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Sacramento (UPI) Jan 14, 2011 Scientists have developed a weather scenario in which California could be inundated by storms capable of producing up to 10 feet of rain. The U.S. Geological Survey report on the so-called ARkStorm (atmospheric river) was released Friday at a conference in Sacramento and warned that if it developed, California would see widespread flooding that would cause roughly $300 billion in damage. Despite its recent drought, California can receive fairly heavy rains in the winter months. The USGS said its examination of historical flood data coupled with climate-change projections add up to a hypothetical whopper winter in which a series of major soakers overwhelm the state's flood-control infrastructure. "The ARkStorm is essentially two historic storms, such as the ones in January 1969 and February 1986, put back to back in a scientifically plausible way," Lucy Jones, chief scientist of the USGS Multi-Hazards Demonstration Project, said in a written statement. "The model is not an extremely extreme event." The report said something approaching an ARkStorm occurred in California over a 45-day in the winter of 1861-62 and affected about one-third of the state's farmland. The Sacramento Bee noted that the storm flooded the capital city, forcing Gov.-elect Leland Stanford to arrive at his inauguration in a row boat.
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Volunteer army cleans up as Australian floods spreadBrisbane, Australia (AFP) Jan 15, 2011 An army of volunteers turned out Saturday to clean up Australia's third-largest city Brisbane after epic floods, as towns were evacuated in the country's south amid the rolling disaster. Just as stricken areas in and around the eastern hub of Brisbane began the mammoth task of recovering from floods that killed at least 16, thousands of residents of southern Victoria state were forced to fle ... read more |
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