Record Rainfall Soaks Hawaii

Severe storms won't let up in soaked Ohio, Miss. River valleys

(AP) - Thousands of southeastern Missouri residents watched helplessly today as Black River water crept toward their homes after overflowing the levee protecting their town, as officials predicted a "catastrophic failure." Several homes in and around Poplar Bluff were partially submerged, while water filled the front yards of other houses. The river topped the levee in multiple spots, raising concerns that it would give way under the weight of inch after inch of rain that has been falling since the weekend. "It was too late for sandbagging. There are too many places. All we can do is wait and see," Police Chief Danny Whiteley said. A levee break would send water flowing into the city's south side and likely displace about 7,000 people. More»

Downpour leaves 20 injured, more stranded

(NEWSER) - Flash floods gushed across a major highway and a commercial district in Istanbul today, killing at least 20 people and stranding dozens in cars or on rooftops, AP reports. Eight people are missing. Fueled by the worst rain in decades, waters rose more than 3 feet high in the city's Ikitelli district, cutting off the route to Istanbul's main airport and a highway to Greece and Bulgaria. More»

(NEWSER) - Even if the government somehow managed to re-create pre-Katrina New Orleans, it couldn't guarantee the safety of the city and its residents, according to a new report. The Army Corps of Engineers is rebuilding levees in anticipation of a “100-year storm,” but for a city of New Orleans’ size nothing is truly sufficient, the Times-Picayune reports. The report recommends relocating people living in at-risk areas. More»

State and local governments have done little despite post-Katrina crackdown

(NEWSER) - More than half the 122 US levees cited for being in disrepair after Hurricane Katrina still need to be fixed, according to Army Corps of Engineers data obtained by USA Today—with 18 states and Puerto Rico having levees considered unreliable in major floods. The worst offenders are Washington and California, where levees with “unacceptable maintenance deficiencies” protect densely populated cities like Seattle and Sacramento. More»

3 die in biggest evacuation in Louisiana history

(NEWSER) - The last bus out of New Orleans drove off at 3pm yesterday, leaving behind a virtual ghost town, reports the Houston Chronicle. An estimated 10,000 residents are left in the hurricane-threatened city, now subject to a strict dusk-to-dawn curfew. Some 1.9 million Louisianans have fled Hurricane Gustav—the biggest evacuation in state history. Three hospital patients died during the operation. More»