Extreme weather

Flash flooding causes chaos across swathe of England

Flash floods caused chaos in a swathe of England as a month's worth of rainfall fell in the space of an hour.

the Telegraph,

8 August, 2014

Eight-hundreds homes in Cambridgeshire were left without power, the bank of the River Nene collapsed and an air display of Lancaster Bombers at RAF Coningsby in Linconshire had to be cancelled

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Homes were evacuated in both counties and in Norfolk, and two supermarkets were closed with shoppers reporting water pouring in through the ceiling.

Emergency services were stretched helping people out of their homes and drivers who had become stranded in vehicle as the flood water overwhelmed them.

The police and fire brigade warned people not to venture out in their cars, and not to drive through standing water.

Camrbidgeshire Fire service group commander Ryan Stacey said: "We have seven crews currently in the March, Doddington and Wisbech St Mary areas, 
assisting with evacuating residents, salvaging and pumping water out of homes.

"The exact number of properties affected cannot be confirmed, but we understand that we are assisting currently at least 60 properties.

"Don't try to drive through standing water - as well as the water damaging your car, there may be hazards under the water you can't see."

There were also reports of flash flooding in west Norfolk. The county fire service said officers have been dealing with around 40 flood-related calls.

Chief Inspector Nick Night from Cambridgeshire Police said: "We are assisting partner agencies including the Highways Agency, Fire and Rescue Service, 
Fenland District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council with road closures, evacuating residents and pulling vehicles out of flood water.

Driver Richard Mayer, 32, who became trapped in his car in Bar Hill, 

Cambridgeshire, told the BBC: "Water is lapping over the kerb now. People can walk through it, but it's far more than you'd want to drive through.

"I'm sitting in my car on the pavement in order to maintain some height just down from the Bar Hill roundabout near Tesco.

"There are cars everywhere and the flooding is getting worse as people are trying to drive through it, but their engines are cutting out which is causing them to block the road."

Two missing after fresh Bosnian floods wreak more heavy damage

Residents made homeless from first round of floods wait for emergency funds as state of emergency is declared

The Guardian,

8 August, 2014

Police in Bosnia-Herzegovina are searching for two people swept away during the second bout of torrential rainfall since May, when the Balkans were hit by the worst floods in more than a century.

The body of a woman was recovered on Thursday from the muddy bank of a river in northwestern Bosnia, and two people were listed as missing, police said.

The country suffered almost €2bn (£1.6bn) worth of damage to homes, infrastructure and industry in May, when heavy rains caused rivers to burst their banks, sweep away roads and bridges and set off hundreds of landslides. More than 20 people died in Bosnia and more than 60 in Serbia.

There were similar scenes, on a lesser scale, this week in Bosnia and parts of Serbia, where a man drowned in his cellar on Tuesday.

Residents in Zeljezno Polje, in the central part of the country, who lost their homes in May saw their village cut off again this week. Gathering in the nearby town of Zepce, they called on local authorities to give them land to build new houses, clean the river bed and repair roads and power supplies before winter.

"I have lived in a tent in the woods since May," villager Besim Tutnjic told Reuters by telephone from Zepce. "The tent is now gone; we've received no help from the authorities and we don't know what to do or where to go."

Tutnjic and 16 other members of his extended family were among hundreds of angry villagers who blocked the main road linking the towns of Zenica and Zepce.

Last month, international donors pledged more than €1.8bn to aid the recovery and rebuilding in Bosnia and Serbia.

A lack of co-ordination between Bosnia's two autonomous regions, created as a weak and dysfunctional union after the country's 1992-95 war, means none of the money allocated to Bosnia has yet been put to use. Donors say they will fund projects, which have still to be agreed on by the rival entities.

"The money has been promised; where is the money?" said Tutnjic, who said he spent the night in a chair in front of the Zepce municipal building. "The government has made promises and done nothing, while we live in fear of rain each day."

The government of the mainly Bosniak and Croat Federation, which together with the Serb Republic makes up Bosnia, declared a state of emergency on Thursday and allocated urgent funding for the worst hit areas.

Brace for a September ‘polar vortex’

Winter, spring ,summer fall, what do all four seasons have in common boys and girls? That's right the Polar Vortex effect all year round!!!! Quoting from the article: 

"Temperatures [in the Northeast] will not be as extreme in November when compared to last year, but October could be an extreme month,” he said on Accuweather’s website."

Power outages, some flooding for parts of Maui

Travis Herzog‏@HerzogWeather

There are currently 4 tropical cyclones tracking across the Pacific Ocean! #Halong #Genevieve #Iselle #Julio pic.twitter.com/Sd6JK1t4tA

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Northern India: Cloud burst in Kashi, many feared trapped

Once again cloud burst in Kashi makes many people feared trapped, NDRF team in action to recover all of them

Typhoon Halong Barreling Toward Japan

Typhoon Halong continues to barrel toward Japan, where lives and property will be severely threatened.

Accuweather,

9 August, 2014

The strength of Halong is expected to be equivalent to that of a Category 1 hurricane as it sideswipes Kyushu Saturday local time and slams into western Shikoku Saturday evening.

Maximum sustained winds at that time will be 120 to 145 kph (75 to 90 mph), with some higher gusts possible.

The dangerous typhoon will impact Japan much sooner.

While the outer rain bands and winds graze Okinawa and Kadena Air Base, rain, wind and pounding surf increased from south to north across the rest of the Ryukyu Islands Friday night.

The small island of Minamidaitōjima, southeast of Okinawa, was hit especially hard during the day on Thursday, local time, as over 4 inches (100 mm) of rain hit the island in just 24 hours.

Conditions will deteriorate in a similar fashion across Kyushu, Shikoku and western Honshu through Saturday evening as Halong approaches, then crosses mainland Japan.

Eastern Kyushu, Shikoku and western Honshu are bracing for the worst of Halong with widespread flooding rain, damaging winds and an inundating storm surge.

Rainfall amounts will top 150 mm (6 inches) with widespread wind gusts between 95 and 130 kph (60 and 80 mph). Destructive wind gusts between 130 and 160 kph (80 and 100 mph) will slam the southern coasts of Shikoku and western Honshu (in the vicinity of Fukuyama and Okayama).

Some locations across Shikoku can pick up 500 mm (20 inches) of rain as Halong crosses right over the region.

The torrential rain from Halong can alone cause severe flooding and mudslides. However, recent heavy rain from Tropical Storm Nakri and a stalled frontal boundary have exacerbated the danger.

One location in Kochi Prefecture measured a record 1,186 mm (46.69 inches) in 72 hours, ending on Tuesday, according to information from the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Earlier in the week, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Eric Leister reported that Nakri brought 250-500 mm (10-20 inches) of rain to some places in Kyushu and Shikoku, according to observation sites across these islands. Multiple locations received more than 10 inches within a single day.

Tokyo will escape Halong's worst but will still be subject to 25 to 50 mm (1 to 2 inches) of rain and wind gusts to 80 kph (50 mph) over the weekend. The strongest winds will howl Sunday and could cause sporadic power outages and tree damage.

Later in the weekend, western Japan will dry out as Halong tracks through the Sea of Japan and some rain and gusty winds spread across northern Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido.

Halong should then slam into Russia's Maritime Territory on Monday, unleashing flooding rain and damaging winds. The strongest wind gusts, ranging from 95 to 115 kph (60 to 70 mph), will blast the coastline.

Halong is expected to be a tropical storm or losing its tropical characteristics during its final landfall. Without the necessary fuel of the warm waters, Halong will quickly weaken as it moves northward into Russia with downpours and diminishing winds.