Earth ChangesS


Life Preserver

One in five houses damaged by floods in Hull, UK

Martin Wainwright
The Guardian
Thu, 05 Jul 2007 21:04 UTC
· Evacuated families fill city's hotels and B&Bs
· Prince boards rescue boat to view stricken village

Flood rescue plans for Britain's worst affected city will be announced today when ministers visit Hull, where 30,000 people - three-quarters of the national figure - had to leave their homes at the height of the crisis and an estimated one in every five houses has been damaged.

Only 15 of the city's 105 schools escaped and millions of pounds will be needed to repair day care centres, libraries and leisure complexes swept by 10cm (four inches) of rain, which swamped drains, killing two people.
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Cloud Lightning

Savage monsoon rains kill 61 across India


AFP
Tue, 03 Jul 2007 20:39 UTC
The death toll from rains battering India rose to 61 as the downpour flooded states amid forecasts that the savage monsoon was likely to gain fury this week, officials said Tuesday.

Seventeen more deaths reported from Gujarat and West Bengal took to 294 the number of people killed in rain-related accidents so far this year, they said.

©AFP/Sam Panthaky
This picture taken from inside and Ahmedabad Fire Services rescue vehicle shows vehicles struggling to pass a section of submerged highway at Dhanduka, some 90 Kms from Ahmedabad.
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Cloud Lightning

30 dead after heavy rains in central China; Yangtze River dangerously high


Associated Press
Tue, 03 Jul 2007 19:13 UTC
Floods and landslides killed 30 people in a central China province, with the rain-swollen Yangtze River that cuts through the province at dangerously high levels, a government Web site and state media said Tuesday.

The flooding in Hubei province also left nine people missing, destroyed 53,400 homes and caused almost 800 million yuan (about US$100 million; €74 million) in losses, Xinhua News Agency reported.
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Star

Vegas sizzles under "dangerously hot" conditions


AP
Wed, 04 Jul 2007 14:35 UTC
Nevada sizzled on Wednesday as temperatures approached record highs and forecasters warned of even hotter conditions through the end of the week.

The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for western Nevada and the eastern Sierra, where temperatures were expected to top the century mark through Friday.
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Cloud Lightning

"The Day After Tomorrow"? The moment apocalyptic weather swept across London

David Derbyshire
Daily Mail
Wed, 04 Jul 2007 18:59 UTC
This is the moment when apocalyptic weather swept across London, darkening the summer skies.

An extraordinary twister-like cloud formation hovers over central London in a terrifying example of the extreme weather conditions nationwide.

©Peter Gray

And just when you thought the weather couldn't get any worse, Britain was bombarded with huge hailstones.
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Cloud Lightning

Severe Weather Forces National Mall Evacuation


WeatherPlus
Wed, 04 Jul 2007 18:23 UTC
Tornado Watch In Effect Until 10 p.m.

WASHINGTON - Fourth of July crowds have been evacuated from the National Mall until severe storms pass through the area, according to Rob Lachance, of the U.S. Park Police.

The West Front of the U.S. Capitol also was evacuated due to inclement weather.

The evacuations began at about 5 p.m. as officials determined that severe storms to the west were moving their direction.
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Bulb

Healthy scepticism over climate claims - Your own mind


BBC
Wed, 04 Jul 2007 17:10 UTC
The public believes the effects of global warming on the climate are not as bad as politicians and scientists claim, a poll has suggested.

The Ipsos Mori poll of 2,032 adults - interviewed between 14 and 20 June - found 56% believed scientists were still questioning climate change.

There was a feeling the problem was exaggerated to make money, it found.

The Royal Society said most climate scientists believed humans were having an "unprecedented" effect on climate.

The survey suggested that terrorism, graffiti, crime and dog mess were all of more concern than climate change.
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Life Preserver

Oil Plus Floods Turn Kansas Town Slimy


Associated Press
Wed, 04 Jul 2007 17:07 UTC
The flood engulfing homes to the rooftops carried an extra curse Tuesday as a slick of 42,000 gallons of thick crude oil floated downstream with the mud and debris, coating everything it touched with a slimy, smelly layer of goo.

"My question is how are they going to get all that oil out of the environment," said Mary Burge, a heart surgery patient who had to breathe from a portable oxygen tank because the petroleum odor Monday was so strong it could be detected by the crews of helicopters passing overhead.

A malfunction allowed the oil to spill from the Coffeyville Resources refinery on Sunday, while the plant was shutting down in advance of the flood heading toward it on the Verdigris River.

Cleanup of the toxic sludge will complicate long-term flood recovery efforts for Coffeyville.
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Attention

US wildfire 'could burn all summer'


Breitbart
Wed, 04 Jul 2007 17:06 UTC
A wildfire in the US which has killed three people and charred more than 62 square miles could burn all summer even as hundreds of firefighters continue to fight it.

More than 700 firefighters have joined the battle with more expected to arrive to help protect homes and control the blaze.

The fire was 20 per cent contained, and people evacuated in a string of small communities in Utah were told they could return, a spokeswoman for the firefighters said.

Since Friday, when three people were killed, the fire has burned nearly 40,000 acres - about one-third in the Ashley National Forest and the rest on private and public land and the Uintah and Ouray Indian reservations.
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Bulb

Calif. power grid avoids disruption, problems linger


Reuters
Wed, 04 Jul 2007 17:04 UTC
California's electric grid operator expected to have sufficient electricity on Tuesday afternoon as increasing generation and conservation efforts averted the potential for a blackout, the agency said.

A number of generators were able to restart power plants that shut unexpectedly Tuesday morning while power consumption in the state fell below earlier forecasts even as 100-degree-plus temperatures boosted the need for air conditioning across the state and the entire western U.S.

NRG Energy Inc. was working to restart several units at its Encina power station that tripped about 5:30 a.m., said spokesman David Knox. "We expect to have all but one of the units that tripped off online later today and the last unit online by Thursday," Knox said. The Encina unit can produce 965 megawatts of power. In California, one megawatt can supply about 700 homes.
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