Floods
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Attention

US: More Heavy Rain, More Flooding Problems for Minnesota


KARE 11
Tue, 21 Jun 2011 00:00 UTC
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© unknown
Rain, wind and lightning have knocked out power to thousands of customers in the Twin Cities metro area.

Xcel Energy says more than 8,000 customers were without service Tuesday morning.

And KARE 11's Jonathan Yuhas says the rough stuff might not be over.

More heavy downpours are likely Tuesday afternoon across the Metro area, which could lead to some spot flooding. Rain is forecast again on Wednesday with the potential for a few strong storms in the early afternoon hours from the Twin Cities Metro area east into Wisconsin.

All this moisture, on top of other recent heavy rains and thunderstorms are causing river levels to rise across Minnesota and western Wisconsin. The Minnesota, St.Croix and Mississippi Rivers will approach flood stage this week and remain near flood stage into the weekend.
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Cloud Lightning

US: Heavy Rain Slams Monongahela Valley Area


Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Tue, 21 Jun 2011 00:00 UTC
Heavy storms pounded the Mon Valley early Monday morning, with torrential rains causing flood damage throughout the area, but mostly in Charleroi and Fallowfield.

According to Charleroi fire Chief Bob Whiten Jr., the Twilight basin off Lincoln Avenue Extension was hardest hit.

"We were out there for three hours last night," Whiten said. "It's the worst I've seen it in a long time."

Maple Creek Distributing was hit hard, but business was not affected.

"It's been a very long day," said Elaine McGaughey, who owns the business with her husband, Joe. "When I walked outside at 11 p.m. last night, the water was coming over the bridge."

The water did not reach levels high enough to affect merchandise.

The business' garage, located in the rear of the building, was filled with mud and debris, and a truck had to be hauled away after being swallowed by the water.
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Attention

US: Flood Risk Prompts 12,000 Evacuations in Minot, North Dakota


CNN
Tue, 21 Jun 2011 08:03 UTC
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© Forum Communications CompanyThe swollen Souris River flows straight through Minot and is expected to overwhelm area levees.
Authorities have ordered the evacuation of some 12,000 people from the city of Minot, North Dakota, and surrounding areas because of expected record flooding, officials said Tuesday.

The swollen Souris River flows straight through the city and is expected to overwhelm area levees, said Cecily Fong, spokeswoman for the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services. Minot, located in the north central part of the state, is the fourth-largest city in North Dakota.

The evacuation order covers between a quarter and a third of the city's population, Fong said. Residents have until 6 p.m. CT Wednesday to leave their homes.
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Cloud Lightning

US: A Spring of Extremes like no other - Weather Events Unprecedented, Scientists Say

Randolph E. Schmid
boston.com
Thu, 16 Jun 2011 09:50 UTC
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© Unknown
Washington - Tornadoes, floods, wildfires, snowmelt, thunderstorms, drought - for Americans, it was a spring to remember.

Government weather researchers said yesterday that, while similar extremes have occurred throughout modern American history, never before have they occurred in a single month, as they did in April.

The last time anything remotely like it happened was the spring of 1927, which also had many tornadoes and flooding, said Harold Brooks of the Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma.
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Cloud Lightning

Flood-Hit China Braces for More Storms


Herald Sun
Mon, 20 Jun 2011 05:08 UTC
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© Agence France-Presse
Flood-hit areas of central and southern China are bracing for more heavy rains with several major rivers already swollen after downpours that have affected millions and left scores dead or missing.

Water Resources Minister Chen Lei warned that at least 10 major rivers in the affected areas were threatening to burst their banks.

"Severe floods triggered by heavy rains will continue to threaten parts of southern China," he said yesterday in remarks posted on his ministry's website.

"There is an increasing possibility that downpours, with enhanced frequency and intensity, will continue to lash regions in the south."

Persistent rains since early June have swamped many areas across a wide swath of China and the state weather bureau today forecast continued downpours during the next three days, with the summer typhoon season approaching.

Authorities have evacuated 292,000 people from along the Qiantang river in Zhejiang province on the east coast after heavy rains caused the river to swell dangerously, official Xinhua news agency said.
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Cloud Lightning

Monsoon mayhem: heavy rains in Bengal, 7 dead


Cable News Network-Indian Broadcasting Network
Sun, 19 Jun 2011 15:15 UTC
Image
© Agence France-Presse/File
Kolkata: Seven people have died in 24 hours in rain-related incidents as West Bengal continued to be in the grip of monsoon's fury. Train services in Asansol have been disrupted following a landslide near Kala Pahadi.

Meanwhile, the coast guards have been searching for three trawlers and 45 fishermen who went missing in the Bay of Bengal on Friday.

Officials suspect they may have strayed into Bangladeshi waters. Indian authorities asked the Bangladesh government to give them shelter.

Meanwhile, heavy rain wreaked havoc in Orissa as well as two people were swept away in the overflowing Baitarani river. Earlier in the week, two others had died when a wall collapsed after heavy rainfall.
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Cloud Lightning

Downpour continues to lash southern China


Xinhuanet
Sun, 19 Jun 2011 15:05 UTC
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© Xinhua/Han ChuanhaoTwo travellers push a car on a flooded street in the seat of Changshan County in Quzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, June 19, 2011. A fourth round of heavy downpours has battered Changshan County and its neighbouring areas since Saturday evening, bringing a rainfall of more than 150 millimeters. Days of torrential rains have saturated the mountainous county, putting the residents in danger of landslides and mud-rock flows.
Hangzhouh, June 19 -- Heavy rains and ensuing floods continue to plague southern parts of China, affecting millions of people and hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland.

Latest data from the flood control headquarters of east Zhejiang Province showed that by 7:00 a.m. Sunday, 2.66 million people had been affected by continuous rainstorms in 545 townships of 50 counties under nine cities in Zhejiang. A total of 171,000 hectares of crops were destroyed and 989 enterprises were shut down, incurring 4.96 billion yuan (751.5 million U.S. dollars) in direct economic losses.

Persistent downpours caused a mudslide in Changshan County on Sunday at noon, which flushed several local homes at Longtan Village of Tianma Town, killing two and leaving one missing.
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Bizarro Earth

More than 5 million affected by China flooding


CBS News
Sun, 19 Jun 2011 13:39 UTC
Beijing - More than 5 million people have been displaced or otherwise affected by flooding in eastern China that is also pushing up food prices, state media reported Sunday

.

Torrential rains have left huge areas of Hubei and Zhejiang provinces under water, with more than 1 million acres of farmland inundated, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Almost 1,000 businesses have been forced to suspend operations and 5.7 million people have had their lives disrupted, Xinhua said in a brief report. More than 7,000 homes collapsed or were otherwise damaged and direct financial damage was estimated at almost 6 billion yuan.
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Hourglass

Floods, lightning kill 8 as heavy rains hit China

Louise Watt
Associated Press
Sat, 18 Jun 2011 05:41 UTC
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© Associated PressA Chinese man pushes a makeshift drum raft while a child sit on it in a flooded street in Xianing city in central China's Hubei province on Wednesday, June 15, 2011.
Beijing - Floods and lightning killed at least eight people as heavy rains pounded southern China, destroying homes and blocking roads, official media said Saturday.

Flooding from this month's seasonal rains has already forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes and left more than 170 dead or missing.

Two people died in the southern province of Guizhou after being struck by lightning, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Two others died after being washed away by floods Friday evening. Xinhua said four other people died but did not provide details.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said Friday that flooding and rains have killed 25 people, left 25 missing and forced about 671,200 from their homes since Monday.

Xinhua did not say whether the most recent fatalities were included in the 25.

The torrential rains are forecast to continue through the weekend.

Landslides crushed parts of a railway line in southwestern China on Thursday evening, stranding 5,000 passengers on four trains, railway officials said.

About 1,200 workers are continuing to clear tracks and make repairs along the Chengdu-Kunming railway line, which links the capitals of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, Xinhua said.
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Nuke

Midwest Floods: Both Nebraska Nuke Stations Threatened

Rady Ananda
Dissident Voice
Fri, 17 Jun 2011 04:58 UTC
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Tens of millions of acres in the US corn belt have flooded, which will spike the cost of gas and food over the next several months. Worse, several nuclear power plants sit in the flooded plains. Both nuclear plants in Nebraska are partly submerged and the FAA has issued a no-fly order over both of them.

On June 7, the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant filed an Alert with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after a fire broke out in the switchgear room. During the event, "spent fuel pool cooling was lost" when two fuel pumps failed for about 90 minutes.

On June 9, Nebraska's other plant, Cooper Nuclear Power Station near Brownville, filed a Notice of Unusual Event (NOUE), advising it is unable to discharge sludge into the Missouri River due to flooding, and therefore "overtopped" its sludge pond.
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