Flooding in Kentucky, Raging Wildfires in California

Many rescued in Kentucky amid severe flooding caused by heavy rains

At least 12 people were rescued from floodwaters and about 400 others evacuated after torrential rains hit Louisville area.

“The deluge swamped low-lying areas and flooded streets, trapping people in their homes and cars, as the area was drenched with 6 inches of rain in less than 24 hours,” said a report.

Wildfire burns 1,500 acres, forces hundreds of evacuations

A raging brushfire at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base forced the evacuation of 230 residents from the O’Neill Heights housing area and 22 patients from the base hospital, said a report.

The blaze damaged at least four buildings, but no injuries were reported.

“More than 200 firefighters from the Camp Pendleton Fire Department and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection were battling the blaze. They were assisted by six air tankers and five helicopters,” said the report.

Large blaze reported in southeast Orange County

Meantime, a large blaze was burning out of control in Silverado, an unincorporated area of southeast Orange County, near the edge of the Cleveland National Forest.

The blaze was driven by Santa Ana winds of about 10 mph amid extremely dry conditions, with relative humidity of 7%, LATimes reported.

“The fire started about 10:10 a.m. in a large mulch pile at a nursery in the 27900 block of Baker Canyon Road, said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi.”

More than 125 fire personnel were trying to contain the flames, so far without any success. The exact size of the fire was not known, as of posting.

US Southeast floods kill at least 10

Bury your car before it buries you!

Image of the Day: Another washed out bridge

A washed out bridge is shown Monday, Sept. 21, 2009 in Douglasville, Ga. Heavy rain caused flooding in and around the Atlanta area. (AP Photo/John Bazemore). Image may be subject to copyright.

Floods triggered by torrential rain have blocked roads, killing at least a dozen people  in the south-eastern US, including six in the state of Georgia.

One of the victims was reported to be a two-year-old boy who was swept from his father’s arms in one of the worst affected areas, Carroll County, where violent floodwaters  destroyed  the boy’s mobile home.

ANOTHER RAINY NIGHT IN GEORGIA: A motorist abandons her car on Interstate 85 near Lilburn, Ga. early Monday morning after a stalled tropical storm dumped about 60 cm (2ft) of rain in less than 48 hours in the region. (Curtis Compton /Atlanta Journal & Constitution /September 21, 2009, Via LATimes). Image may be subject to copyright.

“Hundreds of roads and bridges were under water or washed out in the Atlanta area and other parts of the state, including 17 bridges on state and interstate highways.” AP reported.

Water rose as high as window-level on some houses in North Carolina’s Polk County, forcing emergency officials to evacuate homes along a seven-mile stretch of road. Flooding in more than 20 counties in western North Carolina closed roads, delayed school and forced evacuations.

As 60cm  (2ft) of rain fell in less than 48 hours, the Governor of Georgia Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency in 17 counties.

“We are currently focused on rescuing victims of the storms targeting Georgia and preventing further damage,” Perdue said. “State personnel and equipment are being deployed to assist effected communities.”

“Remember, flash floods are the No. 1 weather-related killer in the United States,”  AFP reported Charley English, director of Georgia’s Emergency Management Agency as saying. “Turn around when you come to a flooded area; never drive through flooded roads.”

the states of Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee have also been affected by flooding, as more heavy rain and flash floods were forecast for the region.

Related News Links:

Storms Pound Southeast; Motorists Trapped In Cars Die As ‘Historic’ Rains Swamp Roads

Related Links:

• FEWW FORECAST: 2009 Likely Wettest Year on Record

• Nature Rejects More Cars
• Car burial day in S. Korea
• Nature’s Assault on Cars Continues
• Drought and Deluge
• Landslides, Floods, Extreme Rain Events

• CO2e Links Page
• World CO2 Emissions
• Carbon Footprint of Your Dollar
• New York Cognitive Dissonance
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• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities

US Daily Streamflow Conditions

Map of monthly-average streamflow for the month of year

Map of real-time streamflow compared to historical streamflow for the day of the year (United States)

Daily Streamflow Conditions – Stream gage levels in The United States, relative to 30 year average.

Source: WaterWatch, USGS

Annual Water Data Reports:

• 2008 Water Year
• 2007 Water Year
• 2006 Water Year
• Water Years Prior to 2006

• Visit the Water-Data Report Mapper

• 2005 Water Year

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A Shrinking World Series

Make No Mistake: Nature Always Has the Last Word!

Midwest Flood Update:

A dam near the Wisconsin Dells resort area broke on Monday, causing mudslides that swept away homes, as torrential rains caused more flooding across the U.S. Midwest.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle declared a state of emergency in 30 counties in the south of the state. In Iowa, where 33 counties were flooded, and Indiana, where flooding forced hundreds of people to evacuate homes in the central and western parts of the state, similar declarations have been made. Parts of Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota have been affected by flooding.

“This is an area that’s been bombarded with rain over the weekend, anywhere from 5 to 10 inches, and you’re dealing with saturated soils. So any rain that falls becomes run-off,” the National Weather Service’s Pat Slattery said.

OUCH! Too Close to the bank! Like the Kubeniks and the Pekars (see image caption), rivers are “living” creatures; they need room to complete their cycle of life!

The homes of the Kubeniks (R) and the Pekars are damaged after a dam broke at man-made Lake Delton, Wisconsin June 9 2008. REUTERS/Allen Fredrickson. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice.

“Flood damage estimated in the tens of millions of dollars were being added to recent storm damage in Iowa, including a tornado that flattened the town of Parkersburg two weeks ago.” Reuters reported.

In Iowa:

• The water treatment plant in Mason City was swamped by the Winnebago River.
• Three of four bridges in the town of Charles City were swept away by flooding of the Cedar River.
• The town of New Hartford was evacuated.

Corn and soybean fields were submerged under the floodwater in Midwestern states. Iowa and Illinois account for about 35% of U.S. corn and soybeans, usually the world’s largest harvests of those crops. However, the prospects of a bumper crop year were further eroded, following a wet spring that had already delayed planting. (Source)

Related Video:

• Home washed away in floods [like a matchbox!]

Related Links:

• US Tornado Brief
• UN Hypocrisy: Kick the CO2 Habit!
• Will California turn to desert by 2011?

• Italy: Submerged in Floodwaters, Sinking in Garbage

• Failing Ecosystems
• State of the World
• Future Scenarios
• First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
  
• Nuking Earth for Lifestyle

• Giga Trends
• World Problems: The Root Cause Matrix
• Tipping Point
• Topsoil
• Drying Aquifers, Sinking Cities

• The Economy
• Energy
• Food Security
• Future in the Making: A Shrinking World

• Flood Puts City in Iowa ‘at God’s Mercy’ Iowa, June 12, 2008
  

The World’s one harvest from starvation!

Italy: Submerged in Floodwaters, Sinking in Garbage

A Shrinking World Series

How Much More Floodwaters, Trash Before the Truth Sinks In?

As the Campania region in southwest italy is buried deeper in trash, the northwestern region of Piedmont, another of the country’s 20 regions, is submerged in floodwaters. The authorities declared a state of emergency in Turin and Val d’Aosta.

[Darn, I wonder what caused that!] A man surveys the damage caused by a landslide caused in Turin. (Photo: AFP) Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Eyewitnesses reported a five-meter high wall of mud engulfing houses in an Alpine village near the French border. A landslide caused by heavy rainfall has killed at least three people; a 3-year old girl was reported missing.

The floods also pose a serious risk to crops in the area. “The torrential rain and the Po [Italy’s longest river] and the Dora breaking their banks have meant many wheat fields are flooded and the harvest could be lost,” the Italian Farmers Confederation said in a statement.

The Po valley, Italy’s most fertile farming area, is also its most industrially developed. “There has been too much building, concreting-over and canalization along our rivers with devastating consequences that happen as soon as rains start,” said Michele Candotti of the Environmental group WWF Italia. (Source)

Related Links:

• Naples Garbage Opera – Act II
• Seeking Toxic Asylum