Drought is expected to persist over much of the central and southern Plains and in parts of the Southwest.

Meanwhile, recent heavy rains due to the onset of the U.S. monsoon season should ease drought conditions and reduce wildfires in Colorado and parts of the Southwest, although long-term drought is likely to continue.

Higher-than-normal temperatures, which have exacerbated drought conditions in part of the West and contributed to a busy wildfire season, are expected to persist this summer, NOAA officials said last month.

A 15-year-old boy fell into a flooded diversion channel in Albuquerque on Saturday evening, and the turbulent current carried him miles, said Albuquerque fire inspector Gabe Serna. The boy had dropped his keys and slipped into the arroyo when he tried to retrieve them.

It took three attempts before rescue crews could pull him from the swift current, Serna said. He was treated for hypothermia and abrasions at a hospital.

"I don't know how many times we tell people, 'Do not play in the arroyo.' We always manage to get one that falls in," Serna said.

Thunderstorms dropped an estimated 3 inches of rain in an hour Saturday over Truth or Consequences and the surrounding area, south of Albuquerque, the weather service said.

Flooding washed out roads in Rio Rancho, just north of Albuquerque, and 4 feet of water covered an Interstate 25 exit in Socorro.

Colorado Gov. Bill Owens issued a disaster emergency order Saturday for Douglas County, southwest of Denver, where rain had washed out roads and flooded homes in areas stripped of vegetation by a 138,000- acre wildfire in 2002.

Residents of about a dozen Douglas County homes between Deckers and Westcreek were isolated by flooding Saturday. Several campgrounds were evacuated Friday, and occupants of 86 homes in the Westcreek area were urged to evacuate, local officials said.

The National Weather Service issued flash-flood warnings. Meteorologists said there were reports of 3 to 4 inches of rain across northern Pueblo County, where a tornado touched down, and 4 to 6 inches of rain in southeast Cheyenne County.

In New Mexico, a 15-year-old boy fell into a flooded diversion channel in Albuquerque on Saturday night, and was carried by the raging current for five miles before he was rescued, said Albuquerque fire inspector Gabe Serna.

It took three attempts before rescue crews could pull him from the swift current, Serna said. The boy was later transported to a hospital and treated for hypothermia and abrasions.

"I don't know how many times we tell people, 'Do not play in the arroyo.' We always manage to get one that falls in," he said.

Thunderstorms dropped an estimated 3 inches of rain in an hour Saturday over Truth or Consequences and the surrounding area, south of Albuquerque, the weather service said.

Flooding washed out roads in Rio Rancho, just north of Albuquerque, and 4 feet of water covered an Interstate 25 exit in Socorro.

Colorado Governor Bill Owens issued a disaster emergency order Saturday for Douglas County, southwest of Denver, where rain had washed out roads and flooded homes in areas stripped of vegetation by a 138,000-acre wildfire in 2002.

Discovery, which has a partnership with NBC News, asked Brokaw last year if there were any projects he would like to work on. He said he was interested in the environment, and Discovery mentioned its global-warming project, which it was making in partnership with the BBC.

Brokaw's wife, Meredith, is vice president of the environmental organization Conservation International. They've traveled to some of the places featured in the Discovery documentary, like Patagonia and Mongolia, and have seen firsthand the effects of global warming.

He's tried to alter some habits to save fossil fuels: changing light fixtures in his homes, for example. He owns a hybrid car, and so do both of his daughters.

"It's not affecting our lifestyle at all, not one whit," he said.

On the Discovery documentary, producers travel great distances to make the case that man has contributed to a rapid warming of the planet's atmosphere that has already had noticeable effects and will potentially have much more.

A scientist in the Arctic explains how the increased melting of summertime sea ice is slowly starving the polar bear population. Rising sea water seeping through the ground threatens to eventually swallow entirely the South Pacific island of Tuvalu. Drought threatens the giant Amazon rain forest. Explorers bring cameras beneath ice sheets in Patagonia to show the melting.

More frightening are the scenarios that scientists can see for the future: increased sea levels swallowing cities like New York, more vicious hurricanes like Katrina, more land turning to desert. One expert even envisions half of the planet's species disappearing by the end of this century.

"By the year 2100, in the lifetime of our children and grandchildren, our world will be a drastically different place," Brokaw says in the documentary.

In helping put together the film, Brokaw said he was surprised at the speed with which everything is happening and the growing agreement among scientists about what was once a controversial notion.

Producers speak to no one, at least on film, who believes the current warmth is part of the Earth's natural cycle and who minimizes the importance of what is happening.

"You go around the world and it is the overwhelming number of people in the science of climatology who say this is happening," Brokaw said.

Discovery does intend to alter one part of the film that, in a preview tape, talks about the United States' refusal to participate in the Kyoto international treaty to reduce greenhouse gases, he said. During the discussion, a picture is flashed of a demonstrator holding a picture of President Bush emblazoned with "toxic Texan." Brokaw said that political blame should be distributed more broadly.

The same scientists who warn of dire consequences also say that there are things that can be done to greatly slow the rate of global warming.

In the film, Brokaw presents examples big and small - from New York City promoting more energy-efficient mass transportation and environmentally friendly building construction to families that can save a remarkable amount of energy by simply unplugging television sets when they aren't being used.

Brokaw, 66, spoke by telephone from Colorado, where he's working on a documentary about illegal immigration. Another NBC documentary, about the black underclass, is set to run later this month.

How's this retirement thing working out anyway?

"Good question," he said. "I flunked."

He said he's trying to find a better balance between work, relaxation and travel. Even when he's working on projects, he said it feels freeing not to have to be in the studio at 6:30 every night for NBC's "Nightly News."

With all the changes at the top ranks of network anchors - former NBC star Katie Couric about to take over at the "CBS Evening News," Charles Gibson in charge at ABC News - Brokaw is loyal to successor Brian Williams.

"I'm sure a year from now (Couric) will have a secure lock on second place," he said.

Adi Susilo, a geophysics expert from the Malang-based Brawijaya University, predicted a powerful earthquake would hit East Java some time between 2010 and 2020. Adi made the forecast after studying records on earthquake cycles measuring over six points on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale.

"Based on the records I have, a quake of that nature will recur any time in cycles of between 10 and 20 years. They usually have a devastating impact. Residents should prepare themselves," Adi told The Jakarta Post.

Most "large" earthquakes in East Java from the 1930s to 2000 measured from six to nine on the MMI scale, he said.

In East Java, quake-prone areas were located in the southern part of the province, such as Pacitan, South Malang, South Blitar, Jember, Banyuwangi and Situbondo, he said.

In these areas, numerous local and regional tectonic plate fractures have been detected by agency's research team.

Adi said one local fault line, which ran along the Brantas River, was interesting because it resembled another in Yogyakarta, the fault at the center of May's earthquake.

"It is almost identical to the earthquake that happened in Yogyakarta recently, because the local fracture in the area runs parallel with the Opak River flow," he explained.

Fault lines in South Malang could also cause landslides, Adi said.

Earthquakes could also be triggered by the string of active volcanoes along the central part of East Java. The three most active volcanoes are Mount Semeru, Bromo and Kelud, while those that erupt less frequently are Arjuno, Welirang and Penanggungan.

"But more attention must be paid to volcanoes that have long been inactive, such as Mount Kawi, since it could erupt with the same intensity as Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines," he said.