Floods
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Bizarro Earth

Rail line closed for second time as floods hit Cumbria


BBC News
Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:33 UTC
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© Stephen MiltonThe centre of Whitehaven has been among the worst affected areas
Heavy rain has caused a landslip on a stretch of rail line in west Cumbria where a train was derailed six weeks ago. Services were halted after part of an embankment collapsed on to the Sellafield to Whitehaven line near St Bees. No-one was hurt. Concrete barriers put in place after a similar incident in August failed to prevent the line being damaged.

Elsewhere, Whitehaven and Egremont are among areas to have suffered flooding. Network Rail said buses were being used for passengers travelling between Sellafield and Whitehaven, with the line expected to remain closed until Thursday. Spokesman Keith Lumley said: "Unfortunately we're in exactly the same situation as we were last time.

"The earth has slid down from the top of the embankment, the majority of which has been caught by concrete barriers we put in after the last slip.
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Bizarro Earth

Commuter hell as flood chaos sweeps Dublin, Cork

Conor Feehan and Niall O'Connor
Herald.ie
Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:27 UTC
Image
Chaos reigned this morning after the country downpours and high winds lashed overnight. Torrential rain and high winds caused havoc in Dublin and Cork -- but conditions were expected to improve by this evening. Heavy rain from around 3am was too much for the drainage systems to cope with, causing water to build up on several major roads, particularly in south and west Dublin.

And it was a similar story in Cork this morning where city streets were under as much as two-feet of water as high tide blighted the city.

Impassable

In Dublin, AA Roadwatch reported serious flooding around the Tallaght area, with the road impassable at the Jobstown Inn, and from the Old Bawn junction on the N81 Tallaght Bypass down to the M50 junction.

Several cars stalled on the N81 after driving through flooded areas. Traffic in the area was heavy inbound during morning rush hour as motorists queued to try to negotiate the floods by driving one-by-one on the higher footpaths beside the affected roads.

Further west on the N81 there was heavy flooding from Brittas to Tallaght.
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Cloud Lightning

Flash floods, tornadoes in southern Spain claim nine lives

Jennifer Cockerell, David Mercer
The Independent
Mon, 29 Oct 2012 00:00 UTC
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© itv.com
A 52-year-old British woman has been reported missing in severe floodingwhich has so far claimed nine lives in southern Spain, authorities saidtoday.

Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes after torrential rain led to flash flooding in the Andalucian provinces of Malaga, Almeria and Murcia.

The woman, who has yet to be named, was reported missing in Almeria, a spokeswoman for the regional government of Andalucia said.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was looking into the reports as "a matter of urgency".

Heavy downpours and resulting high waters have killed five people in the province of Murcia, three in Almeria and one in Malaga. Five people originally declared missing had been found alive.
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Cloud Lightning

Spain floods: Eight die in Malaga, Almeria and Murcia


BBC News
Sat, 29 Sep 2012 12:08 UTC

At least eight people have died after heavy rains triggered flash floods in southern Spain, officials have said.

The strength of the floods overturned cars, closed roads, damaged homes and forced hundreds to leave their properties.

The hardest hit areas were the provinces of Malaga and Almeria, and the Murcia region.

Further north in the town of Gandia, a tornado struck a temporary fairground, injuring 35 people, 15 seriously.
'Hit hard'

At least 600 people had to be evacuated from their homes in the Andalucia region, which contains Malaga and Almeria, officials said.
Map
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Cloud Lightning

Britain experiences month's worth of rainfall in 24 hours (again)


Huffington Post, UK
Wed, 26 Sep 2012 13:29 UTC
The wet and windy start to week has persisted into Wednesday with more than a month's worth of rain falling in some places across the UK. Britain has been hit with the most extreme September weather for decades, with hundreds evacuated from their homes and fire and rescue teams battling against the floods to help residents of some of the worst-hit areas.

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Beautiful but dangerous: flood waters in the fields around Tewkesbury Abbey
Cars sailed down streets after being abandoned by motorists, and a block of flats in Newburn, Newcastle were left with their foundations exposed as the town struggled with another day of heavy rain.

Additional images

Comment: Tewkesbury again?!

30 April 2012: Ferocious storm closes wettest April ever in UK

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Under siege: A vast expanse of water surrounds the historic Abbey after days of heavy rain swell the River Severn and cause it to bursts its banks
26 July 2007: More Flooding As England Battles Power Cuts And Water Shortages

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Cloud Lightning

Flood Kills at Least 92 People and Damages Infrastructure in Niger


Afriquejet.com
Sat, 22 Sep 2012 16:55 UTC
At least 92 people have died in floods that have swept Niger following torrential rains, according to the latest data released by the Prime minister's office on Friday. The data indicate that 72,396 families are affected with 511,484 people being victims, as at Thursday. All the country's eight regions are affected by floods with Tillabéry, Dosso and Niamey being the worst affected. Huge damage is reported on basic socio-economic infrastructure and other items crucial to the people.

Rice crops, schools, health centres, roads, bridges, dams have all been affected while a huge quantities of food and many cattle have been swept away by flood waters.
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Cloud Lightning

Floods in northern Cameroon kill nearly 30 people, more than 26,000 affected

Tapang Ivo Tanku
CNN
Mon, 17 Sep 2012 16:01 UTC
Cameroon far north region
© Google maps
Flooding in Cameroon's Far North Region has killed nearly 30 people and affected more than 26,000 others, officials said Monday.

More than 4,000 people in the Logone and Shari division were displaced, and more than 22,000 people in the region of Maga, Mayo-Danay division, also have been affected.

Communication Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary described the flooding as "a calamity," and he called for urgent action to save lives, livestock and property. Dana FM, a local radio station, said the death toll will grow as bodies are collected and identified. For the past few weeks, there has been no sign of the flood easing.
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Cloud Lightning

Flash flooding, landslides hit northern India, 33 dead


Trust.org
Tue, 18 Sep 2012 15:56 UTC
India Uttarakhand
© WikipediaUttarakhand state, India
Flash flooding has triggered landslides in northern India leaving 33 dead and 35 missing, reports children's charity Plan International.

Heavy monsoon rains swamped Uttarakhand state, in the foothills of the Himalayas.

Dozens of homes were flattened across eight villages in the early hours of the morning, killing villagers in their sleep.

"Houses were buried in the debris of mud and rocks and many lives of both people and livestock were lost as a consequence," says Plan's emergency response manager in India Murali Kunduru.
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Cloud Lightning

Floods Threaten Niger's Main Rice Crop

Abdoulaye Massalatchi
Planetark.org
Mon, 17 Sep 2012 17:28 UTC
Floods could wipe out most of Niger's main rice harvest this year as rain-swollen rivers rose to 50-year highs across West Africa, spreading devastation, a regional official said.

At least 81 people have been killed in Niger since annual rains caused flooding along the banks of the Niger River, raising its waters to their highest levels since the 1920s.

The country and surrounding region are still struggling to overcome food shortages caused by poor rains last year.

"In Niger ... most of the rainy season rice crop, estimated at over 80,000 metric tons (88,185 tonnes), risks being destroyed this year," Tiena Coulibaly, a Malian government minister told Niger's state television.

Coulibaly was speaking after chairing a meeting of ministers in Niamey focused on tackling food shortages and increasing production. The comments were broadcast on Friday after a meeting on Thursday.
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Cloud Lightning

Sukhothai, Thailand floods as levees break, eroded barriers fail - local people rush to evacuate


BangkokPost.com
Mon, 10 Sep 2012 15:09 UTC
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© Phubas FaitesOfficials head by boat to help flood-hit people in Sukhothai municipality yesterday after the Yom River spilled into the area. Water levels reached up to 1 metre high in the city’s main fresh market.
Officials and resources were urgently mobilised to help people in areas of Sukhothai municipality which were abruptly hit by the flooding.

The surging waters made many roads in municipal areas of Sukhothai's Muang district impassable, with the level more than a metre deep in some places. At least five schools suspended classes.

His Majesty the King has had disaster relief packages worth more than 760,000 baht, delivered to 1,500 flood-affected households in the province via the Rajaprajanugroh Foundation.

The government said water management at dams was still under control, and that the Sukhothai flood was due to the levee bases on which flood walls had been built breaking unexpectedly.

Sukhothai municipality's Wichian Chamnong, Ratchathani, Pracha Ruamjai, Khlong Tapetch, Phra Maeya and Tan Diew communities were inundated.
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