With rivers still running above flood stage and soils saturated, forecasters predicted on Wednesday this summer flooding season could rival the worst in United States history.
In the "Great Flood of 1993," record-breaking floods from April to August cost more than $25 billion in damages in at least nine states.
But due to current high water levels and soaked soil, just a small amount of rain could trigger more flooding in areas that have already seen record flooding this 2011 season, the National Weather Service reported Wednesday.
These factors indicate the flooding threat will continue through the summer, and potentially rival the flood of nearly two decades ago.
"There is nowhere for any additional water to go," Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's NWS Jack Hayes said in the NOAA statement. "While unusual for this time of year, all signs point to the flood threat continuing."
Earth Changes
© AP Photo/Shinku Dhar
Volunteers and firefighters look for bodies at the site of a landslide in Chittagong, 216 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, July 1, 2011.
Volunteers and firefighters look for bodies at the site of a landslide in Chittagong, 216 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, July 1, 2011.
A big chunk of earth from a hill buried the victims' thatched huts as they slept in Chittagong city's Tigerpass area, fire official Farid Ahmed said. A concrete wall built to prevent landslides collapsed, he said.
Ahmed said rescuers recovered 12 bodies and two survivors from the rubble and were searching for others believed to be trapped. According to residents, at least 15 people lived in the huts, he said.
He said many other families are living in the area despite warnings. They mainly work as day laborers or housemaids.
Manjurul Alam, mayor of Chittagong city, visited the area and ordered the immediate evacuation of the remaining residents to avoid further casualties.
More than 400 rescuers battled to find people among debris
Xi'an - Eighteen people were confirmed dead and four were injured when a rain-triggered landslide hit Lueyang county in northwestern Shaanxi province on Tuesday, local authorities said on Wednesday.
Torrential rain pounded Lueyang from 3 am to midday on Tuesday, triggering the 5,000-cubic-meter landslide that engulfed a two-story building in the county seat at 11:15 am, the government of Hanzhong city, which administers Lueyang, said in a statement.
The local government sent more than 400 people to the site to carry out rescue operations.
The teams reached 22 trapped people but 17 were already dead. One died after treatment failed. The four who were injured were treated in hospital.
Also in Lueyang, 80-year-old villager Sun Guiying remains missing after she was swept away while crossing a fast-moving river on Tuesday.
© Zhang Hongzhong/China Daily
Rescue workers search for survivors at the site of a landslide in Lueyang, Shaanxi province, on Tuesday.
Rescue workers search for survivors at the site of a landslide in Lueyang, Shaanxi province, on Tuesday.
Torrential rain pounded Lueyang from 3 am to midday on Tuesday, triggering the 5,000-cubic-meter landslide that engulfed a two-story building in the county seat at 11:15 am, the government of Hanzhong city, which administers Lueyang, said in a statement.
The local government sent more than 400 people to the site to carry out rescue operations.
The teams reached 22 trapped people but 17 were already dead. One died after treatment failed. The four who were injured were treated in hospital.
Also in Lueyang, 80-year-old villager Sun Guiying remains missing after she was swept away while crossing a fast-moving river on Tuesday.
In a tragic incident of nature taking toll on human, a massive landslides along NH 53 today killed six personnel of Indian Reserved Battalion (IRB) and Manipur Rifles even as seven personnel were critically injured.
According to police report, the convoy led by AC 2nd IRB S Ingo was heading to Jiribam district headquarters to escort loaded freight trucks and oil tankers.
They had just reach Sinam Khul near Kotlen about 25 km from Imphal when the landslide struck them hit the bus in which they were travelling.
The bus was travelling with five commando teams and some personnel on other vehicles as Road Opening Party (ROP) .
The six ill fated personnel who were killed in the tragic accident were Havildar Yaima of 5th IRB, rifleman Diamond of 5th MR, rifleman Surchandra of 5th MR, rifleman Maradona of 6th IRB, rifleman Lakshman of 8th MR and rifleman Nasir Khan of 2nd MR.The injured personnel were 1st MR rifleman T Sandang Maring (31), 3rd IRB personnel Takhellambam Sushil (23) of Thoubal Athokpam Mayai Leikai, 2nd MR rifleman Ningrei (42) of Nunghu, 3rd IRB rifleman Thaimei (27) of Khoupum, 6th IRB rifleman Sapam Inao of Waikhong, 1st IRB rifleman Ambang (37) of Tumnoupokpi and 6th MR rifleman Athokpam James (30) of Kongba Laishram Leikai.
According to police report, the convoy led by AC 2nd IRB S Ingo was heading to Jiribam district headquarters to escort loaded freight trucks and oil tankers.
They had just reach Sinam Khul near Kotlen about 25 km from Imphal when the landslide struck them hit the bus in which they were travelling.
The bus was travelling with five commando teams and some personnel on other vehicles as Road Opening Party (ROP) .
The six ill fated personnel who were killed in the tragic accident were Havildar Yaima of 5th IRB, rifleman Diamond of 5th MR, rifleman Surchandra of 5th MR, rifleman Maradona of 6th IRB, rifleman Lakshman of 8th MR and rifleman Nasir Khan of 2nd MR.The injured personnel were 1st MR rifleman T Sandang Maring (31), 3rd IRB personnel Takhellambam Sushil (23) of Thoubal Athokpam Mayai Leikai, 2nd MR rifleman Ningrei (42) of Nunghu, 3rd IRB rifleman Thaimei (27) of Khoupum, 6th IRB rifleman Sapam Inao of Waikhong, 1st IRB rifleman Ambang (37) of Tumnoupokpi and 6th MR rifleman Athokpam James (30) of Kongba Laishram Leikai.
Mud, water create big cleanup job, do minimal damage
A combination of rainfall, snowmelt and crumbling debris dams pushed Middle Creek in Vail out of its banks Tuesday, causing minor flooding at two lodges and two town buildings.
The Vail Library was closed Wednesday so crews could clean mud and water from the floors. Town crews were also cleaning mud from the entryway and the ice sheet at Dobson Ice Arena.
Meanwhile, maintenance crews were cleaning the pool and some of the conference rooms at the Evergreen Lodge, as well as the parking garages at the Lodge at Lionshead.
While none of the condos were damaged, guests at the Lodge at Lionshead spent a mostly-sleepless night Tuesday.
"We asked a couple of people to move out of their units, and the cars were moved out of the underground parking garages," Joy Dunham, of the Lodge at Lionshead, said. "As water continued to flow into the garages, one had water almost knee-deep before the flooding started to subside around midnight."
A combination of rainfall, snowmelt and crumbling debris dams pushed Middle Creek in Vail out of its banks Tuesday, causing minor flooding at two lodges and two town buildings.
The Vail Library was closed Wednesday so crews could clean mud and water from the floors. Town crews were also cleaning mud from the entryway and the ice sheet at Dobson Ice Arena.
Meanwhile, maintenance crews were cleaning the pool and some of the conference rooms at the Evergreen Lodge, as well as the parking garages at the Lodge at Lionshead.
While none of the condos were damaged, guests at the Lodge at Lionshead spent a mostly-sleepless night Tuesday.
"We asked a couple of people to move out of their units, and the cars were moved out of the underground parking garages," Joy Dunham, of the Lodge at Lionshead, said. "As water continued to flow into the garages, one had water almost knee-deep before the flooding started to subside around midnight."
© The News International
Cities such as Bazhong and Guangyuan in northeastern Sichuan suffered most, with a precipitation over 300 millimeters at some areas during the new round of heavy rainfall.
The water level was recorded at 368.20 meters at a hydrometric station in Bazhong on Wednesday, 5.27 up from the alarm level.
Statistics of the Sichuan Provincial Command Center for Flood Control and Earthquake Relief show that 1.5 million people had been affected, with two dead and six missing, in 21 counties of cities of Guangyuan, Mianyan, Suining and Bazhong, by 20:00 on Wednesday.
More than 170,000 people had been evacuated and 10,000 houses were destroyed by torrential rain.
Mudslides triggered by the heavy rain had caused damages to a bridge on National Highway No. 212 and National Highway No. 317. Road traffic was suspended due to blocks on two provincial highways.
Heavy rains from a tropical wave in the Gulf of Mexico are expected to roll through the Tampa Bay area Thursday and could delay Friday's final space shuttle launch, disappointing up to a million onlookers.
NASA officials on Thursday reaffirmed that there is only a 30 percent chance that weather will allow the final space shuttle launch scheduled for 11:26 a.m. Friday.
But there is a 40 percent chance of acceptable weather for launching at 11:04 a.m. Saturday, and a 60 percent chance of good weather for a 10:38 a.m. Sunday launch, shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters said.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms should roll through Tampa Bay throughout Thursday, said Juli Marquez, a Bay News 9 meteorologist. The chance of rain and thunderstorms increases throughout the day, she said.
Friday's weather will be similar, with a 70 percent chance of rain. Some spots could see more than an inch of rain, Marquez said. Much of Central Florida will see heavy rain, she said.
NASA officials on Thursday reaffirmed that there is only a 30 percent chance that weather will allow the final space shuttle launch scheduled for 11:26 a.m. Friday.
But there is a 40 percent chance of acceptable weather for launching at 11:04 a.m. Saturday, and a 60 percent chance of good weather for a 10:38 a.m. Sunday launch, shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters said.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms should roll through Tampa Bay throughout Thursday, said Juli Marquez, a Bay News 9 meteorologist. The chance of rain and thunderstorms increases throughout the day, she said.
Friday's weather will be similar, with a 70 percent chance of rain. Some spots could see more than an inch of rain, Marquez said. Much of Central Florida will see heavy rain, she said.
© Reuters
An aerial view of Missouri River flood waters moving up to an I-29 on ramp in northwest Missouri.
An aerial view of Missouri River flood waters moving up to an I-29 on ramp in northwest Missouri.
The closing means that with the exceptions of Omaha and Plattsmouth, Nebraska, crossings between Nebraska and Iowa, all bridges are closed along a 228-mile stretch of the river from Sioux City, Iowa to St. Joseph, Missouri.
Iowa crews are installing giant sandbags along the north side of Highway 30. The south side already has the barrier installed.
Other bridges that have been closed by flooding include Highway 2 from Nebraska City into Iowa, Highway 136 from Brownville, Nebraska, into Missouri, and Highway 159 from Rulo, Nebraska, into Missouri.
© Laura Gray-Ellis
The head of a man who got too close to a polar bear while taking pictures can be seen just behind a rock in the background.
The head of a man who got too close to a polar bear while taking pictures can be seen just behind a rock in the background.
Early Monday morning, the bear turned on a man who was on the beach in town taking photographs. The man hid behind some rocks and the bear kept him trapped by pacing around the area.
Conservation officer Bob Windsor and his partner distracted the bear by firing off noisemakers known as bear bangers. The ruckus startled and confused the bear enough to give the man a chance to escape.
Laura Gray-Ellis, who was watching from her apartment window as the events unfolded, saw the man scramble over the rocks.
"He ran up the road into town, rounded the corner of the apartment building that I live in, and started jumping from backyard to backyard," she said.
Bear heads into town
A 0.43-magnitude earthquake gave some Northeast Philadelphia residents a tiny jolt early Wednesday.
The temblor was confirmed by Lamont-Doherty Cooperative Seismographic Network in New York, though seismologist Mitchell Gold said he had to look very hard to find the evidence. It was recorded at 6:37 a.m.
Gold said it was about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) west of Cornwells Heights, close to where a 1.72-magnitude quake struck May 27. The largest earthquakes in the region in recent decades occurred in 1994, when two quakes measuring 4.2 and 4.6 hit Reading on the same day, Gold said.
The temblor was confirmed by Lamont-Doherty Cooperative Seismographic Network in New York, though seismologist Mitchell Gold said he had to look very hard to find the evidence. It was recorded at 6:37 a.m.
Gold said it was about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) west of Cornwells Heights, close to where a 1.72-magnitude quake struck May 27. The largest earthquakes in the region in recent decades occurred in 1994, when two quakes measuring 4.2 and 4.6 hit Reading on the same day, Gold said.
