Floods
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Cloud Precipitation

Hundreds caught off guard by the single rainiest day ever recorded - rescued from floodwaters in Florida and Alabama

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© AP Photo/Pensacola News Journal, Katie E. King A portion of the Scenic Highway collapsed near Pensacola, Fla., Wednesday April 30, 2014. Heavy rains and flooding have left people stranded in houses and cars in the Florida Panhandle and along the Alabama coast. According to the National Weather Service, an estimated 15-20 inches of rain has fallen in Pensacola in the past 24 hours.
People were plucked off rooftops or climbed into their attics to get away from fast-rising waters when nearly 2 feet of rain fell on the Florida Panhandle and Alabama coast in the span of about 24 hours, the latest bout of severe weather that began with tornadoes in the Midwest.

On Wednesday, roads were chewed up into pieces or wiped out entirely and neighborhoods were inundated, making rescues difficult for hundreds of people who called for help when they were caught off guard by the single rainiest day ever recorded in Pensacola.

Boats and Humvees zigzagged through the flooded streets to help stranded residents. A car and truck plummeted 25 feet when portions of a scenic highway collapsed, and one Florida woman died when she drove her car into high water, officials said.

Near the Alabama-Florida line, water started creeping into Brandi McCoon's mobile home, so her fiance, Jonathan Brown, wrapped up her nearly 2-year-old son Noah in a blanket and they swam in neck-deep water to their car about 50 feet away.

Then, the car was flooded.


Comment:
Almost 24 inches in 24 hours? Places like India and the Philippines receive large amounts of rainfall in short periods during monsoon season and cyclones. Could there be a permanent climate change happening across the North America and the globe? Here is a thorough meteorological report posted by a writer on the Accuweather blog.


Cloud Precipitation

Devastating floods in northern Afghanistan kill 127; thousands homeless

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© Unknown
More than 100 people have been killed and thousands left homeless by flash floods in north and west Afghanistan, officials said on Friday, prompting desperate pleas for help from the impoverished provincial authorities.

Thousands of homes have been engulfed by flood waters in four provinces after three days of heavy rain in what is traditionally a wet period at the start of spring.

In the northern province of Jawzjan, police chief Faqer Mohammad Jawzjani said 55 bodies had been recovered, and that the number of dead would increase over the coming days.

"Providing aid or help from the ground is impossible," he told Reuters. "We have carried 1,500 people to safe areas of neighboring districts by helicopter. We need emergency assistance from the central government and aid agencies."

Cloud Precipitation

Record rains cause flooding in mid-Atlantic region of U.S.

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© AP
Record-breaking rainfall overflowed creeks and streams, causing flooding throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

Heavy rains slowed overnight, but officials warned motorists on Thursday to keep watching for flooded roads. Downed trees on overhead lines interrupted MARC Penn line service.

The National Weather Service says Dulles International and Reagan National airports broke 2005 rainfall records on Wednesday. Dulles got 3.99 inches and Reagan received 2.7 inches. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport tied a 1947 record of 3.06 inches.

Cloud Precipitation

Massive flooding caused by deadly storms in Florida and Alabama - over a foot of rain in both states

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© Photo from Twitter/@IndianaWxOnline
As a deadly weather front continued to make its way across the Southern United States late Tuesday and early Wednesday, both Florida and Alabama were struck with severe flooding that's left at least one person dead.

According to the Associated Press, rainfall in the Florida Panhandle - especially the area around Pensacola - and the coast of Alabama has been relentless, dropping well over a foot of rain in both states. Houses have been flooded to the point where residents have had to seek higher ground, and overflowing roads have stranded drivers waiting to be picked up by rescue squads.

In Pensacola, where 15-20 inches of rain fell in a one-day period, at least one woman has been reported dead due to driving in perilously high waters. Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency in 26 counties.

Cloud Lightning

Emergency declared, bridges down after heavy rain hits Bulgaria

Bulgaria Flood
© BGNES
A state of emergency has been declared in the municipality of Ruzhintsi in Bulgaria after torrential rain inundated the area, also flooding villages in the Vidin area, damaging bridges, private property and roads.

Cloud Lightning

Dozens die as floods engulf northern Afghan villages

Afghanistan flood
© UnknownVillagers took shelter on roofs as waters rose about them.
At least 58 people have been killed and hundreds of villagers left stranded in devastating flash floods in northern Afghanistan, officials say.

The governor of Jowzjan province warned that the number of victims was likely to rise.

People have been left trapped on the roofs of their homes and rescue helicopters have been deployed.

There are reports of flooding in other provinces in the north and west.

"Thousands of homes have been destroyed and thousands are suffering", Jowzjan's governor Boymurod Qoyinli told the BBC. He said that more than 80 people are missing and that 3,000 homes have been destroyed.

Igloo

UN issues new 15 year climate tipping point - but UN issued tipping points in 1982 and another 10-year tipping point in 1989!

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© Space.com
According to the Boston Globe, the United Nations has issued a new climate "tipping point" by which the world must act to avoid dangerous global warming.

The Boston Globe noted on April 16, 2014: "The world now has a rough deadline for action on climate change. Nations need to take aggressive action in the next 15 years to cut carbon emissions, in order to forestall the worst effects of global warming, says the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change."

Once again, the world is being warned of an ecological or climate "tipping point" by the UN.

As early as 1982, the UN was issuing a two decade tipping point. UN official Mostafa Tolba, executive director of the UN Environment Program (UNEP), warned on May 11, 1982, the "world faces an ecological disaster as final as nuclear war within a couple of decades unless governments act now." According to Tolba in 1982, lack of action would bring "by the turn of the century, an environmental catastrophe which will witness devastation as complete, as irreversible as any nuclear holocaust."

Cloud Grey

Floods in Serbia prompt evacuation of more than 400 families

Serbia flooding
© Unknown
Flood waves on several rivers and their tributaries in Serbia have prompted the evacuation of at least 440 families in the last two days, leaving thousands of people without water and power supply.

An emergency situation has been declared in five municipalities, but there have been no casualties. The damage caused by the floods that have hit parts of the western, central and eastern Serbia is not possible to estimate until the rivers recede.

Bizarro Earth

Spring flooding leads to landslides in Quebec, Tim Hortons closure in New Brunswick

Sherbrooke Flooding
© QMI AgencySherbrooke Flooding
The spring thaw and steady rain triggered floods that inundated Quebec towns, washing away homes, forcing evacuations and causing a landslide.

In Sherbrooke, Que., in the Eastern Townships, the Saint-Francois river reached a record 25 feet Wednesday and floodwaters cut the city in two.

Firefighters rang doorbells just after midnight on Wednesday and asked 480 people to leave their homes, bringing the total number of displaced people to 632.

Downtown streets flooded and quickly froze in Sherbrooke as morning temperatures neared -10 C.

The situation was also precarious in Saint-Raymond, Que., east of Quebec City. Torrential rains caused the Saint-Anne River to rise at breakneck speed on Tuesday evening, flooding the downtown core. Mayor Daniel Dion told QMI Agency that 300 people were told to leave their homes.

Umbrella

More than 40 feared dead after floods in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Tanzania flooding
© Daniel Hayduk / AFPPedestrians cross the flooded Old Bagamoyo Road in the Mikocheni area of Dar es Salaam on April 12th.
Some 41 people are feared dead as a result of floods caused by downpour that hit Dar es Salaam for about three days over the weekend, according to Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner (RC) Saidi Meck Sadiki.

Mr Sadiki, who by virtue of his position is the Chairman of the Regional Defence and Security Committee, noted, however, that so far 25 people have been confirmed by police to have died as a result of the floods.

"In Ilala District, there are two people who have been reported missing while 11 have been confirmed dead while in Kinondoni, there are seven confirmed deaths and 14 were reportedly buried before corroboration by the police.

In Temeke, seven people perished. "I have directed the police to visit families of the 14 people reported dead to ensure that the said persons really died as a result of the floods as the search for other bodies continue," Mr Sadiki told this newspaper in a telephone interview.