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Cloud Lightning

Rain-triggered floods, landslides leave 105 dead, 63 missing in south China

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© News.cnReference image from July 10, 2010 flooding in S. China.
Beijing, - Rain-triggered flooding and landslides in south China have left 105 people dead and 63 more missing over the past 10 days, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Monday.

According to the official count, as of 10 a.m. Monday, the rain-caused disasters that occurred since June 3 have left 39 people dead and 21 more missing in Hunan Province as well as 29 dead and 10 missing in Hubei Province.

While in Guizhou Province 24 people died and 32 were missing and in Jiangxi the death-toll stood at 13, according to the ministry.

Prior to the rain, the provinces of Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi -- located along the middle and lower parts of the Yangtze River basin -- were stricken by a prolonged drought.

The ministry along with the National Disaster Reduction Commission on Monday launched an emergency response in anticipation of more downpours in central and southern China over the next few days.

Meanwhile, they ordered relief-supply reserve stations in 11 provinces and seven cities in these regions to gear up for the expected downpours.

Local civil affairs departments were told to enhance measures and work closely with other related departments to prevent flooding, geographical disasters and other secondary disasters, which may be triggered by the rainfall.

They were also told to help people by launching safety inspections, setting up temporary shelters, making emergency plans, and evacuating people in the most dangerous areas.

Cloud Lightning

India: Strong Winds Forecast in South Gujarat

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© The Associated Press / Rajanish KakadeA boy helps an elderly woman cross a waterlogged street as it rains in Mumbai, India, Saturday, June 11, 2011. Heavy rains continued to lash the city for the third consecutive day Saturday, causing waterlogging in several parts of the city.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) has advised fishermen not to venture into sea during the next 24 hours and asked the ports in south Gujarat to hoist local coastal signal (LCS) III, indicating rough weather and strong winds.

In Junagadh, lightning killed three people, including two children in the Uparkot, as Saurashtra experienced heavy rains on Saturday and Sunday. Junagadh district received maximum rains.

Heavy rains also lashed Rajkot city, uprooting electric poles and trees. Areas like Shubhashnagar, Astron chowk and Kotharia Road remained water logged.

Strong winds with speed of 45-55 km/h and reaching occasionally up to 65 km/h will continue along and off Maharashtra and south Gujarat coasts.

"Sea condition will be rough. Fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea during next 24 hours," the IMD said. Heavy to very heavy rains are expected in few places in Saurashtra, Kutch and Diu in the next 24 hours.

Cloud Lightning

US: Flooding, Heavy Rain Delays Planting for Hundreds of Thousands of Acres

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© Montana News
For years, Gordon Stoner's rule for keeping the rain-soaked Northeast Montana soil from swallowing his tractor was to "turn when the ducks fly," meaning nothing short of a pond would cause him to turn the wheel.

Then the record rains of 2011 turned his fields to soup and kept his tractor in the barn for all but 41 hours over a three-week stretch in May. When he finally got into the field, his tractor's heavy wheels flattened the fooded groundhog tunnels below. Water shot like geysers from the prairie dog holes.

"I have never entertained the thought of not getting a crop in," Stoner said. "You eat an elephant one bite at a time. You just gnaw away at it, but we've got rain in the forecast and if we get much more, I don't know."

It takes a lot to get a Montana farmer to curse the rain, but some are beginning to. Hundreds of thousands of acres have gone unplanted due to unprecedented rains and the number of growing days needed to produce a crop is quickly dwindling. In addition, federal officials now estimate 1.4 million Montana acres-an area slightly larger than Glacier National Park-has been hit by flooding.

Attention

US: Windsor, Pennsylvania, Tornadoes did hit on Sunday

windsor PA tornado
After spending the weekend in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey, Kris and Luanne McNew returned to their Windsor Township home Sunday night to downed trees and power lines along their wooded property.

More than three decades ago, they opted to build their two-story home in the 600 block of Bahns Mill Road, which is surrounded by woods, said Luanne McNew.

And during all their years spent in the home, a tree never fell onto their home or property, said McNew.

That changed Sunday, after a tornado touched down in Windsor Township.

Cloud Lightning

US: Is Extreme Weather The New Normal? New England, Nation Experience Destructive Extremes

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© Unknown
Click here to watch the video.

Last week temperatures in Boston neared 100 degrees in early June.

Just days before, three Massachusetts residents were killed by a deadly string of three powerful tornadoes that tore across the western part of the state, inflicting tens of millions of dollars in property damage in more than a dozen Massachusetts communities, including Springfield, Monson, Sturbridge and Brimfield.

It will be months before many families can recover.

"We are experiencing most extreme spring on record," said Dr. Jeff Masters, a meteorologist with Weather Underground.

It's not just an issue for New Englanders, although for us it comes on the heels of a brutally cold and snowy winter.

Bizarro Earth

Heavy rains and floods kill 100 people in China

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© ReutersRescue workers move people to a safe area in Xiushui county, Jiangxi province, China. Areas which were recently drought-stricken were transformed into flood zones by heavy rains.Rescue workers move people to a safe area in Xiushui county, Jiangxi province, China. Areas which were recently drought-stricken were transformed into flood zones by heavy rains
China continued to deal with extremes of weather at the weekend as the central and southern regions, which were drought-stricken just days ago, were transformed into flood zones by pounding rains, killing more than 100 people.

Fearful of an even greater catastrophe, the China Meteorological Administration yesterday issued a level-three emergency alert in response to strong rainstorms that were expected to hit the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze river.

A provincial government adviser told the Xinhua news agency how drought had increased the risk of disaster, as the soil had become dried out, prompting more landslide risk.

Alarm Clock

Warning: extreme weather ahead

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© Willoughby Owen/Getty Images/FlickrA tornado makes its way across Baca county, Colorado, in May 2010.
Tornados, wildfires, droughts and floods were once seen as freak conditions. But the environmental disasters now striking the world are shocking signs of 'global weirding'

Drought zones have been declared across much of England and Wales, yet Scotland has just registered its wettest-ever May. The warmest British spring in 100 years followed one of the coldest UK winters in 300 years. June in London has been colder than March. February was warm enough to strip on Snowdon, but last Saturday it snowed there.

Welcome to the climate rollercoaster, or what is being coined the "new normal" of weather. What was, until quite recently, predictable, temperate, mild and equable British weather, guaranteed to be warmish and wettish, ensuring green lawns in August, now sees the seasons reversed and temperature and rainfall records broken almost every year. When Kent receives as much rain (4mm) in May as Timbuktu, Manchester has more sunshine than Marbella, and soils in southern England are drier than those in Egypt, something is happening.

Comment: Yes, the climate is changing. No, it's not caused by man-made forces. For the real scoop on 'climate change', try these:

Planet-X, Comets and Earth Changes by J.M. McCanney

Planetary Alignments and the Solar Capacitor - Things are heatin' up!

Cyclones, Earthquakes, Volcanoes And Other Electrical Phenomena

Pole Shift? Look to the Skies!


Cloud Lightning

Parts of Bulgaria under Severe Weather Warning

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© File photoDanegerous weather with strong winds, rain and thunder is forecast for many locations in Bulgaria
The National Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) declared code orange for dangerous weather for northeastern Bulgaria for the afternoon.

Code orange means intense weather situations with potential damage, injuries and casualties.

The other parts of the country are under code yellow, which also means potentially dangerous weather.

Dark clouds quickly arrived in Bulgaria's capital Sofia Thursday morning bringing thunder, lightning and downpours. Traffic was reported at standstill on many major roads. There are also fallen trees and branches. The mercury rapidly slipped down to 19 degrees Celsius and the temperatures are expected to reach 26 degrees in the afternoon.

Cloud Lightning

Heavy rain, melting snow cause devastating floods across Norway, washing away houses, roads

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© EPADevastating flooding has hit Norway.
Torrential rains combined with melting snow have caused devastating floods across central Norway, washing away several houses and roads and causing landslides.

One person has been injured in the floods, but it was unclear Saturday whether their condition was serious.

Spokesman Morten Harangen at the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning says the northern part of the country has also been affected, but is more due to high temperatures that have sped up the snow-melting in the mountains.

Harangen says between 100-200 people have been evacuated so far.

Late Friday, Norway's Justice and Transport Minister Knut Storberget met with rescue work representatives to discuss the flood situation.

Cloud Lightning

China: Guizhou hit by sudden heavy rain, 21 dead, 31 missing

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© XinhuaFloodwater rushes through Wangmo county, Southwest China's Guizhou province, June 6, 2011.
After months without rain, many parts in southern China are now experiencing flooding. One week ago, provinces of Guizhou, Jiangxi, Hunan,Hubei, Jiangsu and Anhui were suffering severe drought.

But the situation took a sudden turn over the weekend, as several provinces including Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi and Zhejiang were hit by heavy rains over the weekend. The once-parched land is now virtually underwater.