Floods
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Cloud Lightning

Thailand: Prime Minister warns floods threaten Bangkok

Thanyarat Doksone & Todd Pitman
Associated Press
Sat, 08 Oct 2011 14:47 UTC
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© Sunti Tehpia/APA man fishes near a sleeping Buddha statue submerged in the floods at Lokayasutharam temple in Ayutthaya province, central Thailand Saturday.
Bankok - Thailand's prime minister is warning that rising floodwaters that have wreaked havoc across the nation are now threatening the capital, Bangkok. The death toll from the worst monsoon rains in decades rose Saturday to 253.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the flooding - which has severed rail links with the north, shut dozens of highways and swamped ancient Buddhist temples in the city of Ayutthaya - has reached a crisis level.

Bangkok has so far been spared serious damage, but many fear it could be inundated as large amounts of water flows from submerged northern rice fields toward the Gulf of Thailand. That critical runoff is expected to be impeded by high ocean tides in mid-October, and Tropical Storm Nalgae is also forecast to bring new rain in the days ahead.

In a radio message Saturday, Yingluck said authorities are hoping to ease the crisis by installing up to 400 water pumps along the Chao Phraya River, which snakes through Bangkok, to help push water to the sea. Seven canals will also be dug on the outskirts of the city, she said.
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Igloo

Western Australia: Freak hail storm traps Bunbury couple

Jemillah Bickerton
Bunbury Mail
Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:49 UTC
Bunbury hail
The hail storm which wreacked havoc through Ferguson Valley on Sunday.
Local residents fought their way out of a ditch during the freakish spring hail storm on Sunday.

Brenda and Michael Joubert were on a leisurely Sunday drive when they became caught up in the middle of a hail storm in the Ferguson Valley.

The couple pulled their car over to the side of the road under a tree to prevent the car from being damaged but all of the water forced the car to slip sideways into the ditch.
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Cloud Lightning

Canada: Hurricane Ophelia Wallops Southeastern Newfoundland


CBC News
Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00 UTC
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© AFP/NOAAThis September 30, 2011 NOAA satellite image shows Hurricane Ophelia in the Atlantic Ocean.
Heavy rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia has caused flooding on Newfoundland's Burin Peninsula and the evacuation of some homes on the island's south coast, where a state of emergency was declared and then lifted hours later.

Belleoram Mayor Steward May told CBC News that his home was one of five houses that was evacuated.

"Heavy flooding started around 7 a.m. A neighbour woke me up. I just got myself and the dog out of the house," said May.

"At my house there was a heavy flow of rocks and water that was halfway up my front door. The homes have been very badly damaged."

Ophelia, which was downgraded in the early morning Monday from a Category 1 hurricane, doused eastern Newfoundland with sustained precipitation and is forecast to bring large waves to coastal communities on the island.

Four houses in the south coast community of Belleoram were evacuated because of flooding, but police said roads in and out of the community are intact.
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Stop

Typhoons leave dozens dead in Philippines


Associated Press
Sun, 02 Oct 2011 05:12 UTC
Back-to-back typhoons left at least 55 people dead and rescuers scrambling on Sunday to deliver food and water to hundreds of villagers stuck on rooftops for four days because of flooding in the northern Philippines.

Typhoon Nalgae slammed ashore in northeastern Isabela province Saturday then barreled across the main Luzon Island's mountainous north and agricultural plains that were still sodden from fierce rain and wind unleashed by a howler just days earlier. Nalgae left at least three people dead Saturday while Typhoon Nesat killed 52 others in the same region before blowing out Friday.


Nalgae was whirling 124 miles over the South China Sea from the country's northeast toward southern China early Sunday with sustained winds of 81 miles per hour and gusts of 99 mph, according to the government weather agency.

Its ferocious wind set off a rockslide in northern Bontoc province Saturday, causing boulders to roll down a mountainside and smash on a passing van, where a passenger was pinned to death and another was injured, police said.
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Bizarro Earth

2nd Typhoon in Week Lashes Rain-Soaked Philippines

Oliver Teves
The Associated Press
Sat, 01 Oct 2011 05:10 UTC
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© AP Photo/Bullit MarquezResidents wade through the floodwaters as they evacuate to safer grounds following massive flooding in Calumpit township, Bulacan province, north of Manila, Philippines.
The second typhoon in a week battered the rain-soaked northern Philippines on Saturday, adding misery to the lives of thousands of people, some of whom were still perched on rooftops from previous flooding.

Thousands of people were ordered to evacuate their homes after Typhoon Nalgae slammed ashore south of northeastern Palanan Bay in Isabela province with winds of 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour and dangerous gusts of 121 mph (195 kph). At least one person was killed in a landslide.

The fast-moving typhoon blew westward, barreling across the mountainous regions of Luzon Island. It weakened slightly as it reached the shore of La Union province around 4 p.m. (0800 GMT), about seven hours after it made landfall.

Forecasters said it will be over South China Sea by Saturday night and is expected to regain strength over the water as it heads farther west toward Hainan and Vietnam.
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Bizarro Earth

Storm forces hundreds of thousands to flee in Vietnam, China

Tran Van Mihn
MSNMC / Associated Press
Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:18 UTC
Several Asian countries reeling under floods after some of wildest weather this summer

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© Romeo Ranoco / ReutersA policeman keeps watch as residents wade through floodwater brought by Typhoon Nesat and wait for rescue workers in Candaba, Pampanga province, north of Manila on Friday.
A tropical storm barreled toward Vietnam Friday, forcing 20,000 people to be evacuated, as the Philippines braced for a new typhoon and several Asian countries reeled under floods after some of the wildest weather this summer.

Prolonged monsoon flooding, typhoons and storms have wreaked untold havoc in the region, leaving more than 600 people dead or missing in India, Thailand, Philippines, Japan, China, Pakistan and Vietnam in the last four months. In India alone, the damage is estimated to be worth $1 billion, with the worst-hit Orissa state accounting for $726 million.

The state-run Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology said several studies suggest an intensification of the Asian summer monsoon rainfall with increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Still, it is not clear that this is entirely because of climate change, especially in India, it said.

After pummeling the Philippines and China this week, Typhoon Nesat was downgraded to tropical storm as it headed toward Vietnam where it was expected to make landfall later Friday with sustained wind speeds of up to 73 mph, according to the national weather forecasting center.
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Cloud Lightning

Scores die in worst Mekong flooding since 2000

Prak Chan Thul
Reuters
Fri, 30 Sep 2011 07:35 UTC
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© Reuters/Samrang PringChildren walk through flood waters with the help of a partially submerged makeshift wooden walkway in Kandal province, Cambodia, September 30, 2011.
At least 150 people in Cambodia and southern Vietnam have died in the worst flooding along the Mekong River in 11 years after heavy rain swamped homes, washed away bridges and forced thousands of people to evacuate.

Worse could be in store if Typhoon Nesat, which killed at least 39 people in China this week and plowed into northern Vietnam on Friday, dumps rain deep enough inland to further swell the Mekong.

Flooding across the fertile Mekong Delta helped drive rice prices to a three-year high in Vietnam this week, traders said, which will add to inflation problems. The delta produces more than half of Vietnam's rice and 90 percent of its exportable grain.

In Cambodia, 141 people have died since August 13 due to Mekong flooding and flash floods, the Cambodian National Disaster Management Committee said.

"Now, more than 200,000 hectares (494,200 acres) of our rice paddies are under water but we don't yet know the full extent of the damage," said Keo Vy, deputy information director at the National Disaster Management Committee.
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Bizarro Earth

Two million sick from Pakistan floods


Agence France-Presse
Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:10 UTC
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© AFP, Rizwan TabassumA Pakistani youth carries a water pot through floodwaters in Mirpur Khas district
Two million Pakistanis have fallen ill from diseases since monsoon rains left the southern region under several feet of water, the country's disaster authority said Thursday.

More than 350 people have been killed and over eight million people have been affected this year by floods that officials say are worse in parts of Sindh province than last year, when the country saw its worst ever disaster.

Malaria, diarrhoea, skin disease and snake bites were among the health problems facing two million people across 23 Sindh districts, said Irshad Bhatti, spokesman of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

"In some areas, diseases also spread out because of dead animals but there is no major break-out of any epidemic," Bhatti added, calling for the donation of mosquito nets and medicines to help the aid effort.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said there is a desperate shortage of clean drinking water in the south which has also triggered outbreaks of acute diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases.
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Cloud Lightning

Typhoon Roke Passes Japan Tsunami Zone, Heads North

Yuri Kageyama
Houston Chronicle
Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:23 UTC
Local residents wade through a flooded street
© Kyodo News / APLocal residents wade through a flooded street caused by approaching typhoon in Nagoya, central Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011. Thousands of people in central Japan have been advised to evacuate as the powerful typhoon approaches. The storm system has already triggered floods that have left two people missing.
A powerful typhoon that left at least 13 people dead or missing, paralyzed commuter trains and dumped rain on tsunami-ravaged northeastern Japan was headed to the major northern island of Hokkaido on Thursday.

Typhoon Roke caused no immediate problems other than broken security cameras at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, which had been in its path overnight. The plant had been sent into meltdown by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and efforts are still under way to bring the reactors under control.

Hiroki Kawamata, spokesman for plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., said several cameras set up to monitor the plant were damaged, but that there had been no further leaks of radioactive water or material into the environment.

"We are seeing no problems so far," he said.

The storm passed just west of the plant on its way north late Wednesday. The typhoon brought new misery to the northeastern region, dumping up to 17 inches (42 centimeters) of rain in some areas.
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Bizarro Earth

Rare tornado, storms cause havoc in Italy


The Gazette / Agence-France Presse
Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:47 UTC
Violent storms across Italy that led to four deaths over the weekend caused damage and disruption on air, port and city transport systems on Monday, officials said.

Six underground subway stations in the capital Rome that were closed due to flooding overnight disrupting the morning rush hour reopened in the early afternoon. Buses took travellers between stops.

Palermo airport on the island of Sicily was forced to close for 40 minutes after a tornado whipped a Falcon 2000 aircraft off the runway, throwing it against police and emergency vehicles.

The storm also ripped free the 'Suprema' ferry from its moorings at Palermo port, causing a small boat nearby to sink before running into an English destroyer, the Monmouth, which was undamaged.
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