Floods
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Cloud Lightning

500 flood alerts across England and Wales as southwest UK braces for yet ANOTHER hurricane-force storm


The Guardian
Sat, 08 Feb 2014 11:33 UTC
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© Matt Cardy/Getty ImagesWaves break at high tide in Porthleven, Cornwall, on Saturday as south-west England and Wales braced for more storms and flooding
Somerset, Devon and Dorset at greatest risk of flooding as Environment Agency issues warnings as far north as Hull

Large areas of England and Wales are on flood and storm alert as a new storm is poised to hit the south and south-west with winds of up to 80mph.

The flooded Somerset Levels where many residents have already been forced from their homes after weeks of heavy rain remain at the highest risk of continued flooding on Saturday.

The Environment Agency said there was a risk of flooding along the coast of Devon and Dorset from the combination of high tides and high winds.

There are more than 300 low-level flood alerts and nearly 200 medium-risk flood warnings in place across Wales and southern and central England as far north as Hull.
"Storm was like a freak of nature, I thought it was the end of the world"...
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Calendar

UK: Wet weather here to stay as jet stream blamed


Sky News
Fri, 07 Feb 2014 06:44 UTC
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© SkynewsParts of England have been hit by severe flooding.
Forecasters have told Sky News the unsettled weather that has brought heavy rain, strong winds and flooding is set to remain until at least the middle of this month.

After that, conditions "may start to calm down and the second half of February could be slightly more settled", said a Met Office spokeswoman.

The relentless wet weather that has pummelled much of the UK for the past couple of months has been caused by a powerful jet stream, experts said.

It pushed an "exceptional" succession of low pressure systems across the Atlantic Ocean, as powerful winds and a deluge of rain struck the country, especially southwest England.

There have been a number of major winter storms during December and January and the Met Office said it was the relatively short time between each one that has led to major flooding.

It said: "It was their rapid succession, with further rain falling on already saturated ground that caused the significant flooding problems."
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Galaxy

Best of the Web: Signs of Change in January 2014

HawkkeyDavis Channel
YouTube
Fri, 07 Feb 2014 04:35 UTC
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Dazzling green fireball filmed above Belgium, January 2014
Mysterious booms across the US, often occuring in and around earthquakes - A series of unusual earthquakes in Australia - More 'strange sky sounds' - More meteor fireballs raining down - Massive sinkholes swallowing houses, cars and people - Storm after storm battering the UK and Western Europe, bringing massive waves, widespread flooding and landslides - Mass whale stranding in New Zealand - Polar Vortex (twice!) freezing most of the US in ice age conditions and making it colder than Mars - Major flooding in Florida, while hurricane-force winds smash into Oregon and the Carolinas - Tonga flattened by most powerful cyclone to hit the region half a century - A strong earthquake hit Puerto Rico - 100,000 people affected by major flooding in the Philippines, while another 40,000 were displaced by heavy rainfall in Indonesia - Bats falling out of the sky as wildfires rage in Australia's record heatwave - 'Winter wildfires' raging across snow-covered US - An eerily quiet Sun that hasn't been seen since the 17th Century - Several volcanic eruptions in Indonesia causing multiple deaths and the evacuation of thousands - Another strong earthquake in New Zealand - More mass animal deaths, including a whole pod of pilot whales off the coast of Florida - Record-breaking snowfall across the US...

2014 has stated with a bang, literally, with a surge of loud booms being heard and felt throughout much of North America. But then again, didn't the last few years start this way? This video includes strange and extreme weather, geological and cosmic events, covering most of the month of January. Things aren't looking good for certain few heavily populated areas...

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Fish

No end in sight: Fierce winter storms bring severe flooding in UK & Ireland


Source
Thu, 06 Feb 2014 10:59 UTC
uk flood
© BBC News

Dramatic footage shows how unusually fierce winter storms have brought severe flooding to several coastal areas in Southern England. Ireland is also suffering severe flooding.

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Cloud Precipitation

Floods sweep Cork and Tipperary, Ireland

Claire Simpson
The Irish News
Wed, 05 Feb 2014 08:57 UTC
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Around 19,000 people in the republic were without power last night as floods swept through counties Cork and Tipperary.

Several streets in Cork city were under water after the river Lee overflowed its banks - the fourth time in just four weeks that parts of the city were flooded.

Some shops that had been flooded just 24 hours earlier, were hit by rising water again.

At the height of the flooding, one of the city's main streets, Oliver Plunkett Street, was under several feet of water.

Cobh and Kinsale in Co Cork, and Clonmel in Co Tipperary were also badly flooded.

Towns in eastern and southern counties, particularly Waterford and Wexford, were battered by hurricane-force winds and high waves last night.

Heavy rain and strong gusts of rain also hit the north, with eastern counties particularly badly hit.
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Galaxy

Heaven and Earth: Unusual natural events and strange phenomena from around the world in January 2014

Last Messages
YouTube
Wed, 05 Feb 2014 02:14 UTC
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© AP
This video compiles footages of strange phenomena of all kinds, including awesome natural events or beautiful phenomena from around the world in the last few weeks.

In just the last couple of weeks, we've seen:

Volcanic eruptions in Sicily and Indonesia and elsewhere - 'Sky trumpet sounds' in Iceland, and loud booms shaking homes all over the US - Large earthquake in New Zealand, and an ongoing heatwave in Australia - Giant boulders falling off a mountain Italy and record flooding across Europe - More 'spinning ice-river' circles, this time in Norway - Strange cloud cover producing pretty sunsets and unusual light refraction, including a spectacular sun halo over Moscow - More mass animal deaths - More meteor fireballs falling from the sky, and 'hole-punch clouds'! - More UFO sightings - Massive electrical storms, including a super-electrical storm in Rio de Janeiro that produced an interesting omen: a thunderbolt struck the giant statue of Jesus above the city!... There were also major electrical storms in Europe... and this in the middle of winter! - Tornado outbreaks in the UK, which are unusual even in the summer - Thousands of wildfires breaking out in some of the coldest places on the planet - UK's wettest January in 250 years as the island continues to be pummeled with storm after storm...


I covered events from earlier in January and late December 2013 here.

Check out the rest of this series here.
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Cloud Precipitation

Britain faces choice of saving towns or country from floods - Not enough funds left for defending both after bailing out banks and illegal wars of aggression


The Guardian
Mon, 03 Feb 2014 04:53 UTC
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© Matt Cardy/Getty ImagesFlooding has been exceptionally bad in Somerset after the wettest January for more than 200 years
Britain may have to choose whether it wants to save "town or country" from future flooding because it is too costly to defend both, the chairman of the Environment Agency said.

Lord Smith said "difficult choices" would have to be made over what to protect because "there is no bottomless purse" to pay for defences.

Meanwhile householders have been told to brace themselves as further wind and rain threatens to bring more chaos to waterlogged communities across Britain.

Around 180 homes were flooded during during a busy weekend for the emergency services and EA workers up and down the country.

But as flood-hit communities enjoyed a break in the bad weather yesterday, forecasters warned there may be worse to come.
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Bulb

'Blame changing landscapes for flood risk, not global warming'


The Guardian News
Thu, 23 Jan 2014 00:00 UTC
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© Barry Stone
Major flood events occur around the world every year, but with international loss databases documenting increased incidents of flooding, more material loss and greater fatality rates are these events on the increase, and are they getting worse?

A new study published in Hydrological Sciences Journal examines the key reasons for increasing frequency and severity of floods; considering whether this is due to improved reporting by the media, an increasing and expanding global population, or whether climate change is the crucial factor.

The authors combine the outcomes of the IPCC Special Report on "Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation" (SREX report) with more recent research to give a rounded view of the cost of flooding (both human and material), the causes of increased flood risk and predictions of future global flooding patterns.

Studies have shown that there is a clear link between population density and flooding. Currently 800 million humans are living in areas vulnerable to flooding.

This is predicted to rise by a further 140 million during 21st Century as we see continued economic and population growth. At the same time reduction of woodland, changing river flow and the urbanisation of flood plains will increase flood risk in many regions.
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Cloud Precipitation

Welcome to the new normal: Extreme weather is here to stay in the UK

John Vidal
The Guardian
Fri, 31 Jan 2014 11:59 UTC
Southern England, the south-west and west Wales have been warned to expect more wild weather, with heavy rain and high tides possibly leading to coastal flooding and travel disruption over the weekend.
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© Toby Melville/ReutersA police officer inspects flooded areas near Muchelney, a village on the Somerset Levels where 25 sq miles of farmland is under water.
"Another very deep area of low pressure will spread heavy rain and strong to gale-force winds eastwards across the south-west during Friday. Up to 30mm of rain is likely during the period, possibly exacerbating the current flooding situation," said the Met Office, which has issued an amber warning covering most of the south-west and south Wales. There are 43 flood warnings in place, and 162 less serious flood alerts.
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Cloud Precipitation

UK weather: Six 'threat to life' warnings issued for floods

Claire Carter
The Telegraph, UK
Fri, 31 Jan 2014 10:40 UTC
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© EPAMembers of the emergency services help a resident arrives back to dry land from the village of Muchelney, Somerset
The Environment Agency has issued six of the most serious 'threat to life' warnings and more than 200 flood alerts as rain and gales are set to batter Britain, bringing more flooding chaos

Six of the most severe 'danger to life' warnings have been issued as Britain prepares for more rain and floods this weekend.

The Environment Agency has issued 83 warnings across the UK where flooding is likely and six of the most severe warnings for coastal areas in north Devon and Cornwall where floods could be so dangerous they could threaten people's lives.

There are also more than 200 flood alerts issued - with more than 100 in the South East which has been worst hit by the floods in recent weeks.

Up to 1.6 inches (40mm) of rain is forecast in areas of the South West and Wales today and 70mph gusts expected this weekend in conditions which forecasters say are likely to continue until mid February. Students in Wales have been evacuated as a precaution and speed restrictions

The downpours come as the military was called to the Somerset Levels on Thursday, where acres of farmland have been underwater for a month and villages are accessible only by boat after the South East recorded its wettest January for more than 100 years.
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