Storms
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Tornado2

Severe storms, huge hailstones, 'tornado', batter south eastern Australia


RT
Sun, 01 Nov 2015 21:43 UTC
Australia storm damage
© StrathmertonStandard / Facebook
Storms so severe hit Australia this weekend that the disaster line stretched all the way from Queensland to Gippsland, something unseen in years. The internet was flooded with accounts of sunny weather turning into destructive greyness.

The aftermath of the multiple storms left a trail of havoc from Queensland, through New South Wales and on to Victoria, emergency services said. As of early Sunday morning, Victoria was still under siege.

According to ABC, citing the Victorian State Emergency Service (SES), the New South Wales-Victorian border saw trees uprooted and houses badly damaged.

"It's rare to see a storm line stretch that far. It can happen, you need a very active low pressure trough to extend right through that distance."

Comment: Additional coverage of the storm from The Today Show - 9news.com.au



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Cloud Precipitation

Rare and deadly: Cyclone Chapala expected to bring catastrophic flooding to Yemen


Al Jazeera
Mon, 02 Nov 2015 21:19 UTC
Cyclone Chapala
© EPAA Nasa photo of Cyclone Chapala moving towards Yemen, followed less than a week later by Cyclone Megh - an unprecedented double whammy!
At least two people killed as rare storm, Cyclone Chapala, destroys homes and forces evacuations on Socotra island.

The first ever cyclone (hurricane) to make landfall on the Arabian peninsula has already started wreaking havoc in Yemeni waters, killing at least three people and injuring about 100 on the island of Socotra as it tracks steadily towards the country's coastline.

Cyclone Chapala, which has formed in the Arabian Sea, destroyed more than 100 homes on the island on Sunday, as it also uprooted trees and sank fishing boats, sources told Al Jazeera.

The US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) reports that Chapala is expected to make landfall at about 06:00 GMT on Tuesday morning.

The JTWC reported that the storm system was tracking a path that would take it close to the Yemeni port city of Mukalla, which has a population of about 300,000 people.

"The cyclone is the equivalent of a category 3 hurricane, with sustained winds of 195 km/h, gusting 240 km/h," Al Jazeera's meteorologist Steff Gaulter explained.
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Cloud Precipitation

Several days of torrential rains flood the Masai Mara plains in Kenya, puzzling the wildlife

Sara Malm
Daily Mail, UK
Mon, 02 Nov 2015 17:49 UTC
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Thunderbolt and lightning: As the heavens open once more, the lioness makes her way across the muddy, watery plains
A long drought on the plains of the Masai Mara has been broken by several days of torrential rains, turning the dry Kenyan plains into a veritable sea.

These stunning images taken last week show drought turned to flood on the national reserve in southern Kenya, and lone animals who did not make it to shelter in time.

They include a lioness teetering on a small mound of earth, before 'island hopping' between small patches of land still visible above the giant puddles. Another image shows a forlorn gazelle hunched and exposed to the heavy rains.

The images were taken by British wildlife photographer and guide Paul Goldstein, from Wimbledon, south London.

'Last week the drought in Kenya's Masai Mara was broken. Violently,' Mr Goldstein explains.

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No way of staying dry: The lioness wades through the water which comes up her elbows
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Cloud Precipitation

Weekend rains led to 2 million gallons of sewage spilling into Houston bayous

Marcelino Benito
USA Today
Mon, 02 Nov 2015 15:13 UTC
flooding in Houston
© KHOU-TV, HoustonThe storms that pummeled Houston on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015, spilled more than 2 million gallons of sewage into the bayou system.
The weekend's rains in Houston left the city with a raw sewage problem that collected on downtown streets.

"It's just a horrible stench and I've had to wade through it constantly walking through here," said Steve Sherlund, who lives along Buffalo Bayou.

The storms that pummeled Houston on Halloween caused more than 2 million gallons of sewage to spill into the bayous.

"You never think about sewage," said Brandon O'Quinn. "It's kind of the last thing anybody wants to hear."

The waste water spilled out at four sites across the city, potentially influencing Halls, White Oak, Buffalo, Brays and Sims bayous.

Comment: It's becoming very apparent that earth changes are capable of over-whelming different infrastructures, and without a devoted effort to acknowledge and address the problems there will just be more and worsening instances of failures that, while somewhat benign in this instance, will leave the door open to catastrophic consequences down the road.

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Cloud Lightning

Storm kills 1, causes severe flooding in southern Portugal


Associated Press
Mon, 02 Nov 2015 12:09 UTC
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© AP Photo/Armando FrancaUS surfer Garrett McNamara rides a big wave during a tow-in surfing session at the Praia do Norte, or North beach, in Nazare, Portugal, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015. McNamara set a world record for the largest wave surfed when he rode a 23.7 metre wave (78-foot) in Nazare in 2011.
Authorities say a heavy storm has killed one person and caused severe flooding in Portugal's Algarve region.

Authorities were cleaning up and counting the cost of the damage Monday after the heavy storm hit the seaside resort.

Municipal workers, storekeepers and local residents shoveled away thick mud and fire crews pumped rainwater out of basements in Albufeira, the hardest-hit vacation town some 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of the capital Lisbon.

Police said they discovered the body Monday of an 80-year-old man whose car was found submersed.

The storm Sunday swept away cars, uprooted trees and washed away roads. Stores in the downtown area were flooded with brown water almost to the ceiling.
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Tornado2

Huge waterspout photographed off Malta; flooding reported in several areas


Times of Malta
Sun, 01 Nov 2015 19:16 UTC
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© Alexander GaleaWaterspout off Dingli Cliffs, Malta
A small sailing yacht broke its moorings and ran aground in Marsascala this morning as strong winds and then heavy rain lashed the island. The vessel was not seriously damaged.

Flooding was also reported in several areas, notably the recently opened Coast Road, particularly at the Salina end.

Also flooded was the road from Mosta to Iklin, Valley Road Birkirkara, and Msida. The police advised motorists to be cautious.

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© Paul ZahraFlooding in Birkirkara.
Meanwhile, readers submitted photos of a huge waterspout off Dingli Cliffs, where rocks collapsed and others were in danger of falling.
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Cloud Lightning

6 dead, 2 missing as floods, tornadoes rage in Texas


RT
Sun, 01 Nov 2015 03:29 UTC
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© Daniel Kramer / ReutersA SUV drives over flooded White Oak Bayou in Houston, Texas October 25, 2015
Heavy rains, flash floods and tornadoes have ripped through Texas, leaving at least six people dead. Authorities have advised parents to keep their children indoors and avoid traditional Halloween activities in the worst-hit areas.

Areas surrounding Austin and San Antonio were hit with heavy rains and flooding late Friday night. At least four people have died after being swept away by flood waters. At least one person is missing.
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Tornado1

Two dead as torrential rains, tornadoes lash central Texas

Tom Dart
The Guardian, UK
Sat, 31 Oct 2015 02:45 UTC
Tornado in Texas
© Eric Gay/APA vehicle rests on top of a three-storey hotel after a tornado touched down in in Floresville, Texas, on Friday.

A trailer from an RV park was whirled on to the roof of a Holiday Inn, buildings were shredded and more than a foot of rain drenched Austin as storms hammered Texas on Friday, killing at least two people.

The small town of Floresville, near San Antonio, was hit by a suspected tornado early in the morning. Local news footage showed damage to power lines, homes, businesses and a high school, though no one was hurt.

The body of a driver who went missing in floodwaters was found in a hard-hit area near the Austin airport, the Travis county emergency management office said. Military crews also found a body at Camp Bullis, a military training installation north of San Antonio, a defense department spokesman said. That person was believed to be a driver whose vehicle was swept off the road by flash floodwaters.

There were reports of other tornadoes in counties including D'Hanis, 50 miles west of San Antonio, were a bank and other buildings were wrecked. Several central Texas counties remained under a tornado watch on Friday afternoon.

Comment: Yet more chaotic weather, which is occurring all over the planet these days. See SOTT's Earth Changes video summary for September below.


SOTT Earth Changes Summary - September 2015: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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Cloud Precipitation

Flash flooding kills 6 in western Iran


Press TV
Fri, 30 Oct 2015 16:38 UTC
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© IRNAThis October 29, 2015 photo released by Iran's official news agency, IRNA, shows the aftermath of flash floods in the western city of Ilam.
Flash floods, triggered by heavy downpours, have killed six people in the two western provinces of Ilam and Lorestan in Iran.

Head of the Relief and Rescue Organization of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) Nasser Charkhsaz said on Thursday that flash floods have hit the provinces of east Azarbaijan, Ilam, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Lorestan and Khuzestan since October 28.

Officials in Ilam, a province which borders Iraq, said three people were killed following torrential rains.

Shapour Pouladi, a deputy provincial governor for development affairs, said the fatalities included two people in the provincial capital of the same name and one in the city of Dehloran, which is located some 500 kilometers southwest of the Iranian capital Tehran. He said one other person is still missing.
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Cloud Precipitation

Rare tropical cyclone Chapala to bring eight years of rain in two days to Yemen, Oman

Peter Hannam
The Sydney Morning Herald
Fri, 30 Oct 2015 15:38 UTC
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A rare intense tropical cyclone has formed in the Arabian Sea and is forecast to dump eight years of rain in about 48 hours on typically arid regions of the Arabian Peninsula.

Cyclone Chapala has already generated sustained winds of 95 knots (175 km/h), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre. It was also producing significant wave heights of more than seven metres. Eric Holthaus, a US meteorologist, estimates the storm will dump as much as eight times the annual rainfall of coastal regions of Yemen and Oman. These regions typically collect just 100-130 millimetres of rain a year.
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© Joint Typhoon Warning CentreThe projected path of Chapala indicates it will reach Yemen on Monday.
The port city of Salahah, in Oman, may face a coastal storm surge of as much as 4.5 metres, Mr Holthaus said, adding that it is likely to be heavy deluge and flooding that may pose the bigger threat.

"Tropical cyclones are an extreme rarity near the Arabian Peninsula," Mr Holthaus said. "Since reliable records begin in 1979, there have been only two hurricane-strength storms to make landfall in Oman, and the only storm to hit Yemen topped out with winds at a paltry 35 miles per hour [56 km/h], barely tropical storm strength."

Cyclone Chapala is the latest in a year of extreme weather.


Comment: For the latest in extreme weather from across the globe, see SOTT's Earth Changes Summary for September:


SOTT Earth Changes Summary - September 2015: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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