Extreme Weather – Saudi Arabia, Province of Makkah, [Makkah and Hail]

Earth Watch Report  –  Extreme Weather

 

 

Rains wreak havoc in Makkah, Hail

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Extreme Weather

Saudi Arabia

Province of Makkah, [Makkah and Hail]

 

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RSOE EDIS

Extreme Weather in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, 10 May, 2014 at 04:28 (04:28 AM) UTC.

Description Floods caused by torrential rain swept through parts of Makkah and Hail on Thursday killing two people and injuring several others. The flooding also caused power cuts and damaged hundreds of cars across Makkah neighborhoods, according to eyewitnesses. Thousands of Umrah pilgrims were stranded inside the Grand Mosque after Maghrib, many only able to reach their accommodation after midnight, according to eyewitnesses. Worshippers prayed Isha in the heavy rain. The Civil Defense in Hail said five brothers driving in a four-wheel-drive vehicle tried to cross the flooded Al-Khafj Valley. The force of the water overturned their vehicle. Maj. Nafea bin Alian Al-Makhalafa, media spokesperson of the Civil Defense in Hail, said that one brother had rescued three of his brothers. The fifth brother was trapped inside the vehicle and drowned. Brig. Col. Saleh Al-Alyani, spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Makkah, said an African expatriate died in Mansour district when a tree fell on him. The police are investigating, he said. Al-Alyani said the organization’s operations room received 1,356 emergency calls, mostly about cars caught up in the floods, falling trees and power cuts. A special operations room has been set up in Makkah to monitor the situation and coordinate relief and evacuation efforts, he said. The Civil Defense deployed helicopters, 23 patrols and 16 rescue teams with heavy machinery for emergency operations. It also sent 32 officers and six staff members on motorbikes to the Grand Mosque to assist pilgrims. The Saudi Electricity Company said its engineers and technicians were monitoring the situation in Makkah.

 

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Rains wreak havoc in Makkah, Hail

Arab News

Makkah/Hail, May 10: Floods caused by torrential rain swept through parts of Makkah and Hail on Thursday killing two people and injuring several others.

The flooding also caused power cuts and damaged hundreds of cars across Makkah neighborhoods, according to eyewitnesses.

Thousands of Umrah pilgrims were stranded inside the Grand Mosque after Maghrib, many only able to reach their accommodation after midnight, according to eyewitnesses. Worshippers prayed Isha in the heavy rain.

The Civil Defense in Hail said five brothers driving in a four-wheel-drive vehicle tried to cross the flooded Al-Khafj Valley. The force of the water overturned their vehicle.

Maj. Nafea bin Alian Al-Makhalafa, media spokesperson of the Civil Defense in Hail, said that one brother had rescued three of his brothers. The fifth brother was trapped inside the vehicle and drowned.

Brig. Col. Saleh Al-Alyani, spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Makkah, said an African expatriate died in Mansour district when a tree fell on him. The police are investigating, he said.

Al-Alyani said the organization’s operations room received 1,356 emergency calls, mostly about cars caught up in the floods, falling trees and power cuts. A special operations room has been set up in Makkah to monitor the situation and coordinate relief and evacuation efforts, he said.

The Civil Defense deployed helicopters, 23 patrols and 16 rescue teams with heavy machinery for emergency operations. It also sent 32 officers and six staff members on motorbikes to the Grand Mosque to assist pilgrims.

The Saudi Electricity Company said its engineers and technicians were monitoring the situation in Makkah.

 

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Forest / Wild Fire – Lebanon, South Governorate, [District of Sidon]

Earth Watch Report  –  Forest/Wild Fires

 

Huge fire erupts in the southern town of Maghdouche on Monday Oct. 7, 2013. (The Daily Star/Mohammed Zaatari)

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07.10.2013

Forest / Wild Fire

Lebanon

South Governorate, [District of Sidon]

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Forest / Wild Fire in Lebanon on Monday, 07 October, 2013 at 12:15 (12:15 PM) UTC.

 

Description

A large forest fire erupted Monday in the southern Sidon town of Maghdouche, prompting a nearby school to evacuate students and staff members. There were no reports of casualties. Civil Defense teams and firefighters from the city of Sidon are working on putting out the fire, which caused thick plumes of white smoke to blanket the southern town. Their efforts are being hampered by strong winds that are helping the fire expand. Residents fear the flames could reach their homes. Agriculture in the town, known for its vineyards and olive trees, was affected by the fire.

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Forest fire in s. Lebanon town, school evacuated

 

Soldiers try to put out a fire that erupted in the southern town of Maghdouche on Monday Oct. 7, 2013. (The Daily Star/Mohammed Zaatari)

 

SIDON, Lebanon: A forest fire erupted Monday in the southern Sidon town of Maghdouche, prompting a nearby school to evacuate students. One soldier, sent in to help response efforts, was injured.

 

Civil Defense and firefighters from the city of Sidon were dispatched just after noon when the fire, which caused thick plumes of white smoke to blanket the sky, erupted in the forests of Maghdouche.

 

Students and teachers at the nearby Al-Aila School were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

 

The Army was dispatched later in the day to reinforce response crews in the area. A helicopter was sent in as part of the Army effort.

Read More Here

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DisasterReport

Lebanon forest fire forces school to evacuate

A forest fire in Lebanon prompted a nearby school to evacuate students injuring a firefighter, The Daily Star reported.

Forest fire hit the southern Sidon town of Maghdouche causing the evacuation of students and teachers at the nearby Al-Aila School. One rescue soldier was injured.

The Army along with a helicopter have been dispatched to the area.

In August 2013, forest fire affected al-Bira and Sendyaneh areas of Lebanon. History biggest forest fire hit Lebanon’s Akkar region in July 2013.

Photo below shows the Lebanon soldiers trying to put out a forest fire in the southern town of Maghdouche (The Daily Star/Mohammed Zaatari).

 

Read More Here

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• Forest / Wild Fire – Middle-East – Lebanon
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Foreign Boots on American Soil: Russia To Share Military “Security Experts” With United States During Mass Disaster Incidents and Emergencies

 

 

Mac Slavo
June 29th, 2013
SHTFplan.com

Rumors have circulated for years about the possibility of foreign troops being deployed on U.S. soil in the event of a widespread declaration of a national emergency. For quite some time there have been anecdotal reports to support the claim that the  U.N., Russia and other nations would be used in a policing capacity should some critical event befall our nation.

The fear should such a scenario take place has been that these soldiers would act under the banner of their own flags, ignoring the fundamental protections afforded to our citizens, leaving Americans under the jurisdiction of people who don’t speak our language or respect our fundamental rights to self defense, to be secure in our homes, and to be presumed innocent in the eyes of the law.

Up until this point, nothing has ever been confirmed in writing, so officially no such foreign assistance has ever been agreed to. Thus, Americans had nothing to worry about.

All of this changed last week when representatives of Presidents Barrack Obama and Vladimir Putin met in Washington D.C., and not a single US-based news source reported it.

A press release posted on The Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense and Emergencies reports that the United States and Russia will now cooperate in disaster response operations that will include the exchange of “experts” during “joint rescue operations,” a term that has been broadly defined under the new agreement.

This includes rescuers, trainers and even military “security” teams:

Several documents signed during joint work of Russian Emergency Ministry and FEMA

The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry and the USA Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are going to exchange experts during joint rescue operations in major disasters. This is provided by a protocol of the fourth meeting of the U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission Working Group on Emergency Situations and seventeenth meeting of Joint U.S.-Russia Cooperation Committee on Emergency Situations, which took place in Washington on 25 June.

The document provides for expert cooperation in disaster response operations and to study the latest practices.

In addition, the parties approved of U.S.-Russian cooperation in this field in 2013-2014, which envisages exchange of experience including in monitoring and forecasting emergency situations, training of rescuers, development of mine-rescuing and provision of security at mass events.

At the end of the meeting the parties expressed their satisfaction with the level of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the United States in the area of emergency prevention and response and agreed to develop it in order to respond efficiently to all kinds of disasters.

Source: Emergency Command of Russia via Prepper Website

The President of the Unites States has just authorized the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to deploy foreign troops on U.S. soil during a mass event that encompasses an any number of disaster scenarios, including but not limited to declarations of martial law.

Should our country come under threat, something the Pentagon and US military have been simulating for years, we can now fully expect soldiers speaking broken English forcing their way through our front doors in similar fashion to what we saw in the wake of the Boston bombings.

 

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Author: Mac Slavo
Date: June 29th, 2013
Website: www.SHTFplan.com

Copyright Information: Copyright SHTFplan and Mac Slavo. This content may be freely reproduced in full or in part in digital form with full attribution to the author and a link to http://www.shtfplan.com. Please contact us for permission to reproduce this content in other media formats.

 

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Floods in Saudi Arabia have killed 77 people and scores could be missing, after the heaviest rainfall in years.

Saudi Arabia floods leave 77 dead

The Saudi authorities have warned pilgrims to take care in the rain

Floods in Saudi Arabia have killed 77 people and scores could be missing, after the heaviest rainfall in years.

None of the casualties had been among the millions attending the Hajj pilgrimage, said a spokesman for the Saudi interior ministry.

Heavy rainstorms on Wednesday had hampered the start of the annual Muslim event in the city of Mecca.

The flood deaths were in the port city of Jeddah, Rabigh and Mecca, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency.

It quotes officials as saying the deaths had been caused by flooding and collapsed homes. Witnesses said many of the victims were trapped in cars and buses.

Twenty-one of the dead were Saudis and the rest were foreign immigrants resident in the country, said Jeddah civil defence chief Abdullah al-Amri, quoted by the Associated Press.

The floods hit particularly hard in the shantytowns around the city, he added.

 

Read Full Article Here

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Volcano Activity – Iceland , Southern Iceland, [Hekla Volcano] UPDATE : Seven tremors have been measured in the last two weeks, a frequency which has never been matched since Hekla’s previous eruption

Earth Watch Report  –  Volcanic  Activity

Image Source

Image Source

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27.03.2013

Volcano Activity

Iceland

Southern Iceland, [Hekla Volcano]

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Volcano Activity in Iceland on Tuesday, 26 March, 2013 at 11:57 (11:57 AM) UTC.

Back

Updated:	Wednesday, 27 March, 2013 at 04:05 UTC
Description
The Police in Hvolsvollur and the Civil Defense department have expressed concern over increased seismic activity around Hekla volcano in the past few days. Seven tremors have been measured in the last two weeks, a frequency which has never been matched since Hekla’s previous eruption. According to geologists at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, the seven earthquakes were measured some 5 km from the top of the volcano and at a depth of 11 to 12 km. However, no magma movement has been measured. The volcano is being closely monitored at the moment by geologists who decided to alert authorities as Hekla eruption usually happen with very little warning, and the mountain itself is a popular hike among locals and tourists alike. The warning issued is the lowest out of three and is raised in order to initiate an appropriate and rapid emergency response in the case of an eruption. Internet users can monitor the activity around the volcano themselves with a live webcam of Hekla. Quite reassuringly, what looks like smoke at the top of the volcano is in fact just a cloud (at least for the moment).

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Volcano Activity – Iceland , Southern Iceland, [Hekla Volcano]

Earth Watch Report  –  Volcanic  Activity

 

Image Source

Image Source

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Today

Volcano Activity

Iceland

Southern Iceland, [Hekla Volcano]

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Volcano Activity in Iceland on Tuesday, 26 March, 2013 at 11:57 (11:57 AM) UTC.

Description

The civil protection department has declared a level of uncertainty because of seismic activity in the volcano Hekla in South Iceland as announced by the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police and chief of police in Hvolsvollur shortly after 11 am this morning. The announcement states that the Icelandic Met Office informed the civil protection department about unusual seismic activity in Hekla. The Icelandic Met Office also raised the surveillance level of Hekla to yellow because of air traffic, which means that the volcano is showing unusual activity. The level of uncertainty means that the course of events, which in latter stages could lead to the health and safety of people, the environment and inhabited areas being compromised, will be followed closely. The level of uncertainty is declared to inform the parties who would help with evacuating areas near Hekla to be prepared and is part of the civil protection department’s planning. It is the lowest of three levels. The National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police and chief of police in Hvolsvollur warn people against traveling to Hekla while the level of uncertainty is active. Hekla last erupted in 2000.

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Hekla Volcano in Iceland Spews Ash Cloud Over Europe (2010)

prismrush

Uploaded on Apr 18, 2010

2012 IS COMING: http://tinyurl.com/2012coming Volcano in Iceland continues to erupt as a giant cloud of ash plume pollutes the airways making it impossible to fly through. Many airports are still closed, but successful test flights are taking place now.

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Increased seismic activity around Hekla volcano raises concern

Posted on 26 March 2013.

Ice News

The Police in Hvolsvöllur and the Civil Defense department have expressed concern over increased seismic activity around Hekla volcano in the past few days. Seven tremors have been measured in the last two weeks, a frequency which has never been matched since Hekla’s previous eruption.

According to geologists at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, the seven earthquakes were measured some 5 km from the top of the volcano and at a depth of 11 to 12 km. However, no magma movement has been measured.  The volcano is being closely monitored at the moment by geologists who decided to alert authorities as Hekla eruption usually happen with very little warning, and the mountain itself is a popular hike among locals and tourists alike.

The warning issued is the lowest out of three and is raised in order to initiate an appropriate and rapid emergency response in the case of an eruption. Internet users can monitor the activity around the volcano themselves with a live webcam of Hekla. Quite reassuringly, what looks like smoke at the top of the volcano is in fact just a cloud (at least for the moment).

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Extreme Weather – Brazil, Municipality of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo : A heavy storm that began Saturday afternoon killed two people and caused landslides, flooding and traffic jams in Sao Paulo

Earth Watch Report  –  Flooding

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Today

Extreme Weather

Brazil

Municipality of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo

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Extreme Weather in Brazil on Monday, 11 March, 2013 at 03:59 (03:59 AM) UTC.

Description

A heavy storm that began Saturday afternoon killed two people and caused landslides, flooding and traffic jams in Sao Paulo, the authorities in Brazil’s largest city reported Sunday. A 14-year-old girl was swept away by the current as runoff washed along Rua Vergueiro, which links the central Avenida Paulista with the southern part of the city, and a 32-year-old man who tried to help her was also swept away by the floodwaters, the Civil Defense authorities said. The bodies of the pair, who drowned, were recovered Sunday morning by local firefighters in the Liberdade neighborhood some distance from where the victims were last seen. The Military Police reported that several people required aid from Civil Defense, the Fire Department and police along the heavily traveled street. The Traffic Engineering Company, or CET, said that 132 stoplights were damaged and 15 trees fell over, some of them crushing nearby cars. Several of the city’s tunnels were closed by authorities as a precaution and the roof of the food court area in the Shopping Continental mall in the Jaguare district collapsed without injuring anyone. Meanwhile, 16 neighborhoods lost their electrical service. The Congonhas airport, the city’s second largest and with a substantial number of domestic flights, was closed for almost an hour on Saturday evening and official alerts were declared in 38 zones in the metropolitan area. On Friday, a similar electrical storm in Sao Paulo caused 265 kilometers (164 miles) of traffic jams, the fourth-largest such problem in the city’s history, the CET said. A large number of automobiles were swept away by floodwaters in different spots around the city and along Avenida Paulista, which is the financial heart of Sao Paulo, buildings and businesses were without power for several hours. The weather report says that over the next few days the city will experience high temperatures, with sunshine in the morning and thunderstorms in the afternoon.

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Storm kills 2, causes damage in Sao Paulo

BRAZIL STORM | 10 de marzo de 2013

Ampliar

A heavy storm that began Saturday afternoon killed two people and caused landslides, flooding and traffic jams in Sao Paulo, the authorities in Brazil’s largest city reported Sunday. Foto Epitacio Pessoa/AE vía EFE-UGI/File/Not for use in Brazil

Sao Paulo, Mar 10 (EFE).- A heavy storm that began Saturday afternoon killed two people and caused landslides, flooding and traffic jams in Sao Paulo, the authorities in Brazil’s largest city reported Sunday.

A 14-year-old girl was swept away by the current as runoff washed along Rua Vergueiro, which links the central Avenida Paulista with the southern part of the city, and a 32-year-old man who tried to help her was also swept away by the floodwaters, the Civil Defense authorities said.

The bodies of the pair, who drowned, were recovered Sunday morning by local firefighters in the Liberdade neighborhood some distance from where the victims were last seen.

The Military Police reported that several people required aid from Civil Defense, the Fire Department and police along the heavily traveled street.

The Traffic Engineering Company, or CET, said that 132 stoplights were damaged and 15 trees fell over, some of them crushing nearby cars.

Several of the city’s tunnels were closed by authorities as a precaution and the roof of the food court area in the Shopping Continental mall in the Jaguare district collapsed without injuring anyone. Meanwhile, 16 neighborhoods lost their electrical service.

The Congonhas airport, the city’s second largest and with a substantial number of domestic flights, was closed for almost an hour on Saturday evening and official alerts were declared in 38 zones in the metropolitan area.

On Friday, a similar electrical storm in Sao Paulo caused 265 kilometers (164 miles) of traffic jams, the fourth-largest such problem in the city’s history, the CET said.

A large number of automobiles were swept away by floodwaters in different spots around the city and along Avenida Paulista, which is the financial heart of Sao Paulo, buildings and businesses were without power for several hours.

The weather report says that over the next few days the city will experience high temperatures, with sunshine in the morning and thunderstorms in the afternoon.

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Extreme Weather – Lebanon [Statewide] : Strong winds and floods

Earth Watch  Report  –  Extreme Weather

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07.01.2013

Extreme Weather

Lebanon

[Statewide]

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Extreme Weather in Lebanon on Monday, 07 January, 2013 at 19:46 (07:46 PM) UTC.

Description

Strong winds and floods killed a man and washed away a baby boy and caused travel misery as it swept across Lebanon for a second day Monday, in what the Meteorological office described as a “rare storm.” The Education Ministry announced the closure of all public and private schools Tuesday and Wednesday. Police identified the fatality as Joseph Antoine Sfeir. They said the 69-year-old man was killed when his car skidded due to heavy rain on the Zhaima-Mansourieh road in the Metn region north of Beirut. Meanwhile, Civil Defense said rescue teams were still searching for seven-month-old Youssef al-Fadel who was washed away by heavy rain overnight. The boy is the son of a Lebanese shepherd family that lives in a tent on the foot of Jadra, in the Iqlim al-Kharroub region east of Sidon, south Lebanon. “There has been a decrease in floods since midday [Monday] which will allow our teams to go down to the valley and search for the baby,” one official told The Daily Star. The boy’s brother, Abdo, said the family of 10 was sleeping when their tent flooded. “We were sleeping in our tent when we heard a strange sound and a few seconds later rain flooded our tent,” Abdo, 11, told The Daily Star. “We all fled and my mother carried Youssef, but he slipped from her arms as she ran and was swept away by the rain,” Abdo added. The violent storm uprooted nearly a dozen tents in the hills of Jadra overnight. The tents had been set up by Lebanese shepherds who hail from the Bekaa town of Deir Zannoun in east Lebanon. The Civil Defense was able to rescue all three families stranded by flood water in Jadra. However, at least 300 goats perished in the storm. Strong winds and rain also tore down several billboards along the coastal highway that links Beirut with Sidon. The road at the Awali River, just north of Sidon, was closed after heavy rainfall choked the portion of the drainage channel near the river. Powerful winds at 100 km/hour toppled several trees and ripped up agricultural greenhouses along the coastal highway between Sidon and the rest of south Lebanon. In the coastal town of Rmaileh, a giant tree fell onto the road, disrupting traffic, particularly school buses. An old tree fell near Rizk hospital in the Beirut neighborhood of Ashrafieh overnight, severely damaging two parked cars. Scores of homes in Wardanieh in Iqlim al-Kharroub have flooded due to the heavy rains. The harsh winter storm, which began late Saturday, left behind a mess in Beirut and surrounding areas. Motorists were stuck in traffic after torrential rain turned many roads and tunnels across Lebanon into a quagmire. Many parents did not send their children to school and many of those who did go arrived late. Beirut’s Karantina road was turned into a river Sunday night after pouring rain battered the city over the previous 24 hours. The Beirut Fire Department said in a statement Monday it had rescued scores of people stranded late Sunday and early Monday in the capital’s flooded streets, mainly in the Karantina area. It said rescue squads have worked since Sunday to suck out rainwater from a “huge number of flooded homes.” A landslide turned the main road of Nahr al-Mot, north of Beirut, into a muddy swamp, that left drivers stuck for hours. In nearby Antelias, the first floor of a building was flooded after the Antelias River water level rose. Many roadside walls have collapsed due to the storm, including a concrete wall along the Champville College, a private French-language school in Metn. No one was hurt. Several cars were damaged when a concrete wall collapsed in the northeastern Beirut suburb of Hazmieh, causing massive traffic jams. Further up, in Mansourieh, the main road was cut as the floods continued to rise. Rain caused disruption throughout the country as pools of water closed many roads, mainly Shweifat-Aramoun and Beiteddine-Baakline roads in Mount Lebanon. Floods also impeded traffic in east Lebanon, resulting in cars breaking down on the Ablah-Riaq, Firzil-Zahle and Bar Elias-Masnaa roads. On the Chtaura highway that links Beirut with Damascus, members of the Internal Security Forces prevented motorists from crossing toward Dahr al-Baidar if their cars were not equipped with snow chains. In the north of the country, the picture was similar with floods forcing road closures, particularly the road linking Koura with Tripoli and that leading to Akkar. Public and private schools, including vocational and technical colleges, were ordered to close Tuesday and Wednesday. A statement issued by Education Minister Hassan Diab attributed the closure to the ongoing storm which the Meteorological Department said will continue for the next two days. “This is a rare storm. Lebanon hasn’t witnessed such a storm in decades,” a source at the Meteorological office told The Daily Star. The source said the storm, coming from Russia, reached its peak strength Sunday and Monday. “However, it will continue Tuesday and Wednesday with heavy rains and thunder storms and lower temperatures,” the source added. He said snow is expected to fall as low as 500 meters and below above sea level between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. The source said the storm is expected to dwindle late Wednesday to early Thursday to showers. President Michel Sleiman kept a close watch on the storm Monday. He discussed measures to cope with the blizzard with Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi. A statement from the presidential palace said Sleiman urged the cooperation of the concerned ministries as well Civil Defense, Lebanese Red Cross, municipalities and local authorities in opening roads, removing barriers and providing assistance to citizens.

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A freak tornado hit Auckland Thursday killing three people and causing “utter devastation” as wild weather ripped apart homes and caused flash flooding in New Zealand’s largest city.

Earth Watch Report –  Tornadoes

 

Freak tornado kills 3, causes havoc in New Zealand

by Staff Writers
Auckland (AFP)

The storm, packing gusts of more than 110 kilometres (70 miles) per hour, struck suburban Hobsonville in the afternoon, toppling trees, ripping roofs from houses and sending debris flying.

Civil Defence said three people died and seven were hospitalised, with two of the fatalities believed to have been caused by a concrete slab that landed on the cabin of a truck and the other by a falling tree.

About 150 homes were badly damaged, many rendered uninhabitable, forcing residents into temporary accommodation at a nearby air force base.

Resident Suzanne McFadden said the storm roared through in “five minutes of utter devastation”.

“It honestly looks like a bomb has gone off in the street,” she told NewstalkZB.

“I saw it coming across the river, the air went very electric and the sky went black. And then the wind started to whistle.”

Police urged people to stay indoors as flash floods blocked roads and falling trees brought down power lines, blacking out about 1,300 homes.

Construction worker Sam Nuttall said the storm, which struck at 1:00pm (0000 GMT), came without warning.

“You couldn’t see it coming,” he told reporters.

“There was debris flying everywhere, steel flying around. Where I was we were sheltering between a big block wall and a truck and there were crates and everything flying at the truck, breaking the windows.

“I’ve never been in weather like that before.”

The Metservice weather agency said the tornado was created by a series of intense thunderstorms that lashed the city through the day, largely dissipating by early evening, although there were fears the winds could pick up overnight.

Prime Minister John Key expressed condolences to the families of the dead and praised the efforts of emergency services, who swiftly sealed off an area of about one square kilometre (0.4 square miles) that was worst affected by the tornado.

“This must have been an extremely frightening situation for many people in the local community,” he said.

Another tornado hit the city in May last year, killing one and injuring dozens more as it ripped the roof off a suburban shopping mall.

New Zealand is prone to tornadoes but they are relatively rare and typically much smaller than those seen in North America, where a string of twisters killed dozens of people in the US Midwest last March.

James Renwick, a specialist in atmospheric physics at Wellington’s Victoria University, said there was no discernable pattern to tornado activity in New Zealand.

“These events strike at random from time to time, but they are very localised and sporadic and are not obviously tied to trends in the large-scale climate,” he said.

“At this stage, we have no indication that tornado occurrences will become more or less frequent in future.”

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Tornado – New Zealand,Northland, Auckland [Auckland western area]

Earth Watch Report  –  Tornadoes

People clear tornado debris in Hobsonville, Auckland, New Zealand. Photograph: Phil Walter/Getty

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Today

Tornado

New Zealand

Northland, Auckland [Auckland western area]

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Tornado in New Zealand on Thursday, 06 December, 2012 at 03:54 (03:54 AM) UTC.

Description

At least three people have been killed following severe weather in west Auckland this afternoon. A multiple agency response centre has been set up at Whenuapai Airbase following the dramatic downpour, during which seven people have been injured. Four patients have been transported to North Shore Hospital and it is understood a steady stream of ambulances has been arriving since the storm hit. A series of tornadoes which ripped through the area are understood to have damaged multiple buildings, leaving a trail of destruction from Hobsonville to Henderson. 3 News understands two people working on a building site near Hobsonville Point have been killed by falling concrete slabs. Emergency services are on the scene, where a new high school is being constructed, and cordons are in place. A third person has also died in the storm, thought to have been hit by a falling tree. RadioLIVE is reporting the two men killed at the construction site are in their 20s. The very slow moving front responsible for the wild weather, is now understood to be clearing Auckland. A west Auckland resident captured the moment the tornado hit on camera. The footage was shot from the second storey of a building and shows a window being lashed by strong winds and rain. Around 150 homes have been displaced at Whenuapai with many deemed uninhabitable. A large number are also without power. At least 250 affected residents have been taken to Whenuapai Airbase, where they will be looked after by Auckland Council welfare staff. Civil Defence is also providing support.

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