Tag Archives: Landslides

Southern California can’t catch a break as powerful storm triggers landslides

Car stuck in mudslide

Important Takeaways:

  • Roads remained closed throughout Southern California on Friday following an atmospheric river that triggered rounds of evacuations and closures as it unleashed damaging mudslides in the fire-ravaged region.
  • Multiple mudslides and flash floods were reported through Thursday night. In the Los Angeles area, mud and debris covered several major roads including the Pacific Coast Highway near Pacific Palisades and Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills.
  • High winds tore through a mobile home community in Oxnard, about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles, damaging at least 12 homes, many with entire walls and roofs shredded and torn off. The damage could have been caused by a waterspout that came onshore as a weak tornado, said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard. Winds in the area were recorded at speeds of 50 mph.
  • Evacuations warnings and orders were issued in multiple counties, though the majority occurred in the Los Angeles area where the worst of the wildfires broke out last month. By late Thursday, the National Weather Service lifted all rain-related weather advisories in the region, but officials warned that “mud and rockslides can still happen even after the rainfall has stopped.”

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Santorini has experienced over 7,000 tremors and Israeli officials are reviewing safety measures in case of tsunami

Important Takeaways:

  • A series of earthquakes in the Aegean Sea has raised concerns in Greece and Israel, and officials and experts are taking action to address potential risks.
  • Santorini and Amorgos have experienced thousands of tremors since late January. The strongest earthquakes have reached magnitudes of 5.2 to 5.3.
  • Experts warn that these tremors could be part of a foreshock sequence, increasing the risk of a stronger earthquake.
  • Greek authorities report that more than 7,850 earthquakes have hit the Santorini-Amorgos seismic zone since Jan. 26. The continuous seismic activity has increased the risk of landslides on Santorini’s steep slopes.
  • Limited landslides have already hit tourist areas such as Red Beach and the Old Port. Authorities are worried about further rockfalls.
  • A state of emergency will remain in effect on the island until March 1.
  • Ariel Heimann, a senior geologist at the Institute for National Security Studies… noted that although Israel is over 1,200 kilometers from Santorini, a significant offshore earthquake could still trigger a tsunami capable of reaching Israel’s Mediterranean coast
  • Israeli officials are reviewing safety measures, including evacuation plans for coastal cities like Haifa.
  • The ongoing tremors keep scientists and authorities on high alert. No one can confirm if a major earthquake or tsunami will strike, but preparedness efforts in Israel and Greece continue to increase to reduce risks.

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‘Once a Century’ storm floods Chinese province putting 127 million at risk

Once-a-Century-storm-China

Important Takeaways:

  • Nearly 127million people in China brace for ‘once a century’ floods as biblical downpours trigger landslides and deluge cities – with terrified residents trapped in their homes as emergency crews launch rescue missions
  • Landslides in southern China injured at least six people and trapped others, state media reported Sunday, as a region with nearly 127million people braced for severe floods ‘seen around once a century’.
  • Torrential downpours across swathes of Guangdong province since Thursday have swollen rivers in the Pearl River Delta and triggered deluges in mountainous areas.
  • State broadcaster CCTV said Sunday that rains had sparked landslides affecting six villages in the northern Guangdong town of Jiangwan, ‘causing people to become trapped’

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North India flooding kills nearly two dozen

India Floods

Matthew 24:7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

Important Takeaways:

  • Flash floods and landslides caused by heavy monsoon rains have killed at least 22 people in the Himalayan region of northern India, authorities said Monday. Several cities and towns across the region, including the sprawling Indian capital Delhi, saw heavy rainfall submerge roads and inundate houses over the weekend, bringing normal life to a standstill.
  • Delhi got a punishing six inches of rain on Saturday alone, the highest single-day downpour in 40 years. A 58-year-old woman died when the ceiling of her house collapsed amid the deluge in Delhi’s Karol Bagh area.
  • Himachal Pradesh has been the hardest-hit Indian state, with flash floods and landslides causing widespread devastation. Several houses and at least two key bridges in one area were swept away by the floods. At least five people were confirmed dead in the state as more than a dozen flash floods and 14 major landslides blocked over 700 roads.

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Catastrophic Storms across Italy cause devastating damage and loss of life

Luke 21:25 ““And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves

Important Takeaways:

  • Devastating floods in Italy claim lives and leave thousands homeless
  • Twenty-one rivers burst their banks after heavy storms across country cause landslides and submerge villages
  • The worst-affected area has been Emilia-Romagna and parts of the central Marche region
  • Eight people have died and thousands have been evacuated from their homes after heavy storms wreaked havoc in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, causing severe flooding and landslides.
  • “It’s probably the worst night in the history of Romagna,” Michele de Pascale, the mayor of Ravenna, told Rai radio.
  • Before the latest floods, Emilia-Romagna and other areas of northern Italy were blighted by a drought that dried out land, reducing its capacity to absorb water.

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Flooding, Landslides, and Snow as the 9th storm brings more rain to a soaked California

California Flood

Luke 21:25-26 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Important Takeaways:

  • More Rain, Snow in California from Ninth in Series of Storms
  • The ninth atmospheric river in a three-week series of major winter storms was churning through California on Monday, leaving mountain driving dangerous and the flooding risk high near swollen rivers even as the sun came out in some areas.
  • The University of California Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab tweeted Monday morning that it had recorded 49.6 inches (126 cm) of new snow since Friday.
  • A backcountry avalanche warning was issued for the central Sierra, including the greater Tahoe area.
  • The sun came out Monday in San Francisco, where 20.3 inches (51.5 cm) of rain
  • The average for the “water year” is 19.6 inches (49.8 cm), “so we’ve surpassed the yearly total with 8 more months to go”
  • In Monterey County, the swollen Salinas River swamped farmland over the weekend and officials said Monday that it was still rising.
  • Across the bay in Berkeley, 10 homes were evacuated Monday when a sodden hillside collapsed
  • Forecasters were keeping their eyes on a storm forming in the Pacific to see if it gains enough strength to become the state’s 10th atmospheric river of the season

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Philippines shaken by a 7.1 earthquake causing landslides and damage to buildings

Revelation 6:12 “I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake.”

Important Takeaways:

  • Powerful earthquake hits northern Philippines; at least four dead, over 60 injured
  • Strong tremor damages hospital, buildings and triggers landslides in north, rattles Manila
  • A hospital in Abra province was evacuated after the building partially collapsed following the quake, but there were no casualties reported, said officials.
  • The Philippine seismology agency said landslides had been reported in some part of Abra, particularly Manabo town, following the earthquake.
  • The Philippines is prone to natural disasters and is located on the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a band of volcanoes and fault lines that arcs round the edge of the Pacific Ocean.
  • “We don’t have power supply because that’s automatically cut off due to danger,” Villamor told DZRH radio.

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Southern California Breaking rain records

Matthew 24:39 ESV And they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Important Takeaways:

  • Downtown L.A. breaks 85-year-old rainfall record as winter storm lingers over Southern California
  • Downtown L.A. saw 2.34 inches of rain, breaking the record of 1.85 inches set in 1936.
  • Long Beach Airport and Los Angeles International Airport each more than doubled records set in 1981 with 2.07 inches and 3.09 inches, respectively.
  • Flash flood watches were in effect for the Lake, Bobcat, Dam and Ranch 2 burn scar areas
  • A large amount of mud and debris was also blocking the southbound lane of Malibu Canyon Road north of the tunnel.
  • Angeles Crest Highway from State Route 39 to Big Pines also was closed because of snow and landslides.

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Canada floods cut rail link to Vancouver port; one dead

By Artur Gajda and Rod Nickel

MERRITT, British Columbia (Reuters) -Floods and landslides that have killed at least one person have cut all rail access to Canada’s largest port in the city of Vancouver, a spokesperson for the port said on Tuesday.

Two days of torrential rain across the Pacific province of British Columbia touched off major flooding and shut rail routes operated by Canadian Pacific Rail and Canadian National Railway, Canada’s two biggest rail companies.

“All rail service coming to and from the Port of Vancouver is halted because of flooding in the British Columbia interior,” port spokesperson Matti Polychronis said.

At least one person was killed when a mudslide swept cars off Highway 99 near Pemberton, some 100 miles (160 km) to the northeast of Vancouver.

Two people were missing and search and rescue crews were combing through the rubble, officials said.

Vancouver’s port moves C$550 million ($440 million) worth of cargo a day, ranging from automobiles and finished goods to essential commodities.

The floods temporarily shut down much of the movement of wheat and canola from Canada, one of the world’s biggest grain exporters, during a busy time for trains to haul grain to the port following the harvest.

Drought has sharply reduced the size of Canada’s crops this year, meaning a rail disruption of a few days may not create a significant backlog, a grain industry source told Reuters.

Del Dosdall, senior export manager at grain handler Parrish & Heimbecker, said he expected some rail services could be restored by the weekend. Another industry source said he expected the shutdown to last weeks.

OIL PIPELINES SHUT DOWN

Floods have also hampered pipelines. Enbridge Inc shut a segment of a British Columbia natural gas pipeline as a precaution.

The storms also forced the closure of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which carries up to 300,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Alberta province to the Pacific coast.

Copper and coal miner Teck Resources Limited said the floods had disrupted movement of its commodities to its export terminals, while potash exporter Canpotex Ltd said it was looking for alternatives to move the crop nutrient overseas.

Directly to the south of British Columbia, in the U.S. state of Washington, heavy rain forced evacuations and cut off electricity for more than 150,000 households on Monday.

The U.S. National Weather Service on Tuesday issued a flash flood in Mount Vernon, Washington, “due to the potential for a levee failure.”

Some areas of British Columbia received 8 inches (20 cm) of rain on Sunday, the amount that usually falls in a month.

Authorities in Merritt, some 120 miles (200 km) northeast of Vancouver, ordered all 8,000 citizens to leave on Monday as river waters rose quickly, but some were still trapped in their homes on Tuesday, said city spokesman Greg Lowis.

Snow blanketed the town on Tuesday and some cars could be seen floating in the flood waters up to 4 feet (1.22 m) deep.

The towns of Chilliwack and Abbotsford ordered partial evacuations.

Abbotsford also issued an emergency warning on Tuesday night, asking all residents to evacuate the Sumas Prairie region immediately as deteriorating conditions posed a significant threat to lives.

Rescuers equipped with diggers and body-sniffing dogs started clearing mounds of debris that have choked highways.

The landslides and floods come less than six months after a wildfires gutted an entire town in British Columbia as temperatures soared during a record-breaking heat dome, raising new worries about climate change.

(Reporting by Artur Gajda in Merritt and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa, Nia Williams in Calgary, Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru, Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles, Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; editing by Ed Osmond, Jonathan Oatis, Aurora Ellis and Sandra Maler)

Rescuers search for victims of Canada landslides, railways disrupted

By David Ljunggren

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Search teams using dogs started looking for people whose cars may have been buried in landslides across the Canadian province of British Columbia on Tuesday, as the country’s two biggest railways reported serious damage to their networks.

The storms, which started on Sunday, wrecked roads in the Pacific province, forced an oil pipeline to close and limited land access to Vancouver, the largest city.

Canadian Pacific Rail said it was shutting down its Vancouver main line because of the flooding, while Canadian National Railway said it experienced mudslides and washouts in southern British Columbia.

Some areas received eight inches (200 mm) of rain on Sunday, the amount that usually falls in a month.

Rescuers equipped with diggers and dogs will start dismantling large mounds of debris that have choked highways.

“If a bit of machinery contacts a vehicle or the dogs indicate a person, that’s when we stop and … dig by hand until we find what they were indicating, to confirm whether it’s a live victim or if it’s a recovery,” Captain John Gormick of Vancouver’s heavy urban search and rescue team told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

Police in Abbotsford, some 70 km (40 miles) southeast of Vancouver, on Tuesday ordered the evacuation of parts of the city.

Authorities in Merritt, some 200 km (120 miles) northeast of Vancouver, ordered all 8,000 citizens to leave on Monday as river waters rose quickly, but some are trapped in their homes, city spokesman Greg Lowis told the CBC.

“We are not confident about the structural integrity of any of our bridges,” he said.

The landslides and floods come less than six months after a wildfires gutted an entire town, as temperatures in the province soared during a record-breaking heat dome.

Helicopters carried out multiple missions on Monday to rescue hundreds of people trapped in their vehicles when mudslides cut off a highway near the mountain town of Agassiz, about 120km (75 miles) east of Vancouver.

The storms forced the closure of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which takes crude oil from Alberta to the Pacific Coast. The line has a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; additional reporting by Nia Williams in Calgary and Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; editing by Ed Osmond and Jonathan Oatis)