Floods in Qatar as almost a year's rain falls in one day

Yahoo – AFP, October 20, 2018

Motorists at the entrance to a flooded tunnel in the Qatari capital Doha after
heavy rainfall, on October 20, 2018 (AFP Photo/STRINGER)

Doha (AFP) - Qatar was hit by widespread flash flooding on Saturday as the desert state received almost a year's worth of rainfall in one day.

Roads became impassable, air traffic was disrupted and homes were flooded, while shops and universities closed.

Qatar broadcaster Al Jazeera's senior meteorologist, Steff Gaulter, tweeted that one part of the capital Doha had experienced almost a year's worth of rain on Saturday.

"Abu Hamor (a suburb) now reporting 59.8mm. (Doha average annual rainfall is 77mm.)," she wrote.

By early evening it was estimated that 61mm of rain had fallen.

Qatar Airways was forced to divert some flights, creating logistical headaches, as neighbours Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are among states that do not allow Doha to use their airspace, due to an ongoing diplomatic rift.

Some Qatar-bound flights were forced to divert to Kuwait and Iran and the airline warned its passengers to expect further problems.

A man shields himself with a plastic bag as he walks along a flooded street in the 

Qatari capital Doha, during heavy rainfall on October 20, 2018 (AFP Photo/STRINGER)

"Due to weather conditions over Doha, flights are subject to delays for departure and arrivals," Qatar Airways said on Twitter.

Qatar's public works authority issued a warning to drivers to avoid tunnels because of the flooding.

Social media in Qatar showed cars almost completely submerged under water, after thunderstorms over Doha.

Other footage showed rainwater running downstairs inside buildings as workers desperately tried to mop up.

Qatar's National Library, not yet a year old, was forced to close and said it would remain shut on Sunday to ensure the "safety of our users".

The US embassy also said it would be closed on Sunday, "due to weather conditions".

The extent of the flooding may cause concern for the authorities who have spent billions on major infrastructure projects ahead of hosting the World Cup in 2022.

Some sought to downplay the disruption, joking online there was now no need for Saudi Arabia to dig a canal around Qatar -- an apparent threat made by Riyadh as part of the continuing political tensions -- because the flooding had done the neighbouring power's job for it.

Post-Harvey Houston faces a car crunch

MSN – AFP, Thomas B. Shea, 6 Sep 2017

As Houston residents contend with flooded homes and lost belongings in the upheaval left in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, many face another urgent priority: getting a new car.

Having a vehicle is a necessity in the sprawling Texas metropolis with few public transportation options.

But as many as a half million cars were washed away or irreparably deluged after the storm dumped a year's worth of water on the city in a matter of days.

Local auto dealerships that survived the storm are reporting brisk business as Harvey's victims seek an essential tool for traversing a city that was built for the automobile and features two massive highway loops that surround the downtown.

"There is a high demand going on now," said Ezequiel Zepeda, a salesman at Houston Direct Auto, a used car company.

Zepeda these days is juggling a torrent of incoming calls and a perpetually full voice mail from residents as well as from workers with non-governmental groups and rescue organizations such as the Red Cross.

"I had a couple come in earlier and both of them bought a vehicle, which doesn't happen often," he told AFP. "I have customers even before I get to work."

Prices of cars have held steady for those already in Zepeda's lot prior to Harvey because many became wet, but did not suffer damage. But Zepeda has boosted prices on many vehicles acquired after the storm due to spiking demand.

More car casualties than Katrina

Major hurricanes like Harvey usually result in numerous car losses, but the toll is expected to be even bigger than other catastrophic storms in recent years.

Appraisal firm Black Book estimates about 500,000 cars will need to be replaced due to Harvey, double the more than the 250,000 hit by Hurricane Sandy in the New York region in 2012, and the 200,000 pummeled by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf coast in 2005, according to Cox Automotive.

That could give Detroit a boost at a time when the American car industry is feeling the effects of a cooling North American auto boom. But analysts do not expect to see the impact immediately in car industry financials.

"When it does occur, (it) is likely to be greater than was the case with Sandy, because more vehicles are estimated to have been damaged this time around," said Ryan Brinkman, an auto industry analyst at JPMorgan Chase.

Around 150,000 people already have notified insurers of losses, but far more filings are expected, according to the Insurance Council of Texas.

"It might take weeks for victims to be compensated because of the inability to reach or even locate some vehicles," said Mark Hanna, a spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas, who estimates the total economic impact at $2 billion.

Typical insurance policies allow holders to purchase a small car if their vehicle is damaged in a storm, or receive reimbursement for a rental, Hanna said.

Rental car giant Avis has waived late and extension fees in the hurricane-ravaged area.

"We are moving vehicles into the affected areas as quickly as possible to increase inventory to meet our customers' needs," said Katie McCall, a spokeswoman at Avis Budget Group.

Ford is offering $1,000 rebates for the purchase of new cars.

Some will go without

Unsurprisingly, car purchases are easiest for those buyers who don't need to line up financing, or await an insurance payout.

"If there's a cash deal, I show them the vehicle, they sign the contract and 45 minutes later they walk out the door with the vehicle," said Zepeda.

But some Houstonians will no doubt go carless as they await insurance payouts while putting any available cash into vital home repairs.

"There will be thousands that will be unable to replace their cars immediately," said Andrea French, executive director of TAG Houston, a non-governmental organization that advocates for more public transit solutions.

That could boost the odds that more consumers opt to go into the "black market" of used cars that are not insured, which already accounts for about 15 percent of the Texas market, she said.

Twisted Taipei mailboxes to be moved as crowds disrupt traffic

Want ChinaTimes, CNA and Staff Reporter 2015-08-12

People line up to have their photo taken with the now famous mailboxes
in Taipei, Aug. 9. (Photo/CNA)

Two roadside mailboxes in Taipei that have become a visitor attraction since they were bent to one side by strong winds from Typhoon Soudelor on Aug. 8 will be relocated after drawing so many people that traffic has been affected and nearby residents inconvenienced.

Chunghwa Post has decided to remove the mailboxes from service because the crowds lining up to have their photos taken with them have been disrupting traffic and disturbing residents, the company announced Tuesday.

The mailboxes, nicknamed "Xiao Hong" (Little Red)" and "Xiao Lu" (Little Green) by their fans, will be removed from their current spot on the intersection of Nanjing East Road and Longjiang Road on Aug. 13 and relocated to the entrance to the Postal Museum Taipei Beimen Branch, where they will be used as an exhibit, Chunghwa Post said.

A new mailbox will replace the damaged ones, the company said, adding that to mark the planned decommissioning of the mailboxes it has made a "smiling mailbox" commemorative seal. Post deposited in the twisted mailboxes in the period between 5 pm Wednesday and 5 pm Thursday will all be stamped with the seal so recipients can enjoy a little piece of history, Chunghwa Post said.

The decision to relocate Xiao Hong and Xiao Lu, however, has disappointed some of their online fans, who said "no one will pay attention to them" after they are relocated and called for them to be kept where they are.

The photo of the two twisted mailboxes has gone viral since being posted on the internet and Saturday. They were bent to one side by a signboard that fell to the ground during the storm in the early hours of the day, according to workers at a nearby convenience store.

Houston submerged as wild weather kills 20 in US, Mexico

Yahoo – AFP, 26 may 2015

Vehicles are left stranded on Interstate 45 in Houston, Texas on May 26, 2015, 

after heavy rains put the city under massive amounts of water (AFP Photo/

Aaron M. Sprecher)

Houston (AFP) - Torrential rain left large parts of Houston submerged Tuesday and trapped fans at an NBA basketball game, in savage weather that has killed nearly 20 people in the United States and Mexico.

The southern US states of Texas and Oklahoma, and northern Mexico, have borne the brunt of several days of violent weather, including tornadoes, which have left scores dead, missing and injured on both sides of the border.

More than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain fell in just a few hours in the Texas city of Houston, triggering the worst flooding there in at least a decade and stranding at an arena a Houston Rockets player and spectators who had gone to see the basketball team Monday night.

Hundreds of vehicles, some fully under water, were abandoned on Houston's roads. Some people were trapped in their cars, others marooned in their homes, as flood waters rose menacingly up around them.

Two people died overnight in the flooding in the city, Mayor Annise Parker said, with the toll expected to rise. Both had drowned.

"I want to ask and urge people to continue to be safe and recognize that we may have more rain later today," she said, encouraging people to stay at home in America's fourth-largest city.

The southern US states of Texas and Oklahoma, and far northern Mexico, 

have borne the brunt of several days of wild weather, including tornadoes, which

 have destroyed homes, seen rivers swell to record levels and left cars 

submerged on highways (AFP Photo/Aaron M. Sprecher)

"We have cars littered all over the city," she told a press conference, adding that emergency crews were attempting to reach the abandoned vehicles to see if anyone had been trapped inside.

Downtown Houston, where the Toyota Center is located, was not under water, said Parker. But about 200 fans had been unable to get home from the NBA game for several hours after the deluge and a few settled down for the night in the arena.

At least one Rockets player, center Dwight Howard, was among those stranded into the night after learning of the treacherous road conditions.

"There's no need to try to push it," the Houston Chronicle reported him as saying.

"I don't think it's smart for anybody to try to be out in this weather."

President Barack Obama called the flooding in Texas "terrible" and said he had offered urgent assistance to state Governor Greg Abbott.

'I love you. And pray'

Fears were growing meanwhile for at least 12 people still missing in Hays County, also in Texas.

Vehicles are left stranded on Highway

 288 in Houston, Texas on May 26, 

2015, after heavy rains put the city

 under massive amounts of water 

(AFP Photo/Aaron M. Sprecher)

One person was already confirmed dead there and two more died in Oklahoma, which is located to the north of Texas.

Many of the dozen missing in Hays County were from one house that was torn from its foundations during a terrifying flash flood over the weekend.

View galleryVehicles left stranded on a flooded Interstate 45 in …

Vehicles left stranded on a flooded Interstate 45 in Houston, Texas on May 26, 2015, after heavy rai …

There were two families staying at the A-frame house in the picturesque town of Wimberley for the long Memorial Day weekend, NBC News reported. Among them were three children.

Inside was Laura McComb, who was on the phone with her sister when the house, built on stilts, broke off and was swept away.

"We are in a house that is now floating down the river," she reportedly told her sister, Julie Shields. "Call Mom and Dad. I love you. And pray."

Shields told the NBC affiliate KXAN that the phone call ended when McComb thought she saw a light from a helicopter that had come to rescue them.

She has not been heard from since Saturday night.

Baby found dead

Vehicles left stranded on a flooded Interstate 

45 in Houston, Texas on May 26, 2015,

 after heavy rains put the city under massive

 ammounts of water (AFP Photo/Aaron M. 

Sprecher)

South of the border, Mexico has also felt nature's wrath.

A savage twister roared through the border city of Ciudad Acuna at dawn Monday, killing at least 14 people and flattening hundreds of homes in a deadly six-second blast.

Among the victims of the tornado’s 270-300 kilometer-per-hour (168-186 miles) winds was a baby boy who was ripped from the grasp of his desperate parents and flung into the air.

His body was found on Tuesday after a frantic search.

The child was "catapulted by the tornado," Mayor Evaristo Lenin Perez said.

"It was horrible. It started raining in the morning. Very early, the wind came and everything started to fly around and then it all fell to the ground," Ciudad Acuna resident Juanita Perez said tearfully.

The federal government said the tornado destroyed 247 homes and damaged another 450.

Flood Warnings and Clean-Up as Australia Recovers From Twin Cyclones

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Feb 21, 2015

This image obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
 (NOAA) shows VIIRS infrared imagery from Tropical Storm Marcia as it approaches
the eastern coast of Australia on Feb. 19, 2015. (AFP Photo/NOAA/NASA/RAMMB/CIRA)

Australia was Saturday assessing the damage from two severe cyclones that left a trail of destruction, wrecking hundreds of homes and cutting electricity to thousands as authorities warned of more flooding and gusty winds.

Tropical Cyclone Marcia barrelled through the northeastern state of Queensland Friday at the highest-rated category five, ripping apart houses, uprooting trees and bringing down power lines.

The severe system hit hours after category four Tropical Cyclone Lam slammed into the Northern Territory, causing extensive damage to remote Aboriginal communities near Elcho Island, some 500 kilometers east of the capital Darwin.

Despite the destruction, authorities have so far not received reports of serious injuries, missing people, or deaths.

“Everyone is breathing a deep sigh of relief that there has been, to this date, no loss of life,” Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters Saturday.

Both cyclones have since eased to tropical lows, but the Bureau of Meteorology warned of flooding, heavy rains, damaging wind gusts and dangerous surf.

Parts of southeast Queensland, which has already been saturated by a separate weather system bringing hundreds of millimetres of rain to the region since Thursday, could be hit by flooding as Marcia tracks south before moving out to sea later Saturday.

Residents in the small towns of Jambin and Goovigen south of Rockhampton in central Queensland were evacuated from their homes as the Callide river flooded.

Flood warnings have also been issued for northeast New South Wales state just below Queensland.

Palaszczuk said preliminary reports showed “a couple of hundred homes” in Yeppoon and Rockhampton had structural damage.

“The biggest issue that we are currently facing is power outages,” she said.

“We have around 60,000 homes without power.”

The Australian military is assisting with the damage assessment and clean-up, with two aircraft set to be deployed to central Queensland Saturday, weather permitting.

In the Northern Territory, a state of emergency has been declared for areas hardest hit by Lam.

The territory’s Police and Emergency Services Minister Peter Chandler said the measure would help communities that have suffered from power, telecommunications and water outages.

Queensland has been smashed by several major storms and cyclones over the past few years with Cyclone Oswald, also a category five, flooding parts of the state in 2013, racking up insurance claims of some Aus$977 million (US$765 million).

Agence France-Presse

Jakarta Floods Force PLN to Shut Down Over 400 Electrical Relays

Jakarta Globe, Rangga Prakoso, Feb 09, 2015

Residents try to cross a street in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, on Monday.
 (Antara Photo/Rosa Panggabean)

Jakarta. State utility firm Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has shut down more than 400 electrical relays in the Greater Jakarta area on Monday due to floods that inundated parts of the capital.

PLN spokesman Mambang Hertadi said that as of 3:35 p.m the company had shut down 428 electrical relays in flood-hit areas to prevent people from being electrocuted.

“The area affected by the floods is getting bigger so we have to cut off the electricity supply to more consumers’ houses,” Mambang said.

Mambang added that people whose house was inundated should immediately turn off their electricity and unplug all electronic devices.

He urged people to follow this advice and stay alert to prevent accidents.

Last month, two people died of electrocution when their house in West Pademangan, North Jakarta, was inundated by water and they forgot to unplug their refrigerator.

Jakartans woke up to a partially flooded city on Monday after a night of heavy rains. Many roads were impassable, leading to massive traffic problems in all part of the city.

A policeman helps a motorist on flooded street outside the Presidential Palace

 after heavy seasonal rains flooded parts of Jakarta Feb. 9, 2015. (Reuters Photo/

Darren Whiteside)

Related Articles:

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AirAsia Jet’s Alarms ‘Screaming’ Before Crash: Investigator

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Jan 21, 2015

AirAsia Flight QZ8501 crashed in shallow waters with 162 people on board,
but so far just 53 bodies have been recovered. (AFP Photo/Juni Kriswanto)

Jakarta. Warning alarms in AirAsia Flight QZ8501 were “screaming” as the pilots desperately tried to stabilize the plane just before it plunged into the Java Sea last month, a crash investigator said on Wednesday.

The noise of several alarms — including one that indicated the plane was stalling — can be heard going off in recordings from the black box in the Airbus A320-200′s cockpit, the investigator told AFP, requesting anonymity.

“The warning alarms, we can say, were screaming, while in the background they [the pilot and co-pilot] were busy trying to recover,” the investigator said, adding the warnings were going off “for some time.”

The investigator, from Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC), added that the pilots’ voices were drowned out by the sound of the alarms.

The revelation came a day after Indonesian Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan said that the plane had climbed abnormally fast before stalling and plunging into the sea, during a flight on Dec. 28 in stormy weather from Surabaya to Singapore.

“In the final minutes, the plane climbed at a speed which was beyond normal,” the minister told reporters.

The plane crashed in shallow waters with 162 people on board, but so far just 53 bodies have been recovered.

Divers have been struggling for a week against rough seas and strong currents to reach the plane’s main body, which was spotted on the seabed and is thought to contain the bulk of the remaining passengers and crew.

The two black boxes — the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder — were recovered last week after a lengthy search, and investigators are expected to complete a preliminary report next week.

As well as the cockpit voice recorder, the NTSC is examining a wealth of information in the flight data recorder, which monitors every major part of the plane.

They are focusing on the possibility of human or aircraft error, after ruling out terrorism following an analysis of the cockpit voice recorder.

Committee head Tatang Kurniadi said that the preliminary report into the crash would be completed on Tuesday, a month after the accident. He said the full report would not be released publicly but the media would be told some of its contents.

There was a huge international hunt for the crashed plane, involving ships from several countries including the US and China.

All but seven of those on board the flight were Indonesian. The foreign nationals were from South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Britain and France.

Agence France-Presse

Francis thrills in Philippines with 'jeepney' popemobile

Yahoo – AFP, 18 Jan 2015

Pope Francis waves to people as he leaves in his "popemobile" after attending

a mass at a park in Manila on January 18, 2015 (AFP Photo/Giuseppe Cacace)

Manila (AFP) - Pope Francis made a triumphant entrance for a mass with millions in the Philippines on Sunday aboard a "popemobile" styled after the nation's iconic, flamboyant and much-loved "jeepney" minibus.

The pontiff, standing in the elevated open body of the uniquely Filipino version of his popemobile, travelled through the streets of the capital Manila for the main event of his five-day visit.

Wearing a thick plastic yellow poncho over his vestments, the 78-year-old pontiff smiled and waved to hundreds of thousands who had lined the route to the venue for the mass.

The rectangular vehicle with a distinctive giant grille repeatedly stopped so he could reach into the cheering masses and pick up babies to kiss and bless them.

The pope rode the jeepney popemobile to Rizal Park where millions had gathered to hear him celebrate mass, in one of the world's biggest papal gatherings.

The jeepneys are regarded by many Filipinos as a symbol of national ingenuity. Locals created them from surplus US military jeeps after American forces left at the end of World War II.

The bodies of the jeeps were extended, seats were added and a fixed roof put in place. The vehicles were then painted with colourful and Catholic designs.

They proved to be strong vehicles with decades-long lifespans, and can be seen ferrying people through city streets and animals on mountain roads.

However the diesel-powered vehicles are also one the nation's chief air pollution culprits.

Francis's jeepney was an all-white popemobile. It had no doors, after the pope told local organisers he did not want a bulletproof vehicle so he could reach out and touch his followers.

Pope Francis (top L) kisses a child as he arrives to celebrate a mass

at a park in Manila on January 18, 2015 (AFP Photo/Ted Aljibe)

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Pope Francis, wearing a plastic raincoat, waves to well-wishers after

a mass in Tacloban, on January 17, 2015 (AFP Photo/Johannes Eisele)

Ice May Have Caused AirAsia Crash: BMKG

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Jan 04, 2015

Indonesia's meteorological agency has suggested the weather at the time
 Flight QZ8501went down sparked the disaster after it appeared to fly into
storm clouds. (AFP Photo)

Pangkalan Bun. Weather was the “triggering factor” in the crash of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 with icing likely causing engine damage, Indonesia’s meteorological agency said, as divers found another body Sunday during a momentary respite from bad weather that has hampered rescue efforts.

The Airbus A320-200 crashed into the Java Sea a week ago carrying 162 people from Indonesia’s second city Surabaya to Singapore, and relief workers are hunting for the “black box” flight data recorders to determine the cause of the crash.

An initial report on the website of BMKG, Indonesia’s meteorological agency, suggested the weather at the time the plane went down sparked the disaster after it appeared to fly into storm clouds.

“Based on the available data received on the location of the aircraft’s last contact, the weather was the triggering factor behind the accident,” said the report.

“The most probable weather phenomenon was icing which can cause engine damage due to a cooling process. This is just one of the possibilities that occurred based on the analysis of existing meteorological data.”

Five major parts of the Airbus A320-200 have now been found off Kalimantan, but rough weather throughout the week has hampered the relief process, a huge operation assisted by several countries including the United States and Russia.

As the weather cleared, a team of divers went down to the biggest part of the wreckage on Sunday morning and recovered one body, bringing to 31 the number of victims found, but bad conditions forced them to surface again.

“They managed to go down but the visibility at the sea bottom was zero, it was dark and the seabed was muddy, with currents of three to five knots,” search and rescue agency chief Bambang Soelistyo told reporters, adding that heavy rain and big waves were continuing to hamper the rescue effort.

“For that reason, the diving efforts must be temporarily stopped. We’ll try to deploy an ROV [remotely-operated underwater vehicle],” he said.

He said the fifth major part of the plane, located early on Sunday, was about 10 meters by one meter.

The search, focused on a patch of sea southwest of Pangkalan Bun, a town on Kalimantan, has also been extended east because parts of the plane may have been swept by currents, Bamabang said.

The relief operation has prioritized finding the bodies of those on board the ill-fated flight, of whom 155 were Indonesian, with three South Koreans, one Singaporean, one Malaysian, one Briton and a Frenchman — co-pilot Remi Plesel.

Indonesian pilot Setiawan, who is part of the aerial recovery effort combing the search area from above, told local television channel MetroTV that he had seen another three bodies floating in the sea early Sunday.

AirAsia investigated

Indonesia has pledged to investigate flight violations by AirAsia, saying the ill-fated aircraft had been flying on an unauthorised schedule when it crashed. The airline has now been suspended from flying the Surabaya–Singapore route.

But the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said it had granted permission for the airline’s Sunday flight.

It was unclear how the airline, a unit of Malaysia-based AirAsia, had been able to fly without the necessary authorization from its starting point.

The company has declined to comment until the probe is complete, but said it would “fully cooperate” with the government.

Before take-off, the pilot of Flight 8501 had asked for permission to fly at a higher altitude to avoid the storm, but the request was not approved due to other planes above him on the popular route, according to AirNav, Indonesia’s air traffic control.

In his last communication, Captain Iriyanto, an experienced former air force pilot, said he wanted to change course to avoid the menacing storm system. Then all contact was lost, about 40 minutes after the plane had taken off.

The families of victims have been preparing funerals as the bodies recovered are identified in Surabaya, where a crisis center has been set up at a police hospital with facilities to store 150 bodies.

About 100 grieving Catholic relatives and well–wishers, some of them in tears, crowded into a small church in the police headquarters for a memorial mass Saturday afternoon, singing hymns and praying for the victims to be found quickly.

“We are trying to cope as hard as we can but it is still a very difficult time for our family as we are still waiting for news,” said 25-year-old Sebastian Joseph Widodo, whose sister Florentina was on the plane.

“My faith is very central, especially at this time where there’s nothing much we can do,” he added.

Agence France-Presse

Tropical Storm Leaves 54 Dead as It Exits Philippines

Jakarta Globe – AFP,  Jan 01, 2015

Philippine Airlines (PAL) planes are seen parked on tarmac in Manila International
Airport in Pasay city, metro Manila Sep. 9, 2014. (Reuters Photo/Romeo Ranoco)

Manila. Tropical storm Jiangmi exited the Philippines Thursday, leaving at least 54 dead and 13 missing from floods and landslides as officials admitted that more extensive warnings could have saved more lives.

The storm’s death toll was nearly triple that of the last major storm — Super Typhoon Hagupit, which hit the Philippines last month and wreaked less havoc than expected thanks to timely precautionary measures.

Jiangmi, which at one point packed winds of 80 kilometres per hour, weakened into a low pressure area as it moved west into the Sulu Sea with winds of about 30 kilometres per hour, the government weather station said.

Civil defence chief Alexander Pama admitted Thursday that more frequent warnings could have been aired in broadcast media.

“Probably we did not put [enough warnings] out in the media,” he told DZMM radio.

He said some people had ignored the warnings and refused to evacuate or went out to sea despite the storm.

“Maybe this will drive home the point to our countrymen that things are different now. Maybe now, when people are asked to evacuate, they will not resist,” he said.

Jiangmi hit the southern and central Philippines earlier this week, affecting areas that were once untouched by the frequent weather disturbances that batter the country.

The storm affected more than 120,000 people, more than 80,000 of whom were evacuated.

The Philippines is battered by about 20 storms every year, many of them deadly.

Last year Super Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest ever to hit the country, left 7,350 people dead or missing in central regions as it stirred up tsunami-like waves, wiping out entire towns.

Agence France-Presse

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"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)

(Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“… The Weather

Let's talk about the weather. We retreat to exactly what we told you before in this very chair. The water cycle is a cooling cycle, not a heating cycle. You're going to have more severe winters and storms. It's going to get colder. But it gets warmer before it gets colder. That is the cycle, and it has always been the cycle. You can see it in the rings of the trees and the cores of the ice. Don't let your scientists pull the political wool over your eyes for their own purposes. Start seeing these things for what they are. It's a recurring cycle based on four Earth alignment attributes, including the wobble (the precession). You're in this cycle. Prepare.

The beginnings of it will be with you from now at least until the end of the 2012 36-year window, and you can watch it work. The first thing that happens is that the ice melts at the poles, but not completely. It's the way it has happened before. As the redistribution of weight from the poles to the oceans of the earth takes place, the weight is redistributed to the crust, and that creates earthquakes. And the earthquakes that will be the most powerful are the ones that are closest to the poles. We told you that some time ago. So it's not a mystery that suddenly you have some of the most powerful earthquakes that you've ever had. Not only that, but a cooling ocean creates larger storms.

What do the conspiracists do with all this? "See? We're doomed. Here it comes," they say. "Here it comes! The end is here!" Twenty-two years ago, we gave you the information that is happening today. We told you about the weather. We told you to get ready for it, but we still haven't told you why the water cycle is needed. We've hinted at it since it is very controversial, and we'll lose many readers right here and now. Here's the prediction: The scientists are going to laugh and biologists are going to scratch their heads and roll their eyes.

The Refreshing of the Cycle of Life

When you change the temperature of the waters of the planet, it changes the life cycle of the ocean and it eventually renews itself. The life cycle of the planet has a limit to its viability over time. There has to be a refreshing of the very cycle of life, and this is what the water cycle does. Are there any places you've seen too many fish lately? Yes. Millions of salmon in the north. Odd that it was in Alaska, isn't it? Alaska is very close to the poles where the water temperature is being felt first. Oh, again the experts will tell you that this is not the reason. It's about hatcheries and rivers. But nobody predicted this, did they? Science is fast to give you reasons, but slow to give you logic in advance. They always seem to be surprised.

We are saying things we haven't said before. Again, watch for this, an actual change in the life cycle of the planet's oceans because of the water temperature shift. Biologists are going to have to start redesigning the paradigm of how everything works, including reefs, ocean bottoms, and how plankton survive and reproduce. Listen, this is not the first time that the life cycle has been refreshed! But again, this may take generations of humanity to complete. In the process, you may again lose species. This is normal. Gaia is slow, and Humans are impatient. Your textbooks may someday tell of how naive humanity was back in 2011 when they tried to blame weather changes on everything but a natural cycle. Now you know why there is a water cycle.

So what does that tell you about Gaia? Gaia is beginning the cycle of refreshing life on over-fished oceans. It tells you that in the cracks, there is love and caring about the Humans who live on the earth. There's a reason you're here. There's a plan here, and a benevolent Universe and quantum energy with intelligent design. All is there for you, precious, sacred Human Being. …”

British Columbia salmon return one of largest seen in region (Sep 2013)

Pink salmon, shown in a file photograph, 

have a lifespan of two years

Search for missing AirAsia jet suspended as night falls

Indonesian authorities say rescuers searching the Java Sea for a missing AirAsia airliner have halted their operation at nightfall. The plane was carrying 162 people, most of them from Indonesia.

Deutsche Welle, 28 Dec 2014

An official from Indonesia's national search and rescue agency in Medan,
 North Sumatra points at his computer screen to the position where AirAsia flight
 QZ8501 went missing off the waters of Indonesia on December 28, 2014. Sutanta
Aditya/AFP/Getty Images)

A search and rescue operation in the Java Sea for an AirAsia passenger plane missing since the early morning on Sunday has been suspended at fall of darkness, Indonesian authorities said.

"We ended at 5:30 pm (1030 UTC) because it was getting dark. The weather was also not too good as it was getting really cloudy," transport ministry official Hadi Mustofa told AFP news agency, adding that the operation would resume early on Monday.

AirAsia Flight QZ8501 last communicated with Indonesian air traffic control about 42 minutes after taking off from Indonesia's Surabaya airport at 5:20 local time (2220 UTC) en route to Singapore, a flight that normally takes just more than two hours.

The airline said in a statement that Indonesian air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane, an Airbus 320-200, shortly after its pilots had requested permission to ascend to avoid bad weather - a standard maneuver in such circumstances.

Reports said the plane issued no distress signal before disappearing.

Stormy conditions

The plane was carrying 162 people on board, mostly Indonesians. The airline said three South Koreans and one person each from Singapore, Malaysia, and France were also among the passengers and crew. Britain later said one of its nationals was also on board.

Search and rescue operations have focused on waters around the islands of Bangka and Belitung in the Java Sea, near Kalimanten island, which is where the plane was situated when contact was lost. Singapore and Malaysia are aiding Indonesia in its search efforts, which have so far yielded no results.

AirAsia, a regional low-cost carrier founded in 2001, has never had a fatal accident.

A weather forecaster at Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said dense storm clouds were detected at flying altitude in the area where the plane lost contact.

"There could have been turbulence, lightning and vertical as well as horizontal strong winds within such clouds," said Sunardi, who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name .

Bad aviation year for Asia

Sunday's incident comes in the wake of two disasters this year that struck another Asian carrier, Malaysia Airlines, which lost two aircraft in the past ten months.

Flight MH370 went missing on March 8 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. It has still not been found, despite a massive search operation by several countries.

Another Malaysia Airlines flight, MH17, was allegedly shot down over territory held by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in mid-July. All 298 passengers and crew lost their lives.

tj/bk (AFP, AP)

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