Army Corps of Engineers Faces Criticism After Record Inundation Along Missouri River; Reservoir System Under Strain
Riverdale - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened Garrison Dam more than 56 years ago - the two-and-a-half mile-wide centerpiece of a plan to tame the mighty Missouri River.
This year's record flooding, which forced the Corps for the first time to open the dam's colossal emergency spillway and launch a months-long flood fight stretching over 1,700 of the river's 2,300 miles, has many people questioning whether the Corps remains in control of the river.
"We've had highs and lows in the past, but we've never had the highs like we've got with the flooding now," said Terry Focke, 63 years old, a fishing guide in nearby Pick City, N.D., for 20 years. He said his business is off 70% this year because high water has closed every boat ramp within 100 miles.
This year's deluge is also forcing a rethink of decades-old ways of battling floods on the Mississippi, Missouri and other major U.S. rivers.
On the Mississippi, the Corps is looking at a $1 billion-$2 billion repair bill to restore levees, floodways and river-navigation features that faced their biggest test since the current flood-control system was designed in the late 1920s.
Engineers are also assessing whether they need to make changes to the system, such as adding a new floodway - an area set aside for agriculture or other uses that can also be used as a relief valve when flooding is severe.
Earth Changes
© Jordan Steffen/The Denver Post
The scene at 4524 Eureka Court in Denver, late Friday morning.
The scene at 4524 Eureka Court in Denver, late Friday morning.
About 11:30 p.m., firefighters were called to 4524 Eureka Court, said Todd Bower, deputy chief of the Denver Fire Department.
Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, and none of the three people inside the home was injured.
The cause of the explosion has yet to be determined, but investigators think it may have been the result of lightning striking the attached garage, Bower said.
The bolt of lightning likely caused several propane tanks in the garage to ignite and explode.
On Friday morning, a charred car remained under rubble that was once the garage of the burned home. All that was left of the south side of the home was a skeleton of wood and black ash.
© Scripps Media, Inc.
They say a water main break has caused the sinkhole sometime early Saturday. They've placed road closure signs and barricades at the intersection to turn motorists away. Engineers say the intersection will be closed until repairs are made sometime in the next week.
The fire department says the sinkhole has taken a fire hydrant out of service and the hole will have an impact on safety services and convenience to residents in the area.
It's recommended that if you drive through the area that you seek an alternate route.
A small earthquake has hit Utah County, with the 3.3 magnitude temblor striking close to Santaquin.
No damages or injuries have been reported. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, several people in Santaquin immediately reported feeling the quake.
The USGS reports that the quake, which was less than a mile deep, struck at 9:26 p.m. Monday.
The quake was centered 4 miles south-southwest of Santaquin and 23 miles south-southwest of Provo.
Source: The Associated Press
No damages or injuries have been reported. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, several people in Santaquin immediately reported feeling the quake.
The USGS reports that the quake, which was less than a mile deep, struck at 9:26 p.m. Monday.
The quake was centered 4 miles south-southwest of Santaquin and 23 miles south-southwest of Provo.
Source: The Associated Press
© NZPA/Ross Setford
A 6.5-magnitude quake centered near Lake Taupo is the largest to hit the area in years and was widely felt, but there have been no reports of any damage.
A 6.5-magnitude quake centered near Lake Taupo is the largest to hit the area in years and was widely felt, but there have been no reports of any damage.
The quake, which struck at 3.36pm, was centred 150km deep, 30km west of Taupo.
The deep rolling earthquake was felt throughout the lower North Island and as far south as Christchurch.
GNS volcanologist Brad Scott said although the earthquake was centred near Taupo it would have been felt more strongly along the East Coast, particularly the Napier through Wellington region, because of its depth.
Today's earthquake was fairly typical movement, he told Radio New Zealand.
"We would typically have maybe two or three events around maybe 5.5 and 6 (magnitude) at about 150-200km depth a year under the North Island. It's slightly larger than average but it's kind of what we really expect."
It would generate some aftershocks "but at that depth and being smaller than the main shock they are very unlikely to be noticed", he said.
Bookshelves swayed but no books were dislodged at Wellington Central Library, while John Key's press secretary, Lesley Hamilton, said the quake was felt strongly on the ninth floor of the Beehive.
© Gallo / Getty Images
Flooding ravaged farms in the midwest United States this June, causing many crops to be los
Flooding ravaged farms in the midwest United States this June, causing many crops to be los
Wendy Johnston with Oakwyn Farms in Athens, West Virginia, is deeply concerned about how shifting weather patterns are impacting farmers' ability to feed the global population.
"This year we're off to a slow start," Johnston, who farms 40 hectares, told Al Jazeera. "Last year in April we were able to plant, but this year we even had rain, cold and snow a few days in April. The weather has become very unpredictable, and that's the real problem."
Climate change is making farming more difficult for her, and she wonders how much worse things will become.
On March 31, The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned of "potentially catastrophic" impacts on food production from slow-onset climate changes that are expected to increasingly hit the developing world.
The report filed with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, warned that food production systems and the ecosystems they depend on are highly sensitive to climate variability and change.
Changes in temperature, precipitation, and related outbreaks of pest and diseases could reduce production, the report said. Those particularly vulnerable are poor people in countries that rely on food imports, although climate change events are already driving up food costs around the globe, including in developed countries.
April broke many weather-related monthly records in the US, including 292 tornadoes and 5,400 extreme weather events, which combined to cause 337 deaths.
© Museum Victoria, Australia
Mt. Kooroocheang is a composite scoria/lava volcano 14km northeast of Creswick, Victoria. At 230m high it is one of the largest volcanoes in Central Victoria.
Mt. Kooroocheang is a composite scoria/lava volcano 14km northeast of Creswick, Victoria. At 230m high it is one of the largest volcanoes in Central Victoria.
Scientist have told a conference it is only a matter of time before volcanoes erupt in Victoria, and warned there is no disaster plan for when it happens.
According to scientists at Melbourne University, a series of volcanoes in Victoria's west are well overdue to erupt.
Eruptions should occur in the region about every 2000 years, but the south-east of the country hasn't experienced any volcanic activity since Mt Gambier erupted over 5000 years ago.
Earth Sciences Professor Bernie Joyce said this means the chance of an eruption is high, and that while the scale of any activity is hard to predict, it "could cause devastation to thousands of people".
It isn't the eruption that would necessarily do the damage, Prof Joyce said, but if rising magma meets ground water it could cause steam explosions that would blanket the state in volcanic ash, leading to widespread disruptions to critical infrastructure and transport.
© Herald Sun
Geoscience Australia recorded the 4.4 magnitude quake as hitting at 11.37am.
The tremors, which lasted up to 15 seconds, were felt across Melbourne's southeastern suburbs.
So far there are no reports of damage.
Residents in suburbs including Rowville, Trafalgar, Kilsyth, Hawthorn, Elwood, CBD, Melbourne Airport, South Melbourne, Brunswick, Richmond, Lilydale, Fitzroy, Elsternwick, South Yarra reported feeling the tremors.
Residents told of hearing a loud bang when the quake hit, while tremors were felt across Melbourne.
Michael O'Keefe was in Warragul and said it's the strongest he's ever felt.
"It sounded like a truck was approaching up the street and then it was as if the truck had run into the building. Everything was rattling. It feels a bit like it's not complete, like there is another one to come.''
Residents in Minnesota and Wisconsin cleaned up Saturday from a fierce storm whose powerful winds toppled trees that killed an 11-year-old girl and injured more than three dozen people.
The storm Friday tore roofs off buildings, blew in garages and left thousands without power. Roads in western Wisconsin were blocked Saturday by fallen trees and debris.
Wisconsin authorities say three of 39 injuries in Burnett County were critical. Emergency officials originally attributed two deaths to the storm but later said one death was an apparent heart attack that might be indirectly related to the storm.
Injuries were also reported in Minnesota's Douglas and Meeker counties.
The storm entered southwest Minnesota on Friday afternoon and took nearly six hours to pass through the state before slipping into northwest Wisconsin, said Matt Friedlein, a National Weather Service meteorologist in the Twin Cities. Affected areas in Minnesota included Marshall, Redwood Falls, the Twin Cities and St. Cloud. Western Wisconsin, including Burnett and Douglas counties, also were hard hit.
The storm Friday tore roofs off buildings, blew in garages and left thousands without power. Roads in western Wisconsin were blocked Saturday by fallen trees and debris.
Wisconsin authorities say three of 39 injuries in Burnett County were critical. Emergency officials originally attributed two deaths to the storm but later said one death was an apparent heart attack that might be indirectly related to the storm.
Injuries were also reported in Minnesota's Douglas and Meeker counties.
The storm entered southwest Minnesota on Friday afternoon and took nearly six hours to pass through the state before slipping into northwest Wisconsin, said Matt Friedlein, a National Weather Service meteorologist in the Twin Cities. Affected areas in Minnesota included Marshall, Redwood Falls, the Twin Cities and St. Cloud. Western Wisconsin, including Burnett and Douglas counties, also were hard hit.
© Ron Adams
Olivia city personnel use large equipment to move trees off the streets Friday evening so that citizens could move about in their efforts to clean up the downed trees in town after storms pushed through the region.
Olivia city personnel use large equipment to move trees off the streets Friday evening so that citizens could move about in their efforts to clean up the downed trees in town after storms pushed through the region.
The National Weather Service reported wind speeds of up to 78 mph in Redwood Falls, with trees and power lines down and roof damage reported in the downtown area. Reports from across Renville County included damage to buildings, trees and power lines.
"It's tough around here," said Olivia Mayor Sue Hilgert. "We have lots of trees down."
The mayor reported many large trees down across her town, with city personnel using plows to move the trees off the streets so that citizens could move about in their efforts to clean up the downed trees.
