MONUMENTAL DELUGE: The Latest Reports Of High Tides, Heavy Rainfall, Flash Floods, Sea Level Rise, Widespread Flooding, And Catastrophic Storms - Floods From California Storm Leave 1 Dead, Dozens Evacuated; Serbia Declares EMERGENCY Following Regional Floods; After Drought In Papua New Guinea, Floods, Mudslides Hit Thousands "Razor's Edge"; Heavy Rainfall Continues In La Paz And Cochabamba, Bolivia; 24 Dead And 30 Missing After Floods In Lubango, Huila In Angola! [PHOTOS + VIDEOS]

#MetroFire on Sorrento Rd North of Elverta for car stuck in 3 ft of water. Driver rescued from roof, uninjured.
Twitter: MetroFire Sacramento

March 7, 2016 - EARTH - The following list constitutes the latest reports of high tides, heavy rainfall, flash floods, widespread flooding, sea level rise and catastrophic storms. 

California Storm – Floods Leave 1 Dead, Dozens Evacuated

Saturday’s storm across parts of central and northern California caused flooding that forced dozens to evacuate their homes. At least one person has died in the floods.

The fatality occurred in Yuba County on Saturday 05 March, 2016, when a woman drowned after the vehicle she was in entered deep flood water. Local media report that s stretch of Highway 70 was flooded and had been blocked off by police. The driver of the car ignored the blockade and drove into flood water as deep as 8 feet (2.4 metres). The driver was able to escape from the car.

In Sacramento County, a man was rescued from his vehicle after driving into this water near Elverta on Sunday 06 March. The driver was able to escape and take refuge on the roof on the roof of his vehicle until responders from MetroFire Sacramento arrived.

Twitter: MetroFire Sacramento

The storm also drenched parts of Santa Cruz County with more than 6 inches (15 cm) of rain falling in some places on Saturday 05 March 2016. National Weather Service say that Boulder Creek Huckleberry recorded 6.70 inches (16.5 cm) during 24 hours. Nearly 2 inches (5 cm) of rain fell in 2 hours in Soquel.

The heavy rain caused local rivers, including Soquel and Corralitos Creeks and the San Lorenzo River, to rise above flood stage.

The resulting floods prompted evacuations of residents near the two creeks in Capitola and along the San Lorenzo River in rural Santa Cruz. The American Red Cross set up an evacuation centre in Capitola. There were no reports of injuries or fatalities.

Further Heavy Rain and High Surf

NWS said that further heavy rain was expected from late Sunday 06 March, falling on already saturated ground. NWS warned of possible flooding and rock slides.

“the next Pacific weather system will begin to spread widespread rain across the north bay by late this afternoon and then across the remainder of the region from this evening through the early morning hours of Monday.

“Rain will likely be heavy at times starting this evening. There is a possibility of isolated thunderstorms. Heavy rain late on Saturday has saturated the soil. Therefore additional heavy rain will lead to rapid rises on rivers and streams by this evening creating flooding potential. In addition, flooding of low lying and poorly drained urban areas will be possible. Rock slides or debris flows are likely in areas of steep terrain.”

NWS also warn of very large and potentially damaging surf and moderate coastal flooding on Monday into Tuesday morning.

The say that “a long period west swell will continue across the coastal waters through tonight. An even larger west swell will arrive on area beaches Monday through Tuesday morning, bringing potentially damaging surf, minor coastal flooding and significant beach erosion to west and north west facing beaches. This will be due to a combination of the large surf with large high tides”.

Serbia declares emergency following regional floods

Floods near the city of Cacak as seen on a YouTube video.

The authorities have declared an emergency situation in the Cacak, Lucani and Arilje municipalities in central and eastern Serbia due to heavy rain and flooding.

The Serbian Interior Ministry declared an emergency situation on Monday in the flood-affected Cacak, Lucani and Arilje municipalities.

There were also landslides caused by the deluge in the Bajina Basta municipality, where several homes were submerged and roads damaged.

In Preljine near Cacak, where about 80 millimetres of rain per square metre fell overnight, the River Cemernica broke its banks, resulting in the evacuation of 15 people, Emergency Situations Sector chief Predrag Maric said.

Matic also said that water levels were rising in major rivers elsewhere in Serbia, but that serious problems were not expected there. "We contacted the Serbian Army to get involved, and prepared if necessary to evacuate people," he said.

A bus drives along a flooded road near Pozega, some 150 kilometers south of Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, March 7, 2016.© AP

A man walks in front of a his flooded home in Pozega, some 150 kilometers south of Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, March 7, 2016.

He said that the Kosjeric, Arilje and Cacak municipalities saw flash flooding, but had been forewarned on Friday that this might happen.

The River Bjelica flooded and shut down the road from Lucani to Guca and the the road from Guca to Cacak.

Meanwhile in Guca itself, the Milan Blagojevic factory, the local healthcare centre, a hospital, a school and the main power station were all flooded. In Pozega in western Serbia, heavy rain caused flooding from streams and rivers, although the extent of the damage was not known on Monday morning.

The Hydro-Meteorological Institute warned on Sunday evening that Serbia could expect a further downpour ranging from 20 to 40 millimetres of rain per square metre on Monday in southern, central, and eastern areas, and that road traffic could be disrupted as a result.

In May 2014, the country was hit by series of floods affecting 39 out of 120 municipalities, forcing more than 30,000 people from their homes and damaging or destroying roads, railways, bridges, homes, power plants and telecommunications infrastructure.


WATCH: Floods in Serbia.

The floods came after heavy rainfall and a powerful cyclone that swept through the central part of the Balkan Peninsula.

Obrenovac, a small town south of Belgrade, suffered the most from the floods. A damage assessment report adopted by the government in July 2014 put the total cost of repairing the damage at about 1.5 billion euros.

This included the damage to homes, infrastructure, agriculture and educational and other facilities.

The authorities said 485 houses were completely destroyed by the deluge and 12,000 hectares of land became usable for agricultural production in the following season.

After Drought in Papua New Guinea, Floods, Mudslides Hit Thousands “On Razor’s Edge”

After months of food and water shortages caused by drought and frost, Papua New Guinea is suffering floods and mudslides affecting 2,000 people living on a “razor’s edge” after last year’s lack of rain.

The El Niño-driven drought last year cut food production and left about 480,000 people facing critical shortages and in need of food aid, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Successive rains since early February have triggered floods and mudslides that have damaged or destroyed homes, food gardens, water sources, roads and bridges in several provinces, particularly in the highlands and coastal Momase region.

The floods and mudslides have affected about 300 people in Jiwaka province in the highlands, and 1,700 in Morobe province on the coast, said George Gigauri, the head of the International Organization for Migration in Papua New Guinea.

Despite the rains, people remain in need of assistance in the Pacific island nation of 7 million people who largely rely on what they grow in their backyard gardens and have little or no access to markets.

“The sweet potato takes six to nine months to grow. So even if they plant now, it takes time before they can harvest,” said Gigauri by telephone from Port Moresby. Agriculture on the island focuses heavily on tuber crops.

“If sweet potato is hit, then the whole village will be in trouble, and that’s what happened this time.”

The drought has also forced healthcare facilities to close or operate at reduced capacity because of lack of water, said Boris Pavlin, an epidemiologist for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Papua New Guinea.

Since the rains began, some of the health centres may have reopened, but many did not have good ways to store water in the first place, he said.

“They don’t use running water, or have to haul water in buckets when they have to do a (birth) delivery,” Pavlin said.

Aid agencies are coordinating with the government to distribute food and to monitor dengue outbreaks in Daru island off the southern coast near Australia, and probable cases in Kiunga in the west, near the Indonesian border.

The drought was caused by the El Niño weather system, which warms the Pacific Ocean and has caused extreme weather affecting millions of people across parts of the world.

“The rains are still insufficient and below expected levels. We’re by no means out of the woods in terms of the impact of El Niño,” Pavlin said.

“Many, many people are very affected because they live on the razor’s edge.”

Reporting by Alisa Tang, editing by Ros Russell, for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women’s rights, corruption and climate change.

Bolivia – Heavy Rain Continues – More Floods and Landslides Hit La Paz and Cochabamba

Heavy rain that began in late February has resulted in several overflowing rivers and landslides in northern and central Bolivia.

La Paz Department

As a result of the heavy and prolonged rainfall that has affected the north of La Paz Department since Monday 29 February 2016, several municipalities of Valles, Sur and Nor Yungas are suffering damages and transport communications issues after increased river levels in the region.

According to local authorities, the Quita Calzón River in Apolo municipality overflowed, affecting a significant part of the town and causing major damages to 30 houses. Several landslides interrupted the communication route connecting Apolo to the Titicaca Lake borders, causing issues to local public and private transport.

Intense rainfall events also occurred in the Eliodoro Camacho province of La Paz. Escoma, on Lake Titicaca, suffered the overflow of the Suches River on Sunday 28 February 2016. The inundation affected 70 hectares of agricultural cultivation, ruining the harvest and causing serious problems for an area characterised by subsistence farming.

File photo: Rio Suches, Camacho, Bolivia. Photo: Canaviri, under CC BY-SA 3.0

The prolonged rainfall continues to increase the soil saturation, leading to several hydro-geological problems. After the landslide in Jupapina of Saturday 27 February, another one occurred on Sunday 28 February in Achocalla Municipality, between La Paz and El Alto, affecting 3 houses.

A torrential rainstorm hit the city of La Paz on the 24 February 2016, causing a flash flood resulting in the overflow of the Huayñajahuira River.

Cochabamba Department

The heavy rain of late February caused several rivers to significantly increase their levels in the north of Cochabamba Department.

According to departmental Civil Defence authorities of Cochabamba, rain caused major inundations in Puerto Villaro

el municipality in Carrasco Province, affecting up to 30 local communities, and a total of 600 families. Due to the flat morphology of the region, some areas are under 1 to 2 metres of flood water, and communication routes linking to these local communities are suffering major issues.

In Arani Province the recent torrential rain caused flooding in several areas, affecting as many as 500 families and seriously damaging 30 hectares of agriculture cultivations.

On 03 March, 2016, the National Service of Hydrology and Meteorology (Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología de Bolivia, SENAMHI) issued a red alert for intense rain (up to 90 mm in 24 hours) expected from Saturday 05 March to Monday 07 March 2016 in the north of Bolivia, including the areas in La Paz and Cochabamba Departments already affected by floods and landslides.

Rainfall

NASA’s IMERG data collected from February 23-29, 2016 were used to estimate rainfall totals over this area of South America. The highest rainfall total estimates for this period were over 700 mm (27.6 inches). These extreme rainfall total estimates were shown east of the Andes in southeastern Peru and Bolivia.

Angola – 24 Dead, 30 Missing After Floods in Lubango, Huíla

At least 24 people have been killed and many more are missing after floods struck in city of Lubango, Huíla, in southern Angola.

Angola news agency ANGOP reports that heavy rain fell for around 9 hours on Monday 29 February 2016. Local media report that two rivers – the Capitao and the Caculuvar – overflowed.

The worst affected areas were the Tchioco and Canguinda districts of the city. It is thought that the flood water may have swept through a local market in Tchioco, where many young people work washing cars. Many of the victims are aged between 12 and 30, ANGOP report. Local emergency services said bodies were found up to 500 metres downstream.

The funerals of the victims took place yesterday. During the ceremony, retired archbishop of Lubango, Dom Zacarias Kamwenho, called for an end to building houses in risk areas. Lubango has been the site of several forced mass evictions to make way for public infrastructure projects. Families were left with no alternative housing, according to Human Rights Watch.

Further heavy rain fell on Tuesday, 01 March. The search continues for the 30 missing people.

Chuva mata no #Lubango #Angola vídeo completo Facebook da #voaportugues pic.twitter.com/qCpCBALJOS

— VOAPortuguês (@VOAPortugues) March 2, 2016

- Floodlist.

ICE AGE NOW: Increasing Signs Of Magnetic Polar Migration - The Latest Reports Of Global Cooling As Planet Earth Plunges Towards A Mini-Ice Age!

December 4, 2014 - EARTH - The following reports constitute some of the latest incidents of global cooling, as we continue to track planet Earth's rapid plunge into a new Mini-Ice Age.

Mad blizzard swallows cars, streets, buildings in Far East Russia

© Screenshot from YouTube user Евгений Шибин

Winter has come with a vengeance: Russia's snow-and-ice-bound Far East regions have declared states of emergency. Traffic chaos is rife, with cars stuck or sliding uncontrollably. Residents are trying to push cars, and also stop them with their bodies.

The cold and snowy season began in Russia's Far East - including the cities of Vladivostok and Khabarovsk - on Dec. 1, the first day of winter proper according to the calendar. Yet municipal services were not ready to deal with weather conditions, people on social networks complained.

Snowfall in Khabarovsk - reportedly the heaviest in decades - forced the city authorities to announce the state of emergency and call in military to aid with the storm's aftermath.

Harsh weather conditions caused traffic to come to a standstill, with people being unable to use either public transport or their own cars.

WATCH: Deep snow in Russia's Far East.

Challenged to not only find and then dig their cars out from under the snow, drivers also had to push their vehicles when they were stuck on snow and ice-covered roads, as well as stopping them from moving uncontrollably.

In Vladivostok, cars were sliding down the road, crashing into other vehicles, with drivers trying to stop cars, including a truck, with their bodies. A YouTube video showed a dozen cars being damaged in an icy frenzy.

The large-scale cyclone brought a month-and-a-half of snowfall in just one day in Khabarovsk, where uncleared roads caused bread shortages in local shops, which were inaccessible to delivery trucks. The situation was made worse by abandoned vehicles on the roads, left by their owners, unable to deal with the snow. 

WATCH: Freak Russian blizzard - Mad snow storm swallows cities in Far East.

Power cutoffs were reported in several areas, due to broken wires. Some 10,000 people, rescuers included, were dealing with the storm, having helped over 1,100 cars, 44 buses and 40 heavy trucks, the local Emergencies Ministry reported.

Thousands of kilometers to the west, the first winter snow - a much lighter one - was more welcome in Moscow, the Russian capital. It helped clear the air of pollution, Tass news agency reported, with worrying air contamination being caused by several emission releases over the past month. - RT.

Ice storm with deep snow in Serbia: People experiencing mental breakdown after 48 hours without electricity, water and heating

© Tanjug

"48 hours of agony in Majdanpek, people mentally break!" says headline.

Put on your coat and hat and get under a blanket and wait to pass this evil, say angry residents of Majdanpeka. At night it is very cold.

The city is bound by snow and ice, without electricity, water and heating, and the torture is far from over. The fourth attempt to connect pokidna transmission network, this afternoon failed. It's agony.

Business is great, joked a shop owner: he has sold burners for gas. These gadgets over the past two days in Majdanpeku have become worth gold, because it is only on them that food can be prepared.

© Tanjug

To make matters even worse, in this city of skyscrapers, the architects omitted chimneys, says Mirko Kobe. He lives in in the center of town with his wife and two sons, one of whom is chronically ill and requires constant care.

He adds that heating is only available in the hospital, which has a generator. "The hospital only has heating, and has currently one baby who was born on Monday night and 26 patients, of which I think are two pregnant women.

© Guliver/Getty Images

A different resident, Milan, says that the transmission lines that have fallen were wrapped in ice 4-centimeters thick. Workers cut branches that have fallen around power lines, and progress is slow. More bizarre is that no one has physically visited the power plant, it is controlled by a computer in Belgrade.

© Tanjug

The situation is cataclysmic, explains Milan. It's freezing cold. The home is cooler than outside! People are very angry, enraged, angry ... Everything is extremely difficult, residents are outraged, helpless! - Ice Age Now.

US: Lake Erie temperature at end of November coldest since 1976

NASA image of Lake Erie was taken the week of the dual lake-effect storms. The lake had the coldest water temperature on Nov. 30 since 1976.  © NASA

Water temperature coldest at this date since 1976

Lake Erie's water temperature at the end of November fell to 40 degrees. That's the coldest Nov. 30 reading in Buffalo since 1976, when the lake temperature was 38 degrees. Anyone old enough to remember November 1976 needs no further reminder of what happened the following January.

The lake froze, and sustained winds during the Blizzard of '77 blew 3 feet of accumulated snow off the ice and dumped it across the Niagara Frontier. Great Lakes scientists say it's too early to tell if the lake's present condition will lead to that kind of snow catastrophe this winter.

Until the lake freezes, there's always a chance for lake-effect snow. But as the water turns colder, there's less chance for a repeat of the heavy lake-effect snowfall that hit the area a couple of weeks ago. "It really depends on what happens now and over the next few weeks or month," said Eric J. Anderson, a forecaster at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Anderson said the cooling of the lake was speeded up by to the polar blast that recently dumped more than 7 feet of snow recently in some communities. "The lake is primed," Anderson said. "If the air temperature drops, the lake is ready to freeze." But could that spell trouble, too?

Buffalonians know as well as anyone that a frozen lake can be a blessing - there's no more lake-effect snow. "Once you seal it - once the water is not liquid - that cuts the evaporation" and with it the lake-effect snow, said George A. Leshkevich, a Great Lakes ice scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Signs of ice

"It's the earliest our office has on record for ice," Anderson said. Anderson called the early onset of ice "symptomatic" of a "cold year" over the Great Lakes.

A brutally cold winter, the late arrival of spring and a cool summer over the region kept lake temperatures - including Lake Erie - lower than usual this year. A warm autumn tempered those readings, at least until the arctic blast last month.

Lake Erie water temperature in Buffalo, NY fell 15 degrees in November,
from 55 to 40 degrees. The last time the lake was so cold was
on November 30, 1976. © National Weather Service

Last winter, ice covered 92.5 percent of the Great Lakes - the most since 1979. As of the middle of November, ice was already forming in some of the northern bays of Lake Superior.

"Water temperatures on Lake Erie right now are very similar to what they were a year ago today," Anderson said.

Last year, the Nov. 30 water temperature of Lake Erie in Buffalo was 41 degrees, and ice began forming on the lake during the second week in December. By Dec. 12 - after an arctic blast and round of lake-effect snow - about 10 percent of Lake Erie was already covered in ice.

Forecasters expect the same conditions could occur this month and continue through the winter.

"The ice cover in Lake Erie will be similar to last year," said Jia Wang, an ice and climate forecaster at the Great Lakes laboratory.

As of Tuesday, there was no sign of ice on the lake. When it does appear, it will likely show up first near Toledo and along the Canadian shore near Long Point, Ont.

"The shallow areas are going to get that formation first," Anderson said.

Temperatures vary

The Buffalo office of the National Weather Service takes Lake Erie's daily temperature at a 30-foot depth at the city's water treatment plant, near where the lake spills into the Niagara River.

Tuesday's reading remained at 40 degrees, but there's a 14-degree spread on the thermometer between the western part of the lake and its deepest point between Long Point, Ont., and Erie, Pa.

Scientists said the temperature was at a lake-low 34 degrees in shallow areas near Toledo and 38 degrees near the islands off of Ohio's shore. Surface temperatures on the deeper eastern end of the lake near Buffalo ranged from 42 degrees to 44 degrees with the lake's deepest waters still at 46 degrees to 48 degrees.

So, there's still a ways to go before the lake freezes, ending the lake-effect threat. "The lake freezing is what would end it," said Jeff Wood, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Buffalo. Anderson said, "Even if you start now, you're really not going to start to shut the system down for another three weeks or so." Over the last 30 years, the average date when the lake freezes is Jan. 21, the weather service said.

Lake effects

If warmer water is the key to lake-effect snow, will the colder water knock down the ferocity of any more lake-effect storms? The simple answer is yes. Scientists said the wider the spread between the temperatures of the air and the water, the more evaporation occurs and thus greater lake-effect snow. "As the water temperature falls, then the difference between the two is lessened," Leshkevich said. "The possibility of evaporation is going to be reduced."

Lake effect in Buffalo, November 2014. © Jeff Suhr

On Nov. 18 - well into the first of the two big lake-effect storms last month - Lake Erie's temperature was 48 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The air temperature at the surface of the water then was about 24 degrees. At 5,000 feet above the lake, it was 5 degrees. At 20,000 feet it was minus 44. Mix in the west wind, and it all turned into snowfall rates of up to 5 inches an hour.

"The lake was still quite warm and you had an awfully cold air mass aloft," Wood said. - Buffalo News.

Dramatic evacuation of Hohe Wande because of ice storm in Austria

© einsatzdoku.at

The Hohe Wande mountain ridge in the district of Wiener Neustadt was the scene of dramatic evacuations on Wednesday as the state of emergency continued in Lower Austria, caused by five days of ice storms.

In the last few hours on Wednesday afternoon, all access to the Hohe Wand was cut off by ice-covered boulders and broken tree branches, as a result of the ice storm.

Police and fire departments were busy all morning visiting residents living in the area to ask them to leave their homes, many of which are threatened by falling trees.

Some residents left voluntarily, while others refused to leave. Some elderly residents had to be evacuated for medical reasons.

Fallen trees are removed from a road near Ottenschlag, in Zwettl.  © APA/Pfarrhofer

Fallen trees are removed from a road near Ottenschlag, in Zwettl.

Dozens of residents of wooden houses have left already, while a group of remaining residents in stone houses believe they can weather the storm.

A crisis team has been set up in the Hohe Wand municipality, as weather forecasts for the next few days show that conditions are set to worsen.

Trees are unable to bear the enormous load of ice, and break like matchsticks, burying everything underneath them.

Streets have been closed, and many roads are impassable, even for emergency vehicles. The region has been declared a disaster zone, with no access.

- The Local.

100,000 Czech railway travelers stranded due to freezing cold weather

Around 100,000 passengers are stranded across the Czech Republic due to the disruption of the railway system

Around 100,000 passengers have been stranded across the Czech Republic due to the disruption of the railway service as a result of freezing cold weather.

"Several hundred passenger trains were cancelled or delayed," Czech Railways said on its website on Tuesday.

Czech railways authority said the disruption occurred after ice encased overhead power lines and brought railway traffic to a halt.

According to the officials, the freezing began on Monday and continued into Tuesday.

They added that people were forced to spend the night, when temperatures dropped to a low of minus 7.3 Celsius (19.4 Fahrenheit), in cold trains and at railway stations.

Czech Railways called on people to defer their trips to the time when the situation is normal.

The cold also caused power cuts and many road accidents across the country.

According to the authorities, flights at Prague's main Vaclav Havel airport were not disrupted by the cold weather.

The arctic weather also cancelled the departure of a group of soldiers heading for Afghanistan after their plane failed to take off from Prague-Kbely military airport. - Press TV.

Another Round of Icy Travel to Affect U.S. Interior Northeast

Another round of ice and some snow over the interior Northeast may slow down some early weekend travelers.

While this icy mix will not be as extensive or as long-lasting in most areas as that of this past Tuesday and Tuesday night, it can affect parts of Pennsylvania, New York state and part of New England with slippery travel.

A light mix of rain and sleet will develop Thursday night into Friday morning in part of the Maryland Panhandle, the eastern panhandle of West Virginia and northwestern Virginia. Near-freezing temperatures in this area can make for icy patches on I-68 and I-70.

Later Friday, spotty rain and sleet are likely to develop in the I-80 and I-81 corridors of Pennsylvania.

This area will then expand and lift northward Friday evening into early Saturday morning and can affect portions of the New York Thruway, the Massachusetts Turnpike and I-91, while transitioning to a mixture of wet snow and ice.

The rain from northwestern Virginia to interior New England can freeze on colder, elevated surfaces, especially on untreated bridges and overpasses. Areas that do not receive warmth from the direct rays of the sun could also be icy, such as gaps in the mountains and heavily wooded areas.

Just like the event from Tuesday, mostly rain will fall in the I-95 corridor from Washington, D.C., to New York City and Boston.

Roads in most northern and western suburbs from Washington, D.C., to New York City will be wet as well.

However, some roads in parts of northern Connecticut, central Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire may be slippery Saturday morning, since cold air may linger a while longer in this area.

Before the rain arrives in the Northeast, it will bring the risk for travel disruptions and flooding across the Plains and Ohio Valley.

Additional wintry mix events are possible into next week in parts of the Northeast as the pattern of weak, brief pushes of cold air continue to sneak in.

Otherwise, widespread and long-lasting arctic air is forecast to avoid the United States through at least the middle of December and possibly longer.

Chicago: Icy Air to Maintain Grip This Week

After a frigid start to the week in the Chicago, cold air will linger for most of the week in the city.

Temperatures will hover around freezing through Friday as a blast of arctic air stretches across the Plains and Midwest.

Fans attending the matchup between the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field on Thursday will want to dress warmly with a hat and gloves. RealFeel temperatures in the evening could dip into the 20s.

By Friday, the coldest air will retreat but highs will still be kept to within a few degrees of 40 F.

By early next week, the chance for snow showers will return.

- AccuWeather.

8% Loss of USA Durum Wheat Due to Intense Cold

Durum Wheat and Soft Winter Red Wheat are two different and separate wheat crop species that are grown in late fall and winter months. This year both have been damaged in the USA, Russia and Eurasia. Lower yields are now slowly trickling in to corroborate the effects of cold temperatures on the worlds wheat crops.

WATCH: Intense cold and global food crisis.

Hidden and Mis-Reported Cold Temperature Records in the Media

Many of the temperature cold records being reported are being compared with the last most recent records, not the 100-140 year range to make it appear as the cooling in in the 30-50 year range. Data is also not being updated in national and state record low temperature archives and databases. This video shows a few examples and explains the hodgepodge and year mis-matches in such data.

WATCH: Record cold temperatures.

- Adapt 2030.

MONUMENTAL DELUGE & GEOLOGICAL UPHEAVAL: "The Situation Is Catastrophic" - Thousands Of Wartime Explosives Dislodged As Unprecedented Balkan Flooding Leads To Landslides; Over THREE THOUSAND LANDSLIDES; Death Toll Is Rising; Mass Evacuation Is Underway; Flood Damage Could Cost Over A BILLION EUROS! [PHOTOS+VIDEOS]

May 19, 2014 - THE BALKANS - While dozens of people have died as a result of massive floods sweeping the Balkans, leaving tens of thousands displaced, a new risk has been posed by unexploded wartime landmines that are now being exposed by 3,000 landslides.

Aerial view shows the flooded town of Obrenovac, 40 kilometers west of Belgrade, on May 19, 2014.
(AFP Photo / Alexa Stankovic)

“The consequences...are terrifying,” Bosnian Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija told a news conference on Monday. “The physical destruction is not less than the destruction caused by the war.”

Bosnia’s Mine Action Center warned on Monday that: “Water and landslides have possibly moved some mines and taken away mine warning signs,” Sasa Obradovic, a center official, told AFP.


WATCH: Aerial flood footage - "Worst in century" deluge hit the Balkans.

Teams have been assessing the threat and have issued a warning to residents.

Some 120,000 unexploded landmines were left buried in Bosnia after the 1992-1995 Bosnian War – approximately 2.4 percent of the Yugoslav republic is covered with both unexploded mines and similar devices.

An aerial view of the flooded city of Orasje May 18, 2014. Russian cargo planes and rescue teams from around
Europe on Sunday joined huge volunteer aid efforts in swathes of Serbia and Bosnia where at least
24 people have died in the worst floods in over a century.(Reuters / Dado Ruvic)

A man reacts near a house tilted by floods in the village of Krupanj, west from Belgrade, May 19, 2014.
(Reuters / Marko Djurica)

Destroyed vehicles in the flooded village of Gunja, in eastern Croatia, 18 May, 2014. (AFP Photo)

“They must be extremely cautious when they start cleaning their houses, land, or gardens, as the remaining mud could hide mines and other explosive devices brought by rivers,” Obradovic said.

Since the war ended, around 600 people have been killed in landmine blasts.

Record rainfall has caused catastrophic floods in Bosnia, Serbia and parts of Croatia, killing at least 47 people. More than one-quarter of Bosnia’s four million people have been affected. Some 2,100 landslides were set off in Bosnia by the heavy rainfall, while Serbia documented approximately 1,000.


WATCH: Thousands evacuated as record flood stuns Serbia.

While as many as 500,000 have had to evacuate their homes in Bosnia, at least 25,000 people have left their residences in Serbia.

"We have some indications that a half a million Bosnians have either been evacuated or have left their homes because of flooding or landslides," said Fahrudin Solak, the acting head of the civil defence service in Bosnia's autonomous Federation.

A girl sits on a matress with coloured felt pens and books in a collective centre for people evacuated from the flooded
town of Obrenovac on May 19, 2014 in Obrenovac, some 30km southwest of Belgrade. (AFP Photo / Alexa Stankovic)

How children see #BosniaFloods & #SerbiaFloods . #UNICEF and UN join flood relief efforts #Serbia #Bosnia@BenjaminPerks

Volunteers and police officers pass sandbags to reinforce the bank of the river Sava near Sabac, 100 kilometres
west of Belgrade, on May 19, 2014. (AFP Photo / Andrej Isakovic)

Workers use a backhoe and bulldozers to clear the earth after a landslide in the flooded village of Topcic Polje,
near the northern Bosnian city of Doboj, on May 19, 2014 (AFP Photo / Elvis Barukcic)

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic announced an urgent and complete evacuation of the Serbian town of Obrenovac, located some 30 kilometers from Belgrade.

The warning came after a sharp rise in the water level of the River Sava.

The number of deaths in the town has now risen to 13, stated Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, as reported by Itar-Tass. “It's hard to talk about the amount of flood damage,” he said, “but it could cost...hundreds of millions of euros...and some say about a billion.”


WATCH:  Tens of thousands flee as fatal floods sweep Balkans.

 


Rescue services have been urging people to head to their balconies or roofs wearing bright clothes to make themselves visible.

“The situation is catastrophic,” Bosnia's refugee minister, Adil Osmanovic, said on Monday as more casualties were anticipated. - RT.

MONUMENTAL EARTH CHANGES: The Great Balkan Deluge - Over 300 Landslides Hit Bosnia, Croatia And Serbia As Unprecedented And Catastrophic Rainfall Swamp The Balkan Region In The Worst Flooding Since Modern Records Began; At Least 25 Dead; THREE MONTHS Worth Of Rain Fell In JUST THREE DAYS! [PHOTOS+VIDEO]

May 17, 2014 - THE BALKANS -  Landslides triggered by unprecedented rains in Bosnia have left hundreds of people homeless, officials said Sunday, while thousands more have fled their homes in neighboring Croatia and Serbia as Balkan countries battle the region's worst flooding since modern records began.

Serbian army soldiers evacuate people in amphibious vehicles in the flooded town of Obrenovac, southwest of Belgrade,
May 17, 2014. Emergency services pulled seven dead bodies from flooded homes in Bosnia on Saturday and soldiers
rushed to free hundreds of people stranded in a school in Serbia during the worst floods to hit the Balkans in over a
century. REUTERS/Marko Djurica (SERBIA - Tags: DISASTER ENVIRONMENT MILITARY)

Throughout hilly Bosnia, floods are triggering landslides covering roads, homes and whole villages. About 300 landslides have been reported, and stranded villagers often are being rescued by helicopter.

"The situation is catastrophic," said Bosnia's refugee minister, Adil Osmanovic.

Three months' worth of rain fell on the region in a three-day burst, creating the worst floods since rainfall measurements began 120 years ago.

Observed from the air, almost a third of Bosnia chiefly in the northeast resembles a huge muddy lake, with houses, roads and rail lines submerged. Officials say about a million people — more than a quarter of the country's population — live in the worst-affected areas.

The hillside village of Horozovina, close to the northeastern town of Tuzla, was practically split in two by a landslide that swallowed eight houses. More than 100 other houses were under threat from the restless earth. Residents told stories of narrow escapes from injury or death.

"I am homeless. I have nothing left, not even a toothpick," said one resident, Mesan Ikanovic. "I ran out of the house barefoot, carrying children in my arms."

Ikanovic said 10 minutes separated him and his family from likely death. He carried his 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son to safety.

Map shows extent of flooding in Bosnia and Serbia; 2c x 3 inches; 96.3 mm x 76 mm

Serbian police officers carry a man from a military helicopter during flood evacuation from Obrenovac, some 30
kilometers (18 miles) southwest of Belgrade Serbia, Saturday, May 17, 2014. Record flooding in the Balkans
leaves at least 20 people dead in Serbia and Bosnia and is forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes.
Meteorologists say the flooding is the worst since records began 120 years ago. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

People help old women out of a military truck during evacuation from Obrenovac, some 30 kilometers (18 miles)
southwest of Belgrade Serbia, Saturday, May 17, 2014. Record flooding in the Balkans leaves at least 20 people
dead in Serbia and Bosnia and is forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes. Meteorologists say the
flooding is the worst since records began 120 years ago. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Ikanovic said he secured a mortgage and moved in only last year. "Now I have nothing," he said, adding, "Where will I go now? Where will we live?"

Semid Ivilic's house in the lower part of the village was still standing. But as he looked upward at the mass of earth and rubble that engulfed his neighbors' homes, Ivelic said he was worried.

"Nobody is coming to help us," he said.

Ivilic described the moment when, sitting inside his home, the terrain outside begun to slide. "It sounded like a huge explosion. People started running out of houses, screaming," he said.

While water levels are receding in some parts of Bosnia, land flanking the Sava River remains submerged, and water levels there are still rising in many areas. Hundreds of people have been plucked by rescue helicopters from flooded towns and villages.

The mayor of Orasje made a special appeal for help. The town is caught between the Sava on one side and another flooding river, the Bosna, on the other.


WATCH:  Residents Evacuated During Deadly Serbian Floods.

 


More than 10,000 already have been rescued from the town of Bijeljina, in northeast Bosnia. Trucks, buses and private cars were heading north with volunteers and tons of aid collected by people in cities outside the disaster zone.

In Sarajevo, volunteers went from door to door collecting whatever people would donate.

The Bosnian Army said it was evacuating people with helicopters and has 1,500 troops helping on the ground. But many roads remain closed by floods and hundreds of landslides. Bridges have been washed away and this has left many towns and villages completely depending on air lifts.

Helicopters from the European Union, Slovenia and Croatia also are aiding rescue efforts. They are deployed in areas around five cities in central and northeastern Bosnia where the situation is considered the most dangerous.

Bosnian people hang from the back of a car during evacuation from their flooded homes in the village of Dvorovi, near
Bijeljina 200 kms north of Sarajevo, Bosnia, Saturday May 17, 2014. Packed into buses, boats and helicopters, carrying
nothing but a handful of belongings, tens of thousands fled their homes Saturday in Bosnia and Serbia, seeking to
escape the worst flooding in a century. Authorities said 20 people have died but warned the death toll could rise further.
(AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Serbian police officers carry an old woman from a military helicopter during evacuation from Obrenovac, some 30
kilometers (18 miles) southwest of Belgrade Serbia, Saturday, May 17, 2014. Record flooding in the Balkans leaves
at least 20 people dead in Serbia and Bosnia and is forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes. Meteorologists
say the flooding is the worst since records began 120 years ago. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Bosnian people walk on a broken road after a landslide which swept away eight houses near Kalesija, Bosnia, 150 kms
north of Sarajevo, Sunday May 18, 2014. Packed into buses, boats and helicopters, carrying nothing but a handful of
belongings, tens of thousands fled their homes in Bosnia and Serbia, seeking to escape the worst flooding in a century.
(AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Members of the Bosnian Army rescue people from their flooded homes, in the Bosnian town of Maglaj, 150 kms north of
Sarajevo, Friday May 16, 2014. Two people drowned in Serbia and the country declared a national emergency Thursday
as rain-swollen rivers across the Balkans flooded roads and bridges, shut down schools and cut off power. Hundreds of
people had to be evacuated. In Serbia and neighboring Bosnia, meteorologists said the rainfall was the most since
measuring started 120 years ago. Belgrade authorities say the average rainfall of
a two-month period hit the city in just 40 hours. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

In the eastern sections of neighboring Croatia, two people are missing and hundreds have fled their homes as the Sava River also breached flood barriers there. The overflowing river rolled over villages and farm land in the relatively flat terrain.

In Serbia, more than 20,000 people have been forced from their homes. Officials there fear more flooding later Sunday as floodwaters travel down the Sava and reach the country.

Serbian officials said that the flood wave might be lower than initially expected, because the river broke barriers upstream in Croatia and Bosnia. Experts said they expect Sava floodwaters to rise for two more days, then subside.

"What happened to us happens not once in 100 years, but once in 1,000 years," Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said at a government meeting broadcast live on Serbian television. "But it should be over by Wednesday."

At least 25 people have died in the Balkan floods. - Yahoo.

GREAT DELUGE: Bosnia, Serbia Hit By Worst Flooding In 120 YEARS - 3 Dead, Widespread Power Outages, Several Town And Villages Isolated, State Of Emergency In Many Cities!

May 15, 2014 - BOSNIA, SERBIA - The heaviest rains and floods in the past 120 years hit Bosnia and Serbia this week, killing three people, cutting off electricity and leaving several towns and villages isolated.

Firefighters evacuate people during floods in Zenica May 15, 2014. Several Bosnian
cities have been affected by floods caused by heavy rains.
REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

The three casualties, one of them a firefighter on a rescue mission, drowned in Serbia. The country declared a state of emergency in 18 towns and cities, including the capital, Belgrade.

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday he would declare an emergency for the whole country at 1100 GMT.

"This is the greatest flooding disaster ever. Not only in the past 100 years; this has never happened in Serbia's history," Vucic told a news conference. "More rain fell in one day than in four months."

In Bosnia, army helicopters evacuated dozens of people stranded in their homes in the central town of Maglaj, where the Bosna river swelled to record levels, reaching the first floors of apartment buildings.

Special police were trying to reach the northern Bosnian town of Doboj, which was cut off from the rest of the country after all major roads out were flooded.

The Bosnian government ordered the defence ministry to use troops to help thousands of civilians whose homes were engulfed by water, particularly in the central and eastern regions.

"This is the worst rainfall in Bosnia since 1894, when weather measurements started to be recorded," said Zeljko Majstorovic, a Sarajevo meteorologist. He said the rain, which began on Tuesday, would continue until the end of the week.

Many roads were deluged and towns and villages completely cut off. Schools were closed across both countries.

Serbian Energy Minister Aleksandar Antic said power supplies were cut to around 100,000 households, mostly in central Serbia.

Serbia's power company, Elektroprivreda Srbije, said it had mobilised teams to monitor the situation on the ground. Flooding had disrupted production in two coal mines supplying major thermal plants, the company said.

A major highway from Belgrade to Macedonia and Bulgaria was flooded and the traffic interrupted. The main south-bound railway line to Montenegro's port of Bar was also closed down.

Bosnia's top utility, Elektroprivreda BiH, said at least 5,000 households were without electricity in the central and eastern parts of the country.  - The Star.

DELUGE: Torrential Rains Cause Widespread Flooding In Central Italy - Streets Were Submerged And Cars Were Seen Floating! [VIDEO]

May 04, 2014 - ITALY - At least one person has been killed and another is missing after flooding hit the Le Marche province in central Italy.

In the port town of Senigallia, streets were submerged and cars were seen floating in filthy water.EPA

The port town of Senigallia, on the Adriatic coast, was the worst hit when the River Cesano burst its banks.

Streets were submerged and cars were seen floating in the filthy water.

The man who has been confirmed dead is believed to have been suffering from a heart condition, but the ambulance was unable to reach him due to the flooded roads.


WATCH: Heavy flooding in Central Italy.

 


More rain is expected in the region over the next few days, but the heaviest rain is expected to move southwards, across the southern parts of Le Marche and the Abruzzo province.

Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia and Hungary are also expecting torrential rain over the next few days, which could bring the risk of flooding. - Al Jazeera.

EARTH CHANGES: Monumental Signs Of The Times - Large Forest Fire Breaks Out In New Jersey Despite Cool Spring Temperatures; Massive Landslide Threatens Mont Blanc Tunnel In Italy; Grass Fires Total Over 400 In March Across South Wales Region Despite Cool Temperatures; 4.4 Earthquake In Slovenia, Italy Near Nuclear Plant; Large Wildfire In Dutch National Park; Severe Weather In India Claims 1 Life And Injures 120; Despite Cool Damp Spring, Fire Crews Tackle Nearly 300 Grass Fires In Wales; Floods In Serbia Prompt Evacuation Of More Than 400 Families; And Mammatus Clouds Over Israel!

April 24, 2014 - EARTH - The following stories constitutes some of the latest incidents of Earth changes across the globe.

Large Forest Fire Breaks Out In New Jersey Despite Cool Spring Temperatures

A forest fire continues to grow in Downe Township, Cumberland County, fanned by strong winds.

As of Thursday morning, officials said about 1500 acres have been consumed in a remote area of the Edward G. Bevan Fish and Wildlife Management Area.

So far, no structures or people have been threatened.

At least 50 firefighters were battling the blaze, which started Wednesday as a Red Flag warning went into effect in New Jersey.

Sam Moore from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service explains, "The Red Flag Warning is very serious. The slightest little spark or ember or any kind of hot source could ignite a catastrophic wildfire."

Moore, a section warden with the forest fire service, was on patrol Wednesday, one of several 2-man brush trucks roaming through the pinelands on alert during the Red Flag Warning.

Manning the observation tower eight stories above ground in Woodland Township was Ralph Wallen, who is constantly scanning the skies looking for fires.

Wallen told Action News, "You see a little puff of white smoke coming up and then we use this thing and get a compass reading on it."

The wind is fierce up on the tower at times making the danger clear. If a fire gets started, the wind will take it and move it like a freight train.

Section Fire Warden Tom Gerber said the wind "just has a ladder-like effect. It'll make these flame heights 50 to 60 feet high flame heights.... The conditions are as bad as they get."

The combination of strong winds, low humidity, and the abundance of dry leaves and branches that carpet the forest floor are what's creating the extreme fire danger. Similar conditions helped fuel a 2,000 acre blaze on April 6 and another in Salem, N.J. last weekend.

Fire officials are urging people to be cautious.

"We are limiting a lot of the agricultural burning and the campfires in campgrounds of state parks. Smokers please use your ashtray," Section Fire Warden Shawn Judy said.

Rosemarie Mason from the Outdoor Club of South Jersey says, "We usually have a big picnic with hamburgers and hotdogs, but because of fire regulations and what's going on with the weather we are going to have sandwiches instead." - ABC New Jersey.

Massive Landslide Threatens Mont Blanc Tunnel In Italy

Mont Blance tunnel entrance.
Christophe Jacquet

A series of landslides over the past few days have disrupted traffic near Courmayeur, a renowned tourist resort in the Italian Alps, forcing temporarily closure of Mont Blanc tunnel, local reports said on Tuesday.

Around 20,000 cubic meters of mud and rock fell on Monday night, while another estimated 400,000 cubic meters of earth were on the move triggered by rising temperatures.

Local authorities reportedly closed Mont Blanc tunnel, which links Italy and France, for about two hours as a result of the crashing rocks

Meanwhile dozens of citizens had to temporarily leave their homes while protection teams and volunteers were at work to clean roads and shore up protective barriers against further landslides.

After visiting Courmayeur on Tuesday, the head of Italian civil protection Franco Gabrielli told a press conference that the situation was "complex" not only for the "hundreds of thousands of cubic meters that will soon begin to fall, but especially because of a paleo-landslide of about 8-9 million cubic meters which has affected this area for 15 years."

He said that although it was not possible to predict when the paleo-landslide will fall completely, the renowned tourist resort was remaining "extremely safe." However, Gabrielli also added, the series of landslides was posing a threat to Mont Blanc tunnel because "an intermediate collapse would be enough to block international traffic for who knows how long."

The head of civil protection said that a total of 480,000 areas subject to landslides have been counted in Italy. But the real figure, he underlined, probably was of nearly two million areas, meaning that some 40 billion euros (55 billion U.S. dollars) would be necessary to secure the entire country. - Xinhua.

Grass Fires Total Over 400 In March Across South Wales Despite Cool Temperatures

The fire above Ogmore Vale. Alamy

Fire crews caught on camera dealing with more than 400 fires, many of them started deliberately, across many parts of South Wales

Huge areas of grass and shrubland are a sea of charred black today after a wave of deliberately set fires swept through huge chunks of the Welsh countryside.

These dramatic pictures show firefighters trying to deal with the grass fires, including one which at one point was six miles wide.

The lone firefighter walking through the charred scrubland sums up the battle fire crews have had to deal with since the start of the month.

From March 1, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service alone has attended 215 grass fires and 283 deliberately set fires across huge areas of land. There were another 35 deliberately lit grass fires in the South Wales Fire and Rescue area yesterday damaging over 198 hectares of Welsh countryside

One, at Pontsticill, Merthyr Tydfil, affected approximately 100 hectares of grass and scrubland on Monday.

Crews were sent to battle trees on fire near the reservoir in Pontsticill after being alerted to it at 10.39am and continued to be at the scene for several hours.

They then had to deal with a mountain fire in Waun y Pound, which was reported at 7.13pm.

The huge grass blaze at Pontsticill stretched up to six miles, with the fire being driven by high winds.

Fire crews battled through most of the day and worked with teams from Natural Resources Wales to bring the fire under control.

It is the latest in a number of fires that have come with the recent good weather.

The South Wales fire service was called to 40 grass fires on Sunday - and all but one of them was started on purpose.

One fire, near Nantymoel at the head of the Ogmore Valley, damaged seven hectares, as did another deliberately set fire at Cwmparc, near Treorchy.

The Cwmparc fire came close to setting stables and sheds alight.

A mountain fire above Asda, Merthyr Tydfil, which was visible in the Pant area from A465, burned over night on Saturday.

A fire near Tylorstown, in Rhondda, led to 27,999 calls and damaged five hectares.

By 7pm on Sunday, firefighters had spent 15 hours fighting fires set on purpose.

Head of South Wales Fire & Rescue Service's Fire Control Jennie Griffiths, who has been tweeting updates throughout, said: "Its not funny, its not clever + there are innocent victims."

On Sunday, a fire at Hengoed got very close to houses, while crews were also called to Mountain Ash, Abercynon, Merthyr, Cwmbran, Pontypridd, Bedwas, Tynewydd, Treharris, Ynyswen, Penrhys, Blaencwm, Abertysswg, Ynysyboeth and Cwm.

Last week, the team had deployed crews from the Fire Crime Unit in Caerau area of Maesteg after signs of deliberate fire setting.

A spokesman for the service said: "We have seen a significant rise in wildfire incidents across the organisation.

"The Fire Crime Unit proactively monitors all police and fire data from the previous night and then interrogates this data for incident trends.

"As a result of this interrogation of incident intelligence The Fire Crime Unit have deployed high visibility patrols across the area to deter and gather intelligence on the perpetrators, these patrols will run up to the services planned seasonal Easter Initiative 'Project Bernie' which aims to tackle such issues in the designated Bernie areas in RCT, Merthyr, Bridgend & Caerphilly Unitary Authorities.

Unfortunately this type of activity (Deliberate fire setting) is a common theme during this time of year and The Fire Crime Unit along with the South Wales & Gwent Police, and the Local Authorities are working hard in partnership to reduce and change behaviours to eradicate these acts of criminality." - Wales Online.

4.4 Earthquake In Slovenia, Italy Near Nuclear Plant

Krsko nuclear power plant AFP/Stringer

A 4.4-magnitude earthquake has struck Slovenia southwest of the country's capital, Ljubljana, at a depth of 12.4 kilometers, says USGS.

According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center, the magnitude of the quake was measured at 4.5, with a depth of 2 kilometers.

The earthquake took place about 200 kilometers from a nuclear power plant at Krško, a town in eastern Slovenia. The plant is co-owned by Slovenia and Croatia.

The quake struck at about 11:00 local time (09:00 GMT).

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake hit about 5 kilometers northeast of the Slovene town of Ilirska Bistrica, 32 kilometers northwest of the Croatian city of Rijeka and 37 kilometers east of the Italian city of Trieste.

The Krško nuclear power plant, in the east of the country, has frequently been a cause for concern among scientists. On Friday, environmental activists from the Alpe Adria Green NGO signed a resolution against the construction of a second reactor at the plant, warning against the danger of earthquakes.

As Krško was built in an earthquake-prone area, Austrian geologist Heinz Hoegelsberger, a former consultant for Greenpeace and one of the longstanding opponents of the plant, says it is a time bomb that should be shut down as soon as possible.

"Regardless of geological data, the plant has been built in one of the most earthquake-prone areas of Slovenia. It was built in the wrong place," Hoegelsberger said. "According to US standards, Westinghouse shouldn't have been built near a fault."

In 2008, the plant survived a big mishap as there was a leakage from the primary cooling circuit with no radioactive emissions.

Though the Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration said no radioactivity was released into the atmosphere, the European Commission set off an EU-wide alarm through the European Community Urgent Radiological Information Exchange (ECURIE). - RT.

Large Wildfire In Dutch National Park

Hoge Veluwe National Park

A large wildfire destroyed at least 530 hectares (1,300 acres) in the Netherlands' Hoge Veluwe National Park on Sunday, one of the worst fires seen in the region for decades, Dutch authorities said.

No injuries have been reported, according to Mayor Cees van der Knaap of the municipality of Ede, 65 kilometers (40 miles) east of Amsterdam, which oversees the park.

Military helicopters and firefighters from surrounding provinces have been summoned to assist in combating the fire, which has been difficult to control because of strong winds.

The park is home to the Kroeller-Mueller Museum, which houses a major collection of Impressionist art and 20th-century sculpture. Around 2,000 visitors were instructed to leave the park after the fire broke out around midday and the museum was closed.

Van der Knaap told a regional broadcaster the art is not in danger, but around 300 paintings have been brought to a fireproof area for safety.

A nearby highway has been closed and people who live near the park have been instructed to remain indoors because of smoke. - ABC News.

Severe Weather In India Claims 1 Life And Injures 120

A waterlogged road after the shower in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Javed Raja

Even as the sudden heavy showers that lashed the city on Sunday evening brought much respite to people in Ahmedabad from the soaring heat, one person was reported to have been crushed to death under the weight of an uprooted tree at Nava Vadaj. At least 120 people have also been reportedly injured in separate incidents across the city.

Earlier in the day, the temperature in the city had touched 39.8 degree Celsius, according to the Met office. The downpour continued till late in the evening, leading to several mishaps across the city.

As many as 25 people were reportedly injured in 14 road accidents due to the heavy showers. This was besides the 10 who were injured due to falling of trees, according EMRI 108 service sources. Twenty cases of structural collapse also left around 60 people injured. This includes 10, who were hurt when a glass panel at the entrance of Devarc Mall on S G Highway crashed. Meanwhile, 25 more were reportedly injured in 16 cases of tin roof-flying, sources said. At least, eight to ten persons were stranded in a lift at Devarc Mall due to power failure. They have all been rescued, he said.

The strong gusty winds, thunderstorm and unexpected heavy rainfall during this time of the year not only left the residents awestruck, but also the weather department confused.

An average rainfall of 25 mm in two hours - from 6pm to 8 pm - along with high wind velocity resulted in several tree, besides hoardings and billboards, to get uprooted and fall across the city.

Over 100 incidents of tree-falling were reported from various parts of the city, with the maximum being from the western zone areas. Rescue calls of 50 trees uprooting and felling were received by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporations control room, followed by 13 from the eastern zone.

As many as 16 fire tenders had been sent out and were still on the road at the time of filing of this report. This also led to terrible traffic snarls in the western parts, including Shivranjani, Jivraj crossing and Vejalpur areas.

"Certainly this was unexpected at this time of the year, but there is nothing to be scared of as this is a local activity resulting from the heat.

Ahmedabad reported a maximum temperature of 39.8 degree Celsius on Sunday afternoon. Hence, an upper air cyclonic circulation was formed over the region. While with the rainfall temperature in Northern and Saurashtra areas will fall, some rainfall is still expected on Monday," said director of Ahmedabad's centre of Meteorological Department Jayanta Sarkar.

Meanwhile, a huge hoarding crumbled near Shivranjani cross road on Satellite Road, blocking the road and causing heavy traffic jam. However, no casualties were reported in this incident, according to additional chief fire officer Rajesh Bhatt, who was supervising removal of debris. The incident occurred at 9 pm, and it would take at least three hours to clear the road for traffic, he said. - Indian Express.

Despite Cool Damp Spring, Fire Crews Tackle Nearly 300 Grass Fires In Wales

Mid and West Wales fire crews were called into action to tackle a blaze on the Black Mountain at 7pm on Saturday.
The service has faced 200 grass fires during the month of April.  Roger Vince

The latest grass fire to strike the Amman Valley raged for more than five hours on the Black Mountain on Saturday night before being brought under control by emergency crews.

Amman Valley firefighters based at Gwaun cae Gurwen were called to tackle the blaze, which began above Cwmgarw Road on the Black Mountain, following reports of the fire at 7pm.

The incident is just the latest in what has become an ever increasing problem for emergency services.

As well as taking up time and manpower, the grass fires are also proving a massive drain on financial resources.

In the month of April alone, Mid and West Fire Service were called in to deal with 282 grass fires at a cost though to be approaching £1,000,000.

The cause of the blaze, which started near Upper Brynaman, is yet to be confirmed and no serious damage was done despite early concerns that the flames were moving towards a residential cottage.

Crews attended the scene and were able to extinguish the fire at midnight, however the incident was just the latest in a worrying trend which is only likely to worsen as summer approaches.

Mid and West Wales arson reduction team manager Steve Richards "Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service has attended a total of 282 grass fires since the beginning of April alone. We are working closely with the police to actively target areas where deliberate fires are a nuisance." - South Wales Guardian.

Floods In Serbia Prompt Evacuation Of More Than 400 Families

Flood waves on several rivers and their tributaries in Serbia have prompted the evacuation of at least 440 families in the last two days, leaving thousands of people without water and power supply.

An emergency situation has been declared in five municipalities, but there have been no casualties. The damage caused by the floods that have hit parts of the western, central and eastern Serbia is not possible to estimate until the rivers recede.

Serbian Ministry of the Interior official Predrag Maric told reporters that firefighter and rescue services were in the flooded areas, adding that water supply in several towns and in some settlements was being made difficult by problems in the power grid.

Following heavy rain- and snowfalls in the country, river levels have been rising for the third day in a row, and landslides have closed several local and major roads.

A new flood wave is expected in the Western Morava River due to a temperature rise and the melting of snow in western Serbia. Maric said the current situation was also due to the poor maintenance of drainage canals, a problem which he said had been present for several decades.

A snowfall which in the last few days has hit western Serbia, with drifts as high as 70 centimetres, has caused extensive damage to growers of raspberries, one of Serbia's most profitable farm export products.   - CBC.

Mammatus Clouds Over Israel

Haifa covered with 'breast clouds'.
Gilad Har Sheleg

Professor Hadas Saaroni, a climatologist from Tel Aviv University explained how these uniquely shaped clouds are formed.

"They get this shape when clouds are formed in an altitude of four kilometers. Under this higher layer of air there is air that is rather dry. When these clouds rain onto a dry layer, the rain instantly evaporates and the round shape of these clouds is formed.

Breast clouds` over Nahariya.
Rativo family

Breast clouds` over Shlomi.
Arcadi Hayat

Breast clouds` over Kibbutz Dafna.
Shlomi Dadon

"While most of the rain doesn't make it to the ground because it evaporates on the way down, the rain that does penetrate through washes the dust that came in with the winds, and turns into mud-rain," Saaroni explained.

Shlomo Uberman, of Meteo-tech meteorological services, added that "these clouds are created as a result of an active jet stream which is currently taking place in our region and causing rainfall. An active jet stream is a flow of medium and high altitude winds. These clouds can be usually seen during transition seasons." - YNET News.