Archive
Scores flee homes as surging Mississippi nears record level
Houses have been engulfed by water in Memphis, Tennessee. Photo: Getty ImagesTourists gathered and gawkers snapped photos of the rising Mississippi River, even as more residents were told to flee their homes and the river’s crest edged towards Memphis in Tennessee.
US officials went door-to-door on Sunday, warning about 240 people to get out before the river reached its expected peak on Tuesday.
In all, residents in more than 1300 homes have been told to go, and about 370 people were staying in shelters.
The Mississippi spared Kentucky and north-west Tennessee catastrophic flooding, but some low-lying towns and farmland along the Read more…
Flooding forces more evacuations along Mississippi, Ohio rivers
Authorities ordered more evacuations near the Mississippi and Ohio rivers as floodwaters continued to surge southward early Friday, inundating farmlands, highways and homes.
The east-central Arkansas towns of Cotton Plant, Gregory and McClelland were under mandatory evacuations, a spokesman for the state’s emergency management department said.
Waters toppled at least one levee in the area, prompting the evacuation order, the spokesman said. The order affected about 1,000 residents from the three small towns.
In Memphis, Tennessee, riverside parks were flooded and the Shelby County Office of Preparedness warned that homes on the upscale Mud Island were among the 2,832 properties that could be affected by flooding.
“There’s nothing you can do to stop it,” said Ben Ferguson, a syndicated talk show host who lives on the island.
Floods prompted authorities to close more than 20 miles of westbound Interstate 40 in eastern Arkansas. The eastbound stretch of Read more…
Rain Colombia’s ‘worst’ natural disaster: Santos
A Colombian police officer helps evacuate a shop after a landslide in Sabaneta, near Medellin in Colombia. Some 160,000 police officers in the country and 52 aircraft are participating in emergency operations following deadly floods that killed 67 people and caused widespread damage, officials have said.AFP – Colombia faces its worst natural disaster on record due to the effects of relentless heavy rain that has been pounding most of Colombia this year, President Juan Manuel Santos has said.
The heavy rain, triggered by the La Nina weather phenomenon, has killed at least 69 people in April alone, bringing the total death toll to at least 90, officials said.
“It’s as if our territory had been struck by a hurricane that arrived last year and does not want to leave,” Santos said in an address to the nation.
“This is without doubt the worst natural tragedy of our history,” he said, as he called for “national unity” to face the Read more…
Ozone hole linked to southern rain increases
WASHINGTON — The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica is a significant driver of climate change and rain increases in the southern hemisphere over the past 50 years, US scientists said Thursday.
The findings by a team at Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science are the first to link ozone depletion in the polar region to climate change all the way to the equator.
Researchers said the analysis should lead policy-makers to consider the ozone layer along with other environmental factors such as Arctic ice melt and greenhouse gas emissions when considering how to tackle climate change.
“It’s really amazing that the ozone hole, located so high up in the atmosphere over Antarctica, can have an impact all the way to the tropics and affect rainfall there,” said Sarah Kang, lead author of the study in the journal Science. Read more…
Records fall as big spring storm hits Madison
madison.com
Snow, rain and cold combined to give Madison a trio of new weather records on Tuesday as a wicked spring storm whipped through the state.
The National Weather Service said 1.13 inches of precipitation (rain plus snow converted to liquid) fell at the Dane County Regional Airport on Tuesday, breaking the old mark of 0.93 inches for April 19, set in 1993.
The precipitation included 1.3 inches of snow, which broke the old record of 0.3 inches of snow for April 19, set in 1953.
And to top (or bottom) it off, the coldest high temperature ever for April 19 of 36 degrees was recorded at the airport, breaking the old mark of 38 for the day, set in 1928.
Madison wasn’t the only locale to set new records.
The Weather Service said 9.9 inches of snow fell in Green Bay on Tuesday, the greatest daily snowfall ever in Titletown so late in the snow season (starting July 1). The total also smashed the previous mark of 1.5 inches of snow for April 19, set in 1898.
The big snow boosted the season total in Green Bay to 92.4 inches, the third highest snowfall total on record and the most since 1889-90.
Record snows also were recorded in Wausau, La Crosse and Milwaukee.
The snow pushed off to the east overnight, but icy roads still could be a problem in parts of the state early Wednesday morning, especially on Read more…
U.S. braces for floods as Red River rises
Movers this week pulled furniture from the lower level of the Sterns’ house and ripped out the carpet to reduce damage from seeping water as the Red River continued a rapid rise.
“Any spring there is anxiety,” Sherri Stern said on Thursday. “We didn’t expect to have water that we would have to start pumping this fast.”
The Red River swelled to within four feet of its forecasted crest at Fargo-Moorhead on Thursday as volunteers piled up sandbags. At the forecasted level, the Red River crest would be the third highest on record behind 2009 and 1997.
The flood has potential to force thousands of people from their homes in North Dakota and Minnesota based on past similar floods, but protection is better this year, said Cecily Fong, spokeswoman for the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services.
RED TO CREST SUNDAY AT FARGO
The Red, which forms the boundary between the two states, rose to 35.9 feet at Fargo- Read more…
South Korea shuts schools amid Japan radiation fears
Ahn Young-joon / AP
TOKYO — Dozens of schools in South Korea closed Thursday amid concerns about radioactive fallout from Japan’s nuclear disaster.
Classes were canceled or shortened at more than 150 schools as rain fell across the country.
Authorities said radiation levels in the rain posed no health threat.
However, school boards across the country — Japan’s closest neighbor — advised Read more…
Severe floods claim 11 lives in southern Thailand
BANGKOK, March 30 — The number of current flood-related deaths in the southern provinces now stands at 11 with the most casualties–seven persons–registered in Nakhon Si Thammarat followed by three victims in Surat Thani and one in Phatthalung, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Director-General Vibul Sanguanpong said on Wednesday.
Their Majesties the King and Queen have given funds to the Red Cross for emergency help to flood victims in southern provinces, naval and other ships are involved in rescue and supply operations, and the prime minister and flood relief coordinator Satit Wonghnongtaey have Read more…
Chernobyl-Style Yellow Rain Causes Panic In Japan
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
March 24, 2011
Radioactive yellow rain that fell in Tokyo and surrounding areas last night caused panic amongst Japanese citizens and prompted a flood of phone calls to Japan’s Meteorological Agency this morning, with people concerned that they were being fed the same lies as victims of Chernobyl, who were told that yellow rain which fell over Russia and surrounding countries after the 1986 disaster was merely pollen, the same explanation now being offered by Japanese authorities.
“After two days of rain in Tokyo I woke up to a thick coating of this yellow stuff all over my car. What looks like a glare between the glass and the body of the car is actually pollen. My first thought was Read more…
Floodwaters are still rising in Wayne, other N.J. towns
WAYNE — Floodwaters continued to rise in Fairfield, Little Falls and Wayne today, submerging entire neighborhoods under water and leaving some with no other option but to travel by boat to reach their homes.
“It sucks, but you have to live with it. What can you do?” said Wieslaw Borek, as he Read more…
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](https://i0.wp.com/www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/gold/t24_au_en_usoz_2.gif)
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](https://i0.wp.com/www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/silver/t24_ag_en_usoz_2.gif)
crisisboom
CRISISBOOM 
You must be logged in to post a comment.