Floods
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Cloud Precipitation

Australia: Victorian towns put on flood watch


The Sydney Morning Herald
Sat, 05 Feb 2011 00:00 UTC

Torrential rain boosted by the remnants of tropical cyclones Yasi and Anthony led to flash floods in Victoria, with parts of Melbourne battered by high winds and people rescued from rising waters in Mildura.

Lightning strikes cut power to 30,000 homes when a belt of storms hit late yesterday.

The Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade said it was overwhelmed by calls for help from disabled people.

In one emergency, fire crews helped a wheelchair-bound man who was up to his hips in water inside his home in the suburb of Mulgrave. Firefighters also rescued a girl swept away in a flash flood who managed to grab a tree branch in Ashwood, south-west of Melbourne.

Many roads in regional Victoria were cut, and the Monash Freeway was closed outbound at Toorak Road, with traffic causing long delays last night.

Between 50 and 100 millimetres of further rain was forecast for the weekend.
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Bizarro Earth

Downgraded Yasi extends into South Australia


Sydney Morning Harold
Fri, 04 Feb 2011 21:12 UTC
A severe weather warning has been issued for parts of South Australia as the downgraded Cyclone Yasi sweeps into the state.

State Emergency Service (SES) duty officer Darryl Wright said reports were coming in on Friday afternoon of heavy rains in many parts of the Flinders Ranges, north of Adelaide.

The Bureau of Meteorology was forecasting rainfall of between 50 and 100mm in some areas, increasing to up 200mm in the northwest pastoral district, north of Coober Pedy.

The bureau said a severe thunderstorm warning and a flood watch was current for some districts.

"We have received reports that a number of creeks in the northern Flinders Ranges, including the Bandioota Creek near Blinman, have started to flow," Mr Wright said.
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Cloud Lightning

Australia: More Flooding Forecast for Victoria

Samantha Donovan
ABC / PM
Fri, 04 Feb 2011 19:16 UTC
Aussie flood
© n/a
MARK COLVIN: Victorians are being warned to prepare for heavy rain and possible flash flooding this weekend as a tropical air mass from Cyclone Yasi moves south.

North-east and central Victoria are expecting to be the hardest hit and some of those areas still haven't recovered from flooding in January.

Samantha Donovan reports.

SAMANTHA DONOVAN: Many Victorians are still cleaning up after flooding rains last month. But with an air mass from ex-tropical Cyclone Anthony and Yasi feeding into a strong Southern Ocean weather system, the north-east and central areas in particular are facing a new flood threat.

Tim Wiebusch is with the Victorian State Emergency Service.

TIM WIEBUSCH: The north-east of the state is our main concern given the likelihood of seeing at least between 100 to 150 mils and maybe localised totals up to 200 millimetres. This will result initially in flash flooding and then, potentially, right through to major riverine flooding along the Goulburn, Broken, Mitta Mitta, Kiewa, Ovens Catchments and may affect places like Benalla, Wangaratta and right through the Ovens valley, including places like Bright and Myrtleford.
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Bizarro Earth

7 Dead in Mindanao Floods - Officials

Edwin Fernandez, Julie Alipala, Frinston Lim
Phillipine Daily Inquirer
Fri, 04 Feb 2011 11:30 UTC
Mindanao Floods
© n/a
Zamboanga City, Philippines - At least seven persons, including three children, downed in floods that swept through three Mindanao towns on Wednesday and Thursday, officials said Friday.

Five of the fatalities were reported to have died in downtown Jolo Thursday evening as heavy rains, big waves and three coastal tornadoes battered the capital of the island province of Sulu, said the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council and a Roman Catholic priest.

Jolo Mayor Hussin Amin said reports reaching him indicated that three people, two of them children, were killed and two others were missing. It was not immediately known if the new figure released by the provincial disaster coordinating council included those missing.

The council said 25 persons were injured.

Amin said it was the first time a flood of that magnitude - up to eight feet deep in the Asturias and San Raymundo areas - hit the town.

"This is the first time I witnessed this kind of flooding," he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone.

Amin described the situation in Jolo as akin to that experienced by some places in Metro Manila during the passage of Tropical Storm Ondoy in 2009.
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Cloud Lightning

Tropical Storm Continues to Pound Australia


VOA News
Sat, 05 Feb 2011 10:41 UTC
yasi
© APA library in the small community of Cardwell, Australia, is without a roof and badly damaged after Cyclone Yasi brought heavy rain and howling winds, February 4, 2011
Cyclone Yasi, which pounded northeastern Australia Friday, moved south as a tropical depression Saturday, bringing downpours and flash floods to the Melbourne region.

The Bureau of Meteorology said more than 175 millimeters of rain fell in parts of Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, while powerful winds downed trees and power lines.

Queensland officials 2,000 kilometers to the north say the coastal communities of Cardwell, Tully and Mission Beach bore the full brunt of Cyclone Yasi, which made landfall early Thursday carrying winds as high as 300 kilometers an hour.
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Cloud Lightning

Philippines: 5 die in Surigao landslides, floods


ABS-CBN
Fri, 04 Feb 2011 00:00 UTC
Five people have been killed in landslides and floods caused by heavy rains in Surigao provinces, authorities reported Friday.

Police found the bodies of Nenita Corpuz, 57 and Julie Culapu, 47 in Barangay Pantukan, Carrascal town in Surigao del Sur, around 7 p.m. Thursday.

Police said that Corpuz and Culapu were visiting their rice farms amid heavy rains when they were buried by a landslide.

In Surigao del Norte, Carlio Benocilla, 26 and Raymund Bonotan, 25 were also killed in a landslide in Barangay Masgad in Malimono town in Surigao del Norte.
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Umbrella

Australia: Super-cell thunderstorm pounds Victoria


ABC News
Fri, 04 Feb 2011 06:00 UTC
Flash Flooding 1
© ABC: Cam HookFlash flooding surrounds cars at Camberwell Junction
A super-cell thunderstorm has hit Victoria, bringing widespread flash flooding.

About a dozen people have been rescued from floodwaters in Mildura, in Melbourne's south-east near Geelong, and the State Emergency Service (SES) is responding to 1,400 calls for help.

Crews helped a woman and her two young children when their car became trapped in a flash flood at Mildura.

Firefighters have rescued a girl who was clinging to a tree branch after being swept away at Ashwood, in Melbourne's east.

And at Mulgrave, the fire brigade was called to assist a disabled man in a wheelchair who got stuck in water up to his hips.

Comment: This event appears to be closely related to the recent Cyclone Yasi in the northern parts of Queensland. Take a look at the latest satellite imagery to appreciate the size of the storm cell.

For readers outside of Australia - the state of Victoria is located in the South-East corner of the country.

Flash Flooding 4
© BOM
Flash Flooding 3
© The Weather Channel


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Cloud Lightning

Floods in Brazil Are a Result of Short-Term Planning

Natalia Viana
The Guardian, UK
Wed, 02 Feb 2011 02:00 UTC
Image
© V. Almeida/AFP/Getty ImagesRescue workers searching for victims after heavy rains in January 2011 caused mudslides in Teresópolis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil.
Urban planning has never been part of Brazil's political agenda, so when heavy rains come cities are not able to cope

As I write, more than two weeks after the floods began in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro state, many communities remain isolated due to landslides on the main access roads.

More than 800 people died and thousands of people have been displaced in the state, according to official figures. One of the worst affected towns is Santa Rita. Dozens of families still depend on helicopters to deliver food, water, and emergency healthcare. In the town of Teresópolis, people are starting to clear debris in the streets by hand, with shovels and brushes. And in Nova Friburgo, families watch, and cry, as their homes are demolished.

In the neighbouring state of São Paulo, the richest in the country, 25 people died because of the heavy rains. In Santa Catarina state, in the south, five people lost their lives and 17,000 had to flee their homes.

The January rains in Brazil are becoming more severe and floods are becoming a routine. But while specialists say it's too early to confirm the heavy rains are caused by climate change, the fact is that Brazilian cities have never been ready for them.
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Cloud Lightning

No let-up in rains, floods in Caraga


abs-cbn news
Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:13 UTC
Image
© Unknown
Manila, Philippines - Floods due to non-stop rains still affect parts of the Caraga region in Mindanao, as another low pressure area threatens other areas of Mindanao with flash floods and landslides.

Science and Technology Undersecretary Graciano Yumul, OIC of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), said that rain bands are still affecting parts of northeast Mindanao, Bohol, northern Cebu, and the southern parts of Leyte and Samar.

The rain bands are still expected to bring moderate to heavy rains in the area, with the weather station in Hinatuan, Surigao del Norte, recording more than 180 mm of rain in 24 hours, Yumul said.

Meanwhile, Yumul said the low pressure area east of General Santos City is predicted to proceed to the Palawan area, instead of going towards Southern Luzon or the National Capital Region.

He said numerical models indicated the LPA will be in the northern part of the island by Thursday, and will go out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by Friday.
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Binoculars

Australia: Floodwaters arrive at Swan Hill


ABC News
Mon, 31 Jan 2011 08:10 UTC
floodwaters spread to Swan Hill.
© User submitted: Donna Residents face a tense wait as floodwaters spread to Swan Hill.

The floodwaters moving through north-west Victoria are starting to arrive at Swan Hill.

The State Emergency Service (SES) has moved its incident control centre to Swan Hill and says the flood waters started to reach the city late yesterday.

The Murray River is expected to reach minor flood level later today and major flood level by Thursday.

But the city's levees are expected to prevent any flooding.
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