Storms
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Bizarro Earth

Brazil Landslide and Flood Toll Reaches 665

Paulo Prada and Diana Kinch
The Wall Street Journal
Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:28 UTC
Image
© AFP/Getty Images
The death toll from flooding and mudslides in southeastern Brazil climbed to at least 665 people, as public outcry turned toward authorities' ongoing struggle to reach still-isolated areas and their failure last week to have warned residents of the danger of gathering storms.

Relief workers continued to unearth victims on Monday, even as rescue crews managed to reach survivors who have been trapped by earth and floodwaters since the downpours hit the state of Rio de Janeiro almost a week ago. In addition to those killed, nearly 14,000 people have been displaced from destroyed or damaged homes. An unknown number of people remain missing.

Amid the relief and recovery efforts, Brazilians are increasingly expressing outrage at local, state, and federal officials.

In addition to criticism that authorities had turned a blind eye toward construction in areas known to be vulnerable to flooding, they are now asking why the government, despite modern weather and communications systems, were unable to alert victims of the pending danger. Southern Brazil, after all, has been subject to frequent flooding in recent years, including downpours and landslides that killed hundreds of people during last year's rainy season.
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Radar

At least 39 dead in South African floods

Jon Herskovitz and Olivia Kumwenda
Reuters
Mon, 17 Jan 2011 08:26 UTC
Johannesburg - Floods have killed or left missing at least 39 people in South Africa and destroyed thousands of homes in neighboring Mozambique, officials said on Monday.

Heavy rains from late December and through most of January have led to floods in the two countries, with torrential downpours at the weekend again swelling rivers.

South Africa's Cooperative Governance Ministry estimated at least 32 have been killed while police said on Monday another seven went missing in Centurion, near Pretoria, after they were swept away by high waters.

The army has been placed on stand-by to evacuate people from areas near major dams.

"All disaster management structures in the country have been put on high alert," the cooperative governance ministry said.
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Bizarro Earth

Philippine Floods Toll Rises to 51; Fishermen Missing


Reuters
Sun, 16 Jan 2011 03:51 UTC
The death toll from more than two weeks of heavy rains in the central and southern Philippines has risen to 51, disaster officials said on Sunday, as authorities stepped up their search for another 16 people missing at sea.

Agriculture and infrastructure damage now exceeds 1.6 billion pesos ($36 million) after floodwaters inundated rural communities in about a third of the country's 80 provinces, said Benito Ramos, head of the government's disaster agency.

Major rice and corn production areas in the north and western parts of the country have been spared from the damaging impact of the persistent rains that began in late December.

Most of the dead either drowned or were buried by mudslides, Ramos said. Nearly 20 people are still missing.

"We're expecting the number of casualties to increase because more people have gone missing," Ramos told Reuters, appealing to fishermen in the central Bicol region to stay onshore until the weather improved.

Search planes and ships are looking for 16 fishermen whose boat capsized in rough seas off the central island of Catanduanes.
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Igloo

7,000 Buffalo and Cows Freeze To Death in Vietnam


Tuoitre News
Sat, 15 Jan 2011 16:56 UTC
Image
© unk
Freezing Vietnam to enter another cold snap

After enduring a freezing cold with temperatures in mountainous areas dropping to minus four degrees Celsius, northern Vietnam is to undergo another fresh cold snap starting Saturday.

Deputy Director of the National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Center Le Thanh Hai said the new cold bout will drive down temperatures in mountainous provinces to under 10 degrees Celsius and even lower in higher mountainous areas.

Temperature in delta region provinces will dip to 11-12 degrees Celcius.
The Center also predicts an even stronger cold front on January 21 lasting until January 25.
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Cloud Lightning

Hundreds dead in Brazil floods


Al jazeera
Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:00 UTC
Rescuers dig through shattered homes for survivors after floods and landslides rip through a mountainous region.

brazil floods serrana region
© EPAMany residents of the three main towns in Serrana region have been made homeless by the floods
More than 350 people have been killed after floods and landslides devastated towns and villages in a mountainous area near Rio de Janeiro.

Rescue workers were digging desperately on Thursday in an attempt to reach people buried after the equivalent of a month's rain fell on the Serrana region in less 24 hours, toppling houses and buckling roads.

"It's like an earthquake struck some areas," Jorge Mario, the mayor of Teresopolis, where at least 168 people were reported to have died, said.

"There are three or four neighbourhoods that were totally destroyed in rural areas. There are hardly any houses standing there and all the roads and bridges are destroyed."

Television images showed emergency workers going through the ruins of collapsed homes in a search for survivors, but often finding only bodies.
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Cloud Lightning

Fiji Islands: Flooding in Western and Eastern Division

Shalvin Deo
Figivillage.com
Thu, 13 Jan 2011 11:08 UTC
Image
Continuous rain has led to flooding in most parts of the Western and Eastern Division.

The heavy downpour continues in Rakiraki, Tavua, Ba, Lautoka, Korovou and Naqali.

The Department of National Roads said people are still stranded on the main highway to Rakiraki town near Vaileka as the highway is still flooded and closed to traffic.

The FSC road and crossing, the Waimari and Korotale roads are also flooded.
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Cloud Lightning

Indonesia: Wild Weather Destroys Homes In 2 Provinces

Eras Poke & Nurfika Osman
Jakarta Globe
Thu, 13 Jan 2011 10:44 UTC
Extreme weather in two provinces has damaged hundreds of houses and left scores homeless, officials said on Thursday.

On the East Nusa Tenggara island of Flores on Wednesday, high waves that reached as far as 100 meters inland swept away at least 18 houses in Sikka district's Nangahale village, said Fransiska Palan Bolen, secretary of the province's Natural Disaster Management Agency (BNPD).

No injuries were reported in the incident.

Fransiska said the affected villagers had been evacuated to emergency camps and that her office had sent personnel, supplies and food to help the victims.
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Igloo

New Englanders Dig Out After Snowstorm

CNN Wire Staff
CNN.com
Fri, 14 Jan 2011 08:49 UTC
New England Blizzard January 2010
© Jessica Hill/Associated PressRoy Williams of Westfield, Massachusetts, shovels snow from in front of his car on a ramp to Interstate 91 south during a winter storm in Windsor, Connecticut, on Wednesday.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick lifted a state of emergency Thursday, one day after blizzard conditions pounded his state and created hazardous travel conditions across New England.

Hundreds of schools remained closed in Massachusetts as crews continued to clear snow and to salt icy roadways, according to state Emergency Management spokesman Peter Judge.

The state's 250 National Guardsmen -- who were mobilized as a precautionary measure on Wednesday -- were relieved from duty by Thursday morning, Judge said.

Delta Air Lines canceled more than 200 Delta and Delta Connection flights in an effort to minimize delays, the airline said. It had canceled 1,300 flights Wednesday because of the storm.

Amtrak, which had suspended rail service between New York City and points north, resumed full service by Thursday morning, according to Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole.

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Cloud Lightning

Brazil Flood Death Toll Rises to 443, More Feared

Sergio Queiroz
Reuters
Thu, 13 Jan 2011 16:25 UTC
Brazil flood/truck in water
© Reuters/Bruno DomingosA partially submerged vehicle is seen after a landslide in Teresopolis, Jan 13, 2011.
Rescue workers dug desperately for survivors on Thursday and struggled to reach areas cut off by floods and landslides that have killed at least 443 people in one of Brazil's deadliest natural disasters in decades.

Torrents of mud and water set off by heavy rains left a trail of destruction through the mountainous Serrana region near the city of Rio de Janeiro, toppling houses, buckling roads and burying entire families as they slept.

"It's like an earthquake struck some areas," said Jorge Mario, the mayor of Teresopolis, where 185 people were killed and scores more were feared dead.

"The death toll is going to climb a lot. There are a lot of people buried who can't get help because rescue teams can't get there," Mario said, adding that three of the town's neighborhoods were destroyed by the flooding.

The mudslides swept away the homes of rich and poor alike in and around Teresopolis and other towns, likely causing billions of dollars in damage. But the brunt of the disaster was borne by poorer rural residents in houses built in risky areas without formal planning permission.

The floods have not affected Brazil's main export crops -- soy, sugar cane, oranges and coffee -- although they could push up local food prices further as the small Serrana region is an important producer of fruit and vegetables for the Rio metropolitan area.

Television images showed rescuers trying to haul residents from raging floodwaters, and going through the ruins of homes in search of survivors, often finding only corpses. One success came when a 6-month-old baby was rescued alive from the rubble of a house, drawing thunderous cheers from residents.
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Bizarro Earth

New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands on Red Alert for Cyclone Vania

Patrick Decloitre
Pacific Scoop, New Zealand
Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:00 UTC
Cyclone Vania
© Storm2k.orgCyclone Vania lashed southern Vanuatu and moved on the Loyalty Islands.
French authorities in New Caledonia today flagged a red alert for the French Pacific territory's north-eastern Loyalty slands group, due to the ominous approach by tropical cyclone Vania, which has overnight lashed at neighbouring Vanuatu's southern islands.

The red alert, which is a maximum level on a scale of three (yellow, orange, red) was due to come into force at 3 pm local time (GMT+11), the French High Commission in Nouméa said in a release.

The red alert effectively means that people should stay indoors until further notice and continue to monitor cyclone-related advice on local media.

A previous orange alert had been imposed on the Loyalty Islands, on Wednesday, prompting the population to store goods and essential items such as batteries, water and food.
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