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Update: 'Tsunami of rain' hits Buenos Aires - Death toll rises to 54 as millions left without power and water - Event was 'deluge without historical precedent'


MercoPress
Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:39 UTC
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Record-breaking flash-flooding has drowned countless people in Buenos Aires, Argentina
The death toll from the heavy rains and flash floods that have pounded Buenos Aires City and La Plata, capital of the Buenos Aires province have climbed to at least 54, and could increase, Argentine authorities said on Wednesday.

The "tsunami of rain," as it has been called, has forced thousands of people to be evacuated and caused significant damage to homes and infrastructure. An estimated 600,000 people in the area have no power, drinking water or working phone lines.

The Argentine government is working with provincial and local authorities to evacuate homes which in some La Plata neighborhoods were flooded with more than 1.5 meters of water.

Of the 48 confirmed fatalities in La Plata, 60 kilometers south of the national capital, only 24 have been identified, said Buenos Aires provincial security minister Ricardo Casal, adding that among the identified dead there was just one young person, a 21-year-old man, and all the rest were people over age 50.

Comment: Keep in mind that 'the worst flooding in over a half-century' hit Buenos Aires just four months ago in December 2012...

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Bizarro Earth

9 people swept by floods in Narok, Kenya


YouTube
Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:34 UTC
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Cloud Precipitation

Record-breaking deluge hits Buenos Aires, leaving five dead


Times of India
Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:48 UTC
Torrential rains in Argentina's capital have triggered flooding responsible for at least five deaths.

A record 6.1 inches (155 millimeters) of rain fell in just two hours in Buenos Aires on Tuesday. That's equal to all of normal rainfall for April.

The storm caused power outages, flooded subway lines and turned the streets into rivers.

Emergency officials are asking people to stay at home after a subway worker died when he was electrocuted after stepping on wet railway lines and after three men and a woman drowned to death.

Service on a subway line has been interruupted, and trains on other lines are delayed. Officials are asking people to avoid driving to prevent accidents.

The Argentine National Metereological Service expects more storms Tuesday in Buenos Aires and says heavy rains will continue until Friday.

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Cloud Precipitation

Six swept away, more displaced in Kenya flash floods

Kipchumba Kemei and Mangoa Mosota
Standard
Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:06 UTC
Kenya Flash flood
© Felix Kavi/Standard
Six people are feared dead after their matatu was swept away by flash floods in Narok South.

Three people in a vehicle crossing a bridge at Ole Polos in Ololulung'a area survived after they swam to safety.

The overloaded vehicle, according to Narok South DC Chimwaga Mongo, was swept away at the swollen Ole Polos Bridge.

"The overloaded vehicle was swept away by raging waters as it was crossing the bridge. The six were trapped inside it. The survivors swam to safety," said Mongo who added it was difficult for police divers and the public to locate the ill-fated vehicle because of poor visibility occasioned by heavy rains and high water levels. Rescue operations resume today.
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Cloud Precipitation

At least 11 dead as flash floods ravage Mauritius


Euronews
Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:00 UTC
A day of mourning has been declared in Mauritius after at least 11 people lost their lives in savage flash floods that caught the Indian ocean island by surprise on Saturday.


Most of the dead were caught in an underground car park in the capital Port Louis, and police and rescuers are still looking for survivors two days after 152 millimetres of rain fell in less than two hours.
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Cloud Precipitation

Floods wash away bridge in central Spain, 3 dead


China.org
Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:39 UTC
River Yeguas bridge washed away
© EFE
Three people died this Monday after a bridge over the river Yeguas in central Spain was washed away by flooding waters.

The three victims, including a couple and a young man, were on board two separate vehicles, a car and a lorry, driving along the N-420 road between the cities of Ciudad Real and Cordoba.

Persistent rainfall over the closing days of March has led to rising water levels in many of the country's rivers and reservoirs, according to data supplied by the Automatic Systems of Hydrological Information.
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Cloud Precipitation

11 killed in flash floods in Mauritius capital


Bloomberg Business Week
Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:14 UTC
Port Louis, Mauritius - Officials say flash floods blamed on climate change killed at least 11 people in the capital of the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. Officials said most drowned in rivers of water that rose swiftly Saturday in a pedestrian underpass and an underground car park.
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Mauritius has declared a day of national mourning after flash flooding kills at least ten.
Torrential downpours slammed Port Louis. The meteorological office reported 152mm (6 inches) of rain fell in less than an hour. It warned there could be more storms. Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam declared Monday a day of mourning. On national radio Sunday he blamed climate change for the floods.
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Windsock

Huge storm system brings record snow, flooding and Arctic cold to Spain (in March!)


BBC
Thu, 14 Mar 2013 12:30 UTC
BBC Weather's Tomasz Schafernaker has more on the recent snowy weather in central and northern parts of Spain.

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Cloud Precipitation

Heavy rains and flooding isolate thousands in New South Wales, Australia


World News Australia
Fri, 22 Feb 2013 17:10 UTC
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© AAPFlooding isolates about 4000 people on the New South Wales north coast.
About 4,000 are isolated on the New South Wales' north coast as the region is hit with damaging winds, strong rains and flooding.

A severe weather warning is in place for northern NSW, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning of very heavy rains leading to flash flooding over the Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast, Northern Tablelands and Hunter forecast districts.

Late on Friday night, the NSW State Emergency Service said the extreme weather had isolated about 3500 people on the north coast.

An SES spokesman said the SES had received 1000 calls for assistance so far, and had completed nine flood rescues, including one in which three people were dragged from a car at Taree.

He expected the threat of flooding to increase on Saturday.
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Cloud Precipitation

Landslides and flooding, from torrential rains, kill 17 in Indonesia


The Extinction Protocol
Sat, 23 Feb 2013 13:33 UTC
Four children were among 17 people killed over the weekend in central Indonesia after heavy rains triggered floods and landslides, officials said on Monday.The children, aged between two and nine, died along with 13 adults when flooding and landslides hit the northern part of Sulawesi island early Sunday, provincial disaster management agency spokesman Howke Makawarung told AFP. "We recorded 17 people killed. All bodies were found on Sunday," he said, adding that heavy rains had hit three areas, including the North Sulawesi provincial capital of Manado which saw water levels up to four meters (13 feet). Water, which inundated around 5,000 houses in Manado, had receded by Monday and residents had begun cleaning up their homes.


A landslide which hit the city killed a six-year old boy. "He was taking a bath in the morning when a landslide suddenly struck his house," the capital deputy mayor Harley Mangindaan told AFP. Indonesia is regularly affected by deadly floods and landslides during its wet season, which lasts for around six months. Environmentalists blame logging and a failure to reforest denuded land for exacerbating flooding. Heavy rains caused flooding in the capital Jakarta in January that left 32 people dead and at its peak forced nearly 46,000 to flee their homes. - Raw Story
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