14,000 flee Malaysia floods, Paya Peda dam
wall broken
Published on Dec 26, 2012
9:30 PM
Children play in a flooded street in downtown Kota Bharu, Kelantan, on Dec 25, 2012. The downtown was hit by flash
floods after heavy rain. -- PHOTO: AP
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Floods triggered by torrential monsoon rains in Malaysia forced almost
14,000 people to flee their homes and seek shelter at relief centres, the official Bernama news agency said
on Wednesday.
Rain showers which coincided with high tide flooded hundreds of homes in three northeastern states Terengganu, Pahang and Kelantan - with some 13,746 people being housed at evacuation centres, it said
amid forecasts of more rain.
Bernama said the flood situation was deteriorating as the number of evacuees continued to rise and some
major roads in Pahang were closed as rivers burst their banks.
Mr Muhammad Helmi Abdullah, the meteorological department's weather forecast director, warned that
there could be more rain in Terengganu, Pahang and southern Johor state in the next few days.
"We expect intermittent rain to heavy showers in (some parts of) the states," he told AFP.
Mr Muhammad Helmi said the north-east monsoon season would last until March and the affected states
could experience at least three more "heavy rain" episodes.
Part of Paya Peda irrigation dam wall under construction in Terengganu had to be broken to release
pressure, according to Bernama. The move caused flash floods in some parts of the oil-rich state.
Meanwhile a 36-year-old woman drowned after she slipped and fell into a rain-swollen river in
Terengganu state on Tuesday while fishing in a water-logged area, Bernama said.
In the Pahang state capital Kuantan, thousands of people and some businesses were affected by flash
flooding after three days of continuous rain, forcing around 3,000 people to relief centres housed in
schools and community halls, where hot meals and blankets were provided.
Hundreds of motorists were caught in the floods which caused massive traffic jams, while hundreds of cars
in parking lots and underground parking areas were submerged by fast-rising water.
Mr Nagandran Bangariah, 31, from Kuantan said the floods he had seen there were the worst he had
experienced in ten years.
“It was a terrible sight. There was rubbish floating everywhere. Motorists struggled to get their cars to high
ground,” he told AFP.
“Today, a major clean-up is going on. Furniture showrooms in Kuantan were dumping their damaged sofa
sets and cabinets. My neighbour is busy cleaning his house after water and mud entered his home,” he said.
Mr Razali Sulong, a 52-year-old flood evacuee in Pahang state said he had sought shelter at a school along
with his wife and five children.
“Floods are an annual affair for us but this time the water rose very fast. We have been staying for two
days at the evacuation centre where food and blankets were provided,” he said.
Mr Razali said the family was preparing to return home on Wednesday as flood water has receded but
knew that from past experiences there would be at least two more rounds of flash floods before the
monsoon season ends.
Storm leaves six dead in central Philippines
Published on Dec 27, 2012
6:42 PM
MANILA - A late season storm has left at least six people dead in separate incidents in the central
Philippines but has spared a southern region that was devastated by a typhoon that killed more than 1,000
people weeks earlier.
The national disaster agency said in a report on Thursday that three people died when a tree fell on their
house in Eastern Samar province, where Tropical Storm Wukong made landfall on Christmas Day. Three
others drowned in Iloilo province.
Civil Defence chief Benito Ramos said disaster officials were still investigating the death of man earlier
reported killed in a landslide. He said it's possible that the man actually was beaten up and pushed off a
ravine.
The storm has weakened into a low pressure area over the South China Sea off Palawan province,
southwest of Manila.
"The worst is over," Ramos said.
Officials said heavy rain on mountains surrounding Kalibo, the capital of Aklan province on Panay Island,
caused a river running through the city to overflow and triggered a flash flood late on Wednesday. No
casualties were reported but many houses near the river appeared to suffer damage, said Efren Trinidad,
who is the executive assistant to the Mayor of Kalibo.
The flooding was aggravated by the high tide, preventing the river from emptying most of the water into
the sea, Trinidad said. He said canals were blocked by heavy silt brought down from the nearby hills.
The city is the gateway to the famous island resort of Boracay, which was not affected.
"As we were conducting rescue operations, flights were coming in because the weather was fine. The
moon was shining while we were being flooded. It was ironic," Trinidad said, explaining that rains fell
mostly over the mountains.
It was the 17th storm to hit the country this year.
Typhoon Bopha lashed the main southern island of Mindanao early this month, killing at least 1,067
people and leaving more than 800 missing. It triggered flash floods laden with mud, boulders and uprooted
trees that rampaged through farming communities, wiping out entire villages, according to the Civil
Defence Office.
Malaysia floods claim second victim as
waters begin to subside
Published on Dec 27, 2012
7:10 PM
Residents wade through the flooded streets in Malaysia's north-eastern town of Rantau Panjang, boardering Thailand. Floods
triggered by torrential monsoon rains in Malaysia have claimed the life of a second victim although waters have subsided,
allowing some evacuees to return home from relief centres, reports said. -- PHOTO: AFP
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Floods triggered by torrential rains in Malaysia claimed a second victim as
waters started to subside, allowing thousands of evacuees to return home from relief centres, reports said
on Thursday.
Fifteen-year-old Mohammed Hamidi Abdul Hamid drowned while playing in a flooded field in
Terengganu - one of three north-eastern states hit by heavy rain - on Wednesday, according to state news
agency Bernama.
The previous day Samhanim Ramli, 36, died after slipping into a river as she tried to cast a fishing net,
according to the Star newspaper.
The floods had forced the evacuation of almost 20,000 people by Wednesday evening as fast-rising water
reached the roofs of houses in some areas. More than four thousand had returned home by Thursday
morning, Bernama news agency said.
The torrential rain, coinciding with high tides, in the states of Terengganu, Pahang and Kelantan, forced
the closure of a number of major roads as rivers burst their banks.
Huge traffic jams formed as motorists were forced to abandon their cars, with some opting to push their
vehicles through waist-deep water.
Part of the US$108 million (S$ 132 million) Paya Peda irrigation dam wall under construction in
Terengganu had to be broken to release pressure, according to Bernama.
The meteorological department has forecast more rain on the east coast over the coming days.
Director Muhammad Helmi Abdullah said the northeast monsoon season would last until March and the
affected states could experience at least three more "heavy rain" episodes.
Deadly US storm snarls post Christmas travel
Published on Dec 27, 2012
12:39 AM
A city waste management truck drives on Broadway in Paducah, Kentucky. while collecting trash downtown during a winter
storm on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 201. -- PHOTO: AP
CHICAGO (AFP) - A massive winter storm system that whipped up tornadoes, ice and snow from the
Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes and killed at least three people on Christmas was moving slowly
eastward on Wednesday.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled and people were warned to stay home rather than brave the strong
winds, freezing temperatures and treacherous roads.
The National Weather service warned of "dangerous travel conditions due to snow and ice covered roads"
and said the weight of ice and snow could knock down power lines and trees.
It forecast up to 46 centimetres of snow from New York state up to Maine and warned of freezing rain and
tornadoes all the way down to the Carolinas.
Areas in the Rocky Mountains could also expect about 30 centimetres of snow on Wednesday.
Nearly 700 US flights had been cancelled by Wednesday morning after more than 500 were cancelled on
Tuesday, according to FlightAware.
"We expect the number of cancellations and delays to rise today and tonight as the storm hits the New
York City area this afternoon and continues with high intensity through the evening," FlightAware chief
Daniel Baker said.
"The biggest factor on both coasts is high winds and winds not aligned with runways." The major hub of
Dallas-Fort Worth had halted all flights until 11 am (1600 GMT) Wednesday after having cancelled nearly
400 flights on Tuesday due to the strong winds, snow and ice.
Scores of homes and businesses were damaged Tuesday after 34 tornadoes were reported in Texas,
Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.
A 25-year-old man was killed in a Houston suburb after a tree fell on his pickup truck on Tuesday, the
Houston Chronicle reported.
A dozen people were hurt in a 21-vehicle pileup caused by icy roads in Oklahoma City that started when a
truck jackknifed on a major interstate and oncoming cars weren't able to stop on the icy roadway, the
Oklahoman reported.
Amanda Sue Goodman, 28, was killed in a separate crash in rural Oklahoma after the driver of the vehicle
she was riding in lost control and hit a big rig on the snow-covered highway. The driver and a four-yearold girl were also hurt.
Allen Sullivan, 53, was killed when a tree hit his home in rural Louisiana on Christmas Day, the News Star
reported.
Winter storms hit eastern US, snarl postholiday travel
Published on Dec 27, 2012
6:50 AM
A truck parks on the side of the Ohio Turnpike in North Ridgeville, Ohio during the start of a major winter storm on
Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012. The severe winter weather that hit parts of the central and southern United States (US) on
Christmas Day moved eastward on Wednesday, causing flight delays and dangerous road conditions for holiday travellers in
the North-east and Ohio Valley. -- PHOTO: AP
WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (REUTERS) - The severe winter weather that hit parts of the central
and southern United States (US) on Christmas Day moved eastward on Wednesday, causing flight delays
and dangerous road conditions for holiday travellers in the North-east and Ohio Valley.
Some flights headed for New York, Philadelphia and Newark, New Jersey, experienced delays averaging
one to four hours due to the inclement weather, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
About 1,300 US flights had been cancelled on Wednesday, according to FlightAware.com. Several airlines
waived ticket change fees for affected customers. All four runways at Philadelphia International Airport
were open on Wednesday, but that didn't prevent cancellation of physical therapist Mindy Bartscherer's
flight to Minneapolis.
She and her son Zachary Bartscherer, 24, a lobbyist from Washington DC, had planned to visit family but
instead waited forlornly in the baggage claim area for a ride back home. They expected to return to the
airport early on Thursday to try again.
"We were going to have dinner and see my 2-year-old niece," Ms Mindy Bartscherer said of their thwarted
plans for Wednesday night.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued blizzard and winter storm warnings in Illinois, Indiana and
Ohio, as well as much of the Northeast, and cautioned that the wintry weather would create "treacherous"
driving conditions.
More than six inches of snow might fall in those regions, while the area from western New York up into
central Maine could get from 12 to 18 inches, the NWS said.
As of Wednesday morning, Bloomington, Indiana, already had nearly a foot of snow and Indianapolis had
about seven inches, according to AccuWeather.com.
Severe thunderstorms and widespread rain were expected from southeast Virginia to Florida, the NWS said,
and the eastern counties in North Carolina and South Carolina were under tornado watches or warnings for
much of the day.
The wet and snowy conditions follow a major winter storm system that swept through the southern United
States on Tuesday, spawning tornadoes in several states and causing the deaths of at least five people in
weather-related road accidents.
Twisters struck in Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana, flattening houses and causing injuries,
according to the weather service. The storm also dumped record snowfalls in North Texas and Arkansas.
Nearly 200,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity in Arkansas and Alabama on
Wednesday.
Damage assessments were conducted in the 11 Alabama counties that reported varying degrees of property
destruction from Tuesday's storms.
The city of Mobile appeared to be hardest hit, with damage to as many as 100 structures, including the
historic Trinity Episcopal Church, according to the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.
Governor Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency in Mississippi, where a dozen counties reported
damage and more than 25 people were injured on Tuesday.
The severe holiday weather also contributed to a 21-vehicle pile-up that shut Interstate 40 in downtown
Oklahoma City on Tuesday and caused power outages for tens of thousands of residents.
A Texas man died after an accident involving a toppled tree in the road, and icy roads contributed to the
deaths of four people in auto crashes in Oklahoma and Arkansas, according to police.
About 1,000 people spent the night on cots at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport after some 400
flights were cancelled there on Tuesday due to weather, said Ms Cynthia Vega, media relations manager at
the airport.
On Wednesday morning, some 50 more flights were cancelled, she said.
"We're hoping to get passengers back on track," Ms Vega said."It's probably going to be a little hectic at
the airport."
Nicaragua volcano spews ash cloud, residents
evacuated
Published on Dec 27, 2012
7:20 AM
The San Cristobal volcano spews up large clouds of gas and ash near Chinandegga City, some 150 km (93 miles) north of
the capital Managua Dec 26, 2012. -- PHOTO : REUTERS
MANAGUA (REUTERS) - Nicaragua's tallest volcano has belched an ash cloud hundreds of metres into
the sky in the latest bout of sporadic activity, prompting the evacuation of nearby residents, the
government said on Wednesday.
The 1,745m San Cristobal volcano, which sits around 135 km north of the capital Managua in the country's
northwest, has been active in recent years, and went through a similar episode in September.
The latest activity began late on Tuesday. Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo called on residents
who live within a 3km radius of the volcano to leave the area. Around 300 families live near the volcano.
"We have some families who have self-evacuated. ... We ask (the people) to go to a safe place, it's just for
a few days during this emergency," she said, adding it was a precautionary measure.
A billowing greyish cloud could be seen drifting sideways from the volcano's peak.
The volcano also stirred in mid-2008, when it expelled gas and rumbled with a series of small eruptions.