Storms
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Cloud Lightning

13 Dead After Heavy Rains in Brazil


The Associated Press
Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:24 UTC
mudslides,brazil
© NA: Hundreds of people are feared dead having been buried in mudslides near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Sao Paulo - Brazilian authorities say heavy rains have triggered mudslides and floods in southeastern Brazil, killing at least 13 people.

Sao Paulo state civil defense officials say 11 people died when their houses collapsed because of mudslides and two were killed in flash floods.

Heavy rains have been pummeling the region and at least 12 landslides were reported across the state.

Sao Paulo nearly came to halt on Tuesday as flooding blocked traffic in some of the city's main thoroughfares.

Brazil has been severely affected by the rains this year and authorities say the number of people left homeless by flooding has surpassed 100,000 in four southeastern states. More than 30 deaths have been reported.
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Cloud Lightning

Heavy Rains, Floods Kill 40 People In Philippines


People's Daily
Wed, 12 Jan 2011 11:04 UTC
flood, manila,phillipines
© AllVociesChildren wade through knee-deep floodwater after heavy rains in Paranaque City, Metro Manila
Manila - Forty people were killed and over 1 million people have been displaced by flash floods and landslides brought by heavy rains in central and southern Philippines, China's Xinhua news agency quoted officials as saying Wednesday.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council ( NDRRMC) reported that as of Wednesday, 6:00 a.m. local time, the heavy rains brought by the northeast monsoon and the tailend of a cold front, damaged 898.2 million pesos (US$20.3 million) worth of crops, infrastructure and property.

Seven people remained missing, while eight were wounded.

The NDRRMC said 365,050 people are now in evacuation centers nationwide.

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) forecast the northeast monsoon will continue to prevail over Northern and Central Luzon this week.

The agency warned widespread rains in the Bicol Region and Eastern Visayas may trigger flashfloods and landslides.
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Bizarro Earth

Volcanic Floods Force Thousands to Flee Homes in Indonesia


CRIEnglish.com
Wed, 12 Jan 2011 11:00 UTC
Nearly 9,000 people have escaped floods of rainwater mixing cold lava and mud resulted by the eruption of Mount Merapi volcano in October at Yogyakarta of Java island, Indonesia, an official said Wednesday.

The number of evacuee kept rising since rain poured down the slope of the volcano on Jan. 10, an official of the Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency who asked to be anonymous said.

"Today, more than 1,500 people escaped the floods, putting the total evacuees since Jan. 10 to 8,830 people, the figure may rise, " he said at the agency's office.

The evacuees had taken shelters to government office, buildings, schools, and mosques, the official said.

The floods cause a river to overflow and damaged houses and other buildings, he said.

The flooding has killed one so far.
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Snowman

Blanket of ice: U.S. shivers as 49 of 50 states are hit by snow storms


Mail Onlilne
Wed, 12 Jan 2011 10:38 UTC
The U.S. is shivering in the grips of a freezing winter with 49 of its 50 states now having snow on the ground.

Two winter storms have dumped several inches of snow in some states and left flights grounded from Texas to the Carolinas.

The only state to avoid the icy conditions was Florida, but even the Sunshine State suffered flight cancellations due to heavy fog.
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Igloo

US: Snow in Every State Except Florida


FoxNews.com
Wed, 12 Jan 2011 10:34 UTC
snow plow
© AP Photo/Rich KareckasAs snow continues to fall a snow sweeper clears the accumulation from in front of an all-night drug store in New York early Wednesday Jan. 12, 2011. The New York area is bracing itself for for it's second major snow fall since Christmas.
Florida was the holdout on Wednesday as the National Weather Service reported all the other 49 states had snow on the ground, MyFoxBoston reports.

Snow covered 69.4 percent of the United States as of Tuesday. The weather service said that is more than double the snow cover from last month.

Hawaii even saw flurries as Hawaii News Now said snow fell on the Mauna Kea volcano on the Big Island.

Because events like this are not tracked by the weather service there's no way to say how rare it is, but it is at least the second time within a year's time.

The Associated Press reported on Feb. 13, 2010, that 49 states had at least some snow cover.Florida had snow while Hawaii and its 13,800-foot Mauna Kea did not.

There are no reports of all 50 states having snow at once. The AP reported that Jan. 19, 1977, had snow in all states but South Carolina.

Colder air is on the way with temperatures up to 25 degrees below average.
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Bizarro Earth

Africa: Storm kills 10, injures seven in Mozambique


Reuters - Africa
Wed, 12 Jan 2011 10:25 UTC
A heavy storm killed 10 people and seriously injured seven others in Mozambique's central province of Manica, state-run Mozambique Television said on Wednesday.

The storm on Monday destroyed more than 100 houses and electricity pylons, the broadcaster said.

Seven of the dead were members of a religious sect attending a church meeting under a tree, the broadcaster quoted Conde Adriano, the Mayor of Chimoio, the provincial capital, as saying.

Heavy rains in Mozambique and neighbouring South Africa in the last month have raised fears of a repeat of massive floods of 2000 that killed at least 350 people and displaced a million others in the centre and south of the country.
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Bizarro Earth

Canada: Snowstorms blow into southern British Columbia, Halifax, Toronto


CTV Toronto
Wed, 12 Jan 2011 10:21 UTC
Image
© Brad Robb / MyNews.CTV.caSnow blankets the city of Toronto after a storm rolled through the area, Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2010.
Canadians are in winter's grip across the country today, as Environment Canada warns of snowy conditions in parts of B.C., Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

On the West Coast, forecasters calling for between 10 and 20 centimetres of accumulation overnight issued snow warnings for southern parts of British Columbia. But conditions will worsen through the morning Wednesday as temperatures climb and the snow turns to rain.

CTV weather specialist Jeff Hutcheson says that's going to create some messy conditions.

"With temperatures on the rise, a lot of that snow's going to be washed away in the rain, and a lot of it, because temperatures are going to be 9 and 7 (degrees Celsius) in Victoria and Vancouver today," Hutcheson said on Canada AM.

"This could create some flooding issues as well, as all that snow begins to melt."
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Igloo

Icy weather, sleet force over 100,000 to evacuate in southwest China province


PeopleDaily
Wed, 12 Jan 2011 10:14 UTC
Image
© chongqingtimes.com
Icy weather and sleet have left one person dead and forced the evacuation of 104,900 people from their homes in southwest China's Guizhou Province since the New Year's Day, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Wednesday.

As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, the freezing weather had disrupted the lives of more than 4.64 million people in 83 counties of the province, where accumulated ice had caused more than 8,000 homes to collapse, said a statement on the ministry's website.

Economic losses were estimated at 1.28 billion yuan (194 million U.S. dollars).
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Bizarro Earth

US: Storm Pounds Boston After Dumping New Snowfall on New York City

Brian K. Sullivan
Bloomberg Business Week
Wed, 12 Jan 2011 10:15 UTC
A storm that dropped more than 9 inches of new snow on New York City pounded Boston with blizzard conditions, forcing schools to close and disrupting travel.

Twelve to 20 inches of snow may fall on Boston and parts of New England before the storm moves away late today, forecasters said. Boston officials asked non-essential city workers to stay home and urged other businesses to let employees work from home, according to the city website.

More than 2,000 flights were canceled, mostly in the Northeast, according to airline reports compiled by Bloomberg. Amtrak suspended service between New York and Boston after a tree fell on an overhead power line near Sharon, Massachusetts, and the National Weather Service reported downed trees and power lines across the area.

"As the storm bombs out off the New England coast, the winds will pick up and basically create blizzard-like conditions," said Carl Erickson, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania.

Cities across the U.S. Northeast deployed thousands of plows and sand-spreaders to tackle the second major snowstorm in a little more than two weeks.

New York City declared a weather emergency, urging people to stay off the roads, as the storm moved in. Public schools remained open.
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Bizarro Earth

US: Winter Snowstorm: 'Weather Bomb' Slams Into Northeast

Sam Champion
ABC News
Wed, 12 Jan 2011 10:12 UTC
The powerful winter storm that left 11 dead and snarled travel across the Southeast moved overnight in the Northeast.

The "weather bomb" arrived in the Northeast late Tuesday after combining with snow from the Midwest.

Forecasters described this storm as a "weather bomb" -- a fast-moving, severe winter storm where air pressure drops quickly and an unusually far south jet stream brings in moisture, causing heavy snows and winds.

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