|
Wildfires, storms batter US
10/05/2007 07:26 - (SA)
New York - Nature's fury made life miserable from one end of the United States to the other, with people forced out of their homes by wildfires near both coasts and the Canadian border, and by major flooding in the Midwest.
And although the calendar still said spring, the first named storm of the year was whipping up surf on beaches along the southeastern coast.
However, it was not quite a day for the record books.
"It's a major flood," National Weather Service meteorologist Suzanne Fortin said on Wednesday of the flooding in Missouri. "It won't be a record breaker, but it will be in the top three."
But in southern Georgia a three-week-old fire had become that state's biggest in five decades after charring 433 square kilometres of forest and swamp.
Smoke-filled air created a burning smell and a dusting of ashes that coated cars and buildings through much of Florida and southeastern Georgia. The haze over most of Florida closed several highways and sent people with breathing problems indoors.
Storms, tornados
The flooding was produced by the drenching weekend thunderstorms across the Plains states that also devastated Greensburg, Kansas. In addition to 11 tornado deaths, two drowning deaths were blamed on the storms, one each in Oklahoma and Kansas.
High water had poured over the tops of at least 20 levees along the Missouri River and other streams in the state, authorities said on Wednesday.
In Missouri's Jackson County, authorities evacuated 300 to 400 residents on Wednesday. At least a dozen homes were partially under water from the Missouri River, a dispatcher said.
In central Missouri, the state capital, Jefferson City, was preparing for flooding.
Los Angeles blaze
On the West Coast, in view of many Los Angeles residents, a blaze had covered more than 324 hectares in the city's sprawling Griffith Park behind the iconic Griffith Observatory.
The danger to homes south of the park had eased on Wednesday and many of the hundreds of residents evacuated overnight were allowed to return. However, fire officials warned that conditions could change.
No flames were showing by evening, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told a press conference at the observatory, and firefighters expected full containment by Thursday night.
"The tide is turning in our favour," the mayor said.
Other wildfires
In northern Florida a wildfire had forced the evacuation of about 250 homes, said Annaleasa Winter, a state forestry spokesperson. That fire had blackened up to 7 285 hectares and was 35% contained on Wednesday night.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist said the state had more than 220 active fires Wednesday that had charred a total of 324 square kilometres.
Elsewhere, Georgia officials issued a mandatory evacuation due to a growing blaze, while a wildfire near the Canadian border in northeastern Minnesota had destroyed 45 buildings, including multimillion-dollar homes, and firefighters said it was just five percent contained.
More than 100 people had been removed from their homes in the path of the fire.
Subtropical storm
Smoke was spreading across wide areas of Florida as wind circulated around Subtropical Storm Andrea, centred about 160km off the Georgia coast with top sustained wind around 72kph. The National Weather Service forecast that the storm would show little movement and dissipate near the coast in four days.
Battling the blazes will not get much immediate help from rain. Forecasters said no significant downpours were expected over land through at least on Thursday morning. The storm's lightning could also spark off more fires, meteorologists said.
|
News
