Tag Archives: flooding

Finland accuses Russia of flooding borders with Middle Eastern migrants in retaliation for cooperation with US – Fox News

  1. Finland accuses Russia of flooding borders with Middle Eastern migrants in retaliation for cooperation with US Fox News
  2. High Drama At Finland-Russia Border; Helsinki Cries Conspiracy Amid Confrontation | Details Hindustan Times
  3. ‘I’m being cut off from my family’: Finland’s Russian community hits out against border closures Euronews
  4. Russia puts migrants on scooters and tells them to cross border into Europe Yahoo News
  5. Russia’s Scared Neighbour Puts Up ‘Dragon Teeth’ At Border Amid ‘Illegal Migrant’ Row | Estonia Hindustan Times
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

Read original article here

State Of Emergency Declared Across New York City As ‘Life-Threatening’ Flooding Slams Area – FOX Weather

  1. State Of Emergency Declared Across New York City As ‘Life-Threatening’ Flooding Slams Area FOX Weather
  2. Ophelia’s leftovers will bring more rain to the Philly region, and ‘supermoon’ tides have prompted flood advisories The Philadelphia Inquirer
  3. NWS: Life-Threatening Flooding Ongoing In New York City FOX Weather
  4. NYC may see up to 7 inches of rain, significant flooding Friday from Ophelia’s remnants: ‘This is a serious storm’ New York Post
  5. New York City in bull’s-eye for intense flood threat as Ophelia’s remnants batter eastern US coastline Fox Weather
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

Read original article here

Russians are using age-old military tactic of flooding to combat Ukraine’s counteroffensive – The Conversation Indonesia

  1. Russians are using age-old military tactic of flooding to combat Ukraine’s counteroffensive The Conversation Indonesia
  2. Ukraine Dam Breach May Be “Worst Ecological Disaster Since Chernobyl” – Mother Jones Mother Jones
  3. Putin’s War: Russia’s Advantage from Burst Kakhovka Dam May Not Last Bloomberg
  4. Kakhovka dam breach is devastating agriculture DW (English)
  5. Ukraine: ‘Callous disregard for human life’ of Russian forces’ response to Kakhovka dam destruction compounded by its disastrous effects upstream Amnesty International
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

Read original article here

Late-Winter Storm Has Los Angeles Bracing For Yet More Rain, 40 MPH Winds And Potential Flooding – Deadline

  1. Late-Winter Storm Has Los Angeles Bracing For Yet More Rain, 40 MPH Winds And Potential Flooding Deadline
  2. Another atmospheric river will thrash storm-ravaged California, threatening more flooding and hurricane-force wind gusts CNN
  3. Atmospheric Rivers Helping Counter California’s Drought With Historic Rainfall, Snow FOX Weather
  4. Another storm takes aim at rain-soaked Southern California; winds expected to topple trees KTLA Los Angeles
  5. California Water Reservoir Update: Another atmospheric river headed toward California ABC10
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

Read original article here

Kevin Costner finally got to hold his Golden Globe after missing the show due to flooding – CNN

  1. Kevin Costner finally got to hold his Golden Globe after missing the show due to flooding CNN
  2. Kevin Costner Gives Heartfelt Golden Globes Acceptance Speech From Bed | THR News The Hollywood Reporter
  3. Kevin Costner unboxes Golden Globe award after missing ceremony due to California floods Yahoo Entertainment
  4. Amid Yellowstone Exit Rumors, Kevin Costner Shares Award Acceptance Video That Doesn’t Actually Mention The Show He Won For CinemaBlend
  5. Yellowstone’s Kevin Costner Unboxes Golden Globe in Bed After Missing Ceremony Due to Flooding PEOPLE
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

Read original article here

Another atmospheric river lashes California, renewing flooding concerns in state where storms have left at least 19 dead



CNN
 — 

Another atmospheric river has arrived in storm-battered California, bringing renewed flooding fears, possible landslides and treacherous travel to the state Monday where a relentless string of storms has already delivered widespread damage and left at least 19 dead in recent weeks.

“We have lost too much – too many people to these storms and in these waters,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement Saturday, urging residents to prepare for another round of rain.

The latest storm is set to bring heavy mountain snow and periods of heavy rain, with an additional 1 to 3 inches of rainfall expected in areas already too saturated to absorb more water.

Flood watches remain in place for around 8 million people in coastal California, including the Bay Area, until Monday afternoon. A slight risk – level 2 out of 4 – for excessive rain and flooding covers a large chunk of Southern California, including the Los Angeles metro area, until Monday morning then drops to a marginal risk through the day.

Meanwhile, winter storm warnings are posted for the Sierra Nevada where up to 3 feet of new snow could fall through Monday.

Residents of Ventura County’s remote Matilija Canyon were being urged Sunday to leave their homes after more than 17 inches of high-intensity rainfall resulted in significant damage and left towering piles of rock and mud over 40-feet tall blocking some roadways, isolating residents, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said, adding that more than ten helicopter flights have carried more than 70 residents from the area.

To the north in San Joaquin County, around 175 residents were voluntarily evacuated from a mobile home park Sunday, including by boat, after flood waters inundated the community, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.

Evacuation warnings were also in place Sunday evening for residents near the Carmel River in Monterey County, on California’s Central Coast. A warning was also in place for residents in Sacramento County’s Wilton area.

“People are fatigued about evacuation orders. People are fatigued by seeing those Caltrans turn signs saying ‘detour’ – they’re just fatigued generally,” Newsom said in a news conference Saturday.

The parade of atmospheric rivers – long, narrow regions in the atmosphere that can carry moisture thousands of miles – turned California communities into lakes, crippled highways and prompted thousands of evacuations.

The good news? A much-needed stretch of dry weather is on the way.

“As we push into the day on Tuesday we’re looking for quieter weather across much of the state with one fast moving additional system arriving for later Wednesday into early Thursday. After that, looking for a period of dry weather for much of the state finally as we head into late week, and pretty much through the weekend,” a National Weather Service spokesman said.

Monday will see the latest round of rain slowly come to an end from Northern California in the early afternoon hours to Southern California later in the day.

But for now, the state is bracing for more flooding, mudslides and rescues. Swift water resources and firefighters have been positioned statewide in preparation for Monday, which could see this round’s heaviest rainfall, state officials said.

Wind gusts reached hurricane-force Sunday across the higher elevations of Southern California, where around 14 million people were under wind advisories into Monday.

And as the latest storm approached, President Joe Biden on Saturday approved California’s request for a disaster declaration, freeing up federal aid to supplement recovery efforts in areas of the state affected by storms, flooding and mudslides since December 27.

The federal assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, loans to help cover property losses for uninsured homes, according to the White House.

Some isolated higher rain rates of 0.5 inches per hour could lead to a couple instances of flooding, especially given the very wet conditions as atmospheric rivers hammered the state in previous weeks.

Though this weekend’s rainfall totals will be lower than in previous storms, the threshold for flooding is much lower now because the ground is too saturated and conditions are ripe for mudslides and landslides.

There have been 402 landslides recorded statewide since December 30, according to the California Geological Survey.

Rainfall totals in recent weeks have been immense. Already, San Francisco has recorded one of its top 15 wettest winters on record. The Bay Area could see another 1-2 inches by Monday afternoon and the wettest peaks can see up to 3 inches.

To the south, the Los Angeles area saw several locations set daily rainfall records with 1 to 2 inches received Saturday. Southern California may still see isolated areas where heavy rainfall could reach up to a half an inch per hour in the heaviest storms.

Some areas of Santa Cruz County have seen more than 34 inches of rain since December 26, according to county recovery official. If this is to be confirmed by the weather service, it would land Santa Cruz in the top five wettest winters on record – with still a month left to the season.

“We’re getting flooding in our coastal streams, creeks, and rivers,” Santa Cruz County official David Reid said. “And we’re getting extensive landslides and mudslides and road failures in our mountainous areas.”

“There’s definitely a fatigue that happens with the continued storms – folks begin to fear that what we’re telling them isn’t true, but we have real concerns,” Reid added.

The need for residents to follow evacuation orders and adhere to roadway closures is real. Crews around the state have for weeks responded to rescues on flooded streets and inundated neighborhoods.

Storm-related deaths in recent weeks have included a woman whose body was found inside a vehicle that washed into a flooded vineyard, two people who were found with trees on top of their tents, a child who was killed when a redwood tree fell on a home, and several other fatalities.

And in San Luis Obispo County, rescuers are still searching for 5-year-old Kyle Doan, who was pulled from his mother’s hands by rushing floodwater on Monday after their SUV was swept away.

Rains on Saturday hampered the search as water levels rose in the San Marcos Creek and Salinas River, but crews were back out searching for the boy on Sunday as conditions improved, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office said.

As lower elevations deal with heavy rainfall, and potential floods and mudslides, those living on higher elevations can expect heavy snowfall and dangerous conditions on the road.

Up to 3 feet of new snow could fall through Monday in Sierra Nevada while mountains in Southern California could see several inches of snow by early Tuesday morning.

Flagstaff, Arizona, saw 14.8 inches on Sunday, shattering a previous record of 8.9 inches set back in 1978.

“Heavy mountain snow and strong winds will lead to blowing snow and whiteout conditions at times, creating dangerous to near impossible travel above 4,000 ft in the mountains and passes of Central California and above 5,000 ft for Southern California,” the National Weather Service said.

Snow could hammer the mountains at a rate of 2 inches per hour at times into Monday morning in the Sierra Nevada, the weather service added.

For Tuesday, the rain and snow will move into the Four Corners Region, but isolated showers and snow showers could still impact parts of Southern California Tuesday morning.

Lower elevations in Arizona, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico can see 1-4 inches of snowfall and the higher elevations can see 1-2 feet.



Read original article here

California flooding 2023: Flash floods, sinkholes shut roads with more storms forecast as rain dents drought

Drone video of flooded Felton in Santa Cruz County

California was given a brief respite on Thursday from the succession of storms that have soaked the state since the beginning of the year.

As the authorities and residents rushed to recover from existing damage, and flooding and sinkholes continue to cause havoc and block off whole communities, two more storms are forecast to hit on Friday and over the weekend.

The National Weather Service says parts of northwestern and central California have already been hammered by between 10 and 20 inches in the last two weeks, leaving the ground saturated. There are now fears of more devastating flash floods to come.

At least 18 people have now died in incidents linked to the extreme weather with the body of a 43-year-old woman discovered in a submerged vehicle in Sonoma County on Wednesday.

Near the city of Paso Robles, five-year-old Kyle Doan, swept away in the floodwaters when he and his mother got stuck in their car, is still missing.

One small positive of the intense rainfall is that it has made a dent in the severe drought the state has been experiencing.

1673593200

Drenching California storms put dent in drought

Atmospheric rivers pounding California since late last year have coated mountains with a full winter’s worth of snow and begun raising reservoir levels — but experts say it will take much more precipitation to reverse the effects of years of drought.

The US Drought Monitor’s weekly update released on Thursday showed that “extreme” drought has been virtually eliminated a week after the worst category — “exceptional” — was washed off the map. Two weeks ago extreme drought covered 35% of California.

Series of drenching California storms put dent in drought

Atmospheric rivers pounding California since late last year have coated mountains with a full winter’s worth of snow and begun raising reservoir levels but experts say it will take much more to precipitation to reverse the effects of years of drought

Oliver O’Connell13 January 2023 07:00

1673587200

ICYMI: NWS confirms tornado struck early Tuesday in northern San Joaquin Valley

The National Weather Service in Sacramento confirmed on Wednesday that destruction in Calaveras County early on Tuesday morning was caused by a small tornado.

An EF1 tornado occurred at around 4.10am local time, touching down near a small reservoir. Though classified as “weak” still produced 90mph winds and caused “extensive tree damage to white oak and pines trees”, according to a press release from NWS.

The tornado is just one small part of the severe weather that has lashed California for much of this month.

On the same morning as the tornado struck, severe thunderstorms swept through the San Joaquin Valley with winds strong enough to pick up a large horse barn near Oakdale in Stanislaus County and drag it over a five-foot fence. Neighbouring properties had minor roof damage and wind speeds are thought to have peaked at 75mph.

The NWS says that a warning was sent out to residents with a 17-minute lead time advising that straight-line winds and tornadoes were possible from the severe thunderstorms in the area.

Oliver O’Connell13 January 2023 05:20

1673583637

Watch: Terrifying moment mother and daughter rescued from sinkhole

Terrifying footage has captured the moment a mother and daughter had to be rescued from a sinkhole in Chatsworth, Los Angeles.

Intense flooding caused a sinkhole to open up on Monday night, swallowing two cars.

A mother and daughter were pulled to safety from an SUV.

Mother and daughter rescued from car swallowed by sinkhole after intense storm

Oliver O’Connell13 January 2023 04:20

1673580037

Gavin Newsom hints at link between floods and the climate crisis

During a visit to badly-impacted Santa Cruz county on Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom hinted at a link between California’s extreme weather and the climate crisis.

“The dries are getting a lot drier the last three years, and the wets are getting a lot wetter. This weather whiplash — is that the new reality?” he said, according to NBC News.

California has been in a state of “megadrought” for the past two decades, intensified by the impacts of global heating, according to UCLA research last year.

The study also found that it could take several years of high precipitation to overcome the mega-drought.

“It’s extremely unlikely that this drought can be ended in one wet year,” UCLA geographer Park Williams said at the time.

Oliver O’Connell13 January 2023 03:20

1673576437

Woman’s body found in submerged car in Sonoma County

At least 18 people have now died in incidents linked to the extreme weather with the body of a 43-year-old woman discovered in a submerged vehicle in Sonoma County.

The victim Daphne Fontino had made a final desperate 911 call as her car became trapped in the floodwaters one day earlier.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said that search and rescue teams made the grim discovery along the 6000 block of Trenton-Healdsburg Road, Forestville, on Wednesday morning.

“Our deepest condolences to her family and friends,” the department said in a statement.

Oliver O’Connell13 January 2023 02:20

1673572837

Watch: Major sinkhole opens up after violent storm in Orcutt, California

As an intense series of storms continues to hammer California, sinkholes have become a major problem. Here’s one that opened up in Orcutt, California.

Major sinkhole opens up after violent storm in Orcutt, California

Oliver O’Connell13 January 2023 01:20

1673569237

ICYMI: Flooding arrives in the California desert

The Palm Springs Fire Department carried out the swift water rescue after flooding in a desert wash in the city. A wash is an area in the desert where water once flowed or that floods during heavy rain or flash flooding.

The rescue began at around 5.45pm on Tuesday evening and took around an hour, according to officials.

Oliver O’Connell13 January 2023 00:20

1673567437

How much rain and snow has fallen?

California was in a lull between storms on Thursday, but more precipitation was expected to arrive on Friday and continue through the weekend. Flooding remained a concern, especially along the Salinas River in Monterey County, because so much rain has fallen.

Downtown San Francisco, for example, received nearly 13.6 inches (34.5 centimetres) of rain from Dec. 26 to Jan. 10. Snowfall so far this season at the summit of the Mammoth Mountain resort in the Eastern Sierra hit 444 inches (11.3 metres).

In the Sierra Nevada and other mountains, the water content of the snowpack is more than 200 per cent of normal to date and more than 100 per cent of the 1 April average, when it is historically at its peak, according to the state Department of Water Resources.

“The automated sensors are registering what they would consider a full seasonal snowpack, about what we would expect on April 1,” state climatologist Michael Anderson told reporters this week.

The snowpack supplies roughly a third of California’s water when it melts and runs off into rivers and reservoirs.

Locally, some reservoirs have seen significant rises in water levels but there are still significant deficits to overcome.

Statewide, reservoir storage is only 82 per cent of average for this time of year. The largest reservoir, Shasta, is at just 44 per cent of capacity. That’s only 70 per cent of the average to date. The huge Oroville reservoir is closer to its average but at just 49 per cent of capacity.

And there’s concern that the rains could abruptly stop. The end of 2021 was marked by significant storms, but the start of 2022 saw months of bone-dry weather.

There are some hints of a drier pattern developing around 20 January, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, during an online briefing this week.

Oliver O’Connell12 January 2023 23:50

1673565637

At least 18 people killed in the storms

At least 18 people have now died in incidents linked to the extreme weather in California, according to authorities.

Among the victims is a 43-year-old woman who was discovered in a submerged vehicle in Sonoma County on Wednesday.

In total, more lives have now been lost in the storms than in the past two years of wildfires in California.

Oliver O’Connell12 January 2023 23:20

1673563837

Drenching California storms put dent in drought

Atmospheric rivers pounding California since late last year have coated mountains with a full winter’s worth of snow and begun raising reservoir levels — but experts say it will take much more precipitation to reverse the effects of years of drought.

The US Drought Monitor’s weekly update released on Thursday showed that “extreme” drought has been virtually eliminated a week after the worst category — “exceptional” — was washed off the map. Two weeks ago extreme drought covered 35% of California.

Series of drenching California storms put dent in drought

Atmospheric rivers pounding California since late last year have coated mountains with a full winter’s worth of snow and begun raising reservoir levels but experts say it will take much more to precipitation to reverse the effects of years of drought

Oliver O’Connell12 January 2023 22:50

Read original article here

Power outages and mudslides as deadly flooding sweeps through waterlogged state

Power outages, school closures, mudslides, flooding, evacuations — the fifth in a parade of deadly storms driven by atmospheric rivers is hitting California, and residents and officials are struggling to cope with the deluge of water. Across the state, residents faced continued weather warnings and advisories Tuesday.

National Weather Service forecasters warned of “torrential rain, widespread flooding, rapid water rises, mudslides and landslides with possible debris flows, heavy mountain snow and gusty high winds,” as some communities saw as much as a foot of rain. Rainfall totals across the state over the past several weeks were 400-600% above average, according to the service. 

The service’s Sacramento office warned of possible funnel clouds and brief tornadoes as thunderstorms moved through the region Tuesday afternoon, while its Los Angeles office reported an inch of rain per hour in the area.

This aerial view shows a flooded neighborhood in Merced, California on January 10, 2023.

JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images


And meteorologists warned that another storm is already on its way.

“The core of the system will slam onshore with moderate to heavy rain resuming across much of California today through tonight while several more feet of snow is possible along the Sierra Nevada,” the weather service said, with another atmospheric river headed to Northern California on Wednesday.



Read original article here

Timeline: Flooding threat remains high across Bay Area as back-to-back storms move through region

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — As recovery efforts continue after last week’s power atmospheric river, the Bay Area will once again get pummeled by back-to-back storms increasing the threat of flooding across the region.

LIVE: Track rain in San Francisco Bay Area with Live Doppler 7

ABC7 weather anchor Spencer Christian says our second of two storms will arrive overnight and will be a Level 2 on the exclusive ABC7 News Storm Impact Scale.

On Monday, the San Lorenzo River reached major flood stage in the Santa Cruz Mountains causing evacuations near Felton.

A Flood Warning is in effect for the Guadalupe River above the Almaden Expressway. It’s expected to have minor flooding Monday morning as the river crests at 11 a.m.

The Russian River near Guerneville is expected to have minor flooding early Tuesday morning cresting at 32 feet which is the flood stage.

A Flood Watch is in effect for the entire region until Tuesday afternoon for new areas of flooding.

Watch the latest AccuWeather forecast and take a look at recent weather stories and videos.

If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live

Copyright © 2023 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.

Read original article here

California flooding: All of Montecito under evacuation order

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rescuers ended the search for a 5-year-old boy who was swept away by floodwaters in central California while the entire coastal community of Montecito was ordered to evacuate Monday as the latest in a series of powerful storms walloped the state.

Tens of thousands of people remained without power, and some schools closed for the day. Streets and highways transformed into gushing rivers, trees toppled, mud slid and motorists growled as they hit roadblocks caused by fallen debris. The death toll from the relentless string of storms climbed from 12 to 14 on Monday, after two people were killed by falling trees, state officials said.

A roughly seven-hour search for the boy turned up only his shoe before officials called it off as water levels were too dangerous for divers, officials said. The boy has not been declared dead, said spokesperson Tony Cipolla of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office.

The boy’s mother was driving a truck when it became stranded in floodwaters just before 8 a.m. near Paso Robles, a small city inland from California’s central coast, according to Tom Swanson, assistant chief of the Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire Department.

Bystanders were able to pull the mother out of the truck, but the boy was swept out of the vehicle and downstream, likely into a river, Swanson said. There was no evacuation order in the area at the time.

About 130 miles (209 kilometers) to the south, the entire community of Montecito and surrounding canyons scarred by recent wildfires were under an evacuation order that came on the fifth anniversary of a mudslide that killed 23 people and destroyed more than 100 homes in the coastal enclave.

The National Weather Service reported rainfall rates of one inch (2.5 centimeters) per hour, with heavy downpours expected throughout the night in the upscale area where roads wind along wooded hillsides studded with large houses. Montecito is squeezed between mountains and the Pacific and is home to celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Rob Lowe and Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Jamie McLeod’s property was under the Montecito evacuation order, but she said there is no way for her to “get off the mountain” with an overflowing creek on one side and a mudslide on the other. The 60-year-old owner of the Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary said one of her employees came to make a weekly food delivery and is stuck, too.

McLeod said she feels fortunate because her home sits on high ground and the power is still on. But she said she tires of the frequent evacuation orders since the massive wildfire followed by the deadly landslide five years ago.

“It is not easy to relocate,” said McLeod. “I totally love it — except in catastrophe.”

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said the decision to evacuate nearly 10,000 people was “based on the continuing high rate of rainfall with no indication that that is going to change before nightfall.” Creeks were overflowing, and many roads were flooded.

Northbound lanes of U.S. 101, a key coastal route, were expected to be shut until Tuesday. Many other highways and local roads were closed because of rockslides and flooding.

Up the coast, evacuation orders were issued in Santa Cruz County for about 32,000 residents living near rain-swollen rivers and creeks. The San Lorenzo River was declared at flood stage, and drone footage showed numerous homes sitting in muddy brown water, the top halves of autos peeking out.

Maria Cucchiara, who lives in tiny, flooded Felton, went for a walk to count her blessings after “a huge branch harpooned” the roof of her small studio, she said.

“I have two kitties and we could’ve been killed. It was over a ton,” she said. “So needless to say, it was very disturbing.”

Nicole Martin, owner of the Fern River Resort in Felton, described a more laid-back scene Monday. Her clients sipped coffee amid towering redwood trees and were “enjoying the show,” she said, as picnic tables and other debris floated down the swollen San Lorenzo.

The river is usually about 60 feet (18 meters) below the cabins, Martin said, but it crept up to 12 feet (4 meters) from the cabins.

In Northern California, several districts closed schools and more than 35,000 customers remained without power in Sacramento — down from more than 350,000 a day earlier after gusts of 60 mph (97 kph) knocked majestic trees into power lines, according to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. A homeless person killed by a falling tree in the region was among the new deaths announced Monday.

The National Weather Service warned of a “relentless parade of atmospheric rivers” — long plumes of moisture stretching out into the Pacific that can drop staggering amounts of rain and snow. The precipitation expected over the next couple of days comes after storms last week knocked out power, flooded streets, and battered the coastline.

President Joe Biden issued an emergency declaration Monday to support storm response and relief efforts in more than a dozen counties.

The weather service issued a flood watch for a large portion of Northern and Central California, with 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 centimeters) of rain expected through Wednesday in the already saturated Sacramento-area foothills.

In the Los Angeles area, there was potential for as much as 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain in foothill areas late Monday and Tuesday. High surf was also expected.

Much of California remains in severe to extreme drought, though the storms have helped fill depleted reservoirs.

___

Associated Press writers Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles, Janie Har and Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco, Amy Taxin in Orange County, Nic Coury in Aptos, Martha Mendoza in Santa Cruz and Haven Daley in Felton contributed to this report.

Read original article here