Floods
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Cloud Precipitation

Firefighters declare state of emergency as heavy floods submerge Berlin


RT
Thu, 29 Jun 2017 23:31 UTC
Berlin floods
© DPAA car drives along Yorkstrasse in Berlin.

Berlin has been bashed by an extreme downpour which has left many of its streets flooded. Despite this major hurdle, people are still finding a way to travel around the German capital.

Houses have been evacuated and the Berlin fire brigade had been called to nearly 800 incidents as the city's infrastructure struggles to deal with the widespread floods, Die Welt reports.

Firefighters have declared a state of emergency in the German capital.

Traffic has been hugely affected as many roads have become impassable because of flood water or fallen trees. Sections of the city's A100 motorway have also been temporarily shut.

Public transport has been severely restricted with some subway stations forced to close because of the deluge.

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Tornado2

Tornado causes significant damage to eastern Iowa town

Linh Ta
Des Moines Register
Thu, 29 Jun 2017 19:21 UTC
tornado
© Tanner Pease/Special to the RegisterA tornado moves south of Stuart, IA Wednesday, June 28, 2017.
Strong storms sprouted tornadoes Wednesday in Iowa as the system moved across the state. In eastern Iowa, a tornado caused significant damage Wednesday evening around Prairieburg, resulting in downed structures and an injury, according to the Linn County Sheriff's Office.

Ripped apart farm structures were littered around Prairieburg after the storm. Most damage occurred in the southern edge of town, the sheriff's office said. A Prairieburg woman was injured in her home after her roof collapsed, according to KWWL. She was transported to the hospital, but she is expected to recover.
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Cloud Precipitation

Heavy rain leads to flooding, floating cows around Maryville, Missouri

Katie Bernard
KCUR
Thu, 29 Jun 2017 17:49 UTC
floods Maryville, Missouri.
© Richard Sharp - 41 Action NewsDozens of acres of land are flooded near Maryville, Missouri.
The National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, issued a Flash Flood Warning for counties in northwest and north-central Missouri Thursday morning after a string of severe storms dumped up to a foot of rain in the area, starting Wednesday night.
Video I took of what appears to be a tornado (unconfirmed) on the ground in far eastern Nodaway County, Missouri. #mowx pic.twitter.com/08fubJRMFJ

— Mark Zinn (@NPNowZinn) June 28, 2017
The heaviest flooding seemed to be focused around Maryville. There were reports from the Nodaway County Sheriff's Office of cows floating across highways east of Maryville. "There have been numerous road closures, we have heard of one water rescue, there have been reports of floating cows, floating livestock up by the Maryville area," said Scott Watson senior service hydrologist with the Kansas City National Weather Service.
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Cloud Precipitation

Severe storms leave flooding in Rockford, Illinois

Steve Kahn
WGN
Thu, 29 Jun 2017 18:26 UTC
Rockford IL flooding radar
© NOAA
Heavy rain pounded the Rockford area Wednesday night. Tornado warnings were issued and severe thunderstorms dropped torrential rainfall across portions of north central Ilinois Wednesday evening with severe flooding reported in around Rockford. Numerous cars were stranded, viaducts are flooded and Kent Creek is out of its banks.

Many basements are flooded as the heavy rainfall continues. Doppler estimates indicate that 3 to upwards of 5 inches of rain have already fallen in the area. The Rockford Airport has measured 2.37 inches within two hours with the rain still falling.
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Better Earth

Over 12 billion gallons of water pour into Lake Tahoe

Amy Graff
SF Gate
Fri, 23 Jun 2017 20:13 UTC
sierra nevada
© AP Photo/Scott Sonner
The process of the Sierra Nevada spring snow melt sped up this week as a heat wave brought triple-digit temperatures to parts of the Western United States.

A thawing snowpack that's massive after a brutal winter fed rivers and reservoirs with high-flowing runoff.

One place that saw a stunning impact from all the runoff is Lake Tahoe.

More than 12 billion gallons of water poured into the lake over the past week.

That's a staggering amount of water, and resulted in the lake level rising four inches since June 16.

That rise occurred while intense heat increased evaporation rates from the lake's surface. What's more, water managers have been releasing water from the lake into the Truckee River for the past 120 consecutive days to make room for snow-melt runoff.

"It's not typical to spill at all," says U.S. District Court Water Master Chad Blanchard. "It's only on the big years when you have to release water."
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Cloud Precipitation

Floodwater as high as 8 feet in Williamsville, Trinidad

Carolyn Kissoon
Trinidad Express
Sat, 24 Jun 2017 17:04 UTC
The flooding that happened overnight in Marabella.
The flooding that happened overnight in Marabella.
As more rain fell and floodwaters rose on Friday night, not a single house was spared along Kent Street in Williamsville.

Residents said the water rose to eight feet in some areas.

Fire services responded to distress calls at around midnight, the Express was told, but officers were unable to enter the village.

The families were still reeling from Tuesday's flooding brought by Tropical Storm Bret, when the rains returned.

Furniture, appliances and clothes were washed away in the floodwaters which ravaged their homes.

Residents said the Guaracara River broke its banks and water began gushing into their homes at around 11pm.

The water receded within 30 minutes, they said, but returned at around 1a.m.

Not a single person has slept since then, the Express was told.

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Arrow Down

Landslide buries more than 100 people in China after torrential rain


RT
Sat, 24 Jun 2017 03:22 UTC
China landslide
© CGTN
Massive search efforts are underway in China's Sichuan Province after a landslide destroyed dozens of houses, reportedly burying at least 100 people underneath the rubble.

Torrential rain in Maoxian County triggered the large landslide which destroyed around 40 households in Xinmo Village, Xinhua reports. Around 100 people are feared trapped underneath the dirt and debris.

The disaster happened in the Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture and struck at around 6:00am local time.

Some 500 people are now part of the search and rescue efforts after authorities mobilized manpower and deployed resources, including excavation equipment, to save the trapped villagers.

The landslide has also blocked about a two-kilometer section of a local river course.

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Cloud Precipitation

The World's Most Catastrophic Floods

Evan Andrews
History
Thu, 22 Jun 2017 06:05 UTC
Johnstown flood
© EE Murray & Co/Interim Archives/Getty ImagesStereoscopic view showing debris, collapsed houses, and the general disastrous condition of Main Street in Johnstown, Pennyslvania soon after the flood, 1889. After heavy rains, the South Fork Dam burst and the waters of Lake Conemaugh flooded the town.
Floods were considered a blessing by certain civilizations—the Egyptians relied on the Nile's yearly overflow for fertile soil—but they also stand as some of history's most devastating natural disasters. Whether due to heavy rains, storm surges or busted dams, deluges have often claimed thousands of lives and left whole cities in ruin. In some cases, they even permanently changed the planet's geography.

1) The Johnstown Flood was so massive it equaled the flow of the Mississippi River.


The disaster began shortly after 3 p.m on May 31, 1889, when a dam on Pennsylvania's Lake Conemaugh washed away following several days of drenching rain. The collapse unleashed some 16 million tons of water, which quickly turned into a 40-foot-high, half-mile-wide surge of mud and debris. An hour later, the wave struck Johnstown like a giant fist, crushing some 1,600 buildings and sweeping away everything in its path. When the waters finally receded, over 2,200 people were dead and many more were injured or homeless. The flood was later blamed on the poorly maintained dam, which was owned by a hunting and fishing club, but no one was ever held financially liable for the disaster.
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Cloud Precipitation

Young boy is Tropical Storm Cindy's first victim as the Gulf Coast is told to prepare for 'life threatening flash floods' with 17 MILLION people from Texas to Alabama in the firing line

Jessica Chia
Daily Mail
Wed, 21 Jun 2017 10:59 UTC
Two dozen people had to be rescued from a flooded parking lot in Georgia, where the water was chest-deep on Tuesday. Pictured, the water reaching up to the car's windows
Two dozen people had to be rescued from a flooded parking lot in Georgia, where the water was chest-deep on Tuesday. Pictured, the water reaching up to the car's windows

Tropical Storm Cindy has claimed its first victim after a 10-year-old boy was struck by a log washed in by storm surge while he was on vacation with his family on the Alabama coast.

The storm's center, which is still off the coast of Louisiana, is expected to hit land by late Wednesday or early Thursday, before traveling north to Arkansas and east towards Tennessee.

More than 17 million people along the Gulf Coast are bracing themselves for life-threatening flash floods and scrambling to batten down the hatches as tropical storm warnings were issued in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Torrential downpour and winds nearing 60 miles per hour have already hit the region, and more than a foot of rain threatens southeastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle by Thursday.

'It's kind of like a slow-motion disaster for us now. It's not wind, it's rain we're concerned about,' said Greg Flynn with the Mississippi Emergency Management Service.

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Cloud Lightning

Floods in Niger leave 14 dead and hundreds of homes destroyed

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Mon, 19 Jun 2017 11:06 UTC
floodwater
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Niger says that heavy rain between 13 and 14 June, 2017, caused severe damage and flooding in several parts of the country, with Niamey and Tillabéri the most severely affected.

Quoting government sources from 16 June, OCHA says that at least 14 people have died in the floods. A total of 456 households have been affected. The UN says that as many as 395 homes have collapsed as a result of the floods and heavy rain.

Eleven of the fatalities occurred in the capital, Niamey where 411 households (3,054 people) have been affected. The UN says that a site has been identified by the authorities for the temporary relocation of the affected people, where clean water, hygiene and sanitation will be provided.

Three deaths were also reported in the Tillabéri region. Around 45 houses have been destroyed and more than 300 people affected.

Comment: See also: Africa now showing Mini Ice Age cooling trends

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