Fresh flooding hits northern Philippines, inundating towns as dams release excess water

October 7th, 2009 Orange County water main break creates sinkholeNEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — California officials say a burst water pipe has caused a giant sinkhole in the Orange County coastal city of Newport Beach.

October 7th, 2009 Strong earthquake hits near PhilippinesWASHINGTON — A strong earthquake struck south of the Philippines on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

October 3rd, 2009 Typhoon Parma hits Philippine coastMANILA, Philippines — The government's chief forecaster says Typhoon Parma has made landfall in the northern Philippines. The storm toppled trees and power lines in at least two provinces with powerful winds and driving rain, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

October 3rd, 2009 2nd typhoon lashes northern PhilippinesMANILA, Philippines — Powerful winds toppled power poles and trees Saturday in the northern Philippines as the second typhoon in eight days bore down on the country. Farther north, Taiwan began evacuating villages also in the path of the storm.

September 30th, 2009 Massive flooding leaves 140 dead in PhilippinesMANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government has appealed for international help after massive flooding set off by a tropical storm at the weekend left at least 140 dead. Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said Monday that help from foreign governments will ensure that the Philippine government can continue relief work following massive flooding set off by Tropical Storm Ketsana.

September 30th, 2009 Death toll from flooding in Philippines hits 240 MANILA, Philippines — Rescuers pulled more bodies from swollen rivers Monday as residents started to dig out their homes from under carpets of mud after flooding left 240 people dead in the Philippine capital and surrounding towns. Overwhelmed officials called for international help, warning they may not have sufficient resources to withstand another storm that forecasters said was brewing east of the island nation and could hit as early as Friday.

September 30th, 2009 PacifiCorp agrees to Klamath dam removal termsMEDFORD, Ore. — The utility that owns four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River has agreed to terms for their removal, a key milestone in efforts to restore what was once the third biggest salmon run on the West Coast and end decades of battles over scarce water.

September 26th, 2009 40 dead after flooding in northern PhilippinesMANILA, Philippines — More than a month's worth of rain fell in just 12 hours Saturday as Tropical Storm Ketsana slammed ashore in the Philippines, killing at least 40 people and stranding thousands on rooftops in the capital's worst flooding in more than 42 years. The government declared a "state of calamity" in metropolitan Manila and 25 storm-hit provinces, said Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, who heads the National Disaster Coordinating Council.

September 9th, 2009 SKorea: NKorea intentionally opened floodgatesSEOUL, South Korea — North Korea appears to have deliberately opened a dam that sent water surging down a river into South Korea, a top South Korean official said Wednesday, but he stopped short of calling it an attack. Six South Koreans camping and fishing at the river were swept to their deaths last weekend after North Korea unleashed an estimated 40 million tons of water from a new dam into a river at the border without providing prior notice.

August 4th, 2009 Churchill Downs hit by floodwaters in Ky.LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Flash flooding has left part of the famed Churchill Downs track under water, and some horses stabled at the Louisville track were moved elsewhere due to high water.

June 30th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - More water would be released from Bhakra and Pong dams after the level in their reservoirs increased in the last few days, an official said Tuesday much to the relief of Punjab and Haryana paddy farmers. A spokesman of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), that manages these dams, said the water release was being restored to 28,000 cusecs from Bhakra Dam while from Pong Dam it will be 7,000 cusecs.

May 23rd, 2009 MANILA - At least 12 people were drowned Saturday when the boat in which they were travelling sank off the coast of Verde Island in northern Philippines, the police said. Rescue officials retrieved 12 bodies from the water, while 40 others were rescued, local police chief Luisito Palmera said.

May 11th, 2009 Floods ease in Brazil, but 300,000-plus homelessPEDREIRAS, Brazil — Floodwaters receded some in inundated towns across northern Brazil on Sunday, but the number of homeless rose above 300,000 and two people were missing after an overloaded canoe overturned in swift waters. Forty deaths had been confirmed in northern Brazil's worst flooding in decades, fed by two months of unusually heavy rains in a zone stretching from deep in the Amazon to normally arid areas near the Atlantic coast.

May 10th, 2009 MANILA - The death toll in a typhoon that pummelled northern Philippines has reached 36, with 12 still missing, the government said Sunday. More than 140,000 people were affected by typhoon Chan-Hom in 11 provinces in the northern Philippines, including Manila.

April 22nd, 2009 Some ND towns hopeful they'll withstand floodingVALLEY CITY, N.D. — North Dakota towns battling floods felt more hope Tuesday after officials said a bridge would reopen into one stricken town and the flood threat eased at a dam protecting another town.