Floods
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Cloud Precipitation

Update: Rains, landslides and floods kill over 200 in northern Pakistan

Aamir Latif
The Muslim News
Wed, 06 Apr 2016 19:04 UTC
The weekend's heavy rains turned the streets on the outskirts of Peshawar in northern Pakistan into rivers
The weekend's heavy rains turned the streets on the outskirts of Peshawar in northern Pakistan into rivers
Rescue workers in northwestern Pakistan dug through debris and mud on Tuesday in hopes of finding survivors after a landslide buried at least 30 people alive on Monday as the death toll from days of torrential rains and flashfloods passed the 200-mark, local officials have said.

Footage aired on local television channels showed army troops and rescue workers digging through the rubble on the outskirts of the Kohistan district where they managed to recover six dead bodies and two survivors.

Some six hundred army troops and engineers are currently engaged in clearing the roads and assisting in rescue operations, an army spokesman said.

Traders try to prevent their vehicles being washed away by floodwaters near the city of Peshawar
Traders try to prevent their vehicles being washed away by floodwaters near the city of Peshawar
Ongoing bad weather has hampered rescue operations, in which desperate local residents have used spades, shovels — even their hands — to help find people trapped under the mud.

Comment: See also earlier video reports here: 24 killed as torrential rains wreak havoc in northern Pakistan

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Cloud Precipitation

28 people killed by floods in Ethiopia


Daily Mail
Tue, 05 Apr 2016 14:43 UTC
Ethiopia
The state broadcaster in Ethiopia says 28 people have been killed in severe flooding in two remote regions.

The Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation reported Monday that 23 people were killed and 84 more people were injured when a river that crosses Jigjiga, the regional capital of the Somali region, burst its banks on Sunday.

It said intense rains in another drought-stricken region, Afar, led to floods in which five people were killed.

Ethiopian meteorology officials said thick clouds around the Indian Ocean could lead to more flooding in the coming days and the government is taking precautionary measures to assist people in the two affected regions.

Source: AP
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Cloud Precipitation

Flooding hits Nairobi, Kenya after 96mm of rain in 6 hours

Benard Juma
Floodlist
Sat, 02 Apr 2016 15:14 UTC
Floods in South C, Nairobi, Kenya, April 2016.
© Kenyan TrafficFloods in South C, Nairobi, Kenya, April 2016.
Residents of Nairobi, Kenya, woke up to flooded streets and blocked roads as a result of heavy rain that the city received for the better part of last night. The worst hit areas of the city include South C and Mbagathi.

The flooding came after a long dry period that has characterized the weather conditions of the city and the country at large over the last 3 months.

As much as 96mm of rain was recorded in 6 hours at the Dagoretti Meteorological station which is at the Meteorological headquarters in the city.

Mbagathi

In Mbagathi, the river of the same name had overflowed, pushing water to the roads and blocking normal operation of the traffic activities. Entrepreneurial young men earned money by carrying pedestrians across flooded areas. Scenes became more unusual when foam from the river spilled over onto nearby streets, much to the puzzlement of passers-by.

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Cloud Precipitation

Hundreds evacuated following floods in Galicia, Spain

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Fri, 01 Apr 2016 14:55 UTC
Floods in Sada, Galicia, Spain, March 2016.
© Concello de SadaFloods in Sada, Galicia, Spain, March 2016.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes on Wednesday 30 March 2016 after floods in parts of Galicia, north western Spain.

Sada, a municipality of around 12,000 people in the province of A Coruña, was one of the worst hit areas after heavy rain, overflowing rivers and a high tide combined to flood several areas of the city.

Although exact figures are unavailable, it is estimated that hundreds were forced to evacuate their homes. Emergency teams using 5 rescue boats assisted with evacuations. Those displaced are either staying with friends or relatives, or have been accommodated in nearby hostels, according to a statement from the local government, which is making arrangements for the municipality be declared a disaster area.

Soon after the flooding occurred, the local government issued a statement on 30 March saying that constant rain over the past 24 hours, added to the high tide this morning and the large volume of water in rivers that flow into Sada, flooding has occurred in the city centre, particularly in the areas around Lagoa, rúa Culleredo, rúa Venezuela, Riobao, and O Castro, and the parishes of Mondego and Mosteirón.



Floods in Sada, Galicia, Spain, March 2016.
© Concello de Sada
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Cloud Precipitation

Best of the Web: Signs of Change: Earth changes, extreme weather and meteor fireballs in March 2016

HawkkeyDavis
Youtube
Thu, 24 Mar 2016 05:59 UTC
signs of change March 2016
© Youtube/HawkkeyDavis (screen capture)
Sea life washing up dead - Earth opening up to swallow rivers and vehicles - Record rainfall in Peru, flooding in Rio de Janeiro - Loud booms of unknown origin shaking homes - Strongest earthquake so far in 2016 hits Indonesia - Meteors lighting up the night sky - Yet another '1-in-1,000-years' rain event flooding central and southern US - Heavy snow in Mexico - A year's worth of rain in one day flooding Persian Gulf states...

This series does not mean the world is ending! These are videos showing a series of extreme weather events that are leading to bigger Earth Changes. If you're following the series, you're seeing the signs. It's much more than one video...

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Cloud Precipitation

Floods leave hundreds stranded in Padang, Indonesia: 370 mm (14 inches) of rain in 24 hours

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Tue, 22 Mar 2016 11:42 UTC
Floods in Padang, Indonesia, March 2016.
© BNPBFloods in Padang, Indonesia, March 2016.
Floods in the city of Padang and Padang Regency in West Sumatra have left hundreds of people stranded, according to Indonesia's Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).

Meanwhile, floods in Magelang Regency in Central Java have left at least 1 person dead and several injured.

Padang, West Sumatra

As much as 370 mm of rain was recorded in Padang in 24 hours between 21 and 22 March 2016. The heavy rain resulted in the Batang Arau river overflowing.

Three districts - Koto Tangah, Padang Utara and Padang Selatan - have been severely affected by floods. BNPB say that as many as 9 villages are under water up to 1 metre deep.

There have been no reports of casualties, although houses, schools and a bridge have been damaged.

Teams from emergency agencies are carrying out evacuations using inflatable boats. However, BNPB says that given the wide areas flooded, not all flood victims could be reached and estimate that there are hundreds who are trapped and not been evacuated, particularly in Koto Tangah district.
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Cloud Precipitation

Flash floods hit Durban, South Africa

Jeff Wicks
News 24
Thu, 17 Mar 2016 11:15 UTC
floods Durban
© Ceron Jacobs, RescueCare
Residents of Durban dealt with a deluge on Wednesday night, with many areas reporting cases of flash flooding.

Roads across the city remain closed by downed trees and other debris that is obstructing thoroughfares.

eThekwini metro police spokesperson Sbonelo Mchunu said officers had had a busy night.

"We went to many accidents that were flood related and also had to deal with the closure of many roads because of the rising water levels.


heavy rains in Durban
© Tebogo LetsieWater surges down Che Guevara Road in Glenwood during heavy rains in Durban
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Cloud Precipitation

Flooding displaces 1,000 as 3 die in Turkana County, Kenya

Benard Juma
Floodlist
Wed, 16 Mar 2016 13:20 UTC
floods Kenya
© Jambo Turkana
Several parts of Turkana County in north west Kenya saw intense rainfall during the afternoon of 10 March, 2016 which led to overflowing of the Turkwel and Kawalase Rivers.

At least three people died in the floods and more than 1,000 others are said to have been displaced from their homes, according to local media. Large numbers of livestock were also reported to have been swept away in the flood waters.

Lodwar town, which sits between the two rivers, was one of the worst affected areas. The villages of Napetet, Soweto, Kalifonia and Nakerekei were also badly hit. Many roads connecting these villages to the rest of the county were flooded making them impassable. Market places, schools and other social amenities were disrupted and rendered inaccessible.

The Director of IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre had earlier warned that some places within the region would continue receiving intense rainfall even as the impacts of El Niño subsided.


floods Kenya
© Jambo Turkana
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Info

Toxic legacy of gold mining: Flooding causes mercury in dry river sediment to become toxic


Phys.org
Fri, 18 Mar 2016 15:41 UTC
mercury yuba river
© University of California - Santa BarbaraYuba Fan: Red circles indicate mercury sediment sampling locations and the yellow line is the longitudinal transect along which mining sediment travels from the Sierra to San Francisco Bay-Delta.
Gold mining in California in the 19th century was a boon for the state's economy but not so much for the environment. Mining left a protracted legacy that impacts the natural landscape even today. Mercury, used in the gold extraction process, has been detected throughout the Lower Yuba/Feather River system in the state's Central Valley, and its presence could prove dangerous to local wildlife.

That mercury, which will remain in dry river sediment for thousands of years, generally poses a problem only when exposed to extreme water conditions. Flooding triggers a process called methylation, which causes a portion of the mercury to become toxic. When ingested by wildlife, this so-called methylmercury can negatively affect cardiovascular and central nervous systems.

A new study by UC Santa Barbara researchers Michael Singer, Lee Harrison and colleagues from the University of Michigan has identified how flooding frequency and duration affect mercury biogeochemistry along a 40-mile stretch of the Yuba/Feather River system. They found that about 5 percent of the total mercury in this lower section has the potential to become toxic. Their research appears in the journal Science of the Total Environment.
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Cloud Precipitation

20 killed as torrential rains, flash floods hit Pakistan

Aamir Latif
The Muslim News
Sun, 13 Mar 2016 06:38 UTC
Pakistan flood
© DVIDSHUB/Public DomainSwat Valley Bridge ruined by flood water in 2010.
Torrential rains accompanied by flashfloods have killed at least 20 people over the last two days in northwestern and southwestern Pakistan, officials and local media reported on Saturday.

Most of the fatalities have been reported from the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KP) and the southwestern Balochistan provinces, where heavy rainfall and flashflooding have isolated entire villages, damaged roads and caused homes to collapse.

At least eight miners were killed and many others were trapped when a coalmine collapsed in northwest Pakistan on Saturday. The coalmine caved in due to heavy rain in Lower Orakzai Agency in country's tribal belt.

The current death toll includes at least eight children, according to local health officials.

Local television channels showed gushing rainwater inundating homes — with residents taking refuge on rooftops — in Quetta, Zhob, Taank, Pishin, Loralai, Chaman, Chagai, Mastung and other districts.

Accompanied by thunder and hailstorms, heavy rainfall caused several homes to collapse in the Mastung, Khyber Agency, Chagai and Zhob districts, killing 12 people and injuring scores of others.

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