MetaFilter posts tagged with Flood

"You sound like my mom..... My camera was safely cradled on the dashboard, with both hands on the steering wheel."

defenestration — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:03:38 -0800

My drive to work in the rainstorm 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Footage of a drive through the June 7 2008 rainstorm on the North portion of Tung Chung Road on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. On that day Hong Kong experienced 307mm of rain and 130mm the previous day. That is more than 17 inches of rain in 48 hours.

The Swirling Bathtub Drain in the River

AceRock — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:33:14 -0800

"You'll have heard how the city once ended in fire, and around these parts, it threatens to end in ice every few years or so. But once, not too long ago, Chicago flirted with ending in water, an entirely preventable man-made inundation that few saw but everybody felt – a two-billion-dollar sucker punch tsunami that weighed in among the dozen most costly floods in American history." Via the awesome Chicago issue of Granta.

Typhoon Ondoy / Tropical Storm Ketsana leaves Northern Philippines in a state of Calamity

drea — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:51:03 -0800

410mm of rain fell over Northern Luzon, Philippines on September 25, 2009, leaving much of the country's capital and the surrounding regions submerged in water, reaching up to nine feet in some areas. As of latest coverage, over 100 were killed and 340,000 affected by the Typhoon. This amount has been the highest recorded amount of rainfall since the country's weather Bureau started recording rainfall levels in 1967, and exceeds the rainfall level of Hurrican Katrina (380mm). Two more tropical depressions could be under way in the midst of Ondoy's wake. As of now, there are still families stranded on the rooftops of their homes without food and potable water. Most relief aid is coming from volunteers. As for the country's president? She used the Php800M(USD16.8M) emergency fund for foreign trips. See the damage. International News Coverage: NYT Reuters CNN BBC Here are locations in the Philippines placed under a state of calamity due to Typhoon Ondoy/Tropical Storm Ketsana. Here's a situation map of those affected in Metro Manila / Marikina (hardest hit by the flood). Conversely, a Google map of drop-off points for donations./ Send relief (local / international) : How to help. Aggregated information at Ondoy Relief. Typhoon Ondoy. PinoyTumblr. Ondoy Tumblr. At this point, Social Media (facebook, twitter, etc.) has been helping more than cellphones, landlines, which are dead. Telecom infrastructure could not support calamity. The massive number of volunteers and donations is offsetting the incapacity of the government to help. Filipinos call it the bayanihan spirit. And so I leave you with this post on the matter that will hopefully stir and inspire us all.

Blasphemy!

klangklangston — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:41:51 -0800

Curt Flood's suit of Baseball. In 1970, baseball's best center fielder, Curt Flood filed a lawsuit against Major League Baseball and its reserve clause.

Coal Ash Spill

homunculus — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 21:00:33 -0800

Environmental disaster in Tennessee. On Monday, 5.4 million cubic yards (over 1 billion gallons; the Exxon Valdez oil spill was about 11 million gallons) of toxic coal ash sludge broke through an earthen retaining wall of a holding pond at TVA’s Kingston power plant, damaging 12 homes and covering over 400 acres up to six feet deep.

The Great Sheffield Flood of 1864

xchmp — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 05:46:55 -0800

Gunson looked up to see a breach appearing in the top of the dam. Feeling a sudden, violent, vibrating of the ground beneath his feet, he quickly scampered up the side of the embankment, luckily just in time, as a few seconds later there was a total collapse of a large section of the dam, unleashing a colossal mountain of water which thundered down the valley and on to the unsuspecting population below. For two hundred and fifty people who lived in Sheffield and the hamlets in the valley below the dam, this was to be their last night on Earth. Six hundred and fifty million gallons of water roared down the Loxley valley and into Sheffield, wreaking death and destruction on a horrific scale. Mostly forgotten today, the bursting of the Dale Dyke Dam resulted in the worst man-made flood in British history. Samuel Harrison's detailed account, A Complete History of the Great Flood at Sheffield, was written in the months after. The damage went far beyond the immediate toll on life and a special act of parliament resulted in one of the largest compensation claims of all time. Claimants ranged from servants whose gardens were ruined to an author and publisher whose autobiography was swept away. Even the army claimed for damages to Hillsborough Barracks, where the waters breached three-foot thick walls and drowned two of the Sergeant Paymaster's children.

A marriage made in water

elgilito — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 05:42:56 -0800

Last week, following torrential rains, Northern and Central Vietnam suffered their worst flooding in the past 25 years, killing more than 70 people and devastating buildings and crops. Still, life goes on in the inundated Hanoi neighborhoods, and water won't prevent people from walking/driving/boating around the city, getting engaged, marrying and fishing. These folks got their car back and the scenic Ninh Binh region looks like the Ha Long bay. By the way, Google understands vietnamese now.

Anyone for the Global War on Flu?

athenian — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:41:29 -0800

The UK's national risk register is made public. It is kept updated by the secret squirrels in the Cabinet Office, and was previously kept under wraps. Pandemic flu and flooding beat out terrorism as the major risks facing the UK at the moment. Both are seen as less likely than a terrorist attack, but more devastating. The full pdf has a chart on page 7 showing the main risks on a grid.

Requiem for the Mighty Wurlitzer

thanotopsis — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:36:24 -0800

A recently divulged casualty of the Iowa floods (previously covered on Mefi here) is the Mighty Wurlitzer organ at the Paramount Theater. The pictures are pretty awful, and the video is even worse. If you grew up in Cedar Rapids any time in the last 80 years, you'll have heard the Wurlitzer on at least one occasion. Cedar Rapidians are vowing to "Return and Rebuild". "It’s ready for you– This Palace of Splendor with its acre of seats. The rare paintings are hung, the sculptures are in place, the deep carpet is waiting for the tread of thousands who will come to marvel at the countless wonders!" …The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette and Republican, 1928.

Not Loving That Dirty Water

thanotopsis — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:16:06 -0800

Hoping for the best for Mefites in eastern Iowa. I was CR born and raised, and just watching the feed on KCRG is ...disturbing. It looks like the height of the Cedar River is estimated at 25.4 feet, and it hasn't crested yet. They've lost a railroad bridge downtown so far, and the news feed keeps tracking the rise of the river by standing outside the studio and watching the water approaching. Of course, it's not just Cedar Rapids. They're going to close 30 miles of I-80 (the highway that runs from New Jersey to San Fransisco). They're evacuating areas of Corralville. Vinton is under water. They're being asked to not flush the toilets in Decorah. Stay dry, people.

High Water Everywhere

timsteil — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:50:22 -0800

For decades, showman Tommy Bartlett ran a Wisconsin Dells "Thrill Show" featuring waterskiers performing all sorts of stunts on Lake Delton. His bumperstickers were on the station wagons of tens of thousands of families across the midwest. This summer, Lake Delton is no more.

LOLHORRIBLEDEVELOPERS WHOHAPPENTOBEXTIANS WHOENDUPSCREWINGUPBOTH

tittergrrl — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:24:07 -0800

What if the Devil tricked a well-meaning computer developer into making a horrendous animal racing game? (cringeworthy YouTube link) Now we know! Yes, Cougar Interactive has a product for you. Zoo Race! The biblical flood is over, and with hardly any people around, what's Noah, God, and the animals gonna do? Why, RACE of course! The game features compelling voice work, top flight graphics, and of course... animals straddling on rockets. And to top it all off, God is the announcer! It was the best 2007 had to offer, and it's still available... so, like their web site says.. Buy the FUN game that the big game companies would not ever make. (as found at Kotaku) Please understand, this has nothing to do with Christianity or anything. More the UNHOLY combination that was the result. Oh, did you know it was a sequel?

Out of the fire, into the flood

strangeleftydoublethink — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 10:50:07 -0800

In Chapter 3 of his 1999 Pulitzer Prize winning book The Control of Nature, John Mcphee describes the catastrophe from debris flows following wild fires in the Los Angeles area in 1978. Not only do the fires destroy the vegetation that helps hold the soil in place during winter rains, the heat from the fires waterproofs the ground, creating a fast moving stream that gathers everything in its path. I remember talking to people in Pasadena who remembered seeing huge boulders in the street following those debris flows in '78.

Washed Away

chuckdarwin — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 02:55:38 -0800

Weatherfilter: Widespread flooding in the UK leaves hundreds of thousands of homes without water and power. Extraordinary scenes of the floods command many of the front pages of Monday's newspapers. The Environment Agency has warned water levels are expected to exceed those of the devastating floods of 1947.

"Thus the role played by Kaskaskia in the great drama of history closed in tragedy."

luftmensch — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 13:59:14 -0800

Kaskaskia: The western Illinois town stuck in eastern Missouri. First state capital, bustling economic center and a leading town in the state. That is, until the flood of 1881 cut a new river channel, destroying most of the town and leaving the remnants on the Missouri side of the Mississippi. Whether or not the disaster was due to a murdered lover's curse, the (remaining) residents petitioned that the state line be kept along the older riverbed. The town's population, once about 7000, now consists of a meager nine. [wiki]

Zut alors!

monju_bosatsu — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 21:51:54 -0800

Photos of Paris during the 1910 flood. More. Yet more.

Talking Rainpocalyse Rental Car Blues

dw — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 09:51:06 -0800

And that's why you always buy the loss damage waiver when you rent a car. Man flies to Seattle, rents a PT Cruiser, drives to Olympic National Park to camp. Then one of the wettest months in regional history happens. The road washes out. While he and his companion are rescued, the car remains in the park, accruing rental charges. Rental company cuts him a deal. After 43 days and $871, the car is retrieved after emergency road repairs, and it's back in service at Sea-Tac.

Ancient tsunami devastated Mediterranean

Kickstart70 — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 15:29:49 -0800

Ancient tsunami devastated Mediterranean possible root of flood myths and current major religious belief.

Are you covered?

owhydididoit — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 22:52:12 -0800

Some call FEMA's administration of federal flood insurance and disaster relief illogical and illegal, although you won't find that in FEMA's recent summary of Katrina, which reveals that $15.3 billion dollars in federal flood insurance claims have been paid. That's quite a bit more than the National Flood Insurance Fund's budget, and you may recall that payouts didn't go smoothly. Still, having federal flood insurance, as opposed to relying on disaster relief, has proven its worth during the rebuilding process. Certainly Katrina was an extraordinary phenomenon, unlikely to be repeated any time soon. Perhaps that's why the annual disaster relief budget is smaller this year.

how do i flood thee? let me count the ways...

ab3 — Thu, 18 May 2006 08:21:34 -0800

Flash flood! A New Orleans Times Picayune flash animation of exactly how, and where, and when the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas flooded during Hurricane Katrina. Here's the accompanying article. Even as a local, I had no idea how weak the levee systems were. And apparently still are. Here's some more info from a local grassroots group fighting for better levee protection.

Mascots helping Mascots

ColdChef — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 20:07:48 -0800

Mascots helping Mascots High schools across America have witnessed the devastation brought about by several recent natural disasters, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. An outpouring of sympathy and concern, and a desire to help, have come forth from high schools wanting to assist those in need. To enable schools to help other schools, the National Federation of State High School Associations has initiated a fundraising program called the Mascot Adoption Program.

Dutch flood videos

Wolfdog — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 06:37:08 -0800

Newsreels [Windows Media] from the Flood of 1953 in the Netherlands.

New Orleans Flood in Your City

kirkaracha — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 22:52:52 -0800

New Orleans Flood in Your City Map overlays of the New Orleans flood over various US cities.

All your better deeds / Shall be in water writ.

mds35 — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 11:16:01 -0800

Our story begins with a flood and the theme continues throughout our literature. On this wet, wet planet of beings who depend on water for survival, deluge is an undeniably universal experience. With the help of a much-maligned organization, the literature grows...

Love Canal-type toxic landfill submerged in New Orleans

Babylonian — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 00:38:00 -0800

A toxic landfill site on which low-income housing was built in central New Orleans is now under floodwaters with the potential to pollute and contaminate portions of the Gulf Coast. In the 1940s and 1950s, the site was routinely sprayed with DDT, but in 1962 some 229,300 cubic metres of excess fill was removed because subsurface toxic fires kept erupting (and got the site known as "Dante's Inferno"). According to the editor of Hazardous Waste magazine, the site -- now under water -- will almost inevitably leach toxic effluent into the floodwaters, with the potential of inflicting unpredictable damage on the coast, and those that live there -- a possible environmental catastrophe. Tests by the EPA in the 1980s and 90s found 149 chemicals - 44 of which are known carcinogens. Among the toxic substances found were arsenic, lead, mercury, barium, and other organic compounds that are associated with pesticides and the burning of waste. Finally, what is the status of the Waterford 3 nuke plant just north of New Orleans, and what is the status of that plant's nuclear waste ? News reports say it sustained damage to 'off-site buildings' but what does that mean? Were those waste containment facilities?