dfo 2006-03-30T22:40:03Z 2008-07-16T15:06:21Z Dartmouth College 12.00 1024x768 2 #DD0806 3 #1FB714 4 #0000D4 5 #FCF305 6 #F20884 7 #00ABEA 8 #900000 9 #006411 10 #000090 11 #90713A 12 #4600A5 10365 17100 1425 -120 False False Register # Annual DFO # Glide # Country (click on active links to access current and past inundation extents) Other Nations Affected Detailed Locations Rivers Began Ended Duration in Days Dead Displaced Damage (USD) Main cause Severity * Affected sq km Magnitude (M)** Centroid X Centroid Y "x" if active M>6 Total annual floods M>6 M>4 Total annual floods M>4 Date Began Total floods M>6 Total floods M>4 Notes and Comments (may include quoted headlines from copyrighted news stories for internal research purposes only) 3703 114 Niger Burkina Faso Chad Niamey, northern Chad 2010-08-01T00:00:00.000 2010-08-11T00:00:00.000 11 1 5000 Torrential Rain 1 619100 6.8331534891711296 14 13.6 x 1 79 1 259 2010-08-01T00:00:00.000 896 3171 August 11, 2010: "Thousands of homes have been flooded in and around Niamey Some five thousand people in Niger lost their homes and crops after the River Niger burst its banks at the weekend.The West African country is already suffering from severe food shortages caused by recent drought.Another 20,000 people are at risk of displacement in the event of further heavy rains, UN officials have warned.Heavy rainfall has also caused flooding across other parts of West and Central Africa and threatens to worsen the food crisis in the region, the UN said.Millions of people are without food in the region after droughts over the last year depleted stocks, the UN World Food Programme warned. "Rain in the Sahel is much welcome but it needs to be properly distributed over time and over space which is the major issue now," the WFP's Naouar Labidi told Reuters news agency.The BBC's Idy Baraou in Niger's capital, Niamey, says many more houses in and around the city are in danger of collapsing and residents fear that more heavy rain is still to come.The UN said that 30,000 animals had died in the flooding and carcasses could be seen floating near water points, spreading further fears of outbreaks of waterborne diseases.Regional havocMeanwhile, on Monday the authorities in Ghana issued a flood warning for three northern regions because of rising water levels at two dams in neighbouring Burkina Faso. According to the UN's Irin news agency, 40 people have already died in flooding in Ghana in June and July.In Burkina Faso, the agency reported that 14 people had died last month in floods and many people were sleeping in schools and other public buildings.Northern Chad in the Sahara desert has recently recorded the heaviest rain in 50 years and hail stones the size of eggs destroyed crops in central Guinea in July, Irin said.The International Federation of the Red Cross says it is providing aid to flood victims in the Central African Republic and in Ivory Coast, where there have been mudslides.On Monday, at least 13 people died - most of them children - in the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown, when a building collapsed during a mudslide, following torrential rain 3702 113 United States State of Iowa, Ames, Colfax towns 2010-08-10T00:00:00.000 2010-08-11T00:00:00.000 2 1 1000 Torrential Rain 1 8257 4.2178522802598932 -93.47 42.31 x 0 78 1 258 2010-08-10T00:00:00.000 895 3170 August 11, 2010: "A teenage girl died Wednesday when raging floodwaters swept three cars off a road near Des Moines, and hundreds had to evacuate their homes as widespread flooding struck Iowa after three nights of rain.In Ames, flooding contributed to a water main break that forced the city to shut off water to its roughly 55,000 residents and left Iowa State University's basketball arena under 4 to 5 feet of water.Rivers and creeks rose after storms dumped 2 to 4 inches of rain on central and eastern Iowa over night Wednesday, with 6 inches in some spots, the National Weather Service said. A snowy winter and wet spring and summer "set the stage" for the flooding, but the recent storms were the big problem, weather service meteorologist Jim Lee said."The bulk of this has been caused by those recent extreme rainfalls, especially back-to-back-to-back," he said.Divers found the girl's body near the submerged cars in Mud Creek about 2:20 p.m., more than 10 hours after she disappeared. Authorities said fast-moving water hindered their search efforts earlier in the day.Polk County Deputy Keith Onley declined to identify the girl.The cars were swept off the road between Altoona and Mitchellville about 4 a.m. Rescuers found 10 of the 11 passengers clinging to trees and hanging onto logs. Four were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.Doug Phillips, a division chief with the Polk County Sheriff's Office, said the creek is usually only 3 feet deep and 10 feet wide but early Wednesday morning, "it looked like a river."In Ames, about 30 miles north of Des Moines, officials shut off the city's water supply at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday after a water main broke beneath the flooded Squaw Creek. The break drained a city water tower, dropping pressure in the distribution system and raising the possibility the system's water could become contaminated.Officials warned anyone who still had access to water to boil it before consuming it. They said repairs could take up to 24 hours.Several hundred Ames residents were evacuated from their homes after 3 to 5 inches of rain pushed Squaw Creek and Skunk River over their banks, Fire Chief Clint Petersen said. In some spots, water was up to car windshields.The floor at Hilton Coliseum, Iowa State's basketball arena, was covered with up to 5 feet of water, school spokesman John McCarroll said. It was too soon to know how much damage had been done, he said.Jack Trice football stadium was still dry, surrounded by sandbags football players had stacked as a precaution.But the parking lot between the two stadiums, where tailgaters party before games, was flooded."I hope they get it cleared out by football season," student Sam Stonehocker said.In all, eight campus buildings had flood damage, McCarroll said.The Iowa Department of Transportation closed Interstate 35 just south of Ames and both lanes of U.S. Highway 30 in the area were closed.Elsewhere in Ames, Howe's Welding and Metal Fab had several feet of water inside it, even though the owners had been sandbagging all night. Piper Wall, whose husband owns the business, said it was difficult to assess the damage while the water remained, but it appeared worse than in 1993, when much of the area was underwater."It will be when all this comes out and all the mud that remains and the machining tools and electric stuff that's not high enough," Wall said. "In 1993, it was $150,000 and this year it's higher."Downriver from Ames, the town of Colfax was nearly cut off by the rising Skunk River. Roads were covered by water, and people used boats to help neighbors move to higher ground.Colfax Mayor David Mast said he expected more than 200 homes would flood, and some were already inundated with about 4 feet of water. City officials had asked at least 300 residents on the west side of town to move to higher ground, Mast said.After Heather Kern was asked to leave at 12:30 a.m., she rushed to move possessions out of the home she shared with her husband, two children and three other relatives. When sirens sounds a few hours later, the family had to evacuate.Kern's basement was flooded, and water was inching into the first floor with waste-high water in the backyard."I feel blessed that we have our lives," Kern said. "We don't know where we're going to live or where we're going to stay, but we have our lives."Colfax flooded in 1993, when the Skunk River reached a record of over 21.5 feet, more than 4 feet over flood stage. The river on Wednesday was 22.5 and still rising. 3701 112 North Korea Eastern province of South Hamkyong, northwestern province of North Pyongan, next to the border with China, Hwanghae province in the southwest, Jagang province to the east of North Pyongan 2010-07-27T00:00:00.000 2010-08-08T00:00:00.000 13 17000 Torrential Rain 1 51190 5.8231284818570819 125.71 39.590000000000003 x 0 78 1 257 2010-07-27T00:00:00.000 895 3169 August 8, 2010: "Floods caused by torrential rain have washed away homes, roads, railways and farmland in North Korea, state media said on Sunday, without giving a casualty toll."Water damage restoration work is underway in... areas struck by continuing torrential rain," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, adding authorities were holding emergency meetings on aid for those affected.The agency said work was underway to rebuild flood-hit homes, public buildings, bridges and roads.Workers in the eastern province of South Hamkyong have restored all 110 irrigation channels that were destroyed, it said.Work was also underway in the northwestern province of North Pyongan, next to the border with China, and in Hwanghae province in the southwest.Railways and telephone lines in Jagang province to the east of North Pyongan have been restored, it said.The report did not say exactly when the floods hit the impoverished nation, which even in normal times suffers severe food shortages.Last Thursday KCNA reported widespread flood damage following torrential rain in July. Some 5,560 houses were destroyed along with 360 public buildings and factories, it said.There were also fatalities, KCNA said without elaborating.Some 14,850 hectares of farmland were "submerged, buried or washed away", the agency said Thursday.The North suffers frequent floods during the rainy season due to deforestation of hillsides for firewood or agriculture and a lack of flood control measures.In August 2007 the country's worst floods in a decade left at least 600 people dead or missing.South Korea's Meteorological Administration says 315.8 mm of rain fell in the North in July, up 139 per cent from the monthly average.China has suspended shipping and tourist boat traffic on the Yalu River, which forms part of its border with North Korea."Local television footage in North Korea has shown pictures of flooding and devastation in the northern Pyongan province, which comes after heavy rains last month that also hit other provinces.There was no date on the footage aired on Saturday but state-run media reported last week that homes, farms, roads and buildings have been destroyed.About 36,700 acres of farmland were submerged and 5,500 homes and 350 public buildings and facilities were destroyed or flooded, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).Landslides caused by the torrential rains wrecked bridges and roads as well as resulting in power equipment failure that disrupted railroad traffic in some parts of the country, KCNA said.KCNA also reported casualties in Jagang and South Hamgyong provinces but did not say how many, nor clarify if people were injured or had died.The news agency had previously reported heavy rains fell in the country in mid- to late July, but those earlier reports did not mention flooding or damage.State media in the reclusive communist state often report news days or weeks after an event takes place.Flood prone countryThere was no indication the North would need outside help to deal with the flooding.In 2007, the government did seek outside assistance to cope with its most severe flooding in decades. At least 600 people were dead or missing and more than 100,000 homeless after those floods, which destroyed more than 11 per cent of the country's crops." 3700 111 India Kashmir, 2010-08-06T00:00:00.000 2010-08-08T00:00:00.000 3 150 180 Torrential Rain 11.5 145000 6.6991870973082488 76.12 33.53 x 1 78 1 256 2010-08-06T00:00:00.000 895 3168 August 11, 2010: " A handout picture released by the Indian army shows an aerial view of the flood-affected areas of Leh, 443 km (275 miles) east of Srinagar. Heavy rainfall was hampering rescue and relief efforts in Ladakh on Saturday, the army said, after flash floods killed at least 113 people. Scores of people were missing, and some foreign tourists were also believed to have been affected, the foreign ministry said search team continued searching for the missing people in sudden rain storms in Himalayan region of Ladakh.On Wednesday, Aug 11 Indian search teams tried to locate foreign tourists in Ladakh after five Europeans were declared to be among the 185 people killed in floods. Sudden rain storms on Friday, Aug 6 triggered flash floods that swept away buildings, roads and power cables in the town of Leh, and stranded many tourists in the mountains.About 400 local people are still missing after rivers of mud and rock poured down valleys and swamped villages."Today our helicopters evacuated around 35 tourists including two children stranded near a Buddhist monastery situated at an altitude of 14,000 feet," said Priya Joshi, Indian Air Force spokeswoman."Most of them were Europeans. We carried out more than 40 helicopter sorties today to bring out these people and operations are continuing," she added.Officials reported that 185 people were killed and around 400 people were missing. Many people are feared buried in the village of Choglamsar on the outskirts of Leh. Sniffer dogs have been trying to locate bodies, but progress has been slow.The Kashmir government officials told they were still trying to establish the exact number and location of tourists via embassies and travel agencies.Thousands of visitors from India and elsewhere travel to Ladakh each year during Jul and Aug for trekking and rafting expeditions and to experience the area's ancient Buddhist culture. " 3699 110 China Entire communities in Gansu province's Zhouqu district,Yanji, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province 2010-07-27T00:00:00.000 2010-08-11T00:00:00.000 16 65 180 Torrential Rain 1.5 442500 7.0261245167454502 99.58 37.840000000000003 x 1 77 1 255 2010-07-27T00:00:00.000 894 3167 August 11, 2010: "ZHOUQU, China (AP) — Heavy rains on Wednesday lashed a remote section of northwestern China where weekend flooding killed at least 702 people, as hopes of finding more survivors faded and crews worked to stave off outbreaks of disease.More than 1,000 people were still listed as missing in the disaster, with mud, stones and debris covering many houses.The National Meteorological Center warned there was a "relatively large" chance of more landslides in the coming days, as the rain was expected to grow heavier, with up to 3 ½ inches forecast for Friday. The chances of finding more survivors were falling by the hour, but soldiers on Wednesday rescued a 50-year-old man who had been trapped in knee-deep mud on the second floor of a hotel, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.Troops and rescue teams joined by traumatized survivors turned to recovering bodies and seeing to the needs of the living. Clean drinking water was a primary concern, with most local sources destroyed or too polluted to use.Entire communities in Gansu province's Zhouqu district were swallowed up when the debris-choked Bailong River jumped its banks Sunday, releasing wave after wave of mud and rubble-strewn water. While torrential rains were the direct cause, tree cutting that left the dry hills exposed and the weakening of cliff faces by a massive 2008 earthquake were seen as contributing factors.Buildings were torn from their foundations, their lower floors blown out by the force of the debris-laden water. Three villages comprising hundreds of households were entirely buried and much of the county seat left submerged."In some households, all the people have died," making the counting of the dead more difficult, Zhang Weixing, a Ministry of Civil Affairs official, told a news conference Wednesday.Crews using explosives and excavators rushed to drain an unstable lake on the Bailong upriver of Zhouqu, fearing more rain could cause a massive breach, bringing more misery to the town."The danger of the barrier lake collapsing has been basically eliminated," Jiao Yong, deputy vice minister of the Ministry of Water Resources, told the news conference.Disinfectant crews in protective suits sprayed chemicals across the ground and over machinery, the smell of death heavy in the air. State media reported numerous cases of dysentery, while infected injuries, a lack of sanitation, clean drinking water and accumulating garbage increased the risk of typhoid, cholera and other diseases.But the deputy director of the Health Ministry's emergency office, Zhang Guoxin, said there have been no reports of an epidemic outbreak.Rescue crews have been largely reliant on hand tools, with heavy equipment either unable to traverse the difficult terrain or mired in mud up to several yards (meters) deep.But roads reopened Wednesday, allowing heavy earth-moving equipment and supplies to flow in.At least 45,000 people have evacuated their homes, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs reported the delivery of 30,000 tents to the area, with thousands more on the way. Zhouqu has a population of 134,000, but it wasn't clear how many needed emergency shelter.Shen Si, a member of the Tibetan ethnic group native to the area, watched forlornly as troops dug to reach the bodies of her relatives inside their buried home."My mother and father in their 60s and my younger brother, all three of them, are buried here in our house still," she said.Throughout the area, bodies were seen wrapped in blankets and tied to sticks or placed on planks and left on the shattered streets for pickup.China's leadership has ordered teams to continue the search for survivors, and the ruling Communist Party's all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee met Tuesday to discuss rescue and relief work."It is now a critical time ... we must give the highest prominence to the protection of people's lives and properties," it said in a statement.Flooding in China has killed about 1,800 people this year " More heavy downpours are expected today through Friday across northeastern Jilin Province where more than 100 people have been killed due to flooding and consequent landslides.Analysts are divided over a possible decrease in grain production due to the flooding that may lead to price hikes and hamper government efforts to contain inflation.In Tonghua, imminent rain is likely to daunt workers who had been rushing to repair flood-damaged water pipelines, almost four days after more than 300,000 residents were left without tap water supplies, authorities said.It remained unclear when tap water would be restored, but authorities said 1.5 million bottles of water are available for emergency purposes, the Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.In Baishan, workers were racing against time before the arrival of heavy rains, to clear an accumulation of garbage, up to one-meter thick and covering an area of 15,000 square meters, which blocked the flow of water under a bridge and threatened a downstream dam, Xinhua reported.Wang Yanbo, a resident in Yanji, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province, told the Global Times that many buildings in the city have been damaged and some villages in Yanbian have become flooded. The supply of water and electricity in these villages has been cut off.The tap water system in the neighboring city of Longjing was destroyed, and people are relying on water supplies provided by the Yanji Public Security Bureau for fire control, Wang said.Jilin Province is the latest region to suffer from what has been described as the worst floods in more than a decade. 3698 109 Germany Czech Republic Poland Polish town of Bogatyni, eastern German town of Neukirchen near the Czech border, town of Goerlitz, on the border with Poland 2010-07-27T00:00:00.000 2010-08-08T00:00:00.000 13 15 3000 Torrential Rain 1.5 45880 5.951658020591748 14 51.47 x 0 76 1 254 2010-07-27T00:00:00.000 893 3166 August 8, 2010: "Heavy rain in central Europe has caused floods which killed at least seven people, cut off towns and forced the evacuation of residents from submerged villages by helicopter, authorities and local media said on Saturday.The Polish town of Bogatynia was cut off after a river overflowed its banks, covering the main bridge leading into the town and sweeping away several smaller bridges."At this moment we need everything," said Andrzej Grzemielewicz, mayor of the town of 18,000. "We need helicopters. People are on their roofs. The situation is dramatic."Several buildings had collapsed in the town and local media reported one person was killed.In the Czech Republic, the news agency CTK reported three people had been killed by floods in the north of the country.Extra rescue personnel and soldiers were called in to help with evacuation from some of the worst affected towns, using helicopters to reach villages cut off by the swollen rivers.In the eastern German town of Neukirchen near the Czech border, police said a 72-year-old woman, her 74-year-old husband and another man aged 63 had been found drowned in the basement of their apartment block.The fire service found the bodies on Saturday while pumping water out of the basement. The three had drowned while trying to carry items from the basement upstairs, a police spokesman said."Rescue workers sought to clear flood-borne debris including damaged cars and evacuate victims after heavy rains and stormy winds across central Europe killed at least 15 people over the weekend.Heavy downpours yesterday caused rivers to overflow their banks and a dam to burst, submerging Bogatynia and other towns in southwest Poland and killing at least three people.Flood damage and deaths also were reported in neighbouring countries. The death toll in the Czech Republic grew to five today and another three were missing and feared drowned.On Saturday, three people died in the German town of Neukirchen, near the Czech border.In neighbouring Lithuania, falling trees and structures killed four and injured several, with thousands being left without electricity after storm winds hit the country.The army, police and fire-service rescuers were using amphibious vehicles, helicopters and heavy earth-moving equipment to evacuate flood victims and clear debris including damaged cars blocking narrow streets.The weekend deluge followed major spring and summer flooding across Poland, which caused widespread property damage and claimed some two dozen lives.In Germany, authorities at the weekend evacuated some 1,400 people around the town of Goerlitz, on the border with Poland, where they expected the flooding level to rise after topping 7 metres (23 feet).In the Czech Republic, extra rescue personnel and soldiers were called in to help with evacuation from some of the worst affected towns in the north of the country, and helicopters were used to reach villages cut off by the swollen rivers. 3697 108 Afghanistan Various parts 2010-07-27T00:00:00.000 2010-08-03T00:00:00.000 8 65 180 Torrential Rain 1 176800 6.1505722476689977 68.86 35.21 x 1 76 1 253 2010-07-27T00:00:00.000 893 3165 August 2, 2010: "Flash floods in Afghanistan have killed at least 65 people and affected more than 1,000 families, the national disaster authority chief told AFP Saturday. Rescue teams in the northeast of the country are still struggling to reach areas cut off by flooded roads and the threat of insurgent attacks, said Abdul Matin Edrok, head of the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority.“Initial information sent by our provincal offices shows that nearly 70 people have been killed and tens injured. We estimate more than 1,000 families have been affected but these figures may rise,” he said.Most of those affected were in northeast Kapisa province, where 31 people died, he said. Others were killed in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar and Logar, central Ghazni province and northern Parwan.Edrok said food and medical aid was being distributed using some Afghan and NATO coalition helicopters, and that the rains causing the floods had now ended.In neighboring Pakistan, at least 408 people have been killed and 600,000 people affected by the worst floods in living memory, as monsoon rains triggered flash floods and landslides.Military operations are under way to help those living across the Afghan border in the impoverished remote mountain belt."July 28, 2010: "Flash floods killed over 20 people and destroyed dozens of houses in different parts of Afghanistan on 26-27 July, according to the Afghanistan National Disasters Management Authority (ANDMA). The northeastern Kapisa and the eastern Laghman provinces were worst affected, but deaths and damage were also reported in nearby Nangarhar and Kunar provinces. Twenty people have been killed in Kohband District and thousands of houses destroyed, said Abdul Aleem Ayar, a spokesman of the Kapisa governor. Dozens of injured had been taken to hospital. Six people have been killed in Laghman Province, Abdul Matin Edrak, director of ANDMA, told IRIN, adding that floods had also caused extensive damage to farmland. He said assessments were under way in flood-affected areas and relief efforts would be coordinated with UN agencies and NGOs. Floods have claimed the lives of over 300 people in 19 of the country’s 34 provinces since March, ANDMA said. Thousands of people have been displaced in the north and west, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported. " Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/60-die-in-pakistan-monsoon-floods-14893446.html?r=RSS##ixzz0v8I86lTn 3696 107 FL-2010-000141-PAK Pakistan Pakistan 2010-07-27T00:00:00.000 2010-08-11T00:00:00.000 16 1600 14000000 Monsoonal Rain 2 129700 6.6180899544039864 73.260000000000005 33.36 x 1 75 1 252 2010-07-27T00:00:00.000 892 3164 August 11, 2010: "Pakistan warned of fresh flooding along vast stretches of the Indus basin, as engineers raced to shore up defenses in the country’s sixth-largest city and reopen roads that have cut off the biggest refinery.More rains are expected in the next 24 hours in central Punjab province and in the northwest, the worst-hit region, Muhammad Riaz, the chief meteorologist in Karachi, said by phone. Information Minister Qamar Zaman said 722,000 homes have already been damaged and flooded roads are hampering relief efforts.The United Nations appealed for $460 million in aid today to assist at least six million people displaced by a wave of water that has descended on Pakistan’s economic heartland. Almost 700,000 hectares of standing crops are under water or destroyed by floodwaters, the Food and Agriculture Organization said. Pak-Arab Refinery Ltd. closed its Multan plant, which processes a third of the country’s crude oil.As many as 50 million people have been affected, John Holmes, the UN’s emergency relief coordinator, said in New York.“The number of people affected is much larger than the Pakistan earthquake of 2005, the tsunami,” that struck the Indian Ocean basin in 2004 or the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated Haiti in January, Holmes told journalists. “Pakistan has never seen a disaster of this scale,” Abdul Sattar Edhi, founder of the Edhi Foundation, the nation’s biggest rescue service, said by telephone from Peshawar, predicting at least 2,200 people may have died so far. “We need to rebuild everything from scratch and the biggest challenge is rehabilitation.”Southern Punjab province may face “critical flooding” between now and Aug. 14, Shafaqat Ahmed, the military commander for Multan said at a news conference today. A third flood peak may hit the area at the end of the month, he said.Cotton, rice, sugarcane and maize crops have been damaged and fruit orchards have been washed away by the monsoon rains, putting at risk the government’s farm output growth target of 3.8 percent for the year that started July 1.Almost two weeks after much of the northwest was first inundated, southern Sindh province is being ravaged by water flowing down the Indus at up to 10 times the normal volume.Jacobabad, Sukkur and Larkana are among districts at risk. Low-lying areas of Hyderabad, Pakistan’s sixth-largest city, may be inundated within 24 hours.“Our protective arrangements are all in place,” said Abdul Qadir Paleejo, executive engineer at the Kotri Barrage, a dam spanning the Indus 8 kilometers (5 miles) northwest of Hyderabad, a industrial city of 1.6 million people. “We have strengthened our embankments and protective walls.”City officials began evacuating residents yesterday. The Kotri Barrage is the last dam along the swollen Indus as flood waters make their way to the sea, leaving behind a trail of unprecedented destruction.Officials say the flood’s worst damage may be done at Hyderabad, the biggest population center directly on the 3,200- kilometer long Indus River. The city is home to textile mills and assembly plants for motorcycles and cars.“The barrage has the capacity to withstand a flow of 875,000 cubic feet per second, while the incoming tide is carrying a flow of 800,000,” Paleejo said from his office at the dam. “We are hoping it will pass without causing any damage.”Pakistan said yesterday it will waive farm loans and help rebuild homes for victims of the floods as the government and aid agencies acknowledged they are unable to reach or assist many of the 14 million uprooted so far.The floods have knocked Pakistan back to the “primordial” era, the country’s ambassador to the UN, Abdullah Haroon, told journalists in New York. “Six thousand villages have been wiped from the face of the earth.”The government will announce a sweeping rehabilitation package once it completes a survey of lives lost and damage to property, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan cited Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani as saying. A cross-party committee will coordinate relief activities, he said, after visiting camps in Muzaffargarh and Layyah.The World Bank said today it will assess needs and draft a reconstruction plan for affected regions.In Baluchistan province, “our stockpiles are nearly exhausted,” and trucks hauling tents have been blocked for a week by flooded roads, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said in an e-mailed message.With more than 10,000 square kilometers (4,000 square miles) of Pakistan under water, the agency has delivered tents to people that have no dry land on which to pitch them.About 1,600 people are known to have died in Pakistan, and hundreds more in India and Afghanistan, from flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains. The death toll may jump as more inundated areas become accessible, Edhi said.Many people have died from the outbreak of diseases such as diarrhea and flood victims are in need of basic medicines, blankets and tents, Edhi said.At least 500,000 people made homeless in the northwest are seeking shelter in public buildings and tent camps erected on high ground and along roads, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement.The United States and Islamic militant groups, both pushing for influence in the world’s sixth-most populous country, have sent teams to help homeless villagers in areas of the ethnic Pashtun northwest that for two years have been combat zones.Pak-Arab Refinery’s plant at Multan, the nation’s biggest refinery, has been shut as a precaution due to the floods and may start supplying fuel within a week, company spokesman Saad Husain said by phone from Karachi. Natural gas output has fallen after floods forced the closure of a well at the Qadirpur field.The U.S. yesterday pledged an additional $20 million in emergency aid, bringing its total promised to $55 million, State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley told reporters.Australia said today its air force will send two C-17 Globemaster aircraft this week to deliver emergency supplies."August 3, 2010: "TRescue teams in northern Pakistan are battling to reach tens of thousands of people cut off by monsoon flooding.While water is receding in some areas, many communities remain cut off by the region's worst flooding for 80 years.Unicef said 3m people had been affected and more than 1,400 had been killed. The government said some 27,000 people remained trapped and awaiting help.Renewed rain on Tuesday slowed the relief effort, with criticism rising of the pace of the government response.In the Swat Valley, where thousands are still rebuilding after a major military operation against the Taliban during 2009, the flooding has brought down bridges and left communities cut off."The civil administration is totally zero in helping," one medical student, Abdullah, told the BBC."There [are] no aid agencies here at the moment - I haven't seen anyone, because more than 25 bridges have been swept away. These are the metal bridges for carrying transport." The Malakand region, which includes Swat, is among the worst-affected areas. Villages in Malakand have suffered heavy casualties, with roads and bridges washed away.Adnan Khan, a spokesman for the disaster management authority in the worst-affected province, Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa, told Reuters news agency that logistics were now an immense challenge."The entire infrastructure we built in the last 50 years has been destroyed," he said.The BBC's Lyse Doucet, in Islamabad, says the flooding would be a challenge in any country, but is a growing crisis for a country like Pakistan, already suffering economic woes and a Taliban insurgency.The return of monsoon rains has grounded helicopters and raised fears of renewed flooding.Forecasters said moderate to heavy rain would continue in the north-west and in southern provinces of Punjab and Sindh over the coming days."Enhanced monsoon activity" is also expected to continue during the first two weeks of August.Just as emergency services and the army said they were making some headway, the rains have come again. That has meant an immediate suspension of helicopter flights to stranded people.We've had about two hours of very heavy downpours. It has just eased up but more are expected in the coming hours - floodwaters could rise again and rivers will burst their banks again. Aid operations will have to be suspended for even longer.There are many areas the army admits that it has not reached at all. There are several valleys in the north-west of Pakistan where they do not know how many people have died or how much destruction there is. Time is now crucial for those people waiting for aid, who do not yet have food or clean water.The army had hoped that the initial rescue operation could be over in 10 days, but says rebuilding the damaged areas could take more than six months.Local official Mian Iftikhar Hussain said rescue teams were trying to reach 27,000 stranded people, including 1,500 tourists in the Swat Valley.But the biggest challenge for the emergency services is access, as so many areas had their transport and communication links destroyed and are now isolated.There are also concerns that yet more places could flood: a warning was issued to villages close to the Warsak Dam overnight, but no evacuation order was issued.The Pakistani military says it has committed 30,000 troops and dozens of helicopters to the relief effort, but winching individuals to safety is a slow process.Unconfirmed reports say that Islamist groups, some accused of having links to the Taliban, have been providing aid to many of the victims.Some survivors have complained that the government has responded slowly; several hundred people protested in the city of Peshawar, where homeless survivors have crammed into temporary shelters, and there have been angry scenes in Swat. In Nowshera district one flood victim, Faisal Islam, told the Associated Press: "We need tents. Just look around. This is the only shirt I have. Everything else is buried."Aid agencies say the risk of water-borne diseases spreading will remain high until the floodwaters fully recede. Mr Hussain, the regional information minister, said there were reports of cholera emerging in the Swat Valley.What aid is arriving in the flood zone is in high demand Ahmed Farah Shadoul, the World Health Organization's acting head in Pakistan, told the BBC it was essential to act against the spread of a number of infections, including diarrhoeal diseases, skin problems, eye problems, malaria, fevers and measles.The UN children's agency Unicef said more than a million children needed emergency aid.Dr Shadoul said he had received reports of people being bitten by snakes, and said WHO had provided anti-venom in some regions.Food is scarce in the area and water supplies have been contaminated by the floods.Unicef says it has been working with the Pakistani authorities to repair wells and provide chlorine tablets for drinking water.Governments around the world have pledged millions of dollars in aid, but there has been no decision yet on whether to launch a global appeal for aid." "ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The worst floods in memory in Pakistan have devastated the lives of more than 3 million people, a U.N. spokesman said on Tuesday, while outrage over the unpopular government's response to the suffering spreads.The catastrophe, which started almost a week ago and has killed more than 1,400 people, is likely to deepen as more rains are expected and a breakout of water-borne diseases such as cholera could create a health crisis.It has also called once again into question the leadership of President Asif Ali Zardari, who is already juggling a Taliban insurgency and chronic power cuts in the nuclear-armed U.S. ally.Poorly resourced Pakistani authorities are struggling to help flood victims, many of whom have lost everything and say they received no warnings that raging waters were heading their way.Anger was palpable in towns such as Charssada. A Reuters reporter saw people attacking trucks distributing relief items. Police then charged at them with batons.Bistma Bibi, 65, who lost two grandsons in the floods, accused state relief workers of only helping friends or relatives. "I came here at 5 o'clock in the morning. I did my best. I begged and fought but got nothing. They're giving them (supplies) to their people," she said."July 29, 2010: "Peshawar, Pakistan - At least 113 people have died and thousands more have been made homeless by flash floods triggered by torrential rains that hit north-west Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir, officials said on Thursday.The army has been summoned to tackle the problems caused by the flood waters, with Swat and Malakand districts the hardest hit."I can confirm the death of 91 people in the last two days in different areas," senior minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Bashir Ahmad Bilour, told reporters.More than 60 people were killed in Malakand alone while Swat itself was cut off as heavy rains swept away several bridges and disrupted communications." "Rivers burst their banks during monsoon rains, washing away streets, battering a dam and killing at least 60 people in the most severe floods in decades in northwest Pakistan, officials have said. Hundreds of thousands more were stranded as rescue workers struggled to reach far-flung villages.In the Peshawar area, two elderly men clung to a fence post and each other as a raging torrent swept over their heads, footage on Pakistan's Dunya TV showed. It was unclear whether they survived.People were forced to trudge through knee-deep water in some streets in the Swat Valley. A newly constructed part of a dam in the Charsadda district collapsed, while crops were soaked in many areas. At least 10 people died near Peshawar when their homes collapsed.Dozens of people were reported missing, including at least nine Chinese construction workers in the Kohistan area. Some 200 other Chinese workers were trapped amid the downpour, said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister for Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa, the province that has been deluged.He said it was the worst floods in the north-west since 1929 and estimated 400,000 people were stranded around the north-west."A rescue operation using helicopters cannot be conducted due to the bad weather, while there are only 48 rescue boats available for rescue," he said, noting weather forecasts predict more rain over the next day.Monsoon season often leads to widespread flooding in Pakistan, and the poorest residents are often most at risk because flood-prone areas are all they can afford.The torrential rain this week is a suspected factor in a plane crash in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, that killed 152 people on Wednesday""At least 43 killed as a result of monsoon rains and flooding across the country" 3695 106 FL-2010-000145-BFA Burkino Faso 2010-07-21T00:00:00.000 2010-07-25T00:00:00.000 5 14 20000 Heavy Rain 1 160800 5.9052560487484511 -1.39 12.94 0 74 1 251 2010-07-21T00:00:00.000 891 3163 July 25, 2010: "At least 20,000 people are homeless and one man is dead after devastating floods in Burkina Faso this week, according to the government.The man died while trying to save someone else, Prime Minister Tertius Zongo announced after an emergency meeting on Saturday.Officials say that the figures are "provisional", with several villages in the east of the country under water after two dams broke.The rains lasted from Tuesday to Thursday but thousands have been driven from their homes and at least one village, Mani, is still cut off from the rest of the world with rescue workers unable to reach it."In villages where it is possible we are trying to house the homeless in schools and high up because everything is flooded," provincial governor Théodore Kilimité Hien told the AFP news agency.The air force would join rescue efforts on Sunday, he said.In September 2009 eight people were killed and 150,000 made homeless by floods in and around the capital, Ougadougou." Flood,Burkina Faso: Flood continuing since last week hit the north-central regions, killing 14, affecting over 31,000. Regional government is continuing search and rescue efforts. 3694 105 Saudi Arabia Mountainous areas of Asir, Jazan, Najran and Taif 2010-07-23T00:00:00.000 2010-07-25T00:00:00.000 3 14 Torrential Rain 1 346200 6.0164483182590374 41.92 21.51 1 74 1 250 2010-07-23T00:00:00.000 891 3162 July 25, 2010: "Fourteen people have been killed in flash floods in Saudi Arabia.The floods also took another person away when they hit several mountainous districts of southern Saudi Arabia. He is still missing.After days of heavy rain in , the country's civil defence members have taken over to rescue people and recover bodies.They have also supplied food, water, and medicine to the stricken areas where flooding has washed away some roads." 3693 104 Viet Nam Northern Viet Nam, Ha Giang province, Lao Cai province 2010-07-23T00:00:00.000 2010-07-25T00:00:00.000 3 8 12400 Tropical Storm Chanthu 1 68320 5.3116691124006108 105.95 22.11 0 73 1 249 2010-07-23T00:00:00.000 890 3161 July 25, 2010: "HANOI, Vietnam - Vietnam's government says floods and landslides triggered by remnants of Typhoon Chanthu killed eight people and left two others missing in the north.The national floods and storms control department said on its website Sunday seven people, including a 3-year-old girl, died in Ha Giang province, and a 2-year-old girl was swept away by floods in neighbouring Lao Cai province.Two people were reported missing in Cao Bang province when a mine they were working in collapsed.Typhoon Chanthu killed three people in southern China before weakening into a tropical storm Friday after making landfall in Guangdong province.." 3692 103 China Current flooding is concentrated in Hubei, Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces. Dead and displaced entries are estimates for summer, 2010 flooding total to date 2010-07-23T00:00:00.000 2010-08-03T00:00:00.000 12 1100 300000 Monsoonal Rain 2 1049000 7.4009867299051635 111.07 31.58 1 73 1 248 2010-07-23T00:00:00.000 890 3160 August 2, 2010: "Korean Ethnic Village," attracts thousands of tourists every year. It lies in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture on China's border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). More than 90 percent of the villagers are of Korean ethnicity.On Monday, flood waters had largely retreated, however road traffic to the village was still paralyzed."Not a single villager died in the floods, as village leaders, after receiving the flood alert, went door-to-door half an hour before the floods hit," Piao said.Even though no one died, the floods have left many villagers at a loss.An older woman, traumatized after losing her property and other belongings, was uncertain about her."I don't know how long we will stay in the camps. Rebuilding the village will be difficult," she said adding she had not seen such a big flood in her life.Hongqi Village was hit by flood waters from the Gudong River, the source of Songhua River, which is still swollen due to lingering downpours." The U.S. State Department issued a Travel Alert for China, warning U.S. citizens residing or traveling in China about the ongoing threat of flooding in many places in the country and advising U.S. citizens in the region to monitor local weather reports and use caution when travelling in flooded areas.Since June, more than 1,000 people have died or are missing as a result of flooding, landslides, and collapsed roads and bridges caused by torrential rains. Over three-quarters of the provinces in China have been affected, with Shaanxi, Sichuan and Henan Provinces most heavily impacted since mid-July. More than 25 major rivers are over flood stage. While less-developed, remote rural areas have been most affected, some U.S. citizen tourists have reported travel disruptions in other areas. Trains have been stopped or diverted, roads closed and flights delayed by severe storms. Travelers should expect further closings, detours, and danger from flooding and landslides if the rains persist."July 30, 2010: "Over 30,000 people were trapped in floodwaters after torrential downpour inundated a northeastern town of China, snapping all communication links to the area.More than 200 rescue workers were dispatched to the flooded Kouqian town in the Jilin province, where the Yongji County Government is located, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted officials as saying.The floods in Jilin province have so far killed 13 people and affected 150,000 others, the news agency added.More than 80 passengers and station workers were trapped inside the Kouqian railway station after the Xingshan Reservoir overflowed.Zhu Qiwen, deputy chief of the Meteorological Bureau of Jilin Province, said rainstorms in the upper reaches of Wende River, a branch of Songhua River, had led to the flooding, as precipitation over the past 24 hours exceeded 200 mm in some areas.On Wednesday, the rising water hit a chemical plant and washed 7,000 containers filled with explosive chemicals into the Songhua River, state media said Thursday. Some of them contained trimethyl chloro silicane, a colorless, flammable liquid with a pungent smell.The Songhua River is the main source of drinking water for Jilin, the province's second-largest city.Emergency teams mobilized to recover the spilled fluid have so far recovered 400 containers. The teams tested the water and have determined it to be chemical-free, a government spokesman said.An explosion at a plant owned by the Jilin Petroleum and Chemical Company in November 2005 caused 100 tons of potentially lethal benzene to spill into the Songhua River. Following widespread panic, officials were forced to shut-down water supplies to nearly 4 million people, including the city of Harbin.The spillage caused substantial environmental damage in the Russian Far East, as a huge slick of chemicals was carried down the Amur." July 25, 2010: "China has evacuated more than 100,000 people as a river burst its banks in flood-hit regions along the swollen Yangtze river.China has been dealing with severe flooding this year, with at least 1,100 people killed or missing.The current flooding is concentrated in Hubei, Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces, where further rains are expected. At least 100,000 have been evacuated from their homes in south-western Sichuan province after torrential rains caused waters to rise sharply in the Jialing River.The Jialing is a major tributary of the Yangtze.In Shaanxi province 6,400 people had to leave their homes when the Luofu river burst its banks in the city of Huayin.The Luofu feeds into the Yellow river, China's second-longest river.In Hubei, floods have killed six people, left eight others missing around the city of Yichang near the Three Gorges Dam." "Rain-triggered floods and landslides have left at least 34 people dead, 28 others missing and forced the evacuation of more than 12,400 people in the past two days in west and central China, local authorities said.Additionally, flooding in parts of China may worsen as the National Meteorological Center forecast on Saturday that torrential rains would continue to pound the nation's central and southwest regions through Sunday.Water levels on the upper reaches of the Yangtze, the nation's longest river, are at their highest since 1987 and water levels on its middle and lower reaches are above warning levels for the first time since 2003.Flooding was temporarily eased Saturday on the Yangtze River as the Three Gorges Dam saw water levels fall slightly from its crest stage, the nation's flood control authority said Saturday.However, it also warned that the water level at the dam would rise again and exceed the record high reached Friday.Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has ordered local authorities to prepare for "more serious floods and disasters", as some major rivers saw water rising above their warning levels.Wen said China was at a "crucial stage" for flood control during an inspection tour in central China's Hubei Province that began July 23. Floods in China in 2010 have left 742 people dead and 367 missing, as of Friday morning, in 28 Chinese provinces, regions and municipalities.The death toll increased by more than 34 during the past two days.In southwest China's Sichuan Province, four people are dead and 16 missing after torrential rains caused flooding Saturday in one township, local authorities said.Rainstorms pelted Chenhe Township in Tongjiang County for 10 hours Saturday beginning at midnight, triggering floods that swamped all one-floor houses in the worst-hit Chang Town. Roads leading into the town were cut off, as were telecommunications and power supplies, said officials in the county's emergency response office.More than 3,100 people evacuated their homes and were relocated to warehouses and tents on higher ground, said Li Gang, head of the county government's information office.Rescuers continue searching for residents reported as missing.As the rain had ended by noon, floodwaters are receding from the town, he added.In the northwestern province of Gansu, thirteen people died in a landslide caused by heavy rains in Pingliang City early Saturday, the provincial government's response office said in a statement.Also, in neighboring Shaanxi Province more than 9,300 people were forced to flee their homes early Saturday as the Luofu River burst its banks.The 50-meter breach widened to 80 meters in the afternoon.More than 500 people were battling to strengthen the remaining riverbanks and fill the breach, said Dang Decai, Party secretary of Huayin City, where the breach occurred.Shaanxi is among the worst-hit provinces, with 100 people dead and 149 missing since July 14, the provincial government said in a statement late Saturday.In central Hubei Province, mountain torrents and river floods have left 13 people dead and 10 missing since late Friday.Floods have also killed four people and left two missing in central China's Henan Province during the past two days." 3691 102 Indonesia Kalimantan 2010-07-23T00:00:00.000 2010-07-25T00:00:00.000 3 21 15000 Heavy Rain 1 106500 5.5044708624944185 114.97 -2.14 0 72 1 247 2010-07-23T00:00:00.000 889 3159 July 25, 2010: "Overflowing river submerges 3,000 houses, kills two Floodwaters from overflowing Satui River in South Kalimantan have submerged at least 3,000 houses in the neighboring regencies of Tanah Laut and Tanah Bumbu over the last two days.The local social service agency received reports from local people on Saturday that two residents of Sungai Danau village in Tanah Bumbu, identified as Jupri, 25, and Galuh, 35, were killed after being drowned in the raging river.Head of the agency for emergency and assistance Achmadi said the number of fatalities remained uncertain. Field workers reported six people had been missing, four of them were found death.“We don’t yet the identity of the victims. They were drowned in the river,” Achmadi said as quoted by kompas.com.The flood followed three days of heavy rainfall, which was exacerbated by the sea rise."Rain-triggered landslides and floods swept through villages in Indonesia's provinces of Maluku and South Kalimantan, killing at least 21 people, officials said on Sunday.The worst happened in Buru Island in eastern province of Maluku, where a landslide hit scores of houses, killing 18 villagers, said Priyadi Kardono, the spokesman for Indonesia's Disaster Management Agency.Seven other villagers were injured in the Friday landslide in the southern part of Buru, an island that once served as a prison camp for communists in the 1970s.The bodies of the dead have already been evacuated, Kardono said.Meanwhile, in South Kalimantan, an Indonesian province on Borneo island, a flood killed three people and left one missing, said Surat Wiyono of the local Search and Rescue Agency.More than 3,000 families were affected by the flood that began on Saturday.Dozens of people are killed every year in Indonesia, a vast tropical archipelagic nation with more than 17,000 islands that are prone to landslides and floods during the annual monsoon rains. 3690 101 Nepal Southern Nepal 2010-07-25T00:00:00.000 2010-07-25T00:00:00.000 1 12 Heavy Rain 1 132600 5.122543524068754 84.78 28.35 0 72 1 246 2010-07-25T00:00:00.000 889 3158 July 25, 2010: Kathmandu, Jul 25 (PTI) At least 12 people have died in various districts of Nepal due to floods and landslides over the past 24 hours, officials said.Five teenagers died yesterday in southern Nepal's Sunsari district as they got drowned in a pond.Similarly, floods and landslides claimed the lives two people in Rupandehi district and one each in Jhapa, Rautahat, Siraha, Ilam and Parvat districts, police said" 3689 100 USA Eastern Iowa, northern Illinois 2010-07-25T00:00:00.000 2010-07-25T00:00:00.000 1 1 500 Dam Failure, Heavy Rain 1 214900 5.332236415491443 -91 41.06 0 72 1 245 2010-07-25T00:00:00.000 889 3157 July 25, 2010: "Warning sirens are blowing in the small eastern Iowa town of Hopkinton as water continues to flow through a dam on Lake Delhi.Torrential rains have been causing the lake to rise in recent days. Floodwaters from the Maquoketa River have eaten a 30-foot-wide gap into the earthen dam. The lake's level has now dropped as much as 45 feet, with water flowing into the area below the dam. Water was beginning to surround homes in Hopkinton, a town of about 700 people. Emergency officials in Delaware County say it'll likely cause "significant losses of property." A meteorologist with the National Weather Service says areas below the dam will see an "initial wave from the sudden shot of water" caused by the dam's failure. That will be followed by a secondary crest as the high water above the dam made its way downstream." Heavy rains across the Midwest have flooded parts of Chicago interstates and commuter tracks and put a big hole in a dam in Iowa. In Chicago, officials say more than 7 inches of rain fell early yesterday, inundating the sewer system and overwhelming waterways. West of Chicago in suburban Westchester, crews in boats searched for people who were stranded in their flooded homes or trapped in cars under viaducts.In eastern Iowa, the Lake Delhi dam failed as rising floodwater from the Maquoketa River (meh-KOHK'-eh-tuh) ate a 30-foot-wide hole in the earthen structure. The water poured into the river 45 feet below, threatening the small town of Hopkinton. Jack Klaus, a spokesman with the Delaware County emergency management office, predicts "significant losses of property" in Hopkinton. 3688 99 China Hong Kong 2010-07-21T00:00:00.000 2010-07-23T00:00:00.000 3 1 15000 Tropical Storm Chanthu 1.5 10510 4.6748152298035857 114.01 22.67 0 72 1 244 2010-07-21T00:00:00.000 889 3156 July 23, 2010: "Typhoon Chanthu, reported to be one of the worst storms to strike Hong Kong in 30 years, flooded 3,000 homes yesterday and is now moving across southeast China. At least one person was killed in the flooding. Torrential rains slammed Hong Kong yesterday, washing away a man and flooding villages, just a couple of hours after the Hong Kong Observatory lifted warnings for tropical storm Chanthu. The intense, heavy rain system struck dozens of villages in Tai Pom which caused flooding in over 3000 homes and resulted in at least one death. Rescue workers came to assist the thousands of families who had been trapped by flood waters for hours. Motorists and workers were caught by surprise in the raging torrent, (additional video footage) which caused traffic to come to a standstill throughout the city. A Government Flying Service helicopter was called in to assist the search following reports that a person had been swept away, in what is said to be the worst flooding in 30 years. Residents raced for high ground until the storm had passed. The Hong Kong Observatory first issued an amber warning yesterday afternoon but then shifted to the red and black warning signals. All rainstorm signals were lowered at 9pm. The four-lane Choi Hung Road's Sun Po Kong (shown in the pictures and this video) section was closed for 1 1/2 hours from 6.30pm. Bus passengers were trapped by the meter-deep floodwater and police and fire department rescue teams were called in to assist. Typhoon Chanthu landed on the western coast of Guangdong at 2pm yesterday. Meteorologists at the Observatory expect Chanthu to move northwest at about 14 kilometers per hour and weaken gradually. More rain is expected in Hong Kong over the weekend. Chanthu is bearing down on China today with even more heavy rains, flood damage as well as danger of loss of life anticipated by police and fire rescue teams throughout this region. 3687 98 Pakistan Baluchistan province, Barkhan District 2010-07-21T00:00:00.000 2010-07-23T00:00:00.000 3 60 Torrential Rain 1.5 14180 4.8048887446223913 66.95 30.51 0 72 1 243 2010-07-21T00:00:00.000 889 3155 July 23, 2010: "Quetta, Pakistan (AHN) - At least 60 people were killed by flash floods triggered by heavy rains in the country’s southwestern Balochistan province, officials confirmed on Friday.Fifty-five people in Barkhan district and five others died in Sidi district, Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Director General Hasan Baloch reportedly confirmed.More than 10,000 people are reported to have been affected. About 70 persons are still missing.Continuing rainfall multiplied problems of the people in the areas, depriving them of timely assistance. Three army helicopters loaded with relief goods could not fly to the affected areas because of bad weather, local media reported.The rain started to fall early Thursday and lasted several hours. The local meteorological office said that it recorded 2.2 inches of rain during the storm. Train service has been suspended as the railway track was swept away in five different sectors.Several villages have swept away due to the flash floods. Torrential rains in Barkhan district of Balochistan broke all previous records of 50 years, according reports" 3686 97 Philippines Luzon, Laguna Province, 27 out of 30 towns flooded 2010-07-12T00:00:00.000 2010-07-15T00:00:00.000 4 23 Tropical Storm "Basyang" (Conson) 1.5 34780 5.3194808280503372 121.47 17.100000000000001 0 72 1 242 2010-07-12T00:00:00.000 889 3154 July 15, 2010: "Laguna province was placed under a state of calamity after most of its towns were hit by floods caused by tropical cyclone "Basyang" (Conson).Governor Emilio Ramon Ejercito said the provincial government was forced to declare a state of calamity because 27 out of its 30 towns had been flooded."Nag-declare tayo ng state of calamity kahapon ... Napakaraming bayan dito, 27 out of 30 towns ang binaha kaya napakaraming nasalanta ng bagyo (We declared a state of calamity Wednesday. So many areas had been affected, about 27 of 30 towns were flooded)," Ejercito said in an interview on dzBB radio.He said that as of Thursday morning, many of the families brought to evacuation centers Wednesday had started to return to their homes.Commercial activity also resumed early Thursday as the weather improved." 3685 96 Yemen Different parts of Northwest Yemen 2010-07-10T00:00:00.000 2010-07-15T00:00:00.000 6 15 Torrential Rain 1.5 176300 6.2004948217386469 47.92 16.73 1 72 1 241 2010-07-10T00:00:00.000 889 3153 July 15, 2010: "Sana’a (Yemen), July 15 (DPA) At least 15 people were killed after torrential rainfall triggered flooding and landslides in different parts of northwest Yemen Wednesday, police said.They said seven people died after floods swept away the car in which they were travelling in the Mashanna district of Ibb province, about 180 km south of the capital Sana’a.Five people were killed and four injured when a rockslide destroyed a dam in neighbouring Dhamar province, officials said.Massive flooding from the collapsed dam washed away a health centre, farms and roads.In a separate incident in the same area, an elderly woman died and a man went missing - and was presumed dead - after their car was washed away.Another man drowned after he was trapped in a flooded street in Sana’a.Yemen’s Meteorological Authority said heavy downpours were expected to last for another week in north-western and southern parts of the country " 3684 95 Mexico Highway from Monterey to Nuevo Laredo on U.S. border 2010-07-01T00:00:00.000 2010-07-14T00:00:00.000 14 Heavy Rain 1.5 68350 6.1569578136377601 -100.55 25.58 1 71 1 240 2010-07-01T00:00:00.000 888 3152 July 15, 2010: "NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico, July 14 (Reuters) - Thousands of U.S. and Mexican trucks hauling goods across the border were backed up on Wednesday after severe flooding blocked a key trade route in northern Mexico, truckers and authorities said.Some 11,000 trucks were stuck between the Mexican border cities of Nuevo Laredo and Monterrey and the Texan city of Laredo as days of rain from Hurricane Alex and a second tropical storm swamped the highway from Monterrey, Mexico's national truckers association said.The road that was shut since Friday was partially reopened on Wednesday but water levels were still impeding many trucks from moving, Mexican media said."About 40 percent of trucks are stuck on the U.S. side and the rest are in between Monterrey and Nuevo Laredo, on the roadside or still at factories," said association spokesman Ivan Lugo."It was not clear what the full economic impact of the blockage would be, but Nuevo Laredo Mayor Ramon Garza said it was substantial. The route carries some 40 percent of trade over the U.S.-Mexico border."This represents millions and millions of dollars lost," said Garza.Supermarkets in Nuevo Laredo were largely empty because food trucks could not reach the city. "A lot of things are scarce, most of all fresh produce," resident Alma Rosa Vela said.A tropical depression dumped heavy rains on the Mexico-Texas border on July 8 days after Hurricane Alex flooded the region. Alex battered Monterrey as a Category 2 storm, killing 12 people, ripping apart highways and causing $700 million of damage. (Additional reporting by Caroline Stauffer and Tim Gaynor in Mexico City; editing by Mohammad Zargham)""U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATEOffice of the SpokesmanJuly 13, 2010QUESTION TAKEN AT THE JULY 13, 2010 DAILY PRESS BRIEFINGMEXICO: Aid to Mexico Due to FloodingQuestion: Is the U.S. providing assistance to Mexico in wake of the flooding that has occurred? If so, what assistance are we providing?Answer: The United States has provided $100,000 in disaster assistance to support the local purchase and delivery of emergency relief supplies for disaster-affected populations in Mexico. In addition, a five-person USAID assessment team is currently on the ground to monitor humanitarian conditions and coordinate the U.S. Government (USG) response. The U.S. and Mexican sections of the International Boundary and Water Commission have been and will continue to coordinate flood control measures in the Rio Grande river basin." 3683 94 Sudan Eastern Sudan, Agige district; Jonglie State 2010-07-10T00:00:00.000 2010-08-11T00:00:00.000 33 33 10000 Heavy Rain 1.5 100400 6.6963389117425693 36.700000000000003 18.7 1 70 1 239 2010-07-10T00:00:00.000 887 3151 August 11, 2010: "Heavy rain and floods across Sudan have driven thousands from their homes in July. The hardest hit are Red Sea state in eastern Sudan and Jonglei state in Southern Sudan where more than 10,000 have been left homeless. Some of the affected areas are inaccessible because of the flooded roads.The rain destroyed newly cultivated crops, putting the livelihood of thousands of people at risk. Affected populations are in urgent need of tents and sleeping materials, as well as food and clean water. This year’s heavy rain follows a poor rainy season in 2009. Humanitarian agencies predict that floods will continue until early September, leading to more displacement and harvest ruin. Despite the floods, drought remains to be a long term-problem in the country." July 20, 2010 "Heavy rains and floods across Sudan have killed at least 16 people and driven thousands from their homes, aid groups and government officials said on Tuesday.Thirteen people died and 11 went missing when flood waters swept down an empty river bed near Agig village in Sudan's eastern Red Sea state last week, said officials from the United Nations and Sudan's Red Crescent aid group.More than 10,000 people have been left homeless in three counties of south Sudan's Jonglei state in the last week, said Elijah Magot Anyang from the state information ministry."There are lots of heavy rains. It has left a lot of water on the ground. Cars are not moving outside the towns and people are suffering. More than 2,000 households have been affected ... The rains have destroyed the newly cultivated crops," he added.According to U.N. estimates, each household represents on average five people. U.N. officials in south Sudan said they could not confirm the Jonglei figures.Heavy rains have also flooded land and some refugee camps across North and West Darfur states, said the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).Three children drowned after falling into trenches filled with floodwater in Abu Shouk refugee camp last week near the capital of North Darfur El Fasher, said OCHA spokesman Samuel Hendricks.This year's heavy downpours follow a poor rainy season in 2009, which the United Nations and international donors had said could lead to a severe drought. OCHA said on Tuesday it was too early to say the latest rains had ended that threat." July 27, 2010: "At least seven (7) of eleven (11) counties in Sudan’s Jonglei state experienced severe floods, an assessment by Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC) released on Wednesday and obtained by the Sudan Tribune revealed.At least five villages are demolished in one County. Shelters, schools and dykes and other flood related damages were reported.Gabriel Deng, the Jonglei State Director for SSRRC described the flooding in Ayod, Bor, Duk, Akobo, Nyiror, Pibor and Twic East Counties as "alarming". “The heavy rains have caused alarming rising water level…in Jonglei Counties,” Deng said in a press statement.“The situation is expected to worsen in the August as the rains [are due] to intensify,” he added.The State officials “appeal to humanitarian agencies and donors” and argued what he describes as “contingency plans for Jonglei State” before a disastrous condition is created.The SSRRC is the government of Southern Sudan body entrusted to monitor humanitarians’ conditions.Commissioners of Akobo and Pibor Counties had made similar flooding warnings in separate interviews with UN sponsored Miraya FM radio in Juba recently.However, the magnitude of the flood is murky since most of the areas in Jonglei are not accessible by road during the rainy season.Pibor and Akobo Counties in Jonglei State have reported substantial crops and livestock damages. There are no reports of human casualties.Akot Maze Adikir, the Commissioner of Pibor County, said five villages were smashed in Gurumruk and Lekuangole along with unspecified number of domestic animals.Akobo Commissioner Goi Jooyul Yool put the number of people displaced in his County at 10,000 following mid-July rains that was amplified by Monday pouring rain.In Bor town, the capital of Jonglei State, more than half of residential blocks are inaccessibly by cars. Block, 2 and 6 residents now walk barefooted with trousers rolled to dodge unnecessary mud. In less affected areas gumboots are still appropriately comfortable.This year flood is repeat of 2008 Nile River overflow that affected Baidit Payam in Bor County. At the time, lorry drivers and boat peddlers were combined to the same traffic zone when roads were sunk to semi streams. (ST)" July 15, 2010: "At least 33 people were killed and several others were missing following powerful floods in eastern Sudan, police said on Thursday. "Thirty-three people died, several are reported missing," said Ali Sukar, police chief of Agige district, following days of rain caused flooding in Sudan's Red Sea state."Many head of cattle also perished," Sukar added.Ten days of downpour had flooded villages close to Tokar, an area about 150 kilometres (93 miles) from Port Sudan, the main city in eastern Sudan, which also experienced heavy rainfall on Sunday, residents said."It is not raining today but the water level remains high," Sukar said."State services are providing assistance to the population and looking for the missing. We need help from humanitarian organisations," he added.Dozens of people are killed each year during the rainy season in Sudan, Africa's largest country where many live in mud brick homes" 3682 93 India Bihar; 100 villages in Aurai, Katra and Gaighat blocks of Muzaffarpur 2010-07-12T00:00:00.000 2010-07-14T00:00:00.000 3 5000 Monsoonal Rain 1 192700 5.7620029693751151 86.2 25.59 0 69 1 238 2010-07-12T00:00:00.000 886 3150 July 14, 2010: "Thousands of people in Bihar fled their homes Wednesday as floodwaters entered over 100 villages and threatened to inundate many others.Nearly 100 villages in Aurai, Katra and Gaighat blocks of Muzaffarpur have been inundated since Monday. Water also entered dozens of villages in Bagaha district after levels rose in all the major rivers following heavy rains in the state and the catchment areas of Nepal.According to the Central Water Commission, the water level in major rivers - Kosi, Gandak, Budhi Gandak, Kamlabalan, Adhwara and Bagmati - has increased in the last 48 hours.'All the rivers are in full spate following heavy rains. Some rivers may cross the red mark late Wednesday or Thursday,' an official said.Reports reaching here said people were fleeing their homes in Muzaffarpur, Bagaha, Saharsa and Purnea districts.'Heavy rains reportedly damaged embankments in Muzaffarpur and Bagaha. The district officials have initiated the move to check erosion,' said an official of the water resources department.More water is expected to enter the villages as the embankment of the Bagmati river in Muzaffarpur and the Gandak in Bagaha have been threatened. The rising water level in rivers is putting pressure on embankments.'All engineers have been directed to be ready with necessary equipment and boulders to face any situation and to protect the embankments,' an engineer said.In 2008, more than three million people were rendered homeless in Bihar when the Kosi river breached its bank upstream in Nepal and changed course. It was said to be the worst flood in Bihar in the last 50 years " 3681 92 China East China, Jiangxi, Anhui provinces, Yangtze River 2010-07-07T00:00:00.000 2010-07-23T00:00:00.000 17 10000 Torrential Rain 1.5 235500 6.7785310918988699 115.89 29.14 1 69 1 237 2010-07-07T00:00:00.000 886 3149 July 14, 2010: "NANCHANG - More than 10,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes in east China's Jiangxi Province Wednesday morning after heavy rainfalls triggered flash floods and overtopping of three reservoirs, flood control authorities said. The intense rainfall hit the province's northern areas early Wednesday, triggering flash floods and swollen reservoirs.Water has spilled over dikes at three reservoirs in Poyang County, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said. Workers are rushing to dig and widen emergency waterways to lower the water levels in the swollen reservoirs. No casualties have been reported so far, according to the headquarters. Jiangxi's meteorological department Wednesday morning issued a red alert -- the highest level -- warning of the torrential rains. Heavy downpours in parts of central and eastern China have caused waterlines in major lakes and tributaries of the Yangtze River to rise to alarming levels. In east China's Anhui Province Wednesday, soldiers used explosives to blast part of a leaking dike on a swollen branch of the Yangtze River, preventing the flooding of riverbank villages. Apart from central and eastern provinces, heavy rainfall has also pounded parts of western China's Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, Chongqing and Yunnan regions, according to the National Meteorological Center (NMC). The NMC Wednesday morning reiterated its orange alert -- the second highest level warning -- for the storms, saying the rains would continue through to Thursday. China has a four-color coded rainstorm warning system. Red is the most serious level, followed by orange, yellow and blue. Parts of China experience heavy rains every summer, but this year's rains have been particularly devastating. Since the beginning of July, torrential rains and severe flooding has left 107 people dead, 59 missing and forced the evacuation of nearly one million people in ten Chinese provinces, mostly along the Yangtze River, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Tuesday."Chinese soldiers Wednesday blasted a dyke on a swollen tributary of the Yangtze in a bid to prevent flooding of riverbank villages.The soldiers had planned to demolish the Qingcao township dyke on the Dasha river Tuesday, but were delayed after torrential rains snapped the explosives' blasting wires.Soldiers, however, managed to repair the wires and blast the dyke Wednesday, when water levels subsided and weather improved, Zhang Jun, an army official in charge of the disaster relief work in Anhui province, said.Water levels at the dyke reduced after the blast, Xinhua reported.Days of torrential rains caused many leaks on dykes on the Dasha river and over 1,000 people living along it have been evacuated. Hundreds of armed police have been fighting the flood since July 7.The continuous downpour in Anhui province has disrupted the lives of over four million people, while more than 5,100 houses have collapsed and 17,700 others have been partially damaged in the heavy rains. The rains have also caused economic loss of more than 1.8 billion yuan ($265.5 million), according to the provincial disaster relief office." 3680 91 Japan Western and eastern Japan 2010-07-12T00:00:00.000 2010-07-13T00:00:00.000 2 Torrential Rain 1 78650 5.1967287226232868 133.63999999999999 34.69 0 68 1 236 2010-07-12T00:00:00.000 885 3148 July 13, 2010: "Downpours continued in wide areas of Japan on Tuesday due to the rainy season front, with some areas in northern Kyushu experiencing record-high rainfall. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of extremely heavy downpours in northern Kyushu and of landslides and flooding in western and eastern Japan. In Imari, Saga Prefecture, northern Kyushu, 64 millimeters of rain was recorded in an hour on Tuesday, logging record-breaking rainfall for the month of July. In the Kyushu region, the city of Tsushima in Nagasaki Prefecture has recorded rainfall of 460 mm since Saturday and Yukuhashi, Fukuoka Prefecture, has logged 360 mm. The agency said the rainy season front stretching from western to eastern Japan is expected to move toward the Sea of Japan. The agency forecast rainfall of 250 mm in northern Kyushu, 150mm in the Chugoku region, and 120 mm in the Kinki, Tokai and Kanto-Koshin regions in the 24 hours through Wednesday evening" 3679 90 Bangladesh Along Brahmaputra River 2010-07-01T00:00:00.000 2010-07-13T00:00:00.000 13 600000 Monsoonal Rain 1 24990 5.5117096084332866 90.03 24 0 68 1 235 2010-07-01T00:00:00.000 885 3147 July 13, 2010: "Over 600,000 river island residents have been marooned and thousands of hectares of crops destroyed due to heavy monsoon flooding in Bangladesh. Heavy monsoon rains throughout the Himalayan region tend to cause rivers flowing southwards into low-lying Bangladesh to overflow. “The flood situation is not improving. However, we are doing everything we can to assist those affected,” Minister of Food and Disaster Management Muhammad Abdur Razzaque told IRIN on 13 July. The `chars’ or river islands - prone to acute erosion and flooding and a by-product of the rivers’ hydro-morphological dynamics - periodically submerge during the country’s annual monsoon flood season, which runs from the second week of June to mid-August. According to local authorities, access to those affected on or along the Brahmaputra river - the main river that divides the country into east and west before emptying into the Bay of Bengal - remains problematic. " 3678 89 China Chongqing, Fujian, Sichuan, Jiangxi, Hunan and Qinghai, southern China 2010-07-01T00:00:00.000 2010-07-15T00:00:00.000 15 600 2400000 Torrential Rain 1 575200 6.9359101364305076 113.17 28 1 68 1 234 2010-07-01T00:00:00.000 885 3146 July 15, 2010: " Beijing - Chinese government experts fear that "massive flooding" could hit central areas along the Yangtze river in the next few weeks, state media reported on Thursday, as authorities said floods had already left some 600 dead and 200 missing this year.The continuation of the heavy rain battering much of southern China could result in "massive flooding" similar to the floods that left more than 4,000 people dead in 1998, Wang Jingquan, head of flood control for the Yangtze River Water Resources Committee, told the official China Daily newspaper."Although the current situation along the Yangtze River has yet to reach the danger level, it is definitely at a crucial point," Wang said.Monitoring up to Wednesday suggested that water levels in all sections of the Yangtze exceeded the average level for mid-July, he was quoted as saying.The water level at the Yangtze's Three Gorges Dam had reached 150 metres, 5 metres above the alert level during the flood season, Wang said."We are definitely facing great challenges in flood control along the Yangtze River because heavy rainfall usually hits the river valley in July and August," he said.President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao ordered officials nationwide to "ensure the safety of the public and minimize property losses" from the floods, other reports said.Vice Premier Hui Liangyu passed on Hu and Wen's directives during a video conference on flood control along the Yangtze on Wednesday."Now it is a critical moment for flood control and relief efforts along the Yangtze River valley," Hui was quoted as telling provincial officials.Three serious floods along the Yangtze in 1975, 1983 and 1998 all occurred in July and August."If heavy rain hits the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, coupled with the continuous rainfall in the middle and lower reaches, severe flooding similar to that in 1998 will occur," Wang was quoted as saying.The 1998 floods left 4,150 people dead and forced the relocation of more than 18 million people, the government said.On Thursday, the national flood control office said floods and landslides had killed 594 people and left 212 missing this year.It said the floods destroyed 590,000 homes, inundated 6.16 millionhectares of farmland and affected 97.5 million people in 26 provinces.The office also launched a disaster control plan on Thursday for Typhoon Conson, which is expected to make landfall in the southern province of Guangdong after leaving at least 33 people dead in the Philippines.The typhoon is expected to bring torrential rain to several areas draining into the Yangtze in the next few days, and "add to the grave situation in flood control," Wang said." July 14, 2010: "Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Floods and landslides continue to cause victims in southwest China, while the bad weather and the rain continues unabated. Six people died and one is buried under the mud due to a landslide this morning in Luzhou, Xuyong County, Sichuan. In the Tibetan prefecture of Gauze also in Sichuan, because of torrential rains and a landslide this morning, seven people died and one is missing. In Xiaohe, Yunnan, a landslide today killed three people, but there are 50 more still missing. A press release from the provincial government says there are also 11 wounded, including two in very serious condition. Meanwhile, the situation of the Mian Quan dam, Qinghai, is increasingly dramatic. Last week’s rains have raised the water level to over a meter above the alert level. The water is three times normal capacity and there is a danger of overflowing, with the risk of submerging entire neighbourhoods up to a full three meters, hitting the Qinghai-Tibet railway, power plants and 205 thousand people At least 10 thousand residents of Golmud, near the dam have been evacuated to emergency camps, while workers and soldiers are working to build a drainage channel to reduce the water level in the basin." July 12, 2010: "China: Floods in southern China. Qinghai dam at riskWenquan Dam has several cracks and is filled to three times its capacity. Its flooding could hit over 205 thousand people, along with power plants and Qinghai - Tibet railway. So far at least six provinces affected, 17 million people, more than 600 000 displaced. - Torrential rain, landslides, floods have been hitting southern China for weeks. Over the next few days more rains and floods are expected. Storms have destroyed roads, bridges and highways blocking at least 16 provinces of Chongqing, Fujian, Sichuan, Jiangxi, Hunan and Qinghai. In the latter province, hundreds of workers and soldiers are working to decrease the water level of the Wenquan dam, near the city of Golmud. Several cracks have appeared in the structure that endanger the lives of over 205 thousand people. The overflow of the dam could affect power plants and especially of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, the highest in the world, located 40 km from the dam.Wenquan dam, designed to hold 70 million cubic meters of water, contains at least 230 million, three times more than normal. Yesterday, almost 10 thousand inhabitants of Golmud were evacuated and taken to refugee camps.From 1 July floods, land and mud slides have killed at least 50 people across southern China, 15 people are still missing. According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, at least 17 million people have affected by the rains, about 600,000 evacuated since the beginning of July. An estimated 42 thousand houses have collapsed and 121 thousand others damaged. At least 946 thousand hectares of farmland have been destroyed, while the economic cost of the disaster is estimated about 8.9 billion Yuan (over 1 billion euros). The National Weather Centre warned that rain is still expected tomorrow and the day after. According to several Chinese experts, climate change in China - with torrential rains in once arid areas – is the result of pollution caused by the country's rapid and wild industrialization."The dissipation of the heat wave in Southern China saw the area hit by another plight: torrential rains that have caused severe flooding. The region has been beset by rain the past few days: the water levels of some rivers have exceeded the warning mark, while some areas have incurred extensive flood damage, as reported on July 10 by China News Service on July 10. The floods have affected ten southern China provinces since July 8, including Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Chongqing City, with disruption of highway and local traffic impacting rescue efforts. State statistics report that as of the morning of July 11, 14,920,000 people have been victimized by the floods, with 39 deaths and 13 disappearances. Twenty thousand houses have collapsed. Direct economic loss has been estimated at 8.6 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion). The Yangtze River experienced rising water levels above the warning mark on July 9, while on July 10, an official of the regime’s Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters warned citizens to be on full alert for severe floods along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangze River.Chongqing: Water Nearly Ten Feet Deep Chongqing has been hit with the heaviest rains since July 8 for this year. The rain has affected 14 counties and districts and 177 townships and villages, resulting in seven deaths and two disappearances, as of 3:00 p.m. on July 9. Wanzhou District, along the Three Gorges, was one of the hardest hit areas, experiencing flash floods, landslides, and the collapse of bridges. Water levels reached up to three meters deep (approximately 10 feet) in some villages. In Fenshui Township, about 70 percent of the ground floors of residential buildings were flooded, and water, gas, and electricity have been cut off. Mr. Zheng, a resident of Fenshui Township, told Chongqing Economic Times that heavy rain hit at 2:45 a.m. on July 9. Water began to accumulate on the streets. Street-side stores and residential buildings were flooded. “Water, gas, and electricity were all cut off. There was so much water on the streets that one dared not to go out.” When the rain was at its hardest, he also said people even saw small cars floating away. “In one supermarket, everything inside was flooded away, including merchandise and the shutter doors.” Many highways have been cut off in Qinghai, Anhui and Hubei provinces. Land and air transportation was paralyzed in Chongqing City. Hundreds of flights were delayed, while traffic was seriously obstructed, due to many vehicles being trapped on flooded streets. As of July 10, all trains leaving or arriving in Chongqing had been cancelled until weather conditions improve. The National Meteorological Center continued to issue orange rainstorm warnings, as of 6:00 p.m., July 10. Heavy rain is expected to persist through July 11, in some areas of Guizhou, Chongqing, Hunan, Hubei, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang provinces. " 3677 88 Saudi Arabia Najran, Laith, Qunfuda and Jazan 2010-07-10T00:00:00.000 2010-07-12T00:00:00.000 3 7 85 Torrential Rain 1 56000 5.2253092817258633 41.17 20.61 0 67 1 233 2010-07-10T00:00:00.000 884 3145 July 12, 2010: "JEDDAH: Seven people died and three are missing as a result of heavy floods caused by torrential rains in Najran, Laith, Qunfuda and Jazan, according to Maj. Abdullah Al-Harithy, spokesman for the Civil Defense.He said his officers had rescued 85 people marooned by floodwaters. “Our department had cautioned the public against rains and floods. But some people still ignore such warnings and put themselves and their families in trouble,” he said. “People traveling in vehicles should not try to cross flooded areas and endanger their lives,” he added.Heavy rains were reported on Monday in different parts of the Kingdom including Baha, Asir, Jazan, Najran, Laith and Qunfuda.Meanwhile, Hussein Al-Qahtani, spokesman for the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment, said the rains were expected. He, however, ruled out foreign media reports that the Kingdom would witness intense rains and heavy floods. He added that the presidency would keep the public informed about the weather through the media" 3676 87 China Villages in parts of northwest China's Qinghai Province 2010-07-06T00:00:00.000 2010-07-13T00:00:00.000 8 15 Torrential Rain 1 396700 6.5015521874660944 97.13 39.49 1 67 1 232 2010-07-06T00:00:00.000 884 3144 July 13, 2010: "A flash flood washed through a mountain town in southwest China early today, killing three people and leaving at least 50 missing, while crews raced to drain a reservoir in another part of the country following heavy summer rains.Rescuers tried to locate the 56 missing people in Xiaohe town after the deluge swept through around 4am, the state-run China News Agency said.The official Xinhua News Agency said the disaster in Xiaohe was a landslide, not a flood – an account disputed by media reports and an official in Yunnan province where Xiaohe is located and which was pounded by heavy rains for weeks.Meanwhile, hundreds of workers and soldiers were scrambling to drain a reservoir threatening to burst and flood a city in far western China that is home to more than 200,000 people, state media said.About 10,000 residents from the city of Golmud in the high-altitude region of Qinghai were evacuated to temporary camp sites as rescuers began to build a channel for draining the overflowing Wenquan reservoir, Xinhua reported.If breached, the reservoir could damage the nearby Qinghai-Tibet railway, along with the city’s power and water plants. Some places would be submerged in as much as 10 feet of water, Xinhua said.The drainage channel, which will accompany two existing waterways, could be completed as early as today, the report said, citing vice governor Deng Bentai.Soldiers transported sandbags, rocks, and dirt to prevent flooding and used bulldozers yesterday to dig a waterway for draining the reservoir, the Golmud city government website said, in an effort to protect the city’s water source nearby." July 8, 2010: "China's flood control authority, the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, on Thursday launched a level IV emergency response, as floods hit parts of northwest China's Qinghai Province.A serious flood hit the Golmud River basin in Qinghai, due to recent rainstorms and melting snow, said a statement on the office's website.Wenquan Reservoir, a large reservoir filled by a tributary of the Golmud River, reported a dangerously high water level only about 3.02 meters from the dam's top at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, said the report.But the water had stopped rising at rapid rate and no other dangers were found except for some small leaks in the embankment, said the statement.The Office has dispatched a task force to the reservoir, as well as teams from Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality to fight the flood, said the statement.The Office also stressed the need for flood relief efforts along the Yangtze River as strong rains are expected to hit the area in coming days.Under a level IV emergency response, monitoring of emergencies will be stepped up and reported to the State Council.At least 12 people are dead and three missing after torrential rains triggered flash floods have engulfed villages in Qinghai, local officials said Wednesday." 3675 86 FL-2010-000130-MDA Moldovo Romania Western border, Moldova, Prut River 2010-07-05T00:00:00.000 2010-07-07T00:00:00.000 3 2000 Heavy Rain 1 12210 4.5638369186645447 27.97 46.82 0 66 1 231 2010-07-05T00:00:00.000 883 3143 July 7, 2010: "CHISINAU, Moldova - Moldovan officials say over 2,000 people have been evacuated after the river Prut on the western border overflowed its banks.In the village of Nemteni, about 100 houses were destroyed by the flooding. The mayor Gheorghe Mardari says the situation is "critical."Emergency workers are trying to build a new dike to protect the remaining houses.In the neighbouring village of Cotul Morii, 2,000 people have been evacuated.Prime minister Vlad Filat has visited the area on Wednesday and has promised support.Specialists say the level of the river Prut will continue to grow in the incoming days." 3674 85 FL-2010-000125-IND India Nepal Haryana’s Ambala and Kurukshetra districts, Punjab; northeast India, Kerala 2010-07-05T00:00:00.000 2010-07-15T00:00:00.000 11 98 523000 Monsoonal Rain 1 147400 6.209890168681258 74.78 30.19 1 66 1 230 2010-07-05T00:00:00.000 883 3142 July 14, 2010: "With the onset of monsoon, rain-fed rivers are wreaking havoc in Jhapa district, inundating 1,200 houses so far and rendering thousands shelterless. Police teams have been put on high alert to provide emergency aid to flood victims, said Rabindra Sharma, Superintendent of Police at the Jhapa District Police Office. Biring, Kamal and Ratuwakhola streams cause massive damage in the district every monsoon, according to the police office. Sharma said floods has submerged 1,200 houses so far, apart from sweeping away a girl recently. Most parts of Birtamod, Damak and Bhadrapur towns have gone under water. Till date, 400 houses have gone under water in Bhadrapur alone. Jhapa headquarters Chandragadi is also reeling under monsoon menace. Nepal Police, Neapl Army and Armed Police Force have rushed emergency teams for rescue work after the swollen Biringkhola gushed into Dangibari VDC today. SP Sharma said the police office had deployed a team comprising 50 police personnel in Dangibari alone. Last year’s monsoon floods had destroyed properties worth Rs 1 billion in Jhapa, displacing 1,083 families" July 14, 2010: "Chandigarh, July 14 (IANS) Rescue work was on in Punjab’s Mansa district Wednesday where several acres of agricultural land were inundated and many villages submerged as water overflowed from the Ghaggar river.“The flood situation is grim in Sardulgarh area. Nearly 25 villages are flooded and most of the residents have been shifted to safe locations. We are working all day and night to control the situation and to prevent further flooding of other low-lying areas,” Mansa Deputy Commissioner Kumar Rahul told IANS.Besides civic officials, army and paramilitary troopers were also helping in the relief operations.“Around 200 houses and standing crops on nearly 5,000 acres have been damaged in the floods. We have made all arrangements to provide packed food and water to the flood victims. So far there has been no loss of life due to floods in Mansa,” he said.According to official figures, crops on 271,784 acres have been damaged in districts of Patiala, Sangrur, Mohali, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Moga and Mansa.In the neighbouring state of Haryana, flood situation was grim in Sirsa district.“Army officials are working to plug the breaches in Ghaggar river that led to flooding in Sirsa. Over 10,000 acres of agricultural land submerged in three to four feet water and nearly one dozen villages are affected due to this. We hope that situation will be under control by this evening,” said a senior official of the Sirsa administration here.Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Sirsa and Fatehabad districts were badly affected by floods over the last few days.As many as 33 people have lost their lives in floods in Punjab and Haryana" July 12, 2010: "The flood situation in Punjab and Haryana remained grim today with more places getting marooned in the two states which were lashed by heavy rains causing fresh breaches in river embankments and canals.After Jakhal and Tohana towns, flood waters reached Rattia and Fatehabad villages in Haryana as the surge in Rangoi nullah continued while fresh breaches occurred in the canals submerging large areas in Punjab's Patiala district.Many parts of the two states were lashed by heavy rains, which made the situation worrisome, with the Fatehabad district administration making arrangements on a war footing.Army jawans were busy in plugging the breaches in the canals and nullahs in Fatehabad district. Congress MP Ashok Tanwar visited the affected areas to oversee the relief operations.Fatehabad's deputy commissioner OP Sheoran has cancelled the leave of all employees and has asked them to be available for relief work round the clock.Sirsa was also facing flood problem because a dam on river Ghaggar had breached near village Jhanda Khurd, which falls in Punjab, marooning thousands of acres of land in Haryana.Twenty six fresh breaches in Sagarpada, Markanda and Ghaggar marooned a large area of Devigarh in Punjab's Patiala district.Punjab irrigation department stepped up efforts to plug 14 out of 33 breaches in Ghaggar with a plan to plug 16 more breaches in the next 24 hours.Punjab's deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal ordered a comprehensive survey of loss incurred including on government property like power and other infrastructure besides road network in recent floods in seven districts of the state.Speaking to reporters at Rohtak, Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that prime minister Manmohan Singh and the UPA chairperson and Congress president, Sonia Gandhi had assured to provide adequate financial assistance for the flood affected farmers and common people of the state" July 7, 2010: "Army help has been sought in Ambala and Kurukshetra districts of Haryana following heavy rains in the state. In neighbouring Punjab, vast tracts agriculture land have been inundated.Rains have disrupted road and rail traffic, leaving a large number of people stranded in various areas in the two Haryana districts, officials said.Deputy Commissioner of Ambala confirmed a breach in the river Tangri in Jadhpur sub-division in neighbouring Punjab and in the river Ghaggar.The right side of the National Highway leading to Punjab from Ambala has been closed to vehicular traffic due to flooding.So far, the floods have claimed 50 lives and displaced almost half a million people in the south and northeast, government officials said.Five people have drowned in Assam. Thirteen of the state's 27 districts have been hit by floods, including Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Baksa and Bongaigaon.In Kerala, over 23,000 people have been affected by floods, and, 48 people have died. Officials said they have opened a 24-hour control room in all districts to track the movement of the floodwaters." July 6, 2010: "Chandigarh, July 6 (IANS) The army was requisitioned in Haryana’s Ambala and Kurukshetra districts after major breaches in rivers and canals led to flooding of vast areas, disrupting traffic and electricity supply.Heavy rain led to water overflowing in the Ghaggar river and the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal, causing breaches. Ambala city and cantonment areas, some 45 km from here, were under three-four feet of water at many places, said Deputy Commissioner of Ambala S.P. Srow.Traffic on the busy Ambala-Delhi National Highway 1 was affected and diverted towards Banur near Haryana’s border with Punjab.Electricity supply was affected in nearly 350 villages in Ambala district as a number of sub-stations were submerged, district administration officials said, adding that pumps were being used to drain out rainwater.Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda directed authorities to launch rescue operations in the affected areas, especially in Ambala and Kurukshetra.Several places in Punjab and Haryana received heavy rainfall since Monday, inundating many areas. Roads and rail services were also badly hit.Srow said there was a breach in river Tangri in Jadhpur sub-division in neighbouring Punjab and river Ghaggar was also posing a threat.Pankaj Aggarwal, deputy commissioner of Kurukshetra, said the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal had breached near Jyotisar in the district and the low-lying areas of Shahbad town, 65 km from here.Haryana Chief Secretary Urvashi Gulati said she was in constant touch with her Punjab counterpart S.C. Aggarwal to expedite relief operations." 3673 84 Canada Yorkton, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 2010-07-02T00:00:00.000 2010-07-06T00:00:00.000 5 Heavy Rain 1.5 86590 5.8125290030350776 -103.83 51.87 0 65 1 229 2010-07-02T00:00:00.000 882 3141 July 5, 2010: "Rescuers used canoes and front-end loaders following heavy rain and widespread street flooding Thursday night in Yorkton, Sask.About 100 families were forced from their homes when water poured into their basements. More left their houses Friday morning and sought shelter.Mayor James Wilson said a state of local emergency has been declared, adding that there has never been flooding to this extent before in the city of 15,000 people about 190 kilometres northeast of Regina.The storm sewer system was overwhelmed and many streets were under water, including sections of Broadway Street in the heart of the city. Power was turned off in sections of Yorkton.CBC Saskatchewan weather consultant Wayne Miskolczi said that according to Environment Canada 64 millimetres fell before midnight, and further heavy rain was recorded early Friday."I'm sure there are spots in Yorkton that have had well over 100 millimetres," he said.Wilson said he's been told that some areas received 100 to 150 millimetres of rain in half an hour. An estimated 60 to 70 per cent of homes took in water, he said, and many businesses were flooded.Yorkton has had floods before, but not like this, Wilson said. "Nothing to this extent." He said some people had to be carried away in front-end loaders.The mayor added that Premier Brad Wall called him and assured him there will be quick provincial relief for people in need.An emergency evacuation centre was set up at the Gallagher Centre, the city's main recreational centre and fairground. People making their way there were told to stick to higher routes. Some flooded-out residents were seeking refuge in hotels as far away as Regina."They were evacuating people in canoes," said Michael Paslofski, a spokesman with the Canadian Red Cross in Yorkton. "If this rain comes again, we're going to be in big trouble."A CBC reporter said one couple paddled a canoe to their home Friday morning to pick up some clothing.Additional room at the evacuation centre has been set aside in anticipation that there may be more problems later Friday. More thunderstorms were in the forecast.Record-setting amounts of rain have been dumped on Saskatchewan in recent weeks. In Saskatoon, city council passed an emergency resolution Friday morning asking the province for disaster relief following flooding earlier in the week.The town of Maple Creek in the southwest part of the province declared itself a disaster zone last month after more than 100 millimetres of rain fell in 48 hours" July 5, 2010: "Saskatchewan is pleading for anyone with "a strong back and a willing heart" to help the province dig out from a series of devastating storms.Duane McKay, the province's fire commissioner, says the Saskatchewan Emergency Management Organization has pulled in all its resources to deal with disasters across Saskatchewan.But McKay says volunteers are needed to move debris in Yorkton, where about 1,000 homes were damaged after heavy rain flooded basements and turned streets into canals last Thursday.Volunteers are needed to help people "restore their lives a little bit," McKay said in a conference call Monday."A strong back and a willing heart is probably what we're needing right now. It's basically removing whatever was in somebody's basement out and into dumpsters to be transported out or trying to salvage those things," he said.The flood has forced about 175 people from their homes. The water has receded but the damage is still being assessed. McKay said there is "an increased level of emotion" as people try to cope with the disaster. "People are more concerned now about, 'What do I do next' and so we're seeing that begin to come forward in the community."Yorkton residents aren't alone with their worries. More than 70 Saskatchewan communities have declared states of emergency due to bad weather.Severe flooding last month in Maple Creek, in southwestern Saskatchewan, flooded basements and collapsed a portion of the Trans-Canada Highway. Last Wednesday, Saskatoon had what its mayor called "one of those one-in-100-year floods" when the city received 80 millimetres of rain in three hours.At least 100 people have been left homeless near the town of Raymore and on the Kawacatoose First Nation, where a tornado touched down Friday.Emergency officials said well over a dozen homes are in ruins or badly damaged on the reserve, along with four farms in the region.Environment Canada has surveyed the damage and determined it was an F3 tornado on the Fujita tornado damage scale, which means winds were roaring as high as 330 kilometres an hour. The scale has a maximum rating of F5.Meteorologist Dan Kulak said in a conference call Monday that the twister was about 500 metres wide, cut a path 45 kilometres long — crossing two highways — and may have been on the ground for as long as one hour."That would be a fairly lengthy storm," said Kulak."Typically tornadoes will be on the ground for only a few minutes, but the odd time you do get these storms which do last a considerable amount of time and cover a lot of distance. So a one-hour tornado on the ground that peaks at an F3 is an unusual storm. It's not an extremely, extremely rare event but certainly it is in the less common end of things."Kulak said F3 tornadoes probably occur once every two to three years on Prairies.It was an F3 tornado that carved a 20-kilometre path of destruction through an Alberta campground on July 14, 2000. The twister at Pine Lake killed 12 people and injured more than 100.Residents near Raymore and on the Kawacatoose First Nation say it's a miracle that no one was killed or even seriously injured during the tornado Friday.Kulak said "it's been wave after wave" of storms across the Prairies.The meteorologist said he doesn't have a specific forecast through to the end of August, but he suggested there might be more bad weather to come."Certainly if history is going to be any indication of the future here, when we do get into patterns like this — a lot of rain and a lot moisture that happens to be in the area — you're that much more susceptible to further thunderstorm activity," said Kulak."You tend to recycle. A lot of that moisture, as it evaporates during the day, becomes fuel for the next set of storms." 3672 83 FL-2010-000129-UKR Ukraine Ivano-Frankovsk [western Ukraine], Chernovtsy Region 2010-06-27T00:00:00.000 2010-07-02T00:00:00.000 6 2 Heavy Rain 1.5 34500 5.4920616045125987 24.79 48.59 0 65 1 228 2010-06-27T00:00:00.000 882 3140 July 1, 2010: "Russia sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine on Friday to help it deal with the consequences of severe flooding in its western regions, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said."A second IL-76 transport plane took of from Ramenskoye airfield [Moscow Region ] for Ivano-Frankovsk [western Ukraine] at 09.00 Moscow time," a spokeswoman for the Emergencies Ministry said.The ministry sent another plane earlier this morning and is also sending a Ka-32 helicopter to survey the area.Severe downpours and rising soil water from June 28-29 resulted in severe flooding in several regions of western Ukraine.The situation is especially bad in the Chernovtsy Region, where river levels have risen five meters, flooding 65 towns in nine districts and affecting around 15,000 people.Around 60 km (37 miles) of road and 13 bridges have been damaged, and 12 towns are without electricity. The damage is currently assessed at over $1.9 million. " 3671 82 TC-2010-000123-MEX Mexico Northern Mexico, Monterrey, Matamoros 2010-06-30T00:00:00.000 2010-07-07T00:00:00.000 8 6 50000 Tropical Cyclone Alex 2 209000 6.5242662687669783 -100.42 24.31 1 65 1 227 2010-06-30T00:00:00.000 882 3139 July 7, 2010: " border city mayor, a state official and four other people died Wednesday when an airplane crashed as they inspected widespread flooding that has forced tens of thousands of evacuations near the Mexico-U.S. border. The small plane carrying Piedras Negras Mayor Jose Manuel Maldonado was flying over a rain-swollen reservoir about 25 miles east of Eagle Pass, Texas, when it went down, said Ricardo Castillo, a spokesman for the border state of Coahuila. State spokeswoman Irma Flores said there were no survivors. She said the dead included state Public Works Director Horacio Del Bosque, the pilot and three other people. The cause of the crash was still under investigation. The officials were surveying the condition of reservoirs along the U.S.-Mexico border, which have reached their highest levels in decades following days of drenching rain. That has forced officials to dump water into flooded rivers, with yet another storm on the way. The dramatic rise of the Rio Grande caused by Hurricane Alex and continuing rains forced the closure of at least one major border crossing between downtown Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Officials evacuated the flood-threatened Vega Verde subdivision in Del Rio, Texas, some 110 miles upstream from Laredo, while high waters in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila have already damaged some 10,000 homes - many swamped in waist-deep water. "That means there are 40,000 people who don't have any place to sleep," Gov. Humberto Moreira told the Televisa network on Wednesday. To the southeast, Mexican officials evacuated nearly 18,000 people from houses in Ciudad Anahuac for fear that water would overflow the Venustiano Carranza dam and threaten lives. Mexico's National Water Commission said the dam currently had the largest emergency water release in the country. Ciudad Anahuac Mayor Santos Garza Garcia said at least 1,500 homes already had been flooded in the town of Rodriguez, across the Salado River from his city. Water behind the binational Amistad Dam on the Rio Grande was at its highest level since 1974, according to the International Boundary and Water Commission, forcing officials to release water from it at the fastest rate in a quarter century. The Commission said the downstream Falcon dam would probably reach capacity within the next few days, suggesting future releases there will raise water levels along the river's lower reaches. Much of that downstream area is protected against flooding by levees, but Mexico's National Water Commission said it was worried about low-lying settlements, most built by poor people without official permission. "One of country's most serious problems are irregular settlements on federal land and in flood-prone areas," it said. Authorities walked a painful, delicate line - forced to release reservoir waters they know will add to flooding in hopes of avoiding worse disasters. It was an unusual state of affairs in a semiarid region where Mexican and U.S. officials often squabble over rights to scarce water. Mayor Garza Garcia said 20 floodgates had been opened by late Tuesday at the Venustiano Carranza Dam, which was releasing 600 cubic meters per second into the Salado River, a tributary of the Rio Grande. "It was preferable having controlled flooding than having the whole town disappear," Garza Garcia said. "The situation is very critical." Luis Lobo, who drove 16 people from Ciudad Anahuac to Nuevo Laredo, said hundreds of people from Ciudad Anahuac and nearby villages left by foot and were by the side of the road. "They are out in the open. Men, women, and children with nothing to eat," Lobo said after arriving in Nuevo Laredo. Garza Garcia said soldiers planned to take food to those stranded. Sally Spener, public affairs officer for the binational Water Commission that operates the Amistad Dam, said the agency had tried to limit releases "so that we would not exacerbate the flooding." In Laredo, city spokeswoman Xochitl Mora said Bridge One was closed as a precaution ahead of the expected crest on Thursday. The water is expected to rise to 38.5 feet high enough to touch but not run over the bridge. Officials will remove the heavy steel shade canopies to ease the weight on Bridge One before the heaviest water pressure comes with the river crest, she said. About 11,000 pedestrians and 13,000 vehicles use the bridge daily. Officials were also evacuating 2,000 people near the swollen Rio Escondido, said Piedras Negras Mayor Jose Manuel Maldonado. And in Texas authorities evacuated the Vega Verde neighborhood of Del Rio was evacuated as more water was being released from the Amistad Lake, just upstream. One of three international bridges connecting Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, was ordered closed as the Rio Grande rose dramatically. The water is expected to rise to 38.5 feet - high enough to touch but not run over the bridge. The other two Laredo bridges, including the heavily used World Trade Bridge, are expected to remain open. Hurricane Alex dumped heavy rains on the region last week, causing flooding that killed at least 12 people in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, where Ciudad Anahuac is located, and leaving some 130,000 without water service. The U.S. National Weather Service said a new storm was likely to make its way across the Gulf of Mexico and hit the region within a day or two. " July 6, 2010: "Hundreds of people have been evacuated and a border bridge closed in northern Mexico after days of rain caused flooding and water to swell behind a dam.Authorities in Coahuila state have closed the border bridge in Ciudad Acuna as a precautionary measure after water released from the Amistad dam raised the level of the Rio Grande. Ciudad Acuna lies across the border from Del Rio, Texas.Coahuila Gov. Humberto Moreira told local media Monday that about 10,000 people have suffered severe damage to their homes or possessions due to the flooding.The release of water from the Amistad dam raises the possibility that river levels could rise downstream in Piedras Negras, a city across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas" . July 2, 2010: "At least six people have died during heavy flooding in Mexico. The victims were killed in and around the northern city of Monterrey following storms caused by Hurricane Alex. One woman was crushed to death by a mudslide as large rocks from surrounding mountains crashed down onto her car. President Felipe Calderon said that 1,200 had been dispatched to help in the relief efforts.Hurricane Alex hit Mexico's Gulf Coast on Wednesday and moved inland. A year's worth of rain fell in three days in Monterrey, swelling the normally dry Santa Catarina river, which overflowed and destroyed homes and sections of roads. Tens of thousands of home are now without water or power and many residents have evacuated in search of emergency shelters." July 1, 2010: "Hurricane Alex has brought torrential rain as it weakened to a tropical storm over northeastern Mexico, flooding the city of Monterrey. At least two people were killed when a river burst its banks, inundating roads and washing away cars. Alex was a category two hurricane when it hit the Gulf coast on Wednesday night, but lost force as it moved inland. It was expected to dissipate over the Mexican highlands on Friday.The usually dry Santa Catarina river that runs through the centre of Monterrey turned into a raging torrent, flooding major highways and paralysing Mexico's third-biggest city. One man died after he was swept nearly 500 metres by the waters and trapped against a fence. The body of another drowned man was found in a creek.A 12-tonne statue of the revered Virgin of Guadalupe was knocked off its plinth on the river bank. Flood waters also hit the city zoo, sweeping animals including buffalo from their pens, the Reuters news agency reported. Alex was the first hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic season, and the first to appear in June since 1995. It caused severe flooding along Mexico's Gulf coast when it made landfall on Wednesday night. The coastal town of Matamoros also suffered Emergency workers in the port city of Matamoros have been using boats to assess the damage in some neighbourhoods. "The city is practically under water" the director of civil defence, Saul Hernandez, told the AP news agency. "But the most important thing is there was no loss of life. We took opportune measures to evacuate people" Thousands of people in coastal villages were moved to higher ground before the storm hit. Many towns were left without electricity, and phone lines were also down. Heavy seas caused by the storm also disrupted BP's oil spill clean-up in the Gulf of Mexico. Alex largely spared the US state of Texas, which had prepared for a possible direct hit. It brought heavy rain and caused at least two tornadoes, but there were no reports of injuries or major damage. However, there are still warnings of possible flash-flooding in some areas of the state."July 1, 2010: "Alex has drenched much of northern Mexico, paralysing the major city of Monterrey. At least two people were killed when the dry river roared to life and roads turned into rushing streams.Hurricane Alex ripped off roofs, caused severe flooding and forced thousands of people to flee coastal fishing villages as it hit land on Wednesday evening in the border state of Tamaulipas. Power and telephone service were down in several towns and cities. The storm weakened to a tropical storm as it moved west to Nuevo Leon state, but still caused major disruptions.One man died when he was swept away by a torrent of water along a six-lane highway, city Civil Protection director Pedro Trevino told Televisa Monterrey network. Another man was found drowned by side of a creek.Nuevo Leon state governor Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz told the network he had ordered all schools closed and appealed for people to stay home from all but essential jobs. The US Consulate in Monterrey also closed due to the storm.Mr de la Cruz said Alex had already dumped 16 inches of rain in some areas." 3670 81 FL-2010-000121-DOM Dominican Republic 2010-06-25T00:00:00.000 2010-06-27T00:00:00.000 3 Torrential Rain 1 15730 4.6738499773429494 -70.39 19.25 0 64 1 226 2010-06-25T00:00:00.000 881 3138 June 27, 2010: "Hundreds without shelter after floods caused by a tropical wave moving westward" 3669 80 FL-2010-000118-CIV, FL-2010-000118-LBR Liberia Ivory Coast Monrovia, Abidjan 2010-06-25T00:00:00.000 2010-06-27T00:00:00.000 3 12 Torrential Rain 1 183800 5.7414667617697548 -7.15 6.01 0 64 1 225 2010-06-25T00:00:00.000 881 3137 June 27, 2010: "Monrovia slums, Liberia. Also About one dozen people, including women and children, have been confirmed dead in Abidjan, C?te d'Ivoire, after heavy rain storms. Significant damage has been recorded." 3668 79 Taiwan 2010-06-25T00:00:00.000 2010-06-27T00:00:00.000 3 Torrential Rain 1 1399 3.6229389692114902 121.61 24.95 0 64 0 224 2010-06-25T00:00:00.000 881 3136 June 27, 2010: "Train traffic between Taoyuan and the Taipei County town of Yingge was interrupted in both directions Sunday evening after heavy rain flooded the track, reports said.The Central Weather Bureau issued a torrential rain alert for parts of Taiwan north of Tainan, as well as for the northeast and the east coast. Forecasters warned that flooding was likely in low-lying areas, while mountain streams could grow bigger and faster in a short time.The Taiwan Railway Administration said it closed down the Taoyuan-Yingge line around 5 p.m. as the flood waters showed no signs of receding. More than an hour later, traffic resumed but trains were not allowed to exceed 40 kilometers per hour, officials said.Over six hours, more than 182 millimeters of rain fell in Emei Township in Hsinchu County, qualifying the place for torrential rain.Floods also made traffic difficult in Tucheng, Taipei County, reports said.In Taichung County, a truck carrying two people drove into a creek, according to media reports. The two were alive but efforts were on the way to rescue them, reports said.Forecasters said afternoon thunderstorms were likely to continue for most of the week, especially in mountainous areas all over Taiwan. In other areas, the likelihood of afternoon showers would decrease between Tuesday and Thursday but return before next weekend, the weather bureau said. Maximum temperatures would remain between 32 and 35 degrees centigrade islandwide, according to forecasters. " 3667 78 FL-2010-000120-BRA Brazil 2010-06-22T00:00:00.000 2010-06-30T00:00:00.000 9 50 150000 Heavy Rain 2 320100 6.7605581792474387 -37.78 -6.36 1 64 1 224 2010-06-22T00:00:00.000 881 3136 June 29, 2010: "Aerial photo taken on June 28, 2010 shows the flood in Agua Preta in northeast Brazil's Pernambuco State. (Xinhua/Agencia Estado" June 26, 2010: "After three days of heavy rains and severe floods in northern Brazil, approximately 150,000 people have been displaced, while at least 50 people were killed and 140 remain missing. In the northern region of Brazil, mostly in the states of Alagoas and Pernambuco, heavy rains and floods have rendered more than 150,000 people to be internally displaced after their homes or areas were completely destroyed by the heavy precipitation, according to CNN International. At least 50 people have died and the number of missing people stands at approximately 140. According to the national civil defense office, the number of homeless in Alagoas rose to 75,000 and in Pernambuco, there are about 80,000 displaced. It further stated that more than 19,000 homes were damaged or completely destroyed, while 79 damages faced the same outcome. All together, 59 municipalities in total were affected in Pernambuco and 28 in Alagoas. Press TV reports that the Brazilian government has allocated $277 million to help the victims. The Organization of American States (OAS) and the United States have also pledged to send aid to Brazil. In order to handle the crisis in Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has cancelled his visit to the G20 Summit in Toronto this weekend, reports Reuters. Instead, Finance Minister Guido Mantega will represent Brazil during the meeting. “He doesn't want to be away from Brazil at this difficult moment,” said one G20 Summit official."Torrents of flood water devastated towns and villages in northeastern Brazil, killing at least 38 people and leaving more than 600 missing and more than 50,000 without shelter." 3666 77 Pakistan 2010-06-22T00:00:00.000 2010-06-24T00:00:00.000 3 46 Torrential Rain 1 9326 4.4468166658381358 72.08 36.03 0 63 1 223 2010-06-22T00:00:00.000 880 3135 June 25, 2010: "Flash floods that hit a village in northwest Pakistan killed at least seven persons, a security official said on Friday.The bodies of the seven persons were recovered from debris by rescue teams after the floods hit Uchosht village near Chitral town, said Subedar Major Maqbool Ahmad of the Border Police force.The floods that hit Ochosht Thursday night destroyed seven houses and damaged 20 more.Five women were among the dead.The rescue teams are trying to recover some persons reported as missing.Residents of the area were in their homes when walls and roofs collapsed as a wave of water 10 feet high hit the village.A three-year-old child whose father and mother died survived miraculously" 3665 76 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2010-06-22T00:00:00.000 2010-06-26T00:00:00.000 5 46 Heavy Rain 1 28640 5.1559430179718371 17.7 44 0 63 1 222 2010-06-22T00:00:00.000 880 3134 June 23, 2010: Persistent rainfall has led to flooding throughout various regions in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) , as rivers and streams are unable to accommodate the unseasonably wet conditions.Some communities have declared a state of emergency, and major transportation arteries have been cut due to flooding or landslides brought about by the abundant rains, reported the Sarajevo daily 'Dnevni Avaz' on Tuesday.According to the Federation Civil Protection Administration, five municipalities in the Tuzla region (in north-eastern BiH) have declared a state of emergency, with almost half the territory of Gradacac under water.Flooding has been declared in towns on the Sava River, with an estimated 100 dwellings threatened by the rising water level in Brcko. The Bosna River spilled over its banks and has flooded much of the town of Modrica, also leading to evacuations.One section of the major highway leading from Tuzla to the Croatian border in the north has been washed out.Milorad Dodik, prime minister of Republika Srpska, the Serb- dominated entity of BiH, stated that initial damage he observed was likely to exceed 50 million Euros, reported the Radio Television Republika Srpska (RTRS)."This is really a significant disaster," said Dodik after visiting the most vulnerable communities around the capital Banja Luka. "From the helicopter we saw that the highway Banja Luka - Celinac was cut in three places. At the confluence of the Vrbas and Vrbanja (rivers) the water is backing up and the rain continues to fall..this situation is extremely worrying."More rainfalls have been forecast for the next few days" 3664 75 Romania Bulgaria Western Romania, Cluj; eastern Romania, Danube 2010-06-22T00:00:00.000 2010-07-12T00:00:00.000 21 23 17500 Heavy Rain 2 56730 6.3770620739626027 23.19 46.08 x 1 63 1 221 2010-06-22T00:00:00.000 880 3133 July 12, 2010: "Bucharest - While Western Europe battled a heat wave, Romania faced continuous rain on Saturday, worsening floods that have plagued the Eastern European country for three weeks. Emergency officials said on Saturday that 20 communities across the country had been flooded in the previous 24 hours alone. Northeastern regions were particularly affected, along with the lower reaches of the Danube river. The rising water flooded 247 more houses, with 14 being completely destroyed, officials said. Some 7,000 hectares of forests, fields and farmland also stood under water. The situation was especially hazardous on Saturday along the upper reaches of the Prut river, where hundreds of people were evacuated from the small town of Radauti and the surrounding area near the Ukrainian border. But water officials said they should be able to control the danger along the river by using a nearby dam. Water levels in the Danube, meanwhile, were falling, but the flooding's pressure on dikes was expected to last for days. The floods have left 23 people dead and caused nearly 60 million euros (76 million dollars) worth of damage overall, according to official estimates. Almost 3,500 houses are underwater, with 246 having collapsed and another 654 threatening to do so. Most of the caved-in houses were traditional farming homes built out of clay that is not water- resistant, Tourism Minister Elena Udrea said. Some 2,000 kilometres of roadways have also been damaged." July 5, 2010: "A maximum-degree flooding alert has been declared in Danubian regions of Romania, after the river level reached historical highs at a number of locations.Romanian PM Emil Boc called an emergency meeting of the cabinet to tackle the situation, commenting that Romania this week is facing “dangerous meteorological and hydrological events”.The level of the river Danube surpassed its historical highs at three cities in Eastern Romania – Feteşti, Brăila and Galati – all of them located far downstream on the Danube. The situation is most dire at Galati, where a 4.5 km levee is currently being erected with the help of gendarmes, police and volunteers.During the past days, as many as 25 people died in Romania as a result of flooding.In the Bulgarian sector, where the situation is not as grave but still critical, there have been no casualties.Sunday record levels were reported for eastern downstream Bulgarian cities of Russe and Silistra. Monday a level of 816 cm was reported for Russe, where the river flooded Port West and other facilities. The Russenski Lom river - a right tributary flowing into the Danube at Russe - also overflowed Monday.In the western Bulgarian town of Lom, where the situation has been the most critical, no change of river level (865 cm) has been reported.A drop of 4 cm has been reported by hydrological authorities at upstream western Bulgarian towns of Novo Selo and Vidin." June 30, 2010: "Romanian authorities have said that they are requesting aid from the European Union's Solidarity Fund following severe flooding which killed 20 people in one week and destroyed roads, crops and houses.Interior Minister Vasile Blaga said there was no assessment of the damage yet, as the situation was ongoing and still critical, especially on the Siret river in northern and eastern Romania.But he said he believed the losses would exceed 0.6% of GDP, in a country struggling with recession and with austerity measures to keep the budget deficit in check.Mr Blaga warned that the Danube had exceeded the highest levels recorded in 2006 around the towns of Galati and Braila. Thousands of people have been evacuated since Monday." June 29, 2010: "DOROHOI, Romania : Heavy rains caused floods that killed 21 people in Romania and thousands of others were evacuated from their homes on Tuesday as rivers threatened to burst their banks. People climbed trees to escape the rising water and many houses, roads and railway lines were destroyed or damaged by the floods, officials said. Hundreds of police and emergency workers were deployed to the rescue operation while several localities along the Danube River took urgent measures to stop it from breaching its banks. "The situation is tragic, the damage is of a scale hard to imagine," Gheorghe Flutur, president of Suceava department, one of the worst hit regions, told Mediafax news agency. Twenty-one people have been confirmed dead and at least one other was missing since the floods started last week, emergency inspectorate spokesman Alin Maghiar told AFP. Nineteen died after being carried away by high waters and two others were killed by lightning, he said. Most of the deaths occurred on Monday night in two departments close from the Ukrainian border. In the northeastern town of Dorohoi, six people died in overnight Monday to Tuesday, according to officials. More than 1,700 people had to be evacuated and some scrambled up trees to avoid the water, witnesses said. Flooding receded on Tuesday afternoon but houses were badly damaged by the water, which rose above one metre (3.3 feet) in some places. Roads into Dorohoi remained under water. Heavy rain has fallen for much of the past week in the Balkan country and forecasters have warned that it will continue in northeastern Romania until Wednesday morning. Several old people died last week in the central regions of the country after being carried away by high waters. On Tuesday night, authorities in northeastern Neamt department ordered the evacuation of about 11,000 people along the river Siret, a Danube tributary threatening to overflow. In the northern Suceava, hundreds of people were evacuated Tuesday for the same reason. "Ten villages have been evacuated. 1,870 people will spend the night in monasteries, schools, cultural centres or with relatives," a spokeswoman for the Suceava authorities told AFP. About 1,100 sheep were moved to higher ground in the mainly rural region. Further along the Siret, in Sendreni, inhabitants and emergency servicemen reinforced dykes with bags of sand to prevent floods. Prime Minister Emil Boc flew to the affected zones in northeastern Romania and said Bucharest could ask for help from an emergency European fund. Damages could amount to more than 0.6 percent of gross domestic product, Interior Minister Vasile Blaga said. - AFP/fa " June 23, 2010: "Romanian authorities say at last one person has died and another is missing after heavy rain and flooding in western Romania.Emergency situations spokeswoman Alina Balas says a 78-year-old woman was found dead after flooding destroyed her house in a village in Alba county.In Cluj county, emergency situations chief Vasile Somlea says a 23-year-old man is missing and feared dead.Hundreds of houses have been inundated by the flooding, which began Monday. Authorities have evacuated hundreds of people.On Wednesday, authorities are on alert in parts of northern Romania as water levels rose in the Prut river on the border with Moldova." 3663 74 Ghana Tema, Ashaima and Kpone, East Accra regions, Greater Accra 2010-06-22T00:00:00.000 2010-06-26T00:00:00.000 5 30 Heavy Rain 1 150900 5.8776592441116087 -0.98 7.93 0 62 1 220 2010-06-22T00:00:00.000 879 3132 July 5, 2010: "Families of the 16 people who lost their liv es in the Ashaiman floods would receive an amount of GH¢500.00 each from t he Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA), as support for the funeral rites. The victims aged between three and 65 years made up of 10 males and six females, lost their lives after a 12-hour heavy downpour in the Municipal ity on June 20.Numo Adinortey Addison, Ashaiman Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), wh o disclosed this at a press conference on Monday, said the bodies of the deceased, comprised nine children and seven adults have been deposited at the Tema General Hospital morgue. The conference was organized by the Ashaiman Municipal Disaster Management Committee, to explain to the public the current situation in t he Municipality, after the flood. Numo Addison added that the amount to be given to the families was p art of an approved figure of GH¢40,000.00 by the Assembly, to alleviate theplight of the victims of the devastating flood. He indicated that 547 people got injured, while 9,314 people made up of 1,318 families were displaced. The MCE further stated that the estimated distraction of the rain fl ood in monetary terms amounted to about GH¢260,000.00. He said as many as 8,680 of the victims have been presented with rel ief items from the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO). The items included 429 bags of rice, 365 bags of maize, 75 bags of beans, 14, 832 bars of soap, 5,550 pieces of mats and 400 pieces of drink ing cups.Others were 55 pieces of buckets, 100 pieces of mattresses, 54 bales of used clothing, 20 cartons of cooking oil, 300 pieces of blankets and 300 pieces of mosquito nets.Numo Addison appealed to the government to urgently consider the construction of the Gbemi, Amar-tsuru and Jericho storm drains. He further said the drains should be widened enough to collect more rain water to avoid a recurrence of the rain disaster. The MCE thanked President John Evans Atta Mills and other governmentofficials for touring the Municipality to console the people after the incident. He also thanked organizations and individuals who donated relief ite ms to the victims for the gesture, and called on others to emulate that shin ing example. The most affected communities of the flood disaster in the Municipal ity were Community 22, New Town, Valco Flat, Jericho, and Roman Down. Others were Ashaiman Dam Site, Mamomo, Market Square, and Asensu" June 22, 2010: "At least 30 people have died in floods caused by heavy rain in Ghana's four regions, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has said.The military and Red Cross are continuing rescue and evacuation operations in Tema, Ashaima and Kpone, East Accra regions, where over 1,000 buildings have been damaged, causing losses to thousands of people, NADMO Coordinator Kofi Portuphy was quoted as saying by Prensa Latina.Meanwhile, Highways and Roads Minister Joe Gidisu told Times Live daily: 'Never in the last 15 years have we seen this kind of flooding, especially in the Greater Accra region where roads have been washed away and bridges collapsed, leading to the loss of lives and properties.' The minister called the situation 'national crisis'." 3662 73 FL-2010-000115-MMR Myanmar Bangladesh Western Myanmar 2010-06-15T00:00:00.000 2010-06-26T00:00:00.000 12 60 5000 Monsoonal Rain 1 94870 6.0563101466283067 94.01 22.28 1 62 1 219 2010-06-15T00:00:00.000 879 3131 June 25, 2010: "United Nations aid agencies are widening their relief efforts in western Myanmar, where more than 60 people have been killed and thousands of other villagers forced out of their homes by floods brought on by monsoonal rains.The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported on Wednesday that more than 27,000 families have been affected by the floods, which struck Myanmar's Rakhine state and neighbouring Bangladesh last week.The agency is working with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and Government health staff to deploy mobile medical teams to flood-affected towns and villages.The UN World Food Programme (WFP) plans to distribute 1,079 tons of food to affected households, in addition to the 400 tons already handed out in Maungdaw and Buthidaung, the hardest-hit areas. The food sent so far is mostly rice, but beans, pulses, oil and salt are also being included.The UN Development Programme (UNDP) reported that it is starting income-generation activities in at least 100 villages so that residents can buy food and other essential items, such as blankets and mosquito nets.The death toll from the floods has climbed to 63 in Myanmar, according to State media figures. Nearly 700 homes are reported to have destroyed and more than 3,500 others partially damaged. At least 58 Bangladeshis have also died from the rising waters or mudslides." June 17, 2010: "YANGON: Landslides and floods caused by torrential rain have killed 46 people in western Myanmar this week, state television reported on Wednesday. The former Burma is no stranger to harsh weather and at least 140,000 people were killed in 2008 when a cyclone hit the south of the country. “Twenty-eight people were killed in Maungdaw Township while 18 were killed and four were injured in Buthidaung Township in the landslides caused by torrential rains on June 14,” MRTV television reported. Earlier, local officials and an aid worker for an international non-governmental organisation, had told Reuters that heavy rain had washed away bridges and blocked roads in the area, killing at least 25 people. The Meteorological Department said 34 cm of rain fell in the town of Maungdaw, on the border with Bangladesh, on one day this week. Flooding had also hit the towns of Mrauk Oo and Kyauk Taw,about 550 km northwest of the city of Yangon, washing away three bridges, although no casualties had been reported there, another official in the region said. Deforestation had contributed to the problem, with rain pouring off bare slopes and eroding soil, which blocked waterways, he said.. " 3661 72 France Var Department in southern France 2010-06-16T00:00:00.000 2010-06-17T00:00:00.000 2 19 Torrential Rain 2 7700 4.4885507165004439 6.59 43.5 0 61 1 218 2010-06-16T00:00:00.000 878 3130 June 16, 2010: "France - Flash floods caused by torrential rain killed 19 people and left seven missing near France’s Mediterranean coast, an official said on Wednesday, after the worst downpours the region has seen since 1827.More than 350 mm (14 inches) of rain fell on the Var department in southern France in a few hours on Tuesday.The sub-prefect for the region said 19 people had died and seven others were missing.More than 1,000 people found refuge in schools and other buildings after their homes were swamped. Helicopters flew over 450 rescue missions and some 100,000 households were without electricity.“Draguignan was the worst-hit town, with hundreds of vehicles swept away and several neighbourhoods under water,” the local prefect Hugues Parant said.Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said about 10 people were missing and he feared the death toll could rise.Television pictures showed scores of stranded people packed on the raised terrace of a holiday camp, with surrounding land and low-lying buildings submerged under muddy water.Locals said people were surprised by the speed at which the waters rose, turning streets into torrents and carrying away cars as if they were toys.“It was dramatic,” said Draguignan mayor Max Piselli. “The town is in a terrible state, with rocks, stones, mud and cars blocking the roads.”The airport in Toulon, closed late on Tuesday because its runways were flooded, reopened on Wednesday morning. Train services along the coast were expected to return to normal on Thursday, railway officials said.Meteo France, which said the region had not seen floods like this since 1827, warned of more storms on Wednesday night.In February, a ferocious storm and surging tide killed 53 people in southwestern France." 3660 71 Spain Northern Spanish region of Asturias 2010-06-11T00:00:00.000 2010-06-13T00:00:00.000 3 2 Torrential Rain 1.5 6135 4.4410270808383672 -6.21 43.35 0 61 1 217 2010-06-11T00:00:00.000 878 3129 June 11, 2010: "Madrid - Flooding sparked by heavy rainstorms has killed at least two people in the northern Spanish region of Asturias, media reported Friday. The body of a 76-year-old woman was found Friday near her home in Vegadeo, after the river Samaran overflowed its banks, police said. The woman's husband was reported missing. The second fatality was a motorist whose car fell off a bridge in Siero. Floodwater blocked dozens of roads, and several villages were left without power or drinking water in the region. " 3659 70 USA Central Arkansas 2010-06-11T00:00:00.000 2010-06-11T00:00:00.000 1 20 Torrential Rain 2 12230 4.3884564527002663 -95.09 34.58 0 61 1 216 2010-06-11T00:00:00.000 878 3128 June 17, 2010: "LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Authorities on Wednesday officially called off the search for victims of the flash flooding that killed 20 people at a western Arkansas campground last week, shifting their focus to assessing damage and cleaning up debris from the disaster.Gov. Mike Beebe announced that state agencies had ended their role in recovering victims from Friday's flash flooding at the Albert Pike Recreation Area in Montgomery County. Police on Tuesday identified the final known victim from the flood."While the Forest Service will have sole jurisdiction from here forward, Arkansas stands ready to help if any additional assistance is requested," Beebe said in a statement released by his office.State police had already scaled back their search efforts on Tuesday, and a spokesman said the state police mobile command center would leave Thursday morning."At this time, there has been no other individual noted who may be unaccounted for," State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said Wednesday.The U.S. Forest Service said it had shifted its attention to assessing damage from the floods and cleaning up debris. A spokeswoman for the agency said she did not know when the campground would reopen."It will likely take a week or so for the initial assessments just to give us a better idea of what kind of damages were caused by the floods," said Tracy Farley, of the service's Ouachita National Forest division.Beebe's office also said the governor has been in touch with Forest Service officials about potential federal assistance for the victims' families and for those who assisted with the search efforts.Lawmakers continued to focus attention on what steps could be taken to better notify campers in remote campsites of impending emergencies.Sen. Mark Pryor said he planned to meet with Forest Service officials to discuss ways to improve communications. The agency is reviewing how to improve communication after Friday's flash flooding.Weather forecasters warned of the flooding four times over the course of an hour.But the campsite did not have a ranger on duty, cell phone service was spotty and weather radio signals did not reach there.Pryor said the solution may be as simple as warning bells set up at the camp, or an informational campaign."My preference would be something simple and low-tech," Pryor said. "I've heard a lot of different ideas over the last few days, but the bottom line is those folks were asleep when this happened and even if they had gotten a radio signal down there ... I'm not sure that a lot of them would have heard it."Campers would have been told about a flash flood watch posted at midday Thursday, but the flood arrived after 2 a.m. Friday when many were asleep. At times, the Little Missouri River rose eight feet per hour" June 11, 2010: "At least 12 people died at an Arkansas campground after heavy rain and flash flooding and many more could be trapped in the area, state authorities said.Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe told CNN there's word from the Red Cross that there could have been as many as 300 people in the rugged area of western Arkansas, but he said there is no registration that would show the precise number of people in the region -- which is in the Albert Pike campground area.Bill Sadler, a state police spokesman who confirmed the death toll to CNN -- said a search is on for people still trapped in the area, a relatively remote and rural region where cell phone service could be spotty."The primary mission of the Arkansas State Police working with local authorities right now is to get the living out of the area and locate the dead," Sadler told CNN.Video: 12 killed in Arkansas campground flood He said two helicopters are working to locate and assist in rescuing the living. He said local authorities are providing search volunteers and a temporary morgue has been set up.Beebe said the water of the Little Missouri River rose from about 3 feet Thursday night to more than 20 feet early Friday in the U.S. Forest Service campground."It was a very rapid flash flood that inundated that area," Beebe said. "It's an unmanned campground in terms of being a campground with all the amenities."He said rescue crews on foot, in helicopters, and in vehicles were combing the area. He said law enforcement, National Guard and parks personnel were working on the search-and-rescue efforts 3658 69 TC-2010-000108-PAK Pakistan Oman Karachi 2010-06-06T00:00:00.000 2010-06-07T00:00:00.000 2 23 4000 Tropical Cyclone Phet 1 59030 5.072102778885176 67.900000000000006 25.12 0 61 1 215 2010-06-06T00:00:00.000 878 3127 June 7, 2010: "Tropical storm Phet made landfall in Pakistan late Sunday, bringing rainfall that caused flooding in and around Karachi, Pakistan's largest city. Officials say the storm claimed at least seven lives from electrocution.Emergency officials evacuated residents along Pakistan's southern coast. The officials said thousands of Pakistanis departed for safer locations, but some refused to leave their homes.Forecasters say the storm will bring widespread rain - and will weaken into a tropical depression as it moves inland.The storm hit Oman Friday with cyclone strength. Omani officials blamed Phet for causing at least 16 deaths....Tropical Cyclone PHET-10 of Saffir-Simpson Category 4 affected 295 thousand people with winds above 39mph (63 km/h) and 16.4 million people with hurricane wind strengths (74mph or 119 km/h). In addition, 164 thousand people are living in coastal areas below 5m and can therefore be affected by storm surge. 3657 68 Hungary Slovakia Poland Southern Poland 2010-05-29T00:00:00.000 2010-06-11T00:00:00.000 14 3000 Heavy Rain 1 175000 6.3891660843645326 19.8 49.67 1 61 1 214 2010-05-29T00:00:00.000 878 3126 June 11, 2010: "As Windsor and Essex County reel after Sunday’s vicious storms, Windsor’s Polish sister city is facing its own flood crisis, says Coun. Drew Dilkens.“It creates a different meaning on the whole concept of a sister city,” said Dilkens, reached in Lublin, Poland, where the rising Vistula River has drowned much of the countryside. He said he’s hoping to help raise funds for the eastern Polish city and its surrounds.The rising river, he said, has flooded an area four kilometres by 80 kilometres in size and displaced 15,000 people in over 120 villages, though the floodwaters have yet to reach downtown Lublin. He said they’re about a 15-minute drive away.“All you see are the tips of stop signs, some rooftops,” he said. Everything else is underwater. “You see branches and tops of trees but no trunks.”Some villagers, he said, didn’t want to leave. Many of them had to be retrieved from their rooftops by rescue boats after the flood swept into their homes.“They’ve got over a thousand volunteers from all across Poland … filling sandbags.“They’re already at US$20 million just to fix the roads. June 7, 2010: "Thousands of firefighters and soldiers are strengthening dykes that are crumbling in a second wave of massive flooding in southern Poland following weeks of torrential rains.Some 3,000 people have been evacuated from eight villages after the Vistula river spilled over near Szczucin, where massive flooding first hit in May. The Vistula was also inundating the streets and houses in a part of Sandomierz, after dykes repaired after the May flooding, succumbed. Some villages are cut off completely. More rain is forecast. Hungary has been hit by high waters with flooding stranding several thousand people in the north of the country.After a month of near-continuous rainfall, the banks of the Hernad, Sajo and Boldva rivers have broken, causing 2,300 people to be evacuated.In Budapest the docks of the flooded river Danube were shut while the banks of Margaret island, a well-known tourist destination in the capital, have been shored up with sand bags.Agricultural experts have said the floods will create inflation, with a drop of between 30 and 40 percent in fruit production.More rain is expected during the next week. June 5, 2010: " Hungary has been hit by high waters with flooding stranding several thousand people in the north of the country.After a month of near-continuous rainfall, the banks of the Hernad, Sajo and Boldva rivers have broken, causing 2,300 people to be evacuated.In Budapest the docks of the flooded river Danube were shut while the banks of Margaret island, a well-known tourist destination in the capital, have been shored up with sand bags.Agricultural experts have said the floods will create inflation, with a drop of between 30 and 40 percent in fruit production.More rain is expected during the next week Slovakia is experiencing its worst flooding in a thousand years, Prime Minister Robert Fico said Saturday. ....Nonetheless, the country has experienced 'massive luck' because the death toll is no higher than the three that have so far been reported, he told a news conference attended by several government ministers. Fico also praised the work of local authorities, who probably saved thousands of lives by evacuating people promptly as the flood waters threatened. Across the country, flooding has swollen rivers and ponds to levels higher than can be measured by existing metres. Interior Minister Robert Kalinak noted that some communities which have never before experienced flooding are now facing flooding. Because they have no experience with floods, they are totally unprepared, he said. Fico warned of the likelihood that the receding waters could cause heavy damage to the country's railways and bridges. More than 3,000 troops have been deployed nationwide to support firefighters. Fico's left-wing Direction-Social Democratic party, like other competitors in the upcoming June 12 national elections, has suspended campaigning during the floods and opted to donate money earmarked for the race to flood victims. Floods have been wreaking havoc across Eastern Europe for weeks, with widespread damage stretching from Poland to Serbia 3656 67 FL-2010-000107-PHL Philippines Southern Midaneo Island 2010-05-29T00:00:00.000 2010-06-01T00:00:00.000 4 27 Torrential Rain 1 22340 4.9511431601075531 125.3 6.78 0 60 1 213 2010-05-29T00:00:00.000 877 3125 June 1, 2010: " UP to 40,000 people may be forcibly evacuated after torrential rains caused heavy flooding in the southern Philippines, an official says. Ten villages in the town of Sultan Kudarat on southern Mindanao Island were under waist-deep waters after a river overflowed its banks due to rains that began on Friday, local social welfare department head Pombaen Kadir said today."We are preparing to evacuate them," Mr Kadir said."They still do not want to leave their homes which are now under waist-deep water, but we may force them to leave once the situation deteriorates."She said the main highway that cuts through the affected areas had been rendered impassable to light vehicles. Army troops in the area have also dispatched trucks to help in the planned evacuation efforts, she said...Flood,Philippines: Up to 40,000 people evacuated after torrential rains caused heavy flooding in the southern Philippines." 3655 66 Canada Winnepeg 2010-05-29T00:00:00.000 2010-05-31T00:00:00.000 3 Heavy Rain 1 24790 4.8713977814874836 -97.79 49.88 0 60 1 212 2010-05-29T00:00:00.000 877 3124 May 31, 2010: " More than 500 Winnipeg homes were hit by flooding caused by a weekend of torrential rain many people will only experience once in their lives.The two storms that roared through the city Saturday caused a once-in-50-year downpour, according to City of Winnipeg officials.The storms dumped 110 millimetres of rain turning streets and fields into lakes.'That's like a half-year supply of thunderstorm hours in southern Manitoba.'—Dave Phillips, Environment Canada Prior to that soaking, the city had only received 48 millimetres of rain in May, according to Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips."Over the weekend, my gosh, I can't believe the number of thunderstorms — Friday, Saturday, 13 hours of thunderstorms — that's like a half-year supply of thunderstorm hours in southern Manitoba," Phillips said. Calls to the city's 311 service as of noon Monday, show 513 homes experienced soggy basements, according to City of Winnipeg officials.A tree topped onto a car at Flora Avenue and Parr Street during a thunderstorm Friday in Winnipeg. (CBC)Motorists who had their vehicles damaged during the storms have also begun to file claims with Manitoba Public Insurance.So far, more than 200 flood-related claims have been filed, said MPI spokesman Brian Smiley.About half the claims come from Winnipeg, where many vehicles sustained damage after going through underpasses filled with water and becoming partially submerged.Other vehicles were hit by debris, even trees, tossed about by strong winds. Claims from outside the city are vehicles damaged because they were parked in low-lying areas and were swamped.Flooding across city Calls to the city about flooded basements came from nearly every neighbourhood and are not concentrated in one area, officials said. "It doesn't make you happy when you see people moving out mattresses and beds to their back yards and having to get pumps to pump out the water," said Mayor Sam Katz, who viewed some of the damage Sunday in the city's Transcona neighbourhood."There were some very bad scenarios." A sign for the golf cart path is nearly submerged on the flooded Transcona golf course Sunday. (Richard Romanow)In addition to seeping into basements, the rain washed debris into streets and clogged drains, which resulted in the development of large pools of water spreading across streets and into yards.Some roadways were barricaded to keep vehicles from passing through dangerously deep water.Transcona resident John Tubicz was at a local hardware store at noon Sunday and watched people frantically buy up the stock of pumps to get water out of their basements."People were racing to the sump pumps and within seconds the shelf was empty," he said.He estimates the damage in his basement at a few thousand dollars.'You know, I can't cry. It's beyond that point.' —Winnipegger Diane WitwickiAnother city resident, Diane Witwicki, was having trouble comprehending the amount of damage in her home."Insulation, the paneling. Everything. The carpeting. You name it. Everything's gone," she said. "Some of it was my mom's — my mom's been dead for 26 years. You know, I can't cry. It's beyond that point."Problems at the pumps Some of the problems in South Transcona can be traced back to a problem at the pumping station that serves the area, said Randy Hull, Winnipeg's emergency preparedness coordinator."All three pumps at one point had failed. When I visited there about 2:30 a.m. [Monday] they were not operational, but when I went by at 8:30 a.m. they were in operation," he said.Despite the faulty pumps, the city is not responsible for flooded basements in the area because the storm was an act of God, Hull said.In Brandon, the thunderstorms did much of the same damage to yards and basements, while also uprooting several trees across the city. Rick Bailey, director of parks and recreation, said the clean-up should take all week."[The] soil's just become so saturated, and then when you get that wind that come through, that's where a lot of the trees come over," he said.The Assiniboine Community College's North Hill campus was badly hit with about 25 toppled trees.Rising riverThe rainfall has also raised the level of the Red River and prompted officials to activate the floodway, a 48-kilometre channel that diverts water around the eastern side of Winnipeg.Flood Forecaster Alf Warkentin said the Red River in through Winnipeg went up nearly three metres on the weekend and could rise another half-metre by the end of Tuesday.Most of the tributaries leading into the Red and Assiniboine River have emptied, so the rate of the increase is dropping off.High river levels in Winnipeg impact the city sewer system's ability to operate at a normal capacity. That means there is an increased risk of basement flooding as the overloaded system backs up through household sewer lines that aren't protected by sump pumps and backwater valves." 3654 65 New Zealand Otago 2010-05-25T00:00:00.000 2010-05-31T00:00:00.000 7 Heavy Rain 2 25180 5.5471837614500821 170.37 -45.69 60 1 211 2010-05-25T00:00:00.000 877 3123 May 30, 2010: The total clean-up cost for flood-stricken Otago will not be known for "days if not weeks", Civil Defence says. The extent of the damage across the region became apparent yesterday as surface flooding receded and the clean-up operation began. Waitaki Civil Defence spokesman Scott Ridley today said the area was slowly returning to normal. "Some places that were looking like lakes are starting to look normal, even if they are sodden," he said. "Our roads aren't in ideal condition any more but we'll get on to fixing them over the coming months." Mr Ridley said about 50 rural roads remained closed, but some could reopen as contractors assessed and prioritised repairs. The about 3500 residents of Palmerston in Waitaki district remained on restricted water supplies to prevent contamination from polluted water, he said. The local reservoir has enough water for three days, provided residents conserved water, and the main supply would be restored once the Shag River level dropped. An New Zealand Army Unimog, police and civil defence staff delivered food and water over the weekend to areas isolated because of high water and land slips. Mr Ridley said while some residents remained cut off, they were "all sorted". It was too early to say how much the clean-up effort would cost, although it was likely to be in the millions, he said. "There won't be an official figure from the council for days, if not weeks." Mr Ridley said the flood was not as bad as expected but "it's definitely one of the biggest we've had in the last few years". "We're pleased with the response, we never want it to flood but we're please with how things went, and we're really pleased with how the people of Waitaki reacted in looking after their neighbours and lending a hand of support." 3653 64 TC-2010-000105-GTM Guatamala El Salvador Honduras In Guatamala: departments of Escuintla, Suchitep?quez, Retalhuleu, San Marcos, Quetzaltenango, Huehuetenango, Totonicap?n, Solol?, Chimaltenango and Guatemala 2010-05-18T00:00:00.000 2010-05-24T00:00:00.000 7 172 94000 Tropical Cyclone Agatha 2 68700 5.9830847727377883 -89.56 14.07 0 60 0 210 2010-05-18T00:00:00.000 877 3122 May 31, 2010: " Stunned victims of Tropical Storm Agatha wept by destroyed homes and rescue crews dug bodies out of mud in Guatemala yesterday after torrential rain killed at least 113 people across Central America. People caked in dirt searched for their loved ones as the stench of mud and sewage from flooded drains filled the air of towns outside Guatemala City and emergency workers urged survivors to leave ruined houses and go to shelters.The first named storm of the 2010 Pacific hurricane season, Agatha slammed into Guatemala on Saturday, dumping more than 3ft of rain in the west of the country and in neighbouring El Salvador, and sparking worries about damage to the coffee crop in both countries. "I've got no one to help me. I watched the water take everything," said Carlota Ramos in the town of Amatitlan near the Guatemalan capital, crying outside her house which was almost completely swamped by mud.More than 50 people were still missing in Guatemala yesterday, and exhausted rescue workers hauled away stones and tree trunks from crushed houses as they fought to reach the wounded. "We just have shovels and picks," said a firefighter, Mario Cruz, who had been working almost nonstop since Friday night. Some helicopters ferried tents and medical supplies to towns on Guatemala's Pacific coast and the government was due to open its doors to international aid yesterday.More than 94,000 people have been evacuated as the storm buried homes under mud, swept away a highway bridge near Guatemala City and opened up sinkholes in the capital. The head of emergency services, Alejandro Maldonado, said at least 92 people had died in Guatemala, and 54 others were missing. Nine people were killed in El Salvador and 12 in Honduras."Tropical Cyclone,Guatemala: The first named tropical storm of the 2010 Pacific hurricane season ? Agatha ? caused severe rainfall in the departments of Escuintla, Suchitep?quez, Retalhuleu, San Marcos, Quetzaltenango, Huehuetenango, Totonicap?n, Solol?, Chimaltenango and Guatemala. Guatemalan authorities report 12 deaths, 22 people missing and that 7,627 people have been affected to some degree by the storm and 4,975 people have been directly affected by the effects of the storm. 3652 63 TC-2010-000097-IND India Coastal Andhra Pradesh 2010-05-18T00:00:00.000 2010-05-24T00:00:00.000 7 27 50000 1 63170 5.6456089169086248 79.48 15.22 0 60 1 210 2010-05-18T00:00:00.000 877 3122 May 22, 2010: " A brave police constable who jumped into swirling flood waters to save a woman got washed away in the strong currents in coastal Andhra Pradesh. His body was recovered Friday.Constable Mohammad Rafi was Thursday washed away in the flood waters while trying to save a woman trapped on a tractor in a stream in Addanki town of cyclone-hit Prakasam district.Police quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the constable jumped into the stream to save the woman crying for help but in the process got washed away. The stream was overflowing its banks following heavy rains due to the severe cyclonic storm Laila.A bus conductor Yanadi Rao was also drowned in the stream. Heavy rains since Tuesday have claimed 27 lives in coastal Andhra Pradesh" "Tropical Cyclone,India: A cyclone intensified over the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday, forcing a southern Indian oilfield to shut and cut its gas output, and the evacuation of some 50,000 people in the region, officials said" 3651 62 FL-2010-000122-CHN China Southern China 2010-05-15T00:00:00.000 2010-06-28T00:00:00.000 45 379 2370000 Monsoonal Rain 1.5 234200 7.1988906635673695 115.48 26.44 x 1 60 1 209 2010-05-15T00:00:00.000 877 3121 June 28, 2010: "Floods in China have killed 379 people this year as of Saturday, and left 141 missing, the flood control authority said Saturday.Heavy rains and ensuing floods in 2010 have affected 68.7 million people in 22 provincial-level regions and 4.36 million hectares of farmland, according to the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.The direct economic losses have totalled 82.4 billion yuan (12.1 billion U.S. dollars),Heavy rains and floods in south and central China had killed 235 people and left 109 missing as of 11 a.m. Friday, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.Water levels of major lakes in south China have been rising steadily with some becoming dangerously high.Poyang Lake rose to 19.51 meters on Saturday morning, 0.01 meters above the safe level. And Dongting Lake swelled to 31.41 meters, but was still 1.09 meters below the risk level.The Ministry of Water Resources has urged local authorities to keep a vigilant watch on key dikes to prevent bursting""Flood,China, P Rep: As of 22 June, according to government statistics, the latest round of floods which began early in the month of June has affected more than 29 million people and 1.6 million hectares of crops in the areas of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Chongqing, Sichuan and Guizhou. The downpours triggered flash floods, inundated crops, destroyed reservoirs and irrigation facilities, and disrupted traffic and telecommunications Latest figures indicate that up to 199 people have perished, 123 people are missing, 2.37 million people were evacuated, and 195,000 houses collapsed, with direct economic losses amounting to approximately CNY 42.1 billion (CHF 7.01 billion or EUR 5.03 billion)".June 7, 2010: "At least 51 people were killed in landslides and floods triggered by heavy rain in south China, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday. The downpour, which hit Guangxi Zhuang region on Monday, has affected over 2 million people, causing excessive damage. At least 15 freshwater reservoirs have been damaged. South China is annually stormed by torrential rains, often leading to hundreds of deaths" June 3, 2010: "Beijing - The death toll in heavy rains and landslides in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China has risen to 30, a media report said Thursday. Ten more bodies had been found, bringing the total to 30 dead, the official news agency Xinhua reported. Another 18 people were still missing, officials in Cenxi city told Xinhua. There have been heavy rains in Guangxi since Monday. They caused landslides Wednesday that killed 12 people in Cenxi, 15 in Rongxian county and one each in Tengxian county, Donglan county and Fangchenggang city. The authorities had evacuated 79,600 people by late Wednesday. The floods have destroyed more than 4,200 houses and 117,000 hectares of crops, officials said. May 24, 2010: " Over 165,000 evacuated in South China floods. Rescuers help evacuate people from a flooded village in Zhangshu city, Jiangxi province, Saturday May 22, 2010. Rivers swelled up in flood-soaked South China as persistent rainstorms since early May threatened to spill over reservoirs and damage power facilities. More than 165,000 people have been evacuated in Hunan and Jiangxi, where regional schools have been suspended, affecting over 65,000 students, Xinhua reported Saturday. [Photo/Xinhua] Rescuers help evacuate a child from a flooded village in Zhangshu city, Jiangxi province, Saturday May 22, 2010. [Photo/Xinhua] Rescuers help evacuate people from a flooded village in Xinyu city, Jiangxi province, Saturday May 22, 2010. [Photo/Xinhua] A man maneuvers a makeshift ferry in flooded waters at a residential area in Shunchang County of Nanping City, Fujian province, Sunday May 23, 2010. [Photo/Xinhua] A man maneuvers a makeshift ferry in flooded waters at a residential area in Shunchang County of Nanping City, Fujian province, Sunday May 23, 2010. [Photo/Xinhua].Rescuers help evacuate people from a flooded village in Zhangshu city, Jiangxi province, Saturday May 22, 2010. Rivers swelled up in flood-soaked South China as persistent rainstorms since early May threatened to spill over reservoirs and damage power facilities. More than 165,000 people have been evacuated in Hunan and Jiangxi, where regional schools have been suspended, affecting over 65,000 students, Xinhua reported Saturday. " 3650 61 India Assam. Brahmaputra's tributaries Ranganadi and Singora; 30 villages under Lakhimpur and Naoboicha Revenue Circles 2010-05-15T00:00:00.000 2010-06-26T00:00:00.000 43 10000 Monsoonal Rain 1.5 23810 6.1863191100401478 93.12 26.63 x 1 59 1 208 2010-05-15T00:00:00.000 876 3120 June 26, 2010: "The flood situation in Assam today deteriorated further with the water level of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries rising alarmingly and inundating fresh tracts of land.The worst affected districts are Lakhimpur and Jorhat in Upper Assam and the situation was turning worse in several other districts, official sources said.More than 70 villages have been inundated in Lakhimpur by the rising waters of Ranganadi, Dikroi, Kakoi and Singra, all tributaries of the Brahmpautra and the worst affected are the villages under the Naoboicha revenue circle, they said.In Jorhat district, Brahmaputra's tributary Saraikoni river has breached two embankments under Titabor sub-division inundating 40 villages including 15 schools and a sattra (vaishnav monastery). The other affected districts are Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Dhemaji and Morigaon.More than fifty thousand people have been affected and road communication disrupted in several parts of these districts due to over-topping of the roads by flood water.The state government has directed the district authorities to provide necessary relief and rehabilitation to the affected, sources said." May 31, 2010: "Lakhimpur: Assam's flood prone Lakhimpur district was hit by the third wave of floods today following heavy rainfall in the foothills of the Himalayas in Arunachal Pradesh affecting more than 25,000 people, official sources said.The rising water of Ranganadi and Singora rivers, tributaries of the Brahmaputra, have inundated 50 villages under Naoboicha and Lakhimpur Revenue circles affecting more than 25,000 villagers, sources said.The flood waters have washed away a section of National Highway 52 disrupting road communication.Angry villagers who have been affected by the flood waters of these two rivers since April last blocked the highway and gheraoed the Circle office in Naoboicha.The villagers have alleged that the flood relief sanctioned by the state government did not reach them and funds allotted for road damaged due to floods have also not been utilised properly.Tension prevailed in the area and senior civil and police officials have rushed to the spot. May 17, 2010: " Assam's flood-prone districts of Lakhimpur and Dhemaji was on Sunday hit by the second flood of the season following heavy rainfall in the catchment areas, official sources said.The water level of Brahmaputra's tributaries Ranganadi and Singora was rising alarmingly with fresh areas being inundated affecting 30 villages under Lakhimpur and Naoboicha Revenue Circles.The North Eastern Electricity Power Corporation released 30 cusecs of water and opened its sluice gates at the Ranganadi Hydel Power Project following technical snag in one of its power grid yesterday, the sources said.This also led to fresh flooding in the two districts with the causeway of NH-52 near Ranganadi Bridge submerged and road communication disrupted.The state government has directed the district administration to provide immediate relief and rehabilitation to the affected people, the sources said.Several districts of Upper Assam was hit by the first wave of floods since the last week of March."A newly-married couple was killed in a lightning strike while flash floods triggered by heavy rains displaced more than 10,000 people in 25 villages in Assam Sunday, officials said.A police spokesperson said the couple died Sunday when lightning struck their home in village Bokulguri in Nagaon district, about 160 km east of here.'The two died instantly as their thatched hut was severely damaged in lightning,' the official said.Meanwhile, flash floods inundated 25 villages in Lakhimpur district with the Brahmaputra river breaching two embankment.'So far about 10,000 people have been displaced with many taking shelter on raised platforms,' an official said.Floodwaters of the mighty Brahmaputra also entered the 430 sq km Kaziranga National Park in Assam forcing scores of endangered animals to flee the park to safer areas, officials said.'More than half of the park is under water. Animals are migrating from the sanctuary to an adjoining hill for safety,' a park warden said.Kaziranga is home to the world's largest concentration of one-horned rhinoceros. As per the 2009 census report, some 2,000 of the world's estimated 3,000 one-horned rhinos live in the park..." 3649 60 FL-2010-000092-LKA Sri Lanka Central and southern Sri Lanka 2010-05-08T00:00:00.000 2010-05-23T00:00:00.000 16 20 75000 Heavy Rain 1 19210 5.4876473475176182 80.59 6.83 0 58 1 207 2010-05-08T00:00:00.000 875 3119 May 22, 2010: "COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lankan government says 20 people have died in floods and mudslides after a week of powerful storms brought heavy rain across the country.The Disaster Management Center said on its website Friday that most of the deaths occurred in western Gampaha district.The government says many homes have been inundated and roads washed out. The navy has stepped up operations to rescue those stranded and to distribute relief." May 17, 2010: " COLOMBO (AFP) - At least three people were killed and about 75,000 people were driven out of their homes as monsoon rains lashed Sri Lanka on Monday, the disaster management centre said.Some roads in the capital and in worst-hit central and southern Sri Lanka have been rendered impassable, the centre's assistant director Pradeep Kodipillai said.The Meteorological Department warned there could be landslides in some parts of the country.Since Sunday, electricity supplies to main towns outside the capital have been disrupted due to trees falling on powerlines.Sri Lanka depends on monsoon rains for irrigation and power generation but the seasonal downpours frequently cause loss of life and damage to property in low-lying areas.The island's two main monsoon seasons run from May to September and December to February."Several districts including Colombo, Kalutara, Gampaha and Puttalam were effected by the incessant rains. More than 3600 families in the Wattala area were affected. Over 4100 families were affected by floods in other districts." 3648 59 FF-2010-000094-CZE, FF-2010-000094-POL, FF-2010-000094-HUN Czech Republic Poland Hungary Serbia Northeastern Czech Republic, southern, central, and northern Poland, Hungary, Slovakia 2010-05-15T00:00:00.000 2010-05-24T00:00:00.000 10 12 Heavy Rain 2 121800 6.3866772839608377 19.64 49.77 1 58 1 206 2010-05-15T00:00:00.000 875 3118 May 30, 2010: "German Chancellor Angela Merkel along with Brandenburg's state premier Matthias Platzeck paid a visit to Frankfurt an der Oder near the Polish border on Saturday to show her support for rescue workers trying to contain the worst floods in the region since 1997.Merkel praised the team effort between Polish and German authorities and rescue workers, Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported."We are seeing very close cooperation here," she said during an inspection of the Oder river, which burst its banks in Poland two weeks ago and reached Germany last Thursday. The Oder was closed to shipping for a fourth consecutive day on Saturday. Water levels have fallen in Frankfurt (Oder) and other areas of Brandenburg after reaching peak levels on Friday. The state remains on high alert as the water level is not expected to recede for several days.But Merkel warned of complacency. "The danger has not yet passed," she said.Poland has seen the worst of the flooding in the last two weeks, claiming the lives of at least 21 people and forcing thousands of Poles from their homes. The damage is estimated at 2 billion euros or more.Poland has earmarked 400,000 euros for the flood victims and has asked the EU for help.The floods have also affected Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia."May 24, 2010: "Flood death toll rises to 12 2010-05-22, 12:58 Another three deaths were confirmed, Friday night, bringing the death toll from the floods which have engulfed parts of southern and central Poland to 12....Warsaw - Eighteen Polish communities were flooded Monday in a region about 100 kilometres north-west of Warsaw after part of a protective flood barrier broke Sunday near the town of Plock. An area of 8,000 hectares was underwater, reported the PAP news agency, forcing the evacuation of 4,000 people and 5,000 animals. There were concerns that 10,000 residents of the towns of Gabin and Slubice could also be threatened by floodwaters from the river Vistula, said Ivetta Bialy, spokeswoman for the administrative district of Mazowsze. About 800 cubic metres of water a second are pouring through the breach, said officials. The opening, initially 50 metres long, has stretched to 200 metres. About 32 tons of debris was thrown into the breach overnight into Monday. Hundreds of firefighters and soldiers have been mobilized. Tensions also remained high in Warsaw because of the flooding threat. About 120 schools and kindergartens were shut and at least one major thoroughfare was shut down. The Vistula's levels have receded since Sunday, but dykes remain under threat of collapse due to the continuing water pressure. " May 17, 2010: " Heavy rains were causing flooding in the northeastern Czech Republic, southern Poland and Hungary on Monday. At least three people died. Czech police said a 69-year-old woman drowned in the town of Trinec, 400 kilometres east of Prague.In Poland, a man fell into the Koszarawa River late Sunday and drowned, said Jozef Pietraszko, deputy commander of the Zywiec firefighters. The body was found 2 kilometres downstream.Officials in Hungary described the situation in the northeastern county of Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen as "catastrophic." One man died Saturday in the flooding and more than 2 000 people have been evacuated or rescued from their homes.In the town of Szikszo, about 200 kilometres north-east from the Hungarian capital of Budapest, over 40 patients had to be moved to higher floors after the ground floor of the Ferenc Rakoczi II Hospital was flooded and the building surrounded by water, hospital director Sandor Tiba said.Despite the problems caused by the flooding of the nearby Vadasz stream, the hospital remained open.The main roads to Szikszo were also under water, as were many other roads in the area.Authorities did evacuate patients from a hospital in the Czech town of Bohumin, where several neighbourhoods submerged in water were evacuated.Hundreds of people have been evacuated in the Czech Republic while thousands are without electricity.About 400 people have been evacuated from their homes south of Krakow and Katowice in Poland.A number of Czech roads and railway lines were closed as rivers burst their banks on Monday.Authorities warned that the rain would continue in all three countries, and Polish firefighters prepared to evacuate another 1 500 people. - Sapa-AP""Flash Flood,Poland: Flash floods triggered by days of heavy rain have killed at least four people, forced mass evacuations and cut off power to thousands in central Europe.Flash Flood,Czech Rep: Flash floods triggered by days of heavy rain have killed at least four people, forced mass evacuations and cut off power to thousands in central Europe.Flash Flood,Hungary: Flash floods triggered by days of heavy rain have killed at least four people, forced mass evacuations and cut off power to thousands in central Europe." 3647 58 Pakistan Newly formed Attabad lake on the River Hunza 2010-05-08T00:00:00.000 2010-05-23T00:00:00.000 16 Heavy Rain 1 6707 5.0306482889965762 73.38 35.590000000000003 0 57 1 205 2010-05-08T00:00:00.000 874 3117 May 14, 2010: " Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is set to visit a lake in the north, formed after a landslide and on the verge of breaking its banks.Officials say thousands of villagers have left the area as waters are rising rapidly. Reports say many homes nearby have already been submerged. Attabad lake formed when landslides blocked a river in January. On Thursday army officials said they were continuing efforts to help with draining the swelling lake. Lt Gen Shaid Niaz said that "spillways" were being dug around the lake as a temporary solution to help water drain from it. Officials have warned that the danger of the lake overflowing and flooding the area would be highest during the rainy season in June. At least 36 villages situated downstream on the River Hunza are still considered to be at risk. Various political parties and local authorities have set up relief camps in the area to cater for villagers who have fled the vicinity of the lake. Gen Niaz said arrangements were also being made to cover contingencies such as the possibility of flash floods. Officials say that parts of the famous Karakoram highway to China could be washed away if the lake's banks burst. A section of the highway is already blocked as a result of the landslides and lake. The area where the landslide took place is remoteThe landslide at the village of Attabad, about 30km (18 miles) north-east of the town of Aliabad, occurred during snowstorms in January. The landslide caused debris to block the River Hunza, which in turn prevented water from flowing downstream and created what is now referred to as Attabad lake. Over the last four months water has been accumulating in the lake, which is now about 11km (6.8 miles) long. The water is more than 100m (330ft) deep in places" 3646 57 Kenya Western Kenya, Amoni, Osuret, Asing'e, Among'ura, Kamolo and Osajai; Salabani location, Marigat District in Rift Valley province 2010-05-08T00:00:00.000 2010-05-24T00:00:00.000 17 100 70000 Heavy Rain 1.5 196100 6.6990177741017396 36 1.5 1 57 1 204 2010-05-08T00:00:00.000 874 3116 May 24, 2010: "We're on standby and are monitoring the river's water level," said Ms Nelly Muluka, the Kenya Red Cross Society's communications officer. Residents of villages next to the river have been torn between heeding government calls to evacuate and staying behind to salvage crops on farms, exposing themselves to danger.According to the Kenya Red Cross Society, 93 people have lost their lives so far and over 69,000 have been displaced.More than 130,000 others are affected by floods countrywide. The floods have killed thousands of livestock, with over 1,800 goats and sheep swept away. School buildings have also not been spared.Some 3,000 displaced families in transit camps in the North Rift face the risk of contracting waterborne diseases.In Trans Nzoia, more than 400 families have been displaced and farmland washed away.Residents of Budalang'i have been put on high alert as River Nzoia water level keeps rising.In Nyatike, food crops were swept downstream, with fears of a possible food shortage if the downpour persists.Murram roads in the region were also swept away. Vehicles are forced to take longer routes to avoid getting stuck on the muddy stretches." The Red Cross recently appealed for Sh538 million to assist the victims" May 17, 2010: "The Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) is appealing for KShs 540 million to aid victims of floods that have wrecked havoc in different parts of the country, which have so far, claimed more than 70 lives.The long rains pounding the country have continued to wreck havoc with reported loss of property, livestock and crops.KRCS estimates that 9,839 households have been displaced countrywide.An alert has already been issued for people living in lowland areas, downstream of River Tana to move to higher ground as the river could burst its banks leading to massive flooding.KRCS deputy Secretary General James Kisia said that over 12,800 people have been affected by the flooding with fears growing over outbreaks of water borne diseases.Kisia said the floods have also killed hundreds of livestock and destroyed thousands of acres of crops.The charity organisation has supplied food and non food items including tents to over 60,000 displaced persons.In Western Kenya, ten people have died and 10,000 displaced. The situation is critical in six locations of Amoni, Osuret, Asing'e, Among'ura, Kamolo and Osajai with rivers Malakisi and Malaba bursting their banks.This has rendered many families homeless and seeking refuge on trees and hilltops.Floods in Salabani location, Marigat District in Rift Valley province have displaced some 1 520 people. In Sasur Location, Mt Elgon district, 21 families have been identified for immediate relocation amid fears of landslides due to the ongoing heavy rains.The floods, which started on Monday, have submerged six of the seven villages in Salabani sub location." May 14, 2010: " Kenya issued a flood alert yesterday and said three dams on the country’s longest river were likely to overflow in the coming days as heavy rains continue to pound east Africa. El Nino weather patterns across the region are blamed for the flooding and landslides that have destroyed roads and buildings and killed scores in east Africa’s biggest economy. “We only have one metre of space left before Masinga dam starts overflowing and that will consequently cause the overflow of Kiambere, Gitaru dams setting off major flooding in northeastern and eastern Kenya,” said Colonel Vincent Anami, the head of the national disaster operations centre. An evacuation exercise is already under way which will move thousands of people living close to River Tana, Anami said by telephone. The Kenya Red Cross Society said 81 people had been killed by flooding and landslides since the beginning of the year, down from its earlier estimate of 100 in the first four months. The government put the death toll at 71. ...Six people have died as a result of floods that are ravaging in the country, the Kenya Red Cross has said.The six were swept away by heavy current on River Seiya at Wamba, Samburu East in Rift Valley province on Friday afternoon."As of 7 a.m. today (Saturday) we have recovered five bodies, two males and three females," said Red Cross communications officer Ms Nelly Muluka.She said the agency was looking for a five-year-old girl, who also drowned.Ms Muluka said the five bodies were retrieved 15 kilometres from where they were swept away at Ngokoi. The Red Cross with the help of the community conducted an overnight search and rescue mission, which yielded the five bodies" 3645 56 Indonesia Southern Sulawesi, Kolaka District 2010-05-08T00:00:00.000 2010-05-10T00:00:00.000 3 Heavy Rain 1 24520 4.8666417205660402 122 -3.88 0 56 1 203 2010-05-08T00:00:00.000 873 3115 May 10, 2010: " Floods inundate seven villages in Southeast Sulawesi. Kolaka, Southeast Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - Floods in Kolaka district, Southeast Sulawesi province, since Monday (May 9) has inundated seven villages in the area with the flood waters reaching up to 50 centimeters to two meters high.There had been no report on casualties, but material loss had been predicted to reach hundreds of million rupiah.Vice regent of Kolaka district Amir Sahaka said on Monday the seven flooded villages were Gunung Jaya, Wande, Dangia, Poleag, Ladongi, Pungoloko and Tokai."The flood waters reached up to two meters high. The flood caused panic among the villagers, since it struck when they were sound asleep at midnight," he said adding that two villages Tokai and Pungloko became isolated after a bridge collapsed due to strong current.Apart from heavy rain, Amir said, illegal logging might also have been the cause of the floods inundating the houses and hundreds of hectares of rice field and cacao plantations in the seven villages.Social welfare and medical personnel had sent food supplies such as rice, instant noddle and canned fish to the villagers" 3644 55 FL-2010-000087-TJK Tajikistan Southern Tajikistan, Kulob 2010-05-06T00:00:00.000 2010-05-08T00:00:00.000 3 24 400 20000000 Torrential Rain 1 23140 4.8414846093353932 69.5 38.22 0 56 1 202 2010-05-06T00:00:00.000 873 3114 May 10, 2010: " DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AP) -- The death toll from mudslides and floods that devastated southern Tajikistan late last week has risen to 24 and could increase further, emergency and local residents said Monday.Flash floods are an annual spring occurrence in this mountainous and poor Central Asian nation, but the scale of this year's disaster caught authorities by surprise.The Emergency Situations Commission said the floods have caused tens of millions of dollars in damage, destroying 10 schools, seven hospitals, 27 bridges and 112 miles (187 kilometers) of highway. At least 20 people are still missing.Local residents say the number of casualties from the floods may be higher than the official tally as many have buried by relatives who didn't tell authorities.Thousands of hectares (acres) of grain and cotton fields have been ravaged by the flow of debris, which is a crushing blow for a country whose economy is heavily dependent on agriculture. More than 1,000 head of livestock were drowned.President Emomali Rakhmon visited the worst-affected region, Kulob, over the weekend to inspect the scale of the damage and has promised to provide housing for affected people by this winter."Flood,Tajikistan: The torrential rains of 7 May, 2010, caused floods and mudslides in Tajikistan. In total 10 districts were affected in the south regions, of wich Vose, Muminabad, Temurmalik, Baljuvon and Shurabad districts and Kulyab town of Kulyab region, as well as Nurek, J. Rumi, Yovon and Jilikul districts of Kurgan-tube region. According to the preliminary data received from RCST regional branches, the average number of disaster affected residencies in both regions is some 1059 houses (or 6354 people), out of which 179 houses totally destroyed. On the report of RCST staff and volunteers 60 people were killed, but at this stage only 13 people officially reported by the government, 40-50 are missing, 40 hospitalized and 85 injured. 3643 54 FL-2010-000086-AFG Afghanistan Northern and western regions, including Herat, Ghor and Badghi provinces 2010-05-04T00:00:00.000 2010-05-14T00:00:00.000 11 70 40000 Torrential Rain 1 65810 5.8596845759582212 62.25 34.380000000000003 0 56 1 201 2010-05-04T00:00:00.000 873 3113 May 17, 2010: "The United Nations is helping Afghanistan rush in emergency food and non-food aid for thousands of people hit by floods earlier this month, particularly in the three worst-affected western provinces.Within hours of the floods striking the provinces of Herat, Ghor and Badghis, where at least 70 people have died, hundreds of houses have been destroyed and thousands of livestock have perished, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) teamed up with the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) to bring in children's kits, jerry cans, blankets, biscuits, tarpaulin packs and tents.The remote Bala-Morqhab district of Badghis province, one of the worst-affected areas, is inaccessible to both Government and humanitarian agencies, and community elders led by UNAMA and ANDMA are now assessing how to deliver aid there.Some 20 provinces in all have been hit by flooding and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is providing food to 5,800 families as assessment reports continue to be received. At least 120 people have died overall and 10,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed, nearly a quarter of them in Ghor province alone, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.Assessments have yet to be completed in Herat and Badghis. With significant damage to infrastructure and livelihoods, road clearance, rehabilitation of agricultural land and air access are among priorities that need to be addressed, OCHA said in its latest update, citing an ANDMA briefing.In Faryab province in the north, 2,082 houses have been destroyed and 678 houses partially damaged, while in the north-eastern province of Baghlan nearly 2,000 houses have been destroyed or partially damaged" May 10, 2010: "A second wave of flooding has hit Afghanistan just a week after widespread flash floods left more than 60 dead and thousands homeless. The latest floods have mainly affected the north of the country, while its western regions bore the brunt of last week's deluge. Thousands of mud brick homes have been washed away or damaged and crops have been ruined as large swathes of agricultural land have been inundated. Untold numbers of livestock have also been lost to the floods. The Afghan emergency response authorities have begun getting aid to affected areas, assisted by the UN." May 6, 2010: " Flood,Afghanistan: Rainfall and torrential flooding in western province of Herat has devastated many areas, killing some 14 people, including seven children, injuring 30 others, damaging more than 250 houses and destroying around 300 hectares of agricultural land."..."Kabul, May 5 (DPA) Afghan aid agencies and NATO troops Wednesday rushed relief supplies to western Afghanistan, where flash floods triggered by torrential rains have killed at least 20 people, officials said.The flooding began in the western provinces of Herat and Ghor Tuesday, said Ahmad Shekib Hamraz, an official with the Afghan National Disaster Management Commission.Thirty people were also injured in flooding 100 km east of Herat City, while the “number missing is still unknown”, the NATO alliance said in a statement, quoting initial reports by local authorities.Hamraz said that at least one person was also killed in Ghor, while hundreds of houses were destroyed.Several roads linking the remote areas to provincial capitals were washed away by the floods, making it more difficult for authorities to transports supplies and rescue teams to the region.Afghan and NATO officials conducted an aerial survey of Herat’s flooded Obeh area, while 200 blankets, five tons of food and 20,000 bottles of water were transported by military helicopters to the area, NATO said.Similar flooding was also reported in the northern provinces of Balkh and Samangan, but there were no immediate reports of casualties, officials said." 3642 53 Yemen Sanaa 2010-05-05T00:00:00.000 2010-05-06T00:00:00.000 2 7 Torrential Rain 1 38890 4.8908679388114411 44.31 14.03 0 56 1 200 2010-05-05T00:00:00.000 873 3112 May 6, 2010: "At least seven people were killed in a Sanaa shanty town in the worst flooding to hit the Yemeni capital in over a decade, officials said on Thursday.Witnesses said water streamed down from nearby mountains on Wednesday evening after torrential rain into a low-lying residential area of eastern Sanaa with no drainage system, flooding hundreds of homes."A flood suddenly appeared and invaded the houses," said Jamil Mohamed, a resident of the flooded shanty town.President Ali Abdullah Saleh toured the affected areas of the capital, the defence ministry's online newspaper said.In the capital, where many streets remained flooded, rescue operations continued and more than 250 people were evacuated from their homes and taken to shelter in schools. More rain was forecast for Thursday but was not expected to be as heavy.Seasonal flooding killed about 180 people in 2008 in two eastern provinces, according to U.N. agencies, and floods in 1998 killed at least 48 people south of Sanaa.Of the seven people who died, some drowned and others were killed by falling electricity pylons, officials said. Two more people were hurt and in hospital. 3641 52 USA Tennessee, Kentucky 2010-05-01T00:00:00.000 2010-05-04T00:00:00.000 4 30 8000 Heavy Rain 1 79120 5.5003462699170855 -87.28 36.07 0 56 1 199 2010-05-01T00:00:00.000 873 3111 May 10, 2010: "COLESBURG, KY (WAVE) - Hardin County residents are still cleaning up the damage left behind by last week's flooding. In Colesburg, KY the water level reached seven feet inside some homes. Some residents had to be rescued by boat. The Willett family's first floor was destroyed."I thought we were maybe going to be able to come back to maybe an inch of water," Devie Willett said. "Then I realized the closer - as we waded through - it was just going to be absolute terror in there."Water-soaked furniture covered a section of the driveway. The downstairs floor must be replaced. Next door, eight inches of water reached the inside of the St. Clare Catholic Church, the second oldest church in the state."The water come, up got everything muddy, got everything nasty," member Jerry Fowler said. "The minute it went down, folks come in here to start cleaning."Fowler says members of the congregation had removed church pews ahead of the flood. Now, with the water gone, a chipped concrete floor needs fresh paint, and a strange smell hangs in the air."There's an odor that goes with these floods, and it takes a day or two to get that out of here," Fowler said.Down the street, Colesburg Baptist Church provides three meals a day for people like Sandra Ketron, who lost everything in the flooding."Pictures, my wedding album - our 10th wedding anniversary is coming up this month. It's gone," Ketron said in tears.The family moved to their Colesburg home on Christmas Day in 2005. They had to be rescued by boat earlier this week, and the water in some places was still 15-feet high Saturday."This is all basically dry land, there should be no water there at all," Ketron said.Even though the water level reached seven feet inside the family's home, some things survived." May 4, 2010: "The Cumberland River finally began receding Tuesday, exposing mud-caked homes and submerged cars as officials searched door to door for more victims of a record-busting flash flood and weekend storm already blamed for nearly 30 deaths.No new fatalities were reported Tuesday and it was unclear whether anyone remained missing.The weekend deluge swept many motorists to their deaths even after forecasters and Nashville's mayor warned people not to drive. But staying put carried frightening consequences for others as the swollen Cumberland and its tributaries started pouring into thousands of homes."I kept watching TV that was my source, and (Mayor) Karl Dean was saying stay put, don't drive," Nashville resident Cheri Newlin said. Police eventually told Newlin to evacuate on Monday, but by then, the water was so close that she had to flee by boat, leaving her three cats behind. She is now at a shelter and hasn't been able to get back to her house to check on her pets and assess damage.By Tuesday, the flash floods were blamed in the deaths of 17 people in Tennessee alone, including nine in Nashville. At least nine people died in vehicles in Tennessee. Others were found in their homes or yards, including an elderly couple discovered in their Nashville home. A 21-year-old Nashville resident died when he tried to wade the waters in front of his home but got swept away in the current.Sections of downtown and some of Music City's popular tourist attractions remained flooded Tuesday, including the Grand Ole Opry House and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Full damage estimates were unavailable, but the Opryland Hotel alone suffered more than $75 million in damage; it will be closed for three to six months.The storm dumped more than a foot of rain from Saturday to Sunday, sending floodwaters rising rapidly in the middle of the night.Residents in some of the hardest hit areas said they didn't know if they should flee or stick it out for fear that if they left their homes, they would be swept away by the muddy waters that turned streets into virtual rivers."We had less than an hour to get out," said Amanda Fatherree. She left her home on Nashville's west side Sunday after her mother yelled that the Harpeth River, normally located a quarter-mile away, had crept up to her back porch.Nashville resident Judy Kestner had thought everything was going to be OK Saturday night when she went to bed. The water in her backyard had started receding, and there were no warnings of anything other than flash floods.But then the howlings of her Siberian husky awoke her at 3 a.m. Sunday. The dog had been trapped in about 3 feet of rising water."It was up to her nose. She was barely getting air," said Kestner, 54.Robert Strunk, a retired computer designer who now works at the Opry House, wasn't told to leave until nearly midnight Saturday, and by then, it was too late to drive. Instead, he waded through water up to his thighs carrying his two dogs away from his Nashville home."It's hard enough to walk with two dogs. I'm 77 years old. I couldn't carry clothes or anything," he said.Officials said they made the right call to advise people to stay inside, pointing to a higher number of deaths on the roads and outside than in homes."At this point I'm not going to second-guess and say what should or could have been done differently," Mayor Dean said Tuesday.Hundreds of people had been rescued by boat and canoe from their flooded homes over the past few days. Those rescue operations wound down in Nashville on Tuesday, though it remained unclear how many - if any - people remained missing in Tennessee. Police spokeswoman Rachel Vance said rescuers were going door-to-door in flooded areas to search for more drowning victims but no new deaths were reported as of Tuesday evening.Authorities in south-central Kentucky were searching for a kayaker who was last seen Monday afternoon in the swollen Green River.More than 13.5 inches of rainfall were recorded in Nashville on Saturday and Sunday, according to the National Weather Service, more than double the previous two-day record."You could tell as Saturday went along that this was a totally different event than normal," Dean said Tuesday. "And of course it was very clear by Sunday that we were in a very serious situation."Flash flood watches were issued on Friday, but National Weather Service meteorologist Larry Vannozzi said the service also took the rare step on Saturday to relay an emergency message warning people to stay off the roads."We didn't just barely beat the record and we didn't beat it by a decent amount. We absolutely crushed the record for two-day rainfall in Nashville," he said. "I don't want to seem too dramatic here, but this is off-the-charts record stuff."The water swelled most of the area's lakes, minor rivers, creeks, streams and drainage systems far beyond capacity. Much of that water then drained into the Cumberland, which snakes through Nashville.Bridges were washed out and thousands of homes were damaged. As the water began to recede late Monday, bodies were recovered from homes, a yard and a wooded area outside a Nashville supermarket.The Grand Ole Opry said it was moving its shows to alternate concert halls as water damaged parts of the arena. Floodwaters also edged into the Country Music Hall of Fame and LP Field, where the NFL's Tennessee Titans play. Ryman Auditorium, the longtime former home of the Grand Ole Opry, appeared to be OK.Businesses along Nashville's riverfront lost electricity Tuesday because of the flooding, and restaurants and bars clustered on a downtown street popular with tourists were closed. Laurie Parker, a spokeswoman for Nashville Electric Service, said a main circuit failed before dawn, knocking out power to downtown businesses in a 24-square-block area. Parker said the power in that district would be out the rest of the week.The weekend's storms that spawned tornadoes along with flash flooding also killed six people in Mississippi and four in Kentucky. One person was killed by a tornado in western Tennessee""LOUISVILLE, KY (AP) - A spokesman for the Kentucky National Guard says there are 33 troops assisting local authorities in Monroe, Metcalfe, Casey and Harrison counties as communities continue to struggle with flooding from this weekend's heavy rain.David Altom said Tuesday that number of troops is down from the 43 that were helping out on Monday.Altom says in Monroe and Metcalfe counties, troops are helping block flooded roadways and assisting in evacuations as necessary, as well as helping with damage assessment.In Cynthiana, Altom says troops brought in 40 cots to the Harrison County Emergency Management agency for use in shelters.And in Olive Hill, the fire department has moved into the National Guard armory after the firehouse was flooded 3640 51 Indonesia South Kalimantan 2010-04-16T00:00:00.000 2010-05-02T00:00:00.000 17 Heavy Rain 1 103900 6.2470644689354513 113.97 -2.68 1 56 1 198 2010-04-16T00:00:00.000 873 3110 May 2, 2010: "Banjarmasin, S Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - Floods have been inundating about 90 schools in South Kalimantan Province over the past few weeks, a local government official said.As a result, hundreds of primary school students could not sit for their final exams at their own schools. Instead, they were moved to other schools, Zainal Ariffin said here Monday. The head of the province`s natural disaster management division said all six graders would have their final exams for four days since Tuesday. "South Kalimantan has a total of 199 schools. Until Monday, a half of them remain flooded," Ariffin said.More than 60,000 primary students sit for the final exams this year.For the flood-hit schools, he has asked the school principals to move their students to dried buildings, such as community hall, for the final exams.The 30-to-50-centimeter-deep floods still inundate 65 villages in seven sub-district of three districts throughout South Kalimantan province, he said.In Barito Kuala district, the floods had not only submerged villages in Jejangkit sub-district but also those in the sub-districts of Kuripan, Tabukan, Bakumpai and Jejangkit Timur, he said.This year, the floods reportedly submerged 36,673 houses in 466 villages, he added 3639 50 FL-2010-000077-NAM Namibia Botswana Caprivi region, Zambezi and Chobe rivers 2010-04-16T00:00:00.000 2010-04-21T00:00:00.000 6 11000 Heavy Rain 1 64630 5.5885854063063167 23.23 -18.690000000000001 0 55 1 197 2010-04-16T00:00:00.000 872 3109 April 20, 2010: "Flood,Namibia: The Caprivi region, particularly those constituencies traversed by the Zambezi and Chobe rivers which are Kabbe and Katima Rural have experienced high water flows arising from Zambia causing severe flooding". April 16, 2010: "WITH the flood wave from Zambia expected to hit the Caprivi Region through the Zambezi River next week, human lives might be in danger.This was the stern warning of this region's Governor, Leonard Mwilima, yesterday.According to him, the river level had risen from 6.55 metres to 6.61 metres from Wednesday to yesterday."With the wave coming out of Zambia, [we are] expecting the water level to rise even more."He warned those still living in low-lying areas to move to higher ground immediately to avoid putting their lives at risk."To prevent loss of lives and properties, I call on those living in low-lying areas to move to higher ground immediately and not wait for Government to come and evacuate them."About 10 500 people already have been relocated and live in tents where they are provided with food and blankets.Mwilima said the Kabbe and Katima Rural Constituencies were affected particularly badly. 3638 49 China South China, Guilin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 2010-04-20T00:00:00.000 2010-04-21T00:00:00.000 2 Heavy Rain 1 19900 4.5998830720736876 111.13 25.15 0 55 1 196 2010-04-20T00:00:00.000 872 3108 April 20, 2010: "Water swept through the streets of south China's drought-stricken Guilin city Tuesday when the Lijiang River burst its banks after several days of heavy rain.No homes or properties were affected, but all ferry services on the river were suspended, according to the authorities in Guilin, in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.Seventeen people trapped on a small island in the Lijiang were transferred to safety in the afternoon, said an official of the municipal flood control and drought relief headquarters.The water level in the river came up to 147.14 meters, 1.44 meters above the warning level, at 12:24 p.m. Tuesday and the flow rate reached 3,390 cubic meters per second, said the official.On Monday and up to Tuesday noon, 70 mm of rain had fallen, bringing an end to the drought that began in the fall of last year, the official said.Heavy rain would continue in the next two days, the municipal meteorological department said.All traffic on Lijiang River was suspended and vessels were ordered to be moored in safe areas Tuesday.The ferry service on the Lijiang river was suspended earlier this year due to the drought.The severe drought affected Guangxi, and Yunnan and Guizhou provinces and left at least 25.39 million people and 18.08 million livestock short of water. " 3637 48 Cuba Coastal eastern Cuba, Uvero town 2010-04-17T00:00:00.000 2010-04-21T00:00:00.000 5 84 Heavy Rain 1 10660 4.7267272090265724 -75.38 20.260000000000002 0 55 1 195 2010-04-17T00:00:00.000 872 3107 April 20, 2010: "Weekend in rains in Cuba that lasted some 20 hours caused rivers to burst their banks and cut road communications among the towns scattered throughout the coast in eastern Cuba, an unprecedented event according to Cuba’s news agency.The head of the Risk Reducing Management Center, Julio Hopkins, told Cuba’s ACN news agency that the water accumulated in the nearby Sierra Maestra mountain range descended with such force that knocked down the El Peladero bridge, when two of the center collapsed.Road traffic was stopped in this area, and until the waters recede they will not be able to assess the damages, said Hopkins. This situation prevents the inhabitants of towns such as Limoncito, La Mula, La Plata, La Magdalena and El Macho from reaching the municipal main locality.Reports from damages in the Uvero town, which the river crossed around midnight on Sunday, were issued by the Civil Defense, along the evacuation of 82 people.A similar event took place in the municipal main town, where the Guama river flooded the milk processing factory, and ice making facility, as well as housing facilities causing over hundred people to evacuate to safer areas.In 2008 and 2009, the sea waters penetrated in the Chivirico area, also cutting road communications with Santiago de Cuba city, but to a lesser extent.The Civil Defense department reported no human losses." 3636 47 India Assam, Guwahati 2010-04-18T00:00:00.000 2010-04-21T00:00:00.000 4 300 Heavy Rain 2 13470 5.0324575827149296 91.86 26.31 0 55 1 195 2010-04-18T00:00:00.000 872 3106 April 27, 2010: The Assam government Tuesday said 23 people were killed and more than 150,000 affected in the thunderstorms that lashed the state over the past 10 days, even as flash floods displaced some 300,000 people and inundated half of the famed Kaziranga National Park.Assam Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Bhumidhar Barman said almost all the 27 districts in the state were hit by thunderstorms, the worst being April 24 with a wind speed of 108 km per hour that left a trail of destruction.'This is the worst ever disaster in recent memory with the state being lashed by several spells of thunderstorms,' Barman told IANS.A government statement said 23 people were killed Saturday and an estimated 150,000 people affected by the thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rains.'More than 60,000 homes were damaged in thunderstorms that swept the state since March 27 in separate spells with varying magnitudes,' the statement said.The state government announced compensation of Rs.100,000 each to the next of kin of those killed, besides cash to those whose homes were damaged.'District officials have been asked to give cash to the people whose houses are damaged after spot verification,' Barman said.A state disaster management control room was opened in Guwahati to monitor the situation with the local weather office warning of thundersqualls with wind speeds of 60 km per hour in the next 48 hours over Assam.Meanwhile, flash floods triggered by heavy rains have displaced more than 300,000 people in an estimated 500 villages in Assam, besides claiming the lives of two people.A government spokesperson said the worst hit districts so far are Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Jorhat, Nagaon, Golaghat, and Tinsukia in eastern Assam.'Most of the flood hit people are now taking shelter on raised platforms, railway tracks, and also in government schools and offices that are untouched by the floods,' the minister said.A Central Water Commission bulletin said the Brahmaputra and its tributaries were flowing above the danger mark in at least eight places.Gushing floodwaters had breached at least four vital mud embankments in the state besides inundating more than 50 percent of the internationally famed 430 sq km Kaziranga National Park, 220 km east of here.Floodwaters of the mighty Brahmaputra Monday entered the Kaziranga wildlife sanctuary in Assam, forcing scores of endangered animals to flee the park to safer areas, officials said.'More than half of the Kaziranga National Park is under water. Animals are migrating from the sanctuary to an adjoining hill for safety,' a park warden said.Kaziranga is home to the world's largest concentration of one-horned rhinoceros. As per the 2009 census report, some 2,048 of the world's estimated 3,000 one-horned rhinos lumber around the swamps and grasslands of Kaziranga, their concentration here ironically making the giant mammals a favourite target of poachers.Park authorities Tuesday enforced prohibitory orders asking truckers to drive slowly as they travel on a national highway that winds through the park.'Special barricades have been put along the highway. Forest guards are asking drivers to travel at speeds below 40 km an hour as the animals use the highway to cross over to the hill to escape the floods,' the park warden said." April 21, 2010: "Authorities Tuesday deployed paramilitary troopers to carry out rescue operations in Assam’s main city of Guwahati hit by massive flooding, triggered by heavy rains since Sunday.Troopers of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), using rubber boats and rafts, rescued more than 200 people from various city areas reeling under waist deep water.“We have already rescued scores of people trapped inside homes filled with water, mud, and slush and we are on the lookout for more who could be desperately looking for help,” Anil Chauhan, NRDF commander, told IANS.Heavy rains accompanied by cyclonic storm in the past two days crippled normal life in most parts of Assam, especially in the state’s main city of Guwahati with several areas submerged - the worst hit being Lachit Nagar, Rajgarh, Zoo Road, Nabin Nagar, Hengarabari, and G.S. Road areas.Guwahati recorded 80.4 mm rainfall since Monday with forecast of more rain accompanied by thundershowers Wednesday and Thursday.“This is the worst ever flooding in the city in recent memory with rainwater flooding the better part of our ground floor,” said Nanda Das, a college teacher.The situation has further compounded with mud and slush blocking the city’s drainage system.“There is no outlet for the water to go and hence the artificial flooding caused,” a municipal corporation official said.“We were unable to send our children to school, while we are running out of essentials as there is no way we can move out of our homes,” said Bimala Hazarika, a housewife.The rafts used by the NDRF came as a succour to the marooned people with many residents venturing out of their homes to buy medicines and food.“With more rains likely, the situation would further worsen,” Chauhan said." 3635 46 Serbia Niš, Kraljevo, Rača, Knić, Jagodina and Gadžin Han 2010-04-20T00:00:00.000 2010-04-22T00:00:00.000 3 Heavy Rain 1 13990 4.6229389692114902 21.72 43.47 0 55 1 194 2010-04-20T00:00:00.000 872 3105 April 21, 2010: "KRALJEVO -- Heavy rain has caused severe floods in the municipalities in Niš, Kraljevo, Rača, Knić, Jagodina and Gadžin Han.The flooding Ibar River left several neighborhoods in Kraljevo under water.At the same time, the Belica River has swept away a pedestrian bridge in Jagodina. The rain finally stopped in Kraljevo around noon after 24 hours, but it left a rampaging Ibar River behind. The water has caused enormous damage to arable land. The situation is closely monitored by crisis headquarters. Floods jeopardize the city and its water supply if there is more rainfall authorities said. The water level of the Zapadna Morava River is also on the rise. The situation in the Kraljevo region has been difficult since this morning due to heavy rainfall which caused damage primarily to farms, but the water is also coming into houses." 3634 45 Somalia Middle Shabelle region 2010-04-12T00:00:00.000 2010-04-13T00:00:00.000 2 200 Heavy Rain 1 50290 5.0025116312849081 45.79 2.82 0 55 1 193 2010-04-12T00:00:00.000 872 3104 April 13, 2010: "Hundreds of people have been displaced and at least 7,000 hectares of newly sown crops destroyed by floods after a river burst its banks in Somalia's Middle Shabelle region, local officials told IRIN.The worst flooding occurred near the town of Jowhar, 90km north of Mogadishu, where the River Shabelle burst its banks."In Mandeere village [10km southeast of Jowhar] alone, some 850 families [about 5,100 people] were affected; we are completely surrounded by water," Ali Haji Hamud, a member of the village council, told IRIN on 13 April."The river burst its banks and destroyed our crops. We lost about 4,000 hectares of crops. We were hoping for a good harvest, but now I am not sure we will be able to salvage anything."The most common crops grown in the area are maize, sesame and cowpeas.Hamud said residents had stemmed the flooding with sandbags thanks to help from the Islamist administration in Jowhar and a local NGO. "For now we are safe but cut off," he said. "We are accessible by boat only."Isse Ahmed Nur, an elder in Bulo Ahmed, 18km northeast of Jowhar and one of the worst affected villages, told IRIN some 3,500 hectares of farmland were washed away by the floods. "We are trying to stop the flooding but we are fighting a losing battle."He said the community was not getting any help. "No one is here to help." 3633 44 FL-2010-000070-BGD Bangladesh Southwestern Bangladesh; two adjacent sub-districts of Dacope (Khulna District) and Shyamnagar (Satkhira District) 2010-03-27T00:00:00.000 2010-04-07T00:00:00.000 12 104 Heavy Rain 1 7063 4.9281704522987919 89.5 22.15 0 55 1 192 2010-03-27T00:00:00.000 872 3103 April 7, 2010: "Flood,Bangladesh: Areas affected by Cyclone Aila have been hit by flooding and swollen rivers due to high tides. Over 45,000 are marooned, 28 villages inundated"..."DHAKA, 7 April 2010 (IRIN) - Thousands of Cyclone Aila survivors hit by the May 2009 storm in southwestern Bangladesh have been hit again - this time by flooding and swollen rivers after embankments were breached by high tides. Repair work on the life-saving embankments or polders - comprised of sandbags and bamboo - had only just been completed. Over 45,000 people are marooned in the two adjacent sub-districts of Dacope (Khulna District) and Shyamnagar (Satkhira District), areas which were also among the worst hit by Aila, local officials told IRIN. From 27 to 31 March, 28 villages were inundated in the area when parts of the embankments protecting them were washed away. Southwestern Bangladesh is a low-lying deltaic flood plain, crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers and channels, and is vulnerable to cyclones and high tides. People depend on a 7,500km-long network of flood embankments for survival. Cyclone Aila washed away 1,700km of this network, rendering hundreds of thousands of residents even more vulnerable than usual. 3632 43 FL-2010-000067-BRA Brazil Rio de Janeiro 2010-04-04T00:00:00.000 2010-04-07T00:00:00.000 4 400 Torrential Rain 1 15010 4.7784406835712332 -43.33 -22.44 0 55 1 191 2010-04-04T00:00:00.000 872 3102 April 13, 2010: "Landslides triggered by pounding rain in Rio de Janeiro last week killed at least 246 people, officials said, adding that the city's famous Christ statue was cut off for the first time in its eight-decade history. The rise in the death toll reflected the discovery of more bodies in the wreckage of shantytowns knocked off their precarious mountainside perches by the landslides. Searches were continuing for around another 200 people still missing in Rio's satellite town of Niteroi". NITEROI: Rescuers raced against time yesterday amid fading hopes of finding survivors of a huge mudslide, with over 400 people now feared dead in some of the worst flooding to swamp Brazil in decades. Rescuers painstakingly pulled bodies from the thick mound of dirt and debris in the Niteroi shantytown of Morro do Bumba late on Friday and yesterday, bringing the death toll to 223. Another 200 people were feared to have been buried alive in the slum, itself precariously perched atop a garbage dump in this city just east of Rio de Janeiro. Some 60 hours after the heaviest rains in half a century unleashed floods and mudslides, rescue workers still were far from having finished the work of recovering bodies from beneath tonnes of rocks, rubble and earth. The floods tore through the metropolitan area’s precarious hillside slums, or favelas. Niteroi was hardest hit, with at least 141 dead, according to the civil defence authorities. Across the bay, another 63 were found in Rio de Janeiro. April 7: "Rio de Janeiro braced for more rain today as the death toll from flooding climbed to 104 and order slowly returned to Brazil's second-biggest city that was thrown into chaos a day earlier. Rio's mayor said traffic had improved after the heaviest rains in at least three decades yesterday turned highways into lakes, left commuters and residents stranded and sparked mudslides that crushed houses in hillsides slums. "From the point of view of mobility, the situation is better than yesterday," Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes told reporters at an early morning press conference. He urged residents to postpone meetings and avoid travelling in the city if possible. Schools remained shut for a second day. The government weather service predicted rain would continue until Saturday even after clouds broke briefly and rains eased this morning. A Fire Department spokesman said 39 people were killed in the city of Rio, famous for its beaches and Carnaval celebrations, while the remainder of the casualties took place in suburbs and in neighboring cities and town of the state of Rio de Janeiro. In the nearby city of Niteroi, residents desperately searched for survivors in rubble left from 10 houses that collapsed from a mudslide, the Globo network reported. "I lost my sister-in-law and a niece, and my nephew and brother-in-law are still missing," nurse Samuel Franca, who managed to rescue his sister from the wreckage the day before, told Globo. Globo images showed buses struggling to drive through flooded streets in western parts of the city, though transit had largely returned to normal in the central business district. Paes called on those living in hillside slums at risk for mudslides - which were responsible for most of yesterday's deaths - to leave their homes as the rains continued. "Their lives are at risk," Paes added. Brazil's popular football team Flamengo postponed a match with a rival team from Chile because of the rains. The mayor yesterday said 1,200 people had been made homeless and that 10,000 houses remained at risk, mostly in the slums where about a fifth of Rio's people live, often in precarious shacks that are vulnerable to heavy rains. Television images yesterday showed central parts of Rio flooded and abandoned cars under water. Near Copacabana beach, residents waded through ankle-deep water on their way to work. The latest flooding and transportation chaos has renewed attention on Rio's poor infrastructure as it prepares to host the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016. In January, at least 76 people died in flooding and mudslides in Brazil's most populous states of Rio, Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais. Then, dozens of people were killed in a landslide at a beach resort between Rio and the port city of Santos" April 6, 2010: "Torrential rains caused floods and landslides that killed at least 31 people in Rio de Janeiro state, shutting down transport and commerce in Brazil's second city, officials said on Tuesday" 3631 42 Rwanda Western Province, Rubavu and Nyabihu districts 2010-03-26T00:00:00.000 2010-03-31T00:00:00.000 6 4 Heavy Rain 1 8863 4.7257319996879659 29.69 -1.74 0 55 1 190 2010-03-26T00:00:00.000 872 3101 March 31, 2010: "Kigali — At least four people have been confirmed dead and 17 seriously injured following heavy rains that started on Friday night in Rubavu and Nyabihu districts.According to Rubavu Sector Executive Secretary, three children from one family drowned when floods destroyed part of their house. Another person died in Rugerero Sector.Western province Executive Secretary, Paul Jabo, told Sunday Times that government was bringing in tents to evacuate residents on Rubavu hillNyundo seminary was also affected by the floods and students expressed fear that they are likely to persist.The head of the seminary, Rev. Fr. Vincent Harorimana, also expressed worry wondering what the school would do should there be more heavy rainy and floods."We are doing what we can but it is becoming increasingly difficult to cope," said HarorimanaNyundo Health Centre was also affected when Sebeya River overflowed forcing patients to flee the hospital.Harorimana said that the army intervened to help in rescue efforts at the seminary and health centre.A meeting to decide the fate of residents of Rubavu hill was held at the district headquarters and chaired by the Minister of Forestry and Mines, Christophe Bazivamo." 3630 41 Latvia Whole country 2010-03-27T00:00:00.000 2010-03-31T00:00:00.000 5 Snowmelt 1 79650 5.6001557844731691 24.8 56.65 0 55 1 189 2010-03-27T00:00:00.000 872 3100 March 31, 2010: " It was obvious to all that the snowiest winter in nearly a century would bring spring floods, and as the thermometer continues to remain above freezing temperature, Latvia is now facing the harsh reality from one end of the country to another.Throughout Tuesday reports trickled in hourly about rising waters in villages and towns along the Daugava River and other parts of Latvia. The most serious threat, however, materialized in the Jelgava region, where the Lielupe River was reportedly rising at the rate of an inch or more per hour. Many streets and homes in Jelgava were flooded, though reports indicated that residents refused to evacuate.Meanwhile, Fire and Rescue Service workers began evacuating residents in the Glūda district (Jelgava region), while Latvenergo issued warnings to all Latvians to exercise caution if their homes are threatened with flood. Elsewhere, 30 houses in Līvāni were under risk of becoming inundated as of Tuesday, while in Kuldiga reports indicated that the water level reached the maximum level. No damage estimates are available yet.Spring floods are not unusual in Latvia, which has three large hydroelectric dams generate that produce surplus energy during the season due to rising water levels. This year, however, nature’s blessing is shaping up to be a curse given that, according to one report in February, the country saw the most intense snowfall since 1909 and the coldest winter in decades.The temperature, in fact, remained below freezing for nearly two months straight, turning rivers and lakes into long sheets of ice. But in many parts rivers are still frozen, which is blocking the flow of snowmelt. The problem is occurring throughout Eastern Europe, and Belarusian media reported Tuesday that officials there began dynamiting the West Dvina River to unclog the passage of runoff. Meanwhile Lithuania is also dealing with numerous floods along the Neris and Nemunas rivers.." 3629 40 USA Northeastern Coast 2010-03-27T00:00:00.000 2010-03-31T00:00:00.000 5 Heavy Rain 2 240000 6.3802112417116064 -74.87 39.49 1 55 1 188 2010-03-27T00:00:00.000 872 3099 March 31, 2010: " Heavy rain in the northeastern United States has left the region at risk from dangerous flooding, with President Barack Obama issuing an emergency declaration for the small state of Rhode Island. Obama on Tuesday ordered "federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in the area struck by severe storms and flooding," a White House statement said.The emergency declaration authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts in the state."Runoff from the very heavy rainfall of the past two days will continue to flow into area rivers," the National Weather Service said in a flood warning."Widespread and potentially severe dangerous flooding... will be occurring through much of the morning," the service said..." The second record storm that socked the Northeast this month was reduced to drizzle as it was winding down Wednesday, but the worst of widespread flooding was yet to come, forecasters said.Rivers from Maine to New York were expected to crest later Wednesday or Thursday. And in Rhode Island, officials were bracing for what was expected to be the most severe flooding to hit the state in more than 100 years."None of us alive have seen the flooding that we are experiencing now or going to experience," Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri said Tuesday night. "This is unprecedented in our state's history." 3628 39 Russia Central Voronezh region 2010-03-26T00:00:00.000 2010-03-31T00:00:00.000 6 Snowmelt 1 187700 6.0516155230049895 36.979999999999997 53.28 1 54 1 187 2010-03-26T00:00:00.000 871 3098 March 26, 2010: "Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says thousands of Russian towns and villages could be affected by "unusually strong" spring floods as record snowfall melts after the harshest winter in years.Russia's NTV television reported Friday that hundreds of people in the central Voronezh region had to be evacuated after their homes were flooded. TV footage showed emergency workers using boats to ferry stranded people out. Putin told emergency officials in a televised meeting Friday that some 3,000 villages and towns, as well as hundreds of railroad tracks and bridges, could be submerged throughout the spring across Russia's vast territory, which spans 11 time zones.Weather reports warned of "catastrophic" floods in Siberia, where river ice is up to several meters (yards) thick, and rivers flowing northward routinely surge with melting water." 3627 38 FL-2010-000063-IDN Indonesia West Java, Karawang; Sumatra 2010-03-24T00:00:00.000 2010-03-26T00:00:00.000 3 25000 Torrential Rain 1 150000 5.653212513775344 104.78 -4.4400000000000004 0 53 1 186 2010-03-24T00:00:00.000 870 3097 March 26, 2010: " Flood in West Java province of Indonesia has forced more than 24,900 people to take shelters as their houses have been submerged since earlier this week, the Disaster Management Agency reported in Jakarta Friday.The floods in Karawang of the province have submerged over 15, 000 houses since Tuesday, it occurred after the authorities opened the water gate at Jatiluhur dam at the province, as the dam could not hold water as its volume has exceeded the dam capacity, spokesman of the agency Priyadi Kardono said."Heavy rains for days have led more waters from several areas flow into the Jatiluhur dam, so the dam could not hold the excessive water," he told Xinhua over phone.The spokesman said that most of the evacuees lived in tents and got relief aids from the government.The waters submerged the houses up to three meters high, he said.But, the spokesman said that so far there was no casualties of the natural disaster.Indonesia has been frequently hit by floods and landslide. The lack of forest-covered areas has been blamed for the natural disaster." 3626 37 India Assam 2010-03-24T00:00:00.000 2010-03-26T00:00:00.000 3 Monsoon Rain 1 1015000 6.4835872969688939 94.61 27.25 1 53 1 185 2010-03-24T00:00:00.000 870 3096 March 25, 2010: " Heavy rains have triggered flash floods in Assam Thursday, breaching a mud embankment and affecting at least 10 villages in the eastern district of Lakhimpur, officials said.A government spokesman said floodwaters of Singora, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, entered Naoboicha area.'There has been a breach of about 20 metres in an embankment. That led to floodwaters entering human settlements in about 10 villages,' a district official said.This is the first wave of floods in Assam this year.'So far there are no reports of people displaced. Measures are being taken to plug the breaches,' the official said." 'We have sounded a maximum alert and have kept disaster management teams on standby,' the official added. " 3625 36 USA Ohio Valley, Upper Midwest, Northeast, New Hampshire 2010-03-10T00:00:00.000 2010-03-24T00:00:00.000 15 Heavy Rain Snowmelt Dam Break 1 1015000 7.1825573013049127 -78.11 41.36 1 52 1 184 2010-03-10T00:00:00.000 869 3095 March 17, 2010: " The Red River rose 3 feet in one day to 28.2 feet by Tuesday afternoon and was expected to reach the major flooding stage of 30 feet by midnight Tuesday, said Greg Gust, warning co-ordination meteorologist for the U.S. National Weather Service.Volunteers and National Guard troops were placing sandbags on dikes in North Dakota while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built dikes of dirt and clay.The river has risen nearly 10 feet in three days as mild temperatures melted deep snowpack earlier than expected, flooding some city parks and forcing closure of a few streets. Water washed over the ends of one bridge, but no homes were flooded by mid-Tuesday afternoon, said City of Fargo spokeswoman Karena Carlson" 3624 35 FL-2010-000051-KAZ Kazakhstan 2010-03-11T00:00:00.000 2010-03-26T00:00:00.000 16 43 5000 Heavy Rain Snowmelt Dam Break 2 323800 7.0154268227372611 79.209999999999994 45.08 1 51 1 183 2010-03-11T00:00:00.000 868 3094 March 31, 2010: OSKEMEN, Kazakhstan -- Kazakhstan's Emergency Situations Ministry has announced that 36 towns and villages in East Kazkahstan Oblast with a population of nearly 40,000 people are in danger of being flooded, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.Melting snow combined with rain has caused floods that have hit several districts in the region. The announcement was made on March 26. About 1,500 private homes, more than 1,000 commercial buildings and more than 50 livestock farms have been damaged or fully destroyed since March 18.Thousands of local residents have evacuated and tens of thousands of head of livestock were killed by the floods.On March 13, at least 41 people died when flood waters burst two dams in southeastern Kazakhstan." " March 26, 2010: "The second phase of flood in the Eastern Kazakhstan region will not be easier than the present. The Emergency Minister of Kazakhstan, Vladimir Bozhko, informed, the agency reports citiing the press service of the Eastern Kazakhstan akim. "Speaking about the situation in the region, where, according to the information of the Emergency Ministry, as of today, 1140 houses have been flooded and 428 houses have been destroyed." V. Bozhko underlined, "It is only the first phase and the second will not be easier." "We need to be ready for everything. Another sharp temperature increase will aggravate the situation," he said. According to the press service, the group of employees of the Emergency Ministry headed by V. Bozhko and the region's akim, Berdybek Saparbaev, worked in the region for two days. They visited Tarbagatay, Zaysan and Urdzhar regions" March 14, 2010: " At least 35 people had been killed in floods caused by heavy rains and melting snow in southern Kazakhstan, local press quoted President Nursultan Nazarbayev as saying on Saturday.A dam at the Kyzyl-Agash reservoir in the eastern Almaty region burst Thursday evening, pouring torrents of water into several nearby villages and affecting about 3,000 people.A village in Alma-Atinskaya Oblast was almost devastated by the floods, and two people in a nearby village were swept away by floodwaters, the local emergency situations bureau said. More than 2,000 people in Alma-Atinskaya have been evacuated.Railway tracks and highway bridges in the area were also washed away, causing severe disruptions.Over 600 rescuers have arrived at Kyzyl-Agash and security has been tightened to prevent looting, authorities said.Nazarbayev has ordered the settng up of an on-site crisis management committee which will provide all necessary assistance to victims.Prime Minister Karim Masimov traveled to the disaster area Friday evening to oversee rescue work.Southern Kazakhstan was affected by unusually heavy snowfalls this winter. Rising temperatures are now causing massive flooding and mudslides across the region. 3623 34 FL-2010-000049-AGO Angola Southern province of Cunane, Mupa and Evala, 108 and 66 kilometres from the provincial capital city, Ondjiva; Kwanhama district 2010-03-01T00:00:00.000 2010-03-31T00:00:00.000 31 12 11500 Heavy Rain 1 274100 6.929270729373771 17.25 -16.11 1 50 1 182 2010-03-01T00:00:00.000 867 3093 March 26, 2010: "At least 98 heads of bovine and 29 caprine cattle died, at Evale commune, in Kwanhama district, southern Cunene province, following the heavy rains in the region, Angop has learnt.This was announced by the head of the veterinary sector, Estevão Kamalanga, who said that the numbers are provisory ones and he hopes the levels of water keeps decreasing to avoid the death of more animals.According to official figures, about 12,000 people are affected by floods, 5,805 students are out of schools, 400 agricultural fields and several houses destroyed." March 17, 2010: "The National Defence minister, Cândido Van-Dúnem, said Tuesday in Ondjiva, southern Cunene province, that his department and others of the Government will continue providing assistance to the victims of the rains and floods hitting the local populations.The minister was speaking to the press at the end of a visit he paid to the localities of Mupa and Evala, the most affected by the floods from Cuvelai river in spate, following heavy rains hitting the region.Mupa and Evale lay about 108 and 66 kilometres of the provincial capital city, Ondjiva. "We have come to pay our solidarity and moral support for the affected populations and the local Government", said the minister, stressing that the assistance has mainly focused on supply of military air and fluvial equipment support, tents, foodstuffs, rescue and human resources.According to Cândido Van-Dúnem, the nature of the responsibilities of his Ministry involve assistance to people in situation of disasters.After the visit to the above mentioned localities, the minister met with the provincial governor, António Didalewa, and Civil Protection and National Police officials, who briefed him on the real situation and main concerns of the populations.As a result of this year's floods, a total of 11,500 people were left homeless, having been accommodated in tents placed at safer places. The Defence minister is already back in Luanda." March 15, 2010:At least 12 people were killed after heavy rain triggered flooding, landslides and house collapses in Angola's capital Luanda, the city vice-governor said on Monday.The rain, which began early on Monday, left dozens of Angolans homeless after floods washed away their huts in a city that is home to more than one-third of the country's 16.5 million people."Most of the victims died after their homes collapsed from the heavy rain. They were living in illegal makeshift huts around the city centre," vice-governor Bento Soito told Reuters.Every year thousands of people lose their homes to floods in Angola due to flooding caused by seasonal rains." March 11, 2010: " In Angola, like Mozambique a former Portuguese colony, 10,000 people have lost their homes to floods in the southern province of Cunene, according to the state-owned news agency Angop.Mozambicans and Angolans are often victims of flooding during the rainy season. In 2000 and 2001, floods in Mozambique killed 700 people and drove half a million from their homes. Last year 20 people died in floods in southern Angola. 3622 33 USA Central Alabama 2010-03-10T00:00:00.000 2010-03-17T00:00:00.000 8 Heavy Rain 1 48980 5.593108767780639 -86.37 32.89 0 49 1 181 2010-03-10T00:00:00.000 866 3092 March 11, 2010: " Heavy rain and thunderstorms caused widespread flooding problems Wednesday across central Alabama.FOX6 News found flooding at several locations in Jefferson County, including where Village Creek passes the Roebuck Golf Course in east Birmingham, Highway 79 in Tarrant, 68th Street North in Birmingham, and 5th Way Circle in Center Point.More flooding was also reported in Shelby County. The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency said it had to close Highway 42 due to flooding 3621 32 Kenya Marsabit North, Migori and Uriri districts in South Nyanza, Mandera; North Rift, Pokot Central District 2010-03-07T00:00:00.000 2010-05-03T00:00:00.000 58 26 2500 Torrential Rain 1.5 40320 6.545039776056087 34.5 0.01 1 49 1 180 2010-03-07T00:00:00.000 866 3091 May 3, 2010: "11 people have so far been confirmed dead and another 600 displaced when a mud slide occurred in Kitony Village, Marakwet District, located in north western Kenya. An additional eight people with serious injuries are receiving specialized treatment at Moi Referral Hospital. The mudslide occurred when River Siner changed its course at Kitony village. Seven houses were swept away. The Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) and other governmental and UN partners are offering humanitarian response to those affected. An assessment to establish gaps and needs of the affected population is necessary. Access to the affected village has been difficult given the wet conditions and hilly topography of the area. Rocks and stones at the site are also hampering rescue efforts. Responders to those affected are reported to be walking for up to 3km to reach the site. Marakwet East District was carved from the greater Marakwet District. The National Bureau of Statistics indicates that the greater Marakwet District has a total population of 140,629 people. A mudslide occurred at the area in March 2009. An unconfirmed number of livestock were buried but no human casualties reported in that event. Area residents are reported to have moved to higher grounds until the rains subsided. At the onset of the Long Rains in October 2009, The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources issued an early warning/alert for landslides, covering areas bordering Marakwet/ West Pokot/ Trans Nzoia districts. Other border areas put on alert included Homa Bay/ Migori, Nyamira/Buret, Nandi/ Kericho, Teso/ Bungoma and Muranga/ Nyeri districts. The following districts were also covered by the alert: Kapenguria, Uasin Gishu, Keiyo, Baringo, Koibatek, Nakuru, Meru North, Nyeri, Kajiado and Taita Taveta. On 2 May, District Authorities requested 100 residents of Mathira, Nyeri district (central Kenya) to move to higher grounds. Some of the residents have begun moving. Heavy rains were received in Moyale district, located in northern Kenya. Bridges were also swept away by the resultant floods, paralyzing transport. Hundreds of people travelling to and from Moyale are reported to be stranded and spending nights by the roadside, in bandit prone areas. 70 heavy duty vehicles are also reported stranded and are awaiting the reconstruction of the bridges. Engineers from the Ministry of Roads and Public Works are expected to fix the bridges. Maize fields in Mado, Adhi, Waye and Anona areas were also washed away. District Authorities indicated that relief food, blankets and mosquito nets will be needed should the rains continue beyond 6 May" March 31, 2010: "Seven people have died as floods continue to wreak havoc across the country.Three of them who were swept away by freak floods in the North Rift while two drowned in Pokot Central District as they tried to cross a swollen River Wei Wei.The managing director of Kalokol fishery in Turkana Central, Mr Kumar Shah, died when his vehicle was swept away by a flooded River Kawalase.His three companions, however, managed to swim across the river.Pokot Central district commissioner Jeremiah Were identified those who drowned in River Wei Wei as Mr Chepotuturwa Domongole, 46, and Mr Petanyang Murlem, 57.Transport in most parts of the North Rift has been disrupted due to damaged roads.Several roads in Kerio Valley have been destroyed, cutting off farmers from markets.Rescue teams have been put on high alert in mudslide-prone areas of Keiyo South."Plans are in place to evacuate people in danger zones on the escarpment to safer areas," DC Arthur Bunde said.He said 12 schools on the escarpment were affected. In Marigat, more than 300 people were left in the cold after homes were swept away at Eldume and Ilngarua.Local leaders, among them councillor Francis Olekeis, appealed for humanitarian assistance from the government and well-wishers for affected families now camping at schools."The situation is bad. Crocodiles are now roaming the flooded farms, feasting on dead livestock," he said.Mr Olekeis said hundreds of livestock had drowned after a week of heavy rains. He said crops like water melons and pumpkins were submerged at Eldume Irrigation Scheme.The leaders said the Marigat-Lokumkum road which links Marigat Town to Mochongoi was impassable."People are forced to travel over 150 km to get to Mochongoi," said councillor Wesley Lekakimon.They feared the situation could worsen as the Perkerra and Molo rivers are beginning to change course, disrupting studies at Eldume, Longewan, Sintaan and Ng'ambo primary schools.They said that four schoolchildren had drowned since the beginning of the year.Marigat DC Geoffrey Taragon downplayed the leaders' claims."There is no need for alarm. The floods have subsided and everything is under control."He, however, urged residents to move to higher ground.In Nyanza, two fishermen drowned in Lake Victoria as rains continued to pound South Nyanza.The fishermen's boat capsized in a storm near Got Kachola beach in Nyatike District, witnesses said. One body was found at Sumba beach by fishermen. Divers are searching for the other.Elsewhere in the same district, a downpour has claimed a 12-year-old boy.The Standard Five pupil was in a group of children trying to catch floating fish at River Ratieng in East Muhuru Location when he slipped into the water.Divers found the body before it was swept into Lake Victoria.In Nakuru North District a man was swept away by flash floods.Police said Mr Justus Nyakundi, 54, was walking home from Kabazi Trading Centre and was swept away by floods during a heavy downpour.Only a week ago another man died in similar circumstances in the district.Local police chief Johnston Ipara said Mr Nyakundi drowned on Saturday night" March 8, 2010: "Three more people have died as a result of floods in parts of Kenya, according to the latest statistics from the Kenya Red Cross and government officials.Kenya Red Cross communications director Titus Mung'ou on Saturday told the Nation a woman died in Marsabit North after being swept away by floods.A man and his daughter were swept away as they tried to cross Isinya River in Kajiado North district on Thursday.Area district commissioner Mr Mwangi Kahiro said the man had attempted to carry his daughter across the swollen river but succumbed to the raging waters. The bodies were swept 10 kilometres downstream, he said.This brings the number of the dead from the floods to nine.And the Red Cross is also warning that the situation in the Tana Delta could become critical if the rains are to continue and the dams on the Seven Forks Hydroelectric project get full."The water could be released downstream and the people on the Tana Delta will therefore need to be on the lookout if the rains continue," said Mr Mung'ou on the telephone.He said reports from the Lake Victoria and Budalangi flood monitoring systems indicate rivers in that area are close to overflowing their banks. He said the rivers are about 0.2 metres away from breaking their banks and residents would have to move to higher ground immediately.Water from the Cherangany Hills and Mt Elgon are the main cause of the river's perennial flooding.The number of those who have been left homeless also increased after about 70 families lost their semi-permanent houses to floods in Migori and Uriri districts in South Nyanza.The residents of Oruba, Pand Pieri, Nyasare and Rapogi estates were left without shelter after their mud-walled houses were brought down by the heavy rains that have pounded the region for the last three days.He urged area residents to avoid any swollen rivers.Residents of Mandera also require assistance as the town's entire water system had been destroyed by the floods after River Dauwa in Ethiopia broke its banks.Mr Mung'ou said toilets had collapsed in the area. Red Cross would from Saturday begin sing a helicopter to reach the distressed in those areas, he said.In Garbatulla, five people who had been missing by the end of the day on Friday were found perched on trees on Saturday. More than 200 livestock have died in the area from the flooding. But the situation is yet to reach the alarming levels, said Mr Mung'ou as the figures of those affected remain below 2,000.Families that had been displaced by the floods in January are however yet to go back to their homes and are still living in camps, he said, meaning more rains in the area would make it worse for them.In Migori, the flood victims who escaped unhurt sought refuge in the homes of relatives and friends as they made plans to rebuild their structures.The region also experienced flash floods on some roads and estates. 3620 31 Uganda Mutumba Zone, Kigwo and Kimanyika villages 2010-03-07T00:00:00.000 2010-03-12T00:00:00.000 6 20000 Heavy Rain 1 75200 5.6543690909752859 31.06 1.1299999999999999 0 48 1 179 2010-03-07T00:00:00.000 865 3090 March 8, 2010: "Kampala — Over 500 residents in three villages in Fort portal district are homeless after heavy rains swept off their houses and property.The villages that have been bit with deadly floods include Mutumba Zone, Kigwo and Kimanyika were mostly affected.This is the fourth district that has suffered floods that started early this week.The New Vision's reporter Hope Mafarangain FortPortal says Police arrived at the scene to offer support to the affected families. 3619 30 Peru Cusco district of Pisac 2010-03-02T00:00:00.000 2010-03-04T00:00:00.000 3 7 20 Heavy Rain 1 57890 5.2397248042864657 -73.36 11.85 0 48 1 178 2010-03-02T00:00:00.000 865 3089 March 4, 2010: "At least seven deaths, and several houses inundated, is the tragic result of another flood that took place yesterday in the Cusco district of Pisac, where the Quitamayo river surged and flooded all the area. Jorge Béjar Gonzales, province prosecutor in Calca, pointed out that in addition to the three victims found in the Taray bridge, a woman was rescued near the Quitamayo bridge, but she died afterwards while in the local hospital.These victims, Hilda Quinto Quispe, 24, Benedicta Condori, 46, and Genara Huayta Aquino, had been doing cleaning works on the Quitamayo river bed when the sudden surge took them by surprise. Some 17 workers from Construyendo Peru were working in the river when the flood came and swept them away.Quitamayo river is a tributary of the Vilcanota river.." 3618 29 FL-2010-000042-SRB Serbia Montenegro Eastern and central Serbia 2010-03-01T00:00:00.000 2010-03-02T00:00:00.000 2 4000 Heavy Rain 1 46900 4.9722028383790642 21.14 44.47 0 48 1 177 2010-03-01T00:00:00.000 865 3088 March 4, 2010: "Flood,Serbia Montenegro: Heavy rains and rapid slow melting have caused floods in the eastern and central part of Serbia damaging and flooding 1,306 households and affecting more than 3,150 people." 3617 28 FL-2010-000041-SOM, FL-2010-000041-ETH Ethiopia Somalia Border between Ethiopia and the self-declared independent republic of Somaliland 2010-03-01T00:00:00.000 2010-03-11T00:00:00.000 11 16000 Heavy Rain 1 104200 6.0592604041217308 45.49 9.1999999999999993 1 48 1 176 2010-03-01T00:00:00.000 865 3087 March 11, 2010: "Around 16,000 Somalis have been forced from their homes by severe flooding in the south of the strife-torn country, the United Nations humanitarian arm said today, while underscoring that a funding shortfall is hampering relief efforts.The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that recent flooding has devastated areas of southern Somalia, damaging river embankments, collapsing latrines and contaminating shallow wells." March 4, 2010: "Around 1,000 families have been displaced by flooding after heavy rains in an area straddling the border between Ethiopia and the self-declared independent republic of Somaliland, according to officials." 3616 27 FL-2010-000038-ZMB Zambia Namibia Northwestern and Lusaka provinces, villages in Mpulungu, Lake Tanganyika shores, Kapembwa area of Mpulungu, Caprivi Strip 2010-03-01T00:00:00.000 2010-03-17T00:00:00.000 17 115 Heavy Rain 1 85510 6.1624658278124755 27.74 -16.09 1 47 1 175 2010-03-01T00:00:00.000 864 3086 March 17, 2010: "ONE hundred and fifteen people have been displaced from their villages in Mpulungu after floods along the Lake Tanganyika shores swept away their homes.And Government has released tents for 10 of the most affected families in Kapembwa area of Mpulungu.District Commissioner Willie Simfukwe confirmed the development in an interview in Mpulungu yesterday.Mr Simfukwe said the people were displaced last week when water levels in the lake rose and washed away huts at a fishing camp.He said 10 families were currently living at Kapembwa Basic School and that the school had since been closed.Mr Simfukwe said the Government had identified a safer place at which the tents would be erected, but affected families would not be allowed to construct houses until the area was approved.He said the Government was waiting for the provincial resettlement officer to assess the area and establish whether the place was safe for residents to construct permanent houses.Meanwhile, the Government has scaled down the search for the seven people who were buried under rocks following a landslide which hit Kalala area in Mpulungu recently because it had proved to be costly.Mr Simfukwe said there was a possibility that the bodies were swept away by water into the lake and not buried under the rubble. And a family in Tundula area in Mumena's chiefdom in Solwezi escaped death after the house they were sleeping in at night collapsed on them due a heavy downpour.A road to Senior Chief Ndungu's palace in Zambezi is under water and the Mize capital can only be accessed using speedboats and canoes, while a school in Solwezi has remained closed this year after a heavy downpour destroyed infrastructure.Solwezi District Commissioner, Fubisha Fulayi said after a tour of Tundula, where many houses collapsed, that a family recently escaped death after their house gave in to rain at night.He said Mapande Basic School in Solwezi East Constituency, near the Democratic Republic of Congo, had failed to open this year after school infrastructure was damaged during the last holiday.Mr Fulayi, who toured the area with the disaster management and mitigation unit officers and education authorities, said the four teachers had abandoned the school after their houses collapsed.And with the bridge on Kafue River having collapsed, coupled with the bad state of the road, Mapande can only been accessed by the rest of Solwezi through Chililabombwe.Mr Fulayi, who is chairperson of the district disaster management team, said while the dry spell had eased the disaster burden, about 1,000 people were in need of aid in the form of tents, chlorine and mosquito nets." March 16, 2010: "SOME villagers in the Kabbe constituency of the Caprivi Region are relocating to higher ground after the floodwaters of the Zambezi River started reaching their homesteads and maize fields over the past few days.The Zambezi River measured 7,16 metres yesterday at Katima Mulilo and people in the Katima Mulilo rural constituency also had to move to higher ground, according to Caprivi Governor Leonard Mwilima."I am right now in this constituency and floodwaters are arriving, but the situation is under control," Governor Mwilima told The Namibian yesterday afternoon."Over the past days and weeks we have alerted the people via radio to start relocating and not to wait to the last minute," Mwilima said."I am happy that many people heeded the call of the Caprivi Regional Council. Floods are a recurring situation in the Caprivi Region and the Chobe River is now also flowing westwards," Mwilima added."We have tents, food and some boats, but we have asked for more of these items and also more food rations," he added.Road and water transport was always a challenge during floods, he said."We need more boats and also vehicles for transport on land."Mwilima as the Governor chairs the regional disaster risk management committee, which meets every Wednesday with all stakeholders, including the Red Cross Society, which also has staff in the Caprivi to assist.According to Japhet Iitenge, the director of the newly created Directorate of Disaster Risk Management, his people "are up there to observe the situation".Chief Hydrologist Guido van Langenhove in the Agriculture Ministry said yesterday that "the flood wave in the Zambezi River is levelling off [in Zambia] and is expected to reach its peak of approximately 7,25 to 7,30 metres in the coming days."The peaks in the preceding years were 7,85 m last year, 6,11 m in 2008 and 7,26 m in 2007, according to Van Langenhove."New rains were reported in the Katima area during the night from Sunday to yesterday, but these were fairly localised and not in the upstream catchment areas of the Zambezi," he added.In the Kavango Region, the Okavango River level measured 7,37 metres yesterday, three centimetres up from Sunday, after new rains fell in the catchment area a few days ago. March 2, 2010: "Flood,Zambia: 11 districts have been affected by floods in the country. The districts are in North Western and Lusaka provinces.." 3615 26 Australia Brisbane,Charleville and Roma in southwestern Queensland, townships of Thallon, Bollon and Dirranbandi, south of St George, 80% of Queensland 2010-02-28T00:00:00.000 2010-03-17T00:00:00.000 18 Heavy Rain 2 431700 7.1914845494235546 147.96 -26.22 1 46 1 174 2010-02-28T00:00:00.000 863 3085 March 8, 2010: "Once-in-a-century flooding has caused hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage in southwest Queensland, with authorities focusing on hard-hit communities after the town of St George escaped the worst.St George, the township at the centre of one of the state's major cotton-growing regions, was spared a potentially ruinous river-level peak of 14m yesterday.But the record-breaking flooding is causing problems for the townships of Thallon, Bollon and Dirranbandi, south of St George.The water has breached the levee at the Moonie River at Thallon, and road access to all three regional communities has been cut off.Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said the damage bill from the flooding was expected to run into the hundreds of millions of dollars."There's been major cuts to highways, we have seen railway lines washed away. This is a massive water event which has smashed all the records known here in the southwest." March 8, 2010 "Queensland's massive floodwaters are set to make waves in NSW this week.With 80 per cent of Queensland natural disaster-declared, northern NSW towns are expected to face major flooding later this week - some exceeding records set two decades ago.The Bureau of Meteorology said record flood levels are likely along the Paroo River at Willara Crossing and further downstream from Thursday.Flood levels at Wanaaring are expected to exceed the April 1990 flood late on Sunday.Floodwaters are heading south from Dirranbandi, with levels in the Culgoa, Bokhara, Birrie and Narran river systems expected to exceed 1990 levels over the next seven days.Moderate flooding is also expected just south of Cunnamulla, where the Warrego River on Tuesday was around 10 metres.Queensland's main flood peak on Tuesday was at Dirranbandi, with the Balonne at 5.25m and steady. The river is expected to remain above five metres until early next week.Dirranbandi continues to escape major flooding as the town is protected by a levee, but outlying properties have been inundated and several families have had to evacuate.Meanwhile, emergency services are stocking up on anti-venom medication following reports of snakes in the St George area.The Department of Community Safety says snakes trying to find dry ground are widespread."Anti-venom stocks have been re-supplied following reports of increased numbers of snakes in the area," the department said in a statement on Tuesday morning.Queensland Premier Anna Bligh told state parliament the disaster was "one of the most significant flooding events in the state's history"."Over the past week we have seen Mother Nature at her most ferocious," she said."The enormity of the rain event that we have witnessed over this week has broken all of the known records."But she said while there were significant personal and family losses and a massive damage bill for state, federal and local governments, there would be an economic spin-off for farmers, potentially over $1 billion.The state and federal governments are offering emergency grants to small businesses and primary producers hit by the flooding."The Australian government stands ready to assist the people of Queensland to recover from this very serious natural disaster," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said in a statement on Tuesday.On Tuesday, the tiny town of Bollon remained under water, with the towns of Thallon, Nindigully, Cunnamulla, Hungerford, Quilpie, Thargomindah, Meandarra, Theodore, Moura and Baralaba also dealing with floodwaters and inundation.Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said disaster relief arrangements were active in 59 shires, comprising 80 per cent of the state.The clean-up was well under way in two of the largest centres to be hit, Charleville and Roma.Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace estimated about 1300km of state roads had been damaged.Primary Industries Minister Tim Mulherin said an aerial survey from Charleville to Cunnamulla had identified destroyed machinery and equipment and small mobs of between 100 to 200 stranded cattle and sheep.The survey also identified dead livestock, with reports of some farms losing as many as 300 head.March 4, 2010: "Just as Charleville residents were beginning to clean up from a record flood in Queensland this week, they were ordered to evacuate as waters rose again.Emergency sirens blared once more in the south-west Queensland town, just a day after floodwaters had started to recede, revealing the damage of Monday night's deluge that forced the evacuation of more than 500 people.Authorities warned that Bradley's Gully, which runs through the centre of town, was expected to flood again yesterday, posing a significant threat to life and property, and residents were returning to the evacuation centre at the town's showground.Floodwaters also rose around St George, to the south of Charleville, as record rainfall swelled the Balonne River.The river had passed the 10-metre mark, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting it would reach a height of 13 metres, 76 centimetres higher than the record.Bureau forecaster Bryan Rolstone said that as the water headed south from Charleville, the St George region was at risk of severe flooding.The bureau said another area of concern was Cunnamulla, with a flood peak of about 10 metres expected early next week, a little higher than the 2008 flood level of 9.91 metres.A state Department of Community Safety spokesman said Emergency Management Queensland and local disaster authorities were closely monitoring the flooding in St George.Balonne Shire mayor Donna Stewart said yesterday that ''the action was starting to hot up'' in St George as water levels continued to rise. Water from Wallum Creek was already in Bollon, which has a population of about 100, she said.Charleville and nearby Roma were declared disaster areas on Tuesday, and Premier Anna Bligh visited the rain-soaked region yesterday. The threat to Roma continued to ease, authorities said.". March 2, 2010: "A hospital evacuated, hundreds moved to emergency centres, rivers flooded and roads cut - southern Queensland is awash.The towns of Charleville and Roma in southwestern Queensland have been declared disaster areas and 30 patients from Charleville's hospital are being flown to Brisbane.Up to 500 Charleville residents have been evacuated to the showgrounds and Murweh Shire Mayor Mark O'Brien said the Charleville flood was the worst he'd seen, with up to two-thirds of the town inundated.A woman and child were plucked from their car which had flipped on its side in fast-flowing waters near Charleville.In Roma, there has been extensive sandbagging of properties and some evacuations.Quilpie mayor David Edwards said the town had received almost its average annual rainfall of 300mm in the past three days."I was born here and have been here all my life and this has been the best summer (rain) since 1976," he said.All three communities have been officially drought declared for years - Charleville since 2003, Quilpie since 2002, and Roma since 2005.There's also been heavy rain across the state's southeast corner, causing localised flooding in Brisbane and on the Gold and Sunshine coasts.The State Emergency Service (SES) has been called to more than 200 jobs in the state's southeast. 3614 25 FL-2010-000046-MOZ Mozambique Buzi District, Sofala Province, Namathanda districts, Mozambique, southern province of Cunene 2010-02-22T00:00:00.000 2010-03-28T00:00:00.000 35 2 130000 Heavy Rain 1 26370 5.96517817414371 34.25 -19.96 0 45 1 173 2010-02-22T00:00:00.000 862 3084 March 28, 2010: "Flooding in Mozambique killed two people and displaced hundreds of families, prompting the government to step up rescue operations and issue a red alert for some areas.Torrential rains that have battered central Mozambique for weeks have raised water levels in the Cahora Bassa, a major dam on the Zambezi river. Authorities have opened the floodgates to to ease the pressure on the dam walls.Opening the floodgates is expected to continue to raise water levels in the river Zambezi, Africa's fourth largest, and spill over to villages along its pathway through central Mozambique, independent daily O Pais reported on Wednesday. The red alert, one step down from declaring a disaster area, was announced by the government after a cabinet meeting late on Tuesday. Government spokesman Alberto Nkutumula said authorities would forcibly evacuate around 130 000 people from areas near river as water levels continue to rise due to heavy rain."All the conditions have been created to evacuate and relocate 130 000 people living in areas of risk," Nkutumula was cited by Portuguese news agency Lusa as sayingDespite the red alert, he said Mozambique did not plan to ask for international aid at this time."There is internal capacity to deal with the situation."Mozambicans are often victims of flooding during the rainy season. Floods in 2000 and 2007 forced hundreds of thousands from their homes in the impoverished southern African nation.Since then, Mozambique has minimised the loss of life by evacuating people to higher ground at the start of the rains.But in this year's floods, two people were killed after being swept away by the floodwaters and one person was eaten by a crocodile, according to An official for Mozambique's National Disaster Management Institute (INGC) said the evacuation of thousands of people living along the river bank of the Zambezi and other flood-prone rivers would avert any more deaths."All the people that were victims of floods in previous years are being moved," Luis Pacheco, an official from INGC in the central province of Sofala, was cited by O Pais as saying. - Reuters March 11, 2010: "Mozambican authorities say about 800 people are trapped by rising floodwaters and in need of rescue" .."About 130 000 people are to be evacuated in flood-prone Mozambique because of rising waters in three main rivers, state media said on Wednesday. Government declared a red alert for regions along the mighty Zambezi River, Africa's fourth-longest which originates in Angola, as well as the smaller Pungwe and Buzi rivers, Noticias newspaper said.The red alert imposes an evacuation order for the area."About 130 000 people were identified in areas of risk in three basins in the central region, namely the Zambezi, Pungwe and Buzi rivers," Noticias said."Our main concern right now is to save human lives. In any case, the situation is under control," said Joao Ribeiro, director general of the National Disaster Management Institute.Emergency centres have been created where tents, mosquito nets, medicine and food would be available.Seasonal rains across southern Africa send water levels rising every year around this time, especially on the Zambezi which brings to Mozambique run-off from a long swathe of the continent as it runs toward the Indian Ocean.Mozambique is a frequent victim of flooding during its rainy season. Deadly floods in 2000 and 2007 forced tens of thousands from their homes.So far two flood deaths have been reported this year.".... Flooding in Mozambique and Angola has displaced thousands of families, prompting both governments to step up rescue operations and Mozambican authorities to issue a red alert for some areas.Torrential rain that has swept central Mozambique and southern Angola for weeks has caused some rivers to overflow into villages along their paths and many villagers have fled to higher ground.Mozambique's government issued a red alert late on Tuesday, one step down from declaring a disaster area, and said it would forcibly evacuate about 130,000 people in areas at risk in the centre of the country.A government spokesman said flooding was expected to continue along the Zambezi, Africa's fourth biggest river. The floodgates of the river's Cahora Bassa dam have been opened to ease the pressure on its walls and this was also expected to increase the floods.The poverty-stricken African country said it did not plan to ask for international aid for time being."All the conditions have been created to evacuate and relocate 130,000 people living in areas of risk," government spokesman Alberto Nkutumula was quoted as saying by Portuguese news agency Lusa."There is internal capacity to deal with the situation.""March 8, 2010: At least two people have died in floods in the central Mozambican province of Sofala, reports Monday's issue of the independent daily "O Pais".The first victim lost his life last Thursday, when he was swept away by the waters of the swollen Buzi river. His body was then partially devoured by crocodiles.The second fatality occurred on Saturday in Dondo district, when a man made the mistake of trying to swim across the Pungue river. The current swept him to his death.By Sunday, the Pungue was 2.3 metres above flood alert level at the Mafambisse sugar plantation. In this area, the river had burst its banks and spilled across the main Beira-Zimbabwe highway between Mafambisse and Tica.As the waters rise, so traffic along this stretch of the road has been gradually shut down. By Sunday only large trucks and some four wheel drive vehicles were taking the risk of driving through the flooded stretch. Even then, they required a police escort, and the National Roads Administration (ANE) took the precaution of only opening the road in one direction at a time. Queues four kilometres long built up of vehicles waiting to cross the flooded stretch.Minibus taxis can no longer make the journey, and so passengers anxious to reach the other side are paying bicycle owners to carry them. The fare charged by these "bicycle-taxis" is 100 meticais (about 3.5 US dollars).Since Saturday, a goods train has been ferrying stranded light vehicles between Mafambisse and Tica. The railway runs parallel to the road, but is high enough to ensure that it is not affected by the flood waters.200 families at risk, who were temporarily sheltered at a primary school, have now been moved to a resettlement area at Tica, where over 100 plots of land are available for them to build new homes.According to Joao Ribeiro, general director of the country's relief agency, the National Disasters Management Institute (INGC), the situation is under control. However, there may still be people living on islands in the rivers and in other flood prone areas who are at serious risk. Ribeiro said that rescue teams have been formed to sweep through dangerous areas.Further north, the flood on the Zambezi is worsening, and at the weekend the Cahora Bassa dam was obliged to increase its discharges from 2,736 to 3,512 cubic metres of water per second. ....Based on UNICEF situation report, 210 families (1,050 people) have been affected by the initial inundation in Namathanda district; of these, 613 people have been evacuated to a temporary shelter located in Mufu village....March 1, 2010: "Maputo — The district of Buzi, in the central Mozambican province of Sofala, has been cut off from the rest of the country by flooding on the Buzi river.The ferry across the river has been out of operation for the past week, and now the road connections to Buzi town are impassable, reports Monday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias".There has also been flooding on the Metuchira river, in the neighbouring district of Nhamatanda. A bridge over the Metuchira has been damaged, and an electricity pylon has been knocked down, depriving the area of power.Sofala Provincial Governor Mauricio Vieira visited Buzi and Nhamatanda on Friday, and on Saturday met with the Provincial Emergency Commission. The meeting decided to allocate boats to Metuchira, particularly so that students who live in the Metuchira-Pita locality, but study in Nhamatanda town, can cross the river.Buzi administrator Sergio Moiane told "Noticias" that the situation in the district is worsening. On Friday, Vieira could travel overland to Buzi, but now the road from Beira to Buzi town, via Tica, is impassable."Previously, we had the problem that the ferry was paralysed, and so people on the other bank, in the Estaquinha and Nova Sofala administrative posts, who account for 60 per cent of the district population, were isolated", said Moiane. "Now the Tica-Buzi road, which is our main access route, cannot be used".It is still possible to take a boat from Buzi to Beira, but Moiane warned that the current bad weather is making even this difficult.Moiane said nobody is in danger of losing their lives, since people who used to live in flood prone areas were moved to resettlement sites on higher ground during the last major Buzi floods, two years ago. However many fields have been inundated, and the district administration is trying to ascertain the extent of damage to crops.Torrential rain has also been falling in the western province of Tete. The publicly-owned telecommunications company, TDM, blamed this weather for a cut in the fibre-optic cable between Moatiza and Do, near the Malawian border.This is imposing severe difficulties on the fixed and mobile phone networks, and on Internet access, in the province. TDM has pledged that its technical staff re on the ground working to repair the damage. 3613 24 FL-2010-000037-HTI Haiti Les Cayes 2010-02-28T00:00:00.000 2010-03-02T00:00:00.000 3 13 Heavy Rain 1 3836 4.0609998532182887 -73.77 18.420000000000002 0 45 1 172 2010-02-28T00:00:00.000 862 3083 March 1, 2010: "At least eight people have been killed in floods triggered by heavy rain in Haiti, officials have said.The deaths occurred in or near the southeastern port city of Les Cayes which was swamped by more than 1.5m (5ft) of water. Officials said buildings affected included a hospital and a prison where more than 400 inmates were evacuated. About a million Haitians are still homeless following January's earthquake which killed up to 230,000 people. The floods have come several weeks ahead of Haiti's traditional rainy season. "The situation is grave... whole areas are completely flooded. People have climbed on to the roofs of their homes," local senator Francky Exius told AFP news agency. Witnesses said some homes had collapsed and people were fleeing for safer areas. At least two people are reported missing in the floods. One report puts the death toll at 11. Staff at the flooded hospital in Les Cayes moved patients to the safety of higher floors, reports say, while UN peacekeepers helped police to evacuate the jail. Les Cayes lies on a peninsula 160km (100 miles) west of the capital Port-au-Prince. It was unaffected by the earthquake, but its 70,000 population has been swollen by survivors fleeing from earthquake-hit areas " 3612 23 France West Atlantic Coast, Vendee and Charente regions of western France 2010-02-28T00:00:00.000 2010-03-02T00:00:00.000 3 48 500 Storm Surge and Heavy Rain 2 30830 5.267124775110152 -1.53 46.77 0 45 1 171 2010-02-28T00:00:00.000 862 3082 March 2, 2010: "L’AIGUILLON-SUR-MER, France: Rescuers in boats and helicopters scrambled on Monday to find the missing in homes flooded by a storm that killed at least 48 people on France’s Atlantic coast.France’s west coast was pummeled by the storm dubbed Xynthia, the country’s fiercest in a decade, which unleashed gale force winds and torrential rains on Sunday, prompting the government to declare a national emergency.The toll in France rose to 48 dead and at least nine were reported missing on Monday. More than 200,000 homes were still without power in the deadliest storm to have battered France since 1999, officials said.As fierce weather battered other parts of Europe, at least five people died in neighboring Germany, according to police, three in Spain, one in Portugal and one in Belgium.More than 9,000 French firefighters and emergency workers backed by helicopters were deployed on Monday to try to reach stranded residents, mostly in the Vendee and Charente regions of western France.Rescue teams waded through the thigh-deep floodwaters and took to boats to reach flooded houses whose residents were reported missing in the town of L’Aiguillon-sur-Mer.Hundreds of families slept overnight in shelters set up in schools and dance halls. In Charente, regional authorities warned that a combination of high winds and tides continued to pose a flood risk.The storm hit France early Sunday in the middle of the night with eight-meter waves that sent residents scurrying onto rooftops. The wind reached speeds of 150 kilometers per hour." 3611 22 Spain Southern Spain, Cordoba, Jaen and Seville provinces 2010-02-23T00:00:00.000 2010-02-24T00:00:00.000 2 32 1200 Heavy Rain 1 98470 5.2943339335834558 -4.04 38.979999999999997 0 45 1 170 2010-02-23T00:00:00.000 862 3081 February 24, 2010: "Seville, Spain - At least 1,200 people have been evacuated from their homes after heavy rains sparked flooding in southern Spain, officials said Wednesday. About 20 of the region's roads were also blocked. The flooding mainly affected the provinces of Cordoba, Jaen and Seville, where the Guadalquivir river and several reservoirs overflowed their banks, officials said. Floodwater entered homes, shops and industrial buildings, forcing some people living near Cordoba to climb onto their roofs. About 500 emergency workers evacuated residents with boats and lorries. No injuries were reported. Damage to infrastructure appeared minor so far, officials said" 3610 21 Portugal Island of Madeira 2010-02-19T00:00:00.000 2010-02-20T00:00:00.000 2 32 Torrential Rain 2 483 3.2860071220794747 -16.97 32.76 0 45 0 169 2010-02-19T00:00:00.000 862 3080 February 20, 2010: "Portuguese Interior Minister Rui Pereira says at least 25 people have died in floods and mudslides on the island of Madeira.The French news agency reports that heavy rain and winds up to 100 kilometers per hour struck the island, about 600 kilometers west of mainland Portugal, on Saturday night.Portugal's state news agency (Lusa) says at least 60 people have been hospitalized.It was not immediately clear if any tourists were among the storm's victims" 3609 20 FL-2010-000023-ECU Peru Ecuador Northern Peru, Esmeraldas, Guayas y El Oro provinces, Ecuador 2010-02-10T00:00:00.000 2010-02-17T00:00:00.000 8 80000 Torrential Rain 1 305800 6.3885274680682453 -78.290000000000006 -4.68 1 45 1 169 2010-02-10T00:00:00.000 862 3080 February 12, 2010: "At least 20,000 houses were flooded and 150 others collapsed on Thursday as torrential rains lashed northern Peru, according to local media.The heavy rains affected Peru's northern city of Trujillo, where three hospitals have been flooded, and some building bases cracked by the water.In the face of floods, La Esperanza, El Porvenir and Salaverry are the most vulnerable towns in Trujillo in La Libertad province.According to the regional government, some 60,000 houses are in danger in the province since rocks began to slide down from hills.The regional administration of health has issued an alert on the breakout of dengue and other diarrheal diseases resulting from the rain.Meanwhile, tourism to the archaeological ruins of Chan Chan in Trujillo was cancelled because of the rainy season""Flood,Ecuador: Hundreds of families were affected in Esmeraldas, Guayas y El Oro provinces due to floods caused by heavy rains. Government is helping with evacuation and delivery of aid" 3608 19 Australia New South Wales (far south coast, central west NSW) 2010-02-13T00:00:00.000 2010-02-16T00:00:00.000 4 Heavy Rain 2 311900 6.3971053617490874 149.59 -32.42 1 44 1 168 2010-02-13T00:00:00.000 861 3079 February 15, 2010: "A natural disaster has been declared on the New South Wales far south coast after yesterday's widespread flooding.Torrential rain cut roads, washed away bridges and caused land slips, particularly in the Eurobodalla Shire.The far south coast and Monaro had some of their best falls in a decade, when more than 200 millimetres fell yesterday and overnight.But the rain came at a price, causing floods in the Moruya, Bega and Brogo rivers and threatening the Cooma township.Eighteen State Emergency Service crews worked through the night on about 300 jobs in the area, mostly for leaking roofs and flooded properties.NSW Emergency Services Minister Steve Whan has now declared the Eurobodalla Shire and the Bega Valley natural disaster zones, meaning councils can access funding to repair the damage.Mr Whan says the flooding was unusual, given the area has been in drought for the last decade. February 14, 2010: "Boaters are being urged to watch for debris in rivers and waterways amid heavy rain and rough conditions which have already cost one life in NSW.Sydney woman Irene Thomas, 60, was swept away by the flooded Tueena Creek after she and her husband made an unsuccessful attempt to cross the waterway in their four-wheel drive about 9pm (AEDT) on Sunday.The couple, from Sylvania Waters, got out of their vehicle after it became stuck and were washed downstream in the creek which is between Crookwell and Bathurst.The husband managed to pull himself from the water after about an hour. He searched for his wife for about three hours before walking several kilometres to Tueena for help." February 14, 2010: "Three people have been rescued from flooding in central west NSW, including one person who went canoeing in flood waters.The State Emergency Services (SES) say strong winds and heavy rain caused flooding in parts of the central west on Sunday, with more rain expected in the region overnight.In Bungendore, a canoeist was rescued on Sunday afternoon after deciding to go canoeing in flood waters, SES spokesman Phil Campbell said" 3607 18 Bulgaria Greece Turkey Including Central Greece 2010-02-13T00:00:00.000 2010-02-20T00:00:00.000 8 Heavy Rain 1 16750 5.1271047983648073 32.04 41.23 0 43 1 167 2010-02-13T00:00:00.000 860 3078 February 19, 2010: Tracts of farmland bordering on the Pineios River in Thessaly, central Greece, were submerged yesterday after the river broke its banks, just a few days after the Evros and Kastoria rivers overflowed, provoking widespread flooding in the broader region.It is the first time in three decades that three rivers have overflowed in different parts of the country almost simultaneously, causing widespread damage and disruption.According to farmers in Trikala, the overflowing Pineios has submerged about 2,000 hectares of land. The floods also have disrupted road travel in the area and a few homes have been affected.The extent of the damage in Trikala was minimal yesterday compared to the destruction wreaked by floods in the northern prefecture of Evros, where local authorities remained on standby.More than 20,000 hectares of land have been submerged across the prefecture and dozens of homes have been rendered uninhabitable.Last night, Deputy Citizens’ Protection Minister Spyros Vougias was due to arrive in Alexandroupoli ahead of a scheduled tour of flooded areas today. The cost of the damage is estimated at several million euros.In Kastoria, authorities were on standby as the water level of the river there is expected to rise by 7 centimeters over the next few days.The level of the river rose by 16 centimeters this week, prefectural officials said February 16, 2010: "Turkey closes border crossing with flood-hit Bulgaria. Turkey closed a northwestern border crossing with Bulgaria on Monday as floods cut a highway connecting the two neighbors, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.Officials at the Kapikule border crossing in Edirne Province forbid vehicles to cross into Bulgaria as a nearby brook overflowed Monday morning and forced the closure of the highway from Kapikule to Bulgaria's Kapitan Andreevo border crossing, the report said.Around 50 trucks were waiting at Kapikule, while officials said the crossing would be opened for traffic after the highway was cleared from floods, according to the report.On Monday, the Bulgarian government warned residents in Edirne that it would open its floodgates on a river that originates from Bulgaria and flows southwards to Turkey on Monday evening to relieve flooding on its side, the Hurriyet Daily News reported.Edirne Governor Hamdi Sedefci was quoted by the TV channel CNNTurk as saying Edirne had taken precautions and its residents were not at risk.More than 15,000 hectares of farmland have been flooded as recent melting snow and torrential rains swelled rivers in Bulgaria, said the newspaper." February 15, 2010: "An emergency situation was declared on Sunday (February 14th) in the northern prefecture of Evros, Greece, where severe storms pushed water levels in the Maritsa River to dangerous levels. "We have not reached the critical point yet, but there is a risk of this," Deputy Interior Minister George Dolios said. Authorities have been forced to close rail bridges in the region.Storms and torrential rains also hit parts of Turkey, particularly the northwest city of Edirne on Saturday. Flooding destroyed farmland and other property and forced roads and bridges to close. Melting snow and heavy rains in the last few days resulted in massive flooding in southern Bulgaria. The Tundzha River overflew its banks and left many homes under water in the southeast city of Yambol, civil defence Agency officials announced on Sunday. Floods destroyed bridges and caused landslides around the town of Elhovo and its surrounding villages, virtually cutting them off from the rest of the country. More rain is forecast this week. 3606 17 Australia Brisbane 2010-02-15T00:00:00.000 2010-02-16T00:00:00.000 2 Torrential Rain 2 20650 4.916980047320382 152.83000000000001 -27.22 0 43 1 166 2010-02-15T00:00:00.000 860 3077 February 16, 2010: "Flooding in Milton, Brisbane.The flash flooding was a release after days of steamy, sultry weather with more than 100 millimetres dumped on the city and suburbs in about an hour.The Weather Bureau tonight reported the highest fall at Rochedale South (107 millimetres) at 7pm, while the highest fall on the north side was 37 millimetres at Bracken Ridge.Other falls included 103 millimetres in Brisbane’s CBD, 96 millimetres at East Brisbane, 80 millimetres at Chapel Hill, 84 millimetres at Wishart, 77 millimetres at Mt Cotton, 66 millimetres at Calamvale, 69 millimetres at Eight Mile Plains and 61 millimetres at Upper Kedron.Brisbane's CBD has experienced its heaviest rainfall in nine years, with 80 millimetres recorded in just 50 minutes. The downpour caused lengthy transport delays, with flash flooding hitting a range of suburbs, including Woolloongabba, Paddington and Windsor. Milton appears the worst hit, with reports of cars washing down the road. Tens of thousands of homes were without power this afternoon, as electricity provider Energex works to restore services to more than 60,000 homes and businesses.Weatherzone meteorologist Brett Dutschke said the 80 millimetres that fell in the CBD between 11.40am and 12.30pm was the heaviest since March 2001, when 138 millimetres fell during a 24 hour period."[Today's rainfall] included 25 millimetres in just 10 minutes," he said." 3605 16 Dominican Republic Las Flores, Padre Granero, Bello Costero, Urbanización General Gregorio Luperón, Ensanche Dubocq (Los Callejones); Playa Oeste, Aguas Negras, Padre Las Casas and Los Domíngue districts 2010-02-14T00:00:00.000 2010-02-15T00:00:00.000 2 150 Torrential Rain 1 2791 3.7467898321526123 -70.56 19.63 0 43 0 165 2010-02-14T00:00:00.000 860 3076 February 15, 2010: "Flash floods damage homes in Puerto Plata, one dead SANTIAGO.- Around 25,700 people were affected by the floods in at least 18 districts of the municipality Puerto Plata, as rivers and gorges overflowed their bank since early morning yesterday. Moreover, José Rafael Santana died when a wall fell on him in the sector Los Bordas.Civil Defense director Hugo González said flash floods damaged 34 houses totally, and 850 partially, whereas 635 families lost their belongings and 6,435 others had partial losses. He said ready-meals were distributed among the victims, while they await the arrival of home appliances and mobile cafeterias, as well as construction crews and equipment. Between the affected districts are the Las Flores, Padre Granero, Bello Costero, Urbanización General Gregorio Luperón, Ensanche Dubocq (Los Callejones); Playa Oeste, Aguas Negras, Padre Las Casas and Los Domínguez. 3604 15 FL-2010-000021-AFG Afghanistan Kandahar 2010-02-05T00:00:00.000 2010-02-10T00:00:00.000 6 20 200 Heavy Rain 2 105900 6.1040772061551101 65.099999999999994 32.54 1 43 1 165 2010-02-05T00:00:00.000 860 3076 February 8, 2010: "KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) – At least 20 people have died in floods and avalanches triggered by some of the heaviest rain and snow in Afghanistan for 50 years, an official said Monday.At least six people died and 10 others were missing following heavy rains in the southern province of Kandahar since late Sunday, a provincial spokesman, Zalmai Ayoubi, told AFP."So far we have found six bodies from one car. Two cars with 10 other people in them are missing," he said."We don't know if they are dead or alive," he added.Hundreds of mud-brick houses were damaged and about 1,000 animals killed in the province's Daman district, Ayoubi said.He said dozens of people were stranded by flood waters caused by the heaviest rain seen in the area for half a century, as authorities called on Afghan and foreign troops to airlift people to safety.The floods in Kandahar follow heavy snowfall in central and western parts of the country which has killed at least 14 people in the past week, according to disaster response authorities.The heavy rain and snow comes after winter began without precipitation, sowing concerns about drought in the agrarian country over the coming year. Flood,Afghanistan: At least 20 people have died in floods and avalanches, including flash floods, triggered by heaviest rain and snow in Afghanistan for 50 years 3603 14 Australia Queensland 2010-02-05T00:00:00.000 2010-02-07T00:00:00.000 3 2 Heavy Rain 1 188900 5.7533532126414961 145.18 -20.170000000000002 0 42 1 164 2010-02-05T00:00:00.000 859 3075 February 7, 2010: "A mother has died and another 20 people needed rescuing after heavy flooding in central Queensland, the Department of Community Safety says.The woman, in her 40s, was found by emergency services on Sunday evening after being swept from Bouldercombe Gorge Resources Reserve at about 3.40pm (AEST)."We believe she was found in some trees," the DCS spokesman said.There is no current information about where she lived or the cause of death.Her four children escaped unharmed.She was one of 21 people caught up in the flooding at the popular picnic and swimming spot after torrential rain and thunderstorms deluged the area.There was early confusion about the number of people missing, partly because of two cars left in the area.But all have now been accounted for and emergency services have ended their operation in the area.Four teenagers were among those rescued after being swept away.The DCS spokesman told AAP they managed to reach an area of dry land but were surrounded by water."A large and sudden storm came through which has dumped a lot of water and they've been caught by surprise by the flow of the water from the storms," the DCS spokesman said earlier in the day.It remains unclear how the others who needed rescuing were helped to safety, the DCS said."They will all have their own stories to tell about what happened to them," the DCS spokesman added.Police said 10 people were winched to safety, including four children, but their mother had died."There's 13 missing people - a sad fact that one of the people lost their life today, a woman," Senior Sergeant John Hamry told ABC Television."She's been located just down from the falls."Meanwhile, a 14-year-old boy drowned when the car in which he was travelling tried to cross Black Duck Creek at Junction View, south of Toowoomba, on Saturday night.The boy and two other people managed to get out of a car after it was swept off the roadway, but the boy was washed away in the floodwaters. . 3602 13 Mexico Central Mexico, Mexico City 2010-01-26T00:00:00.000 2010-02-13T00:00:00.000 19 41 20000 Heavy Rain 1 122600 6.3672440711352252 -99 19.940000000000001 1 42 1 163 2010-01-26T00:00:00.000 859 3074 February 10, 2010: "The death toll from heavy floods and mudslides in Mexico increased Tuesday to 41, a government agency announced.Most of the deaths -- 30 -- have occurred in eastern Michoacan state, on the central Pacific coast. The state attorney general's office released a list of the deceased Tuesday.Another 12 people are missing after mudslides from two large hills, Michoacan Gov. Leonel Godoy said Tuesday.The remaining 11 deaths resulted from a mudslide Saturday near the small town of Temascaltepec in neighboring Mexico state.Interior Secretary Fernando Francisco Gomez Mont has declared a state of natural disaster for the Michoacan cities of Angangueo, Ocampo, Tiquicheo de Nicolas Romero, Tuxpan and Tuzantla. The declaration makes those cities eligible for money from the federal natural disaster fund.The death toll in Michoacan had been 27 until three additional bodies were discovered Tuesday.Godoy said officials are focusing on three tasks: searching for anyone who is alive, recovering bodies and removing boulders and downed trees. Officials are under pressure to act quickly, he said, because another cold front with more possible rain is expected within the next few days.More than 3,500 Michoacan residents are homeless, the state government said on its Web site.In addition to Michoacan and Mexico states, unusually heavy rain in the past week also flooded parts of Mexico City, the nation's capital.Up to 37,000 people nationwide have been affected, government officials said.On Sunday, Mexican President Felipe Calderon toured Valle de Chalco, another city in Mexico state on the eastern outskirts of the Mexico City metro area.National Water Commission Director Jose Luis Luege said Tuesday that contaminated water from a sewage network there that overflowed Friday will continue to flood the town for at least another 48 hours. The break in the sewage pipe had been fixed, but it burst again.Officials also built two dikes to contain the sewage but were unable to use them out of concern that they would burst under the intense pressure from the floodwaters, Luege said.More than 3,000 homes in Valle de Chalco were flooded.Mexico state is bordered on the west by Michoacan and adjoins Mexico City on three sides -- north, east and west.February 8, 2010: "Heavy flooding in central Mexico in the past week has killed at least 33 people and left thousands homeless, the government said Monday.Schools remained closed in five cities in Mexico's Michoacan state, where the flooding has killed at least 22 people and left more than 3,500 residents homeless, the state government said on its Web site.Another 83 people still were missing Monday in Michoacan, a state in western coastal Mexico that has been beset by drug violence in the past few years.A mudslide Saturday killed at least 11 people near the small town of Temascaltepec, in neighboring Mexico state.February 6, 2010: " 29 dead, homes flooded in central Mexico TOLUCA, Mexico (AP) -- A landslide killed at least 11 people in central Mexico on Friday, adding to 18 deaths this week from severe and unseasonable winter storms that closed schools and freeways and flooded thousands of homes.Ten men and a woman died in Mexico State after mud and boulders loosened by heavy rains swept down onto a highway Friday afternoon.At least 20 more people were reported missing in the slide 30 kilometers (20 miles) west of Toluca, Mexico State prosecutors spokesman Alfredo Albitir said.The heavy rainstorms - unusual in Mexico's normally dry winter - sent rivers over their banks in the neighboring state of Michoacan where at least 16 people, including three children, were killed Wednesday and Thursday.Michoacan authorities said several people were still missing and at least 2,000 homes were damaged. The federal government declared three Michoacan townships disaster zones, opening access to relief funds.Two children were killed in the state of Guanajuato.The rains also slammed Mexico City and the neighboring State of Mexico, where open sewage canals overflowed.A mix of drain water and sewage flowed into thousands of homes and blocked major thoroughfares in the metropolis of 20 million people. About 7,500 homes were flooded, prompting emergency personnel to ferry people from their homes through chest-high water.Crews were working Friday to drain flooded areas and put sand bags around damaged drainage channels.Skies began clearing Friday, and rains were forecast to stop by the weekend. Rain in central Mexico falls almost exclusively between May and October.Mexico City lies in an enclosed mountain valley where flooding has been a problem for centuries. Over time, deeper and larger drainage tunnels have been built to address the problem, but experts warn that even those may be inadequate.February 2, 2010: Flooding caused by unusual winter rains has killed five children and two women in central Mexico.The dead include three boys aged 8, 12 and 14, and two girls aged 3 and 6. Flooding has also killed a 19-year-old and an unidentified woman.The Michoacan state director of civil defense said Thursday the three younger children were killed when a swollen river flooded their house in the town of Tuxpan.The Public Safety Department in neighboring Guanajuato state said the two older boys drowned when they tried to cross a rain-swollen stream Wednesday.The rains caused some flooding and power outages in Mexico City, where water services director Ramon Aguirre said "this rainfall is completely atypical for the month of February." January 28, 2010: "Fifteen people - including five children - died this week in severe and unseasonable winter storms that closed schools and freeways in central Mexico and flooded thousands of homes, authorities reported Friday.The heavy rain storms - unusual in Mexico's normally dry winter season - sent rivers over their banks in the states of Michoacan and neighboring Guanajuato, where the deaths occurred Wednesday and Thursday.Michoacan Interior Secretary Fidel Calderon Torreblanca said several people are still missing and that at least 2,000 homes were damaged. The federal government declared three Michoacan townships disaster zones, a move that allows them access to federal disaster-relief funds.The rains also slammed Mexico City and the neighboring State of Mexico, where open sewage canals overflowed and containment banks collapsed.A mix of drain water and sewage flowed into thousands of homes and blocked major thoroughfares in the metropolis of 20 million people. About 7,500 homes were flooded in the metropolitan area, prompting emergency personnel to ferry people from their homes through chest-high water.Crews were working Friday to drain flooded areas and put sand bags around the damaged drainage channels.Skies cleared Friday, and the rains were forecast to stop by the weekend. Rain in central Mexico falls almost exclusively between May and October. Mexico City lies in an enclosed mountain valley where flooding has been a problem for centuries. Authorities over time have dug deeper and larger drainage tunnels to try to solve the problem, but experts have warned that even those may not be sufficient to handle extremely heavy rainfalls 3601 12 Bolivia La Paz, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Chuquisaca and Beni 2010-01-27T00:00:00.000 2010-02-05T00:00:00.000 10 Heavy Rain 1 292800 6.4665710723863539 -66.5 -17.46 1 41 1 162 2010-01-27T00:00:00.000 858 3073 January 29, 2010: "Bolivian President Evo Morales has declared a state of emergency in areas of the country, as heavy rains and floods affect some 24,000 families.The worst-hit areas are La Paz, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Chuquisaca and Beni. The flooding is expected to get worse as more rain is forecast. Rivers have broken their banks and overflowed. There have been mudslides. Meanwhile rescuers in Peru renewed efforts to evacuate tourists trapped near the Inca site of Machu Picchu. 3600 11 New Zealand Central North Island 2010-01-29T00:00:00.000 2010-02-02T00:00:00.000 5 Heavy Rain 1 44180 5.344195715871435 178.13 -37.82 0 40 1 161 2010-01-29T00:00:00.000 857 3072 February 1, 2010: "Dozens of people near Gisborne remain isolated as torrential rain over the weekend buckled a bridge and cut off several roads around the region.The heavy rain turned a creek into a raging torrent, driving the water a third of the way up a century-old wool shed.Rob Telfer has not seen his farm since Friday but says pasture at Waipaoa Station is buried under a metre of silt and boulders."(I) can't believe it, I got a report over the phone but did not expect this ... (I'm) trying to get my head around what happened really," Telfer says.The heavy flow of water gushed down the Waipaoa River with such force it damaged the only bridge over it, cutting off the Waipaoa Station near Te Karaka from the outside world.Waipaoa Station training manager Lawrence Burkin says the main issue was the debris that had built up over the bridge."At its peak yesterday the water was right up at the decking of the bridge," he says.About 20 residents around the station are now stuck on the wrong side of a bridge, many without phone lines or clean water.Locals used to think the steel and concrete bridge was a bit over the top because what usually runs underneath it is a narrow stream that is usually knee-deep.Telfer says the priority is to get the stranded people sorted out and to get the water on. "We've got stock that need it as well."Thousands of hours of work is now required to prevent further damage. Telfer says the river has cut into the hill and changed course."We're now going to have to have that diverted pretty quick or that whole hill will come down," he says.The only way the farmers can get in and out of the area at the moment is using a four-wheel drive. They say water levels rose up to three metres within 20 minutes, spilling a sea of mud through farmland, farm buildings and houses.Gisborne Mayor Meng Foon says weather bombs are unpredictable and the clean-up bill will be in the tens of thousands of dollars.The Napier-Taupo road re-opened late on Monday morning after the heavy rain caused massive slips - some narrowly missing cars trying to drive through.Back in Gisborne, the council says things have improved with the clean-up underway and the sun shining. February 1, 2010: 3599 10 South Africa North West and Gauteng provinces 2010-01-27T00:00:00.000 2010-01-29T00:00:00.000 3 1400 Heavy Rain 1 87780 5.4205168312286167 28.7 -24.75 0 40 1 160 2010-01-27T00:00:00.000 857 3071 January 28, 2010: "Torrential rains and floods in the North West and Gauteng provinces of South Africa have caused disruption, government bodies said earlier today.The Greater Taung Local Municipality said a disaster area was declared, after 150 homes were affected and one person was confirmed dead from flooding.Residents were warned to keep away from bridges and rivers, and to drive carefully in the inclement weather. Water Affairs spokesperson Mava Scott commented that "people in the low lying areas should be alerted."The Vaal Dam, meanwhile, was at 105% full, after six sluice gates were opened. Three more are expected to be opened soon, according to the South African Press Association. The Bloemhof Dam in North West province is 112% full, with flood gates having been opened there earlier today.Officials encouraged people to remove their boats and pumps, as water flow would not be predictable. "It will also be rather dangerous for people to go too near to the river's embankments during this time," Superintendent Eugene Opperman noted.Meanwhile, roads to places such as Manokwane, Lokaleng, Khibitswane, Mokgareng, and Pudimoe, were also inundated with water. 800 mine workers from East Rand Mines were evacuated as well. 3598 9 Mozambique Tanzania Maputo, Maputo River 2010-01-25T00:00:00.000 2010-01-28T00:00:00.000 4 3 Heavy Rain 1 72700 5.4635944021870007 31.65 -25.59 0 40 1 159 2010-01-25T00:00:00.000 857 3070 January 27, 2010: "Torrential rain has brought misery to much of Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola, inundating poor and low lying neighbourhoods.According to a source in the country's relief agency, the National Disaster Management Institute (INGC), contacted by AIM late Wednesday morning, about 100 millimetres of rain fell in Maputo in the previous ten hours.Poor neighbourhoods are regularly swamped by storms that bring less than 50 millimetres of rain. The INGC has responded by sending emergency teams into the Maputo suburbs, reporting back by radio every 15 minutes.Water invaded many homes, as their residents slept. Frantically, people tried to throw up barricades to divert the waters, or resorted to buckets to remove the water from their bedrooms.Thanks to Maputo's woefully inadequate drainage system, the main roads in the city have become rivers, and driving along them is hazardous. The drainage channels along the road leading to the airport have been unable to cope with such heavy rain, and have overflowed, so that the road is under several centimetres of water.25th September Avenue, the main thoroughfare running through the lowest part of the city, near the port, is completely flooded, and the shops lining the avenue have been inundated. Although, by midday, the intensity of the rain had lessened considerably, it was still falling, and the National Meteorology Institute (INAM) warned that there is a 50 per chance that it will continue raining through Wednesday night.So far it is not clear whether the same level of rain has fallen in rural parts of Maputo province. If so, then it would clearly threaten flooding on the Incomati, Umbeluzi and Maputo rivers.Indeed, the National Water Board warned on Tuesday that the Maputo river was approaching flood alert level, and advised people living nearby to remove pumps or other equipment from its banks, and not to try crossing the swollen river. January 22, 2010: The ongoing heavy-rains spell, believed to be another bout of El-Nino, seems to have this time spared the shores of Lake Balangida in Hanang District.The previous El-Nino spell in 1998 wrecked havoc on residential homes surrounding the lake in the Basotu and Katesh wards of Hanang, causing a mass exodus of people and leading to the total closure of Basotu secondary school.The local ward representative and community worker, Mama Rose Kamili stated: "It is surprising this time there have been no floods along the lake, despite the fact that rains are falling in torrents here like in many other parts of the country."In Katesh, the lake has remained calm as of late, with people busy harvesting soda ash, whose caked slates can be seen in a number of sacks dotting the shorelines.Mama Kamili, the area representative through the ruling CCM party, lives near the lake and a few months ago reported that people in the vicinity had started to vacate the areas near Lake Balangida after the Meteorological Department warned of imminent heavy rains that would affect the Nation.Located at the foot of Mount Hanang, Lake Balangida is a lifeline to more than 1000 fishermen and close to 5000 fish mongers and traders, with some coming from as far as Songea in Southern Tanzania and Mwanza around Lake Victoria shores 3597 8 Peru Machu Picchu,Aguas Calientes,towns, Cusco, Huancavelica, Apurimac and Puno regions 2010-01-25T00:00:00.000 2010-01-30T00:00:00.000 6 20 Torrential Rain 2 135300 6.2104790426452476 -72.94 -12.99 1 40 1 158 2010-01-25T00:00:00.000 857 3069 February 2, 2010: "Residents of Lucre, one of the areas affected by the floods in Cusco, demanded more help from the government, since many of them have now no place to live, reports Enlace Nacional.During a quick visit, Minister of Women and Social Development Nidia Vilchez talked to some of the affected residents. Some help has arrived, but according to some local people, it is not enough, since many little towns like Lucre live entirely on agriculture, and now after the floods and mudslides, its residents they have lost everything they had. President Alan Garcia visited Cusco a few days ago, and he said that there were only 5,000 hectares of crops affected by the floods, and that these farmers would be benefitted by the agrarian insurance" January 30, 2010: "The number of people killed in heavy flooding over the past several days in southern Peru has risen to 20, local officials say.They say that at least five more people are missing and almost 40,000 others have been affected. On Friday, officials airlifted the last of nearly 4,000 tourists stranded near the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu. The tourists became trapped after floods and landslides destroyed road and rail links to the famous site. Peru's Cuzco region in the Andes is the worst-hit. Lucre - a village situated next to a river with the same name - was all but washed away earlier this week, the BBC's Dan Collyns reports from the region. "Someone heard the noise and before we could even get out of our beds the water was flowing over them. Terrified, all seven of us rean in different directions trying to escape," she adds. Many local residents are now trying to salvage what they can from their destroyed houses. After the impressive airlift from Machu Picchu, bringing aid to hundreds of villages spread over a wide area will pose a far greater challenge, our correspondent says. Other regions such as Puno, Ayacucho and Huancavelica were also hit hard by the torrential rains. January 28, 2010: "A New Zealander stuck among hundreds of tourists in flood-ravaged Machu Picchu has been filling sandbags with the locals while her mates help out in a makeshift medical tent as evacuations continue.Veronica Peat is one of 29 New Zealanders understood to be trapped in or around the area surrounding Machu Picchu after flooding and mud slides on Monday killed at least seven people and trapped at least 2000 tourists.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) said local authorities had advised them about 800 people were evacuated yesterday and estimate the same number should leave the area today depending on the weather.Ms Peat has been mucking in with the locals, who have been told they cannot leave the area unless pregnant or they have medical conditions."The group that I am with has been helping out the locals making sandbags and the like, and they have been really grateful for any help that they receive, providing food and water for the people who help out," wrote Ms Peat in an email to the Herald."Any tourists who have medical training are putting in shifts in the medical tent that they have set up."Ms Peat said locals who had tried to walk out of the township told her railway lines had been washed out.The Peruvian Army was involved in the evacuation of the area and "things seem to be happening faster" although their efforts had been hampered by the weather."The latest update we received was that all the people over 60 had been evacuated today - as well as the majority of the women and children."I have not felt scared at any stage, we understand that there are a lot of people in Peru a lot worse off than us at this stage and we know that we will be out in the next couple of days."Ashton Lines-Sherwood from Auckland told the Herald he had been stuck in Aguas Calientes - the closest access point to Machu Picchu - for six days.He said a normally sedate river next to the township was out of control and could now be "compared to Huka Falls in New Zealand".Mr Lines-Sherwood was critical of local rescue efforts: "The newspapers and news around South America are saying that they [Peruvian authorities] are providing 11 helicopters to get us out of here in two days - this is bullshit. We have been stuck here for six days, the last two days have seen three helicopters."Cusco, Peru's main touristic destination, is currently drawing international attention due to the large number of stranded tourists; but other Peru regions such as Huancavelica, Apurimac and Puno are currently experiencing extremely heavy rainfalls too, that are causing severe large-scale damages. January 27, 2010: " Huancavelica and Apurimac are Peru's regions with the highest extreme poverty rates, so the impact of these climatic events on their population and infrastructure is likely to be worse and to last longer. Only in Apurimac, more than 4,000 families have been affected by the rainfalls, and several sections of the Abancay-Cusco route have been literally swept away by the rivers surge, reported Apurimac's Regional President, David Salazar. In Huancavelica, some 30 mudslides have cut four spots of the Huancayo-Huancavelica railway, blocking the transit, and the situation in Yauyo, Acoria and Anta districts is getting critical. As for Puno, authorities of San Antonio de Putina province are also asking to be included in the state of emergency, since more than 6,000 hectares are flooded, as well as 10 public schools; reportedly, several bridges would also be about to collapse anytime. 3596 7 Brazil Angra dos Reis,Ilha Grande island,Sao Paulo state,Rio de Janeiro 2010-01-10T00:00:00.000 2010-01-28T00:00:00.000 19 72 6000 Heavy Rain 1.5 55640 6.2002319813285194 -44.07 -22.98 1 39 1 157 2010-01-10T00:00:00.000 856 3068 January 28, 2010: "ANGRA DOS REIS, Brazil (AFP) – Rescue teams scoured ravines and hillsides searching for survivors of landslides that have killed 72 people in the past days as hopes dimmed with each passing hour.Searchers found four bodies on Monday in Angra dos Reis, a beach city 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of Rio de Janeiro and firefighters said they thought more bodies could still be found."One of the bodies was that of a baby who was not on the list of the missing. This baby was probably with adults who also were buried," said Pedro Machado, a civil defense official.Some Angra inhabitants began evacuating their homes Monday by order of the authorities. "There's an imminent danger of new landslides," Mayor Tuca Jordao told reporters.Authorities declined to provide an estimate of how many people were abandoning their homes, but they said Sunday that around 500 houses in high-risk areas of the city had been condemned or declared out of bounds."I can't think about anything else. I can barely give thanks for being alive. The walls of the home we built with so much sacrifice are already developing cracks," Carmen Maia Reis, 35, told reporters after emptying her house of belongings.Her house, like many others, will be torn down, but police have stepped up patrols of the condemned buildings to prevent looting.Angra overlooks Ilha Grande island, where 29 people were killed in Friday's landslides, including 28 in a luxury hotel nestled at the foot of a jungle-covered hill.Some 40 guests were staying at the Hotel Sankay, which catered to Brazilian and foreign tourists seeking a remote beachside hideaway. It was not immediately known if foreigners were among the dead.Under blue skies and a hot summer sun, about 200 rescue workers and sniffer dogs on Monday were searching tonnes of mud and rocks that swept everything out to sea.Angra dos Reis was hit by devastating floods in 2002 when 40 people were killed and rescue operations lasted three months. January 27, 2010: Brazilian officials say heavy rains have filled two dams to capacity in Sao Paulo state, threatening 12 soaked cities with more flooding.More than 100 people have been killed by mudslides and floods triggered by downpours across southeastern Brazil since Jan. 1.Heaviest hit have been Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo states.An official who oversees dams in Sao Paulo state told the Agencia Estado news agency Wednesday that at least 6,000 people need to be evacuated.Helio Castro said two dams in the state can no longer hold water.While there is no sign they are in danger of bursting, any more rain will flow into already full rivers and worsen the flooding 3595 6 USA Mexico Coastal California, Los Angeles, San Diego, Tijuana, Arizona 2010-01-18T00:00:00.000 2010-01-22T00:00:00.000 5 3 Torrential Rain 1.5 104000 5.8920946026904808 -121.52 37.42 0 38 1 156 2010-01-18T00:00:00.000 855 3067 January 22, 2010: "The remnants of the biggest storm to hit Arizona in nearly two decades lingered over the state Friday after drenching California, while authorities in both states continued to tally the damage. In Arizona, flooding swept through small towns, caused a train derailment and closed major interstates. Snow collapsed roofs in the northern part of the state. Meanwhile, searchers looked for a 6-year-old boy swept away late Thursday in a flood.Searchers spent Friday looking for the boy, who was caught in rising waters near, about 70 miles north of Phoenix. Dwight D'Evelyn, a Yavapai County sheriff's spokesman, said the boy was presumed dead.Three others died in vehicle accidents this week — two on Interstate 40 east of Flagstaff and one in Phoenix — as a series of storms moved through the state. At least two people were killed by trees toppled by high winds in California in recent days.In Southern California, hundreds of evacuees were allowed to return home Friday as a week of lightning, vicious downpours and tornadoes dissipated into occasional thunderstorms. Still tens of thousands of people remained without power throughout the state.Flood control channels remained swollen and swift despite the drop in rainfall. In one dramatic rescue Friday afternoon, a dog was hoisted from the Los Angeles River by helicopter after trying to scramble up the steep concrete sides for more than an hour.The storms pushed through California and into Arizona on Monday dumping more than 4 1/2 feet of snow in the Flagstaff area, 2 inches of rain in Phoenix, 3 inches of rain in Yuma and 5 inches of rain in Sedona.Southern Arizona saw wind gusts of up to 80 mph, and the mountains received between 2 and 5 feet of snow, forecasters said."This was a high-impact event," said Brian Klimowski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Flagstaff. "It was a storm that impacted all of Arizona with flooding and very heavy snow, certainly ranking in the top five of all-time snow or rain events for the state."No reprieve was in sight from relentless Pacific storms that flooded streets, spawned at least a few tornados, and left a trail of damage in southern California, as authorities warned residents of foothill communities to prepare for huge mud flows. With predictions for more showers Friday, the supersaturated ground threatened to send damaging debris downhill. Authorities said an extensive flood-control system was working, but many of the basins designed to catch debris-laden runoff from fire-scarred mountains were full and evacuations remained necessary. They insisted that residents of endangered homes should obey evacuation orders. "It's not safe to say that we're out of the clear just yet," Gail Farber, the Los Angeles County Public Works director. Justin Ross whooped and hollered while he dug his shovel furiously into the 3-foot deep mud that was quickly rising beside his parents' house in the La Canada Flintridge foothills north of downtown Los Angeles. Ross, 23, stopped only to dip his fingers in the muck and wiped a streak across each cheek, as water the color of chocolate milk poured down the steep slope. "I put on the war paint and started screaming a sort of war whoop. It was a combination of exhaustion and exhilaration," he said during a break between squalls Thursday afternoon. "I feel like I've been shoveling for four days straight because I have." The siege of Pacific storms has led to several deaths statewide, flooded urban areas and turned the region's often-dry river and creek channels into raging torrents. A young man was pulled from a rushing river in Orange County on Thursday, but rescuers couldn't confirm his report that a companion got swept away following a fruitless search. January 20, 2010: "Torrential rain and strong winds pummeled California for a fourth consecutive day Thursday as officials warned of flash floods and mudslides in areas ravaged by last year's wildfires 3594 5 FL-2010-000012-EGY Egypt Israel Jordan Southern Sinai, Hurghada, and Aswan Governorate. 2010-01-18T00:00:00.000 2010-01-19T00:00:00.000 2 10 7000 Torrential Rain 1.5 226100 5.8314218170650225 31.09 28.08 0 38 1 155 2010-01-18T00:00:00.000 855 3066 January 31, 2010: "A report on flood damage in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsular was submitted to the Egyptian Cabinet on 28 January. It said flash floods on and after 18 January left 780 homes totally destroyed, 1,076 submerged and the area suffered material losses of over US$25.3 million. The destroyed homes would cost the government $3.5 million in compensation, said the report produced by the Crisis Management Centre in north Sinai in cooperation with the Cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Centre. The government has promised to give 25,000 Egyptian pounds ($$4,587) compensation to the owners of destroyed homes and 15,000 Egyptian pounds ($2,752) to those whose homes were partially damaged or submerged. The report also said the floods ruined 59km of roads, killed 1,838 animals and felled 27,820 (mostly olive) trees. January 21, 2010: "Three more Egyptians died in flooding in the southern Sinai Desert on Wednesday, bringing the toll for three days of unseasonably heavy rains to 10, said a health official.The arid region is unused to heavy rains which cause flash floods that can destroy homes and carry off livestock.Bedouins angry that the government was downplaying the magnitude of their losses clashed with security forces in South Sinai and injured a senior police officer and two of his men, said Mohammed Fayez, the head of the emergency medical unit in the province.The Bedouins, who have long had uneasy relations with authorities, burnt car tires, blocked a main road and set fire to a truck, maintaining that the government was underreporting their losses and not sending sufficient aid.". January 20, 2010: "Heavy rain and flooding has forced hundreds of people from their homes in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza authorities. About 115 homes were damaged and the sewage system was reported to be overflowing. A witness in Gaza who works for a local NGO told IRIN that over 100 families had been made homeless, but warned the number might rise if the rain continued. Some experts told IRIN Gaza's poor infrastructure is unable to cope, and there was a risk that sewage mixed with floodwater could cause communicable and water-borne diseases. The Israeli government has so far not commented on allegations that Israel opened dams in Gaza valley, exacerbating flooding in the Strip. January 19, 2010: "A second day of heavy rains and flooding in Egypt's Sinai Desert killed a woman and destroyed hundreds of homes, raising the toll for two days of storms to seven dead, the government said. Spokesman Magdy Rady said Tuesday a woman died and 12 people injured in southern Sinai and 250 homes were damaged. Six people, including a British tourist, were killed Monday in Egypt during the storms. One person died in Israel when her car was trapped in a flash flood. Egypt's state news agency said all 75 patients at the El-Arish general hospital in the Sinai had to be evacuated when the first floor was flooded. Some 300 families were also displaced. In the southern city of Aswan, floods and strong winds disrupted power in several neighbourhoods. "At least six people were killed and hundreds displaced by rain-induced flooding on 18 January in the Sinai Peninsula, the Red Sea port of Hurghada and Aswan Governorate, southern Egypt, according to local officials and media reports.Rare torrential rains across the Middle East swept away homes, marooned resort towns and killed seven people Monday, including a British tourist, in what officials are calling the worst flooding in at least a decade." The flooding along Egypt's Red Sea coast, the border with Israel and in the south left six people dead. It also damaged the roads leading to the resorts in the Sinai desert and brought down telephone and power lines. Israel temporarily closed its southern border crossings with Egypt and Jordan, while Jordanians were warned off the streets after nearly a dozen accidents in one area. Rains of this magnitude, which began Sunday night, are rare in this largely arid region and where heavy precipitation can result in sudden and deadly flash floods. A British tourist sailing down the Nile near the southern Egyptian city of Aswan died when his sail boat capsized in the heavy winds and sudden rain. The victim's wife and two companions, a Canadian and an Indian, survived, according Maj. Gen. al-Shafei Hassan, chief of criminal investigation in the southern city of Aswan. The heavy rains also washed away a dozen mud brick homes in southern Egypt and killed two women there. Scores of families in Aboul-Rish village in Aswan slept overnight outdoors after their homes were destroyed. In the famed monument city of Luxor, just to the north, the bad weather caused power failures in several neighborhoods and disrupted Nile cruises, sailboat and ferry schedules. In neighboring Israel, a woman drowned when her car was caught in a flash flood in the south, where stormy weather also blocked the main road to the Red Sea resort of Eilat. A bridge also collapsed near a cargo crossing between Egypt and Israel. Flooding wiped out large sections of a major road in Egypt's south Sinai and destroyed two dozen homes in Ras Sudr, according to Mohammed Fayez, the head of emergency services. The heavy rains also killed one woman, left 14 missing and damaged the roof of Sharm el-Sheik's old airport, he said. President Hosni Mubarak flew to Sharm el-Sheik and inspected the damage. Egypt's Middle East News agency reported that Mubarak ordered compensation be paid to the victims of the floods and he advised against the building of traditional mud brick homes. Witnesses in Taba, another tourist resort across the border from Israel, said the churning waters swept the sand on the beaches out to sea. In northern Sinai, officials at the provincial operation room dealing with the crisis said the flooding destroyed over 100 homes and many village huts. Mohammed al-Kiki, a local government official, said a flash flood overcame a dam and a man was killed near the border with Israel. Finally in the Red Sea resort town of Hurghada, a 24-year-old Egyptian woman drowned when flooding swept her off a main road, according to the state news agency." 3593 4 FL-2010-000008-BOL Bolivia Chapare, Cochabamba, Chuquisaca, Tarija, La Paz, Pando and Beni 2010-01-01T00:00:00.000 2010-01-13T00:00:00.000 13 5 4500 Heavy Rain 1 102200 6.123394248105531 -63.6 -17.829999999999998 1 38 1 154 2010-01-01T00:00:00.000 855 3065 January 20, 2010: "Más de 11 mil familias fueron afectadas por los fenómenos naturales registrados en los últimos meses en el departamento de Cochabamba, en el centro del país.La zona del trópico ha sufrido fuertes riadas que provocaron inundaciones donde 7.080 familias fueron afectadas. En el Valle bajo y en el Valle Alto, cuatro mil familias están damnificadas, declaró el responsable de la Unidad de Gestión de Riesgos, Fernando Fernández.La Prefectura (Gobernación) de Cochabamba y Defensa Civil, tiene definido un plan de emergencia para brindar inmediato apoyo humanitario a los afectados. January 13, 2010: "Two people, a father and his son, went missing in the central Bolivian region of Chapare in a flood caused by the heavy rains that are falling all across the country, the director de the Defense Ministry’s emergency management office, Gen. Rafael Uria, said on Saturday.Uria said that emergency services are looking for the two people who fell three days ago from a boat into the water and who will remain on the list of missing persons as long as their bodies are not found to confirm their deaths.According to the official, if they are found dead, this would be the second case of fatalities from the rains in Bolivia, after three women, two adults and a little girl, died on Dec. 26 when they fell in a river in the western Andean province of Potosi.The tropical area of Chapare has been hit hardest by overflowing rivers, and the municipalities there have declared a red alert, while the rest of Bolivia is on orange alert,” Gen. Uria added. In recent weeks, the rains affected 5,500 families across the country, of whom 2,200 are in Chapare, according to a report by the civil defense agency.January 11, 2010: "Heavy rains reported nationwide and attributed to the El Ni?o phenomenon has caused major floods in 6 departments: Cochabamba, Chuquisaca, Tarija, La Paz, Pando and Beni. 3 deaths have been reported, 2 people remain missing and a total of 4,500 families have been affected. The National Council for Disaster Reduction and Response (CONRADE) has activated the municipal and departmental Emergency Operations Centers (EOC). The Ministry of Health and Sports (MSD) is coordinating field missions and response operations jointly with the Departmental Health Services (SEDES) in the affected regions. According to the latest reports over 3800 hectares of land are under water and 350 houses are flooded 3592 3 Panama Costa Rica Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Vergaguas, and Colo 2010-01-11T00:00:00.000 2010-01-13T00:00:00.000 3 1000 Heavy Rain 1 23340 4.8452221064290137 -82.64 9.11 0 37 1 153 2010-01-11T00:00:00.000 854 3064 January 12, 2010: About 15,000 people remain isolated due to floods caused by pouring rains in Panama, the National System of Civil Protection (Sinaproc) said Tuesday. Highways and roads in Bocas del Toro bordering with Costa Rica were flooded as Sixaola River roared. Many communities in the province were made isolated, the Sinaproc said. Meanwhile, Luz Graciela Calzadilla, a meteorologist at the Electric Transmission Company, said that the effects of the cold front in Costa Rica would continue over the next 18 to 24 hours in Panama. On Monday, the Panamanian authorities issued a green (preventive) alert in the provinces of Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Vergaguas and Colon, asking the inhabitants to be cautious. In November last year, Panama's Darien province on the border with Colombia was hit by pouring rain, causing the rivers of Chunchunaque, Chico, Tupisa and Turqueza to overflow and making some 700 Panamanian families in the province threatened by hunger.According to the latest reports over 3800 hectares of land are under water and 350 houses are flooded 3591 2 Albania Croatia Bosnia Montenegro Northwest Albania, central Croatia, parts of Bosnia 2010-01-04T00:00:00.000 2010-01-13T00:00:00.000 10 1500 Heavy Rain 1.5 7601 5.0569619915881043 149.06 -30.95 0 37 1 152 2010-01-04T00:00:00.000 854 3063 January 11, 2010: Much of eastern Europe is experiencing some of its worst flooding in decades. In Albania, a combination of heavy snow followed by equally heavy rain has caused rivers to burst their banks.The authorities have been forced to discharge water from three hydro-electric power stations after danger levels were reached.Hardest-hit is Albania’s northwest where EU countries have sent boats, pumps and food to help out while 700 Albanian troops have been called up to organise an evacuation of thousands of people trapped in their homes from rising flood waters.The situation is also critical in other parts of the Adriatic hinterland. Central Croatia and parts of Bosnia are struggling where it has been raining for days with little sign of a change in the weather.An artificial lake in Croatia’s Kosinj valley has overflowed and, in some areas, water levels were reported to be rising by eight centimetres an hour. Local residents are on standby to be evacuated while, nearby, electricity had to be cut off to about 150 homes due to the threat of electric shocks. And, in Bosnia, the situation is worst in the central and southern parts of the country where the impact of torrential rain and flooding is being described as a catastrophe.Some residents are hoping to sit it out, refusing to leave their flooded homes for fear of what might become of their possessions. January 6, 2010: "Tirana - Albania is facing a potential catastrophe after days of heavy rain which have left hundreds of houses flooded in the northwestern areas, Prime Minister Sali Berisha said Wednesday. 'We are in a real emergency situation and a potential catastrophe,' Berisha told reporters in Tirana after an emergency government meeting to discuss urgent evacuation of flooded areas. 'The rain is falling for 10 days. It is our duty to prevent catastrophe, so these areas have to be evacuated,' he said adding that the army is completing evacuation plans. Earlier media reports indicated that a number of villagers from Shkodra area refused to leave their homes fearing they would loose their possessions, and authorities threatening they will be evacuated by force. 'The loss of even one life would be a heavy burden for the country. It is more courageous to find a way to overcome this situations with wisdom,' Berisa said calling the inhabitants of flooded villages to evacuate. According to the latest reports over 3800 hectares of land are under water and 350 houses are flooded 3590 1 Australia SE Australia, Queensland's Central West, central New South Wales 2010-01-01T00:00:00.000 2010-01-13T00:00:00.000 13 1000 Heavy Rain, Tropical Cyclone Laurence 1.5 301400 6.7691778593411307 149.06 -30.95 1 37 1 151 2010-01-01T00:00:00.000 854 3062 January 13, 2010: "Two brothers who jumped into a flooded Northern Territory river were missing last night as floodwaters swept through central Australia, stranding motorists and giving Alice Springs residents the rare treat of seeing the Todd River flow. Territory police yesterday feared for the wellbeing of the brothers, aged 24 and 32, after a relative saw them being swept down the Sandover River at Atheleye Station, about 220km northeast of Alice Springs, on Saturday.January 11, 2010: An outback Queensland town cut off by floods is expected to be isolated for at least 10 days, with floodwater due to peak on Tuesday. Windorah, about 300 kilometres southwest of Longreach, has been cut off since Friday.Cooper Creek has broken its banks and the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said it was expected to peak at 6.8 metres on Tuesday.Beck Brunner from the Windorah Information Centre said nothing could get into the township by road."Every road into the town is flooded," she said."Food and the post are being boated across the creek."There have been no calls for help to the State Emergency Service, with Ms Brunner saying the locals were prepared for the worst."We get flooded like this pretty much this time every year, and we get warnings so we can get stocked up before it happens."Heavy rain during the past few weeks has swollen rivers across Queensland's central west.In the first 11 days of January, more than 350 millimetres has fallen across Windorah, Longreach and Isisford.Major flood warnings are current for the Bulloo, Thomson, Barcoo, Paroo and Georgina rivers, but the worst appears to be over for most of the region.The BoM said major flooding along the Thomson River, between Longreach and Jundah, is expected to continue for the next few days but waters were receding.At 3pm Monday (AEST), the river level at Jundah was 6m and falling.Further south, on the Barcoo River, moderate to major flooding was expected to continue between Isisford and Retreat for several days.At 3pm Monday, the river level at Retreat was about 8.3m and falling.There were no reports of damage or roads being cut off.Meanwhile, further north in Cloncurry, the Cloncurry River was continuing to rise and at 9am on Monday it was recorded at 4.5m.Floodwater from the Cloncurry and Flinders rivers will extend downstream to Walkers Bend by the weekend, and flood levels may exceed the level of the Flinders River bridge. January 6, 2010: "Towns along six flood-swollen rivers in Queensland's central west are battening down as the outback deluge continues. The Landsborough, Thomson, Barcoo, Paroo and Bulloo rivers, as well as Cooper Creek, are on flood alert.However, the Bureau of Meteorology said that any flooding was not at this stage expected to damage homes, although roads would be cut.Hydrologist Jess Carey said the Barcoo River was causing the most concern."It is peaking downstream from Glenlock, and will peak at Retreat on Wednesday night," Mr Carey told AAP.At 6am (AEST), the flood level at Retreat was 8.3 metres and rising.Meanwhile, the Paroo River is expected to peak at Hungerford, near the New South Wales border, tomorrow. The bureau said the river level was 1.7m at 6.30am (AEST), and could rise to the major flood level of 2m.The Thomson River was forecast to swell again at Longreach after peaking in the town on Sunday night. Heavy rainfalls over the past week at Muttaburra, north of the town, were flowing through.At 8am today (AEST), the river was 3.39m on the manual gauge, 1.2m above the old Thomson River Bridge. The river was expected to reach 5.2m, the same level as on Sunday.The floodwaters from the Thomson and Paroo Rivers will flow downstream to Cooper Creek and converge at Windorah on Monday. The township will bear the brunt of the floods, with major flooding expected to exceed 6.5m.Mr Carey said roads could be cut off."It should just be more traffic disruptions rather than residential inundation," January 4, 2010: "More than 1,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes in southeastern Australia Sunday as the worst floodwaters to hit the area in a decade threatened to swamp a remote farming town, officials said.Residents of Coonamble, in central New South Wales, were ordered to leave their homes as the local river threatened to burst its banks, after days of punishing rain unleashed by ex-tropical cyclone Laurence" 3589 158 FL-2010-000003-KEN Kenya Turkana East, Rarieda, Nairobi, Kajiado North, Narok, Rachuonyo, East Pokot, Mogotio, North Rift (Turkana East district, East and West Pokot districts, Kenya-Ethiopia-Sudan roads cut. 2009-12-21T00:00:00.000 2010-01-13T00:00:00.000 24 21 30000 Heavy Rain 1 176700 6.62744779121837 12.75 42.79 1 36 1 150 2009-12-21T00:00:00.000 853 3061 January 10, 2010: "Heavy rains between the end of December and beginning of January in northern, central and western Kenya have caused massive flooding affecting approximately 30,000 people. According to the United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA) 21 people have been confirmed dead by the Kenya Red Cross. OCHA says the hardest hit district is Turkana in Northern Kenya, where some 20,000 persons were affected, and 10,000 have been left without shelter.OCHA spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs says it's a rainy season but the rains are unusually heavy and are also affecting internally displaced people (IDPs) living in camps."The river banks burst creating this flooding of many villages of these three parts of Kenya. Regarding the Naivasha camps in the centre where you have over 5,000 IDPs which are living under tents, there is a need to improve the situation of misery in which those people in the camps right now."OCHA is concerned that the floods would lead to a fresh outbreak of cholera. It says there is an urgent need for water purification tablets and the Kenyan Red Cross needs additional stocks of anti-cholera medicines.January 8, 2010: "At least 30,000 Kenyans are in urgent need of shelter, water, food and healthcare after heavy rainfall caused massive flooding, forcing thousands to leave their homes. Roads and bridges have been either destroyed or severely damaged, cutting off villagers and leaving them without food or safe water, putting them at risk of cholera and other waterborne diseases. The Kenyan Red Cross has begun trucking non-food items to Turkana and Nakuru: blankets, jerry cans, mosquito nets, kitchen sets, soap and water treatment tablets. The situation is very serious and has the potential of becoming an environmental disaster. In some areas roads were completely washed away, and according to the National Disaster Operation Centre (NDOC), the number of deaths is recorded at 21 people. The area most badly affected by the floods is the North Rift Valley region.In one district, Turkana East, five people died, five bridges were destroyed, many farms and households were damaged, while hundreds of head of livestock perished. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) chief of emergency, told IRIN: “We are concerned about recurrences of watery diarrhoea and cholera in Lokori, East Turkana. The area already faced an unprecedented outbreak in the month of December and the situation could worsen now.” According to local residents, the roads to Baragoi in Samburu and Kargi in Marsabit, in Eastern Province, are inaccessible. Hundreds of children in Marsabit were still at home and had not reported to school as roads were closed."January 6, 2010: "The head of Kenya's Red Cross Society says at least 21 people have drowned in floods that have washed over parts of Kenya in the past two weeks.Abbas Gullet says up to 30 000 people need tents, mosquito nets, water purifying tablets and other aid. He says that number may rise because heavy rains are expected through the end of January.The Kenya Red Cross Society is worried it will not be able to deliver aid because the flooding has destroyed some roads.Floods are not common this time of year in Kenya. Meteorologists have blamed the unusual heavy rains on El Nino. El Nino is a periodic warming of the water in the tropical Pacific Ocean accompanied by changes in air pressure and winds that can affect weather worldwide." January 5, 2010: "The humanitarian crisis caused by floods ravaging the country were laid bare Tuesday after the Kenya Red Cross released figures showing that 21 people had died and thousands of families displaced countrywide.Non-Food Items like blankets, kitchen sets, bar soap among others worth Sh30 million were dispatched by the charity to assist over 6,000 families in the South and North Rift Regions.Mr Abbas Gullet, KRCS secretary general, said that the situation on the ground required urgent attention before the rains caused more havoc."...He further appealed to individuals, the government and organisations to donate aid to that would replenish the charity's stock of Sh30 million worth of relief aid."We are not certain the extent of the damage that is likely to be caused but we anticipate to manage the situation better with more supplies," A total of 70,000 residents countrywide are estimated to be at risk with the Red Cross stepping in to assist the 30,000 individuals who were said to be in dire need of emergency aid in the two regions.Each family is expected to receive a kit containing two blankets, two-litre jerricans, two mosquito nets, a kitchen set and bar soap.Chlorine tablets will also be distributed to avert the possibility of the outbreak of water-borne diseases due to the compromised hygiene standards in the flooded areas.According to KRCS, most of the affected and displaced population by the floods were communities that were still experiencing famine due to the prolonged drought.The impact of the drought is estimated to have affected 3.8 million people in pastoral and agricultural areas.The meteorological department projects that the rains could continue till the end of the month thus calling for urgent measures to avert more disasters through safe evacuation of residents at risk.According to the KRCS analysis titled Floods in Kenya 2009/2010 Action and Appeal, Turkana East and Rarieda reported the highest number of deaths of five people each while Nairobi and Kajiado North had four and three deaths respectively.Narok, Rachuonyo, East Pokot and Mogotio also registered one death each though the number could have been higher due to unconfirmed deaths in remote parts of the country.In the North Rift, five people died in Turkana East district and a further 20,000 people displaced when over 6,600 homes were destroyed.East Pokot district also bore the brunt of the freak floods when river Nginyang burst its banks forcing Chemolingot residents to move to higher grounds whereas another 160 households in Kongelai were affected in West Pokot district. The Kenya-Ethiopia-Sudan roads were cut off by the disaster forcing travellers to halt the journeys until the rains subsided. In Kajiado, three children were reportedly swept away by the heavy rains and displaced 75 families.In Western Province, latrines at Miruka Primary school were destroyed after the institution was marooned by floods.An estimated population of 180 people are reported to have been affected in Makindu with at least 20 households' farms washed away leaving residents with no livelihood."We are working closely with the government and concerned ministries to ascertain the extent of damage and number of people affected ," Mr Gullet said.So far, Non-Food Items have been distributed to 730 households in Mogotio, Naivasha Narok and Marigat with another batch of 700 kits dispatched to Turkana ,he added." January 5, 2010: "Heavy flooding across Kenya has killed at least 34 people, police said Tuesday, raising the previous death toll of 22. Bodies of 12 people swept away by the raging waters were recovered in a region recently devastated by a severe drought, said Francis Munyambu, the police chief of the Rift Valley province. "There are more people who have been found dead in different areas after they were washed away by the floods. Most rivers are swollen and people cannot cross," Munyambu said. Torrential rains have deluged several parts of the country since Christmas, sweeping away houses, destroying crops and livestock, and displacing at least 20,000 people. "We have been trying to help move people out of the affected areas but accessing the areas is difficult. Most bridges have been cut off," he said." 3588 157 Brazil SE Brazil,Rio Grande do Sul, Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro 2010-01-01T00:00:00.000 2010-01-10T00:00:00.000 10 85 2500 Torrential Rain 2 210100 6.6234560480699338 35.520000000000003 1.1599999999999999 1 35 1 149 2010-01-01T00:00:00.000 852 3060 January 5, 2010: "Rescue teams scoured ravines and hillsides searching for survivors of landslides that have killed 72 people in the past days as hopes dimmed with each passing hour. Searchers found four bodies on Monday in Angra dos Reis, a beach city 150 kilometres south of Rio de Janeiro and fire-fighters said they thought more bodies could still be found. ....Authorities declined to provide an estimate of how many people were abandoning their homes, but they said on Sunday that around 500 houses in high-risk areas of the city had been condemned or declared out of bounds. ...Angra overlooks Ilha Grande island, where 29 people were killed in Friday's landslides, including 28 in a luxury hotel nestled at the foot of a jungle-covered hill. ..Some 40 guests were staying at the Hotel Sankay, which catered to Brazilian and foreign tourists seeking a remote beachside hideaway. It was not immediately known if foreigners were among the dead. Under blue skies and a hot summer sun, about 200 rescue workers and sniffer dogs on Monday were searching tonnes of mud and rocks that swept everything out to sea. Angra dos Reis was hit by devastating floods in 2002 when 40 people were killed and rescue operations lasted three months."The death toll rose to 75 Sunday on Brazil's southeast coast after three days of torrential rains unleashed a series of deadly mudslides, an emergency official said. January 4, 2010: "Dozens of people were killed when a large part of a mountain collapsed as mud Friday, sliding into the upscale Sankay Inn resort in Angra dos Reis, two hours west of Rio de Janeiro. More than 3 inches of rain has accumulated in Rio's western regions since the end of last week, according to Geo-Rio, the state official weather forecast center. Brazilian forecasters are predicting more rain to come in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.Angra dos Reis is a popular destination for wealthy vacationers and celebrities, many of whom were spending New Year's in the resort town. According to local reports, the 24-year-old son of French President Nicolas Sarkozy was among the vacationers in the area this week. Pierre Sarkozy, 24, was staying at the home of Ivo Pitanguy, a top Brazilian plastic surgeon and a family friend, the reports said.The town is also home to one of Brazil's major nuclear plants -- the Central Nuclear Almirante Álvaro Alberto complex, managed by Electronuclear. Officials at the power plant denied reports they would shut down operations due to safety concerns raised by local officials."" January 5, 2010: "BRASILIA, Brazil - A bridge in southern Brazil has given way to floodwaters while 20 people were still on it.Civil defence authorities in the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul say at least 12 people are missing after a bridge over the River Jacui near the town of Agudo was swept away.Flooding and mudslides in southeastern Brazil have killed more than 80 people in recent days, including at least 50 who died in a New Year's Day mudslide in the resort city of Angra dos Reis.In Rio Grande do Sul, flooding from heavy rains have forced 1,000 people from their homes, and officials have closed more than a dozen highways because of high waters. 3587 156 Italy Central Italy 2009-12-21T00:00:00.000 2009-12-27T00:00:00.000 7 500 Torrential Rain 1 40930 5.4571397846595264 -43.76 -21.85 0 34 1 148 2009-12-21T00:00:00.000 851 3059 December 27, 2009: ROME, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Continued heavy rainfall worsened the situation in central Italy after a flood hit the area, leaving more than 500 people homeless, local media reported Saturday. In the last six days, Italy has been struck by heavy rains and a sharp fall in temperature. There have been no victims so far but infrastructure in many areas is completely cut off. The most damaged regions are Tuscany and Liguria, where road and railway connections have been interrupted by mudslides and water. Several flooded areas are still without gas and electricity. In the northern Emilia Romagna region, almost 550 mm of rain have fallen in the past several days, accounting for 40 percent of average annual precipitation. Infrastructure Minister Altero Matteoli on Saturday pledged to file an application for national state of emergency at the next cabinet meeting. Hundreds of firemen, civil defense workers and volunteers were trying to limit the impact of the flooding near the Tuscan towns of Lucca and Pisa, clearing debris and mud on the roads. The northern city of Venice was also hit by the heavy rains, registering a dangerous rise in sea levels." 3586 155 Australia New South Wales 2009-12-25T00:00:00.000 2009-12-28T00:00:00.000 4 Heavy Rain 1 149300 5.7761197990529878 151.75 -31.17 0 34 1 147 2009-12-25T00:00:00.000 851 3058 December 28, 2009: "Some rural properties in New South Wales' central west have been cut off by flooding, as heavy rain continues to drench much of the state.Most farmers in the region were well prepared, he said, having stocked food supplies for up to a month.Torrential rain has also swamped Sydney's suburbs, while severe thunderstorms are tipped to cause flash flooding in the Hunter and the north west plains regions.In the three hours to 9am on Monday, 37mm of rain fell in the north-west Sydney suburbs of North Rocks and Baulkham Hills, while 28mm was recorded at Mona Vale, on Sydney's northern beaches, the Bureau of Meteorology said.It's forced a partial road closure at the Pacific Highway at Gordon near Mona Vale Road and at Turramurra, also on the north shore, flooding has closed the southbound lanes of the Pacific Highway near Warrangi Street.Parts of the northern rivers, mid-north coast, central tablelands, north west slopes, central west slopes, central west plains and upper western districts are also likely to be affected by flooding, the bureau says. Lismore, Newcastle, Gosford and Walgett are likely to be affected.Flooding is also expected at Murwillumbah on the state’s far north coast later today, with the Tweed River expected to reach a peak of three metres at about 6pm.The SES is warning people not to take out boats in floodwaters or swim in them and is advising people to keep clear of creeks and storm drains and not walk, ride bicycles or drive through floodwaters.At Pipeclay, about 45 kilometres west of Port Macquarie, an elderly man was rescued on Sunday night when his vehicle became stuck on a flooded causeway.Doug Batten, mayor of Gilgandra in the central west, said the rain was great news for farmers. "Two hundred millimetres since Christmas Day." he told Fairfax Radio Network. "This year we had the offer of a good harvest but we just missed out on some vital rain in August. This sort of rain and this sort of ground moisture will give us a good start moving into 2010." 3585 154 Morocco 2009-12-25T00:00:00.000 2009-12-26T00:00:00.000 2 5 25 Torrential Rain 1 157500 5.4983105537896009 -6.78 31.81 0 34 1 147 2009-12-25T00:00:00.000 851 3057 December 25, 2009: "Rabat - Heavy rainfall in Morocco struck large swathes of the country, triggering flash floods that took the lives of five people, local media reported Friday. A family of three were killed in the holiday resort of Agadir, when their car was swept away by flood waters. A Spanish woman drowned when the vehicle she was travelling in was caught in floods in the the Chichaoua region between Essaouira and Marrakesh. Her Moroccan husband and child were both rescued. Near Taza in the country's north-east, a young woman died trying to swim across a flooded valley. In Casablanca and Marrakesh, more than a dozen people were injured when their homes were demolished by floods, and entire neighbourhoods in the towns of Tangiers and Tetouan in the country's north also found themselves underwater" 3584 153 Tanzania Dodoma and Morogoro regions 2009-12-25T00:00:00.000 2009-12-27T00:00:00.000 3 1 3000 Heavy Rain 1 167300 5.7006171956820566 36.020000000000003 -6.8 0 34 1 146 2009-12-25T00:00:00.000 851 3056 January 7, 2010: Passenger train services on the Central Line will now be operated between Dodoma and Mwanza/Kigoma, the government announced yesterday.The decision follows extensive damage to the line, particularly in Morogoro Region, caused by floods.Infrastructure Development permanent secretary Omar Chambo said floods had rendered the Kilosa and Munisagala stations in Kilosa District inoperable.Mr Chambo made the announcement after inspecting a railway bridge, which was swept away in Kilosa District. The bridge carried the Central Line across River Mkondoa, which burst its banks following heavy rains lasting several days.He said the floods had destroyed three more bridges elsewhere, adding that the line had been damaged at 16 spots along the 293km stretch between Dar es Salaam and Kilosa."The damage in all these places is severe, and major repairs are needed to normalise the situation," Mr Chambo said.About Sh4 billion is needed to repair the line, according to initial estimates, and the ministry has sent experts to assess the damage.Mr Chambo said the biggest task the experts and Tanzania Railways Limited (TRL) technicians were facing was restoring the natural course of River Mkondoa to allow the reconstruction of the destroyed bridge.This is the second time the Dar es Salaam-Dodoma section of the Central Line has been closed.The defunct Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) closed it for more than a year in 2006 before it was reopened in October 2007 by TRL, which took over TRC's operations three years ago.Passengers travelling between Dar es Salaam and the upcountry destinations of Mwanza and Kigoma had to make Dar es Salaam-Dodoma part of the journey by bus due to the closure.The TRL management has been grappling with liquidity problems and frequent strikes since taking over the running of the struggling railway firm.Mr Chambo also inspected the Morogoro-Kilosa road, which has been closed temporarily after floods rendered it impassable.The worst affected section is near Kimamba Township, where a bridge has been swept away, and several kilometres of the road flooded.Mr Chambo said waiting for the floodwaters to recede was the only option for both the government and people using the road."We can't do anything at the moment because the entire area, including the road, is under water. We should wait for water levels to recede before repairs can begin."Mr Chambo said a study had established the need for the road to be raised in the flood-prone area to make it passable at all times.He added, however, that the government was giving priority to repairs so that the road could be reopened as soon as possible.Meanwhile, over 400 people sleep in the open in Kilosa District due to lack of space in camps set up for people displaced by floods.A local government leader, Mr Zidadu Masanza, said 477 people were sleeping under trees because the camps were "full to the brim""We have no accommodation and as a result, men and a few children sleep in the open in biting cold,"he said.Most of those affected are from Mkondoa Village where dozens of houses have been destroyed by floodwaters that were several feet deep in some places.Mr Masanza said the number of tents provided so far was not enough, adding that displaced people were arriving at the camps in significant numbers daily."Apart from tents, these people need other forms of relief such as food, bednets and medicines," he said.A total of 609 people, including 315 children, have been displaced by floodwaters that gushed through villages after River Mkondoa burst its banks last week.The relief coordinator at a camp in Kisiki Ward, Mr Mganga Msakuzi, said the floods had displaced 56 families in the area, adding that 70 people were sleeping in the open for lack of tents. Mr Msakuzi said criminals were taking advantage of the situation to steal from victims at night, and appealed for security in camps to be stepped up January 5, 2010: "The TMA said northern coastal regions like Dar es Salaam, Tanga as well as Zanzibar and Pemba islands would get normal to above normal rains, as will areas around Mount Kilimanjaro.The current Pacific build-up looks like a mild version of El Ni-o which has in the past devastated the globe, according to the United Nations weather agency.The TMA warning has come at a time when thousands of people in the country have been displaced by flash floods which have hit their districts.The most affected is Kilosa District in Morogoro Region where three people have died and more than 23,000 people have been displaced after their houses were either destroyed or surrounded by flood waters.The floods have also hit Kongwa District in Dodoma Region, parts of Ruvuma Region and Same District in Kilimanjaro Region.The Government, Red Cross Society and other organisations as well as individuals, including the MP for Kilosa, Mr Mustafa Mkulo, have been pouring in assistance to the victims, most of whom have been left without a roof over their heads.The Prime Minister's office had dispatched 42 tonnes of maize, and two trucks full of 1,000 blankets, 1,000 tents, rice, bed nets and milk for the flood victims in Kilosa.The Government has been forced to step up efforts to evict people from dangerous areas as some have been reluctant to leave their houses, despite the danger of being swept by the floods.The Morogoro regional commissioner, Mr Issa Machibya, announced that a decision was reached to temporarily turn all ward secondary schools into relief centres to accommodate and assist the victims.He had told our reporter in Kilosa that the regional administration had dispatched some assistance to the flood victims" December 28, 2009: "Heavy rains that pounded Dodoma and Morogoro regions during Christmas holidays left thousands of people homeless.The rains began on Christmas Day, and continued well into Boxing Day, bringing misery to hundreds of families in Kongwa and Kilosa districts in Dodoma and Morogoro regions, respectively.Thousands of people were forced to seek shelter elsewhere after their house were either swept away or flooded after a downpour lasting several hours.Flooding in Kongwa killed at least one person, whose body was found floating in a swollen river on Saturday. The body had not been identified by midday yesterday.District officials yesterday confirmed that 14 houses had been washed away in one village alone.Kongwa District Commissioner Lembris Kipuyo said at least 12 families had been given temporary shelter by the district administration after their house were either destroyed or badly damaged in the downpour.He said the decision to evacuate the residents was reached during an emergency meeting of the district disaster committee."These people had no roofs over their heads after their houses were either washed away or damaged to the extent of being uninhabitable they have been offered temporary shelter elsewhere,"he said.Mr Kipuyo said large areas were under water, and the belongings of those who fled their homes could be seen floating on the floodwaters.The district disaster committee in collaboration with Red Cross Tanzania had since Saturday been busy providing the evacuees with relief supplies, including food and mosquito nets."We have also supplied them with anti-malaria drugs and water treatment chemicals to prevent an outbreak of malaria and water-borne diseases," Mr Kipuyo said.In Kilosa, over 10 houses were swept away and at least 500 others flooded by a relentless downpour.The situation worsened after the swollen River Mkondo burst its banks, causing torrents of water to gush into human settlements.Kilosa District Council executive officer Ephraim Kalimalwendo said roads and other infrastructures were likely to suffer major damage as a result of the floods.He said the level of River Mkondo had risen by almost a metre due to heavy rains in catchment areas in Dodoma Region, adding that the situation was likely to get worse before it got any better.Mr Kalimalwendo said, however, that there were no reports of loss of life, adding that his office was working to establish the extent of the damage.Meanwhile, people displaced by the floods appealed for humanitarian assistance from the government.They also called for the speedy construction of the proposed Kidete Dam to prevent flooding in the area.Mr Kalimalwendo said district authorities were finalising plans to award a tender for the construction of the dam. The project was initiated by area MP Mustafa Mkulo, who is also the Finance and Economic Affairs minister.Morogoro Regional Commissioner Issa Machibya visited the victims and consoled them. He said the government would work closely with local authorities to extend assistance where necessary."We have already been in touch with the Tanzania People's Defence Forces, who have agreed to supply tents to those whose houses have been destroyed. The Red Cross will also assist in the humanitarian effort," he said.Early last week, flash floods swept several bridges and culverts along the Babati-Arusha highway, paralysing transport.For nearly 36 hours from Tuesday midnight the road was rendered impassable to motorised traffic.It was not until around 11am on Wednesday that all types of vehicles were cleared to move on after restoration of the road network by the Chinese engineers constructing the Minjingu-Babati portion of the highway.At Mawe Maro, the entire lowland was flooded following torrential rains. At Matufa the road stretch was covered by mud, sand and debris from the adjacent hills.According to the Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA), Babati station registered 50mm of rain on Tuesday, the highest recorded in the country for the day.The rains paralysed transport between Arusha and Babati as well as to the central and Lake Zone regions.Buses heading to Arusha on Wednesday from Manyara, Dodoma, Singida and western regions could not make it to the tourist town until midnight or early Thursday . 3583 152 FL-2009-000261-PER Peru Huancavelica and Junin departments 2009-12-20T00:00:00.000 2009-12-21T00:00:00.000 2 Heavy Rain 1 172600 5.5380707870431722 -75.010000000000005 -11.82 0 34 1 145 2009-12-20T00:00:00.000 851 3055 December 21, 2009: "Flood,Peru: Heavy rains in Huancavelica and Junin departments have caused damages in houses, buildings, roads, bridges and crop fields. More than 150 affected in total. 3582 151 FF-2009-000260-LKA Sri Lanka Ampara and Batticaloa districts in the Eastern Province 2009-12-14T00:00:00.000 2009-12-16T00:00:00.000 3 300000 Torrential Rain 1 15650 4.6716355966021297 81.27 8.02 0 34 1 144 2009-12-14T00:00:00.000 851 3054 December 21, 2009: "Thousands of people in eastern Sri Lanka have been marooned by flash floods which also left several roadways impassable, relief officials said here Friday. According to the national co-ordinator of the Disaster Managament Center, 28,640 families in the Batticaloa and Ampara districts had been affected. The two districts have suffered continuous torrential rains since last Wednesday with over 100 milimeters of rains having been recorded in Ampara.December 15, 2009: "At least three people were killed and more than 300,000 were displaced in flash floods in eastern Sri Lanka, the government said Pradeep Kodippily, assistant director of the Disaster Management Centre, told reporters that 302,835 people were displaced and more than 83,000 families were affected in the floods.Ampara and Batticaloa districts in the Eastern Province were the worst affected, Xinhua reported.Kodippily said heavy rains lashed the districts on Monday and Tuesday and the deaths were caused by lightning and the collapse of a wall.The government has opened eight relief camps to house the displaced people" 3581 150 TC-2009-000258-FJI Fiji Viti Levu 2009-12-14T00:00:00.000 2009-12-15T00:00:00.000 2 3 700 Tropical Storm Mick 1 315000 5.7993405494535821 177.92 -17.75 0 34 1 143 2009-12-14T00:00:00.000 851 3053 December 21, 2009: "A FARMING family of Serea in Naitasiri lost 30 cows and the floodwaters brought on by Cyclone Mick damaged all their household items on Monday.Taito Rokobiau and his family fled 200 metres to seek shelter in another house up the hill.He said his family was still coming to terms with the loss they had incurred.And if that was not enough, thousands of matured dalo plants were also destroyed by strong winds and floodwaters."We are at a great loss. We have lost everything we worked hard for," Mr Rokobiau said."This is one of the biggest floods we have seen since Cyclone Kina and it has destroyed everything we had," he said.Mr Rokobiau now has only 20 cows left.Most of his milking cows were washed away in floodwaters together with calves and have not been found since."The water came in really fast from the Wainimala (River) and we thought the Monasavu dam had broken so it was really late for us to round up the animals," Mr Rokobiau said.Their household items, he said were washed away from inside their home as floodwaters forced the door open. December 15, 2009: "Tropical Cyclone,Fiji: At least three people were believed dead after Cyclone Mick swept over Fiji's main island of Viti Levu, causing widespread flooding and damage, police said. Up to 700 people spent Monday night in evacuation centres due to flooding in low-lying areas" 3580 149 United States Southeast U.S.; Louisiana, Misssissippi, Alabama, Florida 2009-12-12T00:00:00.000 2009-12-15T00:00:00.000 4 Heavy Rain 1 114600 5.6612446089593336 -86.48 32.46 0 34 1 142 2009-12-12T00:00:00.000 851 3052 December 15, 2009: "Streets flooded, schools closed and at least one emergency shelter opened for people whose homes took on water as heavy rains pounded southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday, setting a monthly rainfall record at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, the airport in suburban New Orleans had received 22.26 inches of rain for the month. State climatologist Barry Keim at Lousiana State University said that's the heaviest monthly rainfall recorded at the airport, where records have been kept since 1946. And it was within striking distance of the monthly record for the New Orleans metropolitan area, 25.11 inches, set in October 1937."That number's going to go way up," said Ken Graham, of the National Weather Service in Slidell.Heavy rains were still hitting the area at midday and weren't expected to end until the afternoon. Another storm was expected Thursday.Days of heavy rain have saturated the ground, contributing to the latest flood problems, Keim said.Standing water slowed morning commutes into New Orleans. Workers had to place sandbags along low-lying parts of busy Airline Highway.In Lafourche Parish, southwest of New Orleans, there were isolated reports of homes flooding in Raceland, Bayou Blue and north Thibodaux, Brennan Matherne of the parish government office said. Parish officials opened an emergency shelter at the Raceland Recreation Center for anyone needing to evacuate.In St. Charles Parish, where public schools were closed Tuesday" 3579 148 FL-2009-000251-SAU Saudi Arabia Western Saudi Arabia, Jeddah 2009-11-24T00:00:00.000 2009-11-26T00:00:00.000 3 116 Torrential Rain 1 114600 5.5363058723510337 40.229999999999997 21.24 0 34 1 141 2009-11-24T00:00:00.000 851 3051 December 7, 2009: "Saudi Arabia's Shoura Council has urged all government departments to draw up strategic plans for dealing with all natural disasters in a bid to avoid a repeat of the recent Jeddah floods.The call came as the official death toll for the tragedy reached 116, while another 47 people were still missing. November 29, 2009: "Saudi emergency services say the death toll from floods that tore through the port city of Jeddah this week has risen to 103 as more bodies were found. Torrents of water inundated the Red Sea port on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia saw some of its heaviest rainfall in years. Many people were drowned or were killed by collapsing bridges and in car crashes. To that authorities saved hundreds after floods hampered their movement. Newspapers have repeatedly reported on the poor condition of the sewerage infrastructure of the city" "The death toll from unusually heavy rains that hit western Saudi Arabia last week has reached 106, a Saudi official says.Rescue teams were looking for possible survivors from the downpours that caused heavy flooding in the coastal city of Jiddah, the main entry point for the millions of Muslims performing the annual hajj pilgrimage.The official spoke to The Associated Press on Saturday on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media.The deaths have been blamed on flooding and collapsed homes and bridges in the port city.Sami Badawood, a health services spokesman in Jiddah, said in a statement that area hospitals have been equipped to deal with any possible outbreaks of diseases resulting from the flooding, such as dengue fever.Rare, heavy rainstorms soaked pilgrims and flooded the road into Mecca, snarling Islam's annual hajj as millions of Muslims headed for the holy sites. However, none of the flood casualties were pilgrims, officials said." 3578 147 FL-2009-000247-MYS Malaysia Hulu Terengganu,Besut, Setiu, Dungun, Marang, and Kemaman 2009-11-21T00:00:00.000 2009-11-27T00:00:00.000 7 9062 Heavy Rain 1 37560 5.4198236236083304 102.36 4.99 0 34 1 140 2009-11-21T00:00:00.000 851 3050 November 24, 2009: KUALA TERENGGANU: The second wave of the floods is getting worse as more people are being evacuated.As at 9am yesterday, there were 9,062 evacuees compared to 5,641 people the day before.The victims are from Hulu Terengganu (1,737), Besut (1,094), Setiu (1,189), Dungun (2,029), Marang (1,376) and Kemaman (1,637).A Terengganu National Security Council spokesman told Bernama that 120 flood relief centres had been set up in the state so far.The floods have also affected several roads. Jalan Sungai Tong-Kuala Berang has been closed to all vehicles as it is under 0.6m to 1.2m of water since yesterday morning while Jalan Kuala Tereng- ganu-Bukit Besi, near Kampung Durian Kasim, is closed on one lane due to a landslide.Several other roads have either been closed to all traffic or opened to only light vehicles. Five such roads are in Hulu Terengganu, Marang (six), Setiu (four), Dungun (two) and five each in Besut and Kemaman.The state Drainage and Irrigation Department reported that the water level in most of the rivers had dropped slightly.The level at Sungai Besut in Kampung La, which exceeded the danger mark of 19.2m on Saturday, had receded to 18.7m at 9am yesterday.Sungai Nerus at Ibu Bekalan had also receded and was now at 97.95m, while at Kampung Lang- kap, the reading was 21.49m.The spokesman said the water level in certain areas of the Dungun and Marang rivers was still at the danger level.In Ipoh, 846 flood victims in the northern region of Perak are still staying at flood relief centres.Kerian district OCPD Supt Mat Fauzi Nayan said the victims, from 212 families, were being housed at SK Bagan Serai, SMK Bagan Serai, SK Matang Buloh and SJK (T) Simpang Lima" "Flood,Malaysia: More than 12,000 villagers have been evacuated from their homes in Malaysia as a second wave of floods ravaged the states of Kelantan and Terengganu amid heavy rain, according to state media" 3577 146 FL-2009-000248-URY,FL-2009-000254-ARG Uruguay Brazil Argentina Northern provinces of Salto, Artigas and Cerro Largo 2009-11-21T00:00:00.000 2009-12-08T00:00:00.000 18 12 22000 Torrential Rain 1.5 43490 6.0697531718243232 -56.48 -31.26 1 34 1 139 2009-11-21T00:00:00.000 851 3049 December 8, 2009: "BRASILIA, Brazil - Brazil's largest city of Sao Paulo has been hit by severe floods for the second time in less than a week. Local media report that six people have died in mudslides caused by heavy rain.The floods paralyzed much of the city and stranded motorists on two major highways swamped with water after rivers overflowed. Many people couldn't make it to work because of the high water.The G1 Web site of Brazil's Globo TV reported Tuesday that six people died when their ramshackle homes were swept away by mudslides - including four children.A spokeswoman for Sao Paulo's civil defense department declined to confirm the deaths, saying information was still being gathered from hard-hit areas. She spoke on condition of anonymity because of policy" November 25, 2009: "According to the National Meteorological Service, since 23 November 2009, the provinces of Chaco, Entre Rios, Corrientes, Santa Fe and Misiones have been affected by heavy rain and floods. The communities at risk are those in low level areas due to their proximity to the overflowed Parana river, Uruguay river and the Salado del Sur basin.... Officials say flooding from heavy rains has killed 12 people in three South American nations and forced more than 20,000 to flee their homes.Most of the dead are in southern Brazil - including eight in Rio Grande do Sul, according to the state's Civil Defense Department.Sustained stormy weather has saturated the region and caused the river between Uruguay and Argentina to overflow its banks.Government agencies report that 10,000 people have been evacuated in Brazil, along with 8,000 in northeastern Argentina and 4,000 in Uruguay.November 24, 2009: "One person died and more than 1,000 others were evacuated due to the flooding caused by the heavy rains that pounded northern and central Uruguay over the weekend and are expected to continue through midweek.The were the areas most affected by the torrential rains, a national emergency management office spokesman told Efe, adding that 1,020 people were evacuated.A man was swept away over the weekend in Salto while crossing a bridge over a swollen stream, provincial coast guard spokesmen told Efe.Searchers are still looking for the man, but the time that has passed since his disappearance “makes us presume that he died,” the officials said.The heavy rains made the reservoir at the Salto Grande dam reach its limit, forcing officials to begin releasing water in the next few hours, dam manager Enrique Topolansky told Carve radio.The torrential downpours caused flooding in Paysandu, Durazno, Soriano, Treinta y Tres, Rivera, Tacuarembo and Colonia provinces, forcing people from their homes, the national emergency management office spokesman said.The weather service is forecasting heavy rains until Wednesday, prompting officials to maintain an alert." "Flood,Uruguay: Floods triggered by heavy rains in central and northern Uruguay have led to the evacuation of more than 1,500 people." . 3576 145 FF-2009-000246-LKA Sri Lanka 2009-11-21T00:00:00.000 2009-11-22T00:00:00.000 2 60000 Torrential Rain 1 919.9 3.2647706145218653 79.94 7.07 0 33 0 138 2009-11-21T00:00:00.000 850 3048 Flash Flood,Sri Lanka: 60,000 people were left homeless in the capital Colombo and the suburbs. some of the roads in the capital were up to two metres (six feet) under water as storm systems were unable to cope with the deluge.. . 3575 144 Turkey 2009-11-21T00:00:00.000 2009-11-22T00:00:00.000 2 4 Torrential Rain 1 15630 4.4949889736831681 40.01 40.83 0 33 1 138 2009-11-21T00:00:00.000 850 3048 November 22, 2009: "Four people have been killed following landslides and flooding in northern Turkey after torrential downpours.In Trabzon, dramatic amateur footage showed a house collapsing under the weight of a landslide. An eyewitness said its residents fled five minutes before it collapsed after he called to warn them of the danger.Falling rocks killed two people after they crushed a house and rescue workers were searching for others believed to trapped in the rubbleTwo others died in floods when a river burst its banks, washing away a road running along the river bank.Meanwhile in nearby Rize, heavy snowfalls closed roads. . 3574 143 Singapore 2009-11-19T00:00:00.000 2009-11-20T00:00:00.000 2 Torrential Rain 1.5 1051 3.4987239707479048 103.83 1.43 0 33 0 137 2009-11-19T00:00:00.000 850 3047 November 20, 2009: "SINGAPORE: The big clean—up is underway on Friday in many areas across Singapore which were flooded due to the heavy rainfall on Thursday.Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim has said that work is ongoing to improve the structure of the drains to cope better with such events. He said what happened on Thursday occurs only once every 50 years.The wet season, due to the northeast monsoon, could well spill over into January. Authorities here said they are planning to upgrade some facilities in phases.Dr Yaacob said: "I hope the public will have more patience with us because it will take us some time to enlarge those drains. But having said that, it is not possible for us to plan for every event. 3573 142 United Kingdom Ireland 2009-11-19T00:00:00.000 2009-12-05T00:00:00.000 17 Heavy Rain 2 106600 6.559236121732809 -1.68 54 1 33 1 137 2009-11-19T00:00:00.000 850 3047 December 12, 2009: " The shallow pool of water that kept reforming in Dennis Willers’ kitchen was a mystery. Flood water from a nearby turlough had invaded the house to a depth of four inches, but that had receded earlier in the week.A placid lake had settled round his remote thatched house and the dwelling of his mother-in-law next door in Grannagh, in south Galway.Access to Willers’ house was by tractor only and his front garden looked like a swimming pool. Willers and his wife Bridie, a Fine Gael county councillor, began the clean-up as soon as the water level dropped below the house’s front door.The sodden floorboards near the front were the first to go — water had seeped up through them “like a scene from Titanic”. But Willers was puzzled by the puddle that kept reforming on the seemingly impermeable kitchen tiles — until he noticed the trickle from an unplugged fridge-freezer, which had been hoisted on to a table along with other appliances and valuables.“I was so worried that water was seeping in from somewhere outside that I missed the obvious one,” said Willers, a softly spoken Englishman.The couple are among hundreds of stressed households dealing with the aftermath of the worst floods in Ireland in living memory. As with many of the estimated 1,500 people who have been forced to evacuate their homes, neighbours stepped in to help. The family have been lent an empty house within a mile of their home until they can return.Around the country, charities, families, neighbours and organisations such as the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) have been to the fore in helping flood victims.Tom Clonan, a retired army captain, spoke for many of those affected when he described the government’s response as “lamentable”.On The Frontline on RTE1 last Monday, to loud applause, Clonan told John Gormley, the environment minister, that the lack of army assistance for people in flooded areas was a clear government failure.As the waters slowly recede and the cost of the damage becomes apparent, the government’s management of Ireland’s waterways and its response to the floods is increasingly being questioned" December 3,2009: Roads in Fermanagh were under water yesterday as torrential rainfall brought renewed flooding chaos to the county. Heavy downpours have left vast areas saturated, and yesterday three main roads remained impassable by car after more downpours. At Lough Erne, which was at its highest recorded level last Friday, the water has dropped by less than a foot in the last five days. People are still using tractors and jeeps to commute to work and take children to school. According to Roads Service, parts of the B127 Newbridge Road, the B533 Wattlebridge Road at Derrykerrib and C436 Inishmore Road could not be passed by cars yesterday. Minor roads under water included the Derrychara Link near Enniskillen and Glenasheevar Road at Beagh. In Lisnaskea the Rossmacole Road, Kinmore Road, Drumcon Road, Rossmacaffrey Road, Kilmore Road and Derryadd Road were also badly affected.Meanwhile in Newtownbutler the Ballyhoe Road and Inver Road were also under water. Many people in the county are still suffering the aftermath of the floods. They include Tom Leonard, who runs a marine business at Carrybridge near Lisbellaw. His workshop was flooded and it could be several weeks before he is back to normal. “This is likely to leave us out of pocket. It is the people on the ground like us who have been left to pick up the pieces,” he said. The North's First Minister Peter Robinson visited three of the flood-hit areas during a visit to Fermanagh at the weekend, and he is due to raise the issue at today’s Executive meeting. A telephone conference is also being held by representatives from Fermanagh council and the Rivers Agency and Roads Service to discuss how to deal with the flooding. "November 22, 2009: "Clean-up efforts are underway in flood-hit towns following the heaviest downpours ever recorded in England, as fears mount for a woman missing near a swollen river in Wales.About 314mm of rain fell in 24 hours - the highest level since records began - over Cumbria as torrential rains swept across Britain and Ireland.The Environment Agency said 65 flood warnings are in force across England and Wales, with four severe warnings in Cumbria in northwest England, the area hardest hit.About 60 people were still sheltering in reception centres on Sunday and more than 700 properties remained without power.An urgent safety review of Cumbria's 1,800 bridges was underway, with emergency services warning one bridge in the coastal town of Workington could collapse at any time.The Calva Bridge's closure cut off the north side of the town.Workington's other bridge has collapsed, taking the life of a policeman who was diverting motorists away from it on Friday.Tony Cunningham, member of parliament for Workington, said: "We have concerns about people who have not got prescriptions, medication, the medical centre is down to its last nappies for babies.The floods in Cumbria and southern Scotland are expected to trigger insurance claims of up to STG100 million ($A181.21 million), the Association of British Insurers said.Meanwhile a search is underway for a woman believed to have been swept away by the River Usk in Brecon, south Wales, late on Saturday. The river is under flood watch.Prime Minister Gordon Brown surveyed the grim aftermath on a visit on Saturday to the badly hit Cumbria town of Cockermouth, with houses filled with muddy water, silt and sludge carpeting the roads and cars left awkwardly where the floods left them.Cockermouth town centre was cordoned off as surveyors, structural engineers, utility workers and Environment Agency staff continued work to start the clean-up." ..."Ireland battled floods on Saturday described as a "once in 800 years event", with the government rushing to provide shelter and drinking water and soldiers sent to assist those affected. Rivers burst their banks, coastal towns were threatened by sea flooding, 18,000 households were left without water in Cork, Ireland's second city -- and forecasters warned of more heavy rain to come."We have been told this is a once in 800 years event. We have had no fatalities and that is a blessing," Environment Minister John Gormley told RTE state radio as he toured some of the worst hit areas.Prime Minister Brian Cowen chaired a meeting of the national emergency coordination committee, and said the main concern was to help people evacuated from their homes and to maintain water supplies."Clearly we are very concerned about maintaining the priority of helping those who have been displaced or have to be looked after in accommodation. Also making sure that people have access to clean drinking water," he said."There is also a situation where major installations have to be protected, hospitals for example."Troops were drafted in to assist emergency services in the worst hit areas, particularly Cork in the south and towns in the south, midlands and west of the republic, as forecasters predicted more heavy rain to come.In Cork where the River Lee burst its banks, RTE reported that 18,000 homes had their water cut off following extensive damage to the city's main pumping station, and said it was unlikely to be restored for at least a week....In Galway to the west, local authorities warned flood waters were still rising and urged motorists to avoid travelling, amid widespread road closures.Thousands of hectares of farmland were submerged and the Irish Farmers Association warned of severe economic repercussions.The Meteorological Office has issued a weather alert and warned of severe gales. It said its stations at Sherkin Island, County Cork and Claremorris, County Mayo in the west have already had more rain than in any previous full November. Meteorologist Gerry Fleming added: "The run of wet summers and wet winters we been having in the last two years are unprecedented." November 20, 2009: "Parts of Scotland and northern England were under several feet of water Friday morning after raging rivers burst their banks and flooded towns, officials said.A police officer was missing after flooding in Cumbria, near the border with Scotland, Cumbria police said Friday. An earlier report that 11 people were missing was incorrect, a police spokesman said.The Cumbria town of Cockermouth was one of the worst hit. The Georgian market town sits at the junction of two rivers, the Cocker and the Derwent, which raged overnight and flooded the town center.The waters were so strong at times that rescuers could not send their boats against the flow to reach trapped residents, witnesses said.Two bridges in Workington, about seven miles east of Cockermouth, collapsed because of the floods, Cumbria police said. Engineers are trying to assess bridges for structural damage, though the work is difficult while the waters remain high, police said.Witnesses said the nearby town of Keswick, about 10 miles to the southeast of Cockermouth, was also badly hit.The Fire Service and Royal Air Force evacuated about 200 people by helicopter from Cockermouth's main street and town square, both cut off by the floodwaters, Cumbria police said.Police advised against all non-essential travel in Cumbria because many roads are closed and impassable.Several reception centers were set up at schools and leisure centers for residents forced from their homes, the police said.British Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke with Cumbria's chief constable Friday morning and promised him any government help he needs, Brown's office at Downing Street said."His thoughts are with all those who have been impacted by the floods and our thanks go to the emergency services, who continue their extraordinary efforts to help those affected," a statement from his office said.Environment Secretary Hilary Benn was in Cumbria on Friday to assess a government response, Downing Street said.There were no deaths reported from the floods, which began Thursday after heavy rain swept over the region.One of the largest recorded totals was in Seathwaite, about 20 miles south of Cockermouth, known for being one of the wettest places in the United Kingdom. About 14.6 inches (372 millimeters) of rain fell there between Wednesday night and 4 a.m. Friday (11 p.m. ET Thursday), said forecaster Robin Thwaytes of the Met Office weather service."It's a phenomenal amount of rain to come down in such a short period of time," he said.Bad weather was forecast to continue across the United Kingdom over the next few days, with more heavy rain and gale-force winds bringing the continued risk of flooding, the Met Office said..."Raging floods engulfed northern England's picturesque Lake District on Friday following the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in Britain, killing a police officer and trapping dozens in their swamped homes.Military helicopters winched dozens of people to safety and emergency workers in bright orange inflatable boats rescued scores more after an unprecedented deluge.British soldiers conducted house-to-house searches for those trapped by floods as deep as 8 feet (2.5 meters). Troops also dropped down on lines from Royal Air Force helicopters, breaking through rooftops to pluck people to safety.Constable Bill Barker, 44, died as he joined rescue attempts, swept into the surging waters when a major bridge collapsed. Emergency services said more than 200 people were rescued in the hardest-hit town, Cockermouth and about 1,000 homes were flooded.In a message to local officials, Queen Elizabeth II said she was "deeply concerned and saddened by the dreadful flooding across Britain." British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Barker "was a very heroic, very brave man."Britain's Met Office said a record 12.3 inches (314.4 millimeter) of rain fell in 24 hours in the area - the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in the U.K.Cockermouth, a market town 330 miles (530 kilometers) northwest of London, lies at the junction of the Cocker and Derwent rivers and is known as the birthplace of poet William Wordsworth. The flood was "of biblical proportions," local House of Commons lawmaker Tony Cunningham said.Heavy rain and gales also brought widespread flooding to Ireland, as more than 3 feet (1 meter) of water shut down the center of the country's second-largest city, Cork, and more than a dozen towns and villages. The Irish army was used to rescue the stranded from waist-deep floodwaters and a helicopter winched to safety a County Galway family of five, including the 87-year-old grandmother.Floods caused transport chaos along Ireland's western coast. At the Lake Hotel, on the shores of the fabled Killarney Lakes in County Kerry, about 170 guests at the Victorian period building were evacuated by tractor, as staff carried period furniture upstairs.Irish weather forecasting service Met Eireann said parts of southern and western Ireland suffered their most intense and sustained rainfall in 30 years 3572 141 Argentina Paraguay Argentina: Misiones, Santa Fe, Chaco, Corrientes and Entre Rios 2009-11-14T00:00:00.000 2009-11-22T00:00:00.000 9 1793 Heavy Rain 1 415000 6.5722906061514177 -59.05 -32.99 1 32 1 136 2009-11-14T00:00:00.000 849 3046 November 18, 2009: "BUENOS AIRES – Argentina is currently struggling with contrasting weather emergencies, with wide areas in the central and northwestern parts of the country suffering from drought and the northeast threatened by the rapidly rising Parana River.With the heavy rains to the north in Brazil, the level of the Parana River has risen significantly, as high as 23 meters (75 feet) in the province of Misiones and 7 meters (23 feet) in the provinces of Santa Fe, Chaco, Corrientes and Entre Rios, according to the latest measurements released Friday.Because of flooding along the riverbanks, authorities have had to evacuate about a thousand people in Chaco and are preparing to do the same with another 2,000 in Santa Fe in the coming hours.Meanwhile in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Mendoza and Tucuman the situation grows more desperate from the lack of water following a prolonged drought.The tourist town of Villa Carlos Paz in Cordoba province has been forced to ration drinking water after declaring a “water emergency” due to the extremely low level of neighboring San Roque Lake, the city’s chief source of water.Cordoba authorities have also alerted locals to the high risk of forest fires because of the drought.In Mendoza, the lack of water has ranchers stymied by the almost insurmountable difficulties in fattening their cattle.In Tucuman, rivers and reservoirs are at less than 50 percent of their normal levels, which is causing problems for farmers in the province while the authorities ask people to use water rationally.In the province of Buenos Aires the most serious situation is in the city of Bahia Blanca, where because of low water pressure the local hospital has made a plea for tanker trucks to supply it with drinking water. EFE " 3571 140 Spain Galicia, Pontevedra province, NW Spain 2009-11-15T00:00:00.000 2009-11-16T00:00:00.000 2 1793 Torrential Rain 1 39820 4.9011312513553715 -7.51 42.53 0 31 1 135 2009-11-15T00:00:00.000 848 3045 November 16, 2009: "46 municipalities reported flooding from the storm..Galicia reported yesterday flooding and mudslides...Pontevedra province was the hardest hit by the storm 3570 139 Malaysia Kota Setar, Kedah, Bandar Bharu,Baling. Sungai Kepala Batas and Sungai Pantai Johor rivers 2009-11-10T00:00:00.000 2009-11-16T00:00:00.000 7 1793 Heavy Rain 1 14490 5.0061664254854312 100.96 5.74 0 31 1 134 2009-11-10T00:00:00.000 848 3044 November 16, 2009: "ALOR SETAR: The number of flood victims evacuated in Kedah rose to 1,793 up from 1,338 Sunday evening, said a state floods operation room spokesman. Bandar Bharu and Baling districts were the new districts hit by floods and 300 people from 69 families were moved to flood evacuation centres."In the Bandar Bharu district, 280 people from 61 families were moved to four centres while in Baling 20 victims from eight families were still at one evacuation centre," he said. The Kota Setar district registered the highest number of victims at 641 people from 185 families and they were housed at six centres while the Kubang Pasu district charted 474 people from 119 families who were moved to six evacuation centres."In Pokok Sena, 349 people from 77 families were moved to the three centres of Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Hijau, Surau Kampung Permatang Limau and Dewan Kubang Keriang," he told Bernama here today.He said the readings of two rivers in Kota Setar exceeded danger levels with Sungai Kepala Batas registering 4.13m (danger level 3.8m) and Sungai Pantai Johor registering 2.47m (danger level 2m).Meanwhile, observation by Bernama at the Sekolah Kebangsaan Gunong evacuation centre here saw that the number of flood victims was increasing.According to the Kota Setar district community welfare assistant officer, Nurul Hafizah Yahya, the centre was reopened on Nov 14 after being closed for two days earlier."We are continuously monitoring and are ready to receive more flood victims due to the continous rain," she said."The victims here are from 11 villages, among them Kampung Alor Gunong, Kampung Seberang Pumpong, Kampung Jalan Pondok Tanjung Bedil and Kampung Sungai Baru," she said.A victim from Kampung Seberang Pumpong, Samsiah Husin, 73, said she was evacuated twice in one week." "I was allowed to return three days ago but could not clean my house as water rose again," she said. 3569 138 Tanzania Goha Village in Same District , Morogoro and Dodoma regions, Kibaigwa, Dodoma Region 2009-11-10T00:00:00.000 2009-11-13T00:00:00.000 4 20 Heavy Rain 1 194800 5.8916489438705595 35.89 -6.77 0 31 1 133 2009-11-10T00:00:00.000 848 3043 November 13, 2009: ".As residents of Goha Village in Same District began burying the victims of Tuesday's deadly mudslides, El Ni-o-driven rains continued to cause havoc in various parts of the country yesterday.Heavy rains flooded villages and swept away bridges in Morogoro and Dodoma regions.Hundreds of travellers were stranded for hours on end in Kibaigwa, Dodoma Region, after a downpour that started on Wednesday night swept away bridges in the area.One of the travellers told The Citizen by telephone that no vehicle could cross the flooded section of the Dodoma-Morogoro highway.Elsewhere, Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner Monica Mbega criticised residents of the village affected by the mudslide for not reporting the precarious condition of the nearby hills. At least 20 people were killed at Goha Village on Tuesday night in a mudslide triggered by heavy rains, which lashed the area for three days.Ms Mbega said yesterday that villagers noticed last year that a section of the hills was about to collapse but did not bother to take any precautions, including reporting the looming danger to the relevant authorities.She made the remarks as she was leading rescue efforts and the burial of bodies that had been recovered.She said villagers said they noticed huge cracks on the hillside, which, however, "disappeared" earlier this year.Ms Mbega, who is also the Iringa Urban MP, said something would have been done to avert Tuesday's disaster had the information been relayed to district and regional authorities.The bodies of 19 adults and a toddler were recovered from the smashed village on Wednesday. The search for survivors and more bodies continued yesterday.President Jakaya Kikwete sent his condolences to the Kilimanjaro RC following Tuesday's disaster... 3568 137 Brazil Rio De Janeiro 2009-11-12T00:00:00.000 2009-11-13T00:00:00.000 2 3 200 Torrential Rain 1 47900 4.981365509078544 -43.12 -22.54 0 31 1 132 2009-11-12T00:00:00.000 848 3042 November 13, 2009: "RIO DE JANEIRO, November 13 (RIA Novosti) - Three people died and 200 were left homeless in Brazil as the result of heavy rains which hit the northern suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian civil defense service said.Some 15 residential districts were submerged by downpours on Thursday. About 20,000 pupils left home as all schools were closed in the area following the flood. 3567 136 USA Southeastern U.S. 2009-11-10T00:00:00.000 2009-11-13T00:00:00.000 4 Tropical Storm Ida 1 468100 6.2723986324554044 -83.74 35.159999999999997 1 31 1 131 2009-11-10T00:00:00.000 848 3041 November 12, 2009: "Relentless rain drenched much of the Atlantic seaboard Thursday, pelting communities from North Carolina northward with gusty winds and heavy rains, inundating streets and stranding drivers in hard-hit Virginia.The downpours were the continuing aftermath of late-season Tropical Storm Ida, which quickly weakened once it made landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday but still soaked a swath from Alabama to Georgia.In Virginia, Gov. Timothy Kaine declared a state of emergency and officials urged people in some areas to stay home. Rain and resulting floods were predicted to continue at least through Friday, especially along the state's southeastern coast. 3566 135 FL-2009-000237-THA India Tamil Nadu 2009-11-03T00:00:00.000 2009-11-08T00:00:00.000 6 70 Torrential Rain 1.5 35730 5.5072755256417647 77.849999999999994 11.47 0 30 1 130 2009-11-03T00:00:00.000 847 3040 November 10, 2009: "CHENNAI—Heavy rain in southern India triggered flash floods and landslides that killed 41 people in the last 24 hours, police said Tuesday.More than 70 deaths have been recorded across several districts in the state of Tamil Nadu in the last week, where downpours have caused widespread damage to buildings and ruined crops.The hillside district of Nilgiris, about 450km west of the state capital Chennai, is estimated to have received up to 61cm of rain over two days, police said.One village there was destroyed."The toll is 71 as of now. Nilgiris bore the brunt of the rain and 38 lives have been lost there in the last two days," an officer in the local police control room told AFP, referring to deaths overnight and on Monday.Another three were killed overnight in more southern districts of Tamil Nadu.Rescue efforts were underway to help those trapped in debris, and authorities said most deaths were due to walls collapsing, drowning or electrocution.Schools were closed in several districts and forecasters predicted more rain over the next 24 hours. 3565 134 FL-2009-000237-THA Thailand Malaysia Northern Malaysia, southern Thailand 2009-11-07T00:00:00.000 2009-11-08T00:00:00.000 2 15 6800 Monsoonal Rain 1 35580 4.8522359394118872 99.91 7.47 0 30 1 129 2009-11-07T00:00:00.000 847 3039 November 9, 2009: "Narathiwat - The flooding in this southern border province has so far killed 10 people, the provincial disaster prevention and mitigation centre announced Monday.The centre announced that the flooding affected 26,525 families in 367 villages and 17 communities in 13 districts.The latest victim was Panida Waephakdee, 12.A total of 1,697 families have been evacuated following the flooding...- Floods caused by heavy rains have claimed 15 lives in southern Thailand, officials said Monday. Heavy rains sparked flash floods in Thailand's southernmost provinces of Songkhla, Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala over the weekend, affecting hundreds of thousands of people, Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation officials said. In Narathiwat province, the floods claimed at least 10 lives, affected 124,335 residents and prompted the government to evacuate 1,697 households. Flooding is common in the region during the monsoon season, which lasts from June to October. Flood,Thailand: Floods caused by heavy rains have claimed 15 lives in Thailand's southernmost provinces of Songkhla, Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala. In Malaysia: November 9, 2009: "Heavy rains triggered flash floods that killed two people and forced thousands to evacuate their homes in northern Malaysia, officials say.The downpours mark the start of an annual monsoon season between November and February that often leads to widespread flooding in low-lying towns and villages in Malaysia's northern states.A nine-year-old girl drowned on Sunday after she fell into a rain-swollen river while playing with her friends, said Mohammad Abdul Aziz, a flood relief effort co-ordinator.Separately, authorities recovered the body of a man who was swept away while swimming in a river, said Ismail Saat, a police officer in northern Kelantan state.Officials in three separate states said about 5,000 people had taken shelter at schools and community centres since the downpours began late last week. 3564 133 Australia New South Wales 2009-11-07T00:00:00.000 2009-11-09T00:00:00.000 3 Heavy Rain 1 98550 5.4707778833351242 151.63999999999999 -30.39 0 30 1 128 2009-11-07T00:00:00.000 847 3038 November 9, 2009: "The NSW government has declared the shires of Nambucca, Bellingen, Kempsey and Coffs Harbour natural disaster zones, making funding available to local councils for infrastructure repairs.Mr Fraser welcomed the declaration but said farmers and small business owners - already burdened with loans following previous floods - would not benefit from it.Speaking in Bathurst on Monday, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the federal government was ready to help "in whatever way we can".Meanwhile, state agencies are continuing to assess the situation in NSW."The Department of State and Regional Development, Department of Primary Industries and DOCS will be carrying out an assessment in the next 24 hours to determine if the affected area meets the community recovery criteria set out in the state and federal guidelines," NSW Emergency Services Minister Steve Whan told AAP.About 100 people are still cut off by floodwaters at Coutts Crossing, south of Grafton, while the Orara River peaked about 1pm (AEDT) on Monday, a spokeswoman for the State Emergency Services (SES) told AAP.The Bureau of Meteorology said no significant rain had been recorded in the Orara valley since 9am (AEDT) on Monday but minor flooding was expected to continue at Coutts Crossing for the next 24 to 36 hours November 8, 2009: " The New South Wales state government declared several areas on the state's mid north coast a natural disaster zone after severe flooding damaged roads and left up to 5-thousand people isolated, Australian news agencies reported on Saturday. Heavy rainfall on Friday night caused homes to be evacuated, left cars submerged, and debris washed up on riverbanks. The seaside town of Coffs Harbor, about 340 miles north of Sydney , had 528mm (20 inches)of rain in the 48 hours up until Saturday morning local time, the New South Wales State Emergency Service (SES) said. Shops became flooded overnight on Friday, while SES workers escorted residents from their homes as water levels rose. By Saturday morning some of the water had subsided and shop owners in the booming holiday area were beginning to clean up. Several roads remain closed and authorities have advised against non essential travel in the flooded areas around Nambucca, Bellingen, Kempsey and Coffs Harbour. The local councils in the four areas affected will receive state government funding to rebuild damaged roads, bridges and infrastructure. Residents and local businesses that suffered damage in the flooding will also have access to financial help. The SES is expecting flood waters to subside by Sunday, restoring access to settlements cut off by the deluge. 3563 132 FL-2009-000238-SLV El Salvador Central regions 2009-11-07T00:00:00.000 2009-11-09T00:00:00.000 3 192 35000 Heavy Rain 2 5541 4.5217394005435478 -89 13.77 0 30 1 127 2009-11-07T00:00:00.000 847 3037 November 15, 2009: "SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) -- Salvadoran authorities say at least 192 people were killed by floods and landslides that swept through the country last week.El Salvador's Civil Protection agency says in a statement that 89 of the victims were killed in the state of San Vicente, where days of heavy rains caused mud and boulders to sweep down the side of the Chichontepec volcano before dawn a week ago.The agency said Sunday that dozens more remain missing. It says that more than 14,000 Salvadoran have been affected by the floods and mudslides that were indirectly linked to Hurricane Ida's passage through the region. November 12, 2009: "Relief materials from different countries and aid organisations have begun to arrive for the flood affected people in El Salvador, as the toll has risen to 157 following a devastating storm last weekend.Officials said 58 people are still missing days after Hurricane Ida hit the country.Thousands of people have also been displaced in floods and mudslides caused by the storm.'Various governments, through their ambassadors, and in some other cases directly ... have called me to express to us their solidarity and, at the same time, to respond in an immediate manner to the demands this emergency creates,' President Mauricio Funes has said.'I'm taking this moment to express my acknowledgment of the solidarity,' he told a gathering Wednesday.Torrential rains continued in five of El Salvador's 14 provinces since Hurricane Ida made landfall last weekend.Donations have arrived from the US, Japan, Nicaragua and Venezuela, as well as from the UNICEF and Red Cross. The relief items are being distributed at 132 emergency shelters where more than 14,000 flood affected people are hous" November 9, 2009: Floods and landslides left at least 124 people dead in El Salvador on Monday after a late-season hurricane ravaged parts of Central America and took aim for the United States.Landslides and overflowing rivers carried away houses, while a raging torrent ripped through an entire section of one town. Some of the bodies were taken to a chapel and covered in mud-caked sheets."All we heard in the morning was loud noise," Arnoldo Paz, a resident of Verapaz in the central region of the country, told AFP."It was a torrent of water and mud that swept away everything in its path. All I could do was tell my wife to grab the kids and flee."November 8, 2009: " Torrents of mud and boulders choked the streets of Verapaz on Sunday, part of massive wave of rain-fueled flooding that authorities said killed 91 people throughout El Salvador and left about five dozen missing.Almost 7,000 people saw their homes damaged, destroyed or cut off by floods and mudslides across this Central American nation.Rescue workers dug frantically for victims, but the mud flows were so high they nearly swallowed vehicles completely. Many streets were blocked with boulders."What happened in Verapaz was something terrible," said Interior Minister Humberto Centeno, who flew over the city Sunday to survey the damage. "It is a real tragedy there."At least 23 people were killed in San Vicente province, where Verapaz is located, and at least 60 people were unaccounted for in the city located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of the capital, San Salvador.Provincial Gov. Manuel Castellanos said workers were struggling to clear roadways and power and water service had been knocked out.At least 300 houses in Verapaz were flooded after a river overflowed its bank, Red Cross spokesman Carlos Lopez Mendoza said.The rains unleashed massive rock slides from the Chichontepec volcano that buried several other houses, Verapaz Mayor Antonio Cerritos told Radio Nacional.In San Salvador, authorities reported 61 dead. Lopez Mendoza said the toll included a family of four — two adults and two children — who were killed when a mudslide buried their home Sunday morning.The remaining victims were buried by slides or carried away by raging rivers in other parts of the country, Vice Interior Minister Ernesto Zelayandia told .El Salvador was slammed by three days of heavy rains from a Pacific coast low-pressure system indirectly related to Hurricane Ida, which brushed the Mexican resort of Cancun Sunday and steamed into the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane.The mountains in El Salvador quickly funneled rain down into populated valleys. Poverty and precarious construction appeared to play a role in the destruction, as homes clinging to steep hillsides quickly fell prey to mudslides.Authorities had to use helicopters to reach some of the most severely affected townships, Centeno said.Centeno said it has been impossible to reach many of the affected areas because of damage to roads.Hurricane Ida's presence in the western Caribbean may have played a role in drawing a Pacific low-pressure system toward El Salvador, causing the rains, said Dave Roberts, a Navy hurricane specialist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.He added, however, that "if there were deaths associated with this rainfall amount in El Salvador, I would not link it to Ida." 3562 131 Mexico Gulf Coast, Tobasco 2009-11-01T00:00:00.000 2009-11-12T00:00:00.000 12 200000 Heavy Rain 1.5 44320 5.9018722568236797 -91.05 18.48 0 30 1 126 2009-11-01T00:00:00.000 847 3036 November 12, 2009: "The Mexican government has declared parts of the Gulf coast state of Tabasco disaster zones due to flooding from days of heavy rains, freeing up federal relief funds for the area.The Interior Department decree issued Monday covers the cities of Cardenas and Huimanguillo, where the government is handing out food and household goods to some of the estimated 200,000 people affected by high waters.But flooded roads are making it difficult to get aid in. Some areas have been under water for about 10 days. Tabasco Gov. Andres Granier says some victims lack food and drinking water.About 40,000 people remain in emergency shelters, but others are waiting out the floods on the roofs of their homes."November 8, 2009: "VILLA HERMOSA: A week of torrential rain has flooded the homes of more than 200,000 people along Mexico’s Gulf coast, officials said yesterday. Residents in some towns complained that no help had arrived. The flooding in eastern Tabasco state has worsened as rains persist and more rivers overflow their banks. Three people drowned earlier in the week while trying to flee a torrent of water in a drainage canal. People “are in a desperate situation,” Tabasco Gov. Andres Granier said, but he added that many were ignoring pleas to move to shelters for fear their homes would be looted. The floods affect more than a dozen towns. Santos Perez Jimenez said no help had arrived in his rural community of Luis Cabrera. “We’re trying to get our things out as best we can,” Perez Jimenez said. “We’ve radioed for help several times but they have not paid attention to us.” An estimated 20,000 people were in 100 shelters set up by the state. Others, however, set up makeshift tents on dry land near their soaked homes, fearing looting. “This is the closest we can be to our stuff. And we are used to these floods,” said Rebecca Rodriguez, who was living under a plastic sheet along a stretch of highway between Tabasco and Veracruz state. Floods occur yearly in Tabasco despite government efforts to improve infrastructure. In 2007, floods left 1 million homes under water and killed 33 people. The Gulf of Mexico accounts for a quarter of US domestic oil production and 15 percent of natural gas output. The Gulf Coast is also home to 40 percent of the nation’s refining capacity. November 3, 2009: "Flooding after days of heavy rain along Mexico's Gulf Coast has forced more than 44,000 people from their homes.Tabasco state Gov. Andres Granier says several rivers jumped their banks, flooding homes in more than 90 communities.The federal government declared a state of emergency and troops were helping rescue people Tuesday.Residents expressed frustration that government infrastructure projects have not prevented yearly flooding in Tabasco. In 2007, floods killed 33 people and inundated more than 1 million homes.''Since the 2007 floods, they say are going to complete projects and once again we've been flooded. Every time the rivers swell, we lose everything,'' said Hipolito Escobar, a 58-year-old farmer. . 3561 130 United Kingdom Scotland Aberdeenshire 2009-11-01T00:00:00.000 2009-11-03T00:00:00.000 3 Heavy Rain 1 14190 4.6291036501771368 -3.12 55.66 0 30 1 125 2009-11-01T00:00:00.000 847 3035 November 2, 2009: Heavy rain has caused havoc in north and east Scotland with homes flooded, roads closed and trains cancelled.Dozens of elderly people had to be moved from their care home in the Aberdeenshire town of Huntly. The centre of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire was under water after rivers burst their banks.And a man in his 60s died after his car was in collision with a lorry on the A90 Fraserburgh to Cortes road. Police said weather could have been a factor.The crash happened at about 0520 GMT and the road was closed for several hours.Arbroath in Angus was left virtually cut off, with all main routes in and out - including the railway line from Edinburgh to Aberdeen - impassable.Residents in Stonehaven filled pillow cases with sand from the beach to try to protect buildings, after the rivers Cowie and Carron burst their banks on Sunday.Some streets in the town were evacuated.David Fleming, chairman of Stonehaven Community Council, said it had been a "horrendous" night but the water was now receding.He said: "The river Carron flowed into the town down two of the main streets and the water in the high street was up to chest height."Mr Fleming said he never seen anything like it in the town.About 50 people were evacuated from their homes and many more were forced to move to the upper storeys of their properties.An Aberdeenshire Council spokesperson said: "Our crews have been working throughout the night providing support to the emergency services, keeping roads clear as best they can and helping with the evacuation of residents."The torrential rainfall across a large part of Aberdeenshire has meant that our crews have been stretched very thinly but they have been committed to helping wherever possible."Our resources were stretched to the limit. We'd already given out most of our sandbags. Anyone experiencing flood-related difficulties can phone 01224 665470 and we will offer advice, support and assistance."There were 12 schools closed or partially closed in Aberdeenshire.Insp Kevin Wallace, of Grampian Police, said the force's focus had moved to the Huntly area, where dozens of houses were affected by high waters from the river Deveron.He said water had got into a large number of properties on the north side of Huntly.Dozens of people from a local care home - many elderly and vulnerable - were taken to safety by rescuers after a river burst its banks.First Minister Alex Salmond, who is the MSP for Gordon, visited Huntly and said: "Many families and elderly people have been affected by what has been the second round of flooding in as many weeks."Many people in Huntly and across the north east have had a miserable night and my thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by the flooding." 3560 129 FL-2009-000234-PHL, TC-2009-000230-VNM Philippines Viet Nam Cambodia Bicol, Southern Tagalog and Metro Manila 2009-10-30T00:00:00.000 2009-11-04T00:00:00.000 6 98 Tropical Storm Mirinae 1.5 124900 6.05080494781346 107.66 14.91 1 30 1 124 2009-10-30T00:00:00.000 847 3034 Nov. 4, 2009: "At least 90 people have been killed in flooding in central Vietnam sparked by Tropical Storm Mirinae, which slammed into the country this week.A further 22 people were reported missing after the storm struck on Monday, destroying hundreds of homes and leaving more than 200,000 people stranded, according to local reports.Television pictures from the provinces of Phu Yen and Gia Lai, which were among the worst hit regions along with Binh Dinh, showed rescuers in boats helping desperate residents escape some of the worst flooding there in decades.Water in places reached up to the rooftops of buildings, where some residents had sought refuge. The VTV channel reported that 200,000 people were stranded in Binh Dinh province alone". Nov. 3, 2009: "Tropical Storm Mirinae unleashed severe flooding in parts of central Vietnam, killing 23 people, leaving two missing and stranding families on rooftops, disaster officials said Tuesday.Five more bodies have been recovered, bringing the death toll in the hardest-hit province of Phu Yen to 15 people after the storm hit Monday, drenching the region with heavy rains, said disaster official Dang Thi Lanh."Many villages remain cut off by rising waters and we expect the death toll to rise," she said.Several villages in neighboring Binh Dinh province suffered the worst flooding in four decades after the Ha Thanh River surged over its banks, said disaster official Nguyen Van Hoa. Five people were killed by falling trees or washed away by floods in Binh Dinh and two others were missing, Hoa said.In Khanh Hoa province, south of Phu Yen, three people were killed, a disaster official there said refusing to give his name.The military sent two helicopters to drop instant noodles to people in isolated villages and to rescue people who were still trapped on rooftops a day after the storm, which lost force as it moved inland."We have received many calls for help from people who are still stranded," Hoa said by telephone.Ho Quoc Dung, vice chairman of Binh Dinh provincial People's Committee, said some 400 soldiers were mobilized to use speed boats to reach areas cut off by flooding and have ferried out more than 1,000 villagers.Several thousand remain stranded, he said.Mirinae hit the Philippines with typhoon strength over the weekend, killing 20 people before losing strength as it moved across the South China Sea toward Vietnam." Nov. 1, 2009: " Philippine authorities Sunday scrambled to restore power and repair damage after Typhoon Mirinae smashed into the storm-weary nation, killing at least 14 people.A day after Mirinae brought heavy rains and winds, crews were clearing roads of fallen trees and power lines in the capital Manila and nearby areas.Efforts were being made to repair four bridges that collapsed in urban areas south of Manila, while power was slowly being restored to most of the 22 towns that were blacked out at the height of the typhoon, the Red Cross said."We have been told that power in most areas has been restored and in terms of flooding, the waters receded within hours," national Red Cross secretary general Gwen Pang told AFP.She said a pre-emptive evacuation of about 115,000 people in the typhoon's direct path to safer ground days ahead of its landfall had meant fewer casualties compared with two recent deadly storms.As of early Sunday, Mirinae had weakened and was located 450 kilometres (279 miles) southwest of Manila in the South China Sea, the weather bureau said.In its latest update Sunday noon, Manila's National Disaster Coordinating Council said the typhoon left "remarkably less damage to lives and properties" compared to two recent typhoons.Tropical Storm Ketsana, which caused massive flooding on September 26, and Typhoon Parma, which hit a week later, together killed more than 1,100 people."People were more prepared and more or less knew what to do," Pang said. "People did not wait until it was too late to evacuate and were quickly moved away from harm's way to safer ground."She said most of the more than 5,000 people who had moved into temporary shelters as Typhoon Mirinae lashed the main island of Luzon had begun trickling back to their homes as the weather cleared Sunday.However, relief and rehabilitation efforts will continue for the 87,000 people still packed into evacuation centres whose homes were destroyed by Ketsana and Parma, she said.Even before Mirinae hit, outlying districts that are home to more than a million people were expected to remain flooded into the New Year, raising concern among health experts of an outbreak of disease.October 31, 2009: "Close to 116,000 persons were forced to flee their homes as Typhoon Santi (international codename: Mirinae) triggered flooding in Bicol, Southern Tagalog and Metro Manila early Saturday, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said.As of 1 p.m. Saturday, NDCC spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres said 23,101 families displaced by the floods were taken to 251 evacuation centers.Save for a missing man in Muntinlupa City, he said the NDCC and its local offices have yet to record any deaths since the typhoon battered the southern part of Luzon starting Friday evening.Torres said Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro went to Sta. Cruz, Laguna to personally check on the condition of affected residents and the damage wrought by the typhoon on public infrastructure.“The NDCC and the Armed Forces already sent disaster relief teams to affected areas. We also distributed relief goods in some areas two days [earlier],” Torres told the Inquirer.According to Torres, 8,567 passengers were stranded in various ports in the Calabarzon and Bicol regions.He said the typhoon’s strong winds toppled electric posts in Camarines Norte, Laguna and Metro Manila, causing power outages. 3559 128 FL-2009-000226-PRY Paraguay Encarnacion (Itapua), Ayolas (Misiones), Ciudad del Este (Alto Parana) e Ita Cora (Neembucu)) 2009-10-26T00:00:00.000 2009-10-28T00:00:00.000 3 Heavy Rain 1 163300 5.6901074394563302 -56.27 -25.1 0 29 1 123 2009-10-26T00:00:00.000 846 3033 October 27, 2009: "Flood,Paraguay: Hundreds of families have been affected by floods in Encarnacion (Itapua), Ayolas (Misiones), Ciudad del Este (Alto Parana) e Ita Cora (Neembucu)). 3558 127 Viet Nam Central Viet Nam 2009-10-23T00:00:00.000 2009-10-26T00:00:00.000 4 1 Tropical Storm 1 28280 5.0535393964528241 107.39 15.57 0 29 1 122 2009-10-23T00:00:00.000 846 3032 October 26, 2009: "Heavy rains bring floods, landslides to central Vietnam. Torrential rains brought by a tropical low forming in the East Sea last Friday have caused floods and landslides, leaving one missing in the central provinces over the past two days.Thousands of cubic meters of soil and rocks have collapsed from part of Ho Chi Minh Highway, which runs from the north to the south, in Thua Thien – Hue Province’s A Luoi District, causing traffic snarls, according to the provincial storm and flood control committee.Many local communes have been submerged under 0.7 meters of water.Flash floods have also swept away almost 1.3 kilometers section of a railway and caused landslides in other parts of Ninh Thuan Province’s Ninh Phuoc District, prompting the management company to delay all trains.Nguyen Cong Dong, director of Thuan Hai Railway Management Company, said all the repairs are expected to be completed by Saturday afternoon.Rescuers in Quang Ngai Province are searching a fourth grader, Nguyen Thi My, who was swept away by floods on her way home from school on Friday.Central Vietnam was hit late last month by typhoon Ketsana that killed 163 people and caused losses of over VND14 trillion (US$785.85 million). 3557 126 FF-2009-000229-SOM Kenya Somalia Ethiopia Tana Delta and Tana River; between Malindi and Garsen 2009-10-20T00:00:00.000 2009-10-28T00:00:00.000 9 2000 Heavy Rain 1 197700 6.2502491787529975 40.68 2.99 1 29 1 121 2009-10-20T00:00:00.000 846 3031 October 29, 2009: "Flash floods caused by four days of torrential rains have displaced more than 15,000 people in the southwestern town of El-Waq near the Kenyan border and submerged most homes and businesses, say locals."Most of the town is under water, with people moving to higher ground around the town," Alaso Gurhan, a resident of El-Waq, in Gedo region of southwestern Somalia, told IRIN on 28 October.The local administration and civil society groups have been able to move many people to safer ground, she said.She said mothers with small children and the elderly were being given priority in the provision of shelter material. "We are all in the open now with very little help. We don't have much so we have to give first to the weakest."A lot of livestock have reportedly died due to the ongoing rains. "Hundreds of goats and sheep weakened by the drought have succumbed to the rains and the cold weather," said Ali Hassan, a civil society activist.He said El-Waq, like the rest of Somalia, was waiting for the rain but it was "too much in too short a time. If the rain continues the way it has for the last four days we will be in serious trouble."He said most of the residents, about 18,000 with some 900 displaced families (5,400 people) from Mogadishu, had been affected. "We are no better than the displaced today," he added. He said the population was concentrating on the hills around the town. "Any higher ground in the area is now occupied."Hassan Hussein, an engineer with Development Frontier International, an NGO, told IRIN they were now trying to dig trenches to allow the water to drain from the town.He said there was still a danger of more flooding since the rains were ongoing. He said his group was organizing the population to alert them to any more danger. "We are using the loud-speakers in mosques to tell people to help the weak and to get to higher ground."People who are still in low-lying areas were also being told to move to higher ground, he said.He said shelter material was urgently needed. "There are many people who are too weak to stay in the open or in the flimsy shelters we have. We need help in the provision of tents and other shelter material if we are to avert a serious health situation."There are fears that with the rains mosquitoes and waterborne diseases will not be far behind, he warned" October 29, 2009: "After days of heavy rain, flash floods in Kenya's coastal Magarini district have displaced at least 500 families, sweeping away houses and livestock, officials said.Most of the affected families were from Kurawa and Kanagoni villages in Magarini. Many have already sought alternative shelter, with some heading to a camp for the displaced along the Malindi-Garissa highway.John Manasseh, a local leader, told IRIN on 28 October: "We had assumed that since the rains were delayed at the beginning of the year, we would not experience any flooding. We even started cultivating our farms in readiness for the rain, but it seems we were all wrong."Most of the coastal region has been dry, having not had rains since early 2009. In August, the Kenya Meteorological Department warned that the country could soon experience El Niño-related enhanced rainfall. Already, heavy rains have been reported in many parts of the country, with Coast Province being the latest to experience flooding.The Magarini flash floods occurred a day after two people reportedly died in Kolongoni village in neighbouring Kilifi district, after a house in which they were sleeping collapsed after a downpour, crushing them.Jillo Galgalo, one of those displaced by the floods in Magarini, said they lacked clean water for domestic use and were at risk of infection from waterborne diseases."Most pit latrines have been washed away because nobody expected any floods to occur this soon," Galgalo said. "We are in dire need of clean water because most water points are now filled with all sorts of waste, including human waste and cow dung."Along with the neighbouring Tana River district - where roads connecting the towns of Mombasa, Garissa and Lamu have been cut off due to the rains - roads in Kilifi have not been spared, with most roads connecting local trading centres impassable" October 28, 2009: "Nairobi — Three districts were yesterday morning cut off from Mombasa after El-Nino rains washed away a section of the Mombasa-Lamu highway.The damaged Kinagoni bridge puts the lives of more than 200,000 people in Lamu, Tana Delta and Tana River at risk of not getting food and other supplies from Mombasa and Malindi.Over 2,000 people were rendered homeless when more than 500 homesteads were submerged by water between Malindi and Garsen.A 500 metre stretch of the road was extensively damaged and will require total reconstruction, Magarini DC Peter Karanja said at the scene of the damaged bridge.A man who tried to cross the seasonal river shortly after the bridge was damaged was swept away by the floods and was believed to have drowned, although rescuers had not yet recovered his body, Mr Karanja said. Travelers from both sides of the road were stranded as buses turned back when they reached the section of the road" .October 25, 2009 "Experts estimate that the situation is not currently as bad as the El Niño floods of 1997 that put much of eastern Kenya under water, but the short rains are expected to last until December or longer so conditions in both Somalia and Kenya are likely to deteriorate further.The United Nations currently estimates that a total of up to 1.8 million people are affected by the floods in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.In addition to the life-threatening rising waters, cholera outbreaks have been reported and the toll from diseases such as malaria is expected to rise.The floods followed a regional drought earlier this year that killed large numbers of livestock and left millions of nomadic herders reliant on food aid and other assistance even after the rains." 3556 125 Niger Northern Niger, Agadez Region 2009-09-21T00:00:00.000 2009-10-15T00:00:00.000 25 Heavy Rain 1 133600 6.5237464668115646 8.06 17.22 1 28 1 120 2009-09-21T00:00:00.000 845 3030 October 19, 2009: "AGADEZ, Niger, 25 September 2009 – Unprecedented rainfall has led to severe flooding in northern Niger's Agadez region in recent weeks."We had never seen such floods," said Tahrit Adam, 70, who is staying at one of the schools where area residents have temporarily relocated. She is one of the 80,000 people who have been affected by the floods."It happened all of a sudden in the middle of the night," said Fadima Ahmed, 30, a mother of four who was forced out of her home."Water came into my house like a torrent. In a few seconds, I had it up to my waist. I thought we were going to die. We have lost everything."While many families have found shelter with relatives, 11 sites are operating as shelters for the flood-affected population. Among these are five primary schools and one secondary school.Fadima Ahmed lost her home and all her belongings due to the early September floods that have affected Agadez in northern Niger.Four new sites have also been identified. The Government of Niger, UNICEF and other partners are equipping them with water and sanitation facilities, as well as shelters.In order to provide safe water in the flood zone, UNICEF has installed two water tanks at one site and is setting up water systems at four more camps.The raging waters destroyed the dyke protecting the town of Agadez, flooding entire sectors and prompting the government to call for international assistance on 11 September.While no epidemics have thus far been reported, cases of diarrhoeal disease and malaria are on the rise. Thousands of children under the age of five are particularly at risk of contracting infectious diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation. 3555 124 Nigeria Ohia-Era community in Obio/Akpor local government area of Rivers State.Also Delta State 2009-10-20T00:00:00.000 2009-10-26T00:00:00.000 7 5000 Heavy Rain 1 53020 5.5695377634113319 6.51 5.54 0 27 1 119 2009-10-20T00:00:00.000 844 3029 October 24, 2009: "Over 5,000 people have been displaced, as 200 houses were submerged in flood at Ohia-Era community in Obio/Akpor local government area of Rivers State, following the heavy rains which enveloped the state last week.Disclosing the development in Port Harcourt, yesterday, South-South Coordinator of National Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Umesi Emenike, said the flood had chased away occupants of the buildings who are currently elsewhere.October 22, 2009: "Warri — FLOOD has ravages 36 Ijaw communities, destroying state-owned electricity project, secondary and primary schools in Burutu local government area of Delta State.This comes as the Gbekebor Progressive Forum (GPF) has called on the federal and state governments for relief materials and immediate assistance for victims of the flood.Gbekebor town, an ancient Ijaw community in Ogbolubiri-Mein Kingdom, is being currently overrun by the over-flowing waters from River Niger in view of the very high tide of the season.The Gbekebor Progressive Forum, in a statement signed by three youth leaders in the community, Messrs Michael Ezonfade, James Ebitonmo and Daniel Pereware respectively, has, therefore, appealed to the federal and state governments, including the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and other corporate organizations to come to their aid by building foreshore wall and reclaiming the land through sandfilling for the distressed people.The most affected places are Gbekebor Secondary School , Meindu Primary School and satellite villages of Founkoro, Ekorogbene, Okosugbene, Asiagbene, Etakuwa and others.. 3554 123 TC-2009-000221-JPN Japan 2009-10-07T00:00:00.000 2009-10-09T00:00:00.000 3 5000 Typhoon Melor 1 106300 5.5036545192429589 138.19999999999999 36.42 0 27 1 118 2009-10-07T00:00:00.000 844 3028 October 8, 2009: "On 8 October 2009, a strong typhoon 0918(Melor) has struck Japan, leaving a trail of damage across the centre of the country. As of 9 October, 4 people are reported killed and missing, 119 people injured, 3 houses totally destroyed, 19 houses half destroyed, 754 houses partially destroyed, 261 houses inundated above floor level and 1,140 houses inundatad below floor level. 3553 122 FL-2009-000219-NPL Nepal 2009-10-04T00:00:00.000 2009-10-12T00:00:00.000 9 45 Heavy Rain 2 129700 6.3682124811873866 80.760000000000005 29.81 1 27 1 117 2009-10-04T00:00:00.000 844 3027 October 21, 2009: "Food insecurity has increased for thousands of families in Nepal’s far- and mid-west regions as a result of flooding and landslides earlier this month. According to the Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS), the country’s largest humanitarian organization, more than 60 people were killed and some 4,000 displaced as a result of the unseasonal rains; 25,000 families, most of whom have lost their food stocks, are affected.“The worst impact has been on food security during this harvesting period. This has left many farmers in a state of shock,” Pitamber Sharma, head of the NRCS disaster department, told IRIN in Kathmandu.Many had been wrong-footed by the late rains: “This is absolutely shocking for us all because the monsoon had never been delayed like this,” Sharma said.The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said thousands of families had lost stocked food and seeds for the next planting season.Emergency food will be a major need of flood- and landslide-affected families over the coming three months, with many paddy fields still under water, and large areas of harvested crops washed away, it said.The districts affected include Dadeldhura, Acham, Bhajang, Bajura, Doti, Baitadi, Jumla, Rukum and Darchula in the Hill Region and Kailali, Kanchanpur, Banke, Bardiya and Dang in the Terai Region bordering India. "October 12, 2009: "Lucknow, Oct 10 (IANS) Excess water from Nepal’s Sharda river has flooded large parts of the Dudhwa National Park in Uttar Pradesh and washed away a key pier of a 120-year-old bridge over the river, a senior wildlife official said Saturday.The bridge, that carried both rail and road traffic, was the sole connection between the park and the rest of Uttar Pradesh.While officials are yet to assess the extent of damage to the park, state Chief Wildlife Conservator B.K. Patnaik said: “The damage could be extensive and we have to be prepared to suffer loss of both flora and fauna.”Hoping the water would recede and the internal roads and paths dry out before the commencement of the park’s tourist season in mid-November, Patnaik remarked: “But we are still keeping our fingers crossed, just in case Nepal releases more water over the coming days.October 8, 2009: "Torrential rains have caused massive landslides and floods in the Himalayan states of Nepal and Bhutan.The death toll from flooding and landslides in mid and western Nepal has risen to 45, officials say.Thousands more have been displaced by the heavy late monsoon rains, predicted to continue until the weekend.In Bhutan, major rivers have swelled, flights have been cancelled, landslides have blocked national highways and a major hydro-power plant has been shut.MaroonedOfficials in Nepal say at least 12 more deaths have been reported from the western districts on Thursday.The army and police force have been helping with relief efforts and the cabinet has decided to provide a relief package for those affected.A swollen Karnali river has marooned around 500 residents of Kailali's Dhanasinghapur and Narayanpur areas, the Himalayan Times website reportedIt said that members of some 100 households have been marooned.Officials said relief was yet to reach some people stranded by landslides because of a lack of helicopters.Most of the deaths have taken place in the western districts of Dadeldhura and Achham.Meanwhile, reports say Bhutan has but hit by the heaviest rainfall in 13 years.The rains, which started on Tuesday evening, have hit all 20 districts, according to the Kuensel newspaper website.Heaviest showers have been reported in southern Bhutan, followed by western Bhutan, it said.The monsoon season in Bhutan is from 1 July to 30 September and officials say this kind of heavy rain at this time of the year is "abnormal and unexpected". Unseasonably heavy rains in western Nepal left a trail of destruction Tuesday(05/10/2009), killing at least 36 people and injuring several others, official said. Government officials said landslides struck at least five districts in western Nepal while flash floods were reported in Nepal's plains, known as Terai, after heavy rain began falling Sunday evening. 3552 121 TC-2009-000214-PHL Philippines Northern Luzon 2009-10-02T00:00:00.000 2009-10-17T00:00:00.000 16 438 40000 Typhoon Parma 2 34500 6.0429690733931798 121.422 17,57 1 26 1 116 2009-10-02T00:00:00.000 843 3026 October 26, 2009: "More than 1.5 million people are struggling to live in flooded suburbs or crowded shelters one month after devastating rains began pounding the Philippines, and officials warn no quick fix is in sight.The impoverished Southeast Asian nation faces a huge long-term battle to recover from the two storms that claimed at least 929 lives in Manila and other parts of the main Luzon island, the government and relief organizations said."The storms and torrential rains... have left the people of the Philippines facing one of the greatest challenges in memory," the UN's World Food Programme director, Josette Sheeran, said during a weekend visit to Manila.After tropical storm Ketsana dumped the heaviest rains in more than 40 years on Manila on September 26, entire districts remain waist-deep in water and piles of flood debris still litter other parts of the capital.In mountainous areas of northern Luzon that were pummelled by 10 days of torrential rain from tropical storm Parma which arrived a week later, villages remain ghost towns after being hit by landslides. The World Health Organisation says 1.43 million people, mostly in and around Manila, continue to endure a dangerous existence living in flooded districts.Those areas may remain flooded for months because chaotic urban planning has led to natural drainage systems along lakes being blocked. Already 175 people have died in those areas from leptospirosis, a bacterial disease that is contracted from contact with flood waters contaminated with rat and cat urine."The solution is to get them out of these places," Art Pesigan, an official with the WHO's emergency and humanitarian action unit, told AFP, referring to those living in the flood waters. Another 163,000 people who lost their homes in the disasters remain in evacuation centres, according to the government, with few options but to stay there and rely on handouts.The government, which has repeatedly said it is not able to cope with the twin disasters on its own, has appealed for international help. But although foreign governments and international aid agencies have provided crucial aid, less than a third of a UN appeal for $74 million has been raised.Amid the immediate relief concerns, the government is also having to grapple with longer-term reconstruction efforts. One of the main concerns is that too many people, particularly slum dwellers, in Manila have been allowed to live in flood-prone areas.A government report last week called for 2.7 million people in shantytowns to be moved from "danger zones" alongside riverbanks, lakes and sewers. The plan would affect one in five Manila residents and take 10 years and P130 billion ($2.77 billion) to implement. Economic migrants who flocked Manila's teeming shantytowns are being offered free bus fares back to their abandoned farms.October 18, 2009: "The death toll from two devastating storms that struck the Philippines over the past month has risen to 858, with ensuing disease outbreaks killing 89 others, the government said Monday.The latest National Disaster Coordinating Council toll is up from 818 on Sunday.It said Tropical Storm Ketsana left 420 dead and 37 missing when it flooded 80 percent of Manila on September 26, a disaster the government said affected 4.35 million people.Some areas are still flooded three weeks later and 189,000 people remain in evacuation centres, it added.Typhoon Parma hit the northern Philippines on October 3 and lingered as a tropical storm for a week, triggering landslides that killed 438 people and leaving 51 missing mostly in mountain communities.The government agency said Parma affected 4.16 million people, including more than 32,000 who remain at evacuation centres.The health department said leptospirosis, a bacterial disease that can lead to kidney failure and is caused by exposure to animal urine in flood waters, later killed at least 89 people."October 18, 2009: "Massive floods brought by powerful storms have caused an outbreak of the deadly disease leptospirosis that has claimed 89 lives in the Philippine capital alone, the health secretary said Saturday.The incidence of the disease in the Philippine capital and surrounding areas rose to 1,027 with 89 fatalities from October 1-15 this year compared to 769 cases and only 39 deaths in the same period last year, Secretary Francis Duque said."It is largely attributable to the floods," Duque told AFP.Huge floods covered parts of Manila and its surrounding areas after tropical storm Ketsana hit the country on September 26.This was compounded by typhoon Parma which hit a few days later, again bringing heavy rains. In some areas, the floodwaters have not receded.This has caused many people to fall ill of leptospirosis, an infectious disease caused by exposure to dirty, stagnant water.To lessen the incidence of the disease, Duque said authorities had declared an outbreak of the disease in three districts of the capital and were administering antibiotics to some 1.3 million people."It will provide substantial protection," he said. However he warned that people should still avoid exposure to dirty water.October 12, 2009: "A total of 41 areas - 38 towns and three cities - in the Ilocos Region remain flooded as of Sunday night, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said Monday.In its 6 a.m. report, the NDCC said that still flooded are 23 towns and three cities in Pangasinan; nine towns in La Union; one in Ilocos Sur; and five in Ilocos Norte.The NDCC said tropical cyclone "Pepeng" (Parma), which entered the country as a typhoon and subsequently weakened into a tropical depression, affected at least 521,531 families or 2,414,108 people in 3,929 villages in 351 towns and 34 cities in 27 provinces in Luzon, Western Visayas, Cordillera, and Metro Manila.On the other hand, the death toll stayed at 199, including 53 from the Ilocos Region, 137 from Cordillera, four from Central Luzon, one from Quezon province, and four from Bicol.Around 154 were injured while 50 remained missing.The casualty figures, however, exclude those from tropical storm "Ondoy" (Ketsana).The NDCC said some 2,968 houses were destroyed while 22,857 were damaged.Damage to property was estimated at P5.083 billion, including P1.09 billion in infrastructure and P3.991 billion in agriculture.It also said that 56 road sections and nine bridges in Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Pangasinan remained impassable or hardly passable due to landslides and mudslides.Typhoon Pepeng lashed Northern Luzon last week after making its third landfall, bringing heavy rains that caused floods and landslides" October 9, 2009: "MANILA, Philippines (AP) - Rescuers struggled through mud and pounding rain Friday to clear mountain roads and retrieve more than 160 bodies from dozens of landslides that buried villages and cut off towns in the rain-soaked northern Philippines.The latest calamity brought the death toll to more than 450 from the Philippines' worst flooding in 40 years after back-to-back storms started pounding the country's north on Sept. 26.More than 160 people were killed in landslides in Benguet and Mountain Province along the Cordillera mountain range, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) north of Manila, officials in the two provinces said.The fatalities included 120 in Benguet, Gov. Nestor Fongwan said, while 23 died in Mountain Province, according to Gov. Max Dalog. Another 25 people died in Baguio, city relief administrator Peter Fianza said.Landslides blocked the roads to the mountain city of Baguio in the heart of the Cordillera region. The only way to reach the isolated, mountain communities was by foot, and military helicopters could not fly yet because of the storms, said Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, spokesman for the government's disaster relief agency."We are focused on rescue at this time," he said. "It is raining nonstop in the Cordilleras."About 100 landslides have struck the region since the weekend, said Rex Manuel, another relief official.Seventeen bodies have been recovered so far from Kibungan village in Benguet's La Trinidad township, which was almost entirely buried in mud and debris late Thursday, Manuel said. Up to 40 villagers were estimated to have died, while more than 100 were moved to safety, he said.Rescuers in the hillside villages used pulleys to transport the dead they retrieved from a pile of rubble and mud."October 4, 2009: " Large parts of the northern Philippines were flooded and without power on Sunday after Typhoon Parma killed at least 15 people, as authorities warned of another storm looming to the east.Exactly one week after storm Ketsana dumped the heaviest rains in more than 40 years that devastated Manila, killing nearly 300 people, Parma ripped through the north of the Philippines' main Luzon island on Saturday.Many areas in the north remained blacked out and cut off from communication on Sunday as Parma left the country and hovered over the South China Sea. Roads were submerged or littered with fallen trees and toppled power lines.Two separate landslides buried homes in the province of Benguet, killing 12 people on Saturday, provincial police director Chief Superintendent Loreto Espinili said. Related article: Joyful reunions and despairThe fatalities were on top of three casualties earlier reported by other authorities elsewhere.The state weather bureau warned of more misery as Typhoon Melor, monitored about 600 kilometres (370 miles) to the east, was expected to enter Philippine maritime territory by Monday afternoon before blowing north to eastern China or Japan. 3551 120 FL-2009-000217-IND India Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh states 2009-09-25T00:00:00.000 2009-10-12T00:00:00.000 18 303 Heavy Rain 2 309700 7.0472437061240738 78.23 15.71 1 25 1 115 2009-09-25T00:00:00.000 842 3025 October 11, 2009: "Alampur town in Mehbubnagar district, not far from the flood-ravaged Kurnool city, is yet to recover from the devastating natural calamity, even though 11 days have passed since the floods submerged this historic temple city.Till Saturday the town of 20,000 population was renowned for its ancient temples dedicated to Lord Siva and was called as 'Dakhsihna Kashi' (Or the Kashi of south) but today nobody even wants to enter the village as the streets and houses in Alampur are covered with two feet of slush and an unbearable stench was pervading the town making it difficult to breath.The few families who had waded through three or four feet of stinking and stagnated flood water to return to their homes and tried to clean them of the slush have given up in frustration after making all the possible efforts."It is not possible to get rid of the black soil which is deposited in our homes by the floods," said 25-year-old Srikant, who had rushed from Kurnool to help his family on hearing about the floods.Balaji, a 37-year-old government employee, said that the floods in Tungabhadra and the backwater from Srissailam dam together had pushed as much as 10 to 15 feet of flood water in to the town leaving not a single house safe or unaffected."We have lost each and every item of our house. Nothing is left," said Mukhtar Basha who ran a building material yard. "My family has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 4 lakh and do not know how to recover," Basha added.Manikantamma, a 50-year-old lady trying to return to her home, pointing towards Gandhiji's statue in the middle of a square said, "Water was higher than his head. If we had not escaped in time, we would have all died," she said.Mumtaz Khatoon, who was staying with 30 members of her extended family in a makeshift relief camp in a school outside the town, refused to go back".October 7, 2009: "Relief workers and soldiers rushed relief goods to thousands of marooned villagers and moved them to safer places as the death toll from floods in India's southern and western states reached 303, news reports said Wednesday.Water-levels in the flood-devastated southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka continued to recede with the rains subsiding as the local administration distributed food rations and other relief material.The floods, described as the worst in the region in 60 years, left at least 2.5 million homeless and caused a loss of 320 billion rupees (6.7 billion dollars), government officials said.At least 206 people have been killed in Karnataka alone, the PTI news agency reported, adding that the death toll in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh state had reached 63.The western Maharashtra state registered 34 deaths in the floods driven by days of torrential rains around last weekend. October 5, 2009: "The heaviest flood in over a 100 years hit the Prakasam Barrage on Krishna River threatening several villages downstream even as the toll due to heavy rains and rampaging floods in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka climbed to 205. Andhra Pradesh & Karnatka are under the grip of flash floods. Several towns and villages in the state, particularly in Kurnool, Mahabubnagar and Krishna districts in Andhra Pradesh, have been inundated with the mighty Krishna river and its tributaries in spate for the past four days" October 2, 2009: " MORE THAN 200 people have died in torrential rain in southern India over the past five days and nearly a million people have been displaced in the worst downpour in a over a century.Officials yesterday said 170 had died in Karnataka state and another 37 in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh as incessant showers lashed the region, submerging towns and villages, snapping transport and communications links and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.With thousands still trapped in remote flood-hit areas, the death toll could significantly increase, officials say.There is also the prospect of disease spreading in relief camps crowded mostly with poor people, forced to flee their poorly constructed mud and stone homes and now facing shortages of clean drinking water and protection from mosquitoes.Television reports showed thousands of people waving from rooftops at air force helicopters carrying relief materials while others were clinging precariously to tree branches in areas that remained largely inaccessible after four days of flooding.“Most of the deaths were largely due to houses collapsing in the flash floods,” H V Parashwanath of Karnataka’s disaster monitoring agency in the provincial capital Bangalore said.“There is death and destruction all around us,” senior provincial minister Basavaraj Bommai said, adding that large tracts of agricultural land including sugar cane and paddy fields were inundated, likely to cause hardship for poor farmers when the water recedes.Scores of military helicopters dropped food and drinking water to thousands of marooned villages and hundreds of naval divers rescued people trapped in swirling floodwaters.Army soldiers used boats to ferry villagers stranded on rooftops to government schools or relief camps on higher ground but facilities there were poor and overcrowded.More than 700 relief centres had been set up in the contiguous states to accommodate nearly 500,000 homeless people, a number barely enough to accommodate the numbers flocking to them.Personnel from India’s National Disaster Response Force were also deployed and officials said hundreds of doctors were labouring to halt the outbreak of disease.“We are deploying medical teams in the affected areas to prevent the occurrence of epidemics,” S Subramanyam, special commissioner for disaster management in Andhra Pradesh’s capital Hyderabad, said.And though the rain lessened somewhat yesterday, flooding worsened after authorities released water from rain-swollen reservoirs and dams in both states to prevent them from bursting their banks and wreaking further havoc.Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, who ordered an aerial survey of the flooded region, has asked the federal administration for $2 billion dollars in aid to help rebuild homes and provide basic relief to those affected.Ironically, a fortnight earlier parts of the flood-ravaged regions were suffering severe drought following insufficient monsoon rains.Weather officials said an area of low pressure over the Bay of Bengal had triggered the devastating downpour.However, environmentalists said global warming and climate change were responsible for both the drought and the unseasonal rain, and they urged the government and the international community to implement remedial measures swiftly. 3550 119 FL-2009-000216-ITA Italy Messina, Sicily 2009-10-01T00:00:00.000 2009-10-02T00:00:00.000 2 22 Torrential Rain 2 1227 3.6909045540549665 15.73 38.11 0 24 0 114 2009-10-01T00:00:00.000 841 3024 Italian government declared a state of emergency after flash floods and mudslides hit the southern town of Messina in Sicily leaving at least 20 dead and 35 missing 3549 118 TS-2009-000209-ASM, TS-2009-000210-TON American Samoa Samoa Tonga 2009-09-29T00:00:00.000 2009-09-29T00:00:00.000 1 100 Tsunami 2 207300 5.6176292977578424 -173.45 -13.8 0 24 1 114 2009-09-29T00:00:00.000 841 3024 Tonga: Initial assessments indicate that 800 people have been displaced 76 homes have been destroyed There have been 9 confirmed deaths and a further 5 people in critical condition have been flown to Nuku?alofa 3548 117 TC-2009-000205-VNM TC-2009-000205-KHM Viet Nam Cambodia Laos Central Coastal Vietnam, Kambong Thom province, Cambodia 2009-09-28T00:00:00.000 2009-10-01T00:00:00.000 4 182 357000 Tropical storm Ketsana 2 49030 5.5935518802381221 107.98 14.9 0 24 1 113 2009-09-28T00:00:00.000 841 3023 October 21, 2009: "VIENTIANE, 26 October 2009 (IRIN) - Farmers in southern Laos who lost their harvests to floods caused by Typhoon Ketsana face a year of hunger if they do not receive rice seeds soon to replant their crops, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warns.Serge Verniau, the FAO's representative in Laos, said Ketsana had destroyed the harvest intended to feed families for the next six months, as well as seed stocks for the next cropping season in November, and the harvest from March to April 2010."The timeframe is extremely limited to plant. We have November," Verniau told IRIN, adding that with funding, the agency would be able dispatch rice seeds from national seed centres to farmers within 10 days."We do know that the families that we plan to reach could grow rice immediately, and could prepare their soil and immediately have nurseries and transplant the rice. So that's why there is urgency," he said.The FAO has asked for US$1,780,000 as part of a $10 million flash appeal launched last week to help victims of Ketsana, which on 29 September damaged an estimated 28,500ha of rice and crop fields". October 1, 2009: "At least nine people have died in Kampong Thom province in central Cambodia due to Typhoon Ketsana on 30 September 2009".September 30, 2009: "The biggest floods in decades threatened Vietnam's central provinces on Wednesday following a powerful typhoon that swept into the country after wreaking havoc in the Philippines.The government said 38 people had died and 10 were missing in floods and landslides in eight coastal and central highland provinces. River waters in Quang Nam province could reach a level last seen in 1964 by Wednesday evening, weather reports said."From the air, one can see many areas around Danang being isolated by floods," a Reuters witness said. "Sea waves pounded the road along Danang's beach and threw several ships onshore."Typhoon Ketsana slammed into Vietnam late on Tuesday dumping torrential rain across central Vietnam that left 294,000 homes destroyed, damaged or submerged by floods. Around 357,000 people in 10 provinces were evacuated.The region hit by Ketsana lies far north of Vietnam's Mekong Delta rice basket. Rain dumped on the Central Highlands coffee belt could delay the start of the next coffee harvest by up to 10 days, but exports would not be affected, traders said.Ketsana had weakened to a tropical storm after moving into Laos and Cambodia on Tuesday night, weather forecasters said.Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai urged authorities to quickly resume power supplies to the typhoon-hit region, including Quang Ngai province where Vietnam's first oil refinery, Dung Quat, was due to reopen on Wednesday after an outage shut the plant's test runs last month.The 140,000-bpd Dung Quat plant will resume operations later on Wednesday as scheduled after repairs, with typhoon Ketsana doing no damage to the facility, a Petrovietnam official said.Ketsana hit the Philippines at the weekend, killing 246 people, leaving another 42 missing, and causing damages totaling more than $100 million, officials said. The Asian Development Bank pledged $3 million for emergency relief efforts, and other countries including Japan, Australia, Spain and Malaysia have also pledged aid. 3547 116 TC-2009-000205-PHL Philippines Mindanao, Manilla and surrounding provinces 2009-09-25T00:00:00.000 2009-10-01T00:00:00.000 7 420 200000 Tropical storm Ketsana/Ondoy 2 25300 5.5492485568540557 120.75 14.87 0 24 1 112 2009-09-25T00:00:00.000 841 3022 December 6, 2009: " PANGIL, Laguna—Salustia dela Cruz, 68, will likely serve dried fish for “noche buena” this year instead of the usual “pancit” (noodles) and “calamay” (rice delicacy).There will also be no gift-giving.Dela Cruz is one of the 402 farmers in seven villages here whose rice fields were submerged when Tropical Storms “Ondoy” and “Santi” struck in September.“We may soon become like those living in cemeteries who have nothing to eat if we are not able to plant in January,” she said.Dela Cruz had relied on rice farming for her main source of income since 1960.Her 1.5-hectare rice field in Barangay Sulib was submerged and her mango trees were destroyed by Ondoy. She was able to salvage 15 cavans of rice from her field which she has kept for her family consumption.Now, she cannot pay any of the loans she used up for her previous crop. At least 410 hectares of rice fields were submerged and about 85 percent of the yield (1,400 metric tons) lost due to the typhoons, with farmers losing a total of P8.74 million in production cost.As of Saturday, 255 hectares remained under water, municipal agriculturist Marina Valera said. Councilor Jun Astoveza estimated that it might take up to February before water in 70 percent of the rice fields recede.Their debts piling up, farmers need to be able to plant in January, the schedule in their planting calendar.Astoveza admitted that they had yet to give special assistance to the farmers although some had received relief goods.Sep 29, 2009: "Associated Press Writer Teresa Cerojano. The toll from floods in the northern Philippines rose to at least 284 dead or missing Tuesday as bedraggled victims queued up for aid and Typhoon Ketsana roared into Vietnam.The storm, which struck Manila and surrounding provinces on Saturday, gathered strength across the South China Sea, and claimed at least 23 lives as it made landfall Tuesday in central Vietnam, where 170,000 were evacuated from its path. It was weakening as it headed west into Laos.Two new storms were brewing in the Pacific and threatened to complicate relief efforts in the Philippines, officials said.The homes of nearly 1.9 million people in Manila and surrounding areas were inundated in the weekend flooding, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said. Nearly 380,000 people have sought shelter in schools, churches and other evacuation centers.The council said 246 were confirmed dead late Tuesday, with 38 missing" September 28, 2009: (Bloomberg) -- "The death toll in the Philippines mounted as the government said that it’s struggling to cope with the effects of flooding brought on by the heaviest rains in four decades. Two more storms formed east of the country.At least 140 are confirmed dead, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro told reporters in Manila today. The tally doesn’t include deaths that haven’t yet been reported to his department by local government agencies, he said. Waters have been receding since Tropical Storm Ketsana passed two days ago, though many people remain in areas that are still flooded.“We really feel their anger and pain, but it is physically impossible to reach each and every one with the conditions that we face,” Teodoro said.Ketsana, called Ondoy in the Philippines, was over the South China Sea heading toward Vietnam today, according to the U.S. Navy Joint Typhoon Warning center. The storm strengthened to a typhoon with winds of 148 kilometers (92 miles) per hour and was 470 kilometers east of Hue at 1 p.m. Vietnamese time.In the Philippines, as many as 116,000 people are being sheltered in 205 evacuation centers, the National Disaster Coordinating Council agency said. More than 400,000 people were affected in Manila, a city of almost 12 million people, and surrounding areas." "A massive relief operation is underway in the northern Philippines to help those affected by the most severe flooding in more than 40 years. The death toll from the disaster continues to rise. But the Philippine government is overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster.Government agencies are scrambling to find shelter, food and basic supplies for hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the floods. Television stations, schools, churches and private groups have appealed nationwide for donations as the country struggles to deal with the aftermath of Tropical Storm Ketsana.The storm brought heavy rains to the northern Philippines Saturday, inundating most of the capital Manila and surrounding provinces. Surging water washed away buildings and cars. Scores of people were killed and many are still missing.Authorities say they are overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster. Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro says the government is doing everything it can to help."Those who are still in their homes and do not want to leave we would push basic necessities to them as fast as possible," Teodoro said.But the government has yet to officially appeal for international assistance, relying on help from relief agencies in the country.Vilma Cabrera is assistant secretary of the Philippine Social Welfare Department, the agency in charge of relief operations."Right now we need mats, blankets, mosquito nets, cooking utensils. We need hygiene kits and we need flashlights and lighting equipments," Cabrera said.Two days after the flooding, rescue and relief operations continue to be hampered by the lack of rubber boats and helicopters.Many victims are demanding answers from local authorities for the lack of advance warning and the slow response to the emergency. Victims said they were stranded on their rooftops for hours before help arrived.The disaster comes at a sensitive time in the Philippines, less than a year before national elections. The defense secretary has been nominated by the ruling coalition as its presidential candidate.Flood waters in some areas subsided Monday but thousands of homes are still without power. People have been warned of water-borne diseases. Schools are closed until Tuesday and many offices remain shut." Tropical Cyclone,Philippines: At least 54 people were killed as tropical storm Ketsana battered a wide area in the Philippines 3546 115 Spain Cartegena 2009-09-27T00:00:00.000 2009-09-28T00:00:00.000 2 Heavy Rain 1 2459 3.6917885244026984 -0.14000000000000001 38.770000000000003 0 24 0 111 2009-09-27T00:00:00.000 841 3021 September 28, 2009: " Madrid - Heavy rains Monday practically cut off the coastal city of Cartagena in south-eastern Spain, radio reports said.Most roads into the city of 200,000 residents were inundated. The flooding left streets under water and disrupted traffic in the city.Rains also sparked flooding in other places in the region, leaving a number of motorists stuck in their vehicles. ." 3545 114 FL-2009-000207-VNM Viet Nam 2009-09-25T00:00:00.000 2009-09-28T00:00:00.000 4 17 40000 Heavy Rain 1.5 47600 5.4557582031041365 108.02 15.19 0 24 1 111 2009-09-25T00:00:00.000 841 3021 September 28: "Hanoi - Four days of floods killed at least 17 people and left six missing in central Vietnam, the country's Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control said Monday.Heavy rains destroyed more than 9,600 homes and flooded some 2,500 hectares of rice and 5,800 hectares of vegetables, officials said. Twenty three fishing boats were reported sunk. The Central Hydro-Meteorological Forecast Center said a low pressure zone over the South China Sea caused rainfall of 300-400 millimetres since Thursday in the five central provinces. It warned Monday that those provinces are also likely to be hit by tropical storm Ketsana on Wednesday, with wind speeds of over 120 kilometres per hour, likely causing more floods.In the Philippines, Ketsana caused the heaviest rains since 1967, killing at least 73 people and displacing more than 330,000" Flood,Viet Nam: The heavy rain beginning from September 25 caused flood making 23 people dead and lost 3544 113 FL-2009-000203-USA USA Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee 2009-09-21T00:00:00.000 2009-09-28T00:00:00.000 8 8 220 Heavy Rain 1.5 225400 6.4321351577577124 -84.84 34.46 1 24 1 110 2009-09-21T00:00:00.000 841 3020 Flood,United States: Floods in US Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee have claimed at least 8 lives, more than 220 have taken refuge in shelters. 3543 112 Mexico Veracruz State, Xalapa 2009-09-10T00:00:00.000 2009-09-19T00:00:00.000 10 Heavy Rain 2 33560 5.8268519478206438 -95.31 18.52 0 23 1 109 2009-09-10T00:00:00.000 840 3019 September 20, 2009: "Mexico's east coastal state Veracruz Friday asked army soldiers for help, after 2,450 buildings were flooded in Xalapa, capital of the state."We have had an unprecedented rainy season in Xalapa. There have been nine days and nine nights of intense rain, a great deluge," State Governor Fidel Herrera told media on Friday during a tour in the affected areas.Around 40 localities have been hit in the city and some now have water 1.5 meters deep. Five houses have collapsed due to weak foundations and 15 schools have been closed due to flood damage.On Thursday, authorities reported that some 18,000 people in Veracruz had lost contact with the outside world due to strong rains while 17 areas in the state reported landslides, which blocked highways and stranded 35 towns.In sharp contrast to July's drought, strong rain in August and September, which was around 20 percent more than normal level, destroyed crops that would have produced up to 1.5 million tons of corn.Mexican authorities have attributed the extreme weather to El Nino, a periodic change in the atmosphere and ocean of the tropical Pacific region." 3542 111 Ghana Northern Region 2009-09-17T00:00:00.000 2009-09-21T00:00:00.000 5 5000 Heavy Rain, Dam Release 2 73810 5.868115205327217 -0.99 8.85 0 23 1 108 2009-09-17T00:00:00.000 840 3018 September 19, 2009: Tamale,GNA - More than 991 houses and 11,295 farms have been destroyed in the Northern Region, following persistent rainfall and spillage from Bagre and Kompienga dams in Burkina Faso. The worst affected communities are West Mamprusi and West Gonja Districts popularly known as the "overseas" which are partly covered by water and cut of from the rest of the region.Mr. Stephen Sumani Nayina, Northern Regional Minister, disclosed this at a press briefing on the flood situation in Tamale on Friday. He said the main road through Nawuni and Daboya in the Northern Region and Sandema in the Upper East Region were cut off as a result of the over flooding of the Kulpawn, Sisili and White Volta rivers. Mr. Nayina said: "A helicopter is urgently needed to enable us ascertain the condition of the over 80,000 people living within that area".He said the floods had seriously affected the Tolon/Kumbungu, Saboba, Zabzugu/Tatale, Nanumba South, Yendi and Kpandi Districts along the Oti River.Mr Nayina said 214 communities and 63,030 persons had been affected by the floods, five schools had collapsed, four deaths were recorded and two people injured.He said roads and bridges were damaged and most of the communities could only be reached by boat or canoe.Mr Nayina said water sources including more than 500 hand dug wells and boreholes had been contaminated and expressed fear that this could result in diarrhoea and other diseases. He said the region urgently needed relief items such as maize, rice, beans, cooking oil and utensils, salt, sugar, mats, lanterns, used clothing and medical supplies like drugs and detergents. Mr Nayina appealed to individuals, organisations, development partners and countries to assist the victims to relocate, reconstruct their houses and to rehabilitate destroyed infrastructure... 3541 110 FF-2009-000196-IDN Indonesia North Sumatra 2009-09-15T00:00:00.000 2009-09-16T00:00:00.000 2 38 Torrential Rain 2 47760 5.2811243094492752 98.59 2.89 0 23 1 107 2009-09-15T00:00:00.000 840 3017 September 16, 2009: "FF-2009-000196-IDN Flash Flood,Indonesia: At least 38 people were killed in flash floods in a remote region of Indonesia's North Sumatra province Tuesday, a spokesman for the provincial government said.. 3540 109 Nigeria Zamfara State, Gusau 2009-09-10T00:00:00.000 2009-09-18T00:00:00.000 9 3000 Heavy Rain 2 64200 6.0628075331721591 5.68 12.26 1 23 1 106 2009-09-10T00:00:00.000 840 3016 September 21, 2009: "After the floods that destroyed crops and made thousands homeless in Zamfara State recently, the State governor, Alhaji Mahmuda Aliyu Shinkafi has sought assistance of the Federal Government over the disaster.The flood did not only damage houses in Gusau, the capital city of the State, it also affected adjoining towns where more than ten-thousand hectares of farmland were destroyed.It also exumed over 100 dead bodies from their graves and destroyed more than 5,000 houses across all the affected local government areas in the State.Other areas affected by the flood include Kaura-Namoda, Birnin Magaji, Anka and Bukkuyum local governments.While lamenting the effects of the flooding, Gov. Shinkafi said in a statement that, “flooding is the most common natural disaster all over the world and it could be really expensive in financial terms. In the case of Zamfara state, Shinkafi disclosed that, “so many people have been made homeless apart from the fact that it has caused damage to roads, electricity and water supplies. The damage is so enormous that we cannot but call for the assistance of the Federal Government in order to help provide funding to encourage forestry, which would go a long way in arresting flooding now and in the future.”The governor expressed sadness that, there was no doubt that the next harvesting season would not give less than the anticipated result, pointing out that, rice plantains, animals as well as other crops were badly affected.He therefore called on both the Federal Ministries of Environment and Water Resources, “to come to our rescue by encouraging dredging, digging channels, and building dams. We appeal to the Federal Government to come to our aid to help in flood prevention and defense schemes as well as in the provision of centers for people evacuated from their homes and arrange temporary accommodation for them. He also sympathised with those, whose lives were negatively affected by the flood. . 3539 108 India 2009-09-06T00:00:00.000 2009-09-10T00:00:00.000 5 37000 Dam release 2 25500 5.4065401804339555 88.06 25.53 0 22 1 105 2009-09-06T00:00:00.000 839 3015 September 11, 2009: "The situation in six flood-hit West Bengal districts - which claimed six lives and affected 1.7 million people - was still grim though there were signs of some improvement after the rains slackened off, officials said.However, the Kangsabati river continued to flow above the danger mark in East Midnapore.With the rains easing up, there was no release of extra water from the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) reservoir in the past two days, a state government official said here Friday.'The situation in both worst affected districts, Kolkata's adjoining Howrah and Hooghly, is now under control. We've sent an adequate number of boats and other relief materials to the flood affected pockets,' said Dinesh Majumdar, an official of state Civil Defence.District administration officials in East Midnapore's Moyna block said several villages were inundated after the Kangsabati river breached embankments, while food and relief materials were air-dropped at Khanakul and Pursura of Hooghly district.According to state Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta, three people have died in Bankura, and one each in Udainaraynpur of Howrah district, and in Khanakul in West Midnapore district in the floods.So far, 37,000 people have been evacuated from the inundated areas.The floods were caused by a heavy discharge of water from the reservoirs of the DVC following heavy rains in the catchment areas. However, after requests from the state government, the outflow had been brought down to 1.1 lakh cusecs over the past two-three days.. 3538 107 FL-2009-000192-MEX Mexico 2009-09-01T00:00:00.000 2009-09-10T00:00:00.000 10 Heavy Rain 1 34560 5.5385737338068557 -99.25 19.5 0 22 1 104 2009-09-01T00:00:00.000 839 3014 Flood,Mexico: Mexican Govt declared state of calamity for Tlalnepantla de Baz and Atizapen de Zaragoza in the Estado de Mexico, due to heavy rains and floods. 3537 106 TC-2009-000193-PHL Philippines 2009-09-01T00:00:00.000 2009-09-10T00:00:00.000 10 9 Tropical Storm 2 36440 5.8626083639649416 121.37 17.23 0 22 1 103 2009-09-01T00:00:00.000 839 3013 Tropical Cyclone,Philippines: Nine have died or have gone missing due to tropical depression Maring that spawned rains and landslides in northern Philippines while the number of affected people doubled to over 300,000 3536 105 Turkey Istanbul 2009-09-07T00:00:00.000 2009-09-10T00:00:00.000 4 31 Torrential Rain 2 3167 4.4037380503638559 28.95 41.09 0 22 1 102 2009-09-07T00:00:00.000 839 3012 10-Septembert-2009: "Record floods left at least 31 people dead and large parts of Istanbul under water on Wednesday as desperate motorists caught in flash floods clambered up trees to save themselves from drowning.Turkey's Interior Minister Besir Atalay expressed fear that the death toll may rise as the waters began receding from large swathes of the city after several hours of flash flooding triggered by record rainfall overnight."Twenty-four people have died in Istanbul and seven others" in the province of Tekirdag, to the west of Istanbul, Atalay told a press conference here.The biggest loss of life occurred in Istanbul on Wednesday where 21 people died in the European quarter of the city straddling the Bosphorus Strait, a day after three people lost their lives in outlying western suburbs.Istanbul governor Muammer Guler had earlier in the day that eight people were still unaccounted for.Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was expected to fly to Istanbul to observe the damage of the disaster which officials and experts blamed on both record rainfall and the unplanned urbanization of the city which saw buildings constructed on river beds.After hours of pounding rain described by Environment Minister Veysel Eroglu as the "worst in 500 years," the flood waters gushed through streets of Istanbul, washing away parked vehicles and swamping houses.Several motorists were stranded as a major highway connecting the city to the international airport was inundated, with water levels rising to two meters (six feet) in some sections.Motorists could be seen clambering on to the roof of their stalled vehicles waiting to be rescued, while others climbed up trees.Rescuers recovered 13 bodies at a truck park in the district of Basaksehir, one of the worst affected areas, the NTV news channel reported.Anatolia quoted survivors as saying that the flood waters came while the truck drivers were asleep in their vehicles, raising the water level to 5 meters in 10 minutes and giving them little chance to run to higher ground.Once the flood waters receded, the park was left under a thick layer of mud with trucks toppled over on the sides or piled on on top of each other.In the neighbouring district of Halkali, seven women drowned when they were swept away by the flood as they tried to get out of their stranded minibus taking them to work at a textile factory, Guler explained."The minibus was right at the front of the factory. It was hit by water coming from both sides. Those at the front managed to get out, but those at the back could not," the governor said.Istanbul authorities launched a major rescue operation, deploying 900 fire fighters and rescuers, six military helicopters and 30 inflatable dinghies.Television footage showed helicopters winching people stranded on vehicles or trees to safety.The Istanbul mayor's office said more than 1,000 people had been rescued since Tuesday.Anatolia said there were incidents of looting in some shops in areas affected by the flood where people were walking away with dinner sets, irons and electric kettles.Officials said it was too early to say how much damage the flooding had caused in Istanbul, but insurers put the damage between 70 to 150 million dollars (48 to 103 million euros).. ." 3535 104 Mauritania Guinea Chad Burkino Faso 2009-08-10T00:00:00.000 2009-09-02T00:00:00.000 24 42 300000 Heavy Rain 1 4814000 8.062717327650617 2.94 16.45 1 22 1 101 2009-08-10T00:00:00.000 839 3011 2-September-2009: "Officials say that torrential rains have killed at least five people in Burkina Faso's capital and forced nearly 110,000 from their homes.Minister of Social Welfare Pascaline Tamini said on state radio Wednesday that she expects the number of people affected to grow significantly in the coming hours. President Blaise Compaore appealed to the international community for help.The rains, which began early Tuesday morning, are among the worst to have hit the capital in recent memory. Two years ago, heavy rains caused flooding throughout the country, killing 84 people and displacing 146,000.Among the many building that flooded Tuesday was the capital's main hospital, forcing the evacuation of patients, including some with infectious diseases.1-Septembert-2009: "Across West Africa residents are crossing streets in canoes, carrying babies overhead in suitcases and navigating waist-high water to find shelter.This rainy season as of 27 August at least 37 people are dead from flooding across West and parts of Central Africa, more than 20,000 displaced living in shelters or with relatives and some 3,600 families homeless, according to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) West and Central Africa office.The figures change daily as heavy rains continue. Two children were reported drowned in Mauritania from 28 to 29 August flooding that affected some 3,500 families, according to local authorities."I don't even know what to say," a woman in the Coronthie neighbourhood of the Guinea capital Conakry told IRIN on 28 August, a day after the area flooded. "We are trapped by water."Mohamed Diaby, 19, of Coronthie said: "We put my brother's nine-month-old twins in a suitcase to bring them to a safer area. That was something you saw all over the neighbourhood."August 2009 flooding in the Chad capital N'djamenaHe said people were in tears as sacks of rice lay saturated in some homes. A 50-kilogram sack of rice generally costs 160.000 Guinean francs (US$32) – about half of some civil servants' monthly pay. Prices commonly rise during Ramadan, the Muslim month of dawn-to-dusk fasting, which much of the region's population is observing.IFRC, which is working with governments and local volunteers to provide emergency aid to stricken families, said in a 28 August statement that the agency must urgently restock relief supplies to face needs in the region. Red Cross volunteers are distributing mosquito nets, tarpaulins, jerry cans, blankets, water purification tablets and soap. ." 3534 103 China Sichuan 2009-08-28T00:00:00.000 2009-09-01T00:00:00.000 5 12 118000 Heavy Rain 1 81300 5.6090605499300867 105.15 26.62 0 21 1 100 2009-08-28T00:00:00.000 838 3010 1-Septembert-2009: "CHENGDU: Floods and landslides triggered by heavy rain on Sunday has left seven people dead and two missing in Southwest China's Sichuan province, an of