States on alert over water situation as dry
spell hits Malaysia
Published on Feb 13, 2014
11:46 AM
PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - All state water authorities in Malaysia have
been directed to take measures to avoid the possibility of a water crisis following the prolonged hot dry
spell.
National Water Services Commission (SPAN) chairman Datuk Ismail Kassim said although the water level
in many dams remains above 50 per cent, the Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister on Sunday
had issued an alert for all state water authorities to store extra water to prevent the possibility of a water
crisis.
He said the precautionary measure was being taken following concerns over dwindling water level at
certain dams, especially in east cost and northern states as they were experiencing low rainfall.
"States like Perlis and Kedah as well as some east coast states should be prepared because they are
expected to experience low rainfall this coming month," he said.
Indonesia orders 200,000 to evacuate as
volcano erupts

Published on Feb 14, 2014
6:46 AM
JAKARTA (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians were ordered to evacuate on Friday after a
volcano on the main island of Java erupted spectacularly, hurling red hot ash and rocks over a huge
distance.
The alert status for Mount Kelud, considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes on densely populated
Java, was raised late Thursday just hours before it began erupting.
TV pictures showed ash and rocks raining down on nearby villages as terrified locals fled in cars and on
motorbikes towards evacuation centres.
National disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that some 200,000 people from 36
villages in a 10-kilometre (six-mile) area around Kelud, in Kediri district in eastern Java, were being asked
to evacuate.
Deadly ice storm freezes winter-weary
United States
Published on Feb 13, 2014
10:56 AM
A tree is coated in ice outside a home after a rare winter ice storm swept across the South, on Feb 12, 2014 in Summerville,
South Carolina. -- FILE PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A deadly ice storm stranded scores of people on slick roads and knocked out
power to hundreds of thousands of US homes on Wednesday as winter-weary Americans dug in against
Mother Nature's latest blow.
More than 3,700 flights due to take off Thursday were canceled across the United States due to the wintry
blast, including well over half of flights at the busiest US airport, Atlanta's Hartfield International, airline
monitors said.
The National Weather Service began warning days ago that a "mammoth dome" of Arctic air would settle
over the eastern United States to form a "paralysing ice storm."
"The ice accumulations remain mind-boggling, if not historical," it said, warning that more than 2.5
centimeters of ice could fall from Georgia to South Carolina.
One dead and more than 100,000 left
without power as storms batter flooded
Britain
Published on Feb 13, 2014
4:06 PM
Waves break over the sea wall at high tide at Aberystwyth, west Wales, on Feb 12, 2014, as a storm strikes the west of
Britain with winds gusting at up to 160kmh in some places. A man in his 70s died in a suspected electrocution after a tree
brought down cables in Wiltshire, police said. -- PHOTO: AFP
LONDON (REUTERS) - One man was killed and more than a hundred thousand left without power as
storms and high winds battered Britain, bringing more misery to already flooded areas and causing
widespread travel chaos on Thursday.
Gusts of more than 160km per hour lashed western England and Wales overnight, Britain's Met Office said,
while severe flood warnings remained in place for much of the south and west of Britain.
A man in his 70s died in a suspected electrocution after a tree brought down cables in Wiltshire, police
said. The Energy Networks Association, which represents energy companies, reported that some 130,000
customers had been left without power late on Wednesday.
Parts of south-west England have been under water for weeks after the country's wettest January in nearly
250 years, and areas around the River Thames to the west of London have also been hit by flooding.
Deadly winter storm pounds US East Coast
with heavy snow, sleet and rain
Published on Feb 13, 2014
9:23 PM
Snow falls in front of the US Capitol building on Feb 13, 2014 in Washington, DC. A deadly and intensifying winter storm
packing heavy snow, sleet and rain pelted a huge swath of the US East Coast on Thursday, Feb 13, 2014, grounding flights
and shuttering schools and government offices. -- PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - A deadly and intensifying winter storm packing heavy snow, sleet and rain
pelted a huge swath of the US East Coast on Thursday, grounding flights and shuttering schools and
government offices.
Winter storm warnings and advisories were in place from Georgia up to Maine, and the powerful system
could blanket the Atlantic Coast over the next two days with 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 cms) of snow, said
Mr Jared Guyer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
"It's a very messy scenario," he said. "Roads remain treacherous."
The Washington D.C. area awoke to its heaviest snowfall of the winter. The federal government was
closed, along with school districts in the area.
Storms taking toll on families, schools in US
North-east
Published on Feb 14, 2014
6:28 AM
A man walks through the Greenwich Village area of Manhattan in New York on Feb 13, 2014. -- PHOTO: AFP
NEW YORK (REUTERS) - A winter storm that froze the United States (US) South-east in its tracks
pushed north on Thursday, with driving winds and heavy snow snarling travel and closing many schools
from Washington to Connecticut, creating havoc for winter-weary parents.
More than 700,000 people, including residents of Georgia and South Carolina hit by a heavy blast of ice a
day earlier, were without power as the storm made its way up the coast, closing much of Washington and
threatening to drop up to 45cm of snow in some areas.
The repeated storms are taking a toll on schools and families, as snow-related cancellations left parents
scrambling to find childcare options and administrators looking at making up lost days by extending
classes into the summer.
New York City Public Schools, having taken only one snow day this year, proved a glaring exception and
remained open.