of 8.62 inches of statewide average rainfall,
breaking the old mark of 8.24 inches set in 1993. The all-time mark for rainfall in any month in
Iowa is 10.5 inches, set in the historic flood month of July 1993.
“We had some incredible rain in southern Iowa last night [Thursday]. It was the biggest that we
had yet out of this episode” of heavy Iowa rainfall over the past week. The National Weather
Service is forecasting a chance of thunderstorms again Tuesday and Wednesday.
MINNESOTA - The rains that triggered widespread flooding in southeastern Minnesota last
weekend SMASHED A STATE RAINFALL FRCORD FOR A 24-HOUR PERIOD. It broke the old record by more
than 4 inches.
The town of Hokah in Houston County had 15.1 inches of rainwater when measured at 8 a.m. Sunday
morning. The previous record - set in July 1972 at Fort Ripley, Minn., in the central part of the
state - was 10.84 inches.
The state has had only three 24-hour rainfalls of 10 inches or more in the last 200 years.
AUSTRALIA - BIGGEST WET EVER in south-east Queensland - South-east Queensland's Rainbow Beach
has set a new RAINFALL RECORD.
713 mills fell there in the 24 hours to nine Friday morning.
That's more than three times the previous total of 216 mm for the whole month of August, set in
1998.
Other parts of the region at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast have also had good falls.
The current low pressure system over south-east Queensland is a FREAK event, not seen since the
1800s.
Dozens of people have been rescued from homes and cars, and more are poised to evacuate their
homes as the flash-flooding caused by a one-in-100-year deluge sweeps across southeast
Queensland.
More than 300mm of rain and high winds have lashed the Sunshine Coast and Wide Bay regions since
Thursday, caused by the UNUSUAL low pressure system over the state's southeast. Such events
usually occur in late autumn or early winter.
"They are VERY RARE in August and the last one we can find was probably in the 1880s. We know
they happen now but we haven't in the past had any of these events in August or September."
At Tewantin, near Noosa, 310mm of rain fell - more than four times the previous record daily
total of 72.2mm set on August 19, 1989.
NORTH KOREA - At least 600 people are dead or missing after devastating floods in North Korea
this month.
One million people have been affected by the downpours, with thousands injured. Some 240,000
houses were totally or partially destroyed, leaving 100,000 people homeless and 900,000 people
flood-stricken.
The country also suffered severe damage to its infrastructure after landslides and rain left
hundreds of miles of roads and railways inundated.
POLAND - Heavy storm felled hundreds of trees, blocking roads, rail tracks and causing damage
to power lines the Swietokrzyskie region, southern Poland. Firefighters have been the busiest
removing obstacles from the roads and rail tracks in the Kielce, Busko and Pinczów regions. There
have also been reports on damaged roofs in some other neighbouring areas.
8/24/07 -
AUSTRALIA - Residents were rescued from homes and cars overnight as floodwaters and
torrential rain caused widespread havoc on the Sunshine Coast and the Wide Bay regions north of
Brisbane.
The State Emergency Service says flood boats have rescued a number of people on the Sunshine
Coast from cars as RECORD RAIN fell in the region in the last 24 hours.
Trees and powerlines, blown over in the windy conditions, have blocked the Bruce Highway between
Tiaro and Maryborough.
Since 9am yesterday Noosa Heads has recorded 377 millimetres of rain, 559mm fell at Coops Corner
near Inskip Point and Tewantin has experienced RECORD rainfall of 263mm.
The rainfall figures are unseasonal.
"These are incredible totals, especially for the month of August. A new upper trough has come
into play and it's currently situated inland to the Fraser Coast and that has interacted with a
surface low just off the Fraser Island area."
Floods, heat wave batter U.S. - Mudslides and murky floodwaters hampered recovery efforts in
Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio and Wisconsin where at least 23 people were killed after a week
of heavy rains that prompted dramatic roof-top rescues. A fresh round of thunderstorms battered
parts of the central United States for a fifth day on Thursday.
Three people were killed in Madison, Wisconsin, yesterday when lightning struck a utility pole
and knocked a live wire into a deep puddle at a bus stop.
Meanwhile, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama continued to wither under a RECORD-BREAKING HEAT WAVE
blamed for the death of at least 25 people.
Recovery workers in Oklahoma were searching yesterday for the body of a high school student who
was sucked into floodwaters while running with his cross country team.
Six other people were confirmed dead in the state after the remnants of tropical storm Erin
dumped heavy rain there and triggered flooding over the weekend that continued to wreak havoc on
the state.
It was the third major flood the state has faced this summer and the deadliest so far because of
the intensity of the storm.
"What made this one so amazingly intense is we had an eye of a hurricane form over our state. We
haven't seen it flood so fast and so high in recent memory."
Texas was spared the brunt of hurricane Dean's wrath but was still cleaning up from the damage
wrought by tropical storm Erin and months of endless rain which caused six deaths last week.
This brought the state's flash-flood deaths to 40 so far this year, tying the record set in 1989.
"We've had persistent, ongoing, relentless precipitation pretty much all year. It's our WETTEST
YEAR ON RECORD so far... dating back to 1895."
Flood photos
Meanwhile, a crippling heat wave brought death and drought to the south eastern states of
Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.
Thirteen deaths were reported in Memphis, Tennessee and a dozen were reported in Alabama.
"These are a HUNDRED-YEAR-PLUS RECORDS THAT ARE BEING SHATTERED."
One such RECORD was in Athens, Georgia which has had 13 days this month with temperatures at or
above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to an average of one day a year in August.
"That's a TREMENDOUS CLIMATOLOGICALLY EXTREME EVENT."
Birmingham, Alabama BROKE RECORDS with 10 consecutive days of temperatures at or above 100
degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius), up from the previous record of eight days in the deadly heat
wave of 1980.
CANADA - the Saskatchewan Department of Highways and Transportation said a portion of Highway
16 may have to be relocated because of flood damage.
Severe thunderstorms earlier in the week caused part of Highway 16, known as the Yellowhead, to
cave in.
The side slope of the roadbed on part of the highway has dropped approximately two metres.
"It has formed a large depression on the highway. We've also got deep cracks that have formed on
the highway surface, and there's a three-metre-diameter sinkhole near the shoulder."
8/23/07 -
MIDWESTERN U.S. - Already soaked from days of rain, a broad region from Minnesota to Ohio
endured more flooding on Wednesday, as RAINFALL SHATTERED RECORDS and weather forecasts called
for more flood watches and additional rain.
After the latest storms, the governors of Iowa and Ohio declared emergencies in several counties
on Wednesday. Similar steps were taken earlier in the week in Minnesota, South Dakota and
Wisconsin.
In Iowa, where saturated ground resulted in flash floods and basements filled with water,
officials were keeping a close watch on an extensive levee system on the Des Moines River in the
north-central part of the state, the area hardest hit by the storms. Though the levees appeared
to be stable after being shored up on Wednesday, “the telltale point will be how much more rain
we get.” In Ohio, heavy rain that began on Monday and continued through Wednesday morning caused
widespread flooding in the northern part of the state, submerging cars and putting entire
downtown areas under water. The rain and flooding affected 21 counties.
Though at least seven deaths in Minnesota have been attributed to the storms, the Wednesday
flooding did not appear to have caused any additional fatalities.
Minnesota and Wisconsin, where residents have been battling rising waters since the weekend, got
more rain late Tuesday and into Wednesday. In southeastern Minnesota, an additional inch of rain
fell Tuesday night, and a lot more was in the forecast. In southwestern Wisconsin, where initial
damage estimates topped $35 million, another band of storms brought rain and winds up to 60 miles
an hour Tuesday night, damaging homes and farm buildings and downing power lines and trees. An
additional one to three inches of rain were expected through Thursday.
In La Crosse, Wisconsin, August was already the WETTEST MONTH IN THE CITY'S HISTORY, with 12.22
inches of rain so far, breaking a record set in 1900.
IOWA - Humboldt County received 12.5 inches of rain over a five-day period, bringing the
total for August to 15.2 inches, BREAKING THE COUNTY'S PRECIPITATION RECORD FOR ANY SINGLE MONTH.
The old record for the county was 13.3 inches, set in September 1965. Humboldt’s weather records
go back 106 years.
SOUTH DAKOTA - Hail pelted southeast South Dakota counties mostly along the Missouri River on
Tuesday night.
Dante in eastern Charles Mix County received hail larger than 4.25 inches in diameter. The
softball-plus size hail broke car windows in town.
That size of hail is QUITE RARE, occurring when a lot of moisture is in the atmosphere.
"These stones have a chance to grow in size because we have so much moisture. If they're falling
down the size of baseballs, they're probably big ice chunks up at the top part of storms."
Hail as big as 2.5 inches fell in Wagner. Quarter-size or 1-inch hail littered yards near
Vermillion, Gayville and Delmont. Smaller hail was reported near Lake Andes, Armour and in
Yankton.
NEW YORK - Long Island residents have been contending with rising groundwater problems for
decades, but the situation has become worse since heavy rains in October 2005, which have kept
the water table in the area at RECORD HIGHS.
Residents say they are pumping 24 hours a day in order to keep the water out of their basements.
"We have been experiencing a lot of recharge and above-normal precipitation and it's really
causing a rise in the water table."
The flooding in some of these areas is so severe that some homes have cracked foundations,
basements have stagnant water.
BRITAIN - A pensioner died battling floods during a FREAK storm in which a month’s worth of
rain fell in less than five hours.
He suffered a heart attack as he struggled to pile sandbags around his home.
Paramedics had to wade through knee-deep water in Brixham, Devon, to reach the body of the
retired civil servant. His death came after 30mm to 40mm of rain fell in five hours across south
Devon on Monday.
FRANCE - Cold summer forces EARLIEST FRENCH WINE HARVEST ON RECORD.
The first bunches of grapes for the manufacture of champagne were to be snipped in north-eastern
France Wednesday - one of the earliest wine harvests ever recorded. Despite miserable weather
across much of France in June, July and August - which will greatly reduce the amount of wine
produced - the 2007 vendanges, or grape-picking, will be two to three weeks ahead of the normal
timetable in most of the country.
The mild winter and the hot weather in April and May gave the grapes a flying start. The wet
summer, which produced savage attacks of mildew in some vineyards, has not prevented an early
harvest.
Even the reduction in yields - likely to be down 5 to 6 per cent on an average year - is good
news, for producers. Vineyards growing the cheapest table wines, in huge surplus worldwide, have
been worst affected by the mildew and the wet, cold summer.
French production of low-quality wines is expected to fall by almost one quarter at a time when
the world market is still swamped by unsold cheap barrels and bottles from last year and from
2005. There were also poor harvests last winter (the southern hemisphere summer) in Australia,
South Africa and Argentina.
French growers - and the French government - hope that the combined effect will be an easing of
the overproduction "crisis" and an increase in the wholesale prices of table wines for the first
time in a decade.
In some parts of Languedoc, the first grapes were picked three weeks ago. In Champagne, which
always starts ahead of some more southerly areas, the vendanges are said to be THE EARLIEST FOR A
CENTURY, apart from the heat-wave year of 2003.
The date of the vendanges in France has been creeping forward for decades: a symptom, according
to some meteorologists, of climate change.
Widespread attacks by vine mildew, a form of fungal infection, appeared to threaten the 2007
harvest in some areas in early July. Regular treatment and a slackening of the rain has saved the
crops of most middle-rank and better vineyards. Some lower quality producers have been
devastated.
Wine producers insist that the quality of the 2007 vintage will be good or excellent.
AUSTRALIA - So far this week, Brisbane has received more rain in a few days than the city
normally does for the whole month.
The August average is 45 mm, but as of this morning, the city had enjoyed 47 mm.
Yesterday, a second day of wild, windy weather destroyed a house and caravan, cut power to more
than 100,000 people and played havoc with transport.
Despite the extreme conditions, in which a whopping 242mm was dumped on parts of the Gold Coast
hinterland, little rain fell over the southeast's main dams.
The only winners were hardcore surfers who tackled huge waves whipped up by winds which topped
120km/h.
The North Shore received more than its usual entire monthly rainfall in one night this week,
with Lane Cove recording its WETTEST AUGUST DAY FOR 40 YEARS.
Sydney had 106mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am Monday, drowning the average August rainfall
figure of 81mm. And Riverview and Lane Cove had the WETTEST AUGUST DAY SINCE 1963, with 126mm of
rain recorded, the highest score in the Sydney metropolitan area.
August is usually the third driest month of the year due to prevailing westerly winds.
But this week the weather is coming from the south-east with an upper air disturbance also
contributing to Sydney's soaking.
UGANDA - severe flooding in the eastern part of the country resulted from UNUSUALLY INTENSE
rainfall over the past month - the HEAVIEST IN 35 YEARS.
Many parts of eastern Uganda have witnessed significant flooding since the rains began in late
July. In addition to forcing thousands from their homes and causing substantial damage to crops,
the floods have damaged roads and bridges, making it difficult to reach the affected populations.
8/22/07 -
MINNESOTA - A preliminary survey by the American Red Cross identified about 4200 homes
affected by the flood. Officials say that includes 256 complete losses, 338 with major damage and
475 that are still inaccessible.
Winona County Roads alone sustained more than three million dollars in damage.
OHIO - The residents of Carey are the latest victims of storms that have buffeted the Midwest
and Plains since the weekend, leaving roads flooded, schools canceled and sending rescuers out on
boats.
The death toll from two storm systems — one in the Upper Midwest and the remnants of Tropical
Storm Erin in Texas and Oklahoma — reached 22 on Tuesday when searchers found the body of a man
tangled in a tree near Lewiston, Minn.
Preliminary damage reports in Wisconsin topped $38 million.
In Cleveland, Ohio Monday's steady and sometimes surging rain - the remnants of Tropical
Storm Erin - pushed August 2007 into the RECORD books.
More than 2 inches of rain had fallen at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport by 5 p.m.
Monday, pushing the month's total well over the 8-inch mark, drowning the previous mark of 6.36
inches set in 1919.
MICHIGAN - A day of RECORD RAINFALL Monday in Metro Detroit caused havoc for motorists and
residents who endured power outages and severe flooding and turned some streets into muddy swamps
that left 100 homes in Dearborn inundated.
Through 7 p.m. Monday 1.62 inches was reported at Detroit Metro Airport, passing the one-day
record of 1.5 inches set in 1904.
SOUTH DAKOTA - Mobridge, in Walworth County, has set a RECORD FOR RAIN in a one-day period.
From midnight Friday to midnight Saturday, Mobridge got 4.43 inches of rain. The previous record
was 3.66 inches set on July 11, 1997.
Two heavy storm systems hit the area, one on Friday and one on Saturday.
INDIA - The overall flood situation in Orissa remained alarming Tuesday as a school boy was
washed away in Mayurbhanj district while rising rivers caused by heavy rain, inundated 881
villages in neighbouring Balasore.
8/21/07 -
WISCONSIN - Janesville has gotten a RECORD 14.7 inches of rain this month so far.
OKLAHOMA - Oklahoma City set a RECORD FOR DAILY RAINFALL amount and for calendar day rainfall
for the month of August. The 3.82 inches of rain record at Will Rogers World Airport beat a daily
record for Aug. 19 of .87 set in 1977. The 3.82 inches also set a record for any calendar day in
the month of August in Oklahoma City. The previous mark was 3.17, set Aug. 22, 1934. Weather
records for Oklahoma City date back to November 1891.
MINNESOTA - Minnesota weather? Call it variable. Massive rainstorms soak one part of the
state. Extreme drought grips another. And in the middle, the Twin Cities swings between the
extremes.
Weekend storms left southern Minnesota aghast at up to 17 inches of rain. Weather experts were
amazed by the scale of the deluge, which covered a quarter of the state.
"It's a very large area of heavy rain, so this is a UNIQUE EVENT in its geographic extent and
also in its intensity. Five inches or greater fell over thousands of square miles - hundreds of
square miles would be much more common for such an intense rainfall." The state's official
rainfall record for a single day is 10.84 inches, set on July 22, 1972. Several Minnesota sites
had much higher rainfall totals [over 17 inches] Sunday. But those weren't official weather
stations, so they won't officially count.
Meanwhile, northern Minnesota has pined for rain, yet received almost none. Drought indexes are
as bad as they've been in 30 years. Only a lack of strong winds tempers the worry.
Otherwise, "We've NEVER HAD CONDITIONS BEING THIS PRIMED for forest fires before."
Weather experts see Minnesota's extremes as unrelated - and UNUSUAL. The weekend rains were
fueled by several factors, including a stationary front stuck over the Iowa-Minnesota border,
plus warm and moist air pouring north from the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin and from the
Pacific Ocean.
Together, it formed these thunderstorm complexes over and over that kept falling on the same
terrain, so there was a conveyor belt. "(Tuesday), the rain machine will start again, and it will
be affecting the same area. There are some areas that can expect an inch or two," and in
scattered spots, 3 or 4 inches are forecast.
Across vast parts of southern Minnesota, the sheer size of the crops helped protect the topsoil
from the heavy rains.
"You have a complete canopy with the corn and the soybeans, so you don't get as much erosion."
But in central Minnesota, the hay crop is gone and dairy farmers are scrambling.
"We've got farmers that are buying hay in August, and that's MOSTLY UNHEARD OF." Last week, the
town of Pierz got some rain - and a 22-minute hailstorm that damaged thousands of acres of crops
and laid waste to a mobile home park.
"Here we are in the middle of a drought, and you see this storm damage, and you're like, what the
heck is going on?"
In east central Minnesota, Mille Lacs Lake is roughly 20 inches below its normal level.
So as one part of the state prays for rain, another prays for it to stop.
BRITAIN is facing a flooding timebomb this autumn and winter, with huge amounts of
underground water stored up by incessant summer rain ready to burst out as floods the next time
heavy rains return. The summer of rain has left saturated ground, which means any more downpours
could cause huge volumes of water underground to burst out.
Forecasters are predicting a wet autumn across much of Britain.
If the soil dries out this autumn the danger could subside, but time is already running out —
evaporation slows down as sunshine becomes weaker and trees and plants take less water from the
ground. Aquifers in Britain hold at least 20 times more water than the reservoirs and provide
about a third of the drinking water supplies, with a far higher proportion in South East England.
The aquifers were recharged fully during the summer, safeguarding water supplies well into next
year. But the saturated ground also means that parts of the country could be on flood alert
throughout autumn and winter, with no chance for the ground to dry out until the spring. Rainfall
for May-July was the WETTEST ON RECORD, dating back to 1767, across England and Wales. Soils are
at their WETTEST ON RECORD for the summer, many rivers broke RECORDS FOR WATER FLOW in July. This
summer’s floods, caused by heavy and broad bands of rain, were widespread.
“This summer was UNPRECEDENTED. The wetness of the soils and the river flows in the lowlands of
England are more typical of winter than summer. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
Usually the ground dries out during the summer as trees and plants soak up huge amounts of water.
This summer the rains have been so heavy that the ground has been supersaturated, rivers have
burst their banks and aquifers have been recharged.
“The really strange thing is that the recharge happened in summer, when there is usually no
recharge after April. All boreholes are at peak levels, which is INCREDIBLY UNUSUAL.”
After a fraught summer, this could be a nerve-racking autumn and winter.
8/20/07 -
MINNESOTA - Torrential rain triggered flooding, killing at least six and prompting dramatic
rescues of those trapped on their roofs and in cars by fast rising waters.
More than one car plunged into a 30-feet-deep pit after rain washed away a road overnight in the
small town of Witoka.
Railroad bridges, houses and buildings were all swept away in the flooding with six to eight
inches - and up to a foot of rain - falling overnight in some areas.
The Minnesota town of Stockton was completely evacuated by authorities, who used boats to rescue
about 75 people, including some who had to climb to their rooftops.
Several other farm towns along the Whitewater River, and the larger city of Winona along the
Mississippi River, were evacuated or partially evacuated.
In the St. Charles area, farmers said they could not recall such large-scale flooding since the
early 1970s.
But even that flooding was not as bad as this. "North of town, it's HITTING THE HUNDRED-YEAR
FLOOD MARK." The towns of Stockton and Elba were hit hardest as the Whitewater River burst its
banks and flooded a wide area.
Houses slid off their foundations and floated away. One witness told a local television station
that he saw three people on top of a house, screaming, as it was washed away. [They survived, as
their home got hung up on railroad tracks, partially intact, after floating for several blocks.
They remained on the roof overnight, in the rain, until rescurers with an air-boat arrived.
More rain hit the area last night and is likely again on Monday and Wednesday.]
The flood swept through Stockton with such force and devastation that it uprooted trees,
knocked down fences, left mud slicks everywhere and lifted a home off its foundation and
deposited it 200 yards away. Vehicles were abandoned on Highway 14.
A railroad trestle was left twisted and gnarled. One of the roads in Stockton collapsed where
rushing waters ran through a culvert. At least 12 inches of rain was dumped on the area.
It happened between 11:12 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. - Stockton residents all cited the same short space
of time when they became aware of the rapidly rising flood waters.
(video)
Additional stories, photos, video.
WISCONSIN - A seventh Vernon County dam is being monitored in the wake of torrential rain
that has prompted the Governor to declare a state of emergency in three southwestern Wisconsin
counties.
The surrounding areas were already evacuated earlier today.
Crawford and Vernon counties got ten to 12 inches of rain Saturday night.
So has Richland County, which has suffered an estimated three million dollars in damages so far.
That's a preliminary estimate that's expected to rise.
Thunderstorms dropped up to 12 inches of rain Saturday and Sunday in southwestern Wisconsin,
washing out roads and bridges and triggering a mudslide that pushed a house onto a highway.
About 75 homes were under water in downtown Gays Mills. An additional 1 to 3 inches of rain was
forecast in southwestern Wisconsin.
OKLAHOMA - heavy rain and powerful winds developed as the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin
pushed across the state. The death toll from heavy flooding rose to five on Sunday.
At the peak of the storm early Sunday, about 25,000 customers of Oklahoma Gas and Electric,
mostly in the Oklahoma City area, were without power. Hundreds of people were evacuated from
their homes in Apache, Fort Cobb and Carnegie after the Washita River flooded its banks.
The interstate was shut down for several hours, and several people were rescued from vehicles
swept off the roadway.
"The radar screen confirmed what the torrential rain was suggesting Sunday morning: Tropical
Storm Erin had confused Oklahoma for the Gulf Coast. In what the National Weather Service termed
"AN EXTRAORDINARY EVENT,” the storm re-intensified just south of the Red River and developed
sustained winds GREATER than tropical storm magnitude. The result: Numerous towns and cities
received 5 inches or more of rain, and several volunteer observers for the Oklahoma
Climatological Survey reported 10-plus inches...To see what we saw on satellite, where the system
reorganized and had the look of a very well-organized system like you'd see over the Atlantic or
the gulf, that's REALLY RARE.” The storm system hardly resembled what a tropical storm, or even a
hurricane, is supposed to look like three days and 450 miles after landfall.
"If you removed the map and took that satellite image and put it out in the Gulf of Mexico
somewhere, you couldn't tell the difference from a tropical storm.”
(image)
SOUTH ASIA - Heavy rain triggered by storms caused fresh flooding in India and Bangladesh on
Sunday, as authorities battled bad weather to supply food and medicines to victims of some of the
worst floods in South Asia in years.
Thousands of people have been marooned over the last two days across densely populated India's
east and northeast and neighbouring Bangladesh after rivers, swollen by days of heavy monsoon
rain, broke through mud embankments, swamped villages and destroyed crops.
Around 1,000 people have died, mostly due to drowning or house collapses but also because of
snakebite and diarrhoea, in the region and hundreds of thousands are still homeless in the latest
flooding, which began about a month ago.
Fresh flooding over the weekend brought misery to another 100,000 people in India's northeastern
state of Assam, who were displaced after their houses were inundated.
Traffic on a main highway in the state's Barpeta district was stopped and people evacuated after
two children drowned overnight in the area.
In the state of West Bengal, rivers swollen by heavy rain for a fifth day burst embankments and
flooded dozens of villages in four districts.
8/19/07 -
A huge rainstorm swamped parts of southeast Minnesota overnight, forcing evacuations
throughout the area.
Early reports said people were missing in the high water and mudslides. People were standing on
rooftops, waiting to be rescued. The statewide 24-HOUR RAIN RECORD appears to be broken with 11
inches already and it is still raining. This is the third heavy storm in a week. Roads and
highways throughout the area are closed due to flooding.
La Crosse seems to have gotten the worst of it, with reports of more than 7 inches of rain in
less than 4 hours. Cars were stranded intersections. A mudslide on Highway 35 took down power
lines and damaged nearby vehicles.
Winona County Emergency Management is evacuating the cities of Stockton, Elba, and the White
Water Valley area.
Area residents of Stockton are asked to move to higher ground toward the city of Winona.
Mudslides have occurred around Lewiston blocking that evacuation route.
There are reports of homes washed off their foundation in Stockton, and of people stranded in
their homes.
CHINA - Floodwaters engulfed a mine in the city of Xintai in Shandong Province on Friday in
the latest tragedy to strike China's mining industry, which has one of the poorest safety records
in the world.
Scuffles broke out between relatives and security forces at the coal mine in eastern China as
hopes faded for the rescue of 172 miners trapped underground by flash floods. Torrential rains
triggered flooding on Friday which breached a river levee and sent water cascading down an old
shaft into the mine. More than 750 miners were underground when the water swept in and many
managed to escape, but some 172 remained trapped. Another nine were trapped in a nearby mine
after similar flooding. Armed police and miners had closed most of the breach in the Wen River
levee, but flood waters in the area had risen to two metres.
Officials said there was little hope for the trapped men.
INDIA - The Met office today again warned of very heavy rain in south Bengal in the next 48
hours.
A low pressure, formed in the north Bay of Bengal this morning, intensified into a “well marked”
low pressure in the afternoon, triggering the possibility of torrential rain. A cyclonic
circulation (anti-clockwise movement of air) over the Bengal coast has made matters worse.
“Under their combined influence, we expect heavy to very heavy rain (which could exceed 250mm)
till Monday afternoon." The low pressure, intensifying steadily, could mean trouble.
The government has alerted the coastal districts and asked them to ready relief.
VIRGINIA - severe thunderstorms overnight dropped a RECORD AMOUNT OF RAIN FOR AUGUST 16 in
Richmond. The storms - several moved through the area - dropped 3.1 inches of rain at Richmond
International Airport before midnight. That shattered the 24-hour record for the date of 1.52
inches, set in 1936. "We doubled the record."
8/17/07 -
INDIA - Flood victims fought off hungry animals and battled waterborne diseases in South Asia
on Thursday as unrelenting monsoon rains caused fresh flooding in the region, already battered by
weeks of bad weather.
The death toll in eastern India alone rose by over 100 in the past week with thousands more
marooned or made homeless as bloated rivers burst mud embankments.
Authorities across South Asia - where around 850 people have drowned, been crushed by landslides
or died from snakebite and waterborne infections since mid-July - said they were struggling to
help millions of victims.
For some in Bihar, it is a struggle for survival as jackals and monkeys have attacked dozens of
villagers over the past few days.
"Wild animals like jackals and monkeys are biting our wives and children and snatching bread from
their hands. They are on a looting spree and are killing our goats and small rabbits."
The wild animals face a shortage of prey since huge areas of the state are under water.
Authorities are rushing anti-rabies vaccines to every district.
In neighbouring West Bengal, heavy rains flooded villages in three districts this week, forcing
more than 25,000 people out of their homes.
A bridge collapsed in the state's Birbhum district, and many trains were cancelled or diverted
across the region.
A weather official said more rains were forecast for eastern India because of a storm over West
Bengal.
Further north, in Himachal Pradesh, around 60 people are believed to have died after a cloudburst
caused a landslide that buried an entire village on Tuesday.
In neighbouring Bangladesh, the toll from floods rose to 516 with 35 fatalities reported
overnight.
More than half the low-lying and riverine nation has been affected by the flooding, and officials
said typhoid, hepatitis and diarrhoea had broken out in most flood-hit areas.
KOREA - A serious flood has damaged more than 11 percent of farmland and left over 300,000
victims in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Heavy rains, which started from Aug. 4,
have stormed the DPRK's capital city and six of nine provinces across the country.
"In Pyongyang, the water level of the Taedong and Pothong Rivers has hit the HIGHEST SINCE
1967."
By Aug. 14, more than 46,580 houses had been destroyed totally or partially.
The heavy rains have thrown "a shadow over the prospect of the agricultural production."
The heavy rains also caused a huge damage to the DPRK's communication systems and industrial
infrastructure.
"Some 55,000 square meters of railway roadbeds were washed away and over 400 industrial
establishments submerged under water."
CHINA - Lightning has killed 499 people in China so far this year, nearly 200 more than in
the same period last year. Lightning strikes
killed 306 Chinese in the past three weeks from July 25 to August 16.
8/16/07 -
NORTH KOREA on Wednesday detailed the devastation caused by some of the country's
HEAVIEST-EVER RAINS, saying more than one-tenth of the impoverished country's farmland had been
wiped out during peak growing season. 300,000 people have been left homeless.
INDIA -
Five people are confirmed dead and 55 are missing believed dead after heavy rain triggered a
landslide that buried Dharla village in the Indian Himalayas. "Huge boulders 20 to 25-feet high
have completely crushed the houses. There is so much debris that has fallen on the houses that
nothing except [a] few lanterns are visible."
RECORD RAINFALL across Himachal Pradesh state in the past several days has led to the deaths of
40 other people.
The landslide follows massive flooding in large parts of India and Nepal and in Bangladesh where
there are serious outbreaks of water-borne diseases.
Figures for the death toll from the floods vary widely from 1,000 to 3,000.
At least 20 million people across South Asia have been affected by the floods.
NIGER - A flooding disaster has affected over 1,000 people in Niger including about 405 who
have been rendered homeless, following heavy rains that have pounded Maradi, east central Niger.
The effects of the torrential rains, which have been pounding the area since Monday, have mostly
been felt in Zaria and Soura- Buldi neighborhoods where drainage is particularly poor.
Other than Maradi, several other towns and villages across the country have been hit by
torrential rains, which have left a number of people and animals dead besides causing significant
material losses.
SENEGAL - Heavy rains are reportedly flooding towns in the centre and north of the country
causing damage to homes and crops.
"After a slow start to the [rainy] season in Senegal, rainfall has become torrential, especially
in a narrow band across the northern portion of the country. Localized flooding is possible
during the next week as rivers are likely swollen and soils saturated."
Since early August heavy rains have caused scattered flooding from Ethiopia to Senegal.
NORWAY - Damage claims from weekend flooding in southern Oppland County were expected to
amount to tens of millions of kroner. Evacuation orders remained in place Tuesday morning, and
more rain was on the way.
Geologists were testing whether saturated grounds were stable enough to ensure residents' safety,
while some access roads were washed out. The damage done by flooding from pouring rain and a
broken dam included homes that were damaged and several holiday cabins destroyed by landslides
and the torrents of water that swept through the area.
Officials blame the UNUSUALLY heavy rain that pounded the area all day Saturday and most of
Sunday, especially the area around Odnes at the northern end of the Randsfjord. A local mayor
said on national television Monday evening that he HADN'T SEEN SUCH RAIN SINCE 1959.
(photos)
8/14/07 -
NORTH KOREA - Flooding caused by heavy rain has left hundreds of people dead or missing in
North Korea.
The rain has flooded tens of thousands of hectares of farmland and destroyed more than 30,000
homes.
Worst hit was Kangwon province, where 20,000 homes were damaged.
North Korea was devastated by seasonal floods in August last year.
Storms since 7 August have led to "huge human and material damage."
"The torrential rain left hundreds of persons dead or missing and destroyed more than 30,000
houses for over 63,300 families."
At least 800 public buildings, more than 540 bridges and sections of railway were reportedly
destroyed by the rain.
"This unceasing heavy rain destroyed the nation's major railways, roads and bridges, suspended
power supply and cut off the communications network."
North Korea is secretive about releasing full details of accidents or natural disasters, making
any confirmation of the extent of the flooding difficult.
North Korea is a food insecure country, it produces less food than required, so to lose any of
the harvest will be a long-term concern.
BRITAIN - The sun may already have set on Britain's brief summer as forecasters predict much
of the country will suffer torrential rain and gale-force winds this week.
The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning for the whole of Britain, as the northern and
Midlands towns which have only just recovered from devastating floods in June and July brace
themselves for further misery.
Experts predict as much as 2in (5cm) of rain could fall in some areas today, bringing with it the
threat of flash flooding, while the entire south coast is expected to be battered by gusts of up
to 50mph which could whip up waves to dangerous levels.
Thunderstorms are likely tomorrow and colder temperatures are forecast for the end of the week
with no quick return to summer in sight. "The winds will be UNUSUALLY strong for this time of
year - we're looking at gusts of up to 50mph along the coasts and maybe 45mph inland."
SWITZERLAND - Billions needed for flood-control measures -
As water levels slowly recede across Switzerland, calls for improved anti-flood measures continue
to grow. The question of finance however remains unclear. On Sunday the water of Lake Biel and
Lake Thun receded below the danger level, but authorities say they have to wait for Lake Biel to
go down even more before they can begin pumping out all the flooded houses.
Interrupted railway lines and roads were gradually being re-opened, although the line between
Bern and Fribourg remained closed.
Authorities say that although the situation has eased, a lot remains to be done, adding that the
clean-up operation will take weeks.
NORWAY - Rain that pounded much of southern Norway over the weekend caused new flooding that
forced more people out of their homes on Monday. The relentless rains hit southern Oppland County
especially hard, and residents in and around the town of Dokka suffered.
Several homes have been destroyed or severely damaged, and cars swept away, not least after a dam
broke at the lake known as Store Kaldingen. That sent torrents of water rushing down the Nordraak
River (Nordraakselva), which in turn unleashed rocks and earth along the way.
Landslides followed, and the region around the northern end of the otherwise scenic Randsfjord
was declared a disaster area.
By Monday morning, mud and rocks ended up plugging the Nordraak River and setting off more
flooding as water built up behind it. County officials were considering whether to blast through
the masses of dirt and rocks to unblock the river.
Scores of local residents remained under evacuation order and it was unclear when they'd be
allowed to return to their homes.
More bad weather is expected Wednesday. Southern Norway has been suffering through its WETTEST
SUMMER ON RECORD. (photos)
PAKISTAN - Lightning strikes and flooding in the district of Kohistan has killed at least
seventeen persons.
Thirteen people were swept away by floodwaters after lightning struck a mountain in the area of
Manikhel Bela Ranolia last night.
The floodwater destroyed about 200 mud houses and dozens of small bridges in the area, while
dozens of head of cattle were swept away by the water.
BANGLADESH - The toll in the floods in Bangladesh climbed to 298 on Monday with reports of 30
more deaths reaching the capital from various parts of the country.
Officials in the Food and Disaster Management Ministry said more than 10 million people have lost
their homes to the floods. The monsoon flood situation had showed an improvement in the last few
days with the retreat of waters in major rivers. But the heavy downpour from Sunday again
inundated as many as 39 out of the country's 64 districts.
The downpour was triggered by a depression that formed over West Bengal and the adjoining area in
Bangladesh and has worsened the flood situation across the country, particularly in the capital.
The water levels of five rivers surrounding Dhaka had gone up further and were above their danger
marks.
BURKINA FASO - A humanitarian crisis may be emerging in the African country of Burkina Faso
with rains destroying people's homes and farmland in several areas across the country.
"We are making a cry from the heart for help. The situation is chaotic as in some areas we have
NEVER SEEN SUCH HEAVY RAINS BEFORE. Many people have lost everything."
One of the worst-affected areas is the north province of Loroum, where flooding has washed away
houses, schools and other infrastructure in 14 villages.
On 5 August two-thirds of all houses in the village of Banh were washed away after rain fell
non-stop for 13 hours. The situation is likely to deteriorate in the coming days as the forecast
is for more rain.
8/13/07 -
INDIA - The Khongdei landslide was the WORST IN LIVING MEMORY.
It was a doomsday for the villagers of Khongdei Khuman when their paddy fields, fish, village
footpath were carried away by a most fearful and deadly landslide on July 28. A woman working in
the fields complained that she felt giddy and her head was spinning, not realizing that the
mountain on which she was working was slowly moving down towards the river taking away all the
fields located on the hillslope and above due to the unceasing downpour. As she left the field,
the mountain started moving down with the sound of thunder and sending up a ball of smoke into
the air as seen by neighboring villagers from Shirong. From July 28 to August 4 the nearby
villagers heard the sound of the landslide, like the sound of moving vehicles, for days and
nights.
The Iril river that flows on the eastern side of the landslide portion has been pushed towards
the western side burying most of the surrounding fields on the river banks creating three deep
lakes with huge stones and mud gathered there due to the landslide. The length of the landslide
was roughly about more than 1 km, and its height is 30 minutes walk. If there is rain, this whole
portion of hillslope which now remains cracked will go down to its bottom and block the Iril
river. “I have never seen such a kind of natural calamity in my lifetime. Now my villagers have
to starve as the fields can never be cultivated again."
Even the jeepable road which is the lifeline for the villagers has been cut off by the landslide.
Eleven people were killed and eight others reported missing in incidents of landslides and
house collapse triggered by heavy rain in Shimla. About two dozen houses either collapsed or
suffered damage and six bridges washed away as heavy rain fell over 24 hours.
8/12/07 -
INDIA, PAKISTAN - Torrential monsoon rains that have killed more than 2,000 people in
north-east India, Bangladesh and Nepal in recent weeks are now devastating north-west India and
neighbouring Pakistan.
At least 10 people have died and thousands have been left homeless and without electricity, food
or clean water after more than 40in of rain fell in India's north-western state of Gujarat last
week. Across the border in Pakistan, a week of storms and flooding caused buildings to collapse
in the country's largest city, Karachi, killing at least 35 people.
The Indian authorities, already at full stretch after thousands of square miles were inundated in
the east, have had to shift resources to help the new flood victims. Helicopters have dropped
food parcels in some remote areas, but people are desperate for drinking water as temperatures
soar.
In the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Assam further east, rescuers are still struggling to
reach 20 million displaced people, despite flood waters starting to recede over the past few
days. Children have been seen eating snails and rats in Bihar, and thousands of people throughout
the region are still sheltering under plastic sheets while they wait for relief to arrive. In
Bangladesh eight million people have been displaced. The worst threat is from water-borne
diseases, since most of the water sources are contaminated or submerged, and people are drinking
from puddles and pools to survive. Reports of fatal snake bites are also increasing as animals
and humans battle for dry ground, and bite victims are unable to reach medical care.
Many survivors of the floods fear rising debt and hunger as they contemplate the future without
homes, crops or livestock.
TASMANIA - Three major valleys have been flooded in the southern island state of Tasmania,
resulting in the evacuation of forty homes, with more expected. Wild weather throughout the state
has cause worry with emergency crews on 24 hour alert to prevent flood damage to homes.
"We've had some car accidents, a couple of fires - including a house fire - and the rock
landslide on the Murchison Highway. The landslide had thousands of tonnes of debris, which
include mud, rock and trees."
KENYA - At least 18 people are feared dead after two landslides hit a village in western
Kenya. 56 people sustained injuries when the landslides hit Kuvasali village in Kakamega North
district.
Emergency teams have ordered an evacuation of the area, warning that more landslides could occur.
More people are feared buried under tonnes of mud, with little chance of survivors.
The first three died in a dawn landslide that buried their house as they slept, while at least 20
more were swept under a deluge of mud during rescue efforts after a second landslide struck at
about midday on Saturday.
Between 15 and 20 people were unaccounted for after the second landslide.
The tiny village perched on the side of a steep slope, woke up to shock and disbelief after a
nightlong heavy downpour triggered the first landslide.
The first landslide occurred at about 4am on Saturday morning, while the second struck shortly
after midday.
Majority of the people buried in the mud were neighbours who were trying to rescue the victims of
the first landslide.
MAURITANIA - around 10,000 people were living without shelter in the town of Titane and the
region around it since Wednesday. Two people have died and parts of the town and its main market
had been heavily damaged by floodwaters.
Titane is about 750 kilometers (460 miles) southeast of the capital, Nouakchott, in northwest
Africa.
GERMANY - Heavy rains have disrupted transport and shut down roads in parts of Switzerland
and Germany.
Lakes and rivers had risen to critical levels following the torrential rain.
German television showed pictures of swollen rivers, and flooded roads in Aarburg, near Basel,
Switzerland.
In parts of Germany, heavy rains flooded streets and basements.
Two people died in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia while clearing water
from their basements.
Water covered streets and camping grounds and invaded basements along Germany's border with
Switzerland. Further north, heavy and constant rain caused the Rhine River to expand.
Heavy rains have stalled Rhine River boat traffic.
Europeans need to get used to extreme weather such as floodings and drought, said a climate
expert. "Climate change is finally here. We find ourselves in the middle of it and the
consequences are inevitable."
VIRGINIA - Lightning strikes have caused more fires and damage in Albemarle County so far
this summer than during ANY OTHER IN RECENT MEMORY.
Since April, there have been at least 25 fires in Albemarle caused by lightning.
The total damage from the fires exceeds $2.5 million. It’s hard to pin down a scientific reason
for the increase in lightning-related fires.
There hasn’t been a substantial increase in the number of thunderstorms this year, which implies
that there likely hasn’t been an abnormally high number of lightning strikes.
In general, lightning occurs after the movement of ice crystals inside storm clouds creates
electrical charges at the top and bottom of the cloud.
If the difference between the negative electrical charge in the bottom of the cloud and the
ground becomes great enough, a "stepped path" of electrical current extends down from the cloud
and "streamers of charge" extend up from the earth.
When the two currents meet - usually between 150 and 300 feet in the air - a charge shoots down
from the cloud and a much stronger return charge comes from the ground, resulting in a lightning
bolt.
The bolt superheats the air around it to as much as 60,000 degrees, and the superheated air
expands rapidly, creating the clap of thunder.
CANADA - A punishing thunderstorm pulverized areas of southern Manitoba on Thursday night,
with heavy rain, baseball-sized hail and screaming winds wreaking havoc on cars, homes and trees.
A major cleanup effort is underway in Dauphin, where giant hailstones fell for half an hour. In
addition to the hail, about 56 millimetres of rain fell in about an hour, while winds gusted to
98 kilometres an hour. Hailstones were measuring as large as 10 centimetres in diameter (over 4
inches). The hail left fist-sized holes in countless windows at homes, stores, vehicles and even
the 'golden arches' outside the local McDonald's restaurant.
Severe thunderstorms also lit up the sky at Delta Beach, north of Portage la Prairie, and in
Winnipeg, bringing winds blowing harder than 100 kilometres an hour.
The storm forced a pilot to make an emergency landing in a canola field south of Portage la
Prairie just after midnight.
(photos)
8/10/07 -
SOUTH ASIA - the death toll from the worst monsoon floods to hit South Asia in decades passed
2000 Thursday even as torrents of muddy water receded from millions of hectares of farmland and
rains shifted west.
Thousands of villages remained under water and threatened by disease, while millions were still
displaced, mainly in India and Bangladesh, where the severe floods also destroyed valuable crops.
Rains appeared to be returning to western states, which were hit hard in early July, and heavy
downpours in Gujarat since Monday have killed nine people. The devastation in India threatens an
entire season's crops in some areas, raising fears of food shortages.
SWITZERLAND -
Torrential downpours disrupted travel and transport across Switzerland as the Alpine country
experienced its HEAVIEST 24-HOUR PERIOD OF RAIN ON RECORD. In canton Jura 150 litres per square
metre fell over a 72-hour period – the same amount as it normally receives during the entire
month of August.
Zurich was also hit by its WORST RAINFALL IN A CENTURY, with 100 litres per square metre falling
in 24 hours between Wednesday and Thursday.
Two days of torrential rain have left large parts of northwestern Switzerland and the central
plateau region under water. 74 litres of rain per square metre fell on Bern in the same period.
Other badly affected areas were the Chasseral in canton Bern (90 litres), the Moléson in canton
Fribourg (80 litres) and Lugano (70 litres).
By Thursday evening the levels of most affected lakes and rivers appeared to have peaked, but the
situation in many areas, particularly along the River Aare, remains critical.
The storms led to chaos on the roads, with many closed as a result of flooding or landslides.
Rail traffic was also hit.
The situation in the town of Olten, a strategic crossroads of Switzerland's rail network, was
particularly precarious, with parts of the town centre under water.
In Basel, the River Rhine threatened to burst its banks and shipping was halted. (photos)
In Italy, rainstorms have battered northern cities including Milan and Florence where many
tourist attractions had to be closed. Rail transport and roads have also been cut in Germany. In
France, the authorities have issued an "orange flood alert" for three eastern departments along
the Rhine.
GUATEMALA - A mudslide caused by heavy rains killed 5 children in Guatemala.
Heavy rains caused a small pond at the top of a ravine to overflow, prompting an avalanche of
mud, rocks and trees in Cristo Rey Village.
PENNSYLVANIA - Williamsport’s rainfall remains 5.88 inches below normal for this time of
year, even though A RECORD WAS SET FOR RAINFALL on Tuesday with 2.22 inches of rain in 24 hours.
The previous record daily maximum rainfall for Tuesday was 1.3 inches recorded in 1908.
NORTH DAKOTA - Wednesday's RECORD RAINFALL in the area was a double-edged sword for crops.
Bismarck had 1.44 inches, which broke the daily record of 1.19 inches set in 1944. The wet
weather slowed the wheat harvest, but was good for other crops. The area has exceeded its average
amount of precipitation, about .54 inches, so far this month.
"We've gone over the normal amount for the month so far, but we still have a quite a bit of the
month to go."
8/9/07 -
PAKISTAN - Five people were killed and at least 10 others injured after heavy rain and strong
winds lashed different parts of Sindh on Wednesday. In Hyderabad, Tando Mohammad Khan and
Jamshoro districts, rain continued intermittently late into the night and the meteorological
office predicted more moderate to heavy rain for today in Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas divisions.
A vast area of Hyderabad suffered electricity breakdown after the rain and windstorm, which
uprooted signboards and trees. Electricity wires also fell on roads. The storm badly affected
power supply from different feeders, rendering five grid stations inoperative.
Low-lying areas in Thatta, Sujawal, Chuhar Jamali, Jati and other towns were inundated after a
spell of heavy rain. A gust of wind blew away roofs of several poultry farms and thatched houses.
Power supply to many areas was disrupted.
In the coastal towns of Shah Bunder, Keti Bunder and Jati, rain fell continually the whole day
and flood water submerged settlements.
About 2,000 fishermen were out in the deep sea for fishing and the administration had not been
unable to establish contacts with them.
On the Hyderabad-Thatta National Highway, dozens of vehicles were stranded as rainwater rendered
a portion of the road near Chhatto Chand impassable.
Heavy rain, accompanied by dust storm, lashed Badin and other towns of the district. The
30-minute spell inundated low-lying areas and caused disruption in power supply.
Two people were killed when lightning struck a neighbourhood in Tando Bago.
The district administration advised fishermen not to venture into the sea.
A monsoon weather system over India has started influencing Sindh.
The department forecast that the system would reach the north-eastern Arabian Sea by this
evening.
The system will bring widespread rain, dust storm and thunderstorm to Sindh, especially in the
south and the coastal areas, including Karachi, tosday and Friday.
Heavy rain is also likely in southern Balochistan, especially along the coastal areas, on Friday
and Saturday.
U.S. - Torrential rain flooded New York City's subways, rail lines and roads
early Wednesday, leaving one woman dead and thousands of commuters
stranded. The National Weather Service was sending an investigator to Brooklyn to determine if a
tornado had struck.
Elsewhere, 10 centimetres of rain fell in an hour in parts of Nebraska. Authorities in Surprise,
115 kilometres west of Omaha, reported the Big Blue River had overflowed and fish were swimming
on the water flowing on state Highway 12.
More flood warnings were issued Wednesday in northern Illinois, where flooding a day earlier had
forced dozens to evacuate their homes. The water-logged region already had been declared a state
disaster area.
The rainstorms brought no relief from heat and humidity, and the U.S. weather service posted heat
advisories from the plains to the East Coast.
The heat index, based on a combination of temperature and humidity, could soar beyond 40 C in
parts of Kansas.
SUDAN - authorities have said forecasts show the level of the Blue Nile River will continue
to rise and the situation remains critical in many of the country's states after weeks of
torrential rains and flooding that have left more than 70 people dead.
The level of the river, which runs through eastern and southeastern Sudan, has been rising
steadily over the past weeks, forcing hundreds of families living along its path to abandon their
homes.
"We expect more floods because of continuing heavy rains on the Ethiopian plateau."
The rains from the Ethiopian plateau feed the Blue Nile and the River Gash, which has already
burst its banks, submerging nearby villages, sweeping away roads and isolating towns.
More than a dozen of Sudan's 26 states have been affected by the floods, including those in the
south.
The floods have destroyed at least 30,000 houses, directly affecting more than 365,000 people.
"If current flooding patterns continue unabated, the situation will deteriorate considerably."
The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has said the floods
could affect 2.4 million people across 16 states.
8/8/07 -
BULGARIA - 5 dead, 4 missing in Bulgaria floods. The death toll in Bulgaria's flooding rose
to five Tuesday, when rescuers found another body in the flood-stricken town of Tsar Kaloyan.
Another four people were still missing in the Tsar Kaloyan area that was flooded by torrential
rains Monday. Local authorities declared a state of emergency as dozens of buildings were damaged
and parked cars were swept away by flood waters.
Heavy rains and flood waters cut off power supply when they damaged electric transformers,
leaving eight villages in northeastern Bulgaria, near the town of Ruse on the Danube River,
without electricity.
BRITAIN'S most remote inhabited isle was recovering on Tuesday from a seven hour deluge which
redesigned the local landscape.
The torrential downpour began on Foula, 12 miles west of Shetland, in the early hours of Monday
morning and carried on for most of the day, flooding drains and burns across the island.
While the 30 islanders were sheltering from the isolated shower of heavy rain, the rest of
Shetland was shrouded in thick mist and drizzle.
Locals believe two springs at the top of a hill in the north of the isle may have "burst out"
making a bit of the hill give way and causing a landslide of mud to the bottom.
"It was just horrendous. I don't think I have seen rain in the summer like it to tell the truth."
There is no longer any way of measuring rainfall on Foula, but eyewitnesses and photographic
evidence suggest it was an UNUSUALLY high amount.
INDIA - Monsoon flooding has left hundreds of thousands of people homeless or stranded in
Bihar, but UNICEF says that there are only four helicopters available to deliver food and other
assistance to the entire Indian state.
People have been fighting for food.
"Air-drops? Forget those, we have not even seen a helicopter since flooding started 15 days ago,
or a government boat." This region has received 34.5 inches of rain in the last two weeks. The
disaster has received scant mention in the American media.
(photo)
Bihar's government on Tuesday admitted that the overall flood situation in the state was
UNPRECEDENTED with rivers wreaking havoc in 19 districts.
Catchment areas of many of the rivers in Bihar lie in Nepal where rainfall was higher. About
three fourths of water in north Bihar rivers came from Nepal during the second fortnight of July
and the catchment areas of these rivers received rainfall between 600 mm and 1100 mm.
The rainfall was heavy (between two and five times the normal), incessant and widespread. Both
the Nepal part as well as the north Bihar part received rainfall on this scale. The south Bihar
rivers like Punpun, Phalgu, Lokahe had floods at the same time.
TEXAS - the first 7 months of the year were the WETTEST ON RECORD FOR TEXAS.
IOWA - 1.08 inches of rain fell in Waterloo during storms on Monday setting a NEW RECORD. The
previous record for the day, set in 1967, stood at 1.03 inches. About 2 inches of rain has fallen
the first week of August - more than double the average for this time of year.
The average for the entire month of August is just over 4 inches, which may also be surpassed,
according to the weather service.
8/7/07 -
CANADA - Geologists in the Yukon want to find out what caused a massive landslide last week
that made one of Canada's tallest mountains a little smaller.
A piece of Mount Steele, the country's fifth-highest peak, suddenly broke away sometime last
week, thundering onto the glacier below.
It may have been THE SINGLE LARGEST LANDSLIDE IN LIVING MEMORY IN THE TERRITORY.
"I've never seen anything this big, and I've never heard of anything this big."
A 400-metre slab of ice and rock fell off the the north face of the 5,067-metre high peak and
tumbled down.
"The debris dropped about 2,100 metres down to the glacier, and then it travelled across that
glacier a distance of about a kilometre and a half. And then it went up over a 300-metre high
ridge, and some of the debris went down over the other side of that ridge and onto the Hodgson
glaciers." They are still investigating what may have caused the landslide, but it may be
thinning glacier ice, possibly linked to climate change.
"They may start happening more frequently. We'll just have to keep monitoring them and keeping
tabs and see if we can see any trends."
Popular with climbers, it was simply fortunate no one was in the area at the time of the
landslide.
BRITAIN -
A village was evacuated Monday after heavy rain caused a landslide.
Residents in Pennan on the Banff coast, many of whom live in houses built into the cliff, were
taken to The Pennan Inn for safety.
More than 34 people were taken from the west side of the village, made famous in the film Local
Hero.
The evacuation came after rain lashed the region causing flash floods and treacherous road
conditions.
A police spokesman said: "There is flooding all across the area - it is affecting everywhere with
almost too many places to name."
Fyvie Castle saw the heaviest rainfall in the UK with 43mm of rain falling overnight. Fraserburgh
saw 33mm of rainfall.
Experts are probing whether the recent floods in England may be behind the foot-and-mouth
outbreak as the battle to contain the disease continues.
The high water levels could have helped spread the virus on the Surrey farm at the centre of the
crisis.
Tests are still being carried out to confirm whether the nearby Pirbright research site - where
the disease was being kept in order to produce vaccine - was the source of the outbreak.
BANGLADESH - Another 11 people were reported killed in floods and mudslides triggered by
heavy rains across Bangladesh, taking the death toll in the past week to 131.
The Disaster Management Office said over 10 million people were living outdoors after fragile
dwellings were washed away by the rushing waters.
Rescue workers said the latest deaths occurred mostly from intestinal diseases which were
spreading fast in hundreds of makeshift flood shelters across the devastated landscape.
Mudslides in the worst affected Sirajganj district left 500 families homeless.
More than 90,000 dwellings were destroyed in the floods with another half a million mud-walled
homes partially damaged.
Nearly 15,000km of river embankments gave in to the swirling waters while over 5,000 schools were
affected by the rising rivers.
Surging waters from swollen rivers submerged more towns and villages in central Bangladesh
yesterday with emergency aid yet to reach remote settlements cut off.
Aid workers said tens of thousands of unfed people were fighting a grim battle for survival in
the country’s northern and eastern districts that were worst-hit by the latest monsoon-driven
flooding.
Earlier reports said millions of people were living under the open sky since torrential rains
washed away homes, and rice seedlings were lost all across the country.
8/6/07 -
SOUTH ASIA - Many of the millions of people forced from their homes by floods across South Asia are desperate for food and drinking water as relief operations continue.
The flooding, described as the heaviest in 30 years, has affected more than 25 million people and killed at least 1450 others in Bangladesh, India and Nepal since monsoon rains began pouring down in June.
The disaster has hit India's Bihar state the worst, where some of the growing number of people (11.5 million) marooned by swirling, muddy water fought for emergency food supplies. More than 6000 villages are flooded with at least two million people living outdoors.
Heavy rainfall combined with Himalayan snow melt gave rise to massive floods late July in large parts of South Asia, including southern Nepal, northern India and Bangladesh, where 40 per cent of the land has been inundated.
Receding water has left a layer of silt over rice fields, meaning no crop will be possible until next year.
8/5/07 -
CHINA - Five people were crushed to death when a two-story building collapsed after being struck by lightning in Linquan County.
Fifty-two workers were trapped 200 metres below the surface of the earth, after a torrent of mud and water engulfed a rail tunnel under construction in central China.
Rescue teams managed to free 35 of the workers building the tunnel in Hubei province and the remaining 17 trapped about 200 metres below ground are expected to soon be freed.
Heavy rains have triggered severe flooding and mudslides across many areas of central China in recent weeks.
78 people died and 18 are still missing after three days of downpours set off flash floods in Henan province in the past week.
More than 700 people have been killed by floods, landslides and lightning this year in China, according to latest official figures that have yet to tally the past week's casualties.
SOUTH ASIA - UNUSUALLY HEAVY rains across South Asia this week left a trail of death and ruin and raised the risk of disease.
FREAK RAINS, which scientists describe as a hallmark of climate change, seemed to be responsible. The devastation was all the more severe because flimsy dams and embankments collapsed under the weight of floodwaters. The mud houses of the poor were the first to wash away. In Bangladesh, perennially inundated because so much of it is low-lying delta, more than half of the districts were under water. Bangladesh received just under 29 inches of rain in July, about double the average. Bangladesh also felt the brunt of greater rain upstream in northern and northeastern India, as swollen rivers broke through their banks on their way down to the Bay of Bengal. In Nepal, unremitting rains for the last two weeks flooded swaths of the heavily populated southern plains, known as the Terai Region, on the border with India. Nepal, too, is accustomed to floods each year. But the UNUSUALLY HEAVY rains this year seem to have affected more of the country, and with rainwater pooling up and refusing to recede, fragile mud buildings are threatened, and the likelihood of an outbreak of water-borne diseases like diarrhea also increases.
Aid agencies in Nepal have already nearly exhausted their supplies of food and other goods, although the monsoon season is not expected to end for at least another month.
Pakistan has already had its turn with flooding. In July rains in Baluchistan and Sindh provinces, the death toll reached 329 and 90,000 families were made homeless. In India, the monsoon’s trail of destruction traveled to the north and northeast last week.
(photos)
The flooding is the WORST IN THREE DECADES.
"The flood situation is very, very serious, the situation we have now is UNPRECEDENTED in the past 30 years."
INDIA - The death toll from raging floods in India has neared 1,100 as more people drowned in swollen rivers that have stranded millions in their homes. In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh 2,400 villages have been cut off by the floods.
"Almost all rivers are flowing above the danger mark but what worries us is the discharge of a large amount of water from nearby Nepal." Rivers burst their banks Sunday and inundated scores more villages.
About 10.8 million people are marooned in their homes in Bihar.
Helicopters dropped food to almost two million hungry and frightened villagers perched on rooftops in India on Saturday.
Hundreds of animals in the Kaziranga National Park in Assam were displaced after flood waters of the Brahmaputra submerged about 80 percent of the park area. A number of animals were run over by speeding vehicles when they were crossing the national highway to safer places, while several were drowned. The flood situation in the Pobitora National Park in central Assam’s Morigaon district remained critical. The entire park area and the road leading to it remain submerged since July 23. The park is the only rhinoceros habitat in the world, with the highest concentration of one-horned rhinoceros.
TRINDAD & TOBAGO - For the third time this week, rain has caused flooding. The river and the main road in Macaulay Village became a torrent of mud and debris when rainfall triggered flash floods across parts of Central Trinidad.
UNITED KINGDOM - Bad weather over the recent weeks is threatening the bat population. "We have NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE, it's horrendous." The bats cannot get enough insect food at night because it has been so wet outside and with populations decreasing rapidly, bat conservation groups are worried of the effect this will have.
8/3/07 -
BANGLADESH - At least 38 people have been killed and over 4.5 million affected by the current flood in Bangladesh.
CHINA - Last month, fierce rainstorms swept across the nation, triggering floods, landslides and mud-rock flows.
Several EXTREME WEATHER RECORDS WERE BROKEN.
The Huaihe River, for example, which witnessed some 460 mm of rainfall last month, is expected to record its worst floods since 1954. They have already affected more than 30 million people.
Similarly, authorities in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong Province, recorded 151 mm of rain in one hour on July 18, the most since 1958.
Lightning strikes across the country claimed 141 lives last month, another record in recent history. By the end of last month, more than 6 million people had been affected by the widespread and prolonged droughts in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province and North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Four million hectares of farmland in Heilongjiang had also been severely hit.
"It should be said that one of the reasons for the extreme weather this year is the UNUSUAL ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION brought about by global warming."
And things are likely to get much worse in the future.
UTAH - Homes Damaged, Residents Rescued From Flood Waters in Southern Utah -
A muddy mess for people in Southern Utah. Flood waters washed through homes and knocked out power. Residents across Washington County are digging out after flash floods left behind a big mess.
Major flash flooding threatened the community in Virgin. Lost Creek, which flows into the Virgin River, crested its banks and really made its own path from there.
Lost Creek was virtually unstoppable last night. It plowed through a road and into a family subdivision, tearing through every home it came to.
"It was unbelievable to see so much water and debris coming down the road so fast."
"You can tell, it's just devastation."
"It was all water, rolling water. This was a river out here."
(photos)
OHIO - For much of the afternoon and early evening Thursday the lakefront city of Cleveland looked much more like a lake.
A strong isolated thunderstorm formed over the downtown area and brought down with it torrential rains the likes of which many lifelong Clevelanders said THEY HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE.
The numbers would seem to back up those feelings. The National Weather Service estimates that as much as 3-6 inches of rain fell between 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. either in or or near the city of Cleveland. (video)
IOWA - Rainfall was UNUSUAL during the month of July - especially in terms of where it fell. Parts of northeastern and eastern Iowa had heavy flooding in July.
The Clinton County town of DeWitt received over a foot of rain for the month. It was the opposite situation on the opposite side of Iowa. Some areas of western Iowa, like Sioux Center and Hawarden, had no rain at all for the month, a RECORD LOW AMOUNT and VERY UNUSUAL, as records have been kept in those areas for about 100 years.
The highest official temperature during the month was 98-degrees, recorded several times in Sioux City and in a few other locations, but nowhere in Iowa had 100-degrees, which is UNUSUAL.
TEXAS - Nacogdoches received more than 9 inches of rainfall last month, approximately three times the normal amount of rainfall for July.
July's heavy rainfall of 9.49 inches resulted from a number of ODD low-pressure centers that developed in Texas and remained almost stationary for long periods of time.
The local average total for July is 3.03 inches.
A number of stationary fronts also contributed to the increase.
"Rivers in many areas of the state have flooded during the month and remain over their banks, posing problems for people, structures and animals in low or flood-prone locations."
"Some farmers have experienced higher than normal occurrences of fungus in their fruit crops, particularly tomatoes."
8/2/07 -
IRELAND - RECORD-BREAKING RAIN - More rain fell on Dublin in June and July than in any of the 170 years for which records have been kept.
TEXAS - July 2007 was THE WETTEST ON RECORD and the third coolest July on record in Tyler.
All the rain has bridges in trouble as week-after-week, high, fast-moving water in bayous and rivers erodes the soil around critical supports.
On Highway 288 part of the abutment has collapsed, threatening the stability of a bridge crossed by thousands of drivers a day. The bridge across Sims Bayou at Highway 288 was known to be in good condition until all of the rains came. It raises a serious concern: There are dozens of bridges (55) around Houston that are known to be in critical condition and have been that way for years. The transportation department is not fearful of any catastrophic collapses.
“They don’t go down quickly and without a fight. Typically what happens is there’ll be a dip in the roadway, and we get phone calls.”
Fresh water pouring into the Gulf of Mexico after weeks of flooding in the state has created an oxygen-depleted "dead zone" that threatens sea life.
Freshwater runoff from the swollen Brazos River left a 1,750-square-mile area hypoxic, or depleted of oxygen. Sea life is threatened as far as 35 miles offshore.
"This can definitely have an effect on organisms living there — fish and shrimp, crabs, clams. All these things need oxygen in order to live. If you have this phenomenon occurring, depending on the severity and how long it lasts, you can have mass mortality."
It is the FIRST TIME TEXAS HAS GENERATED ITS OWN "DEAD ZONE" in coastal waters. A larger dead zone, caused by farm fertilizers, soil erosion and discharge from sewage treatment plants carried into the Gulf by the Mississippi River, forms annually off the Louisiana coast. Until this summer's heavy rainfall, Texas rivers typically were incapable of carrying enough fresh water into the Gulf to create dead zones.
That changed a month ago, when a National Marine Fisheries Service boat taking fish counts also measured oxygen in the water.
"I'm looking at this data and I'm astounded. We've long expected that Texas had the potential for this to occur, but it typically doesn't rain in Texas enough for this to happen." The rains of June and July have pushed the Brazos BEYOND ALL KNOWN DISCHARGE RECORDS. The rate of flow was MORE THAN TWICE THE RATE EVER MEASURED on the Brazos since 1967, when records were first kept.
SRI LANKA - A series of cracks and depressions pointing to an imminent landslide, have appeared in a terrain over 12 acres in extent at Karawagahamada in Werapitiya in Medadumbara Pradeshiya Sabha area.
The cracks had damaged four houses and 12 families have been displaced by the landslide threat.
SOUTH ASIA - Dozens of people were killed on Wednesday across South Asia as surging flood waters caused by heavy monsoon rains forced millions from their homes.
Twenty-eight people drowned and 12 others were missing when a boat carrying rescue workers and evacuees in sodden northern India split apart, bringing the nationwide death toll from the deluge to nearly 1,000. "The overall situation has turned critical with major breaches of embankments inundating dozens of villages." Millions of people have been forced to flee since the annual monsoon began in June in South Asia. These include five million in Assam state, where the Brahmaputra River, one of the subcontinent's longest, burst its banks. Northern Sirajganj and Kurigram districts were worst hit, with nearly all villages and towns submerged, as the mighty Brahmaputra ran well above danger levels.
People sat on rooftops or used rafts made from banana trees to escape. A shortage of boats hindered attempts to reach half a million people stranded with no access to food or clean water.
(photos)
8/1/07 -
INDIA - The situation in flood affected districts of Bihar is getting worse, with Darbhanga and Madhubani completely cut off from rest, with roads and railway tracks submerged.
The situation is particularly bad in Darbhanga, where nearly seven lakh people are affected.
CANADA - Hydrologists with the Yukon government say floodwaters in the territory's Southern Lakes area may have reached their peak, while affected residents and emergency officials at Marsh Lake continue to keep an eye on already RECORD-HIGH WATERS.
Forecasters say it will take weeks before water levels on the lakes located south of Whitehorse recede to relatively normal levels. The current level at Marsh Lake, which has seen the worst flooding, BROKE THE HISTORIC LEVEL of 656.994 metres set in 1981.
7/31/07 -
SOUTH AFRICA - Flooding in Cape Town has displaced some 38,000 people, mostly from squatter
camps around the South African city. It was the HIGHEST NUMBER OF PEOPLE HIT BY FLOODING IN 5
YEARS. More rains are forecast for later in the week around Cape Town.
On the other side of the country, in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, bushfires have killed at least
19 people and destroyed over 30,000 acres of land.
Fires have also killed two people in neighbouring Swaziland.
"We still do not know the actual cause of the fire but we suspect it might be due to the very dry
weather conditions in the affected areas."
SUDAN - Officials in Sudan say several days of heavy rainfall and flooding have killed at
least 59 people and displaced thousands more.
On Monday more than 10,000 people were affected in southern Sudan alone.
Floods also devastated homes near Sudan's capital of Khartoum, where the White and Blue Nile
rivers meet.
The country is bracing for more flooding, as heavy rainl continues.
SOUTH ASIA - With floodwater pouring in through their windows, thousands of people affected
by South Asia's deadly deluge are being forced to share the limited high ground with venomous
snakes, surrounded by filthy water.
With almost half of Bangladesh submerged, and torrential rains pelting Nepal and India, more than
25 people have died as a result of the weather since Saturday.
In Indian states Assam and Bihar, more than 24 people, including three children, were killed in
weather-related incidents since Sunday morning, bringing the death toll to 75 in a week.
"The floods situation has turned worse overnight."
Bihar's residents fear an epidemic as bodies cannot be buried or cremated, with graveyards and
cremation grounds under water.
Torrential rains in Nepal's western Gulmi district caused a landslide that smothered seven farm
workers.
Snakes driven out of their usual habitat fatally bit nine people in villages in Bangladesh's
flooded northern Pabna district in the last few days.
The lives of millions of other people in the subcontinent are simply on hold as they sit on their
roofs, high ground or in relief camps, most relying on their governments to bring food, clean
water, clothes and medicine.
In China, floods, landslides and mud flows triggered by torrential rains have killed 652 people
so far this year, with more heavy rains forecast.
Authorities in central China's Henan province were scrambling to save 69 miners trapped in an
underground coal mine for more than 24 hours after flooding and landslides blocked their exit
routes.
NEW ZEALAND - More than a month's worth of rain has fallen on Stewart Island in the past five
days, causing flooding and widespread slips which have left some residents with no access to
their homes. A RECORD 177mm has pelted the island at the South West Cape since Wednesday, while
further north in Oban, 118mm has fallen.
High winds and heavy seas also played havoc, pulling roads into the sea and causing landslips 30m
wide.
Heavy seas sank a yacht after ripping it from its moorings near Thule early yesterday morning,
while a landslip near the wharf destroyed a car, which was crushed by a falling boulder and a
tree.
7/30/07 -
CHINA - the death toll from floods, lightning and mud and rock slides across China over its
summer has risen to nearly 700 after fierce storms killed 17 people over the weekend.
SOUTH ASIA - More than 70 people were killed by heavy rain and floods across South Asia this
weekend, while over one million were left stranded by rising waters. Several days of torrential
downpours combined with melting Himalayan snow caused flooding in low-lying areas of Nepal,
India's northern states and neighbouring Bangladesh, with rivers expected to crest in coming
days. About 800 people have died in India since the onset of the monsoon in June. The situation
could get worse in coming days as monsoon rains and Himalayan-glaciers continued to feed the
Ganges and the Brahmaputra river.
FLORIDA - 3.55 inches of rain fell at the Gainesville Regional Airport before 7 p.m.
Saturday, BREAKING THE OLD RAINFALL RECORD SET IN 1926, of 2.32 inches. Forecasters also noted a
significant amount of lightning that accompanied the rain.
"This was more than just a typical thunderstorm. We also had a radar estimate of almost eight
inches in Suwannee County."
The two- to three-hour storm was the result of a low pressure disturbance in the mid to upper
atmosphere.
"It's UNUSUAL but not rare to have a storm of this intensity at this time of year."
The storm spawned a set of unusual house fires.
7/29/07 -
INDONESIA - Distribution of aid and evacuation efforts for victims of floods and landslides
in Morowali district, South Sulawesi, were hampered due to the damaged roads and broken access to
the area.
Many villages were totally damaged and isolated following the disaster that struck the region
over the last three days.
29 people have been confirmed dead.
The floods have also hit other regions in Sulawesi island, including in Luwu district of South
Sulawesi, and have taken the lives of at least 15 people there as of Saturday.
CHINA - Lightning strikes have killed 403 people in China so far this year, equalling the
total number of deaths from lightning in the whole of last year. The administration attributed
the higher rate of deaths to more frequent and severe lightning storms.
Lightning storms caused 2,525 accidents between January and June, of which 52 involved fires,
causing more than $10.6 million in direct economic losses.
Chinese scientists have warned that global warming is likely to intensify extreme weather
patterns, and severe storms in recent years may be a prelude to this.
7/27/07 -
BRITAIN - the three months from May to July 2007 have
BROKEN PREVIOUS RAINFALL RECORDS for this period, even before July is over.
387.6mm of rain have already fallen across England and Wales, making it the WETTEST MAY TO JULY
SINCE RECORDS BEGAN IN 1766.
These figures will come as no surprise to many across England and Wales who
have suffered flooding from the exceptionally heavy rainfall experienced in
June and July.
ALASKA - RECORD RAINFALL on Tuesday over 24 hours contributed to a landslide on the upper
part of Rezanof Drive West above the Kodiak Fishmeal Company.
“It wasn’t where we normally see them (landslides). It was fairly large because it covered two
lanes and did some damage to the guardrail on the ocean side.”
The landslide dumped about 100 cubic yards of dirt and brush onto the road.
“It has been a lot of water. A lot of hillsides are saturated, so I’m sure there’s going to be
some issues in other places.”
People have been told to be on the lookout for odd disturbances in the vegetation along hilly
areas.
“If they see an area that doesn’t look right, with bare patches or all of a sudden there is an
odd look in the vegetation, obviously it’s starting to let go.”
NEPAL - Five persons of a same family were killed in a landslide in a remote village in
Salyan district on Thursday.
They were killed when a house was swept away by a fierce landslide in Chharchhare of Kaprechaur
VDC of Salyan district.
Relief and rehab have been affected due to continued landslide in the area.
Meanwhile, monsoon rainfall has continued to lash the country causing losses of lives and
properties in the Terai region.
BANGLADESH - The flood situation across the country worsened yesterday as heavy rain
continued raising the water level in almost all the major rivers including the Jamuna and Padma.
In the next couple of days, it is likely to take a more alarming turn in the districts adjacent
to the rivers.
Many fresh areas went under water forcing more and more people to leave their houses and herd
themselves to a higher ground. Ferry service on Aricha-Nagarbari route remained snapped due to
floods, after the flood waters washed away the pontoons at the Nagarbari end.
Collapse of levees in some districts including Sirajganj and river erosion in Bogra have also
contributed to inundation of new areas.
Low-lying areas in Gaibandha, Bogra, Jamalpur, Sirajganj, Pabna and Tangail are likely to go
under water by the next 24 to 72 hours.
The Ganges-Padma too kept rising at all points and was flowing 30 cm and 11 cm above danger
level.
In the 24 hours ending at 6:00pm yesterday, the Met Office recorded 200 millimetres of rain in
Sunamganj and 180mms at Lorergarh.
Four villages at Bera upazila and low laying areas at Shujanagar upazila went under water. More
than 20 villages in Belkuchi, Sirajganj sadar, Shahzadpur and Chowhaly upazila headquarters and
Kazipur municipality have gone under water, forcing some 500 weaving factories and 40 educational
institutions to be closed.
About 1,000 ponds in Kalmakanda, Durgapur, Atpara, Madan, Mohonganj and Khaliajuri upazilas have
been inundated and fish of an estimated price of Tk 10 crore has been carried away in flood
waters.
JAPAN - Heavy rain hit earthquake-damaged areas of Niigata Prefecture on Wednesday night and
Thursday morning, triggering landslides that cut off roads.
Local officials said heavy rain was recorded in both Kashiwazaki and the town of Kariwa, which
received major damage in the earthquake that struck Niigata Prefecture on July 16.
The downpour sparked fears of river flooding in Kashiwazaki. (photo)
SOUTH AFRICA - gale-force winds and heavy rains currently lashing the Cape Peninsula are
expected to continue throughout the weekend. Flooding is already being experienced in low lying
areas on the Cape Flats.
Snowfalls are also expected overnight, with temperatures dropping to 4°C in some places.
SUDAN - Flooding reaching UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS - Floods that have already left thousands of
families homeless in Sudan have reached a critical stage in several states.
"The river levels have exceeded those of previous years, especially in the Nile River state
[northern Sudan]." On 24 July the level of the Blue Nile at Khartoum, the capital, was "FAR
ABOVE" THE RECORD LEVELS seen at this time of year in 1988.
At least 59 people have been killed and more than 35,000 families left homeless by rains and
floods affecting 12 of the 26 states.
134 public buildings, including schools, health centres, police stations and other government
facilities have collapsed.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said the floods, expected to
continue until the end of the wet season in September, could affect up to 2.4 million people
across 16 states. Floods have washed away roads and bridges across the country, making it more
difficult to reach certain areas.
Most roads connecting Sudan and Egypt have also been closed.
MICHIGAN - an UNUSUAL weather system moved through the area Wednesday and early Thursday. The
system produced spotty downpours and strong winds that knocked down large trees in Ravenna. The
unusual weather stemmed from a low pressure system that started over the Metro Detroit area and
slowly moved west, against the normal flow of weather patterns. Thunderstorms were popping up in
places, moving north to south, and staying active until they lost their moisture. The storms are
expected to end over the weekend as low pressure moves in. The spotty nature of the storms has
farmers feeling the effects of the lack of rain.
"Our cherry crop, we had smaller-sized fruit because of lack of rain, and we need rain for our
apples. The corn growers say they need rain to get a good crop."
7/26/07 -
BRITAIN - Pharmacists are selling more cold and flu remedies now than they were in the winter
as Brits succumb to unseasonable illnesses during the damp summer months.
The combination of high temperatures and damp conditions has meant that there has been a 60 per
cent increase in flu-related product sales, at a time of year when they are expected to go down.
While colds can be caught at any time of year, flu rarely occurs outside of the months between
November and February in the UK.
And the number of people asking for advice on ailments which usually flare up in winter -
including arthritis, sore throats plus aches and pains - has also rocketed. Meanwhile, there has
been a 40 per cent drop in sales for allergy medicines. And sales of suncream have fallen while
sales of aftersun have risen, as people burn after being lulled into a false sense of security by
the cloudy weather.
"We have such UNUSUAL WEATHER PATTERNS coming through, and the instances of winter illnesses like
the flu have increased, so these weather patterns must play a part."
INDIA - Assam's flood situation worsened further yesterday with the Brahmaputra and its
tributaries maintaining a rising trend in 12 affected districts.
The Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger level at Dibrugarh, Sonitpur, Jorhat, Lakhimpur,
Dhemaji, Goalpara and Dhubri districts while in Guwahati city it was expected to cross the mark
by today.
The worst-affected Dhemaji district remained cut-off for the 13th day after National Highway 52
was damaged by flood waters of river Jiadhol which also breached several embankments inundating
vast tracts of land.
The water level of Jiadhol and Kumtai continued to rise in this flood-prone district following
incessant rain for the past several days.
The Brahmaputra and its tributaries Subansiri and Buridihing was flowing above the danger level
in Lakhimpur district where the situation was also very grim.
The flood situation was serious in Sibsagar with the river Brahmaputra and its tributaries,
Dikhow, Disang and Dihing flowing 1.5 mts above the red mark.
INDONESIA - Continued rain has brought more misery to survivors of landslides and floods in
in central Indonesia, where weather-related disasters have killed at least 65 people.
Twenty-three others are missing and feared dead following several days of rain on the island of
Sulawesi, about 1,700 kilometers northeast of the capital, Jakarta. Some 36,000 people are now
homeless on Sulawesi.
Disaster officials say the rain caused landslides that buried entire villages, and flooding
destroyed hundreds of homes. Poor weather is also hampering efforts to bring medical supplies and
other emergency to the region.
7/25/07 -
CANADA - A RECORD-BREAKING seven straight days of rain continued through Monday.
Never before has B.C.'s capital area had such a persistence of rain in July. The previous record
was five days, which has happened a number of times in the past.
An all-time, record-high temperature of 36.3 C was set on July 11 in Victoria.
The UNUSUAL WEATHER PATTERN has been seen all over B.C.'s South Coast. It has been caused by
a moist frontal system over the region, kept in place by an area of low pressure just offshore.
"It just kept things pointed at us."
Frontal systems, which can bring rain and other weather events, are generally pushed further
north at this time of year.
July so far is "a funny month."
"We set the HOTTEST DAY EVER ON RECORD, we set the HOTTEST NIGHT EVER ON RECORD [a 'high minimum'
of 19.6 C on July 10], and a NEW RAINY STREAK RECORD. July is supposed to be the easy month. I
don't expect to miss a flight in the middle of July, and I don't expect to hear the foghorn going
all night."
CHINA - The flood-battered banks of the Huaihe River are at risk of washing away, posing a
grave threat to the homes of millions of people.
Torrential rains have wrought havoc across large parts of China this summer, most recently in the
southwest and the east, killing more than 500 people and causing billions of dollars in damage.
More rain has been forecast.
The swollen Huaihe River, the third largest in the country, has entered a critical period for
flood control efforts.
The rainy season is expected to end within the next few days, but many dikes face an increased
risk of breaches after weeks of pressure from high water levels.
It was estimated that the water level of the Jiangsu section of the Huaihe River would remain
dangerously high for at least the next 10 days.
The river has displaced about half a million people in Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces since
the start of this month. Many of them are still unable to return home.
Tens of thousands of troops were on guard to battle any breaches along the Anhui section of the
river, which reportedly has 546 potential "danger" spots, 46 of them serious. Dozens of villages
were deliberately inundated in Anhui to ease pressure at the height of the flooding. The pressure
is said to be "moderating". That could change as more rain is forecast in the coming days in the
upper reaches of the river.
"People's physical and financial strength is wearing out."
Meanwhile, days of scorching heat were expected to continue in five provinces in China's south
and southeast on Tuesday.
Temperatures in the provinces of Zhejiang, Fujiang, Jiangxi, Guangdong and Hunan could reach 39
C, while in Turpan, Xinjiang Special Administrative Region, the temperature could hit 43 C.
7/24/07 -
COLORADO - Residents of Alpine began shoveling mud out of their homes Sunday after they had
been filled with up to 6 feet of sludge when a wall of mud overnight damaged half the homes in
town.
A severe thunderstorm dropped heavy rain and hail in the mountain town 20 miles southwest of
Buena Vista on Saturday night.
"It was a deluge. Mostly cars are totally buried."
Firefighters evacuated 98 people after mudslides buried cars and slid into basements.
Some people were reporting a wall of mud up to 8 feet high.
The ground is saturated after numerous rainstorms the past month.
The mudslides wiped out pieces of County Roads 162 and 292. Rocks, mud, debris - it all came big
time fast rolling down the mountain." Many roads were blocked by giant boulders and piles of mud.
Water, boulders and debris washed through several homes. At least 31 homes were damaged.
Five-hundred-gallon propane tanks were pushed off their foundations, and officials are worried
they might leak into basements and catch homes on fire.
People in the shelters were worried that the large volume of water might foul well water.
Communication was a major problem in the rugged, sparsely populated area on Sunday. Rescue
workers haven't been able to talk to each other with cellular phones or radios. Residents who
have lived in the area more than 50 years say they've NEVER SEEN FLOODING CONDITIONS LIKE THIS.
"They tell us there's more rain coming, but we're going to keep our fingers crossed that it won't
hit like it did before."
NORTH DAKOTA - A storm that passed through Williston Monday morning did major damage at the
city's airport, and also broke a 95-YEAR-OLD RAIN RECORD in the city. Wind gusts up to 75 miles
an hour heavily damaged three hangars, did minor damage to other hangars, and also damaged five
airplanes and the airport's fuel tanks. 1.33 inches of rain fell in Williston, which broke the
previous record for July 23rd of 1.14 inches, set in 1912.
FLORIDA - Waterspout packs a RARE wallop - One of several waterspouts sighted off Flagler
Beach spun ashore Sunday, causing minor damage to businesses. The waterspout developed in the
Atlantic Ocean and moved inland three blocks, damaging awnings and roofs before dissipating.
Waterspouts are weaker than tornadoes that develop on land, and they usually dissipate quickly
after coming ashore. But Sunday afternoon's waterspout was stronger than most.
Before coming ashore, the waterspout crossed over Flagler Beach's pier, but it did not damage the
structure. Officials evacuated the pier before the waterspout arrived.
TEXAS - The so-called "rain bomb" that hit South Texas over the weekend was just the latest
in a SERIES OF RECORD-BREAKING RAINFALL EVENTS. The soaking summer weather pattern has been
wreaking havoc across much of the State of Texas.
On June 28, Marble Falls got close to 19 inches of rain - sweeping cars, trailers and even people
downstream. The National Weather Service says it was rather UNUSUAL.
"I would classify it at least as a 100-year event - getting 18 inches plus is not something we
see very often."
These extreme rain events - or "rain bombs" - started occurring in mid June. The first to be hit
was Gainesville, Texas. At least six people died when more than 8 inches of rain fell there.
Ten days later Marble Falls was struck. On July 2, Corpus Christi picked up almost 10 inches of
rain. People had to be rescued from roof tops. This past weekend, 10 to 15 inches fell upstream
of D'Hannis.
So just what is causing all of this rainfall?
Normally, high pressure sits over Texas during the summer, giving the area dry and hot
conditions. This year that high has shifted to the Northwest, allowing abundant tropical moisture
to come in from the Gulf of Mexico.
Austin's airport has already gotten more than 38 inches of rain. That is more than Austin
normally receives all year.
The good news is, this is one of the coolest July's on record.
This wet weather pattern is forecasted to continue through possibly October. The Austin area
could be in serious trouble if any type of tropical storm comes in.
"Everything is saturated. The rivers are at capacity, the lakes are up to capacity - any tropical
system that moves into Texas is going to create a lot of problems."
Forty-two people have been killed this year in Texas flooding.
(video)
WESTERN EUROPE - Many parts of Germany were badly hit by severe rainfall, with a number of
motorways and railway lines closed due to the flooding. Between 300 and 500 homes were estimated
to have suffered serious damage in Bavaria. An 82-year-old woman died in Bavaria after she was
trapped in her basement flat by the sudden flooding. In Switzerland mudslides and floods caused
havoc in Berne, while a motorway near Interlaken was shut after a rockfall. Firemen raced to
build emergency barriers against the rising water and clear the roads. The deluge of rain hit
Great Britain hard, particularly in central England, which saw the WORST FLOODING TO HIT THE AREA
IN 60 YEARS and millions of pounds in damage.
Torrential rains have plagued Britain over the past month - nearly 5 inches (12 centimeters)
fell in some areas on Friday alone - and more downpours were expected until at least today.
Officials said some rivers were still rising, with the western section of the rain-swollen River
Thames on the verge of bursting its banks.
Emergency workers rescued hundreds of trapped people Monday as rising water swallowed large
swaths of central England. Meteorologists said water levels were expected to peak today or
Wednesday. The weather facing Britain is consistent with conditions caused by the La Nina weather
system, which is caused by cooling ocean waters and leads to extreme weather. However, scientists
said there was no clear explanation for the unusually long spell of wet weather.
Climate change may be culprit, as the situation matches predictions of how global warning would
affect Britain.
Britain had one of its hottest and driest summers on record last year.
"What we now think of as extreme events will occur more often than in the past, and the extremes
will get more extreme."
The toll of victims in the WORST UNITED KINGDOM FLOODS IN MODERN HISTORY is spiralling
towards a million, with more than 500,000 people without water, power or homes.
Experts warn that 'the worst is yet to come' from fast-rising rivers.
Tens of thousands more families were put on red alert as rivers reached levels not seen for more
than 50 years across central, western and southern England. With millions of gallons of water
from the torrential rain surging downstream, some rivers are expected to be 20ft higher than
normal, sending a torrent of dirty water into streets and homes. Hundreds of cows, sheep and dogs
have been rescued from rising water.
And it emerged that ministers were warned of failings in flood defences three years ago.
A report in 2004 called for a major overhaul of Britain's flood defences and drainage systems,
along with a new system for dealing with major floods.
Today the Government was accused of failing to act on its own advice.
As a result, towns, villages and isolated rural homes were still cut off this morning, roads were
blocked and mile upon mile of countryside was under a sea of muddy water.
In Oxford, there are fears that historic riverside colleges such as Christ Church and Magdalen
could be swamped. Refugee families were bedding down at the city's football stadium last night.
The disaster is being to March 1947, when almost every river in England flooded during a thaw
after a freezing winter.
"We have not seen flooding of this magnitude before. The benchmark was 1947 and this has already
exceeded it."
Unsurprisingly, the Met Office said the month is on course to be the wettest July in history.
Scientists at the Meteorological Office said some areas of the UK have already suffered twice as
much rain as the July average of 62mm.
This means there is a good chance that the record of 145.1mm, recorded in 1988, would be
surpassed.
(lots of photos, flood map)
CHINA - Flood warnings are still being issued in many parts of China as more heavy rain is
forecast to hit flood and landslide-prone areas.
BORNEO - Residents in Miri and Bintulu are experiencing UNUSUAL weather this month.
The daily weather conditions in the two divisions change from very hot during the day to
thunderstorms and ferocious winds at night that can blow off roofs and uproot trees.
Downpour and gale-force winds hit Bintulu town on Saturday, uprooting huge trees in several parts
of the district, wire-cables were torn from their poles and houses in several residential areas
had their roofs damaged. In Miri last week, 21 houses in several residential areas were badly
damaged by hours of downpour and strong winds.
Daily weather updates from the Meteorological Department also warned of high waves in the South
China Sea off the coast of northern Sarawak and Sabah.
Small vessels have been warned not to venture out into deep waters. July is supposed to be the
start of the hot and dry season in Sarawak when outbreaks of wild fires are expected as nomadic
and traditional farmers burn their post-harvest agricultural leftovers to clear their land for
the new planting season.
7/23/07 -
BRITAIN - Drinking water supplies have started to run out in some areas of England worst
affected by the flooding.
150,000 homes are without water in Gloucestershire after a treatment works was flooded.
Power supplies to 500,000 people in Gloucestershire are also threatened and the RAF has been
drafted in to protect a substation at risk of flooding.
The Environment Secretary defended the government's flood response, saying conditions were
"UNPRECEDENTED".
"This was very, very intense rainfall, with five inches in 24 hours in some areas, even some of
the best defences are going to be overwhelmed."
Water has also reportedly begun to infiltrate 12th century Tewkesbury Abbey, after the town
itself was cut off.
Elsewhere, the Army has taken humanitarian aid to Upton-upon-Severn in Worcestershire and swathes
of Warwickshire are submerged.
Severe warnings are also in place for Oxfordshire, Berkshire and parts of London, and the
Environment Agency said "serious flooding" was likely in Oxford Sunday night.
More rain was expected today, but most would be away from the severely flooded parts of the
Midlands.
Instead, concern could shift to areas in southern England, close to the River Thames, where an
inch of rain could fall today.
( Flood photos)
Food and drinking water shortages, panic buying and the threat of looting have followed the
WORST FLOODING TO HIT ENGLAND IN 60 YEARS. An estimated 90,000 gallons of water a second was
surging down the swollen River Thames last night towards Oxford, Reading and Windsor.
Meteorologists have blamed Britain’s wet summer on the UNUSUAL position of the jet stream, a
belt of fast-moving air 36,000ft above the earth that controls the movements of bad-weather
systems.
During most summers the jet stream lies across the north Atlantic, effectively penning bad
weather there and in the Greenland Sea, so that only Iceland and Scandinavia are affected by
them.
This allows anti-cyclones, the high-pressure weather systems associated with warm, sunny summer
weather, to move up from Europe to cover Britain.
This year, however, the jet stream has moved several hundred miles to the south. This has allowed
depressions, the low-pressure weather systems that bring storms and heavy rain, to batter
Britain.
The Met Office believes it is possible this weather pattern may now remain over Britain
throughout this month and next, making the whole summer a washout.
The situation has been made worse by the hot and sunny weather systems lying over much of central
and south eastern Europe. These interact with depressions to generate the storms and cloudbursts
behind the recent floods.
Why, though, has the jet stream shifted southwards? Scientists are not sure of all the reasons
but believe there is a link to a natural phenomenon known as La Niña.
This occurs when cool water surges up from the bottom of the Pacific off Peru. The water cools
the air above it, setting off a series of changes in the Earth’s atmospheric circulation.
Other factors appear to be at work too. One of them could be the warming of the Atlantic.
This summer the jet stream has been very sluggish and buckled into big loops, leaving
Britain drenched on the wet side of one of those loops. However, on the other side of the jet
stream large parts of Europe are roasting in a ferocious heatwave that has killed dozens of
people and brought wildfires blazing across Greece.
This European split has happened before. In the summer of 2002, a large swath of Central Europe
was battered by rains that set off huge floods along the Elbe and Danube, drowning more than 100
people. But there is another story about this summer that has gone virtually unnoticed. Despite
all the gloom and doom, temperatures are fairly normal for the time of year. In days gone by, a
wet summer would invariably be cold, with snow in July and frost in August.
BRITAIN was turned into an island by an enormous flood that opened the Channel and changed
the course of history, scientists have discovered.
Some time between 450,000 and 200,000 years ago, a natural land dam at the Strait of Dover
failed, sending a wall of water surging into the once-dry basin that is now the Channel bed, with
at least ten times the destructive power of the Indian Ocean tsunami, and redrawing the map of
Europe.
Anything in the floodwater’s path would have been obliterated, as a discharge 100,000 times
greater than that of the River Thames flowed through the breach.
It was ONE OF THE MOST SEVERE FLOODS KNOWN.
The legacy was the vast Channel river, which at its height drained half the waterways of Europe
into the Atlantic, and cut Britain off from the rest of the Continent.
When the ice sheets that covered the British Isles and Scandinavia later melted, the entire basin
was flooded to create the Channel as it is today.
Without this dramatic chain of events, it is entirely possible that Britain would never have
become an island or developed their seafaring culture.
While scientists do not yet understand what triggered the megaflood, one possibility is that it
was started by a small earthquake at a moment when summer meltwaters were high in what is now the
North Sea.
INDONESIA - Flash floods and landslides in central Indonesia have killed at least 30 people,
and the death toll looks set to rise as rescuers reach remote areas in the disaster zone.
Days of torrential rains have flooded dozens of villages on Sulawesi island. Emergency supplies
such as rice, instant noodles, blankets, and medicine are being distributed to thousands of
people who have been forced to flee their homes.
7/22/07 -
PAKISTAN - Heavy rain caused landslides in northwestern Pakistan on Friday,
killing at least 50 people and destroying homes in two villages.
UNITED KINGDOM - Flooding has caused traffic gridlock and widespread damage.
Hundreds of people trapped on rooftops in several British towns and
villages were rescued by helicopter and boat Saturday.
Many parts of England and Wales remain under several feet of water after the latest
torrential rain.
In just over a day, some areas have been deluged with around three times the amount expected for
the whole of July.
Thousands of people have spent the night in refuge centres, while others were trapped in their
cars. Rising rivers continued to swell throughout the day.
At Sidmouth they spotted an UNUSUAL cloud formation that looked like waves in the sky. "I've
never seen anything like it before. It just looked like waves above the sea. I grabbed my camera
and took some pictures. It looked amazing." (See photo #4 at the linked site)
A Met Office spokesman said the clouds were a RARE form of strato-cumulus which took the form of
a wave: "They are spectacular clouds - I've never seen anything quite like it before. It's VERY
UNUSUAL." The wet conditions have been bad for farmers, who have found their crops either ruined
or in danger of going to waste.
POLAND was hit by a tornado, which is RARE in Europe. Roofs were ripped off farmhouses and
barns and cars destroyed near the southern Polish city of Czestochowa on Friday night.
At least 7 people were injured and hundreds left without power.
CHINA - 59 people have died in floods and landslides after heavy rainfall in southwest China
in the mountainous Yunnan province, and tens of thousands have fled their homes.
Severe flooding has hit about half of China since the start of the summer, killing hundreds in
what has become THE DEADLIEST RAINY SEASON IN YEARS.
At least 40 people have died in storms in coastal Shandong province in the east.
Rains destroyed more than 4,000 houses and damaged thousands of hectares of crops.
A 176-km (110-mile) highway linking Tengchong county in Yunnan and Myanmar has been severed by
mud-rock flows. More than one million people have been evacuated.
Heavy rain was forecast to continue to hit large swathes of China through the weekend.
"The dykes that have soaked in high water level for 19 days will be at an increased risk of
breach in the coming 10 days."
CANADA - Orillia, Ontario -
A 28-YEAR-OLD RAINFALL RECORD was washed away when 105.4 millimetres of rain fell on Orillia
Thursday night and Friday morning. A month's worth of rain fell in one hour.
WASHINGTON - The UNUSUALLY hot weather that made headlines earlier this month has turned
UNUSUALLY rainy as the National Weather Service is predicting 1 to 2 inches of rain in the
Seattle area, and the possibility of local rivers flooding. The average daily rain at
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for July is about .02 inches, or about .79 inches for the
entire month. An inch of rain would be record-breaking. There was "some flooding in August a
number of years ago. It's VERY UNUSUAL; July is typically one of our driest months."
The rain might be remnants of Typhoon Man-Yi, which lashed Japan last week.
This weekend's forecast is the latest in what is becoming an UNUSUALLY wet July in Western
Washington.
For the month, Olympia has recorded 50 percent more rainfall than normal.
FLORIDA - An UNUSUAL July cold front moving into Florida Saturday brought heavy rain and some
severe weather throughout Central Florida. The system will enhance an unstable atmosphere.
"How long since we've seen a cold front? This is not supposed to happen until late September or
maybe middle of October when the cold front makes it to the Florida state line. How weird is
that?" More severe weather is expected in Central Florida by today at 2:25 p.m. [Amazing that
they can pinpoint the time like that!?]
7/20/07 -
CALIFORNIA - San Francisco hit a strange milestone — the FIRST-EVER RECORDED RAINFALL FOR
JULY 18.
San Francisco has weather records stretching back to 1849, and no July 18 on any of those days
had ever seen rain, until this year. They got the first measurable rainfall — and it was just
barely measurable, at 0.01 inch — ever to fall on the date.
The record is almost completely meaningless except for trivia-lovers. And here are two more bits
of trivia:
July 7 and 14 remain rainless in the official record. Wednesday's wet weather was enough to cause
more than 80 separate power failures that, at their peak, cut electricity to about 17,000
residents in the East Bay.
"Basically what's happened is it hasn't rained in a while, so dust has collected up on our
equipment, and the rain isn't heavy enough to wash it off, and it turns into mud. Mud is
conductive and it causes electricity to travel across the mud and causes shorts in the system."
It may have been only for a moment and barely discernible, but the rain was QUITE UNUSUAL for
summer. With occasional exceptions, it rarely rains from late May to early October in California,
because a high pressure system sits over much of California, keeping the storms and cold fronts
out. But Wednesday, a frontal system overpowered the high pressure system.
More than an inch of rain (1.09 inches) fell in Redding California BREAKING THE DAILY RECORD
of 0.19 of an inch set in 1987. The normal rainfall for the entire three-month period of June
through August is only 1.15 inches. Also impressive was the RECORD RAINFALL of 0.88 of an inch in
Eureka; the old record was 0.11 of an inch in 1976.
A satellite image from Thursday morning shows that there is additional storminess in the Pacific,
and most of this weather will be aimed at the Pacific Northwest over the next couple of days.
CHINA - Pelting rain in southwest China triggered a mudslide that buried 27 workers alive,
the latest in a series of downpours that have claimed hundreds of lives this rainy season.
Torrential rains, mud flows and lightning strikes have killed at least 79 people in China
this week, state media reported Thursday.
Weeks of heavy rain show no sign of letup and one round of storms hit an eastern city Wednesday,
killing 31 people and injuring 171. The Health Ministry warned citizens that drinking water
supplies were under threat.
The most recent deaths were in Jinan, capital of coastal Shandong province, which received a
RECORD 7 INCHES OF RAIN within three hours on Wednesday.
(slide show)
SUDAN -
As many as 60 people have been killed and over 100 injured by the WORST FLOODING IN SUDAN IN
LIVING MEMORY.
Flood waters continued to rise on Thursday and as many as 18,000 homes have been partially or
completely destroyed. Floodwater have devastated villages in Sudan's east, south east and around
Khartoum. Major roads in some parts of the country have flooded.
Rains, flash floods and overflowing rivers forced hundreds of families to move to main roads,
often the highest ground around, as they watched houses and possessions get washed away.
With the season expected to run until mid-October, meteorological organisations in the region are
predicting that as many as 2.4 million people across 16 states could be affected.
7/19/07 -
CHINA - At least 32 people died as thunderstorms of UNPRECEDENTED INTENSITY rocked
southwestern China, SMASHING RAINFALL RECORDS and paralysing transport.
Lightning struck more than 40,000 times in the Chinese metropolis of Chongqing during a
frightening 16-hour downpour Tuesday.
Heavy rains continued Wednesday and were expect to rage for at least another day.
The storms have affected more than five million locals and forced more than 250,000 to flee their
homes.
The storms dropped 226.6mm of rain on the city centre, the LARGEST 24-HOUR TOTAL SINCE REORDS
WERE FIRST KEPT in 1892, smashing the old record of 206.1mm.
So far more than 19,600 homes have been destroyed.
AUSTRALIA - Floodwater has inundated the site chosen for the Government's $3.1 billion
desalination plant near Wonthaggi.
Torrential rain over Gippsland caused the Powlett River to burst its banks, sending billions of
litres of water across the flood plains that have been earmarked as the construction site for the
desalination plant.
Environmental experts are conducting scientific tests to determine the full extent of the floods
and predict whether they could happen again.
The Department of Sustainability and Environment is downplaying the floods, saying they were
HIGHLY UNUSUAL and it would not have to look for another site. The flooding began two weeks ago
and inundated large tracts of land earmarked as a buffer zone for the desalination plant.
Recent downpours in the area had been unusual and had been made worse by preceding dry
conditions. [Reader's comments say this area floods every year!]
(photo)
IOWA - Another round of thunderstorms brought more heavy rain to eastern Iowa early
Wednesday, sending the Little Maquoketa River out of its banks north of Dubuque.
No homes were flooded, but several roads and farm fields were under water, with the area
receiving an estimated 7 inches of rain.
"It started raining around 10:30 Tuesday night and hasn't quit. It's been torrential and it's
still coming down."
It's normal for thunderstorms to develop during the summer in Iowa, but it is UNUSUAL for them to
continue for several days.
This year has been marked by a lot of rain.
"Many places have had 15 inches or more in the past 45 days. That's over twice the rainfall,
maybe even three times in some places."
A flood watch was issued into this morning for much of the eastern third of Iowa.
NEW YORK - The skies opened up just after 8 a.m. Wednesday, unleashing a torrential downpour
that has wreaked havoc on the metro-New York area, closing most major roads and most major north
shore branches of the Long Island Rail Road due to excessive flooding, knocking out electrical
power to more than 40,000 Long Island Power Authority customers and causing delays of more than
four hours on flights at Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, as well as causing excessive delays at
Newark-Liberty International.
The National Weather Service even briefly issued a tornado warning for western Suffolk County.
The National Weather Service was predicting the thunderstorms would continue on and off
throughout the day and into the evening.
7/18/07 -
JAPAN - A RECORD-SETTING DOWNPOUR hit southern Osaka Prefecture and northwest Nara Prefecture
and caused floods and landslides in various cities and suspended traffic services between Monday
night and Tuesday morning.
In Yamato-Takada, Nara Prefecture, overflow from a swollen channel flooded 50 houses, and nearly
reached floor level in 300 others.
According to the Nara and Osaka prefectural governments, 57 houses and buildings suffered
flooding above floor level, while water rose to just-below floor level of more than 550
buildings, leading 48 people to evacuate voluntarily.
112 millimeters of rain fell in Katsuragi, Nara Prefecture, in a three-hour period from Monday
night to early Tuesday morning, and 106 millimeters was recorded in Kumatoricho, Osaka
Prefecture. Both measurements were RECORDS for the municipalities.
Since the rain began last week, 106 millimeters of rainfall has been recorded in Kawachi-Nagano,
Osaka Prefecture, 94 millimeters in Nara and 80 millimeters in Naka Ward, Sakai.
CHINA - A 16-hour storm unleashed more than 40,000 lightning strikes in China, killing 15
people, injuring more than 100 and bringing air, road and rail traffic to a halt. The storm, in
the southwestern city of Chongqing, left five people missing and caused some 10,000 homes to
collapse. It also left the landlocked and mountainous city almost cut off from the outside world
as roads flooded, the airport closed, electricity was shut off and gas stations stopped working.
Railway lines were also blocked.
The storm killed 10 people in Chongqing and five people in neighbouring Sichuan province.
Large swathes of China have been hit by severe floods this summer which have killed more than 400
people.
PAKISTAN - Over 5,000 people are still stranded in the flood-hit areas of Sindh. Army
helicopters are being used to evacuate people.
The army has established eight medical camps in Nushki. Up to 50,000 affected people have so far
been rescued in Balochistan .
INDIA - The flood situation in Assam turned grim on Tuesday with the Brahmaputra and its
tributaries witnessing rising water level in catchment areas in several districts following
incessant rainfall.
Official sources have said the situation in worst-hit Dhemaji district remained critical with
road and rail traffic remaining cut off for nearly a week and several villages still under water,
though flood water was receding.
Over 40,000 people in 120 villages were marooned after a breach in the embankment of river
Kumotia, a major tributary of the Brahmaputra, in the flood-prone district.
Vast tracts of land were inundated in Lakhimpur district after heavy rainfall and road
communication was snapped in several places.
The water level of Barak river was also showing a rising trend and inundated vast areas in
Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi districts.
MOZAMBIQUE - Many of the victims of flooding earlier this year in the basins of the Zambezi
and Buzi rivers are still living "in deplorable conditions", months after the waters subsided.
The number of people affected by the Zambezi and Buzi floods is at 163,000. Of this number,
64,000 {12,000 households} need resettlement in ten districts. The government has made kits of
building materials available at each of the places where land has been distributed to flood
victims.
The government will provide the cement, the roofing, and other materials, but it is up to each
household to build its own home, in places that are not regularly threatened with flooding.
TEXAS - The Dallas-Fort Worth area should see a decrease in rainfall for the rest of the
summer as low pressure areas have begun to clear out.
“The UNUSUAL thing about it is that (the low pressure) persisted. We usually get a low for a
couple of days at least once a summer, but we had one most of June and into July, that was the
unusual part. We’ve kind of broken out of that pattern now.”
As the weather returns to normal, some areas could see heavy rains while other areas may not get
any rain.
“It’s going to be a lot more hit and miss than it has been.”
7/16/07 -
BRITAIN’S summer may be an utter washout with weather from Iceland about to hit them next.
On Sunday, torrential downpours began in the South of England and continued to move northwards
battering much of the rest of England. A Met Office forecaster said there was “no end in sight”
to the rain.
He said the FREAK conditions were due to an area of low pressure — which normally lies between
the north coast of Scotland and Iceland — but was now off central Britain.
“It’s been there the last two months and shows no sign of moving.” The Met Office has warned the
miserable weather will be “relentless” with “showers, showers and more showers”. Yesterday severe
weather warnings were still in force for many areas and there were three flood warnings. The
rainfall is expected to continue into the week, causing temperatures to drop, with further
showers forecast for next weekend. Floods, weather warnings and plummeting temperatures — summer
2007 will go down as ONE OF THE WORST EVER.
CHINA - Rainstorms continued to hit central China's Henan and Hubei provinces, with nearly 10
million people affected in the two provinces. Hundreds of thousands of villagers in east China's
Huai river basin, already suffering the region's worst flooding in 50 years, have been told to
brace for more heavy rains this week. Government authorities warned that water levels along
tributaries feeding the Huai river, which originates in central Henan province and runs east
through densely populated and impoverished parts of Anhui and coastal Jiangsu provinces, were
rising again and threatening to breach embankments.
The Mengwa area, where crops and homes of 157,000 people have already been submerged, faces
another bout of deliberate flooding to ease pressure at Wangjiaba.
Authorities have already flooded nine buffer zones along the Huai to relieve more than 2 million
flood-hit residents in Henan.
Further south, officials in Hunan province were battling to contain a plague of more than 2
billion rats fleeing the rising waters of Dongting Lake.
Scientists blamed China's massive Three Gorges Dam project and climate change for the rodents,
whose flight to dry land has seen them ruin cropland in some 22 counties surrounding the lake.
7/15/07 -
GUYANA has been experiencing UNUSUAL WEATHER PATTERNS over recent years including heavy
rainfall, high winds and tides due to climate change. The administration has since invested in
initiatives to enhance Guyana's weather monitoring and forecasting capabilities. The
Hydrometeorological Service has forecast increased downpours over the weekend due to a tropical
wave. Rainfall during July is not unusual, as there have been similar rainfall patterns in
previous years, but the intensity of the rainfall currently being experienced is above normal.
The Hydromet office had earlier forecast a period of extended rainfall from May to early August
and this prediction is still applicable.
Over the past weekend, most of the country's coastal and inland locations experienced strong
winds accompanied by rain which downed trees, power poles and tore off roofs. This was caused by
a broad tropical wave that interacted with the inter tropical convergence zone resulting in winds
ranging from 25 to 30 metres per second along with showers. The current weather pattern has
intensified as a result of a perturbation in the easterly zone just north-to-east of Guyana,
which is interacting with the inter-tropical conversion zone.
PAKISTAN - on Friday Pakistani and international aid workers finally reached some of the
remote villages of Sindh and Balochistan provinces flooded by a series of major storms in late
June. Over 6,000 villages have been hit by floods.
An estimated 2.5 million people have been affected by the flooding following four days of heavy
rains in the wake of cyclone Yemyin on June 23, which killed some 300 people. Earlier in June,
Cyclone Gonu also damaged the region and claimed the lives of hundreds more.
Across the region, an estimated 770 people have lost their lives and over three million people
have been affected in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
Cyclonic storms in the Arabian Sea are RARE, but weather officials say that it is EXTREMELY RARE
to see so many storms within the space of a month.
Rains and flash floods have washed away dams, bridges, and railways, and marooned rural villages
with little communications infrastructure.
This isolation has complicated efforts to gather information about the extent of flood damage.
The Pakistan National Disaster Management Authority estimates that number of people affected now
stands at 2.5 million, and other estimates indicate 250,000 or more have been left homeless. The
livelihood of 70 percent of the population of Balochistan is affected.
In the city of Turbat, weeks after Cyclone Yemyin struck the area, conditions remain very
difficult for the estimated 250,000 people left homeless by the floods.
"Everything was washed away. People are using bed sheets for shelter because it’s too hot to
sleep indoors, even in a tent, and the usually busy market is destroyed and empty. The city is
just a heap of mud."
People are attempting to form camps but they urgently need everything - tents, chlorine to
disinfect drinking water, sanitation facilities, and food.
Accessibility remains a concern, with many areas still cut off by rising water, and many water
distribution systems have been totally or partially destroyed.
"With hospitals and health clinics closed or only partially functioning, humanitarian aid is
desperately needed. The worst hit areas in Balochistan and Sindh are among Pakistan's most
disadvantaged."
In Shadad Kot in Sindh Province, people in this area are living along 15 kilometers of the main
road, sleeping in makeshift shelters and enduring daytime temperatures as high as 118 degrees
Fahrenheit.
The devastation caused as a result of Cyclone Yemyin in Balochistan has fueled the separatist
movement in that province.
“Districts Kech, Panjgur, Gwadur, Kharan, Khuzdar, Lasbela, Naseerabad, Katchi and Jhal Magsi
have been completely destroyed by the cyclone and there was no help either from the federal or
the provincial government for five days. The Pakistan government should have sought help from the
United Nations and other aid agencies but it was totally indifferent to the plight of the Baloch
people...It’s true that there is a movement in Balochistan for an independent state and the
devastation caused by Cyclone Yemyin and the aloofness and indifference of the State has acted as
a catalyst in the movement.”
NEPAL - Army helicopters dropped dozens of soldiers Saturday near a western Nepal village
where a landslide killed at least 21 people and injured several others. The landslide hit
Goulichaur, about 280 kilometers (175 miles) west of Katmandu, on Friday morning.
Continuing rainfall was making rescue efforts difficult.
Also Friday, another landslide killed five people and buried three houses in a Bramhatola
village, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) northwest of Katmandu.
Scores of people are killed in the Himalayan nation each year during the rainy season by
landslides in mountainous areas or flooding in the southern plains.
CHINA - Half of China is drenched and bedraggled by UNPRECEDENTED floods.
On Friday, the WORST RAINSTORM TO ATTACK THE COUNTY OF JINGSHAN IN HUBEI PROVINCE SINCE RECORDS
BEGAN interrupted power and water supplies for six hours and inundated at least 140 homes. The
torrential rain that started to hit Jingshan county on Friday forced 17,104 people to evacuate,
injured 23 and left one person missing. Nearly every street in the county seat was a river with
long lines of broken down vehicles.
In the countryside, hectares and hectares of cropland were inundated, houses collapsed and
roads were blocked.
Jingshan County had already suffered tremendously from four devastating rainstorms between
June 18 and July 11, with nearly 30,000 hectares of cropland ruined, 4,000 houses knocked down
and 580 km of road damaged. In eastern Anhui Province, 28 people have died and nearly half a
million have been relocated in the past two weeks. Water levels of the trunk Huaihe River are
still above high-water warning marks.
China Meteorological Administration has forecast heavy rain in upcoming three days in the Huaihe
River valley and the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River, the country's longest river.
In northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, heavy rain beginning on Tuesday destroyed 15
km of road and bridges. The rainy season coupled with fierce flood waters has taken a heavy toll
in central and southern China. 403 Chinese have died, 105 are missing and 3.17 million people
have been relocated because of the floods.
Millions of people across 24 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have been
lashed by torrential rains and floods.
7/13/07 -
SUDAN - Flooding in Sudan has killed at least 30 people, left 100 injured and destroyed
25,000 homes. Authorities are concerned the waters could rise further.
A day earlier, flood waters swept through cities of Omdurman and Kassala, leaving the government
struggling to help the thousands of people who have lost their homes.
The floods, caused by the rising waters of the Nile and Gash rivers due to the rainy season, have
destroyed hundreds of mud-brick houses in Khartoum.
Authorities fear the Nile will continue to rise, further submerging the lower areas surrounding
the capital.
They are also concerned that diseases could break out. Sudan's interior ministry raised its state
of alert to the highest level on Thursday. (photo)
7/12/07 -
CHINA - Severe flooding in central China has brought a mass invasion of mice, raising fears
of outbreaks of disease.
The floods forced about two billion mice from islands in Dongting Lake in Hunan province.
Crops have been destroyed by the field mice.
Flooding and landslides have killed at least 360 people across southern and central China in
recent weeks, with more rain expected.
Local authorities in counties including Yiyang, Yuanjiang, Junshan and Huarong are building walls
and ditches to keep the mice at bay.
Residents are also taking matters into their own hands, killing more than 2.3m of the rodents
using clubs, shovels and poison.
But in the town of Lujiao, at least 1000 cats have died after eating mice that had been killed
with poison.
IRELAND - The weekend saw isolated showers turn to outbreaks of thundery rain with a gale
force warning in place nationally, causing the cancelling of numerous festivals.
The unsettled weather that has characterised most of June is set to continue into mid or late
July. West to northwest winds will occasionally reach gale force as THE MOST UNSEASONAL SUMMER
WEATHER IN LIVING MEMORY continues.
NEW ZEALAND - In almost 30 years living on the shores of Eastern Beach, residents have never
seen anything to rival the wild weather events of Tuesday night.
Sand, sand, sand. High winds desposited sand on The Esplanade and Eastern Beach Rd on Tuesday
night.
Reported winds of about 140 to 160km/h blasted the beachfront, sending residents into a minor
panic as sandstorms whipped up and trees hung on for dear life.
“The sand was like teaming rain, it was really unbelievable.”
When residents awoke, the usually picturesque surroundings of The Esplanade and Eastern Beach Rd
were covered in sand.
Massive volumes were dumped on the road by high gusting winds and on properties, leaving a nasty
clean-up job.
Having witnessed gusts of up to 150km/hr in the past, one resident says Tuesday night’s
south-easterly blasts FAR EXCEEDED ANY HE'S EVER SEEN PREVIOUSLY in terms of brute strength.
(photos)
JAPAN - Heavy rains pounded southwestern Japan on Wednesday, leaving one man dead after he
was swept away in a swollen river. Heavy rain, flooding and landslide warnings were in effect for
many areas in the region.
As much as 300 millimeters (12 inches) of rain is forecast to fall in parts of western Wakayama
prefecture (state) by Thursday, while some areas in southwestern Japan can expect around 200
millimeters (8 inches).
A powerful storm front last week left one dead and dumped over 500 millimeters (20 inches) of
rain on southwestern Japan.
7/11/07 -
PHILIPPINES - Five people were killed and three others injured when weeks of heavy rain
triggered a landslide on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.
The rain-soaked soil of Mount Diwata cascaded down on several homes, burying residents alive late
Monday.
Rescuers in the area dug up three survivors but five others were dead when they were unearthed.
CHINA flooded dozens of evacuated villages on Tuesday to ease pressure from a swollen river
after torrential rains that have killed more than 100 people nationwide.
Flood waters were diverted from the Huai River in the eastern province of Anhui, after the Mengwa
area, with 75 villages, was evacuated.
"The move is expected to bring relief to residents in Henan province, where the upper reaches of
the Huai River run, and alleviate pressure on downstream sections. However, the impact on the
residents ... will be limited as most of them have built their houses on elevated platforms.
Those who live in low-lying locations have moved to higher ground."
Eleven people have been killed in floods in Anhui so far and more than 430,000 residents were
stranded, with a quarter of them facing drinking water shortages.
The Mengwa area, in an impoverished wheat-growing part of north Anhui, has been submerged by the
notorious Huai River flood waters more than 10 times since it was set up in 1953.
The rain has caused floods and landslides which have killed at least 101 people in at least six
provinces since late June. At least 26 people were missing.
More rain was forecast for the next three days along the Huai River, flowing through the central
province of Henan and the eastern provinces of Anhui and Jiangsu.
Flood photos
7/10/07 -
PHILIPPINES - Five people were killed, including a pregnant woman, after heavy rains
triggered a landslide in a famous goldrush area in the southern Philippines.
The victims were killed in an avalanche of boulders and soil while eating dinner.
The lure of gold has attracted tens of thousands of small-scale miners to Mount Diwata, or
Diwalwal as it is commonly known, honeycombing its rocky soil with a warren of tunnels and making
their settlements susceptible to landslides.
Across the archipelago, communities are at risk from landslides during the Philippine rainy
season, which usually starts in May and lasts until September.
Last year, at least 1850 were killed or declared missing and tens of thousands were left homeless
after a slew of typhoons crashed into the centre of the country.
NEW ZEALAND - Northlanders are being warned that heavy rain and strong winds which are
wreaking havoc in the region aren't about to end any time soon.
A state of emergency was declared in the Far North this afternoon as houses had power cut off,
roofs were lifted and areas became sodden after receiving a month's rainfall in 12 hours.
"We're bracing ourselves and expecting things to get worse."
A storm-swollen Kerikeri River was raging within metres of the town's historic Stone Store.
An access bridge to the store was under threat of being swept away. Water was up to the railings
and the situation was expected to worsen at high tide, around 4pm.
The river during the March floods was higher at this stage but during those floods residents did
not have to contend with gale-force winds which were today excaberating the situation.
Damage was much more widespread than in March.
The deluge over Kaeo (171 mm of rain in 11 hours) is roughly double that of the Mangamuka area,
which had recorded the next highest rainfall over the same period - 112mm.
The MetService says up to 250mm of rain could fall in parts of Northland over the next 24 hours,
especially about the central and eastern hills.
The bad weather was starting to hit Auckland this evening, making travel difficult and forcing
Ontrack to cut speeds to commuter rail services.
Winds in excess of 140kph were also expected overnight in Northland, Auckland and Coromandel.
Updated information - including road closures and weather warnings - are posted on the Northland Regional Council website. (photo)
SWEDEN - After heavy flooding left one person dead in southern Sweden last week, rain has
returned overnight, bringing chaos to the Östergötland region.
Skåne, which saw the worst of last week’s downpours, avoided wet weather over the weekend.
Intense rainfall during the night has led to flooding in many areas of the south-east, where
there are reports that over ten centimetres of rain has fallen in the last twenty-four hours.
As the rain continued early on Monday morning, emergency workers attempted to pump water out of
the increasing number of cellars that have become flooded.
Roads in the area have been closed, a small number of properties have been evacuated and an
extreme weather warning remains in place across the south.
NORWAY - As the floodwaters in South Eastern Norway have begun to subside in most places,
experts are now warning against landslides in the worst affected areas.
They say the danger is greatest along riverbanks in places with clayey soil.
In the early hours of Monday morning 19 persons were evacuated from three private homes and a
guest house, following two mudslides at Nesbyen in Hallingdal.
No one was hurt, and no property was destroyed, but several buildings were damaged by water.
More rain was forecast for the region on Monday.
INDIA - Fresh flood alerts were sounded in three districts of Gujarat on Monday as the water
level in the Narmada rose menacingly, following incessant rains in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh
where at least 20 people have died in a week.
The situation in Jodhpur, where more than 50,000 people of around 50 villages have been evacuated
following breaches in the 118-year-old Jaswant Sagar Dam, improved on Monday with water level in
the dam remaining at the minimum level in the absence of rains.
The alert in Gujarat has been sounded in Bharuch, Vadodara and Ahmedabad. The Sardar Sarovar dam
on Narmada is once again overflowing. An alert has been sounded in 72 villages located
downstream. Over 44,000 people were evacuated from Bharuch alone when the Sardar Sarovar dam
overflowed because of heavy rains through last week. A flood alert has also been sounded in 18
villages on the banks of Vatrak and Mazum rivers in Ahmedabad.
In Madhya Pradesh, deaths have been reported from Ratlam, Ujjain, Katni, Dhar, Khargone and
Mandsaur districts. Official sources said most of these deaths were due to lightning or house
collapses.
A cluster of 35 villages was surrounded by water in Harda district. Landslides have been reported
in Betul where the Tapti river is flowing three feet above a bridge at Athner. In Orissa, over
five lakh people are trapped in swirling flood waters. At least eight people were confirmed dead
while more than 10 are missing. Around 10 lakh people, spread over 11 districts, including
worst-hit Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur, have been hit by the low-pressure-triggered floods.
Around 1.1 lakh people of 140 villages in Baliapal are trapped in the floods caused by the
Subarnarekha and Jalaka rivers.
The situation is likely to improve now as the Met office does not see much rain in the next few
days.
SUDAN - thousands of homes have been swept away as heavy rains sparked flash floods across
Sudan over the past week.
More than 4,000 homes have been destroyed throughout Sudan.
"Many areas in the country witnessed high levels of rains and that high levels of rains and
floods are still expected in the coming weeks."
The floods caused huge damage and left countless stagnant pools in their wake - each of them a
potential breeding ground for malaria and water-borne diseases.
All the more frustrating, many Sennar residents said, because the disaster had been totally
predictable and preventable. Critics blame officials for a lack of preparation, central
government planning and local government implementation.
"These rains happen every year. They are seasonal. But the planning by the authorities has been
very bad."
Residents said drains and dykes had been poorly maintained since the last rains. Ditches along
the main roads were left to clog up with mud and rubble.
The main road was built too high so it trapped the rain water and stopped it flowing into the
Blue Nile river. Instead it flowed into residential areas.
7/9/07 -
PAKISTAN - Floods and landslides caused by heavy rains killed 23 persons while 13 suffered
injuries in the North West Frontier Province late Saturday night.
The incident occurred in Kohistan district, NWFP, and there were reports of several houses being
buried under an avalanche in the same area.
The Pakistani meteorological office has forecast heavy monsoon rains with strong winds in upper
parts of Punjab, Islamabad and the NWFP and high floods in the Indus tributaries.
INDIA - A landslide blocked the Paratwadi-Dharni state highway in Melghat region in Amravati
district on Sunday as heavy rains lashed the district for second day in a row.
Staff from the public works department tried to clear the landslide but even as their work was on
another landslide occurred on the highway leaving 10 vehicles stranded since Sunday afternoon. In
the last two days, 690 mm of rain has lashed the Melghat region. As many as 15,000 persons were
shifted to safer areas in Amravati district as excess water was being released from dams on Upper
Warna and other rivers. Rains claimed lives of four persons in Akola and Amravati districts over
the weekend. In other parts of the district, heavy rains and flooding in Dharni taluka damaged
toor and soyabean crops.
In Bhandara, the district administration has alerted residents in 157 villages on the banks of
Vainganga river to move to safer places as heavy rains have been forecast. Incessant rains in the
district led to rise in level of Vainganga river.
Meanwhile, a few villages in Buldhana district were cut off as Purna river was flowing over the
danger mark. Excess water was released from dams on the river and this also led to flooding on
the state highways.
The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was closed to traffic after landslides triggered by heavy
rains blocked it at Samroli. Rail traffic was disrupted on New Delhi-Chennai route following
track-blockage due to a landslide. (photo)
7/8/07 -
MASSACHUSETTS - UNUSUAL weather - including punishing storms and thick fogbanks - led
firefighters, members of the Coast Guard and medical providers to respond to a spate of incidents
on Friday. "The fog is PRETTY UNUSUAL to see in this area. It can cause dangerous conditions,
just because people aren't used to it."
"Today has just been weird. First it was really hot and humid, then we had the fog coming in off
the water, now suddenly the rain. It's all just been kind of unpredictable."
The National Weather Service reported dangerous thunderstorms with hail the size of nickels
moving through the southern portion of Plum Island.
TEXAS - Daily rainfall and cloudy skies are usually not what one associates with the start of
summer in the Ark-La-Tex. Meteorologists say the UNUSUAL trend of rain will come to an end next
week. “Over the last several weeks we’ve had an upper level low pressure system stall out over
the central plains. That has been triggering showers and thunderstorms for our area”. So far,
July has been unseasonably rainy under the upper level low pressure system with most of the
affected area having dark clouds or rain daily. The widespread activity in the system has looked
a bit like a large swirling tropical movement on satellite and radar maps over the past month. It
has dumped from 3 to 5 inches of rain per day over some areas and has caused flash flood and
flood warnings. “We’re expecting this upper level low pressure system to push to the east. With
that, we’re going to see a return of dryer weather move in and more afternoon showers and
thunderstorms that we’re used to having just before sunset.”
LOUISIANA - Shreveport had a RECORD FOR RAINFALL on July 6.
Between midnight Thursday and 5 p.m. the rainfall for the day stood at 4.09 inches.
Shreveport had started the day with its annual rainfall in the red, a deficit.
That's now history.
"Nearly four inches of rain is definitely enough to bring us out of it. We're about two inches up
now."
Rain is in each day's forecast in some fashion for the next week or more.
INDIA, PAKISTAN, BANGLADESH, AFGHANISTAN - Flooding and storms have killed nearly 700 people
over the past 15 days.
In India, hundreds of thousands of people were marooned on Saturday as monsoon rains continued
to ravage parts of the country, sparking fresh flooding. At least six districts in West Bengal
remained cut off from the rest of the country after surging rivers broke through mud embankments
and swamped hundreds of villages.
At least 700,000 people were affected by the floods in the state and thousands were being
evacuated to higher ground. On Friday at least 41 reservoirs across the country were choking with
excess water and could result in more disastrous floods, especially in the west and south of the
country.
Gujarat was bracing for very different problem after being hit by floods in the past week.
Officials warned farmers about a possible invasion by desert locusts from Africa.
INDIA -
The deluge has marooned almost a million people in 3000 villages in coastal areas. With about
half a km stretch of rail track hanging precariously due to landslide between Jhargram and Gidni
stations, the South Eastern Railway on Saturday, cancelled eight long-distance and four EMU
trains for the day on Friday.
The Railway engineers were engaged in urgent repair of the track to restore traffic.
JAPAN - Heavy rain continued to take its toll on southern Japan on Saturday, with a man
drowning in a flooded rice paddy, and four others injured in flood-related accidents. Thousands
had to evacuate their homes. By midday Saturday, a powerful weather front had dumped over 500
millimeters (20 inches) of rain on southern Japan since Wednesday.
The Meteorological Agency warned of further landslides and flooding in southern Japan through the
weekend.
CHINA - Continuous rain in east China has swollen rivers and reservoirs, threatened hundreds
of thousands of residents and soaked large areas of land. A 70-km section of the Huaihe River
from Wangjiaba to Runheji in Anhui Province and 10 medium-sized reservoirs have seen their water
level rise to warning marks. Most parts in northern Anhui reported precipitation of 100 to 127
millimeters from Friday to Saturday. Heavy rains have been frequent since late June in the
province. As of Saturday, water 0.2 to one meter deep has drenched 465 villages in Suzhou,
Bozhou and Bengbu, affecting 269,000 people. Weather forecasts said rains would continue in the
Huaihe River area till Monday.
Floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains have killed at least 26 people and left 17
missing in southwest China's Sichuan Province since Monday night.
The disaster has affected 8.19 million people in 43 cites and counties across the province.
Over the past week, more than 44 reported rainfall volume exceeding 100 millimeters, with
Nanjiang County the highest at 542 millimeters.
So far, floods in south, east and central China have caused more than 200 deaths and destroyed
over 110,000 houses, while droughts in the north have left at least 7.4 million people short of
drinking water.
BRITAIN - Some flood victims in Doncaster may never be able to return home, with others
facing an 18-month wait to go back. 700 "environmental refugees" in the Yorkshire town were still
unable to return home. This was THE BIGGEST NATIONAL DISASTER IN THE LAST 60 YEARS that Doncaster
has dealt with.
DENMARK - 124 millimetres of rain ensured that June 2007 would go down as the nation’s
WETTEST JUNE EVER.
The average rainfall for June is 55 millimetres.
The figures broke the old June mark of 123 mm set in 1946. It is yet another weather record for
Denmark, where in the past year alone SIX MONTHS BROKE MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE RECORDS and it
was THE WETTEST WINTER EVER.
The month started fairly warm and dry, but the last two-thirds were extremely wet. ‘It was a VERY
UNUSUAL June.’ Most of the rainfall occurred in the night-time hours, as the average amount of
sunshine was actually above normal for June at 220 hours, compared with the normal 209.
Although the temperatures may have felt cool last month after a sunny May and record warm April,
the average June temperature of 16° C was still 1.7° higher than the normal average.
7/6/07 -
INDIA - At least 16 people have died in floods caused by three days of monsoon rains in the
eastern Indian city of Calcutta.
The city has received almost 20% of the total annual rains that it usually gets during the
monsoon months in three days alone.
Most of the city's roads are under water as are tram and railway tracks.
Storms have affected large parts of South Asia over the past week, with at least 140 people
killed week elsewhere in India.
The Calcutta weather office said the city has received more than 300mm of rain since late on
Monday night.
"Calcutta gets between 1600 to 1700mm of rain every monsoon and now we have got so much rain in
just three days." The weather office predicted more rain until today.
Wreaking havoc for two days, water had started subsiding in many places but not the threat of
a replay.
The monster that was 300 km off Calcutta on Tuesday night ripened into a fullblown depression and
halved the distance over 24 hours.
If the depression retains its force and covers the remaining 150 km without changing course, the
city and other south Bengal districts ran the risk of being pounded by heavy rain for two days
more.
Weather officials monitoring the depression with trepidation noticed in the morning that it had
started inching towards the Bangladesh coast. However, the phenomenon suddenly changed course and
advanced towards Bengal.
The depression can change direction again or it can run out of steam. If it doesn’t and manages
to creep up on Bengal, heavy rain is the most likely fallout.
PAKISTAN - The chief minister of Balochistan Province said the scale of the disaster
following recent rains and floods was "no less" than that caused by the northern Pakistan
earthquake of October 2005, at least in terms of damage to livestock and land.
Loss of life is now being put officially at 150, but there are fears many thousands still missing
are in fact dead, swept away by raging rivers.
"A large number of people are still unaccounted for...Food is getting through; army medical teams
have inoculated people and treated the injured - but we have no idea how we will manage without
our livestock." In many villages, where access is still arduous, the humanitarian situation is
said to be grim.
"No one is helping these people. Some have reached towns like Jhal Magsi to get food, thousands
of others are displaced." Raging river torrents are still wreaking havoc across the Nasirabad and
Jaffarabad districts in the centre-west and southeast of Balochistan along its border with Sindh
Province. According to reports from eastern parts of Balochistan bordering Sindh, people whose
villages have been flooded by breaches in canals have been camping out along roads or on hills
for days.
While food supplies have reportedly been delivered, many are without shelter and additional rain
over the past few days has worsened their plight.
Inclement weather in coastal areas of Sindh, including the town of Thatta about 100km east of
Karachi, has meanwhile continued to add to the misery of people.
Major road links between Quetta and Karachi, and along coastal areas remain cut off and damage to
infrastructure means large parts of Balochistan are without gas and some without power.
Villages have been inundated by water, and some remain accessible only by helicopter.
JAPAN - In Kagoshima, a train derailed late Tuesday night after being hit by a landslide that
was apparently triggered by heavy rain. The first carriage's front wheels derailed, and soil
buried the front part of the vehicle.
A seasonal rain front above southern Kyushu brought heavy rain to Kagoshima Prefecture Tuesday
night. A landslide warning was out in the cities of Ibusuki and Kagoshima.
(photo)
CHINA - A tornado in eastern China killed at least 14 people and injured nearly 150 others.
Of the 146 people injured, 47 were in a serious condition.
The tornado, with winds of 100 km/h, hour, destroyed 715 houses in Anhui province and another 100
in neighbouring Jiangsu.
“High winds and heavy rain cut off power and telecommunications, ripped roofs off buildings and
uprooted thousands of trees.”
China has been struck by a series of natural disasters in recent weeks with 233 people killed by
floods and 118,500 homes destroyed, while droughts in the north have left nearly 7.4 million
people short of drinking water.
AUSTRALIA -
Passengers have been evacuated from a train on the Sydney Harbour Bridge after strong winds
knocked down wires, throwing the city into commuter chaos on the 5th.
“Winds have caused the problem ... electricity wires are down. It's in a difficult area and
that's why we had to stop trains running through the area so we can get people off the train and
then away from the track.”
No trains were expected to run on the city's northern or inner-west lines for some time.
Two traffic lanes on the bridge were also closed due to the fallen wires.
"At least one, and possibly two, hatches that are on top of the train, on the shoulder of the top
of the train, have been blown up and have then collected the overhead wire and brought the
overhead down near the south pylon on the Harbour Bridge, and that's on the ... southbound track.
In addition to the Harbour Bridge problems, there were two other serious incidents affecting
train services this afternoon.
"As a result of the high winds there is a very large tree down up between Hornsby and Gosford and
we are in the process of bussing in one direction." The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a
severe weather warning for much of the state, and the National Parks and Wildlife Service has
recommended people postpone country travel until conditions improve.
Winds averaging over 65km/h with gusts in excess of 90km/h were hitting alpine areas of the
Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and the Australian Capital Territory.
Blizzard conditions were expected in these areas.
The Hunter Valley, Central Coast and Newcastle were hit hard.
"There is similar damage to the previous storms we saw this way last month but this time without
the rain. We have trees on the road, trees on cars, trees on houses. There have been dozens of
incidents and luckily no-one is injured."
NORWAY - The UNUSUALLY HEAVY rain in Southern Norway over the past week has led to flooded
basements and closed roads in many places.
The situation is worst in Buskerud and Telemark, where at least ten county roads are closed
because of flood water.
The Oslo-Bergen railroad is closed between Flaa and Nesbyen, after a mud and rock slide caused by
flooding blocked the tracks. Passengers are transported past the slide by bus.
BRITAIN - the latest dramatic landslip in the West Midlands has been caused by the WETTEST
SPELL OF SUMMER WEATHER FOR 150 YEARS.
Tonnes of heavy rock fell onto the corner of a busy Wolverhampton road, causing thousands of
pounds damage. The landslip happened overnight, sending rocks tumbling into the road.
An average of 140mm of rain fell across England and Wales in June – twice the long-term average
and the highest since 1860.
Almost three times the monthly average of rain fell locally. 7.2 inches of rain fell compared
with the 30-year average of 2.4 inches.
(photo)
Average rainfall for the whole of July is normally 60 millimetres but that amount fell in the
first three days of the month in East Lancashire. This week the Environment Agency put three
areas in East Lancashire on high flood alert - a HIGHLY UNUSUAL step in July.
In June an average of 200mm of rain fell in East Lancashire, compared to an expected 70mm.
The area has seen some of the worst summer weather for years and experts are convinced that the
situation is not about to get any better.
BRITAIN must prepare to suffer another month of freak summer weather with torrential rain,
floods – and even tornadoes, forecasters warned on the 4th of July.
The warnings came as water levels in areas worst-hit by flooding were falling and forecasters
said the rain might eventually be easing off.
But a long-range forecaster said the whole month would continue to be wet. The worst periods will
be July 9 to 11 and July 22 to 26.
“This month is going to be a continuation of heavy rain, thunderstorms and more floods. Both of
these periods, we are 90 per cent sure, will include torrential rain, thunderstorms and a high
risk of tornado formations."
His forecasts are based on the theory that weather on Earth is driven entirely by the rhythms of
the sun. He correctly warned of downpours between June 24 and 26 because of solar activity.
But other forecasters said the jet stream sitting about six or seven miles above the Earth’s
surface is to blame for the bad weather.
This steers the depressions of low-pressure systems which draw cold air across Britain.
This summer, the jet stream has been further south and does not look like shifting.
As the freak weather continued, a tornado tore down a street in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire,
Wednesday morning. It lasted for two minutes and smashed windows but no injuries were reported.
The national average rainfall in June was 5.3 inches. The previous June record was suffered in
1980, with a nationwide average of 4.8 inches. Recent downpours have killed five people and
flooded 27,000 homes and 5,000 businesses.
COLUMBIA - At least 386,000 families have been rendered homeless by floods in the nation's
winter rainy season.
The weekend alone saw nearly 6,000 families losing their homes. The situation was critical in
the northern province of Cordoba, where the Sinu River overflowed its banks, flooding the towns
of Cotorro, Lorica and San Pelayo, leaving thousands homeless.
The rains, which began in March and were expected to end in June, will continue to affect some
regions. So far, Colombia's winter season has left 57 people dead, 107 injured and 12 missing.
MEXICO - At least 40 people are feared dead after a bus was buried by a landslide in Puebla
in central Mexico.
The bus was travelling on a remote road early on Wednesday, when a mountainside is believed to
have collapsed on top of it after heavy rainfall.
Officials say more than 500 people are working to free the passengers, but that a second mudslide
has hampered rescue efforts.
Mud and rock as much as 7m (23ft) thick lay on top of the vehicle.
CANADA - Farmers in southwest Saskatchewan were still cleaning up Tuesday after a wicked
storm ripped through the area on the weekend.
It pummelled crops with hail, snapped power lines, flattened Quonsets, destroyed a barn and
ripped up trees.
"The lightning was non-stop. It was like being in the middle of a battle zone. It was just ... on
and on and on." The wind had trees bent over "almost double".
A plough wind may have caused the damage, a straight-line wind that pushes across the ground like
a blade. On Friday night, the winds got up to 130 km/h.
OKLAHOMA -
Rain had stopped falling across Oklahoma Wednesday and some bloated
rivers had crested, but many evacuees were still unable to return to
flooded homes in a three-state region and experts warned conditions may
yet worsen.
TEXAS - Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport recorded 2.02 inches of rain, easily BREAKING
THE PREVIOUS JULY 3 RAINFALL RECORD of 1.2 inches.
With rivers and lakes filled to the brim and more rain in the forecast, emergency officials
today braced for more of the flooding that has severely damaged or destroyed 1000 homes.
PENNSYLVANIA - The storm that postponed many Independence Day events brought RECORD-SETTING
RAINFALL. The 2.12 inches that fell Wednesday into Thursday morning is the most ever on July 4 in
Allentown.
7/3/07 -
AUSTRALIA - Sydney's main drinking water supply canal has collapsed, forcing authorities to
start pumping water from emergency supplies to feed the city.
The collapse is believed to have been caused by heavy rains and is believed to have occurred
overnight in the Upper Canal, a 60km long open pipeline which feeds water from the metropolitan
dams to Sydneys main filtration plant.
Sydney Water has now flicked the switch to begin pumping water from the Prospect reservoir to
supply Sydney's water although this reservoir has only three weeks of water supply.
Authorities claim the collapse is not serious and should be repaired within a few days.
However, it is the third incident in less than a week to jeopardise Sydney's drinking water
supply.
Last week, traces of the pathogens Giardia and Cryptosporidium were detected in the Upper Canal.
This followed an alert which was issued only the day before, that a large plume of contaminated
water had been detected at the Warragamba Dam wall. Both incidents were blamed on heavy rains
washing contaminated floodwaters into the catchment.
A key central Gippsland reservoir was filled by what a water authority described as a
ONE-IN-105-YEAR FLOOD EVENT during last week's floods. At the height of the flood, 300,000
megalitres of water a day was pouring into the 190,000ML reservoir.
The lake was at 55 per cent of capacity before heavy rain began to fall last Wednesday,
“The flows we have had were enough to fill the (Glenmaggie) reservoir IN A DAY at their peak
flows going in.” The reservoir's 55 per cent capacity minimised damage to towns downstream of
the dam. This helped to stave off releases at major flood level until daylight on Thursday,
allowing people and emergency crews downstream more time to respond.
It also halved the volume and cut the duration of the peak flow downstream of the dam.
More than 40 houses in Tinamba and Newry were flooded and more than 90 people were rescued by
boat or helicopter from the Newry area on Thursday, the day the peak flow arrived at the
reservoir.
INDIA - Due to incessant rains in different parts of Gujarat since Sunday, many areas are
flooded with rain waters and thousands of villages are cut off from the rest of the world.
State administration has asked fishermen not to venture into sea for the next 48 hours. This
follows possibility of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Saurashtra and Kutch region during the
next 48 hours.
Mumbai may have resurfaced from the weekend deluge, but in the coming weeks there is a
looming threat of a rise in water-borne diseases.
Hospital OPDs across the city are flooded with patients of viral fever, gastroentritis and other
monsoon illnesses.
The doctors say that with each downpour there are is a spurt of diseases and a rise in the
patient toll.
CHINA - a new wave of downpours at the weekend has killed at least nine people in central and
south-west China, a region already battered by rainstorms last month.
Worst hit was the central province of Hubei, where seven people were swept away by flash floods
triggered by torrential rains since Friday.
More rainstorms were expected to hit Hubei and Sichuan, both along the Yangtze, China's longest
river.
The flood season in southern China, usually from May to September, is notoriously deadly.
The country's south-eastern provinces expect more damage during the typhoon and tropical storm
season that extends through to October.
KANSAS - In Osawatomie, the surging rivers surrounding this eastern Kansas town stubbornly
remained above flood stage Monday, forcing hundreds to spend another anxious day away from their
submerged homes. Rivers swollen to RECORD LEVELS because of heavy rainfall over the past week
continued to bedevil residents across southeast and eastern Kansas, cutting off highways,
swamping neighborhoods and businesses, and knocking out drinking water supplies for thousands.
In Coffeyville, the floodwaters mixed with a 42,000-gallon oil spill from the Coffeyville
Resources refinery, creating a smelly slick that snaked through inundated sections of town and
flowed down the Verdigris River toward Oklahoma and a popular lake south of Tulsa.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service said that while most river levels are beginning to
drop, it could still be days before they return to normal.
(photos)
7/2/07 -
VIETNAM - Over a dozen HCMC homes slid into a canal Friday as sand exploitation and
overbuilding had weakened the unfortified bank. Officials recalled similar losses in the past and
said several areas are still at risk.
Fifty-four people lost their homes – 13 houses in all – along a 60m stretch of land on Thanh Da
Canal off Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street in Binh Thanh district’s ward 26 in Ho Chi Minh City.
The accident site had been zoned for a new embankment to be built in the near future.
A state office in charge of monitoring landslides in the area – which has been hit by five
landslides that have killed two people since 2002 – fell into the canal with the slide.
The city Department of Natural Resources and Environment attributed the accident to the rampant
exploitation of sand along the canal bank and people building too many houses too close to the
water.
Two women slipped into the canal with the homes, but were able to grab hold of floating timber
and were rescued. More houses could collapse when the tide recedes. All residents along the canal
have been evacuated. Hundreds of areas around the city are still vulnerable due to sand
exploitation, weak embankments, and encroaching developments.
Last year, several similar incidents occurred in Nha Be district. (photo)
CHINA -
An apartment building is teetering on part of its foundation after a landslide in Dalian,
Northeast China's Liaoning province, June 29. The building's occupants have been evacuated.
(photos)
INDIA, PAKISTAN - The monsoon system is now practically stationary over central India, in a
low-pressure zone. It may move towards southern Sindh, and later to curve towards Punjab,
particularly affecting catchment areas - where rain naturally fills rivers and canals.
The monsoon will probably move to the Arabian Sea where it will get stronger and move along the
Sindh-Balochistan coast. Heavy rains are forecast in many parts of Sindh over the next four days,
particularly from July 3 in the morning till July 4 at night.
In Balochistan, scattered rains are expected over the next 48 hours, especially on the coast.
Heavy rains are likely to start in the south from July 4-6.
Strong monsoon-influenced currents will also bring heavy rainfall to Punjab, especially in
Islamabad and catchment areas over the next 3 days. Moderate to heavy rainfall is also expected
in Kashmir and earthquake zones during this time.
INDIA - the Met Department has said heavy rains will return soon in Mumbai.
Floodwaters have receded in most areas and there were very few train and flight delays.
For the 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Sunday Colaba recorded 44.7 mm of rain and Santa Cruz in the
suburbs recorded 256.6 mm. However, for the rest of Maharashtra it was another day of heavy rain.
45 people have died across the state.
With the Krishna river close to the danger mark, 5000 people living on the banks were shifted out
of their homes. In Vidarbha, the rains continued to take a toll. With the Purna river
overflowing, an alert has been sounded in 45 villages in Buldana district.
In Amravati district, 50 villages still remain cut off. In the last 36 hours, seven people have
died there.
Meanwhile, all seven gates of the Irai Dam in Chandrapur district have been opened, submerging
villages.
And major roads in Gadchiroli are waterlogged, and in Kolhapur, the situation is tense with the
water reaching the danger mark.
BRITAIN - The Met Office has early severe weather warnings of heavy rain in place for the
whole of England and Wales until Tuesday.
CANADA - Approximately 16,000 people were without power in Mississauga Saturday after a FREAK
WEATHER EVENT damaged a power line.
A wind situation caused a small twister to form and carry hay from a farmer's field into the
line. The farmer had just finished cutting his field when the strange weather caused the outage
just before 1 p.m.
The hay caught on fire on the line and damaged the equipment, then flew back onto the ground,
causing another small blaze.
AUSTRALIA - Wild weather over the past two weeks has caused serious problems for whale
watchers at Cape Solander in Botany Bay National Park, with changes in migration patterns
described by one expert as "WEIRD".
"It's very quiet, and that's mainly because it's been a bad year. The weather has knocked
everything around, it affects our sightings, up to the point where we can't see them full stop."
The weather was affecting the migration patterns of the whales, resulting in some UNUSUAL
BEHAVIOUR. "There's been a load of weird things happening, but it's all because of the weather."
7/1/07 -
AUSTRALIA - More than 350 residents in Victoria's deluged Gippsland region could be stranded
inside their homes for the next three days waiting for floodwaters to subside.
Hundreds of other residents have been evacuated.
Residents in the low-lying Gippsland Lakes region are still isolated.
Water levels at Lakes Entrance peaked 1.3 metres above normal last night amid swollen rivers and
a high tide. While tides will continue to cause slight flooding in low-lying areas, levels are
expected to fall gradually as the water drains out to sea.
Residents of the four most vulnerable flood-affected areas in Gippsland were last night being
urged to evacuate rather than risk being stranded by waters expected to reach 1.6 metres above
normal levels.
Authorities were suggesting evacuations as Gippsland entered its fourth day of flooding after the
HEAVIEST RAINFALLS IN ALMOST 40 YEARS.
This year's weather in Townsville has been anything but predictable.
Last month LONG-STANDING RECORDS WERE BROKEN ACROSS THE BOARD – from rainfall totals to
temperatures.
The UNUSUAL run of weather has stunned weather forecasters.
It began with floods in February when hundreds of millimetres of rain fell over a few days.
And June, usually one of the city's driest months with only 10mm falling last year, has seen
111mm of rain fall.
A Government study will look at how the wet season is likely to be affected by climate change.
TEXAS, MISSOURI, KANSAS, OKLAHOMA - Some flooded-out Texans are being urged to evacuate
again. Returning residents who had evacuated their homes this week kept watch Saturday night on
the Brazos River, which officials expected to swell again today after opening another flood gate
at a nearby lake.
The river was expected to crest around 26 feet, a foot above flood stage.
Storms on the southern Plains have claimed 11 lives in Texas starting last week. Forecasters
expected rain to continue dumping on already sopped parts of North Texas up through Missouri as
part of a lingering storm system.
About 100 people near Marble Falls in central Texas remained stranded for a fourth day. Flood and
water damage made roads impassable.
On Saturday, there were reports of tornadoes touching down in southwest Missouri. No injuries
were reported and officials were awaiting damage reports.
The rain-swollen rivers in western Missouri were expected to continue to rise into next week.
In southeastern Kansas, three days of rain led to voluntary evacuations in Iola.
"Various sections in the south of town are under water, and the water is climbing. We have had
over 15 inches of rain the last three days. ...All the creeks are flooding."
The heaviest rainfall in the state was reported in Anderson County, where 18 to 20 inches has
fallen over a 60-hour period.
Highways across wide areas of Oklahoma remained closed Saturday because of flood damage to roads
and bridges. In Oklahoma City, rainfall was recorded for the 18th straight day Saturday, FOUR
DAYS LONGER THAN THE PREVIOUS RECORD, set in 1937.
More heavy rain was expected in Oklahoma late today and early Monday as the storm system moved
back across the state.
TEXAS - The flooding in Wichita Falls has taken a turn for the worse, with RECORD-BREAKING
RIVER LEVELS and more evacuations as water spilled into parts of the city.
BRITAIN braced itself for further flooding as torrential rain again swept the country on
Saturday.
The Met Office issued a severe weather warning for nearly all of England and Wales, forecasting
rainfall of up to 50mm in some areas.
Flooding in Yorkshire and the Midlands earlier in the week claimed at least five lives and forced
hundreds of people from their homes.
INDIA - Eleven people were killed as several parts of the state were flooded due to heavy
showers on Saturday. One person died of electrocution in Nashik while two people died in Naigaon
village in Thane when an overhead wire fell on them. In Thane, another person died in a separate
mishap while four persons died in Ratnagiri and Satara each.
"Thane city, Navi Mumbai, Vasai and Palghar are waterlogged but traffic is moving and the water
is receding.” With train services collapsing completely, the Thane depot of the State Transport
service pressed additional buses into service.
Heavy currents in a nullah at Kashimira washed away an unidentified person. Six were reportedly
killed due to electric shocks in Palghar, Vasai and Kashimira.
Three people were buried in a landslide in Khargaon village in Raigad.
A Panama-based merchant vessel, Ronga, was marooned off the Gujarat coast. The 16-member crew
grounded the ship at Muldwaraka.
CANADA - An expert is warning that Tornado Alley may move north, while another predicts major
damages in Winnipeg.
Some Manitobans are wondering whether global warming is behind the recent wild weather in the
province, which has been battered by a series of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms.
Four homes were destroyed when a tornado tore through Elie on June 22, one of seven that touched
down in Manitoba that weekend.
Seven tornadoes tore through southern Manitoba last weekend, demolishing several homes and
damaging many others and capping a spring that has brought much more rain than usual to many
southern areas of the province.
The intensity of the tornadoes — such as the one that demolished homes in Elie on Friday night,
rated at F-4 on the Fujita scale — is RARE. "It's VERY UNUSUAL to see an F-4 tornado in
Manitoba, and indeed in Canada." A climatologist says Manitoba should start preparing for the
weather seen in the United States' so-called Tornado Alley — the area in the central U.S. where
tornadoes are common — because he believes it's headed north to Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
"Farmers are seeing a lot of change in the weather. We've seen more extreme weather events. It's
been a real challenge to grow and harvest any kind of crop in Manitoba in the last few years. It
seems to be more and more devastating, the weather, as the years go on."
6/29/07 -
BRITAIN - More than 3500 people have been rescued from this week's deadly floods by emergency
services in Britain's biggest-ever peacetime rescue effort. Thousands more have been evacuated to
safe areas after flooding in Sheffield and large areas of northern England and the Midlands.
But forecasters are predicting more heavy rain in some of the worst-affected areas over the
weekend.
The death toll rose to five after Lincolnshire police divers searching for a missing 60-year-old
man recovered a body from a canal. The Government had underestimated the scale of the flooding.
“We have witnessed the biggest rescue effort in peacetime Britain by our emergency services and
it's not over yet. We had a whole month's worth in a few hours in many places. It's the sort of
event we would only expect to see perhaps one in 150 years. No amount of flood preparation can
withstand these very extreme weather events.”
AUSTRALIA - Gippsland in south-east Victoria is on major flood alert after some of the
HEAVIEST RAIN IN YEARS.
Mount Wellington in the Snowy Mountains has recorded 312 millimetres in the past 24 hours and it
is still raining.
Further south in the Licola Valley, the Macalister river has flooded and cut off the town.
The worst fires in decades, closely followed by less severe floods, swept through the valley just
six months ago.
MALAYSIA - Traditionally, it is now the time for the start of the drought and haze season in
Sarawak. But instead, it rains almost everyday here and in some other parts of the state.
This is abnormal and the weather now has become very unpredictable.
"Because of the El Nino, the weather pattern has changed. We [normally] expect the rains to be
heavier towards the end of the year." Unpredicted heavy rains and thunderstorms have caused
flash floods in Miri and other towns.
6/28/07 -
BRITAIN - Hundreds of families are still unable to return to their homes as floods continue
to affect parts of England.
Flood water is continuing to rise in some areas, although forecasters do not expect a repeat of
Monday's deluge and the risk of a breach in a dam wall that could flood villages in Yorkshire has
been "significantly reduced".
The floods have been most severe in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the Midlands.
The Environment Agency still has several severe flood warnings in place, and forecasters are
warning that flood-hit areas could be hit by more rain at the weekend. The polar jet which steers
their weather system is stuck further south than is usual for this time of year, so they are more
open to low pressures. Last week saw intense thunderstorms, and on Monday a low-pressure weather
front sat above the same parts of the country.
As a result, a month's worth of rain fell in 24 hours in some parts of the country. Saturday and
Sunday some two inches of rain could fall over some places which have already seen heavy
rainfall.
Flood-battered Britain is on alert for further chaos and loss of life this weekend as fears
grow that more heavy downpours are on the way.
Forecasters say an “organised band of persistent showers” is set to sweep the country on Friday
and Saturday.
The worst of the deluge, expected on Saturday morning, could cause flooding on a national scale,
with heavy rainfall likely to hit “almost anywhere”. Experts warned that many waterlogged areas
were seriously at risk, as the water now has nowhere to go.
There are already 245 areas across the country considered to be at risk of flooding after weeks
of rain culminated in Monday’s unseasonal downpour.
At 27 of the sites the threat is so severe that experts say there is an imminent danger to life
and property. Forecasters called the FREAK conditions an “UNPRECEDENTED WEATHER EVENT” that would
continue to get worse. “People around here can’t remember anything like this. The sheer amount
of rain is unprecedented and it has never been on such a widespread scale.
No one knows where the next rain will hit. We are monitoring river levels on a 24-hour basis."
Eight regions across England and Wales – the North-east, Cheshire, Herefordshire,
Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire, Yorkshire, Flintshire and the Isle of Man – have already had their
WETTEST JUNE ON RECORD. “In each of the last 14 days there has been somewhere in the UK that has
recorded more than one inch of rain.”
The WORST DELUGE SINCE RECORDS BEGAN burst the banks of the rivers Don and Sheaf, sending
millions of gallons of water into homes in Sheffield.
"While it's not unusual to get isolated flash floods in the summer, it's UNPRECEDENTED to
experience so many serious flooding incidents at the same time."
IRELAND - Kilkenny is experiencing the WETTEST JUNE EVER RECORDED ANYWHERE IN IRELAND.
Kilkenny has seen 14.4 cms of rain so far this month compared with just 2.7cm for the same month
last year and easily beating the previous high of 11.8cm in June of 1998.
And unfortunately it looks as if the rain is set to continue.
"It is certainly much wetter than normal. Already our weather
station in Kilkenny has had its wettest June ever, and it looks like a number of others will be
breaking their own records before the month is over."
CHINA - Lightning strikes have killed another six people in east China and pushed the death
toll from a five-day flurry of electrical storms to 43, with more thunderstorms expected.
SOLOMON ISLANDS - Heavy flooding has forced more than 3000 people to flee to higher ground in
the northeast of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
Some 80 villages have been affected after torrential rains caused two rivers to break their
banks, with waters rising up to 10m in some places. No casualties have been reported but local
elders have called for authorities to arrange for relief supplies to be sent after flood waters
destroyed food gardens.
AUSTRALIA - flood victims have had to be plucked to safety by helicopter and boats and an
entire town is being evacuated as the levels of swollen rivers continue to rise in Gippsland.
At least 30 people are being rescued at Newry, north-west of Maffra, with raging flood waters
swirling into homes. The whole town is now being evacuated.
(links to flood video)
TEXAS - the lastest series of UNUSUAL summertime storms dumped up to 18 inches of rain on
Central Texas, sending floodwaters through several Hill Country towns Wednesday and leaving
dozens of people on rooftops, cars and in trees.
No fatalities were immediately reported in the latest series of summertime Texas storms, which
have killed at least 11 people in the past week and a half. The downpour and winds were so
treacherous early Wednesday that helicopters were forced to abruptly halt efforts to rescue
people from rooftops.
The flooding washed out three bridges and also tore the back wall off the funeral home in Marble
Falls, about 40 miles northwest of Austin. There were 32 high-water rescues there. About
two-thirds of the city was without water because of damage to the water treatment plant.
Whitman Branch creek in Marble Falls, typically 2-3 feet wide, stretched at least 100 feet
across. Down the creek, at least four Frito Lay trucks that had been loaded to make daily
deliveries had washed away, spilling chips along the creek. Storm runoff is making its way to
Central Texas lakes, causing major flooding in some areas. Rains drenched North Texas as well,
creating flooding along some creeks and rivers and forcing the evacuation of at least 50 homes in
a subdivision near Lake Granbury about 60 miles southwest of Dallas. There, about 30 homes were
destroyed. About 25 people were rescued from the water, trees and rooftops. Eight people were
injured when nearly 100 mph winds hit the Permian Basin in West Texas late Tuesday. A 320-foot
radio tower collapsed onto the Agape Community Church in Seminole and crushed a bus.
It's the WETTEST YEAR ON RECORD in Austin, where more than 30 inches of rain has fallen since
January, and Dallas-Fort Worth, Waco and Wichita Falls have also received near record amounts.
This much rain is VERY UNUSUAL for the end of June, going into July.
OKLAHOMA - Wednesday was the 15th consecutive day of rain in Oklahoma City, BREAKING A RECORD
SET IN JUNE 1937. Heavy rain flooded homes and roadways.
CANADA - While it is tornado season in Canada, weather experts say the sudden rash of
twisters touching down in the West is HIGHLY UNUSUAL.
A funnel cloud was spotted Monday over Richmond, British Columbia, while another tornado east of
Calgary destroyed a barn and downed a power line that electrocuted a horse in a barbed-wire pen
on the property.
On the weekend, residents in Manitoba were terrorized by a series of twisters that ripped through
the province in less than 24 hours.
"The fact that you've got almost a year's worth of tornadoes in less than 24 hours is UNUSUAL in
that extent."
The province typically experiences about nine tornadoes a year.
Conditions need to be exact for a storm to become tornadic, much "like baking a soufflé."
"A lot of things have to come together in the right amounts with the right timing." The Director
of the NOAA Storm Prediction Centre in Okalahoma said abnormalities in the tornado season have
also occured south of the border.
"Where we're at is a VERY STRANGE year. What's happened is the cool season was well above normal.
In March, we really had an extensive number of tornadoes. We had almost three times as many as
normal." Canadian weather experts noticed there is a correlation between Prairie crops and the
amount of tornadoes in the area.
"When the wheat is growing in Alberta and Manitoba, the actual vegetation brings moisture into
the air and then when you come out and chop the wheat, the tornado season is over. They (weather
experts) have noticed a very pronounced relationship between when the harvest is finished out in
the western provinces is when the tornado season ends."
(photos)
6/27/07 -
AUSTRALIA - Torrential rain pelting Gippsland has flooded roads and is flowing towards
houses.
The WILDEST WEATHER IN A DECADE has shut the Princes Highway.
Rising waters are reportedly lapping at several houses in Bairnsdale.
Heavy rain is also bolstering Victoria's biggest water catchment, the Thomson Dam. Gabo Island
got 90mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am.
Residents of East Gippsland in Victoria are facing ONE OF THE BIGGEST FLOODS IN YEARS, as a
big low pressure system dumps rain from Mallacoota through to the Latrobe Valley.
The weather bureau is predicting rain tallies up to 200 millimetres of rain and driving snow in
the high country.
The bureau is warning wind gusts of more than 50 knots (close to 100 kilometres an hour) are
expected.
BRITAIN - eyewitness accounts of the flooding. (photos)
Thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes amid severe flooding across England
and Wales that is now believed to have claimed four lives. The Environment Agency labelled
current weather conditions "PHENOMENAL".
"We've had a sixth of the annual rainfall in 12 hours. Climate change experts tell us that this
is the sort of thing we need to expect for the future."
The Met Office had issued an early warning last Friday.
It had correctly predicted that 50-100mm of rain would fall in the 24 hours from 2200 BST on
Sunday, with the worst-affected areas being Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
Finance chiefs are warning that the floods will cost small businesses millions, and insurers are
expecting tens of millions in claims from homeowners.
(flood map)
Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes as heavy flooding threatens to burst
a dam at a reservoir near Rotherham. Hundreds of people have left their homes in the villages of
Whiston, Canklow, and Catcliffe and Treeton, amid fears the Ulley dam could collapse.
There is a significant risk that the dam walls could collapse after UNUSUALLY HEAVY, torrential
rains in recent days.
By Tuesday morning, water gushing down the side of the reservoir had caused part of the earth
bank on the dam to collapse.
The nearby M1 motorway has been closed in both directions because of concerns about cracks in the
dam wall.
The dam is close to Sheffield, which was overwhelmed by rising flood waters Monday, and a power
station that serves most of the city lies directly in the path of the reservoir.
Over the last few days Britain has been subjected to the “WORST RAIN FOR 50 YEARS” according
to some national newspapers. The southeast is usually the driest region in the UK and has a lower
rainfall average than Jerusalem and Beirut at between 450mm and 600mm per year.
The wet weather has reportedly wiped out the nesting season for some of Britain's rarest wading
birds, up to 1,000 pairs of waders and ground-nesting birds have lost their eggs or chicks after
rain hit the Ouse Washes in East Anglia. This month Ipswich has seen nearly double the average
amount of rainfall as a rare “European monsoon” descends on the Suffolk skyline.
And this month has followed the wettest May on record over much of Suffolk.
Only April was better than expected - there was virtually no rain for the entire month, prompting
fears of a drought.
“Two Junes in every ten years will see moist air travelling in from the Atlantic, resulting in
torrential rain of a tropical intensity like the sort we have seen for the past few weeks.
This May was one of the wettest for 100 years, with five inches of rainfall, which is three times
more than what we should have had.”
The four-weekly forecast predicts that while this week should improve, next week will see the
return of unsettled weather and then more rain will fall during the middle of July.
CHINA - Lightning killed 37 people in eastern China in a span of three days, including a
dozen farmers who were struck as they worked in a field.
SOUTH AFRICA - violent storms which lashed the province Monday night have left more than 500
people homeless in the city of Cape Town and carpeted the mountain ranges with snow.
Gugulethu and Lwandle near Strand were hit hardest, with heavy flooding. Wind and flood damage
displaced 500 people in the Lotus informal settlement in Gugulethu and 20 in Lwandle.
Flooding also drove out 14 residents of Du Noon.
The severe weather conditions stem from a cold front which swept in off the Atlantic.
The cold front wreaked havoc across greater Cape Town with heavy rainfall and blustery conditions
causing flooding, power cuts and extensive damage.
6/26/07 -
INDIA & PAKISTAN & AFGHANISTAN are struggling to cope with the effects of three days of rain
that left 350 dead. There are warnings that more bad weather - a cyclone and heavy winds - is
imminent. More than 140 have been killed in the rains in India. There have also been a number of
deaths in Afghanistan. A landslide in northern Afghanistan struck a wedding party, killing six
children.
Much of Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi - where 200 died - is still without power and water.
Officials have been evacuating residents from shanty towns in Karachi, where badly built homes
collapsed or were washed away by the torrential rain. In just one area of the city, Gadap in the
north-west, more than 1,000 homes have been destroyed. For weeks before the weekend floods,
Karachi had been hit hot weather and power cuts, leading to protests and rioting.
The army has been asked to help evacuate people from coastal areas. Winds of up to 40 nautical
miles an hour are predicted for the coastline of Pakistan. Fishermen have been told to stay on
land because of the dangers of three-metre high waves.
In India, the flood situation remains grim in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and
Maharashtra.
Tamil Nadu and Orissa have been put on alert.
BRITAIN - Hundreds of people were told to flee their homes amid fears a reservoir dam was set
to crumble after torrential rain brought chaos to South Yorkshire.
Two people were killed in Sheffield as floods raged through the city.
A man was swept away as he got out of his car and police hunting a missing teenager recovered a
body from a swollen river.
But hours later more disaster loomed as a dam holding back the Ulley reservoir threatened to
break.
"We have not seen anything like this before."
Three RAF rescue helicopters were brought in to help pluck people to safety from their roofs.
"These are UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS OF FLOODING."
The torrential rain which swept across Britain Monday, bringing flooding, tornados and death,
created the WETTEST JUNE DAY ON RECORD. Four tornados were reported: in Cleckheaton, West
Yorkshire; Treeton, South Yorkshire; Cranwell, Bedfordshire; and Telford, Shropshire.
A further deluge is forecast to sweep across the country from the South West at the end of the
week.
Some parts of Britain had an entire month's worth of rain just in a few hours. The floods
could cost the economy millions of pounds, as workers would likely turn up late at work in the
coming days, if they manage to make it at all, due to disruptions on transport networks.
The number of people in bad trouble was continuing to rise through the evening as reports came in
of thousands of people being without power.
Elsewhere in Britain rivers broke their banks, flooding roads and homes from Devon in southwest
England, to Yorkshire in the north.
AUSTRALIA -
Melon growers in Western Australia's Ord region are facing massive losses after unseasonable,
unexpected rain.
More than 100 millimetres has fallen across parts of the Kimberley in the past week at the height
of the melon picking season.
"Some of them [melons] are really heavy, so they seem to be waterlogged. There's no water inside
but you just don't know what to expect, because we haven't had this before. We're actually scared
of the sun coming out in full force and we don't know how the plants will react to that, we've
just got no idea because we've never had this before."
TEXAS - Rainstorms accompanied by high winds swept across Texas on Monday, flooding streets,
swelling creeks to near flood stage and damaging buildings.
Three women died when their car slid on a wet highway and slammed into a truck in the hills west
of Austin. Storms in North Texas were dropping five centimetres of rain an hour Monday afternoon.
In Rhome, about 40 kilometres northwest of Fort Worth, straight-line winds blew over fences,
damaged roofs and sent a metal pole crashing through the roof of one building.
Sustained rainfall over the last month has left the ground saturated and parts of North, Central
and East Texas are at high risks of flash flooding.
The severe weather shows no sign of letting up, with chances of rain and thunderstorms as high as
90 per cent in some parts of Texas today.
More rain is bringing another week of mild weather. "This is a RARE event. We are more in a
mode representative of May or September. This year is pretty special."
The rains are causing much more green plant growth than is usual for this time of year, helping
to lower temperatures.
6/25/07 -
PAKISTAN - Torrential rains and gale-force winds have led to the deaths of more than 200
people in the coastal city of Karachi in southern Pakistan.
Some 43 people were killed by the storms on Saturday afternoon, while the other bodies were
recovered on Sunday.
Dozens more were injured as heavy winds uprooted trees and brought down power lines,
electrocuting people.
The FEROCITY OF THE STORM WAS UNPRECEDENTED IN RECENT MEMORY.
Karachi residents were already suffering from power cuts which have led to riots in the city.
The storms came after temperatures reached 40C (104F) in Karachi.
Another storm is brewing off the coast.
In India, heavy rain and floods have killed at least 45 people in the southern Indian state of
Andhra Pradesh. (photos)
(Additional photos )
INDIA - The season’s first monsoon showers over the weekend left Mumbai struggling to stay
afloat.
Five persons were killed — two in a Saturday night building collapse in South Mumbai, two in a
landslide in Chembur, and a six-month-old girl in a wall collapse in Govandi’s Rafiq Nagar on
Sunday. Chronic spots like Milan subway got flooded, trains ran late, trees were uprooted and at
least 6 flights could not land due to poor visibility.
During 24 hours — from Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon— the city received 10 per cent of
its annual average rainfall of 2,300 to 2,800 mm. Colaba Ward recorded 237.1 mm, Dadar (East)
239.2 mm, Kurla Kamani 262.2 mm (10.3 inches), Vikroli 233.2 mm, Tulsi Talav 291.3 mm, Vile Parle
215.2 mm.
And the monsoon season has only just set in.
The temple town of Srisailam, which is also the site of a massive hydro-electric project,
created a record of sorts by receiving 40 cm (16 inches) of rainfall on Friday and Saturday. This
is the highest rainfall recorded by any place during the current monsoon.
Following floods in its tributaries and heavy rains in Maharashtra region, the Krishna River is
rising and similarly, the Godavari, Penna, Nagavali and Vamsadhara.
BRITAIN - Severe floods have affected many parts of the UK over the past week, with more
storms in store. Around the country, over 750 properties have suffered extreme damage from
flooding from both water crosses and surface waters.
With some areas receiving more than a month's rainfall in just 24 hours, fatalities include a
young soldier who died during a 'routine exercise' on the north Yorkshire moors when he fell into
a stream swollen by heavy rainfalls.
The storms have also resulted in a large number of people who have been evacuated from their
homes.
"This isn't freak weather, but we do have a consistent area of low pressure."
With more storms in store over the coming days, the low pressure is moving from northern England
to the south.
"[Over time] what we'll expect to see is more of the short, sharp storms that are extreme with
lightning and thunder. Under climate change predictions, the heavy summer rain is something we're
going to continue seeing."
6/22/07 -
FLORIDA - Lightning killed a man beneath a cloudless sky.
A Dade landscaper died after being struck by an UNUSUAL TYPE OF LIGHTNING that's stronger,
hotter, lasts longer and strikes from clear skies. With no rain or even clouds to warn him of the
danger, death came literally out of the blue Thursday. When he was hit, a typical afternoon storm
was forming, but nowhere near the area.
The fair-weather bolts pack a bigger, deadlier punch and form differently.
Most lightning bolts carry a negative charge, but 'bolts from the blue' have a positive charge,
carry as much as 10 times the current, are hotter and last longer.
The bolts normally travel horizontally away from the storm and reach farther than typical
lightning, then curve to the ground.
Protecting yourself from such unexpected lightning is difficult.
"They are very unpredictable and very dangerous. We urge people to stay indoors even if you hear
thunder only faintly in the distance. If you're close enough to hear thunder, you're close enough
to be struck by lightning." In August 1988, a Norwegian couple vacationing in South Florida were
struck while standing on a Fort Lauderdale beach. Witnesses said the sky was cloudless.
Florida is the U.S.'s lightning capital. Five of the 47 people killed by lightning across the
country last year were in Florida.
NEW YORK - Police were searching Wednesday for four people missing after a flash flood in the
southern edge of the Catskill Mountains.
Up to 8 inches of rain fell in two hours late Tuesday night, washing out roads and homes and
slamming trees into bridges in this rural area. Details about the search were sketchy, in part
because phone lines were down and cell service is spotty in the mountains 100 miles northwest of
New York City.
The downpour came as a series of storms tore through the state Tuesday, killing at least one
person, an ATV driver along the Genesee River who died when a tree top fell on him.
(photo)
NEPAL - A landslide at Mantewa, a remote VDC in Sankhuwasabha district, continuing since
yesterday, has swept away dozens of heads of livestock. Over 20 houses are also at risk.
The landslide has swept away arable land in wards 1, 4, 6 and 9 of the VDC.
The risk of landslide has increased in Mantewa-3 after the edges of the pond at Salpa Pokhari
crumbled yesterday.
The movement of people has also been disrupted after the landslide swept away a suspension bride
over the Chongduwa River.
Red Cross workers have not been able to reach there yet. Police have been deployed at the site
since yesterday.
The landslide swept away land belonging to farmers.
A report from Solukhumbu said 24 families are at risk due to a landslide that has been occurring
for three days. Land and a three-storey house was swept away, causing a loss of Rs 5 lakh.
A report from Phidim said some 20 houses in wards 4 and 6 of Chyangthapu VDC are at risk due to
landslide following incessant rain.
Some 200 ropani of cultivatable land at Samrjung was swept away by the landslide. People living
in some 20 households at Chyangthapu-3 and 9 are thinking of shifting to their relatives' houses
due to fear of landslide.
Six houses were displaced and some 100 ropani of cardamom fields in the area were swept by
landslides last year. "A primary school located in the area is also facing the risk of being
swept away. "There will be dangerous consequences if the landslide continues."
CHINA - Damage photos from the landslide in Zhenxiong, South China's Yunnan Province.
Hundreds of families were evacuated to safe places after the landslide destroyed their houses on
Monday, June 18.
6/21/07 -
INDIA - Army and paramilitary troops have been put on standby in Assam as flash floods
triggered by monsoon rains have displaced thousands of people.
'The overall flood situation is grim with all the rivers and their tributaries in full spate. We
have asked the army and other security and civil agencies to be on standby to rescue marooned
villagers as and when required." More than 20,000 people were displaced overnight in parts of
eastern and southern Assam.
'About 170,000 people from 200 villages have been hit by the floods so far in five districts with
a total land area of 7,000 hectares affected in the first wave of floods that began last week.'
The Brahmaputra river is flowing above the danger level in at least 12 places in Assam, and still
rising.
The 2,906 km long Brahmaputra is one of Asia's largest rivers that traverses its first stretch of
1,625 km in China's Tibet region, the next 918 km in India and the remaining 363 km through
neighbouring Bangladesh before converging with the Bay of Bengal. Every year, floods leave a
trail of destruction, washing away villages, submerging paddy fields and drowning livestock,
besides causing loss of human life and property.
The monsoon was scattered in Assam last year thereby sparing millions of people from the ravaging
floods.
AUSTRALIA - Camden has already experienced its WETTEST JUNE IN 16 YEARS with 185.6
millimetres of rain recorded up to Monday, with more rain expected in the next week.
186.2mm of rain fell on Camden in June 1975. "This is a huge turnaround from June last year when
only 50.6mm of rain was recorded in Camden for the entire month of June.
In fact Camden could well be on target to record its highest annual rainfall in more than seven
years with the total for the year to date already at 593mm and we are not even halfway through
the year.
The highest annual rainfall recorded in Camden over the past seven years was 669mm in 2005."
Camden also experienced its COLDEST DAILY MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE in seven years last Thursday when
the thermometer hit a daily high of 12.4 degrees. It dropped to minus 0.6 degrees at the day's
coldest point.
Another 19 millimetres of rain has fallen across Mount Isa, in north-west Queensland, in the
past 24 hours, bringing the RECORD TOTAL FOR THE MONTH to more than 100mm.
The temperature has also plummeted to its LOWEST LEVEL IN 42 YEARS.
MALDIVES - Flooding has struck every inhabited island in the country’s northern-most atoll of
Haa Alif, and several other islands in the north of the country. No loss of life or serious
injury has been report but homes on several islands have been flooded out.
Didhoo, the capital of Haa Aliff, is worst effected with at least seven homes flooded and two
still submerged. Several people have been made homeless and the island’s water supply has been
salinated. In Kulhudhuffushi, the capital of Haa Daal a large section of the harbour has been
washed away.
Flooding was first reported on Monday and intensified on Tuesday. The Maldives has been battered
by wind and rain for over a week and there was no sign of improvement in the weather.
Flood waters were reported in every inhabited island in Haa Alif on Monday. On Tuesday flooding
was also confirmed in several Haa Daal islands. Miadhu reports over thirty islands have been
effected, with flooding also reported in Raa and Shaviyani.
Last month up to a hundred islands were flooded, mainly in the south, and the country is still
assessing damage from those floods. Unlike in the May floods, this time resorts have been
effected too.
The flooding is not yet on the scale of early May, which was the worst flooding in the country’s
history apart from the 2004 tsunami. But the situation could yet get worse. The MET Office is
unable to provide medium or long range forecasts, but they say conditions will not improve for
the next twenty four hours.
MEXICO - There is a "high possibility" a huge underground drainage tunnel in Mexico City
could soon fail, flooding parts of this metropolis 15 feet deep in sewage.
Officials have been puzzled for years by the gradual decrease in capacity of the approximately
20-foot-wide tunnel built in the 1970s to drain waste water from the valley, which is home to 20
million people and has no natural outlet. They have speculated that the tunnel may be partially
clogged or that its walls could be decaying.
But because it is constantly filled with water, officials have not been able to travel through
the structure to inspect it or perform much-needed maintenance.
"A failure ... could cause severe floods reaching five meters in the city's historic center, the
international airport" and other boroughs on the city's east side.
Poor drainage and flooding has been a historical problem for the city, especially during the
rainy season that runs typically from late May through October.
The Mexico Valley, where the city is located, was largely covered by lakes when the Aztecs
founded the city on an island in 1325. The Aztecs built dikes to try to keep out flood waters.
The Spaniards who conquered Mexico in 1521 tried to drain the lakes, which have disappeared under
the urban sprawl.
6/20/07 -
JAPAN - The rainy season may set a record as the latest ever. Ever since weather officials
announced the start of the Kanto region's rainy season last Thursday, people have been scratching
their heads as they look up at blue skies.
Central Tokyo had not seen any rainfall from Friday morning to Tuesday evening.
Elsewhere in the region, the sun has stubbornly stayed out, prompting the Japan Meteorological
Agency to consider revising the starting date.
Officials said the unexpected spell of fine weather was due to a seasonal rain front that has
remained inactive.
But the front is expected to be active later this week, bringing some rain to the region.
The latest start of the season so far was June 22, recorded in 1967.
BRITAIN - A weather expert is predicting more freak flooding, torrential downpours and
hailstorms next week as this month turns from flaming June to mid-summer mayhem.The wet weather
is due to persist throughout this week but another wave of rainstorms will batter Britain from
the weekend and leave tennis’s showpiece event, Wimbledon, a washout.
He predicts the storms would peak between June 24 and 26.
“Another wave of rainstorms will hit Britain - especially the south - from around June 20, but
especially June 24 to 26 when dramatic thunderstorms will surpass expectations of TV forecasters
and probably whack Wimbledon.” Intensities will be significantly greater than that suggested by
TV forecasts even 12 hours ahead, the weather expert said.
But he dismissed the idea the FREAK mid-summer weather conditions are a result of global warming.
“Of course we can all expect the usual drivel from the global warming lobby who will doubtless
suggest these floods are caused by mankind’s CO2. They have no evidence for such alarmist
nonsense. The fact is that extreme weather events and rapid changes in weather types tend to come
in waves roughly every 20 to 24 years due to magnetic changes on the sun. There will be more
serious extreme events in the coming 12 months.”
He added that many businesses and operations were caught out by last week’s flooding due to a
lack of warning because they relied on the traditional meteorology approach which he says uses
science that has reached its limits of accuracy.
6/19/07 -
TEXAS - Torrential rains flooded several towns and cities in northern Texas on
Monday, killing at least four people and destroying homes and
buildings.
CANADA - RECORD-BREAKING RAINFALL - Saskatoon residents were busy clearing out their
basements on Monday, a day after more than 80 millimetres of rain fell in ONE OF THE HEAVIEST
ONE-DAY DOWNPOURS THE CITY HAS EVER EXPERIENCED. One of the worst areas to be hit was the city's
northwest - a part of Saskatoon that was still feeling the effects of a major flood two years
ago.
Flooding problems last year meant that about 2 million acres of farmland never got seeded. Even
more land could be left unseeded this year. The crops are slightly behind where they normally
would be this time of year, due to cloudy, overcast days.
Residents living near Calgary have been placed on notice after tributaries of the Bow River
surged with as much as 70 millimetres of rain over the weekend.
The deluge of rain across southern Alberta is BREAKING DECADES-OLD PRECIPITATION RECORDS.
Springbank, northwest of Calgary, recorded a whopping 38 millimetres of rainfall over an 18-hour
period by 6 p.m. Sunday night.
The total BEAT THE PREVIOUS 110-YEAR-OLD RECORD of 29.5 millimetres set back in 1897. Calgary has
already seen 149.2 millimetres of rain so far this June, which is normally the city's wettest
month.
"The normal for the entire month is 79.8 millimetres."
AUSTRALIA - Emergency crews stand ready as residents of New South Wales coastal areas brace
for what threatened to be the most dangerous of three major storms to hit the state this month.
Cyclonic winds up to 125km/h and huge waves are forecast to batter the coastline from tonight and
into tomorrow, starting at Moruya in the state's south and moving north.
Forecasters warned of cyclone-strength winds whipped up by an intense low pressure system. The
state already faces huge damage costs.
"Estimates are that the damage bill will ultimately top $1 billion, larger than either the (1999)
Sydney hailstorm or the (1989) Newcastle earthquake."
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service also announced the 24-hour closure of popular areas
within national parks in the Blue Mountains area, west of Sydney.
Following the rescue of backpacking campers during the earlier storms, bushwalkers have been
advised to postpone all back-country travel until conditions improve.
NSW Maritime was urging boat owners to secure their boats and stay off the water from later
today.
The dumping rain and violent storms were further evidence of a developing and hopefully
drought-busting La Nina, a weather expert said.
NETHERLANDS - Exceptionally heavy rain on Thursday night caused damage around the country,
with the Drenthe town of Hoogeveen particularly badly hit.
‘Extremely heavy rain’ is generally defined as 160 mm per hour; Hoogeveen experienced 280 mm per
hour. Two people were hurt.
South Holland province was also badly affected.
Air traffic was also hit, with incoming flights delayed for up to an hour by dangerous cloud
formations.
CHINA - Small and mid-sized rivers in South China are seeing water levels exceed warning
markers as heavy rain continues to lash the region, but larger rivers are calm. From 8 a.m.
Sunday to 8 a.m. Monday, some areas in Chongqing were hit by more than 260 millimeters of
rainfall. Meteorologists have warned people to watch out for possible natural disasters such as
flash floods, land slides and lightning strikes.
INDIA -
In Agartala, two persons were killed and three others, including two children, were injured in
the cyclone and flash floods that lashed the State on Sunday cutting it off from the rest of the
country.
Close to 25,000 people have been rendered homeless in the natural furies.
Several houses were destroyed and power lines collapsed in the cyclone.
Meanwhile, official reports said the cyclone, entering the State from the Bangladesh side,
destroyed several bordering villages in the southwestern and northwestern parts of the State.
In the last week, more than a lakh people were shifted to temporary shelters as the situation
deteriorated in the State with the increase in the water level of all major rivers and
tributaries.
Large areas of paddy fields have been ruined by the floodwaters.
Many roads were blocked due to mudslide and the authorities are using bulldozers to clear the
debris.
HONDURAS - In Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras, on Thursday, in a few minutes, the
sky turned cloudy all of a sudden and it started to rain. Initially it did not seem like a big
deal, but after a few minutes it turned into a very intense thunderstorm.
The lightning blasts struck at the city and caused power outages in many places. In one hour of
intense rain, many neighborhoods around the city began to flood as the streams overflowed.
Tegucigalpa, being a city of many hills, was subject to water currents that quickly grew out of
control as they went downhill. Several cars were almost totally covered by water and people had
to be rescued. There were reports of a fallen wall of a school, and reports of houses being
flooded and evacuated in several neighborhoods. The most damaged neighborhoods were the poor
ones. By the end of the weekend, five people were reported dead as a result of these floods.
Flash storms such as the ones on Thursday are QUITE UNUSUAL, even though floods which include
deaths happen every once in a while. The lightning strikes on Thursday were AMONG THE LOUDEST
HEARD. Honduras's weather has taken an UNUSUAL turn throughout the last couple of years.
Before,Tegucigalpa was never too hot. However, there has definitely been an increase in the
temperature in this city in the last four years. Today, in 2007, the temperature is in the 80's
and the hot weather sometimes rises to uncomfortable levels.
NEW ZEALAND - The rain that pelted Taranaki on May 23 could have been the HEAVIEST EVER
RECORDED IN THE REGION.
"The intensity of that rainfall was ABSOLUTELY FREAKISH. The rainfall recordings up in the
Wawhakaiho River were the HIGHEST EVER - and it all literally happened in half an hour. Not only
that, but we think that the rainfall intensities up in the Kaitake and Pouakai ranges were even
greater. It must have been a REALLY FREAK EVENT." The big, but short - four hour - rain storm
caused severe localised flooding between Inglewood and Okato.
"There were localised areas of very intense rainfall which produced extremely high, and in some
cases UNPRECEDENTED, discharges. There was one report of 50mm of rainfall being recorded in 30
minutes."
Major erosion damage was also caused.
6/18/07 -
PAKISTAN - A flash flood triggered by torrential rain has killed 16 people and injured more
than 60 in a mountainous village in northwestern Pakistan.
The flood destroyed the homes of at least 500 people when it swept through the village of Bedara
in the Swat valley, 200 kilometres northwest of Islamabad.
The rain has come after a spell of sweltering heat that killed more than 50 people in the last
two weeks.
CHINA - Eight farmers are missing while 10 others were rescued after heavy rains triggered a
massive landslide in central China's Hubei province.
About five million cubic meters of mud and rock carried 15 houses into the Qingjiang River near
Dayantang village. The Qingjiang is a major tributary of the Yangtze river, China's longest
river.
The local government had earlier evacuated 287 residents from the area because of fears of a
potential landslide, but 18 farmers about a kilometre from the village were hit by the landslide
while working on their farmland.
Search and rescue operation is continuing. Heavy rain since May is to blame for the landslide.
In early May, another major landslide hit Muzhuping village, 15 kilometres away from Dayantang
village, forcing an evacuation of 658 residents.
BANGLADESH - Over 50,000 people living in foothill slums in Bangladesh's southeastern
Chittagong city are under serious risks of falling victim to landslides.
Over 50,000 people live in slums situated at the risky slopes or bottom of hills where they rent
rooms at cheaper rates but life safety is hardly taken into consideration there.
A series of landslides buried over 100 people in Chittagong June 11.
Flood-prone Bangladesh is bracing for an UNUSUAL and unpredictable monsoon this year, with
environment experts and officials blaming global warming, melting Himalayan glaciers, silted
rivers and unplanned roads. Floods caused by days of torrential rain, described by weather
officials as UNUSUALLY HEAVY and devastating, inundated at least a dozen out of Bangladesh’s 64
administrative districts.
All major rivers including those flowing from the Himalayas through India have passed danger
levels, flooding many villages and eroding vast tracts of land, leaving thousands homeless.
In the northern district of Bogra, hundreds of mud-walled houses collapsed.
Although the monsoon officially began only on June 7, already at least 30 people have been killed
across the country in flooding which has damaged crops awaiting harvest and washed away dozens of
fish farms. More floods, which experts predict could hit again around mid-July, would damage the
country’s prime agriculture sector.
Weathermen said they felt the weather was behaving strangely, especially during the monsoon which
lasts until mid-September. “Now people often suffer more from months of waterlogging because the
floods cannot recede quickly.”
“The impact of unusual weather often hits our agricultural output.”
Environment experts have warned that rising sea waters could mean that up to 11 percent of
low-lying Bangladesh, home to more than 140mn people, could be permanently under water within 50
years, making millions homeless.
BRITAIN - By 8am in York, Friday was already the WETTEST DAY THEY HAVE HAD IN JUNE SINCE
DAILY RECORDS BEGAN, and they had more rain in six hours than the whole of an average June. Some
50mm fell on top of the heavy rain they had endured earlier in the week.
6/17/07 -
AUSTRALIA - Wind and rain are lashing the central NSW coast for a second consecutive weekend,
increasing damage in an already-declared disaster area.
The Hunter Valley and Central Coast are still cleaning up after last weekend's ferocious storms
and widespread flooding, which killed nine people.
Winds are backing off somewhat in the Sydney area after reaching 80 kilometres an hour overnight
with gusts up to 90 kilometres.
But damaging winds may extend to northern parts of the Hunter coast.
Waves are averaging five metres, with extremes of eight metres causing significant beach erosion
between Wollongong and Newcastle.
And extreme tides are possible.
The extreme weather battering NSW is set to make history this weekend, resulting in THE
WETTEST JUNE ON RECORD SINCE 1964.
Forecasters were anticipating another 3mm of rain to set a new Sydney record, with a total of
352mm recorded by the Weather Bureau as of 9am.
Sydneysiders bore the brunt of downpours this weekend, with the city drenched in 90mm of rain in
the space of 24 hours.
Emergency workers fielded hundreds of calls about fallen trees and flash flooding.
It is already THE WETTEST JUNE SINCE 1975, dwarfing the 9.8mm recorded in the capital last month.
The equivalent of two months worth of water supplies are expected over the coming week.
Huge swells of between 3m and 6m in Newcastle prevented experts from carrying out a planned
inspection of the Pasha Bulker coal ship grounded on Nobbys Beach.
CANADA - Landowners and county officials in an area 175 kilometres southwest of Edmonton fear
an ecological disaster if a local river carves a new channel and permanently alters its drainage
pattern the next time it floods.
Ten days ago, as heavy rains pelted down and river levels rose, the Clearwater River burst out of
its channel.
The Clearwater River normally drains west and north into the North Saskatchewan River. If it were
to carve a new channel east into the North Raven River, its waters would eventually drain into
the Red Deer River, part of the South Saskatchewan River system.
The Clearwater has already shifted its course and left its old stream bed almost high and dry.
The next time the Clearwater River floods it could top the roadway and create a new and permanent
channel that allows it to flow east.
That would be disastrous for people downstream. The North Raven River wouldn't be capable of
handling the increased flows and people who live along its river banks could be flooded out.
That's what happened further downstream in 2005 during a period of heavy rain.
"It's a natural event, all part of the flood plain phenomenon where rivers move back and forth
over the years. We have photos from the 1940s that show how the Clearwater River has moved."
BRITAIN - Heavy flooding in Britain killed a soldier and trapped more than 40 workers inside
a factory.
The workers were trapped Friday night inside a tool factory in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands,
after the river Tame overflowed its bank. The workers reported they were dry and safe inside as
the water rose to six feet around the building.
"We have still got power and nobody is going to starve."
The solider drowned after falling into a swollen stream.
Flooding throughout Britain disrupted train services, ruined homes and stranded motorists. Flood
warnings continued Saturday.
The Environment Agency issued flood warnings across many parts of Britain on Friday as
torrential rain swamped northern and central areas and weather forecasters warned there could be
more downpours overnight.
Homes in Northamptonshire and South and West Yorkshire were hit by flooding on Friday, while
train services were suspended between Birmingham and the east Midlands.
88 millimetres (3.5 inches) of rain had fallen on Birmingham in 24 hours, more than it normally
gets in a month at this time of year.
Two severe flood warnings - the most serious category, indicating "extreme danger to life and
property" - are in operation in Yorkshire, with another 48 warnings for rivers across the
country.
GERMANY - Snowploughs were needed to clear hail in Munich and a Berlin museum was flooded
when lightning and torrential rain lashed Germany during the night on Friday. In Bavaria state,
high winds ripped roofs off 10 houses and toppled trees, while the hail was so heavy that
Autobahn 8, one of the main freeways near Munich, was closed because it was too slippery.
Emergency services called out ploughs that are on stand-by in winter-time to clear snow.
A tornado hit the northern state of Lower Saxony, damaging tiled roofs and ripping up trees.
6/15/07 -
INDIA - Lightning during monsoon rains has claimed 21 lives in Central India's Jharkhand region since Wednesday, with six school students among the victims.
Nearly a dozen other students were injured when lightning struck Greenfield School in Rampura village. The rains also disrupted power supply in Jharkhand, plunging many areas into darkness.
VIETNAM - A strong twenty-minute cyclone [tornado?] coupled with heavy rain killed two senior citizens and injured two others in the northern Thanh Hoa Province Wednesday.
The winds devastated 469 houses, uprooted 2,000 trees and damaged 350 hectares of rice and tea crops.
This is at least the seventh cyclone to hit Vietnam this year. The storms have injured dozens of people and destroyed hundreds of houses, leaving thousands homeless.
6/14/07 -
BANGLADESH -
Hills that once protected the port city of Chittagong from the fury of devastating cyclones have come down, burying about 120 people alive following a heavy downpour which measured a little more than nine inches in 24 hours on last Monday. Rescuers fear that at least another 50 bodies might still be remaining trapped under the soil that has come down the hills. Many people have correctly pointed at years of mindless cutting down of the hills for creating plain lands for housing or taking soil for earth filling of low-lying areas as the main cause of the disaster that has paralysed life in the second largest city of Bangladesh. Landslides are nothing new in hilly areas. But THE SCALE OF THE PRESENT LANDSLIDE HAS BEEN THE WORST RECORDED IN BANGLADESH SO FAR.
WASHINGTON D.C. - On Tuesday, the puffy cumulus clouds were moving from the northeast, a VERY UNUSUAL DIRECTION for this time of year. The circulation around a persistent low pressure area off the Atlantic coast, along with its cold air aloft, promoted the development of a widespread area of thunderstorms, some severe, over southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware. These storms were moving "backwards" (southwesterly) into northeastern Maryland and the northwestern Baltimore suburbs and the DC metro area.
PENNSYLVANIA - Weather forecasters say the storm moving through the area on Tuesday, June 12, was UNUSUAL in at least one way - direction.
The storm came courtesy of weather moving in from the northeast. Typically severe summer weather comes from the south or west.
“That was the odd thing."
Usually when a low pressure moves in from the northeast, as happened Tuesday, the temperature isn't warm enough to cause thunderstorms.
But Tuesday was hot in eastern and central Pennsylvania and the storms stretched from Scranton to Philadelphia and as far west as Johnstown.
“It's just UNUSUAL for storms to travel east to west.”
6/13/07 -
BANGLADESH - The death toll in Bangladesh landslides reached 107, as rescuers dug more bodies out of the mud in a frantic search for more survivors and as heavy downpour hampers search and rescue missions. The Bangladesh government dispatched over 1,000 troops, police, fire brigade and civilian workers to join the search and rescue mission, although officials believe the death toll will increase as the hours progress.
The landslides struck early Monday as people slept following several days of continuous monsoon downpours.
Some 89 people were rushed to hospital after sustaining various injuries caused by the landslides.
BANGLADESH - Mudslides caused by monsoon rains buried bamboo and straw shacks in shantytowns and collapsed brick houses in southeastern Bangladesh Monday. 11 people died when they were struck by lightning. The hilly port city of Chittagong was hardest-hit by the heavy rains. Nearly 8½ inches of rain fell in just three hours early Monday, submerging the downtown in about 4 feet of water. Several factories in an industrial belt around the city were also flooded, stopping production and causing extensive damage to machinery.
The city's telephone, television and radio networks were also interrupted as transmission stations were flooded.
In neighboring Feni district, rain-swollen rivers flooded 15 farming villages, leaving at least 55,000 people stranded.
Heavy monsoon rains – the HIGHEST LEVELS RECORDED IN SEVEN YEARS – also inundated parts of the capital Dhaka and other regions of the country over the weekend.
AUSTRALIA - Many people returning home after four days of heavy storms and flooding in eastern Australia have found their properties and businesses were looted.
Thieves took retail goods and household items at the height of the storm on Saturday in the Hunter Valley and Central Coast areas.
Nine people died in the WORST STORMS TO HIT THE REGION IN 30 YEARS.
Health officials have also warned of the threat of disease from receding floodwaters contaminated with sewage. Up to 60 sewage pumping stations in the Hunter region and 40 on the Central Coast were without power over the weekend, causing overflows into the floods.
Maritime officials at the port of Newcastle are attempting to stabilise and remove a 40,000 tonne coal-carrying vessel which ran aground in gale-force winds on Friday.
Police have closed a second section of the Old Pacific Highway, fearing it is in imminent risk of collapsing and claiming more lives.
The closure has deepened concern – and anger – about the condition of the road, following the deaths of a family of five at Somersby on Friday.
On Friday afternoon during violent storms which lashed the region, a vast chasm opened up in the Old Pacific Highway at Somersby, swallowing a car carrying a couple and three children when the road gave way, plunging their car into raging floodwaters. Police found the second stretch of damaged road, about 2km from the fatal accident scene, while checking for other damaged sections of road on Sunday afternoon.
The site, south of Friday's accident site, was dipped and cracked.
Chunks of bitumen had crumbled away at the side.
(photo)
AFGHANISTAN - A landslide triggered by melting snow in Afghanistan has killed eight members of a family.
The landslide in the northeastern province of Takhar on Monday killed a woman, a child and six men.
People living in the area close to the border with Tajikistan had been told to evacuate in case of more landslides.
6/11/07 -
CHINA - Floods and landslides triggered by four days of rain in southern China have left 66 people dead and forced 600,000 to flee their homes.
At least 48,000 homes were completely destroyed in the rains, which pounded China's southern provinces.
The floods have caused an estimated $380m (£284m) worth of damage.
The provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Fujian and Jiangxi were among the worst-affected regions.
Floods also damaged agricultural land and crops.
"Floods caused by heavy rains have affected about 294,800 hectares of crops, completely destroying 53,000 hectares of them."
12 people remain missing.
In the province of Guangxi, the rains destroyed 29 reservoirs and 162 roads and forced 59 factories to suspend production.
BANGLADESH - At least 14 people were killed and several missing in a landslide triggered by heavy rains buried hillside homes in Bangladesh's Chittagong port city today.
Some bodies were still trapped under tonnes of rubble and police and volunteers were struggling to retrieve them. Several people were injured and taken to hospitals.
The rains flooded most of the city's roads, leaving residents stranded in up to waist-high water in some areas.
Heavy rains at the onset of the annual monsoon season have paralysed much of Bangladesh since yesterday morning, and raised fears of flash floods in low-lying areas.
They expect showers to continue for several days more.
SWITZERLAND - troops are on standby to help clear up a trail of destruction in northern Switzerland after flash floods inundated villages and drowned three people.
An elderly woman died in the village of Eriswil, when her home was engulfed and a couple were also swept to their deaths in the nearby hamlet of Huttwill after a river burst its banks.
“About fifty homes were destroyed in a small area. It was a very intense storm which was completely unforeseen by the meteorological services.”
Violent storms are frequent in Switzerland in the summer and can wreak havoc by sending flood-water coursing down narrow valleys.
Troops were waiting for earth-moving equipment to clear debris and to erect pontoon bridges to replace river crossings destroyed by the flooding.
AUSTRALIA - Rescue workers urged thousands of people to evacuate their homes Sunday after deadly storms lashed Australia's east coast, leaving parts of one city looking like an earthquake had struck.
After days of torrential rains, flood waters surged into areas north of Sydney, isolating towns, swamping farms, homes and businesses and causing millions of dollars in damage.
The death toll rose to nine when police found the body of a man who died after he was swept into a storm water drain on a flooded road.
Authorities earlier found the body of a man who died when his car was swept off a highway into a swollen creek.
His wife and three young children, aged two, three and nine, who were traveling with him, also died when the road collapsed underneath them, but their bodies had been found earlier.
Although bringing much-needed rain to Sydney and towns to its north, the storms have wreaked havoc since slamming into the city and the Central Coast and Newcastle to the north on Friday.
CHILE - Mother Nature made her presence known in southern Chile this past weekend, when wacky weather ruined homes in Region VIII and a cluster of quakes rattled already uneasy residents in Region XI.
Early Saturday morning, five homes in the Region VIII town of Lota suffered serious damage after being struck by what residents there described as a “tornado.” Though meteorologists have been unable to confirm whether the area was in fact struck by a tornado – a VERY RARE thing in this part of the world – authorities did clock wind gusts of between 50-70 kilometers-per-hour. The intense storm, which also produced hail, left 20 people homeless.
Several hours later, residents in the Region XI towns of Puerto Aysén and Puerto Chacabuco experienced a startling six tremblers in the span of just 30 minutes. Though all noticeable – registering between three and four on the Mercalli Scale – the quakes did not cause any significant damage.
The Saturday morning barrage was certainly nothing new for area residents, who have endured numerous quakes in recent months. The most devastating took place on April 21, when 10 people died after a 6.2-magnitude quake struck the area, causing landslides and a subsequent mini-tsunami in the Aysén Fjord.
Scientists believe the prolonged period of seismic activity is likely being caused by a subterranean magma flow – originated at a point directly below the Fjord. The magma, which is pressuring a subterranean tectonic plate, could eventually push its way to the surface and form a relatively small volcanic cone on the floor of the Fjord.
6/10/07 -
AUSTRALIA - At least eight people have been killed by heavy storms that are continuing to lash eastern Australia.
Gale-force winds and rising flood waters have forced the evacuation of hundreds of people in New South Wales.
More than 130,000 homes remain without electricity near Newcastle, on the Central Coast, and in Sydney.
Some 12 ships have run aground in huge seas, and there are fears that one of the vessels - a coal freighter - may break up and spill its fuel.
A severe weather warning remains in place, with winds gusting up to 90km/h. The storms have been raging for three days.
"This is the WORST STORM AND THE WORST DAMAGE OUR ELECTRICITY NETWORK HAS SEEN FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS." In the Newcastle suburb of Wallsend, where 200mm (almost 8 inches) of rain fell in a few hours, the state premier warned that the risk was not yet over.
AUSTRALIA - A wharf collapsed in wild weather lashing Sydney Harbour.
More than a dozen vessels broke free of their moorings in high winds and torrential rain and had run aground on beaches and in bays.
"More than 30 vessels have required towing since the gale-force conditions began Thursday. The Cremorne Point Wharf has also collapsed and partially sunk."
The majority of problems with moorings had been at east-facing locations at Abbotsford, Mosman, Balmoral, Manly, North Harbour, Little Sirius Cove, Shell Cove and Neutral Bay.
Meanwhile, Sydney ferry services remain severely disrupted.
CANADA - The North Thompson River joined other swollen streams on the B.C. government's flood watch list this week, with more rain forecast.
Flood warning conditions were earlier declared on the Nass and Bulkley Rivers in northwestern B.C. and a flood watch on the Skeena. The Bulkley River at Quick has already exceeded the flow of 1948, and was also expected TO EXCEED ALL PREVIOUS LEVELS IN 77 YEARS OF RECORD-KEEPING.
The Skeena river was expected to match the flow of the 1972 runoff year and it could break the 77-year record set in 1948.
TAIWAN - Three people have been killed in a landslide in Taiwan, as torrential rain pounded the island for a third straight day on Friday.
Local cable TV stations showed the victims' car near the northern city of Keelung, crushed beyond recognition after rocks and mud cascaded down a hill abutting the road on which they had been travelling.
Elsewhere on the island, rivers overflowed their banks, bridges collapsed and roads were flooded.
Upwards of 200mm ( almost 8 inches) of rain fell on most Taiwanese reporting stations.
The heavy rains were expected to continue for at least several more days.
CHINA - Rainstorms and floods have killed at least 23 people across southern China in recent days and made thousands homeless. “Millions of people are suffering.”
Nearly 20,000ha of cropland were flooded and 3000 houses destroyed in the southern province of Guizhou.
In Guangdong province, bordering Hong Kong, heavy rain triggered landslides killing three people and destroying 788 houses and about 1120ha of cropland.
In neighbouring Guangxi, two people were killed in torrential rain that destroyed 610 homes.
Storms also broke 29 reservoirs, 362 embankments, 165 roads and forced 59 factories to suspend production.
China's central Hunan province was on high alert after four successive days of rain swelled the Xiangjiang river to 4.6m above the “warning level” and to its HIGHEST MARK IN 20 YEARS.
Two more heavy rainstorms are forecast over the next four days.
Storms in Hunan killed three people, left 158,000 homeless and cut off water supplies to 75,000.
China's typhoon season is just getting under way in the south.
Experts last month warned that China's Yangtze river could flood badly this year, for the first time since 1998, when floodwaters from the country's longest river killed more than 3000 people.
Violent rainstorms are plaguing nearly half of the Chinese provinces.
Relentless rainfall is now in its fourth successive day in Central Hunan province, affecting more than one million people in 11 cities and counties.
MALAYSIA - Eighty-five people from 18 families at Kampung Air Panas, Setapak, here have been evacuated after a landslide Saturday night.
No one was injured in the landslide which happened about 4:45pm following a heavy downpour.
Two squatter houses were completely buried while two others were partially buried. Occupants of seven other houses were asked to evacuate as a precaution. (photo)
PHILIPPINES - Two teenagers were killed and 13 others injured when a landslide struck near a waterfall in the central Philippines.
The victims were on an excursion at the Mangitngit falls in Carmen town in Cebu province, 585 kilometres south of Manila, when the accident occurred on Thursday.
Two cousins were cooking lunch beside the falls when a portion of the mountain caved in and fell on them.
Their 13 companions, most of whom were also teenagers, were hurt in the accident. They were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment of various injuries.
WISCONSIN - A cold front spawned more than 30 reports of tornadoes statewide on Thursday with gusty winds, hail and heavy rains.
The passage of the front concluded two days of preparation for tornadoes and storms with winds approaching hurricane force by local emergency government officials.
"Over the past two days the National Weather Service and Wisconsin Emergency Management sent us advisories on the potential for severe storms.This weather system was UNUSUAL in the fact that these are the types of storms you see hitting Oklahoma and Texas. They are not the type of severe storms we see up here."
Tornado touchdowns were reported in Oconto, Langlade, Marathon, La Crosse, Wood and Marinette counties, while straight-line winds topped 60 miles per hour near La Crosse.
COLORADO - Wind speeds of up to 90 miles per hour were recorded across the Boulder area Wednesday night. Wednesday's high winds were the result of two pressure systems - one high pressure system in the Utah-Nevada area that met with a low pressure system from the lower Dakotas.
Although high winds can occur at any time, this type of wind storm is RARE for the month of June. "This whole weather pattern is between all different weather patterns, and it's a really difficult time to explain why these things are going on.” High winds are UNUSUAL for this time of year. Early spring is the prime time for high winds.
KANSAS - The wind the past couple of days wasn't just run-of-the-mill wind.
It was monster wind.
It had gusts up to 55 and 60 mph, tore limbs off trees and blew Kansas dirt as far as Illinois and Wisconsin.
"We could see it on our radar and satellite imagery. There was quite a bit of dust from the Texas Panhandle all the way north of here."
The wind storm, which was expected to leave the state Thursday night, was RARE - even for Kansas.
By comparison, the average wind storm during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s averaged only 20 to 35 mph gusts. Those storms were more destructive because of a long drought.
This year, some parts of Kansas have been inundated with moisture.
"Considering how wet it has been, it was [still] able to pick up dust and transport it everywhere."
The winds were strong enough Wednesday to blow a semi-trailer off I-70.
The winds were caused by a strong low pressure system that developed over the southwestern United States and moved east. The storm was a quirk of nature. Normally, strong wind storms occur in early spring and late fall.
NEW HAMPSHIRE - In Hampton Falls, high winds, a tornado and lightning seem to target a certain area in town officials have come to call "the weather corridor."
"We have this corridor that runs right through. Everyone in there has been whacked by something. It's not just a one-time occurrence. Over the years, it's started to add up."
The WEIRD WEATHER has gotten particularly noticeable in the past five years or so.
"We call it scary." "When you get these weather events, they're very odd. Usually we don't get these weather events in New England. It seems like in the last five years the events have gotten stronger, more pronounced."
6/8/07 -
RUSSIA - Some of the geysers in Russia's remote Kamchatka peninsula have reappeared four days after a mudslide put them out.
“Nature will heal its own wounds and come to life once again.”
Kamchatka, a 1250km long peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk, is one of five places in the world where geysers - springs ejecting hot water and steam into the air - can be found.
There were about 90 active geysers in the valley.
The level of water in the valley has gone down by 12m and the site remains closed to tourists.
The mud slide destroyed deposits of siliceous sinter, or geyserite, a rare stone that takes many years to form.
The geyserite cements the rock around the geyser and prevents erosion.
VIETNAM - a tornado has devastated several villages in northern Vietnam, killing one person, injuring five others and levelling more than 70 buildings.
The 40m tall whirlwind completely destroyed 57 houses and 19 workshops yesterday when it ripped through Hung Ha district of Thai Binh province, causing damage in five communes.
"This is THE FIERCEST TORNADO HITTING THE DISTRICT OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS."
The tornado lasted about 30 minutes.
Climate experts predict that global warming will bring more severe weather events to Vietnam, which has a 3200km South China Sea coastline and suffers scores of typhoons and tornados every year.
SOUTH AFRICA - From midnight to the afternoon of Wednesday 6 June, Joburg experienced its WETTEST WINTER DAY IN 44 YEARS – 25mm.
The last time the city saw that much rain in June was in 1963 – on 12 June.
While winter rainfall was not unusual, the amount certainly was.
ILLINOIS - An UNUSUAL storm was developing in central Iowa around noon Thursday and expected to arrive in Lincoln late last night.
"We've got a storm system coming out of the northern plains with a pretty impressive wind field out in front of it. It's sort of an UNSUAL SYSTEM for early June. It's more characteristic of an April storm."
Another peculiarity of the April-like storm in June is that the cold front passing through the region and stirring up the winds isn't very cold. High temperatures are forecast in the low 90s.
CANADA - Flood waters in northwestern British Columbia that shut down key roads could leave many people cut off from the rest of the province for up to five more days.
While flood threats have eased in the Fraser Valley east of Vancouver, main rail lines and major highways through the north have been washed out, cutting off Terrace, Prince Rupert, Kitimat and a number of smaller communities such as Telegraph Creek and two Nisga'a communities.
Until the river levels drop — expected Sunday at the earliest — the main roads will not be passable.
Supplies of food and gas may soon run short, and it is already the case in Prince Rupert.
The flooding is due in part to the rapid melting of the winter's record snowfall, combined with soaring temperatures last weekend and heavy rains that followed.
6/7/07 -
IOWA is tracking a potent storm system that could bring severe weather to the region today. Damaging winds, large hail and isolated tornadoes are all possible this afternoon into the evening.
The National Weather Service in the Quad Cities took an UNUSUAL step Wednesday, holding a press conference in anticipation of a severe weather outbreak. The strom system could be similar to one in June 1998, which caused widespread damage. Winds of 100 miles an hour were reported with that storm.
TAJIKISTAN - A landslide killed three people in southern Tajikistan.
Two women and one man were "buried alive" in the landslide on Tuesday, caused by heavy rains in the southern Kabodiyon region.
The landslide damaged houses and water pipes in several villages some 200 kilometers (124 miles) away from the capital.
6/6/07 -
OREGON - Central Oregon's wacky weather thermostat took an about-turn Tuesday as daytime temperatures nose-dived to the 40s and 50s - off 40 or so degrees in just a few days. RECORD-BREAKING RAIN fell across the High Desert Monday evening.
Bend recorded .80 of an inch of moisture in the 24 hours ending Tuesday morning, smashing the old June 5 record of .60 of an inch, set back in 1988. Madras had three-quarters of an inch, breaking a 10-year-old record for the day, but that paled to Prineville's 1.31 inches, more than double the .62 of an inch record also set in 1997.
LOUISIANA -
RECORD RAIN fell in Iberia Parish Monday, pushing precipitation totals above normal for this time of year.
The Acadiana Regional Airport received 2.58 inches of rain on Monday.
The amount was the most that has fallen at the airport on June 4 SINCE THE WEATHER SERVICE BEGAN KEEPING RECORDS IN 1948. The rainfall also continued a trend of rainy days in New Iberia. More than 7.5 inches have fallen since May 22, and there have been only two days in that span in which no rain was recorded. The record rainfall was mild compared to weather in other parts of South Louisiana on Monday.
Hurricane-strength wind gusts and golf-ball sized hail hammered Lake Charles, and more than a foot of rain was recorded in parts of Vermilion Parish.
ALASKA - This May, Kodiakans experienced only eight days without rain.
May 22 was a record day for THE MOST RAINFALL ON A SINGLE DAY FOR MAY with 2.7 inches, also the WINDIEST DAY OF THE MONTH as 35 mph winds pummeled the city. Two days later, May 24, another heavy rainfall dropped 1.65 inches.
April too, was rainy, THE RAINIEST APRIL IN KODIAK ON RECORD, with 12.57 inches. Normal rainfall for that month is 5.48 inches.
There is not likely to be a change in the weather since the jet stream looks to be fairly set in a stable pattern.
The jet stream guides storm tracks and the seasonal pattern appears to have normalized. In May, there is usually a transition between the winter and summer months, bringing different weather conditions in and out.
“If June rains continue at this rate, we will blow 2006 records out of the water.” Already, more than an inch of rain has fallen in June. Normal rainfall for the entire month is 5.38 inches.
CANADA - Flood waters in northern B.C. have triggered evacuation alerts and
closed major highways and rail lines.
Heavy flooding triggered evacuation orders on Tuesday for dozens of homes in northern British Columbia.
Residents of 26 homes in Smithers in northwest B.C. and 10 residences in Prince George in north-central B.C. were told to leave because of rising waters from the swollen Bulkley, Fraser and Nechako rivers. At least 30 homes have been flooded in low-lying areas around Terrace. People living in 260 homes in the area have been issued evacuation alerts, and alerts have also been issued for more than 1,000 people in Langley and Maple Ridge near Vancouver.
Highway 16 was closed between Terrace and Port Edward, near Prince Rupert, virtually cutting off Terrace. The road is also closed 37 kilometres east of Terrace, the site of last week's rockslide.
Further north, Telegraph Creek Road was washed out by flooding, leaving 300 residents of that area cut off. Many roads and back roads have already been washed out in the area, including 25 kilometres of the Nisga'a Highway between Canyon City and Greenville.
Officials say that by the weekend, the upper Fraser COULD REACH ITS HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE THEY BEGAN MEASURING BACK IN THE 1950s. The flooding in northwestern B.C. has made the Prince George-Prince Rupert rail line impassable.
Officials have found a pickup truck buried by the massive rock and mudslide that closed Highway 16 near Terrace in northwestern B.C. last week.
The Legate Creek slide, which was up to 10 metres deep, rumbled down over the two-lane road on May 28.
At the time, officials said they believed no one had been trapped by the wall of muck.
But that changed when a couple were reported overdue by relatives.
(photo)
6/5/07 -
NEW YORK - New York City received 4.65 inches of rain from the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry, as measured at Central Park - 1.62 inches Sunday and 3.03 inches Monday. The amount measured Monday set A NEW DAILY RECORD, topping the old mark of 2.75 inches set in 2003.
NORTH DAKOTA - the Red River is expected to crest about 34 feet on Friday. That's a RECORD SEVENTH CREST IN A SINGLE SEASON. Flood level is 17 feet. The Govenor has declared a flood emergency for the Red River Valley.
In Fargo the Mayor has declared a state of emergency as the city prepares for flooding.
MINNESOTA - RECORD RAIN over the weekend has put northwestern area communities into alert mode. In Fergus Falls, Saturday brought 5.47 inches of rain in the area, MORE THAN ON ANY DAY IDURING AT LEAST THE LAST 10 YEARS. Farmers are hopeful that planting can be completed, but it will be late. Wet fields are also hindering other work, such as spraying weeds and cutting the first crop of hay.
WISCONSIN - 124-YEAR-OLD WEATHER RECORD WAS SHATTERED Sunday in Madison, when an early evening cloudburst on Dane County's east side dumped three inches of rain at the airport.
The total rainfall Sunday in Madison was 3.06 inches, eclipsing the old record of 2.4 inches for June 3, set in 1883.
Coupled with rains earlier in the weekend plus a heavy downpour this morning, Madison has already received the average rainfall, 4.05 inches, for the entire month of June. Severe weather rolled through Wisconsin Sunday, causing multiple tornadoes in Grant County in far southwestern Wisconsin, but there were few reports of damage, only a couple of farm shed roofs blown off and some trees down.
KANSAS - RECORD PRECIPITATION pushed Hutchinson's annual total rainfall far past the norm, dumping a deluge that was almost double the normal amount received during the first five months of the year.
Normal rainfall year to date is 10.74 inches, however, the heavy rains the past month pushed Hutchinson's rainfall total to 20.69 inches of rain since January.
Hutchinson's average rainfall for May is 4.50 inches. But this May, 13.70 inches of rain was recorded at the Hutchinson Airport. This BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD of 12.5 inches in 1995. Two miles east of Hutchinson, rainfall for May averages 3.99 inches, based on a 50-year average. This May, that same location recorded 15.74 inches of rainfall, a nearly 400 percent increase.
In Great Bend, where May precipitation is normally 3.92 inches, the 1995 record of 9.69 inches in May was broken when the town received 12.57 inches of rain.
Kanopolis Reservoir also broke a 1995 record of 10.43 inches of rain, receiving 11.58 inches last month. This was a 273 percent increase from the norm for May of 4.24 inches.
BAHAMAS - a FREAK wind storm believed to be a tornado hit the area on Saturday.
Several eyewitnesses reported being amazed and others horrified at the giant funnel of cloud and wind gathering low in the sky.
The storm touched down shortly after 9:00 a.m., leaving three Lewis Yard families homeless in its wake.
One person explained that she felt as though she was sitting through a "mini hurricane" because of the heavy rain, strong winds, "and because we live near the water, the waves, when it crashed up on land, made a very loud noise."
The tornado was also the cause of a massive power outage on Saturday.
The overcast sky and adverse weather condition that covered much of the island over the weekend is said to be the result of feeder band activity trailing tropical storm Barry as it moved northwest across northern Florida.
6/4/07 -
UGANDA - One landslide killed two children and another destroyed crops in Bukhone village in Buluchekhe sub-county. The residents had expected the worst landslides to occur at the climax of the second rainy season in August and September.
They appealed to the Government to facilitate the evacuation of more than 400 families in Buluchekhe sub-county and avail them with relief items.
Bufuma parish in Bumayoka sub-county, Makusi and Buraba hills, both close to Mt. Elgon National Park, also need urgent attention. “These parishes experience landslides daily.”
Cracks in the ground in various areas are signs of incoming landslides.
RUSSIA - A powerful mudslide destroyed a world famous geyser valley in the remote Kamchatka peninsula in Russia's Far East.
The first television footage from the hard-to-reach area showed the valley flooded with grey melting snow, mud, fallen trees and stones. No plumes of white steam from geysers - a sight widely known from pictures - could be seen.
25 tourists were evacuated.
"The valley has changed beyond recognition. It is a great shock for all of us."
Kamchatka, a 1250km-long peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk, is one of five places in the world where geysers - springs ejecting hot water and steam into the air - can be found. There were about 90 geysers in the valley.
"The biggest springs may still come through the debris but most of the others are probably lost forever." The slide also destroyed deposits of siliceous sinter, or geyserite, a rare stone that takes many years to form. The geyserite cements the rock around the geyser and prevents erosion.
"Even a smallest dent in geyserite deposits in the geyser's crater can change the eruption's character."
About 3000 tourists come to the geyser valley every year.
Scientists said UNUSUALLY warm weather in Kamchatka could have caused the slide. The torrent has also blocked the Geisernaya river and the water breaking through the dam could cause more damage in the valley.
There is no road leading to the valley.
6/1/07 -
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Flooding has killed 6 people with heavy showers that have affected a large part the Dominican Republic.
Four Cibao region (north) provinces are under a red alert as the rains caused severe damages to infrastructure and to homes.
The threat of flash floods and mudslides continues and 5,519 people were evacuated, with 1,561 houses severely damaged.
YEMEN - An ammunition dump near the Yemeni capital Sanaa was rocked by several explosions on Thursday after being struck by a landslide caused by heavy rains.
The explosions occurred at an old ammunition dump at the foot of Noqom mountain, a few kilometres (miles) southeast of the capital.
"The explosions were caused by a landslide, set off by heavy rains, that caused friction with the old ammunition."
NEPAL - Owing to the threat of landslides during the monsoon, 80 families at Garagaun in Jharkada VDC deserted their village recently.
The village is now desolate after 400 locals left their homes to stay temporarily in neighboring Dadagaun VDC, which is considered relatively safer.
By last year, landslides in the steep village had swept away some houses and caused the whole village to sink some 10 meters.
"We are compelled to leave our homes as we failed in our attempts to control the frequent landslides."
Two landslides - one measuring 870 meters long and 384 meters wide, and the other 300 by 125 meters - have been troubling the village for the last 15 years. Over 30 hectares of fertile land was swept away by the biggest landslide so far that occurred in 1990. Similarly, another landslide in 1999 left several houses cracked, displacing 25 families.
The locals complain of survival hardships as the whole village depends on agriculture. "I am having trouble looking after my family after the recurring landslides gradually swept away 10 kathha of my fertile land."
NORTH DAKOTA - The RAIN HAS SET RECORDS in Bismarck and Dickinson.
Bismarck got a record 1.95 inches yesterday. It tops the mark of 1.53 inches that has stood since 1884.
Bismarck has had more than five inches of rain this month, with more rain in the forecast over the next couple of days.
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5/31/07 -
U.S. - parts of central Kansas have received more than 20 inches of rain this month, and additional rain today could push the monthly total above the normal rainfall amount for an entire year.
As severe thunderstorms continue to pound the Plains states over the upcoming days, tropical moisture moving northward is forecast to deliver significant rain this weekend to the drought-ravaged Southeast.
The clash of moist air flowing north from the Gulf of Mexico and the cold air associated with a storm system that has been stalled over the Plains for the past week will continue to spark severe weather and heavy rain at least until Friday on the Plains and in the Mississippi Valley.
The storms will continue to create dangerous flooding problems, especially in areas where the soil is already saturated from recent rain. Numerous storm and flood-related watches and warnings are currently in effect.
The severe storms Wednesday morning slammed Oklahoma and Texas. An area of tropical moisture currently in the Caribbean Sea between Mexico and Cuba is forecast to begin to move toward Florida. The system, which may or may not develop into a named storm, will cross Florida Saturday before moving up the East coast on Sunday and Monday.
OKLAHOMA - WETTEST MAY IN A DECADE - The south central region of Oklahoma has been deluged with rain since last Thursday, which has caused some flash flooding.
Since last Thursday to Tuesday, Pauls Valley has received 4.18 inches of rainfall, with over two inches falling on Thursday. The heavy rains have made this May the wettest May since 1997 when Pauls Valley received a total of 4.75 inches of rain for the whole month.
Pauls Valley’s total rainfall so far this month is 8.38 inches of rain.
NEBRASKA - Reports of washed out roads and standing water were streaming into the National Weather Service Wednesday as officials try to assess the damage from the heavy rains.
DAILY RAINFALL RECORDS FELL in Broken Bow and North Platte on Tuesday. Broken Bow received 5.65 inches of rain, crushing the old one-day record of 1.79 inches set in 1903. North Platte received 2.95 inches of rain Tuesday; the old record of 1.84 inches was set in 1979.
CHINA warned on Wednesday of possible floods, landslides and other weather disasters over the next three days with heavy rain, strong winds and hail expected, according to the national meteorological bureau.
"Our country has entered the phase in which weather disasters may happen frequently. Local governments and departments should intensify inspections of key mountainous regions and prevent disasters such as floods, lightning strikes, mud and mountain slides."
North China was expected to have wind and rain and the far western area of Xinjiang, the western province of Gansu and Inner Mongolia in the north were to have sand storms.
Farmers in the north and central parts were told to harvest wheat soon to protect it from possible heavy rain, hail and strong winds.
The agency did not mention the typhoon season which is getting under way in the south.
The bureau also warned schools and parents to ensure the safety of school children.
VIETNAM -
Two cyclones that hit Tien Giang Mekong Delta province Monday and Tuesday damaged about 500 houses and 14 classrooms, but no fatalities were reported. The cyclone on Monday struck My Tho city and Cho Gao district, destroying and blowing roofs off over 200 houses.
The severe cyclone also blew down scores of big trees and cut electricity and telephone systems for hours in the city.
The other cyclone which ravaged Go Cong Tay district Tuesday ruined reportedly dozens of houses and 14 classrooms.
Estimation of total losses is still underway.
EUROPE - Just one day short of June, snow, floods and high winds have spread misery across huge swathes of Europe.
Indeed, if you are looking for somewhere to sunbathe in these strange meteorological times, you would be wise to turn common perception on its head. Russia is in the grip of a heatwave.
In Germany, where May normally brings temperatures of 16-19c (61-66f), snow and flash flooding have brought chaos.
Bavaria has seen unseasonal snowfalls in alpine villages and flooding in the valleys below along with warnings of possible riverbank breaches on the Danube and Inn rivers.
A low front called "Marian" dumped a week's worth of precipitation on the region in 24 hours.
In Berlin, 1,000 trees have been destroyed by gales and lightning strikes, while golf-ball size hailstones hit the city and countless cellars and basement flats have suffered severe flooding.
In France, five people have died this week as storms and high winds battered the country.
Three people drowned while sailing in Brittany, while a man and a woman were swept away by giant waves on the island of Corsica.
Temperatures dropped to 6c (43f) in the mountainous central Cantal region, where it snowed in some areas, and 50mph winds were reported along the Atlantic.
Torrential rain caused floods across wide areas of central, northern and eastern France.
In Switzerland, the Gotthard Pass had to be closed after heavy snowfalls. A spokesman for the German Weather Service said: "It has gone mad across Europe.
There is no other way to describe it. Global warming is expressing itself with freezing weather."
5/30/07 -
AUSTRALIA - Wild winds buffeted Geelong and caused widespread damage across Victoria yesterday.
The huge wind gusts reached speeds up to 62.7km/h and sent waves crashing into the waterfront promenade and whipped up blinding dust storms on the Princes Highway. It also smashed a yacht at Indented Head.
Just over 2.4mm of rain fell in the city later in the afternoon.
Elsewhere, gale-force winds and rain wreaked havoc across Melbourne and other parts of the state.
Fallen trees damaged homes, cars and brought down power lines.
BRITAIN - Torrential downpours in Luton over the Bank Holiday weekend were the WORST RAINFALL FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY.
From 9pm on Saturday until 9pm on Monday, there was a record 99mm of rain - the HIGHEST TWO-DAY RAINFALL TOTAL in the town since local records began in 1891.
"It's historic. It's a new record for the region. That is two months worth of rain in just two days."
5/29/07 -
EUROPE - Nine people died in eastern Turkey, including six killed in severe flooding in mountainous Agri province near the Iranian border, where river waters were swollen by melting snows. Two more people were missing.
In nearby Van province, a two-year-old child died when landslides triggered by heavy rain demolished a house. Two other girls also died and another person was injured after being struck by lightning.
Six hikers died in Greece while trying to cross a river in the south.
In France, two divers and a yachtsman drowned yesterday off the western coast of Brittany in extreme weather.
The yachtsman fell into the sea from his 21-metre boat in heavy seas. The two divers were part of a group of six who were caught up in strong waves. The others made it safely to shore.
In northern Bosnia, two 11-year-old children, a boy and a girl, died after being struck by lightning on Saturday.
In Germany, three construction workers building a windmill in the eastern state of Brandenburg were killed yesterday when lightning hit a tractor they were sheltering under.
In Russia, by contrast, meteorologists said today was the HOTTEST MAY DAY IN MOSCOW SINCE RECORDS BEGAN with temperatures hitting 32.7 degrees Celsius.
Extreme weather - including drought, heavy storms, flooding and flash frost - have wreaked havoc across Europe this spring.
Aside from the human toll, it has also destroyed crops and damaged infrastructure in France, Spain, Poland, Bulgaria, Turkey and other countries.
CUBA - Heavy rain in Cuba and the resulting floods over the weekend have left two people dead, forced the evacuation of some 3,000 others and caused damage to some 370 buildings. The rain affecting areas in the eastern part of the country also damaged sugar cane fields, forcing an early end to the harvest.
Reports indicate that the areas affected by the rain have started to go back to normality, although the authorities do not rule out that the rain might persist.
Eastern Cuba has suffered an intense drought in the past decade, but has had heavy rain since last year. The weekend's rain found the soil saturated with water, following frequent downpours in recent weeks.
This situation is particularly worrying for Cuban authorities given that the cyclone season in the country starts Friday. Meteorologists have estimated that the season, which ends November 30, will be 'very active.'
BANGLADESH - At least five people were killed as lightning hit rice terraces in northern Bangladesh with heavy showers pounding villages across the country.
Three rice farmers were killed while they were working in soggy fields during thunderstorms in the worst hit Kurigram district near the India-Bangladesh border Sunday.
Further up north in Thakurgaon district, another farmer was struck down by lightning during an overnight storm.
A 12-year-old girl was also fatally hit by lightning when she was returning home from school.
5/28/07 -
INDIA - The monsoon is yet to strike the Kerala coast, but already northwest India has been lashed repeatedly by rains this May.
It's been an UNUSUAL summer so far for the capital and neighbouring areas, with the sun, clouds, wind and rain making one appearance after another in the sky. Already, the city's seen lightning and thunder 14 days this month.
This Delhi summer has seen a lot of fluctuations – while the searing May sun has gotten the temperature up to 42 degrees, cloud accumulation and rains have resulted in fluctuations up to ten degrees.
So are we talking climate change here? An apocalyptic sort of thing in the long run that should worry us all?
"Something is wrong with the Delhi weather. I don't know what but something is wrong," said the Centre for Science and Environment Director. The weatherman, for the record, is sounding no alarm.
"This is normal for an Indian summer and we have recorded more thundershower activity in the past in the month of May," said the Met Director.
So, the official word is that it is ‘normal’.
GREECE - A flash flood swept away a group of hikers alongside a mountain river in southern Greece, killing at least six people.
The dead were identified as four women and two men, all Greek nationals aged 23-36. The incident occurred late Saturday as a group of 18 Greek hikers, including two guides, were walking beside the river near the village of Dimitsana, about 110 miles southwest of Athens.
A flash flood, caused by heavy rains upstream, caught the group as they were trying to cross the river and carried eight people away.
COLUMBIA - Heavy rains in southern and western Colombia have caused a mudslide that has seriously affected 30 neighborhoods and left dozens homeless.
The flooding took place in Cali, the country's third biggest city where rescue workers had to evacuate people from their residences and vehicles. In southern Colombia, authorities declared a state of emergency on Saturday after a mudslide caused by heavy rains destroyed 12 houses and left dozens homeless.
5/27/07 -
TEXAS - Forecasters predicted more heavy thunderstorms in the Plains over the holiday weekend after two days of storms and flooding that left five people dead and one missing in central Texas.
Dozens of people were plucked from rising waters on Friday. Storms have dumped about 8 inches of rain in the area since Thursday.
On Friday, RAIN RECORDS WERE SMASHED THROUGHOUT CAMERON COUNTY.
“In Brownsville, we didn’t get that much rain. It was just under 1.75 inches ... and that was a record.”
Friday’s record beat Brownsville's previous 1890 record of 1.73 inches.
Northern Cameron County was most affected by the torrential rains. The weather service’s Doppler Radar estimated between 4 and 8 inches of rain fell in northern parts of the county. Harlingen reported 6.73 inches, nearly double its previous record of 3.65 inches set in 1959.
A tornado swept through Killeen Friday afternoon, destroying homes and businesses in its path.
Rescuers say it could have been worse. There was a lot of damage but only a few minor injuries. The storm struck after emergency workers had been dealing with two days of deadly flooding.
"This weather is crazy. IT'S UNHEARD OF ALL AT ONCE. I'm hoping we're getting this all at once and we won't have to deal with anything else for the rest of the year."
CHINA - Torrential rain in southwest China triggered flash floods and mudslides that have left 21 dead, while a neighboring region is suffering its WORST DROUGHT IN 60 YEARS.
A further 11 people are missing following the rains in Sichuan province and Chongqing municipality in the latest extreme weather to ravage the country. Twelve people died and another 18 were injured late on Friday when a mudslide swept through a village in Sichuan province's Garze region. More than 3,000 houses were washed away and 1,300 hectares of farmland destroyed.
A 4km (2.5 mile) stretch of the highway was also washed away
In nearby Shimian county, nine people were killed when falling rocks hit a bus, knocking the vehicle off the road.
The bad weather has already affected more than two million people.
More than 360 people have been hurt and 112,000 evacuated in the disasters, in a region that only last year endured its worst drought in half a century.
Meanwhile, more than 1.6 million people in Gansu province to the north face drinking water shortages due to the worst drought there since the 1940s.
The dry spell, which has had no significant rainfall in some areas for more than two months, is endangering crops or delaying planting on 1.46 million hectares (3.6 million acres) of cropland.
GREECE - Hours of heavy rainfall Thursday flooded hundreds of homes and stores across Attica and caused widespread problems on roads. A hailstorm in the northern prefecture of Imathia damaged tens of hectares of cotton, wheat and beets as well as peach and citrus trees.
5/25/07 -
SPAIN - Heavy rain flooded Spanish towns yesterday, stranding thousands as roads and railways were submerged and washing away olive trees and vineyards.
Hail and rain destroyed hundreds of millions of euros worth of crops.
Fruit harvests like early cherries have been ruined.
Over 400 people fled their homes in the town of Alcazar de San Juan as a dyke came close to bursting in the normally parched province of Ciudad Real.
Thunderstorms were set to keep pounding the central grain and wine producing region of Castilla La Mancha until the weekend.
A wetter-than-normal spring had helped to alleviate drought conditions in central and southern Spain.
However, as much rain has fallen on the central region's rolling plains in the last few days as in the whole of 2005.
Train services, including links between Madrid and major Mediterranean coast cities, were suspended yesterday as tracks disappeared under water.
“Overflowing rivers have dragged away centuries old olive trees and destroyed hillsides."
Grain crops had been doing well thanks to a mild, wet spring and harvesting had been set to start next week in the south.
If the ground is too wet that will be delayed.
Damage in the region was put at up to $261 million.
ASIA - La Nina, a weather phenomenon characterised by incessant rainfall, storms and flooding in most parts of Asia, may be emerging again this year, and farmers may have to brace themselves for a “wet” dry season. In Thailand, farmers have reported UNSEASONAL RAINS on rubber, cocoa and coffee plantations in Southeast Asia, which have curbed supply and helped support global prices.
“It’s already May but still there’s so much rain. I think the world is getting strange,” said a rubber dealer in Jakarta. “It’s getting tougher to find raw material,” said the dealer, referring to difficulties in extracting latex from rubber trees because of erratic weather. Parts of Indonesia normally enter the dry season in April and May but rain is still falling.
Rains induced by this weather anomaly may lash oil palm, rubber, coffee and cocoa plantations as well as inundate rice fields and open pit mining areas.
MIDWESTERN U.S. - Torrential rainfall hit parts of the Plains and Midwest, flooding towns in Kansas Thursday, toppling trees and power lines and pelting the countryside with hail.
Some central Kansas towns recorded as much as 7 inches of rain – in some places up to 2 inches per hour – starting Wednesday.
The deluge closed dozens of roads, some flooded for the second time in three weeks. The storms also spawned tornadoes and funnel clouds, but no significant tornado damage was reported. Toppled trees and power lines were reported in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The National Weather Service posted a flood warning for the Big Nemaha River in southeastern Nebraska.
COLORADO - An UNUSUAL storm moved through the state Wednesday triggering flash flood watches along the Arkansas River from Pueblo through the lower Arkansas Valley.
"This is an unusual storm system for this time of year. It's late in the season. Typically, these types of storms occur in the winter."
The storm was a result of a strong low pressure system moving across the state with a cold front.
5/24/07 -
CHINA - Lightning struck a school in southwest China killing seven children and injuring 40 pupils and teachers.
The accident happened during a rain storm yesterday at a village school in Chongqing municipality.
CAMEROON - Five children were killed by a lightning bolt while gathering firewood in a forest in northeastern Cameroon. The month of May typically sees heavy rains in the Adamawa Plateau region of the Central African country.
INDIA - Four sheep-rearing children, who took shelter under a tree, were killed when lightning struck at Burjugadda thanda of Shamshabad, on Wednesday evening.
The children rushed to a nearby tree abutting a huge rock for shelter from rain.
Minutes later, the lightning struck leaving all the four dead on the spot and injuring another girl standing beside them.
5/23/07 -
HAWAII - The weekend's voggy weather is likely to stick around through today.
The recent shift from trade winds to light southeasterly breezes produced these sticky conditions and brought the hazy air from the Big Island's Kilauea Volcano to Maui and O'ahu. Southeasterly winds are RARE in Hawai'i, where trade winds dominate much of the wind pattern. Wind from the south — commonly referred to as Kona wind — doesn't bring the vog with it.
A high-pressure ridge is blocking the usual trade wind, causing the wind shift that resulted in hazy, voggy conditions.
"It's been quite hazy, like we're in L.A."
This kind of wind pattern is UNCOMMON during the early summer months.
"This is normally something that occurs during the winter months, late fall and early spring. The summer months are the steadiest trade-wind days, when it blows maybe about 90 to 95 percent of the time."
5/21/07 -
BULGARIA - A landslide caused by the heavy torrential rains blocked the E79 European road in the Vladaya suburb of Bulgarian capital Sofia late on Sunday.
The road links the city to the southwestern part of the country, continuing on to Greece. Another landslide blocked a lesser road, from Sofia to Samokov in the foothills of the Rila Mountains.
The torrential downpour has swelled the small rivers passing through the Bulgarian capital, causing minor damages and slowing down traffic.
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5/20/07 -
TIBET - There's growing concern for people living in a remote county of Tibet where days of torrential rains have triggered an avalanche and mud-slide closing the only highway to Zayu County isolating more than 22,000 people.
As of Thursday morning no casualties had been reported but there has been little contact with villagers and herders in the area.
Zayu has received more than 140 millimeters of rainfall since Monday, more than half of the county's monthly average for May.
Located in southeastern Tibet, Zayu County borders India and Myanmar and has a total population of 26,200.
More than 1,000 cubic meters of snow covered a 90-meter-long stretch of highway, while the mud slide left a 35-meter-deep gully on another section of the road.
CYPRUS - Mountainous areas and villages in Limassol felt the brunt of a freak hailstorm that lashed the Troodos range.
Residents said they sustained catastrophic damages to their fields and crops from the heavy rain and hailstorms to strike the villages of Amiandos, Chandria, Pelendri, Agros and Kyperounta.
The violent downpour started at around 3:30pm and residents of the villages could only look on in horror as the rainstorm was followed by one hour of hailstones which some witnesses said were the size of walnuts. The narrow streets of Chandria were iced with hailstones with elderly residents of the village inspecting their roofs and gardens to examine the severity of the damage.
Fields were flooded as were the roads especially in the mountains.
The Kyperounta–Agros road was closed off well into the night due to heavy floods and the local authorities were placed on high alert after it was reported that the nearby Xyliatou Dam was close to overflowing.
“I grow peaches and my entire crops have been devastated. An entire year’s work was literally ruined in less than hour. It’s hard to believe."
Other farmers in the area who grow fruit and vegetables such as figs, grapes and potatoes have also been hit hard by the storms.
An elderly woman from Agros said, “In all my years, I have never seen rain and hailstorms like this...we all feared for our safety. It sounded like people were pelting my house with stones and rocks”.
Another resident burst into tears. “I am totally ruined. All our crops and even our grapevine have been destroyed. I am lost for words.”
Early government reports suggest that the damages could exceed £1 million.
LEBANNON - Spring-time storms have damaged crops across the Chouf Mountains and the Bekaa Valley and led to the flooding of Al-Assi River.
Torrential rains in the past few days caused flooding in several parts of the Bekaa, transforming streets into rivers and leaving residents stranded in their homes. The government deployed earth-moving equipment Thursday to redirect waters that had trapped residents in their homes.
Farmers in the upper Chouf villages say that high winds and hail this year have smashed both trees and fruits with the cherry crops destroyed. The persistence of cloudy skies and rainfall in May may be part of a broad, long-term alteration of the country's weather patterns. The unpredictable weather has frustrated beachgoers, pedestrians, and farmers.
"We never saw such ugly weather since 1948. Our whole season is now at real risk."
Tons of fish also perished when Al-Assi flooded leaving behind heavy damages to farms, parks and nearby cafes.
5/18/07 -
AUSTRALIA - Residents in Victoria's west were preparing for possible flash flood as a series of storms swept across the state.
Elsewhere, hailstorms have caused damage to cars and homes at Pooncarie, north-west of Mildura.
The weather bureau says it is UNUSUAL weather for autumn.
"We don't normally expect to see hail stones that were reported to be golf ball size at this time of year."
CHINA - More than 100 residents have been evacuated after a fresh landslide occurred in another village of central China's Hubei Province yesterday.
The landslide, with about 100,000 cubic meters of mud-rock flow, happened in the wee hours at Tizikou village in Taiping township of Badong county. Local government has relocated 112 people in 31 households. No casualties have been reported.
The landslide is the newest of a spate of mud-rock flows which began on May 10 in the area after the water level in a res