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The Army has been drafted into a Limerick to help battle “unprecedented” floods in the city.
Scores of people have been evacuated from their homes across Limerick City after “unprecedented” floods hit this morning.
Large parts of the city and county are under water after the River Shannon burst its banks in several areas.
The
worst affected locations include Kings Island (St Mary’s Park/Island
Road and the Lee Estate), Athlunkard Street, Dock Road, Condell Road,
Corbally Road, Honan’s Quay, Clancy Strand, and Longpavement.
Another area badly hit by the floods, Athlunkard Street, saw houses and cars submerged.
Ger
Hogan has meanwhile become a hero in his native city. Since early this
morning the father of seven has been rescuing stranded victims of the
floods from their washed out homes to safety - all on board a cart
driven by his mare Peg.
From 9am, Ger and Peg began carting neighbours and family and friends in St Mary’s Park to dry ground.
The north side estate is under four feet of water. By 2.30pm Ger and three-year old Peg had rescued around 100 people.
Heavy
rains continued to lash central and northern Italy on Friday, causing
flash flooding, landslides, disruption to transport and the evacuation
of over 1,000 people. The president of the Lazio region surrounding
Rome, Nicola Zinagaretti said was deciding whether to declare a state of
emergency. In the capital, emergency services received some 3,000
calls, as people were forced to climb into the roofs of their homes and
cars in some areas as up to 130 millimetres of rain fell in a matter of
hours. A heavily pregnant woman who went into labour had to be taken to
hospital in a dinghy, while six homeless people including Roma Gypsies
and other immigrants were rescued from makeshift huts in an area of the
city not far from the Vatican after a mudslide engulfed their makeshift
huts. Northern neighbourhoods in the Italian capital were flooded and
authorities were monitoring the Tiber river, at risk of overflowing.
Several roads and metro stations had to be closed and and mud and
detritus cause a train to derail between Rome and Viterbo. Weather
alerts were also issued in Tuscany, 1,000 people were evacuated in the
province of Pisa and the city itself was partly flooded, forcing
emergency workers to erect barriers and reinforce banks to channel water
to the sea. In the town of Volterra a 30-metre section of medieval
walls collapsed. In Florence, the river Arno was reported to be at a
20-year high although the city's mayor Matteo Renzi said the river was
not in danger of bursting its banks. Small towns outside Florence and
nearby Prato were virtually surrounded by rising flood water as schools
closed for the day. In the lagoon city of Venice, exceptionally high
tides were expected to submerge half the city at around midnight. Across
the Adriatic in Serbia, dozens of people remained stranded in snow and
rescue teams were struggling to reach those trapped on a 30-kilometre
stretch of road some 60 kilometres north of Belgrade after gale force
winds formed four-metre-high snowdrifts on the road, emergency services
said.
.....
Italy: Flash floods and landslides hit centre and north amid torrential rain
last update: January 31, 19:00
Rome,
31 January (AKI) - Heavy rains continued to lash central and northern
Italy on Friday, causing flash flooding, landslides, disruption to
transport and the evacuation of over 1,000 people.
The president
of the Lazio region surrounding Rome, Nicola Zinagaretti said was
deciding whether to declare a state of emergency.
In the capital,
emergency services received some 3,000 calls, as people were forced to
climb into the roofs of their homes and cars in some areas as up to 130
millimetres of rain fell in a matter of hours.
A heavily pregnant
woman who went into labour had to be taken to hospital in a dinghy,
while six homeless people including Roma Gypsies and other immigrants
were rescued from makeshift huts in an area of the city not far from the
Vatican after a mudslide engulfed their makeshift huts.
Northern
neighbourhoods in the Italian capital were flooded and authorities were
monitoring the Tiber river, at risk of overflowing. Several roads and
metro stations had to be closed and and mud and detritus cause a train
to derail between Rome and Viterbo.
Police officers Eric Baade, left, and Daren Prociw ride across the bed of Folsom Lake.
By
Paul Rogers
of San Jose Mercury News
Researchers have documented multiple droughts in California that lasted 10 or 20 years in a row during the past 1,000 years.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — California's
current drought is being billed as the driest period in the state's
recorded rainfall history. But scientists who study the West's long-term
climate patterns say the state has been parched for much longer
stretches before that 163-year historical period began.
And they worry that the "megadroughts" typical of California's earlier history could come again. Related: California says it won't be able to fill water demand
Through
studies of tree rings, sediment and other natural evidence, researchers
have documented multiple droughts in California that lasted 10 or 20
years in a row during the past 1,000 years — compared to the mere
three-year duration of the current dry spell. The two most severe
megadroughts make the Dust Bowl of the 1930s look tame: a 240-year-long
drought that started in 850 and, 50 years after the conclusion of that
one, another that stretched at least 180 years.
"We continue to
run California as if the longest drought we are ever going to encounter
is about seven years," said Scott Stine, a professor of geography and
environmental studies at Cal State East Bay. "We're living in a dream
world."
California in 2013 received less rain than in any year
since it became a state in 1850. And at least one Bay Area scientist
says that based on tree ring data, the current rainfall season is on
pace to be the driest since 1580 — more than 150 years before George
Washington was born. The question is: How much longer will it last?
A megadrought today would have catastrophic effects.
California,
the nation's most populous state with 38 million residents, has built a
massive economy, Silicon Valley, Hollywood and millions of acres of
farmland, all in a semiarid area. The state's dams, canals and
reservoirs have never been tested by the kind of prolonged drought that
experts say will almost certainly occur again. Related: Water war fought underground
Stine,
who has spent decades studying tree stumps in Mono Lake, Tenaya Lake,
the Walker River and other parts of the Sierra Nevada, said that the
past century has been among the wettest of the last 7,000 years.
Looking
back, the long-term record also shows some staggeringly wet periods.
The decades between the two medieval megadroughts, for example,
delivered years of above-normal rainfall — the kind that would cause
devastating floods today.
The longest droughts of the 20th
century, what Californians think of as severe, occurred from 1987 to
1992 and from 1928 to 1934. Both, Stine said, are minor compared to the
ancient droughts of 850 to 1090 and 1140 to 1320.
What would happen if the current drought continued for another 10 years or more?
Without question, longtime water experts say, farmers would bear the brunt. Cities would suffer but adapt.
The
reason: Although many Californians think that population growth is the
main driver of water demand statewide, it actually is agriculture. In an
average year, farmers use 80 percent of the water consumed by people
and businesses — 34 million of 43 million acre-feet diverted from
rivers, lakes and groundwater, according to the state Department of
Water Resources.
"Cities would be inconvenienced greatly and
suffer some. Smaller cities would get it worse, but farmers would take
the biggest hit," said Maurice Roos, the department's chief hydrologist.
"Cities can always afford to spend a lot of money to buy what water is
left."
Roos, who has worked at the department since 1957, said the
prospect of megadroughts is another reason to build more storage — both
underground and in reservoirs — to catch rain in wet years.
In a
megadrought, there would be much less water in the Delta to pump.
Farmers' allotments would shrink to nothing. Large reservoirs like
Shasta, Oroville and San Luis would eventually go dry after five or more
years of little or no rain.
Farmers would fallow millions of
acres, letting row crops die first. They'd pump massive amounts of
groundwater to keep orchards alive, but eventually those wells would go
dry. And although deeper wells could be dug, the costs could exceed the
value of their crops. Banks would refuse to loan the farmers money.
The Explorer of the Seas outbreak was caused by norovirus, one of the
worst outbreaks in 20 years, the CDC said.The Explorer of the Seas
cruise ship returns to port after hundreds of passengers became ill.
Federal
health officials confirmed on Friday that norovirus was the culprit
that sickened nearly 700 people on a cruise ship this week, and said it
was one of the biggest norovirus outbreaks in 20 years.
But the source of the outbreak on the Royal Caribbean ship Explorer of the Seas, which returned early to New Jersey on Wednesday, may never be known, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
"CDC
has been investigating the outbreak since last Sunday but no particular
source has been identified and it’s quite possible a source won’t be
identified," the CDC said in a statement.
The report comes after
passengers streamed off the Caribbean Princess Friday morning, the
second cruise cut short this week amid reports of illness on board.
The
ship, operated by Princess Cruises, returned to Houston a day early
with a confirmed outbreak of norovirus. "The ship was forced to return
to Houston one day early because we were informed that dense fog was
expected to close the port for much of the weekend," the company said in
a statement.
"The ship did not return early because of the increased incidence of norovirus on board, despite some media reports."
At least 178 people on board became ill during the cruise, according to the
cruise line and the CDC. Sick patients were quarantined to their rooms,
and other passengers said they no longer had access to buffet tongs as
crew members handed out hand sanitizer.
Toby Melville / Reuters / REUTERS
A man passes the Caribbean Princess cruise ship, which reported an outbreak of norovirus on board.
CDC
health officials met the Caribbean Princess at the Bayport Cruise
Terminal in Pasadena, Texas. The vessel launched on a seven-day cruise
to the western Caribbean on Jan. 25 and had been scheduled to return on
Saturday.
Strontium absorbent to be tested in Fukushima
Workers
at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are trying to contain
leaked and leaking radioactive wastewater in the site. They are using
various approaches.
As part of their efforts, they will examine how
much an absorbent material placed underground can remove radioactive
strontium from leaked wastewater.
The plant has seen a string of
radioactive water leaks from storage tanks starting last August. Workers
have taken countermeasures, including removing soil from around the
tanks. But high levels of radioactivity were detected in groundwater
near a tank that leaked large amounts of radioactive water.
TEPCO to look for more leaks at Fukushima reactor
The
operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is slowly finding out
more about the damage at one of the reactor containment vessels. The
destruction was caused by 2011 accident.
To cool molten nuclear fuel
in their containment vessels the operator is injecting water into the
No.1 to 3 reactors. Because the circulation system was destroyed by the
accident the water is leaking from the vessels and pooling in the
reactor and other connected buildings.
The engineers are investigating leaks in a number of places in the containment vessel that houses the core at the No.1 reactor.
TEPCO to lower radiation levels at plant perimeter
Japan's
Nuclear Regulation Authority has urged the operator of the damaged
Fukushima Daiichi plant to lower radiation levels at the plant's
perimeter.
Radiation levels measured at some locations were more than
8 millisieverts on an annual basis. The reading is 8 times the limit of
1 millisieverts per year set by the authority.
The levels rose as
the number of storage tanks for radioactive water at the plant increased
and additional ones were placed near the perimeter.
Nuclear
Engineer: Even worse news at Fukushima plant — Radioactive water has
formed pathway and is flowing straight into Pacific Ocean (AUDIO) http://enenews.com/nuclear-engineer-w...
County
officials in California approve action on Fukushima: "An international
crisis of epic proportions" — Monitoring and testing requested for West
Coast http://enenews.com/county-officials-c...
Kyodo:
Robot data reveals hole in Unit 2 suspected to be almost 10 square cm;
Highly radioactive water draining out bottom of containment vessel —
Tepco model shows molten fuel barely underwater — Temperature
irregulaties started earlier this month (GRAPHIC) http://enenews.com/kyodo-robot-data-r...
NHK
broadcaster quits in protest over nuclear issues — Professor censored
after 20 years on air — Was to reveal 'extraordinarily high' damages —
Newly installed NHK chief 'enthusiastic' to help spread gov't messages
to audience http://enenews.com/nhk-broadcaster-qu...
NYTimes:
Widespread public distrust of NHK over Fukushima radiation cover-up —
Reports: President's resignation last month related to coverage of
nuclear issues — Former NHK employees speak out: "Gross political
interference" http://enenews.com/nytimes-widespread...
BBC:
Ukraine "on brink of civil war" — Gov't: Threats to blow up nuclear
plants; Facilities on high alert after seizure of energy ministry
(VIDEO) http://enenews.com/bbc-ukraine-on-bri...
Army vehicle in Limerick earlier today.
![California drought: Police officers ride across Folsom Lake.: Police officers Eric Baade, left, and Daren Prociw ride across the bed of Folsom Lake.]({"default":"http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/93/bd5d3488ab7ac51f6e37f6f08bd347/_h353_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg"})
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