The Biggest Floods Since Noah J�kulhlaups are one of nature's power tools: great icy floods that burst forth from glaciers. This article has had a steady string of readers for years. Now it's spruced up for another generation. See what you've been missing. http://geology.about.com/library/weekly/aa041397.htm

Hi all Jokulhlaups have been generated by subglacial volcanism before, unleashing huge floods and causing massive damage. Recall if you can Vatnajokull in October 1996. It witnessed a flood generated by volcanism melting the ice overhead. Meltwater built up in a vast reservoir, but eventually the dam could not hold the water and it burst. Rob

Rob, I watched the Vatnajokull happen via the well-placed web cameras the people in Iceland had positioned "just for me." It was so riveting I hardly dared to sleep for fear I would miss the main event. It was quite a show and made me a fan of web cameras forever.

Hi all On Monday we started the Extreme Geophysical hazards section of Geog 305 with Ian Owens (http://geog.canterbury.ac.nz - go to "staff")lecturing on the risk assessment. We will be covering floods at some stage in the course which is essentially a crash course on Natural Hazards - WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rob

Hi all About time I had a crash course on my favourite forms of hazard. Lol Rob

you're not happy, are you? *LAUGH*

Rob is one of THOSE guys. Oh well. I found this for you bout the GeoHazards in Kiwiland. Good Luck, Rob. NEWS RELEASE, 1 MAY 2002 New Zealand, American, and Japanese scientists will this week begin a two-week voyage to probe seabed thermal activity around 11 newly-mapped submarine volcanoes between the Bay of Plenty and the Kermadec Islands....... http://www.gns.cri.nz/news/release/rare.htm New vacancy on site for Human Resources Manager. http://www.gns.cri.nz/news/vacancies/index.html Read about GNS customised field trips http://www.gns.cri.nz/help/services/petroleum/reservoir.html#Field New GNS Statement of Intent online 26/04/2002 http://www.gns.cri.nz/about/intent.htm Latest six monthly report online 26/04/2002 http://www.gns.cri.nz/about/sixmonth.htm

Hi all More westerlies over the last week, but little rain. However the persistent westerlies may be signalling the arrival of El Nino because the temperatures are very warm for May. 22-25.C today which is something usually reserved for April. Rob

The Big Island of Hawaii is under flash flood alerts for the entire day. At the moment, it is dry but with heavily overcast skies.

Dry Weather Caused NZ Glaciers Big Loss of Ice Mass Reuters May 12 2002 8:31PM WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Dry weather has seen New Zealand's famed South Island glaciers record one of their biggest annual losses of ice mass in 25 years and they would continue shrinking if this trend continued, scientists said on Monday. A yearly analysis of photographs of the snowline of 48 glaciers in the Southern Alps showed they had lost more ice than they gained in the past year, government agency the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said. "Think of it like a bank balance -- at the end of the glacier financial year we measure whether they gained or lost in terms of the amount of snow coming in, and last year they lost in a big way," NIWA senior climate scientist Jim Salinger told Reuters. More anti-cyclones and fewer westerly winds had resulted in dry weather for much of 2001 and below average snowfall. The glaciers have lost ice mass for four of the past five years, and if the trend continued the glaciers were expected to retreat further back into the valleys, he said. The scenic Fox and Franz Josef glaciers, which are readily accessible, attract tens of thousands of tourists each year who come to gaze on the remnants of ice-sheets that covered large parts of the earth during the ice ages.

Scientists Find New Antarctic Ice Shelf Break Reuters May 13 2002 4:34PM MADISON, Wis. (Reuters) - Another massive iceberg has broken off the Ross Ice Shelf, reducing the Antarctic formation to about the size it was in 1911 when explorer Robert Scott's team first mapped it, scientists said on Monday. Scientists at the University of Wisconsin said the breakage is part of the normal iceberg formation or "calving" that comes as thick layers of ice gradually slide down from the high Antarctic plateau, and is not related to climate changes or global warming. The latest iceberg is about 125 miles long, more than twice the length of one identified about a week ago, said the school's Space Science and Engineering Center. Charles Stearns, principal investigator for the Wisconsin center, said the ice that formed the latest iceberg may have been in motion for the past 30 years. The iceberg was picked up by polar-orbit satellite imagery which the center monitors. It was first spotted on May 10, the group said. Though calving has been occurring on the Ross formation since March of 2000 when an iceberg about the size of the latest one was set adrift, the new one is of such a size that it "may create new concerns" for shipping interests in the southern oceans, the announcement said. Last week an iceberg about 50 miles long broke off the Ross shelf. The British Antarctic Survey said that was not climate-related either. The calving at Ross ice shelf follows the collapse in March of the so-called Larsen B ice shelf in the Weddell Sea near Chile, also in Antarctica. That ice shelf was the size of a small European country. Chris Doake, a glaciologist with the British survey, told Reuters last week that the Larsen B break up was climate-related, unlike what's happening with the Ross shelf. Scientists, however, have not determined exactly why antarctic temperatures have risen over the past half century.

Hi all Greymouth has rain and thunderstorm warnings out for the remainder of today and also tomorrow as a low pressure system in the Tasman Sea moves east towards NZ. This is good news as concerns once again rise over the level of the water in the hydro power storage lakes, like Tekapo, Pukaki, Ohau, Hawea and Wanaka. Rob

Rob, you have assured me this is a good thing becaue you need the water. Please let it be in moderation!

People Feared Dead as Barge Wrecks Oklahoma Bridge Sun May 26, 5:06 PM ET WEBBERS FALLS, Okla. (Reuters) - Several people were feared drowned after a number of vehicles plunged from a bridge into the Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma Sunday when a large span collapsed after being struck by a barge, authorities said. Rescue workers were attempting to reach the occupants of half a dozen cars and two tractor trailers that dropped into the river 60 miles south of Tulsa when a 500-foot section of the bridge gave way after being rammed by an empty oil barge. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol estimated that six to 11 people were trapped in their vehicles, which fell 100 feet into the water from the Interstate 40 bridge at about 7:45 a.m., and a massive rescue effort was under way. Police said heavy currents were hampering rescue efforts along the rain-swollen river. Four people who survived the accident were taken to the Muskogee Regional Medical Center and all were in stable condition, the hospital said. The injured included a 37-year-old man from Missouri, a 62-year-old man from Arkansas and a couple in their 60s from Oklahoma, the hospital said. Emergency officials on the scene told reporters they were expecting fatalities. "We've got a lot of agencies that are assisting us down on the water and up on top," said Police Lt. Brandon Kopepasah. "It's going to be a long ordeal." "It sounded like an explosion," a witness told reporters. He said he was participating in a bass fishing tournament and there were several boats in the water at the time of the crash that helped rescue victims. Teams of divers, helicopters, a barge with a crane and emergency teams from across the state were dispatched to the bridge, about 100 miles east of Oklahoma City. The National Transportation Safety Board (news - web sites) and the Coast Guard sent teams to Oklahoma City to investigate the accident. NTSB (news - web sites) Chairman Marion Blakey said: "The NTSB is committing all necessary resources to determine what caused this tragedy, and will be assisted by state and other federal authorities toward that." The bridge carries Interstate 40, the main cross-state route that connects Oklahoma City with Little Rock, Arkansas, and Amarillo, Texas. The Interstate was closed in both directions, the highway patrol said.

as of earlier today, they pulled 3 bodies and 3 vehicles out of the river. how very sad and scary! my prayers go out to those involved!

Hi all Marcia. I am wondering whether to create a topic JUST for tsunamis. I find it hard to put them in any ONE of the following subjects volcanoes, earthquakes or mass movement (flooding is a direct and common response to rainfall, but could you say the same for tsunami/volcano, tsunami/earthquake, tsunami/mass movement?). Rob

I'm so glad you did, Rob. It is perfect. Sorry my time is limited at this computer and I did not get back to you in time. Thanks for creating it. Perfect! *HUGS* and one of my new-found Geodes to you for doing so!

The city of Lousiville is surrounded on two sides by the Ohio River. The flood gates around town are impressive. I should photograph them too. Their locks and dams for shipping are most impressive. More tonnage of goods moves through them than the locks of the Panama Canal on an annual basis. Needless to say, what was once a tourist adventure of seeing the locks is now off limits due to heightened security.

Hi all Update on the hydro situation here. The principal hydro storage lakes of Pukaki and Tekapo, plus Te Anau and Manapouri are high and there is water spilling from the spillways at the first two storage lakes because of the flood threat now being posed. This is because the warmer than normal El Nino winter is dropping snow but it is melting faster than it usually would, thus raising the water levels in the rivers flowing into the lakes. Rob

have you guys seen the flooding in san antonio tx? amazing!

Yes, I have been watching on television. What a mess. The flood control near mny son is way below normal, and temperatures are over 100� F. This is going to be a bad fire season. I am not aware of the water level here but it seems from visiting the fossil reef to be a little below normal. but within acceptable range so no water rationing is likely. Of ocurse we are living in a flood plain and it is wide and deep and holds a huge river - the Ohio. I would not like to see it when it is angry or over its banks in flood stage!

Hi all Some rain fell in Arthurs Pass today - 77 millimetres over about 24 hours. This is likely to make the Waimakariri run higher but not be a problem. If say 300 millimetres fell in a day (12 inches over 24 hours), then I think there would be some problems - certainly I would actively discourage anyone going on the riverbed, but I might be tempted to drive along the stopbanks or over the highway bridge to see what it looked like. Rob

Keep reminding us you are having WINTER now when most of the Geo world is sweltering in the summer heat. Be careful of black ice!

Hi all The cool thing about that rain was it came on a northwester, so we got very warm weather while the mountains collected the rain. 100mm in a day in Arthurs Pass is not a problem, but 100 mm in 3 hours might be. Rob

Your weather sounds like when we get snow in Hawaii - way far above us and not a worry to deal with. That is the best of all possible worlds! New Zealand is not like Hawaii? That much rain would just run right down through the cracks. However, where I am now it would be a very real problem!

The rain we had yesterday in association with the "cold" front passing through )I had forgotten how relative some terms are) reminded me of the "6 inch rain" they experience in the deserts of the southwest US. It means two drops of rain fell 6 inches apart. That's about all the rain we had and we really need much more. I am reporting this as someone used to living in a rain forst. At the slightest sign of wilting or yellowing of grass, I tend to think it is due to drought conditions and find myself bathing in less than an inch of water.

Hi all Here is the flood and low flow information for the Rivers of Canterbury http://www.ecan.govt.nz/Water/Rivers-Rainfall/north-mean-flow-stats.html Please note all flows are in cubic metres per second. Rob

Hi all Sorry that is for NORTH CANTERBURY. The following are for SOUTH CANTERBURY http://www.ecan.govt.nz/Water/Rivers-Rainfall/south-mean-flow-stats.html As with the previous set of data for NORTH CANTERBURY, the SOUTH CANTERBURY data is in cubic metres per second. Rob

Summer storm causes floods Buildings are reflected in floodwaters blocking a Syngrou Avenue underpass in central Athens yesterday following the heavy rainfall. Opposition New Democracy blamed the government for having failed to take adequate precautions against floods. A sudden heavy rainstorm yesterday temporarily flooded parts of Athens and Piraeus, forcing the closure of crucial roads and causing power cuts. The capital�s metro and electric railway networks were largely incapacitated, while a sailing test event for the 2004 Olympics was suspended. Firemen had to pump water from hundreds of flooded basement flats, while dozens of motorists had to abandon their vehicles in roads turned into raging torrents by about two hours of heavy rain just after midday. The Kifissos River broke its banks, forcing police to close Pireos Street to traffic between Moschato and Piraeus. The Kallirois Street underpass, under Syngrou Avenue, was also inundated and had to be closed for several hours. The new Athens metro also suffered from the storm, with floodwaters seeping into the Sepolia, Fix and Larissa underground stations, while the electric railway service was also severed for some time. The third day of the sailing regatta off Aghios Cosmas was canceled. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100010_19/08/2002_19927

We've been spared the floods, but the weather is strange WHILE many parts of Europe and Asia have been ravaged by storms and devastating floods, Cyprus appears to have escaped the extreme weather which has affected other countries this summer. However, while flooding and rainstorms like those that have swept through Central Europe may have by-passed Cyprus, the island has not been without its own abnormal 'weather events' for the time of year. So far this summer, the island has seen unusual bouts of torrential rain, with the Met Office recording the average area precipitation for July as 288 per cent of normal levels for the month. Temperatures meanwhile have vacillated between extremes of over 40 degrees Celsius and un-seasonal lows of 33 degrees Celsius in inland areas. Nicosia's inhabitants also noted an increase in humidity (normally experienced only in coastal regions) in the capital this July. But according to Eleni Hadjigeorgiou at the Cyprus Meteorological Office, the weather conditions experienced in Cyprus this summer are not dramatically different to those witnessed in previous summers. She noted that statistics revealed there was no increase in relative humidity and said, "we feel a 'stickiness' in Nicosia in recent years because our surroundings have changed. The upsurge in tall buildings traps the air and obstructs winds, making the atmosphere more uncomfortable." Hadjigeorgiou did admit the frequency of rainfall in the summer months of 2002 was unusual. She also highlighted the increased instability of the island's weather as a feature of the summer so far. Global warming has almost certainly had a cumulative effect on climatic conditions worldwide, and may account for the general rise in freak weather conditions over the past century. A Greenpeace report entitled _The Cyprus Energy Revolution_, published in 1999, noted higher than average emissions of carbon dioxide from Cypriot power stations, a fact which is of concern to the island's environmentalists and climatologists alike. However, marked changes in weather patterns for Cyprus over the years are difficult to pinpoint due to the relative infancy of the island's meteorological service. "We do not have any studies of our own to show possible climactic changes or the various trends in Cyprus' weather over the past 100 years. The Met Office here was only set up in 1976, and this means we have too few records to produce an accurate study," Hadjigeorgiou said. Asked what weather the island could expect for the remainder of the summer, she said forecasters had predicted the possibility of showers on the island over the next few days, but could not offer a longer-term forecast. "We can never be sure about the weather, and can never be certain what will come next," she added. _Afrika_ calls on Clerides to speak out for jailed journalists http://www.goGreece.com/news/headlines/story.html?id=7454

Kifissos�s repeated flooding is due to poor coordination Too much diffusion of responsibility for the river means none at all For years, the Kifissos River has been a much-abused watercourse, and solutions put forward at a local level have usually made the situation worse. Experts say that the solution is to prevent so much water entering the river. By Manina Danou - Kathimerini The Kifissos River can be compared to an injured wild animal, according to Grigorios Varras, president of the Geotechnical Chamber of Greece�s eastern Sterea branch. The recent floods, he said, are the river�s way of reminding us of its presence and its power. �The flooding may have been a painful shock for some people,� Varras told Kathimerini recently, �but for us it was the expected response of a much-abused watercourse, where for decades problems have been dealt with only spasmodically, usually providing solutions at local level � and often the wrong ones � that only make things worse. The solutions we proposed in 1994 to the then public works minister, Costas Laliotis, are not costly and so do not allow for much profit in the form of kickbacks, that is why they were not popular. But how do you stop water with concrete? The point is to deal with the problem further upstream, to prevent so much water reaching the riverbed in the first place.� Parts of a river such as the Kifissos that are outside the city limits come under the jurisdiction of the State�s Forestry Service, which quite correctly treats rivers as a feature of nature that has to be protected. From the moment a river enters settled areas where there is farmland, it becomes the responsibility of the irrigation department of the Agriculture Ministry, whose goal is to provide water from the river for farming. When the river enters the city proper, it becomes the responsibility of the urban water and sewage company (EYDAP, in the case of Athens), which treats it as a drain. That is why the most common solution proposed is to close over these rivers. With such a division of authority, it is almost impossible to have a comprehensive plan that takes all the technical and geotechnical parameters into consideration . Rainwater, which pays no heed to the actions of man, looks for channels to flow into. Even if people block or build over these channels, the water that falls as rain will flow into neighborhood streets, eventually to find its way to the Kifissos riverbed. Because of the lack of soil surfaces which could retain some of the water, and the disappearance of individual water channels that used to lighten the burden of the main channel so that only some of the runoff reached the sea, now the entire volume reaches the Kifissos. �No one talks about how far the sea reaches up into the river. There is a considerable difference in height between the riverbed and the seabed, so the sea pours in, putting pressure on the river at its mouth, slowing down its flow at a point where it should be fastest,� he said. �The problem of flooding is not only restricted to the Kifissos but affects all water catchment areas encroached on by housing development. Flood protection works should include provisions for green spaces in and around the city and ways to retain surface water runoff, among other things.� http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=22115