IOWA CITY - A week's work of frantic sandbagging by students, professors and the National Guard couldn't spare this bucolic college town from the surging Iowa River, which has swamped more than a dozen campus buildings and forced the evacuation Sunday of hundreds of nearby homes.
The swollen river, which bisects this city of about 60,000 residents, was topping out at about 31.5 feet - a foot and a half below earlier predictions. But it still posed a lingering threat, and wasn't expected to begin receding until Monday night.
Earth Changes
A 17-year old male was struck and killed by a bolt of lightning Saturday while swimming with friends at Gouldsboro State Beach, according to state police at Swiftwater.
Police identified the victim as Thomas Golden of Olyphant, Lackawanna County.
Police identified the victim as Thomas Golden of Olyphant, Lackawanna County.
Four people escaped serious injury when they apparently were stuck by lightning late Saturday afternoon on the grounds of the Mohonk Mountain House during a severe thunderstorm.
The same storm knocked out power to about 13,000 Central Hudson customers.
A woman also reportedly was struck by lightning at the Rondout Valley Campground in the Kerhonkson-Accord area, and she, too, appeared to not be badly hurt.
At Mohonk, which is on Mountain Rest Road in New Paltz, three adults and a child were hiking on the grounds when the storm rolled in about 5:45 p.m., according to Jackie Appledorn, the resort's general manager.
Appledorn told The Associated Press that all four had their feet in water - though not the property's main lake - when lightning struck, causing all of them to get an electrical charge. The four were conscious and seemingly not badly hurt when they got back to Mohonk's main building, Appledorn told the AP.
The same storm knocked out power to about 13,000 Central Hudson customers.
A woman also reportedly was struck by lightning at the Rondout Valley Campground in the Kerhonkson-Accord area, and she, too, appeared to not be badly hurt.
At Mohonk, which is on Mountain Rest Road in New Paltz, three adults and a child were hiking on the grounds when the storm rolled in about 5:45 p.m., according to Jackie Appledorn, the resort's general manager.
Appledorn told The Associated Press that all four had their feet in water - though not the property's main lake - when lightning struck, causing all of them to get an electrical charge. The four were conscious and seemingly not badly hurt when they got back to Mohonk's main building, Appledorn told the AP.
Oslo - Norway may seek foreign help to extinguish its biggest forest fire since World War Two, which has been raging for five days, the government said on Friday.
The Justice Ministry said it would check whether helicopters or special planes to drop water on the blaze were available across the Nordic region or elsewhere in the European Union, of which Norway is not a member.
The Justice Ministry said it would check whether helicopters or special planes to drop water on the blaze were available across the Nordic region or elsewhere in the European Union, of which Norway is not a member.
Mexico City - Floods in central and southern Mexico killed five people including a 4-year-old girl and a U.S. tourist, rescue workers said on Wednesday.
Around 7,000 people were evacuated in the southern state of Oaxaca, where the U.S. tourist drowned in fierce waves off a Pacific coast beach, a state civil protection official said.
Around 7,000 people were evacuated in the southern state of Oaxaca, where the U.S. tourist drowned in fierce waves off a Pacific coast beach, a state civil protection official said.
A family of four apparently escaped serious injury when lightning struck near them on Saturday night, knocking all four to the ground.
The victims were among those who were at Walters Park in Phillipsburg for a Little League all-star baseball game, which was stopped when severe weather moved in around 8 p.m. Witnesses said one of the boys had played in the game, and the family was headed to their car when the incident occurred.
The victims were among those who were at Walters Park in Phillipsburg for a Little League all-star baseball game, which was stopped when severe weather moved in around 8 p.m. Witnesses said one of the boys had played in the game, and the family was headed to their car when the incident occurred.
The world's largest cattle ranch has been forced to sell off its livestock and mothball operations because of the severe drought gripping much of Australia.
|
| ©Chris McLennan |
| Drovers muster cattle at Anna Creek Station, South Australia |
KURIHARA - Rescue teams digging their way through a ravine buried in mud Sunday pulled three bodies from a hot springs inn, bringing the death toll to nine after a powerful earthquake rocked northern Japan.
|
| ©AP Photo/Kyodo News |
| Rescue workers, right, surround a body they retrieved from a two-story hot spa inn, left, which was destroyed by a landslide triggered by Saturday's earthquake in Kurihara, Miyagi prefecture (state), northern Japan, Sunday June 15, 2008. Soldiers fighting through a torrent of mud and rocks dug out three bodies at the hot spring Sunday, bringing the death toll from a magnitude 7.2-earthquake that hit the mountains of northern Japan to at least nine, with more than 200 injured. |
Heavy rains that hit southern and eastern China have left at least 62 people dead or missing, while over one million residents have been evacuated, the government and state media said Sunday.
Rains were expected to continue to pound southern China through Tuesday with water levels in major rivers threatening towns in Jiangxi, Guangxi and Guangdong provinces, the state meteorological bureau said.
According to the civil affairs ministry, at least 55 people have been killed and seven others were missing following torrential rains which have pummelled nine provinces since last week, the Beijing News said.
More than 1.27 million people have been evacuated in the hardest hit regions, with large swathes of farm land submerged and economic losses already amounting to over 10 billion yuan (145 million dollars), it said.
Rains were expected to continue to pound southern China through Tuesday with water levels in major rivers threatening towns in Jiangxi, Guangxi and Guangdong provinces, the state meteorological bureau said.
According to the civil affairs ministry, at least 55 people have been killed and seven others were missing following torrential rains which have pummelled nine provinces since last week, the Beijing News said.
More than 1.27 million people have been evacuated in the hardest hit regions, with large swathes of farm land submerged and economic losses already amounting to over 10 billion yuan (145 million dollars), it said.
|
| ©AFP/File/Liu Jin |
| The earthquake-hit area of Beichuan county -- in China's southwestern province of Sichuan -- was flooded on June 10. Heavy rains in southern and eastern China have left at least 62 people dead or missing, while more than one million residents have been evacuated. |
KURIHARA - Rescue squads and military helicopters raced to find 11 people missing after an earthquake in mountainous northern Japan sent hillsides crashing down Saturday, killing at least six and injuring more than 140.
The 7.2-magnitude quake triggered several major landslides, blocking roads and stranding about 100 bathers at a hot spring resort. Crews searching for the missing had to hike mountain trails and dig their way to the worst-hit areas.
"It was the worst quake I have ever felt," said Rinji Sato, whose grocery store in this town near the epicenter was a mess of shattered bottles and food thrown from shelves. "We were just lucky this didn't hit a big city."
|
| ©Associated Press |
| A woman reacts to news of a relative's death following a landslide caused by an earthquake in Kurihara, Japan, Saturday, June 14, 2008. A magnitude 7.2 earthquake ripped across the mountains and rice fields of northern Japan on Saturday, killing at least six people as it sheared off hillsides, jolted buildings and shook nuclear power plants. At least eight people were missing. |
The 7.2-magnitude quake triggered several major landslides, blocking roads and stranding about 100 bathers at a hot spring resort. Crews searching for the missing had to hike mountain trails and dig their way to the worst-hit areas.
"It was the worst quake I have ever felt," said Rinji Sato, whose grocery store in this town near the epicenter was a mess of shattered bottles and food thrown from shelves. "We were just lucky this didn't hit a big city."
