ACAPULCO, Mexico — The remnants of Tropical Storm Manuel continued to deluge Mexico’s southwestern Pacific shoulder with dangerous rains while Hurricane Ingrid headed for a Monday landfall on the country’s opposite coast in an unusual double onslaught that federal authorities said had caused at least 21 deaths.
The heaviest blow Sunday fell on the southern coastal state of Guerrero, where Mexico’s government reported 14 confirmed deaths. State officials said people had been killed in landslides, drownings in a swollen river, and a truck crash on a rain-slickened mountain highway.
Mexico’s federal Civil Protection coordinator, Luis Felipe Puente, told reporters late Sunday that stormy weather from one or both of the two systems also caused three deaths in Hidalgo, three in Puebla, and one in Oaxaca.
Getting hit by a tropical storm and a hurricane at the same time ‘‘is completely atypical’’ for Mexico, Juan Manuel Caballero, coordinator of the country’s National Weather Service, said at a news conference with Puente.
The US National Hurricane Center said Ingrid, the second hurricane of the Atlantic storm season, could reach the mainland by Monday morning, most likely along the lightly populated coast north of the port of Tampico. Authorities in the Gulf states of Tamaulipas and Veracruz evacuated more than 7,000 people from low-lying areas as the hurricane closed in.
Manuel came ashore as a tropical storm Sunday afternoon near the Pacific port of Manzanillo, but quickly began losing strength and was downgraded to a tropical depression late Sunday.
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"Death toll from 2 storms in Mexico rises to 34" Associated Press, September 17, 2013
VERACRUZ, Mexico — Tropical Storm Ingrid and the remnants of Tropical Storm Manuel drenched Mexico’s Pacific and Gulf coasts with torrential rains Monday, flooding towns and cities, cutting off highways, and setting off deadly landslides in a national emergency that federal authorities said had caused at least 34 deaths.
The governor of the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz said Monday 12 people had been killed when a landslide hit a bus traveling through the town of Altotonga, about 40 miles northwest of the state capital. Governor Javier Duarte said the death toll could grow as bodies were recovered.
More than 23,000 people have fled their homes in the state because of heavy rains and 9,000 are in emergency shelters.
The heaviest blow Sunday fell on the southern coastal state of Guerrero, where Mexico’s government reported 15 confirmed deaths. State officials said people had been killed in landslides, drownings in a swollen river, and a truck crash on a rain-slickened mountain highway.
Manuel came ashore as a tropical storm Sunday afternoon near the Pacific port of Manzanillo, but quickly began losing strength and was downgraded to a tropical depression late Sunday, although officials warned its rains could still cause flash floods and mudslides. Ingrid also was expected to bring very heavy rains. It had maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour and was centered about 25 miles west of the coastal town of La Pesca in the border state of Tamaulipas.
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"Acapulco tourists stranded; Mexico death toll 38" by Jose Antonio Rivera | Associated Press, September 18, 2013
ACAPULCO, Mexico — Emergency flights began arriving in Acapulco Tuesday to evacuate some of the tens of thousands of tourists stranded in the resort city by flooding and landslides that shut down the highway to Mexico City and swamped the international airport.
The death toll rose to 47 from the combined punch of Tropical Storm Manuel, which hit Acapulco and hundreds of miles of Mexico’s Pacific Coast, and Hurricane Ingrid, which battered the Gulf Coast during the weekend.
About 60,000 tourists, many of whom traveled from Mexico City for a long holiday weekend, found themselves stranded in Acapulco.
It must have seemed even longer.
Although many hotels were operating normally, many neighborhoods of the city lacked water or power service.
Maybe not.
Federal officials said it could take at least another day to open the main highway to Acapulco, which was hit by more than 13 landslides, and to bring relief supplies into the city of more than 800,000.
Commercial airlines and the Mexican military set up a service to take tourists to a nearby concert hall instead of the terminal, which was flooded with knee-deep water. Runways have been cleared.
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Acapulco seems to be a bad place these days.
"Mexico’s death toll from storms at 97" by Michael Weissenstein | Associated Press, September 20, 2013
ACAPULCO, Mexico — With a low, rumbling roar, an arc of dirt, rock, and mud tumbled down the hillside in the remote mountain village of La Pintada, sweeping houses in its path, burying half the hamlet, and leaving 68 people missing in its mad race to the river bed below.
It is a frightening and troubling thought, such a thing happening in your town.
It was the biggest known tragedy caused by twin weekend storms that struck Mexico, creating floods and landslides across the nation and killing at least 97 people as of Thursday.
The missing from La Pintada were not yet included in the official national death toll of 97, according to Mexico’s federal Civil Protection coordinator. Some 35,000 homes across the country were damaged or destroyed.
Government photos show major mudslides and collapsed bridges on key highways, including a major four-lane expressway that links Acapulco to Mexico City.
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This will take a while to fix I think:
"Hope wanes for 68 missing in Mexico" Associated Press, September 23, 2013
LA PINTADA, Mexico— Rescue crews used shovels and hydraulic equipment to search for more victims of a massive landslide that took half the remote village of La Pintada, leaving 68 people missing.
The Mexican army’s emergency response team slogged in several feet of mud with five rescue dogs on Sunday, recovering the body of a man found wedged under the collapsed roof of dirt-filled home.
Lieutenant Carlos Alberto Mendoza, commander of the 16-soldier team, said it’s the most daunting situation he has seen in 24 years with the Mexican army.
‘‘They are doing unbelievable work, hours and hours for just one body,’’ he said.
La Pintada was the scene of the single greatest tragedy wreaked by twin storms Manuel and Ingrid, which simultaneously pounded both of Mexico’s coasts a week ago, spawning floods and landslides across a third of the country.
The death toll stands at 101, not including 68 missing.
Houses were filled to their roofs with dirt, and vehicles were tossed on their sides when the hillside collapsed Monday afternoon after several days of rain brought by Tropical Storm Manuel.
‘‘As of today, there is little hope now that we will find anyone alive,’’ President Enrique Pena Nieto said after touring the devastation.
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What is missing are further updates from the Globe.
Related: Monday Mudslide
Picking it up there:
"Colorado efforts turn to recovery; Rescues dwindle as cleanup begins" by P. Solomon Banda and Ben Neary | Associated Press, September 18, 2013
LYONS, Colo. — The emergency airlifts of flood victims waned Tuesday, leaving rescue crews to systematically search the nooks and crannies of the northern Colorado foothills and transportation officials to gauge what it will take to rebuild the wasted landscape....
The state’s latest count has dropped to about 580 people missing, and the number continues to decrease as the stranded get in touch with families....
State officials reported eight flood-related deaths, and the number was expected to increase.
It could take weeks or even months to search through flooded areas for people who died.
Keep both in mind, the death toll and the recovery and rebuild. It will be instructive later.
With the airlifts tapering, officials are tallying the washed-out roads, collapsed bridges, and twisted railroad lines. The rebuilding effort will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and take months, if not years.
Okay, got it.
Initial assessments have begun trickling in, but many areas remain inaccessible and the continuing emergency prevents a thorough understanding of the devastation’s scope....
Give my mouthpiece a couple of days. Then everything will be all right, everything will be fine.
Northern Colorado’s broad agricultural expanses are especially affected, with more than 400 lane-miles of state highway and more than 30 bridges destroyed or impassable....
That's not good. That's food they are talking about.
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"Recovery in Colo. shifts to long term; Number missing fewer than 200" by P. Solomon Banda and Matt Volz | Associated Press, September 19, 2013
LONGMONT, Colo. — Airlifts gave way to door-to-door searches Wednesday for victims injured and killed in the flood-scarred Colorado foothills, as authorities began ramping down emergency operations and beginning the ‘‘long and arduous’’ recovery phase.
Urban search-and-rescue teams with dogs and medical supplies began picking through homes, vehicles, and debris for victims as the number of people reported missing dwindled from a high of 1,200 to fewer than 200.
They also are documenting the damage they find, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said.
It is part of responders ending the ‘‘high-octane’’ emergency response to dayslong flooding that began last week ‘‘and moving into the long and arduous task ahead,’’ Pelle said....
‘‘The [military] air resources are going to be going away here very soon,’’ sheriff’s spokesman John Schulz said. ‘‘Larimer County has no air resources; once they’re gone we’re not going to be able to get those people for a very long time.’’
Business owners were being allowed back into the heavily damaged town of Lyons on Wednesday to assess the damage, and homeowners under mandatory evacuations were expected to follow Thursday.
Jamestown residents were allowed home Wednesday, and three entrances to Rocky Mountain National Park were reopened, along with two roadways.
Many homeowners ignored the evacuation orders to stay with their homes, and they waved off rescue helicopters flying overhead.
That rugged western individualism that defines freedom!
Displaced Lyons residents and music fans took their traditional Tuesday night bluegrass jam to the nearby town of Longmont, where they comforted each other and raised money for two musicians who lost instruments in the flood....
Sigh. I so sick of commerce being a dominant concern in my corporate pre$$.
Meanwhile, the South Platte River crested and surged Wednesday through the towns and farms of the Colorado plains and into Nebraska.
The crops got flooded?
Volunteers in Ovid filled sandbags and built a dike in the northeastern Colorado town of about 300, preventing serious flooding when the river crested there Wednesday morning, Sedgwick County’s emergency management director, Mark Turner, said....
The plains areas of eastern Colorado and western Nebraska is largely rural farmland, which has so far limited the damage, compared to the devastation in the mountain communities to the west....
I gue$$ that is good news for food prices and hunger!
Officials said they believe it will take hundreds of millions of dollars and months, if not years, to recover.
I got that afterthought, yup.
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"Colorado flood victims allowed to visit homes" by Manuel Valdes | Associated Press, September 20, 2013
LYONS, Colo. — The number of people missing in Colorado’s flooding dropped dramatically to 200 as authorities reached more victims, and residents evacuated from the hard-hit canyon town of Lyons were allowed past a National Guard roadblock Thursday to salvage what they could from their homes.
‘‘We’re a little anxious. We’ve never gone through something like this before,’’ Gloria Simpson said as she waited in a long line of cars to Lyons, a community of about 1,600 in the Rocky Mountain foothills.
Guard troops allowed residents a few hours to inspect their homes and grab belongings before nightfall. Simpson hoped to leave with anything she could.
Mystie Brackett wanted to remove spoiled food from her refrigerator and get some clothes.
‘‘It’s a weird feeling,’’ Brackett said. ‘‘There is survivor’s guilt because my house is fine and my business is fine.’’
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"Colorado flooding triggers oil spills, shutdowns" by Colleen Slevin and Matthew Brown | Associated Press, September 20, 2013
DENVER — Colorado’s flooding shut down hundreds of natural gas and oil wells in the state’s main petroleum-producing region, triggering at least two spills, sending inspectors into the field to gauge the extent of pollution, and temporarily suspending a multibillion-dollar drilling frenzy.
Sure took my corporate pre$$ time to get around to them. I knew about this when I posted two weeks ago!
Besides the possible environmental impact, flood damage to roads, railroads, and other infrastructure will affect the region’s energy production for months. And analysts warn that images of flooded wellheads from the booming Wattenberg field will increase public pressure to impose restrictions on drilling techniques such as fracking.
Yeah, all those chemicals are now floating around in flood waters and seeping into soil, in addition to the oil or gas.
“There’s been massive amounts of growth in the last two years, and it’s certainly expected to continue,’’ Caitlyn McCrimmon, a senior associate for consultant ITG Investment Research, said of drilling in Colorado. ‘‘The only real impediment to growth in this area would be if this gives enough ammunition to environmentalists to rally support for fracking bans, which they had started working on before this.’’
The key test will be when it comes to Washington's water supply.
Spills were reported by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. — 323 barrels along the St. Vrain River near Platteville, and 125 barrels into the South Platte River near Milliken. The St. Vrain feeds into the South Platte, which flows into Nebraska.
But nothing to worry about. Now drink up and irrigate!
In both cases, the oil apparently was swept away by floodwaters. Both releases involved condensate, a mixture of oil and water, said Environmental Protection Agency spokesman Matthew Allen.
Into the farmlands, great. It can go with the oil-fouled seafood coming from the Gulf -- if there is any.
Colorado produced 135,000 barrels of oil a day in 2012, about 2 percent of total US production. Colorado’s natural gas production topped 1.6 trillion cubic feet in 2011, according to the Energy Information Administration. That’s about 6 percent of the nation’s total.
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And then:
"AMID PAIN, A GLIMMER OF LIGHT -- Dan Ochsener comforted Karen Little as they stood amid flood-damaged belongings in LaSalle, Colo., on Friday. But more than a week after the massive flooding cut off communities dotting Colorado mountainsides, searchers have located more than 1,100 people previously listed as missing (Boston Globe September 21 2013)."
Just a snapshot in my printed Globe.
Let the REBUILDING BEGIN!
"Colorado reopening more highways" by Ivan Moreno | Associated Press, September 22, 2013
DENVER — More highways in northern Colorado that were cut off because of destructive flooding last week are being reopened, helping reduce the number of people in need of emergency shelters and, transportation officials hope, reducing traffic congestion in heavily populated areas along the Front Range.
Just in time for the Denver Broncos Monday Night football game!
‘‘I think for a lot of people it’s not returning to normal, per se, but it’s starting to get there with some of these roads being reopened,’’ said Amy Ford, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Transportation.
And it took LESS than a WEEK, not the months or even years we were told!
The American Red Cross said fewer people are using their shelters now that they have access to their homes with some of the roads reopened. At the height of the disaster, more than 1,000 people were in shelters, compared with the 250 people in shelters Saturday, said Carmela Burke, a Red Cross volunteer.
Still, the Red Cross planned to deliver 17 truckloads of supplies to flood victims this weekend, she said.
Still, but, if, whatever, SIGH!!!! What $HIT JOURNALI$M!!!!
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is continuing to increase aid to those in flood-ravaged areas. So far, FEMA has distributed $12.3 million in aid, with the vast majority going to helping people find temporary rentals or making house repairs, said FEMA spokesman Jerry DeFelice.
Yeah, FEMA is here to help and they are doing a great job. Pffft!
**********************************
Coloradans watched for more spills in flooded oilfields as crews waited for the waters to recede so they could begin cleanup operations.
Four new spills were discovered Friday, including 2,400 gallons of oil from a toppled storage tank and almost 900 gallons from an unspecified source. Oil spilled from two other damaged tanks but authorities did not know how much.
Another spill of 3,100 gallons was reported Saturday near Milliken, bringing the known volume of oil released since massive flooding began last week along Colorado’s Front Range to an estimated 25,000 gallons or about 600 barrels.
Most of the oil releases reported to date came from tanks operated by Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum Co. At least four of the releases reported by the company were in Weld County and spilled oil into the South Platte River or a tributary, according to information submitted to regulators.
Related: Oil Executives Lobbied on Drilling
See who has connections to Andarko?
Other companies might have suffered similar problems since flooding began last week, but they have not yet been able to assess their damage.
An aerial survey of the flood area Thursday revealed up to two dozen overturned oil storage tanks, state regulators said. Releases from those tanks could not be confirmed.
Government told private individuals to get out?
Authorities in Weld County have said concern about spilled oil is eclipsed by greater volumes of sewage and contaminants washing into waterways.
Great. Now there will be shit water on the food and in the soil.
In another development, officials said the number of people unaccounted for dropped to around 60 because of door-to-door searches and restored communications. Seven people have died and three others are missing and presumed dead.
Also Governor John Hickenlooper approved another $20 million in emergency flood funding, bringing the total to $26 million, and expanded the disaster zone to include a total of 17 counties.
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"Woman, 79, found dead after Colo. flood" Associated Press, September 24, 2013
DENVER — The body of a 79-year-old woman was found beside the Big Thompson River, authorities said Monday, bringing to eight the death toll from the massive flooding in Colorado....
The number of unaccounted people dwindled to six as improving communications and road access allowed authorities to contact 54 people over the weekend who had not been heard from.
That's amazing and nearly unbelievable.
The floods caused damage across 17 counties and nearly 2,000 square miles. Some 200 miles of state highways and 50 bridges were destroyed.
Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Colorado on Monday and took a tour in an Army helicopter to survey the damage and recovery efforts. He met later with Governor John Hickenlooper and Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. ‘‘I promise you, I promise you, there will be help,’’ Biden said, trying to quell concerns that a possible government shutdown could derail relief efforts....
Why didn't the president himself come? Colorado not that important in 2016?
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"After the floods, Colorado begins to take stock; Eight confirmed dead; more oil spills discovered" by Dan Elliott | Associated Press, September 25, 2013
DENVER — The final six people who were unaccounted for after massive flooding in Colorado have been found safe and well, authorities said Tuesday, but new spills were reported in water-damaged oilfields.
Only one person remained missing and is presumed dead. Eight deaths have been confirmed.
The disaster damaged or destroyed nearly 2,000 homes, washed out hundreds of miles of roads, and left many small mountain towns completely cut off.
But things are getting back to normal, not per se, but.... ???
In the early days of the flooding, more than 1,200 people were listed as unaccounted for, but the list shrank quickly as people checked in after they were evacuated.
Meanwhile, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission said three new spills totaling at least 7,600 gallons had been discovered as flood waters recede. Regulators are now tracking 11 notable leaks, mostly from storage tanks that toppled or otherwise failed.
And probably more.
Flooding has hampered attempts to inspect storm damage. Where crews can get to the sites, they are using containment booms and vacuum trucks to capture and remove oil-contaminated water, said Todd Hartman, a spokesman for the commission.
Air National Guard helicopters have airlifted more than 3,000 people and nearly 900 pets to safety.
‘‘We are really happy that we were able to clear all the missing folks,’’ said Larimer County sheriff’s spokesman John Schulz.
The woman who is missing and presumed dead is 60 and lived in hard-hit Big Thompson Canyon. Schulz said eyewitnesses saw the woman in the water, and searchers have found no trace of her.
The death toll was dramatically lower than the 144 people killed in 1976 when a flash flood thundered down Big Thompson Canyon. About a foot of rain fell at the head of the canyon in just four hours, triggering the deadliest flash flood in state history.
The difference was that this month’s floods, which started Sept. 12, arose over a period of days, giving most people time to get to safety, Schulz said.
Vice President Joe Biden flew over some of the damage Monday and promised that US aid won’t stop even in the event of a government shutdown.
How many greenhouse gases did he burp into the atmosphere to help cause stuff like this?
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Related:
"Signs of new growth after Rim Fire" by Tracie Cone | Associated Press, September 28, 2013
TUOLUMNE CITY, Calif. — In the midst of a foreboding canyon scorched bare by the Sierra Nevada’s most destructive fire in centuries, tiny ferns unfurl along a spring, black oaks push through charred soil normally blanketed with pine needles.
Just four weeks after the most intense day of California’s Rim Fire — when wind and extremely arid conditions created a conflagration that turned 30,000 acres of dense conifers and oaks into a moonscape — life is returning as the forest begins to repair itself.
The thing is still smoldering and.... si.... cough, cough, cough, cough.... gh.
‘‘It’s a pretty harsh environment, but we know fire can be good and that species depend on it, and that fire allows seeds to germinate,’’ said Sean Collins of the South Central Sierra Incident Command Team.
I think so, if applied properly to certain financial institutions and political keysters.
‘‘Next spring we’ll see a lot of wildflowers and plants that haven’t been seen around here for a long, long time. In 20 years, we’ll see something really nice. But it will take 200 years at least for it to grow back the way it was,’’ he said.
But the recovery is progre$$ing is the mantra from the mouthpiece media, no matter what it is.
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Is the damn thing even out yet?
Related: Putting Out the California Fires
Must have been all the mud.
