Floods
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Bizarro Earth

Thailand: Large Wave Strands Tourists


Agence France-Presse
Sun, 25 Dec 2011 11:12 UTC
Rogue Wave
© Agence France-PresseBad memories: A Thai man takes a photo of a wave in Prachuap khiri khan province southern Thailand. About 100 people were evacuated and dozens of tourists stranded.
About one hundred people in southern Thailand were evacuated overnight when a large wave flooded a coastal village.

The three-to-four metre high wave inundated a shore on the Gulf of Thailand, causing floods of one metre deep and damaging houses in a village in Chumphon province, according to provincial governor Pinich Charoenpanich.

Dozens of tourists were stranded on Phitak Island with about 1000 people in total affected by the waves. Reports suggest about 200 households were hit, although there are no reports of casualties.

Mr Pinich said officials helped evacuate about a hundred people to a safe place farther inland, and were expected to return home when the waters had subsided and the wind dropped.
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Bizarro Earth

Huge waves batter Southern Thailand shoreline houses swept away

Leo Reyes
Digital Journal
Sun, 25 Dec 2011 10:22 UTC
thailand,wave
© FlickrGiant waves breaking on shoreline
Giant waves measuring at least five meters high hit part of Southern Thailand Sunday, forcing residents in the affected areas to flee as their houses were swept away by the storm-induced waves from the sea.

Among the areas hardly-hit were Hua Lame village in Langsuan district and sub-villages in the three sub districts as giant waves struck before noon time. No casualties have been reported so far.

Flooding in the coastal villages did not originate directly from heavy rainfall in contrast with the flooding devastation in Southern Philippines as giant waves struck the villages which reportedly caused the flooding.
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Heart - Black

Philippines Sends Coffins as Toll Nears 1,000 Dead


USA Today
Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00 UTC
Image
© The Associated Press/Bullit MarquezSoldiers carry coffins of flash flood victims during a mass burial Tuesday at a cemetery in Iligan.
The government shipped more than 400 coffins to two flood-stricken cities in the southern Philippines on Tuesday as the death toll neared 1,000 and President Benigno Aquino III declared a state of national calamity.

The latest count listed 957 dead and 49 missing and is expected to climb further as additional bodies are recovered from the sea and mud in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro cities.

A handful of morgues are overwhelmed and running out of coffins and formaldehyde for embalming. Aid workers appealed for bottled water, blankets, tents and clothes for many of 45,000 in crowded evacuation centers.

Navy sailors in Manila loaded a ship with 437 white wooden coffins to help local authorities handle the staggering number of dead. Also on the way were containers with thousands of water bottles.
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Cloud Lightning

At Least 50,000 Children Caught Up In Philippines Flooding


Save The Children
Sun, 18 Dec 2011 20:52 UTC
Philippines Flooding
© Eduardo Umali/Save the Children
At least 50,000 children have been caught up in flooding in the Philippines, Save the Children estimates, after hundreds of people were swept to their deaths by an enormous cyclone.

Two days after torrential rains triggered some of the worst flooding ever seen in the country, some areas are still cut off by damage and debris, hampering relief efforts and prompting fears for families trapped without enough food and clean water.

Save the Children is particularly concerned that children may have been separated from their families during the floods, leaving them especially vulnerable, Save the Children's Anna Lindenfors in the Philippines said.

"We fear that many children were split up from their parents as this disaster unfolded and our priority is to reach them as soon as possible. We are especially worried about children trapped in areas that we cannot access due to the damage caused by the storm. Children are likely to have borne the brunt of this disaster, because they are less likely to be able to cope with torrents of floodwater." she said.

Hundreds of people are still missing after the storm tore through coastal villages in Mindanao and there are reports that the majority of the bodies recovered so far have been children.
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Ambulance

Update: Tropical Storm Washi leaves 436 dead as it slams into the Philippines


NewsDay.com
Sat, 17 Dec 2011 10:22 UTC
Image
© Unknown
Pounding rain from a tropical storm swelled rivers and sent walls of water crushing into two southern Philippine cities in the thick of night, killing at least 436 people, many caught in their beds, officials said Saturday.

Philippine Red Cross Secretary General Gwen Pang told The Associated Press that the latest toll was based on a body count in funeral parlors. She said that 215 died in Cagayan de Oro and 144 in nearby Iligan, and the rest in several other southern and central provinces.

Most of the dead were asleep Friday night when raging floodwaters tore through their homes from swollen rivers and cascaded from mountain slopes following 12 hours of pounding rain in the southern Mindanao region. The region is unaccustomed to the typhoons that are common elsewhere in the archipelago nation.

Many of the bodies in parlors were unclaimed, indicating that entire families had perished, Pang said.

The number of missing was unclear Saturday night. Before the latest Red Cross figures, military spokesman Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang said about 250 people were still unaccounted for in Iligan.
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Cloud Lightning

At Least 180 Dead After Storm Pummels Philippines

Maria Ressa
CNN
Sat, 17 Dec 2011 02:51 UTC

At least 180 people are dead after Tropical Storm Washi pummeled the Philippines, officials said Saturday.

The vast majority of the bodies were found in the cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro, according to military officials and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. Five people were killed in a landslide, but all others died in flash flooding.

The provinces of Compostela Valley and Zamboanga del Norte were also hit, said Benito Ramos, chairman of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

About 400 people are missing after the storm, which is called Sendong locally. More than 2,000 have been rescued, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said officials are investigating reports that an entire village was swept away.
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Igloo

Scotland Shut Down By Icy 165mph Blasts


Sky News
Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:23 UTC

A fierce storm with winds of up to 165mph has battered northern parts of Britain, with people warned to stay indoors, schools forced to close and flights and rail links cancelled.

Localised flooding has also caused major disruptions on roads - and more than 30,000 homes have been left without power.

In North Yorkshire, a RAF helicopter plucked a couple to safety after their car was swept away in floodwaters near Aysgarth. They were flown to hospital with suspected hypothermia.

A third person was also rescued from his car in a separate incident near the village of Gunnerside.

Police have advised against all travel until at least 2am Friday, when winds are expected to ease.

The Met Office earlier issued its strongest warning - a red alert - for winds in Scotland and warned parts of England and Wales to "be aware", as temperatures were expected to drop and snowfall was predicted as far south as Birmingham.

It said the Highland observing station at Glen Ogle reported a gust of 104mph at 11am. The Met Office later tweeted that a gust at the Aonach Mor ski area peaked at 137mph.
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Cloud Lightning

UK: floods hit the North following rain, gales . . . and even a tornado


The Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:36 UTC
Sitting atop his taxi surrounded by flood waters, this man was one of hundreds caught out as Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland were hit by heavy rain yesterday.

This scene was captured in a car park in Greenock, Scotland as some parts of Scotland were battered by a fortnight's rain in just 24-hours.

The deluges forced roads to close and train cancellations, while several schools were forced to close due to the rising waters.
Image
© unknownStranded: A man sits atop his taxi in Greenock, Scotland after heavy rain caught him unawares
Image
© PAFireman study the debris left by a fallen chimney that injured a pensioner after a cloud-burst and sudden strong winds hit the Heaton Moor at around 2.25pm today
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Cloud Lightning

South Africa: Heavy downpour kills eight


IOL Daily News
Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:01 UTC
Durban Storm debris
© Wendy Knowler and Puri Devjee/INL SAThe heavy downpour last night saw massive amounts of debris wash on to the shore from Country Club Beach to Blue Lagoon.
At least eight people were reported dead, about 700 houses had been destroyed and thousands had been left displaced in KwaZulu-Natal, following last night's heavy downpour, the eThekwini Disaster Management Unit said on Monday.

According to the SA Weather Bureau, 62.6mm of rain fell last night in Durban, which had already recorded 209.6mm for November, almost double its average.

The acting head of the eThekwini Emergency Control and Disaster Management Unit, Vincent Ngubane, said deaths had been recorded at Umlazi, Newlands East and Chatsworth.

The official death toll is eight, but the numbers could rise as emergency operations begin.
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Cloud Lightning

Death Toll Reaches 17 in Sri Lanka Storm, 33 Missing


ColumboPage
Sat, 26 Nov 2011 13:34 UTC
storm Sri Lanka
© skywatch-media.com
Heavy rains along with gusting winds that lashed the southern coastal areas of Sri Lanka Friday killed 17 people and left 33 fishermen missing, the National Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said today.

The DMC officials said 17 people have been confirmed dead and 30 fishermen who ventured out to sea are missing.

Another three people are missing in Monaragala and Anuradhapura districts after heavy rains overflowed reservoirs and streams.

The DMC figures as of this morning reported 33,957 people belonging to 8,359 families have been affected due to the adverse weather condition prevailing in the country.

Matara District of Southern coast has sustained the most damage from the gale force winds, the Assistant Director of DMC, Pradeep Kodipilli said.
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