Earth ChangesS


Cloud Lightning

Lightning keeps Washington firefighters busy


AP
Sat, 14 Jul 2007 23:42 UTC
Firefighters tried to contain several dozen lightning-caused fires in Washington state on Saturday, as more thunderstorms swept through the region.



©AP
The red lights of fire trucks, right, are seen as firefighters prepare defend homes against a fast moving wildfire Friday night, July 13, 2007, in Asotin County, Wash.


Close to 2,700 lightning strikes were reported in Washington and Oregon on Friday and early Saturday, sparking 212 fires, but firefighters quickly contained most of them. Three of the largest remaining fires had burned nearly 43 square miles of grass, sagebrush and farm fields in south-central Washington, and only one had been contained by early Saturday afternoon.
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Cloud Lightning

Half of China drenched, bedraggled by unprecedented floods

Bi Mingxin
Xinhua
Sat, 14 Jul 2007 19:01 UTC


©Xinhua
Vehicles run through flooded water in a street in Xiangfan, a city in central China's Hubei Province

Zheng Xiaoling trekked in the knee-deep water, careful not to fall and be washed into a swollen river 500 meters away.

On Friday, the worst rainstorm to attack her home county of Jingshan in central China's Hubei Province since records began interrupted power and water supplies for six hours and inundated at least 140 homes in her community, including her own.
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Attention

Indonesian Government Warns of High Waves and Eruptions

M. Taufiqurrahman
Indonesialogue
Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:20 UTC
The government warned of the possibility that natural disasters could strike in several of the country's regions in the coming weeks. Senior government officials have asked the Indonesian people to brace for potential volcanic eruptions and huge waves expected to pound numerous coastal regions.
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Snowman

Severe cold in Peru: Over half of provinces declared 'National Emergency' areas


AlertNet
Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:15 UTC
For the past 6 weeks Peru has been in the grip of extremly cold weather with temperatures ranging between -22º and -15º C (-8º and 5º F). The record breaking cold spell has already affected over 200,000 people, caused the death of 55 children under five and is responsible for over 6,000 cases of pneumonia.
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Star

Heat wave in Europe breaks 100-year record

Laura Petricola
People's Weekly
Thu, 12 Jul 2007 17:13 UTC
A severe nine-day heat wave in Europe has broken 100-year temperature records. Throughout southern Europe and the Balkans, unusually high temperatures caused many deaths, including 29 in Romania where temperatures reached 113 degrees in Bucharest, the highest in 90 years.
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Star

Canada: Blistering heat sets records across B.C.

Laura Drake and Ian Bailey
Globe and Mail
Fri, 13 Jul 2007 01:40 UTC
VANCOUVER - Soaring mercury levels broke at least six records across the Lower Mainland this week, but the heat should ease off a bit this weekend for sweltering Vancouverites, according to Environment Canada.

"Wednesday was an historic day as far as temperatures go around here because we set at least six all-time record high temperatures," David Jones, Warning Preparedness meteorologist, said Thursday.
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Cloud Lightning

South Asia Devastated by Worst Rainstorms, Floods in Years


ENS
Fri, 13 Jul 2007 11:33 UTC
Pakistani and international aid workers just today reached some of the remote villages of Sindh and Balochistan provinces flooded by a series of major storms in late June. The deadly floods came at the beginning of South Asia's monsoon season.

An estimated 2.5 million people have been affected by 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.
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Cloud Lightning

UK Hail Storm: Snowman time - in July!

Emily-Ann Elliott
Basingstoke Gazette
Fri, 13 Jul 2007 00:57 UTC
We know the weather's been weird this summer but this week winter looked like it had actually arrived in Old Basing.

The season took its strangest turn yet locally on Monday when residents looked out of their windows to see a hail storm - and the ground was coated in icy hailstones.

©Tony Tuck
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Cloud Lightning

At least 26 killed in Nepal landslides


AFP
Fri, 13 Jul 2007 22:55 UTC
At least 26 people have been killed in landslides triggered by torrential monsoon rains in western Nepal, officials said on Friday.
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Cloud Lightning

Powerful typhoon strikes Japan


thewest.com.au
Fri, 13 Jul 2007 16:02 UTC
A powerful typhoon hit the southern Japanese island of Okinawa today, pounding them with torrential rains and high winds, and was later expected to head north towards the nation's main islands.

©thewest.com.au
A satellite image shows Typhoon Man-yi off the east coast of Taiwan.

Up to 500mm of rain was expected to fall on some parts of Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu by tomorrow morning, further battering areas already hit by heavy rains and flooding earlier this week.

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