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Multiple avalanches hit North Norway


thelocal.no
Fri, 08 Aug 2014 13:11 UTC
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© Dag Tore Larsen / NTB scanpixPeople trapped after avalanches occurred across Lyngen in Troms.
Around 10 avalanches struck Lyngen in Troms on Thursday, hitting roads and neighbourhoods.

The avalanches went off at around 10pm on Thursday night in Kjosen in the Lyngen municipality of North Norway. Four of the avalanches reached all the way down to where people were living and the roads.

Between five and seven houses were trapped after the three first avalanches, and most of the people were rescued by boat. Noone were injured or missing.

A rescue helicopter trying to rescue trapped people had to turn around because of lightning and thunder. At the same time, great parts of the Lyngen municipality lost power.

The situation is now under control after 22 people were trapped inside their home and cars. Police are evaluating whether the people, who had to be evacuated, can return home.
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Cloud Lightning

Dramatic video of flash flood near Las Vegas

Chris Bruce
autoblog.com
Tue, 05 Aug 2014 11:32 UTC
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© Doug Bennett/YouTube
Nevada may not often be thought of as a state plagued by heavy rains, but some residents who are being inundated with severe storms that are causing flash flooding and mudslides might beg to differ. One recent deluge was strong enough to overflow the US 95 highway and shut down the road. The powerful current turned the median into raging rapids capable of carrying away people and cars. Of course, with everyone carrying a camera at all times these days, the horrifying incident was captured on video.

Unfortunately, two vehicles somehow got sucked into the surging water and were pushed into the stream below. According to bystanders, the whole thing seemed to happen out of nowhere, but people put themselves in danger to try to save those stuck in the out of control cars. Thankfully, no one was injured in this terrible incident. At about 1:29 into the video, you can also catch a glimpse of the mudslide first flowing onto the road.

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Cloud Precipitation

Torrential rain brings flooding to many parts of Northern Ireland


BBC
Wed, 06 Aug 2014 11:09 UTC
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Heavy rain led to flooding in Finaghy Road, Belfast, and other parts of Northern Ireland on Tuesday night
Emergency payments are to be made to flood victims following torrential rain across parts of Northern Ireland.

The worst affected areas on Tuesday night were Omagh, County Tyrone, and Moneymore and Magherafelt, County Londonderry.

The Fire and Rescue Service said it received 33 calls from those areas in the six hours until midnight.

One firefighter told the BBC there had been "mayhem" due to a deluge of rainwater in a short period of time.

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About 20 houses in Magherafelt were flooded on Tuesday night
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Cloud Lightning

Flood threat looms large in Odisha, India


India Today
Tue, 05 Aug 2014 15:19 UTC
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© ReutersA villager looks over floodwaters in Odisha.
With heavy rains for the past three days claiming two lives and raising fear of flood in some rivers, Odisha government on Monday alerted 12 districts for any eventuality as more rain is likely to pound some areas due to a low pressure.

Collectors of 12 districts were asked to remain watchful and gear up to meet any eventuality in the event of possible flood, special reliefcommissioner (SRC) PK Mohapatra told reporters after the situation was reviewed at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

He said the districts where alert was sounded are Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Khurda, Cuttack, Boudh, Nayagarh and Keonjhar.

The chief minister stressed the need to evacuate people from low lying areas in time and make arrangements for free cooked food and relief, Mohapatra said, adding vulnerable points in river embankments would be kept under the vigil and steps taken for availability of drinking water and medicines.
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Cloud Lightning

Torrential rain causes havoc across South Eastern Norway


The Norway Post
Tue, 05 Aug 2014 13:55 UTC
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Torrential rain and freak storms caused havoc in large areas in South Eastern Norway Monday afternoon and evening. Several thousand homes in Hedmark were still without electricity Tuesday morning.

In several towns and villages floodwaters filled basements and blocked traffic, and trees were blown down across streets and highways. In several places hail the size of tennis balls damaged car windows.

There are no reports of injuries.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Sweden, the nation's largest forest fire in 40 years is still raging out of control north of Stockholm. A number of hamlets have been evacuated. One person has been found dead. The fire covers around 100 square kilometres.
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Cloud Lightning

One dead after flash floods rip through southern California


Daily Mail, UK
Tue, 05 Aug 2014 14:07 UTC
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Fatality: El Segundo resident Joo Hwan Lee, 48, died on Sunday after his white Toyota Prius (pictured above) was swept down stream in a flash flood in southern California
* Joo Hwan Lee of El Segundo, California died after his car was swept down stream in a flash flood in southern California on Sunday

* The areas of Mount Baldy and Forest Falls were hardest hit by the monsoon whether, which dumped 3-5 inches of rainfall

* On Monday, crews worked to clear roads and access the damage to more than 30 homes

Flash-flooding in southern California claimed the life of at least one person on Sunday, as extreme rainfall wiped out dozens of homes and left thousands stranded by impassable roads.

On Monday, the skies cleared and crews got to work clearing the roads and surveying and the damage done to some 30 homes in the Mount Baldy and Forest Falls area.

Downpours punctuated with thunder and lightning dumped nearly 5 inches on Mount Baldy and as much as 3 1/2 inches on Forest Falls some 50 miles away, the National Weather Service said.

The sole victim of the afternoon's rain storm was identified as 48-year-old Joo Hwan Lee of El Segundo, who died after his white Toyota Prius was swept down a swollen creek and became wedged among boulders and a log.

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Cloud Precipitation

2 more killed as flooding persists in Bulgaria

Richard Davies
floodlist.com
Mon, 04 Aug 2014 04:15 UTC
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© Bulgaria Ministry of DefenceMiziya floods from the air
More flooding struck in Bulgaria on Sunday 3 August. This comes after weeks of flooding which has affected wider areas of the Balkans, including Romania and Serbia.
Two people died and over 500 people were evacuated from the town of Miziya, Vratsa Province, north western Bulgaria, after floods struck there yesterday. The displaced are being housed in a local school or are staying with friends or relatives.

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© Bulgaria Ministry of Defence
The flooding came after the Skut River had burst its banks. Over 70 houses in the town have been completely destroyed and a further 500 damaged. Flooding also affected other villages in the area. Some reports claim that the floods are a result of two dams overflowing. It hasn't rained in the area since Thursday.

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Cloud Precipitation

Sudan flash floods leave trail of death and destruction


worldbulletin.net
Tue, 05 Aug 2014 03:58 UTC
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Around 6,000 homes were destroyed by the deluge, according to official statistics.

Mohamed Saleh invested ten years of his life and limited resources building a new family house in Salha, one of the largest districts in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

They moved to the house only last week, after the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.

"It was a dream come true after ten long years," Saleh told Anadolu Agency.

But the joy was short-lived.

Three days later the home was destroyed by flash floods that swept Sudan displacing tens of thousands of people.

Around 6000 homes were destroyed by the deluge, according to official statistics.

As many as 21 people were killed in the eastern and western districts of Khartoum alone.

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Cloud Lightning

Mother Nature's most fatal weather - Death by flood less common than by lightning

Hannah Weinberger
Outsideonline.com
Thu, 31 Jul 2014 21:14 UTC
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© Welcomia/ThinkstockIt might not kill a lot of people, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't fear a flood.
Severe lightning storms, such as the one that killed one and injured at least seven on Venice Beach last Sunday, are incredibly rare events. Dying because of one? Even rarer. However, a report on extreme weather - related deaths released Wednesday found that death by flood is even more uncommon.

The data, collected by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers, showed that while lightning strikes killed 182 Americans between 2006 and 2010, flooding was directly responsible for 93 fatalities.

Despite record stateside flooding within the past year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported only 28 flood fatalies in 2013, most of which occured while victims were driving.

CDC researchers analyzed death tolls caused by five kinds of severe weather: heat, cold, storms, floods, and lightning. Overall, 10,649 people died as a result of extreme weather events over the five-year period. The CDC also provides data tables showing the likelihood of death based on gender and race. White males, it appears, are the most likely to die from severe weather across the board.
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Cloud Precipitation

Heavy rain in Netherlands causes €10 mil in damage

Maxime Zech
Nltimes.nl
Tue, 29 Jul 2014 12:05 UTC
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© Novum
The heavy rainfall in The Netherlands on Monday has caused around €10 million in damage according to the first rough estimate from the Union of Insurers (Verbond van Verzekeraars).

This estimate pertains to personal homes, and has not taken into account car damage or damage for companies and the agrarian sector.

Insurance companies will be able to pay damage caused by water leaking through holes in the roof, but flooding on the ground floor requires separate coverage, according to the NOS.

In Amsterdam, at least 30 fire trucks were called in, some on a voluntary basis from Diemen, Duivendrecht and Amstelveen, to assist people affected by the flooding. At a certain point, the fire department would only come to aid in case of short-circuiting.

Nobody was injured in the flooding, the effects of which are still causing problems in various areas of the country. In Alphen aan den Rijn, residents banded together with sand bags, buckets and water pumps to prevent water from breaching a dike. In 24 hours, more rain fell in Alphen than normally falls in one month.

In other parts of the country, the fire department is still working to pump away the water from the torrent on Monday. In Kockengen, Utrecht, the streets are still inundated, and the water boards believe it may take days to clear it all away. "It's disappointing to find this situation the same the day after the rain", a resident tells the NOS.


Comment: Netherlands must boost flood defences

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