Landslide in Mexico

In Oaxaca Mexico on a remote hillside a town, Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec, was hit overnight by a landslide. Rescue teams are having trouble getting in due to a raging river cut off the main bridge and many other roads covered by the landslid. Helicopters were grounded by the bad weather as well. Only a few soldiers reach the town and discover there is less deaths than initially reported and the damage was not the magnitude initially estimated. By late afternoon, today, there were 4 dead and 12 missing. The slid dragged homes 1,300 feet downhill burring them. There is 10,000 residents and 8,000 of them were impacted by this landslid. The landslid were due to the large amount of rain that Mexico has been having this year. The rain is expected to continue which means there could be more slides to come.
The town warned people that there was a possibility of a landslide due to all the rain and many huddled to the the central part of town. It is hard to stop a landslide especially since there is no way to know if it will be coming. Since this town is surrounded by sand hills it's in an area of high risk for landslides and the community needs to know when the risk are high and what to do when one hits. There are no pictures at this time, but once rescuers can get in then pictures should be up of how the town looks.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39398543/ns/weather/

Eau Claire FLooding

Here in Eau Claire there was a flash flood warning out for Saturday. It was the 5th highest water level in Eau Claire. Many rivers around north western Wisconsin flooded and many homes had minor flood damage. Public Works Department went door to door to talk with the poeple by the river of precaution that can be taken. The river rose about 4.5 feet above flood stage and is now declining at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour.  Some streets were closed down on Sunday, including First avenue and lake street, and most trails by the river.


http://www.weau.com/home/headlines/103730004.html
http://www.weau.com/home/headlines/103828399.html

Flash floods in South Texas

Roods and houses are flooded and one person missing due to torrential rains in Southern Texas. The floods started over the weekend and will continue through Wednesday, some rain and moisture is due to Hurricane Karl. On Sunday, Corpus Christi, received a record daily high of rain, 7.16".  Many people abandoned their vehicles in the high waters in trade for boats, kayaks, or inner tubes.

This goes to show that, even though the hurricane was not a warning for this area, it is still important to know what hazards are going on around your area because they can have an effect on your area. Without the hurricane, South Texas, would have still have rain, but most likely it wouldn't have turned into a flood.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/south-texas-floods_2010-09-20?role=

Thousands homeless in Mexico do to weeks of rain

In southern Mexico there was been weeks of torrential rains, more are predicting to come, having tens of thousand people abandon their homes. The flooding effected four of Mexico's states: Tabasco, Veracruz, Chiapas and Oazaco. This area during this time of year is common for heavy rainfall and those who thought they are accustomed to severe flooding, igrnored the goverenments plea to evacuate. Those who stayed are sleeping on top of their roofs with their belongings. On Tuesday the situation worsened when authorities began releasing water from four dams whose reservoirs were at capacity.  In Tabasco state more than 120,000 poeple lost their homes along with more than 450,000 acres of crops have been lost. 

In recent years the goverenmt dug ditches, made emergency levees made of concrete and dirt, and took other flood-control measures to try and ease the annual flooding, but more needs to be done. The area relies on farming and because of this flood many are going to go without food. People in this area have had to rebuild their homes over again and again after huge floods like this, they should learn to put the extra money (which will save them money in the long run) and build flood-protected homes.

 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39052921

Colorado Wildfire

Thousands of people were evacuated in Fourmile Canyon in Boulder County, which is north of Denver, Colorado. The wildfire swept through destroying 7,120 acres of land, dozens of structures, and a number of homes. It has pushed the local firefighters to their limit and federal firefighters from Wyoming and New Mexico were called in to help.  The exact cause of the fire has not been determined, but it was fueled by the dry conditions, baking heat, and strong winds, on Monday, that raised and spread the flames. Haze from the fire can be seen from miles away and Boulder County was issued a smoke health warning by the Colorado Department of Health.


Wildfires destroy many homes and forest in Colorado and California because of the dry, hot conditions. They also put a dent in the state budgets and community. It is hard to prevent wildfires, but communities needs to be educated and prepared ahead of time, especially during the summer when conditions are high.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100907/ts_alt_afp/usweatherfires