'Hagibis' causes massive flooding in Japan

Residents wade through floodwaters as members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force handle a flat-bottomed boat during relief operations in the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis in Shibata district, Miyagi Prefecture on Sunday. Japan's military scrambled October 13 to rescue people trapped by flooding after powerful Typhoon Hagibis ripped across the country, killing at least 10 people and leaving more than a dozen missing. 

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3 dead, 1 missing in devastating floods across US Midwest

At least one person was missing on Monday after devastating floods across the US Midwest that killed three others and inflicted hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in what Nebraska's governor called a disaster of historic proportions.

As floodwaters began to recede in much of the area inundated by the aftermath of a storm dubbed a "bomb cyclone," Nebraska officials were taking in the damage in a state where 64 of the 93 counties have declared emergencies.

"This is clearly the most widespread disaster we have had in our state's history," in terms of sheer size, Governor Pete Ricketts told reporters on an afternoon briefing call.

State officials said on the call that 290 people had been rescued by the Nebraska State Patrol, National Guard troops, and urban search and rescue teams.

Damage to the state's livestock sector was estimated at about $400 million, while the full impact on the spring planting season was not yet clear, said Steve Wellman, director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

The state's highway system suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, said Kyle Schneweis, director of the state Department of Transportation, with more than 200 miles of roadways needing repair or replacement. Some 540 miles of highways remained closed, he said, down from 1,500 at the peak of flooding.

The three known fatalities included an 80-year-old woman who perished at her Columbus, Nebraska, home, despite attempts to rescue her from rising floodwaters, said Colonel John Bolduc of the Nebraska State Patrol.

Bolduc said a young man from Norfolk, Nebraska, was swept away and killed after driving his car into moving water, and a Columbus man died when the tractor he was using to help free a stranded driver overturned.

One person was missing and presumed dead following the collapse of the Spencer Dam along Niobrara River in southwest Nebraska, Buldoc said.

VICE PRESIDENT TO VISIT

The Missouri River, the longest in North America, has flooded much of Nebraska between Omaha and Kansas City at the Missouri state line.

The river was expected to crest at 47.5 feet (14.48 m) on Tuesday, breaking the previous record, set in 2011, by more than a foot, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency said in the latest bulletin on its web page.

Ricketts said he had requested emergency assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and been in contact with the Trump administration.

Vice President Mike Pence would travel to Nebraska on Tuesday to survey the damage, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Twitter. Ricketts and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds have both declared states of emergency

The Missouri River's overflowing banks cut off roads leading to the Cooper nuclear plant, near Brownville, Nebraska, forcing operators to fly in staff and supplies by helicopter. The plant continued to operate safely, its operator said.

Water also covered one-third of that state's Offutt Air Force Base, near Bellevue, home to the US Strategic Command.

At least 30 buildings were flooded by up to eight feet of water and 30 more structures damaged on the base, the Omaha World-Herald reported, citing a base spokeswoman.

The National Weather Service reported some of the region's larger rivers were running at record high levels, causing levee breaks. Some small towns and communities have been cut off by floods while others were short of fresh drinking water.

Streets in Lincoln, Nebraska's capital, were barely visible as high water surrounded homes, cars and trees, according to photos released to Reuters by state authorities. Elsewhere in the state, one highway near Waterloo was submerged, and piles of debris and damaged roads were visible in Niobrara.

Floodwater climbed up the sides of buildings at Camp Ashland, an Army National Guard facility in Ashland, Nebraska.

Warmer temperatures will speed the pace of snow melt across the region and add to already swollen rivers, the NWS said, possibly forcing more evacuations in communities along the Missouri River on the Nebraska and Iowa border, as well as along the Elkhorn and Platte rivers in Nebraska.

"There could be issues across portions of Nebraska and Kansas for the next seven days," NWS meteorologist Jim Hayes said.

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'You better pray:' More flooding in Carolinas a week after Florence

RALEIGH - Residents of Georgetown County, South Carolina, where five rivers flow into the ocean, were preparing on Friday for a deluge of water in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, which has killed at least 40 people.

The county of 60,000 people, on the Atlantic coast between Myrtle Beach and Charleston, is one of several areas in the Carolinas waiting anxiously as rivers start to crest, a week after Florence dumped some 3 feet of rain on the region.

Flooding could begin early next week, officials said during a community meeting on Thursday, as water continues to drain into rivers and reservoirs across North and South Carolina.

The city of Georgetown on Friday was handing out 15,000 sandbags as the county developed plans to evacuate residents. 

"Please heed the warnings," Sheriff Lane Cribb said. "Protecting lives and property will be our goal... You better pray."

Thirty-one deaths have been attributed to the storm in North Carolina, 8 in South Carolina and 1 in Virginia.

More than 3 dozen flood gauges in North and South Carolina showed flooding, according to the National Weather Service.

In Bladen County, North Carolina, around 100 people and 33 animals were rescued "in a dangerous operation in the middle of the night" after a dam burst, Governor Roy Cooper said in a Twitter post on Friday. Blackhawk helicopters were used to pluck many of them to safety.

Some 4,700 people across North Carolina have been rescued by boat or helicopter since the storm made landfall, twice as many as in Hurricane Matthew two years ago, according to state officials. About 10,000 remained in shelters.

The coastal city of Wilmington, North Carolina, remained mostly cut off by floodwaters on Friday,

Some 650 roads remained closed, the state's department of transportation said, warning motorists not to travel in 17 southeastern counties worst-hit by Florence.

More than 54,000 homes and businesses were without power in the Carolinas on Friday afternoon.

One week after Florence made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, North Carolina was still feeling its effects, Cooper said. 

"Some locations won't see rivers crest until this weekend and flooding won't subside until next week," he said in another Twitter post.

As floodwaters continued to rise, concerns grew about environmental and health dangers.

Duke Energy Corp said on Friday that breaches in a cooling lake dam forced it to shut down its natural gas-fired L.V. Sutton plant in North Carolina. The utility said it could not rule out the possibility that coal ash from a dump adjacent to the plant, which formerly burned coal, might be flowing into the nearby Cape Fear River.

Coal ash can contaminate water and harm fish and wildlife.

The flooding from Florence has also caused 21 hog "lagoons," which store manure from pig farms, to overflow in North Carolina, possibly contaminating standing water, according to the state's Department of Environmental Quality. North Carolina is one of the leading hog-producing states in the country.

Several sewer systems in the region also have released untreated or partly treated sewage and storm water into waterways over the last week, local media reported.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Harvey floods destroys Filipino family's new home

HOUSTON, Texas - When Jad and Bell Destajo bought their first home 5 months ago, it was a dream come true for their young family. That was before Hurricane Harvey.

While their area was not directly hit by the storm, floodwaters from overflowed waterways inundated their home, slowly destroying it.

They waited too long to evacuate the neighborhood. All they could think about is how they can get out alive. The couple said they held their children as they waited for rescue.

"Grabe, iba talaga ang feeling na yon, iba talaga pag buhay at kamatayan, survival o kamatayan mo ang nakasalalay... You try to do everything,” said Jed.

(It's a different feeling, when it's a matter of life and death... You try to do everything.)

The floodwater s rose up to chest deep. When they got into the rescue boat, Bell saw that she was bleeding heavily, a complication from the recent caesarian birth of her youngest child.

"Kailangan kong mabuhay dahil ang baby ko. Kailangan kong lumangoy,” she said.

(I have to stay alive for my baby. I have to swim.)

The Destajos have since returned to their home and taken out the flood-damaged furniture. Like 80 percent of Houston’s flood victims, they didn’t have flood insurance.

“2016 and 2017 is the toughest year for us. Hindi po naming alam kung saan kami kukuha ng pang survive namin pang araw-araw. Pero malaki po ang pasasalamat namin sa lahat ng tumulong,“ Bell said.

(We don't know where to get money to survive from day to day. But we are thankful to everyone who helped.)

The Destajos have a Facebook fundraiser page and a GoFundMe where they are accepting donations.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Thousands of Harvey survivors rescued in Texas, 38 dead

PORT ARTHUR, Texas - Soldiers and police in helicopters and high-water trucks rescued thousands of Texans stranded by floodwater from Hurricane Harvey on Thursday, which has killed dozens of people and displaced more than a million others as it drenches the Gulf Coast.

Some 779,000 Texans have been ordered to evacuate their homes and another 980,000 fled voluntarily amid concerns that swollen reservoirs and rivers could bring new flooding, according to Department of Homeland Security acting Secretary Elaine Duke.

Harvey roared ashore late Friday as the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in a half-century. It has since been downgraded to a tropical depression as it heads inland, leaving devastation across the southeast corner of the state.

Jessica Richard, 24, said she waited out the storm in her home in Port Arthur, about 85 miles (137 km) east of Houston, until Thursday morning when water on her street rose to waist-depth. She was picked up by a passing truck.

"All my family is safe even though there were a few close calls," said Richard, adding that her nephew had been trapped overnight in a flooded apartment with several family members. "He said there were snakes in the water and spiders crawling up the walls. But they got out."

At least 38 people were dead or feared dead in six counties including and around Houston, according to local officials.

In the US energy hub of Houston, which was paralyzed by the storm earlier in the week, firefighters conducted a block-by-block search of homes to rescue stranded survivors and recover bodies.

ORANGE COUNTY EVACUATION

In Beaumont, Texas, about 80 miles (129 km) east of Houston, doctors and nurses evacuated some 190 people from a hospital that halted operations after the storm knocked out water service in the city of almost 120,000 people.

Orange County, which borders Beaumont, on Thursday ordered remaining residents to evacuate the area amid a forecast that the Neches River would crest on Friday, threatening homes.

Just east of Rose City, Texas, a line of cars and trucks were pushing through water flowing over the Interstate highway.

A convoy of civilian volunteers from the ad-hoc "Cajun Navy," who have been carrying out rescues all week, waited as their leader, Phil Drager, negotiated with police to stop traffic and launch an airboat for a scouting mission.

"Now I can add shutting a major Interstate highway to my resume," Drager said.

US Vice President Mike Pence visited Texas on Thursday, touring the coastal city of Rockport, where Harvey slammed ashore onto the mainland late Friday.

"The American people are with you. We are here today, we will be here tomorrow and we will be here every day until this city and this state and this region rebuild bigger and better than ever before," Pence told a crowd outside a Rockport church damaged by the storm.

POWER STILL OUT

Gasoline futures soared more than 13 percent on Thursday, as almost a quarter of US refining capacity had been knocked offline by the storm, raising fears of fuel shortages.

About 189,000 homes and businesses remained without power.

Moody's Analytics estimated the economic cost from Harvey for southeastern Texas at $51 billion to $75 billion, ranking it among the costliest storms in American history.

The event has drawn comparisons to 2005's Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,800 people in New Orleans. Then-President George W. Bush's administration was widely criticized for the haphazard initial response to that storm, and the Trump administration was taking care to be seen as responding quickly to the first major natural disaster it has faced.

President Donald Trump was to return to the region on Saturday.

Early Thursday, explosions could be heard at a chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, owned by Arkema SA. Refrigeration systems failed in a truck storing volatile chemicals, which ignited as they warmed, sending smoke plumes 40-feet (12-meters) into the air, according to company and public safety officials.

After the blasts, local and federal public safety officials, and company representatives insisted there was no risk to the public outside the 1.5-mile (2.4-km) safety perimeter, even though they said eight more trucks storing the same chemicals would eventually catch fire.

HOUSTON SURVEYS DAMAGE

Some signs of normal life returned to Houston, the nation's fourth most populous city.

Residents began a massive cleanup, dragging water-logged furniture to the curb, hunting for supplies and repair estimates. The city began limited trash pickup and bus services. Hospitals that had struggled to stay open earlier in the week were phasing in clinical operations.

Most of Houston’s larger companies said they would remain closed through the Labor Day holiday on Monday, but employees of smaller businesses and offices were trekking back to work.

Both of the city’s major airports were operating on Thursday and traffic returned to its notoriously clogged highways. The start of public school was delayed until September 11.

Anita Williams, 52, was lined up at a shelter at Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center to register for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Williams had returned home on Wednesday to survey the damage to her one-story house.

"It's not my house anymore," Williams said. "My deep freezer was in my living room."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Evacuation ordered as levee breached south of Houston

Floodwaters have breached a levee south of the city of Houston, officials said Tuesday, urging residents to leave the area immediately.

"The levee at Columbia Lakes has been breached!!" the Brazoria County government tweeted on its official feed. "GET OUT NOW!!"

The Columbia Lakes area lies south of Houston, large parts of which remain underwater four days after monster storm Harvey made landfall on the US Gulf Coast, triggering widespread flooding.

A statement on the official Brazoria County website said that County Judge Matt Sebesta "has issued a MANDATORY EVACUATION for all residents living WEST of State Highway 288 and SOUTH of State Highway 6."

The statement said there was only one way out of the area.

"THERE ARE NO OTHER EVACUATION ROUTES OUT OF BRAZORIA COUNTY," the statement said, adding that one state highway "WILL NOT be open indefinitely and will be unpassable with additional rains and river flooding.

"LEAVE NOW!"

The statement directed evacuees to a shelter at the Expo Center in Bell County -- about 230 miles (370 kilometers) to the northwest -- adding: "Pets are welcome!"

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Police warn would-be looters to keep out of flooded Houston

HOUSTON - Police warned looters Monday to stay away from flood-hit Houston, after four would-be thieves were arrested since the city was hit by Hurricane Harvey.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, in announcing the arrests, said his officers were on the lookout for people who "move in from around other states and even other cities in other regions to loot and create problems."

"If you try to commit a criminal offense or especially try to take advantage of our citizens that have already been victimized enough by Mother Nature, you can be assured you'll be arrested," Acevedo said.

The fourth largest US metropolis was deluged by a powerful hurricane Friday and Saturday.

But while Harvey has been downgraded to a tropical storm, it continues to dump historic amounts of rainfall on coastal Texas, taxing police and emergency services to the limit.

The city was expanding its resources including law enforcement as it braced for more days of heavy rain, he added.

Rising floodwaters have already prompted tens of thousands of evacuations and at least 2,000 rescues, according to authorities.

Thousands of Texas families and businesses were expected to need disaster assistance in the aftermath of the storm.

Looting became a problem in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated parts of New Orleans, in neighboring Louisiana.

mlm/sg

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Indonesia hit by severe flooding Beawiharta, Reuters

A man carries his belonging as he wades through floodwaters in Jatinegara district, Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday. Indonesia was hit by severe flooding and landslides caused by torrential rains, killing 13 people.

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Hundreds stranded in North Carolina floods after Hurricane Matthew

LUMBERTON, N.C. - Hundreds of people were rescued by boat and helicopter as floodwaters inundated North Carolina towns on Monday in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, and officials warned that life-threatening flooding from swollen rivers would continue for days.

Matthew, the most powerful Atlantic storm since 2007, was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone on Sunday.

The hurricane killed around 1,000 people in Haiti and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday some Haitian towns and villages had just about been "wiped off the map."

In the United States, the number of fatalities rose to at least 23, with nearly half in North Carolina.

After receiving as much as 18 inches (39 cm) of rain from Matthew over the weekend, North Carolina's skies were clear on Monday, but raging rivers and breached levees posed major problems.

"This storm is not over in North Carolina," Governor Pat McCrory told reporters in Fayetteville. "It's going to be a long, tough journey."

Eleven people have died in the state, officials said. With rivers rising, the governor said he expected deaths to increase.

The flooding prompted President Barack Obama to declare a state of emergency in North Carolina on Monday, making federal funding available to affected individuals in 10 counties hit by the storm, the White House said in a statement.

Some 2,000 residents were stuck in their homes and on rooftops in Lumberton, off the Lumber River, after the city suddenly flooded on Monday morning, McCrory said. Air and water rescues would continue throughout the day, he said.

Many of the homes and businesses in Lumberton were flooded with several feet of water on Monday afternoon and residents were seen paddling about the town in small skiffs.

Major flooding was expected this week in central and eastern towns along the Lumber, Cape Fear, Neuse and Tar rivers. The National Weather Service said the Neuse River would crest on Friday night and forecast "disastrous flooding."

Emergency officials in North Carolina's Lenoir County issued a mandatory evacuation order on Monday afternoon for residents and businesses along the Neuse River.

"COULD BE FLOODED TOMORROW"

Many coastal and inland communities remained under water from storm surge or overrun rivers and creeks.

McCrory told reporters that he had met with an elderly woman at a shelter on Monday who lost everything to floods.

"She's sitting in a school cafeteria at this point in time crying and wondering what her life is going to be all about," he said. "It breaks your heart."

In neighboring South Carolina, Governor Nikki Haley warned that waterways were quickly reaching capacity around the state.

"What might not be flooded today could be flooded tomorrow," Haley said at a news conference.

She said there had been at least three storm-related deaths, including one in which a person in a vehicle was swept away by floodwaters.

Warnings were also issued over downed power lines. An 89-year-old man in Florida was killed on Monday after touching a downed line, officials said.

While power was being restored in some areas, about 1.1 million people were still without power in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina and Virginia.

A federal judge on Monday granted a request from Florida's Democratic Party to extend the state's voter registration deadline by one more day, through Wednesday, because of the hurricane. Republican Governor Rick Scott had rejected demands from Democrats to extend the deadline.

Meanwhile, a hurricane watch was issued for Bermuda, which could be threatened by another tropical system, Nicole, that is expected to reach the Atlantic island later this week, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

What to do with flood-damaged vehicles

Editor's note: This is a condensed version of an ABS-CBNnews.com article which was originally published in 2009, following the onslaught of tropical storm Ondoy in Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces.

MANILA -- It is every car-owner's nightmare: vehicles floating around in muddy floodwaters and later, stacked on top of each other in odd angles in a storm's aftermath.

Here are some tips from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and the Asian Carmakers Corporation (the official importer and distributor of BMW vehicles in the Philippines) on what to do in case car owners or passengers encounter floods on the road, and how to respond when their vehicle is damaged in a flood.

1. Park it somewhere safe. Park your car on high ground or places where floods are not likely to hit. Even if you don't know what will happen when a storm of flood hits, this is your best bet.

2. Avoid flood waters. If you are in traffic and floods are rising, turn off the engine, get out, and lock the car. Do not try to wade into the floods.

Go to a safe area while keeping an eye out for your car. It is not safe to stay inside a car while flood waters are raging, as this will also require you to struggle out of a car and climb on top of your vehicle. It is not safe to stay on top of a car.

3. Document what is happening. If you have a camera and are in a sheltered area, take pictures of what is happening to your car amid the floods. This is for insurance purposes and shows that your car was damaged in a flood.

4. Don't touch the car. After your car has been submerged in flood waters or damaged in a storm, wait for the water to subside.

Do not start the car or open the hood to check the engine. Do not open the engine or doors since this sometimes triggers a locking mechanism.

Do not act as if you know it all. Resist the urge to salvage your investments by doing things to your car without professional advice, since this might lead to more problems.

Call an authorized or reputable repair shop or serviceman to have it towed or put in a car carrier. Leave it to professionals, they know what they are doing.

5. Engine trouble. Those who left their cars in the garage are relatively better off than those whose cars were left in traffic conditions, because it is logistically easier to call an authorized service person to have it towed to a nearby workshop.

Have your car checked for engine breakdowns or block damage, which means you have to replace the engine.

6. Depreciated value. Flood damage or water damage will affect a vehicle's value substantially. It will naturally depreciate in value, depending on the extent of the damage.

Normal depreciation for vehicles is 10% per year. Supposing the car owner has the car repaired, the value would still go down to about 20% per year, off the car's original value.

7. Trade up. A good option is to trade-in your flood-damaged car with a reputable dealer. You can sell the car, and disclose that the car was damaged in a flood, or trade it in with your car manufacturer to get a good deal.

Car manufacturers like BMW, Honda and some auto-exchange establishments usually have a trade-in program. The company will then re-sell the flood-damaged car as a pre-owned vehicle.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com