Severe floods as Amazon rivers reach record highs in Brazil
The Rio Negro has swollen to levels unseen in over a century of record-keeping. More than 450,000 people have been affected state-wide.
Residents in Manaus, the biggest city in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, were struggling to cope with severe flooding after heavy rain caused nearby rivers to swell.
The Rio Negro reached its highest water level since records began in 1902, with a depth of 29.98 meters (98 feet) at the port’s measuring station on Tuesday.
The nearby Solimoes and Amazon rivers were also nearing all-time highs.
More than 24,000 families and 15 districts of Manaus have been affected and many people had to leave their homes, according to Brazilian online news site G1. Parts of the port area and the historic center of Manaus were underwater.
More than 9,000 meters of wooden bridges — known as marombas — were built in the hardest-hit areas to help residents navigate the city.
The high water levels are not just confined to Manaus. There has been flooding across almost all of Amazonas state and caused damage in nearly 60 of 62 municipalities.
More than 450,000 people have been affected state-wide.
The Amazon River also reached peak levels in cities including Itacoatiara, located in the east of the state.
Higher-than-usual precipitation is associated with the La Nina phenomenon when currents in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean affect global climate patterns.
Environmental experts and organizations including the US Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say there is strong evidence that human activity and global warming are altering the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, including La Nina.
Seven of the 10 biggest floods in the Amazon basin have occurred in the past 13 years, data from Brazil’s state-owned Geological Survey shows.
Meteorologists say Amazon water levels could continue to rise slightly until late June or July, when floods usually peak.
Courtesy of dw.com
Major flooding continues in USA’s South as Northeast hit with cold blast
There is major to near historic river flooding in parts of the Mid-South, especially in Kentucky on Tuesday.
Locally, 7 inches of rain fell over the weekend in the Mid-South helping local rivers to rise quickly and flooding entire towns. A state of emergency has now been declared for these areas.
Damaging thunderstorms moved through Georgia on Monday, killing one person when a tree feel on a home.
These storms also produced an EF-1 tornado with winds of 90 mph, not related to the victim’s death.
There are flood warnings from Texas to Ohio on Tuesday and 26 states from Texas to Maine are under flood, high winds and wind chill alerts.
The heavy rain has ended in Mid-South but some rivers are still rising or will remain in major to moderate flooding through over the next few days.
The heaviest rain shifted closer to the Gulf Coast from Mississippi to Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina where over the next few days 2 to 3 inches of rain is expected with locally higher amounts possible.
Meanwhile, in the Northeast, arctic cold air is moving through with very gusty winds that are producing power outages.
Wind will continue to gust in the Northeast from New Jersey to Maine at 40 to 60 mph through this morning and will subside in the afternoon.
Wind Chills this morning are below zero from upstate New York to Boston and into New England.
This bitter blast will not last and already by Wednesday most of the Northeast will see temperatures quickly rebound into the 40s and even 50s.
But it is still early March so the cold will be back end of the week as wind chills are expected to fall into the teens and single digits for the I-95 corridor and below zero in upstate New York and into New England.
Courtesy of abcnews.go.com
Part of the River Thames freezes for first time in several years
Sub-zero temperatures saw water turn to ice along a section of the Thames in Teddington, in the south west of England’s capital city.
An image taken by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in Teddington showed seagulls chilling on the frozen surface of the river.
In a tweet, the RNLI said they might’ve needed to use a smaller lifeboat as an ‘icebraker’ to get out onto the water because it’s “not often the Thames freezes over in Teddington”.
A spokesperson said “It’s quite spectacular. I’ve lived here for 13-years and I’ve not seen this part of the river freeze like this.”
The Thames has completely frozen over in the past, the last time being in January 1963 – the coldest winter for more than 200 years that brought blizzards, snow drifts and temperatures of -20C.
Extremely cold weather this week saw temperatures in London drop to -2C, meanwhile the UK experienced the coldest February night for 25 years – with temperatures of -23C recorded at Braemar weather station in Scotland.
Between 1309 and 1814, the Thames froze at least 23 times and on five occasions the ice was strong enough to hold a fair on the river.
The ice was several feet thick and could support shops, pubs, fairground rides, thousands of people – and even elephants could walk across it!
The first ‘frost fair’ as they were known was recorded in 1608 when the river iced up for six weeks. The last fair took place over 200 years later in 1814.
The frost fairs took place during a period of time known as the Little Ice Age, roughly between 1350-1850 which saw an increase in cold winters in parts of Europe.
Courtesy of BBC Newsround
THAMES BARRIER HAS BEEN ACTIVATED DUE TO A VERY HIGH SURGE ALONG THE RIVER THAMES, LONDON, UK
THAMES BARRIER HAS BEEN ACTIVATED DUE TO A VERY HIGH SURGE ALONG THE RIVER THAMES IN ORDER TO PROTECT COMMUNITIES AROUND TEDDINGTON, LONDON, UK
Heavy rains trigger floods, landslides in E. Visayas, Philippines
Heavy downpour has triggered flooding and landslides in Samar and Southern Leyte provinces over the weekend, the Regional Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) reported on Monday.
Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Regional Director Lord Byron Torrecarion, RDRRMC Eastern Visayas chairperson said there has been widespread rainfall in the region that caused rivers and streams to rise quickly especially in Northern and Eastern Samar provinces.
“So far, there has been no reported casualties or missing persons as of Monday morning, but we have been regularly monitoring the situation since it is still raining in many parts of the region,” Torrecarion said in a phone interview.
In a progress report sent to the Philippine News Agency (PNA), the RDRRMC reported floodings within the highway that links the towns of Gandara and Matuguinao in Samar; two villages in Catarman, a community in Catubig, nine villages in Allen, and three areas in Capul town in Northern Samar.
In Eastern Samar, flooding has affected 24 villages in Oras town; 15 communities in Dolores; two villages each in Sulat, Maslog, San Julian, and Can-avid; and one village each in the towns of Arteche and Jipapad.
Landslides have been reported along the provincial road sections in Catalina village in Jiabong, Samar; Lawaan village in Paranas; and a major highway in Kahupian, Sogod in Southern Leyte province.
At least 627 individuals have been preemptively evacuated in Catarman and Catubig towns in Northern Samar on Sunday.
“Since we expect rains to continue in the next two days, all villages identified as high to very-high susceptibility ratings to flooding and landslide were already advised to conduct preemptive evacuation especially those vulnerable groups,” Torrecarion added.
In an advisory issued early Monday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said the heavy rains are caused by the tail-end of the frontal system affecting the eastern section of Visayas and intertropical convergence zone affecting Mindanao, and northeast monsoon affecting Luzon.
Courtesy of pna.gov.ph
Red alert flood warning for River Severn issued, UK
River levels in Gloucestershire are rising after heavy rainfall – with more wet weather to come.
The Environment Agency has issued a Flood Warning and Flood Alerts for parts of the Severn and Wye as tidal surges and strong winds combine with rain to cause flooding.
There were reports this afternoon of flooding on the A40 at Highnham, around Two Mile Lane.
This evening, a red Flood Warning was issued for the River Severn at Severn Ham, Tewkesbury.
A Flood Warning has also been issued for the River Wye from Hereford to Ross-on-Wye.
Incident response staff have been deployed along the River Severn in Gloucestershire to check defences as people are urged to avoid using low lying footpaths near watercourses.
On the Severn Estuary, from Gloucester down to Sharpness, the tidal surge with high spring tides and strong winds is expected to overtop sea defences.
Just across the Herefordshire border in Ross-on-Wye, heavy rainfall has seen river levels on Wye rise and flooding of roads and farmland is expected to continue.
The Met Office has put severe weather warnings on parts of the South West and Wales, although none of the warning zones cover Gloucestershire at present.
Courtesy of gloucestershirelive.co.uk
Typhoon Vicky leaves 9 dead in Visayas and Mindanao, Philippines
TROPICAL Depression “Vicky” left nine people dead and affected thousands in the Visayas and Mindanao as it slowly moved away from the country.
Mark Timbal, deputy spokesman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), confirmed on Sunday that three persons died during the storm’s rage in Mahaplag, Leyte as reported by local authorities.
Agusan del Sur Gov. Santiago Cane, meanwhile, reported three fatalities and one missing from the town of San Francisco with some areas still flooded.
Cane said the local government units of Agusan del Sur have been preparing for natural calamities, especially typhoons and other types of weather disturbances.
But the typhoon’s heavy rainfall reached the red warning, causing rivers to overflow.
Cane identified one of the fatalities as an employee of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The victim tried to cross the highway with his wife on a motorcycle, but floodwaters dragged them to their death.
The two other victims crossed rivers separately, with one of them drunk at the time. The two were swept away by the strong waves.
Surigao del Sur Gov. Alexander Pimentel, meanwhile, said three people also died in his province.
In its situational report, the NDRRMC said it monitored a total of 26 incidents in Caraga Region during Vicky’s onslaught, with 25 incidents of flooding and one landslide recorded.
The NDRRMC said 1,590 families or 6,702 persons across the regions of Davao and Caraga were affected by the weather disturbance.
Damage to infrastructure has reached P105.4 million in Caraga alone. Agricultural damage is still being assessed, the NDRRMC said.
“Our operations are continuous and our local government units have been on-alert even before [the tropical depression] entered. Everyone coordinated through the regional disaster councils in the Visayas and Mindanao,” Timbal said in a separate interview over TeleRadyo.
Courtesy of manilatimes.net
Heavy rains cause flooding, landslide in Northern Luzon, Philippines
Heavy rains from the tail-end of a frontal system caused flooding and a landslide in Northern Luzon, according to a report on 24 Oras News Alert on Saturday.
In San Mateo, Isabela, 50 families had their houses flooded after the irrigation canal nearby overflowed its banks.
Meanwhile, a rescue van from Cagayan got stranded in mud and was hit by rocks after a landslide occurred in Mt. Province.
Authorities have already conducted clearing operations in the area.
About 40 families on Saturday were evacuated from a barangay in Tuguegarao after the city in Cagayan experienced flooding anew resulting from incessant rains brought by the tail-end of a cold front.
PAGASA said the tail-end of a frontal system will bring rains over the eastern side of Northern Luzon on Saturday.
The National Irrigation Administration-Magat River Integrated Irrigation System (NIA-MRIIS) on Saturday morning warned residents in Northern Luzon of possible flooding as it announced it is discharging almost 800 cubic meters per second (cms) of water.
Residents of upper, middle and lower Cagayan were warned of possible flooding due to the release of water from Magat Dam.
Courtesy of gmanetwork.com
Storm Vamco hits Vietnam
STORM Vamco barrelled into Vietnam, damaging buildings and injuring at least 19 people, as the death toll in the Philippines climbed to at least 67.
The storm made landfall on Sunday morning with reported winds of up to 90 kph, uprooting trees and blowing the roofs off houses and schools.
According to the latest report from Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, at least 19 people suffered injuries.
Vamco is the latest in a series of storms that have pummelled Vietnam over the past six weeks, causing flooding and landslides that have killed at least 159 people and left 70 others missing.
Vamco has weakened since hitting the Philippines as a typhoon with winds of up to 155 kph, but state media said it had still caused significant damage.
Pictures showed restaurants in the tourist hotspot of Hoi An – a Unesco world heritage site – ripped apart by the storm, and huge trees uprooted in the old imperial city of Hue.
Authorities evacuated nearly 650,000 people from seven coastal provinces to higher and safer ground before the storm hit, but on Sunday warned of the danger of landslides triggered by the heavy rains.
The storm also damaged embankments and caused landslides along them at many rivers and beaches, including 13.3km in Quang Tri province.
Ministries, sectors and localities were asked to continue keeping a close watch and to stand ready to respond to natural disasters, especially flooding and landslides.
The storm had also destroyed electrical wires and poles, causing power outages in 177,000 households in Quang Binh.
More than 110ha of perennial trees in Bo Trach district were also destroyed.
Households who were relocated to avoid the storm had also returned home and those in the area at risk of landslides had been relocated to temporary houses.
The National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting warned that the northern and central region would continue seeing heavy rain.
Courtesy of thestar.com.my
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