Na extreme sneeuwval nu historische overstromingen in de VS?

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Na hevige winter in VS dreigen historische overstromingen

Enkele weken geleden legden sneeuwstormen het dagelijkse leven in Washington en omstreken stil. Ook New York kreeg een dik pak sneeuw te verwerken. Na die extreme winter dreigt ook de lente voor nattigheid te zullen zorgen. Sommige weerkundigen voorspellen nu al historische overstromingen.

Zestig tot zeventig centimeter sneeuw, het was zelden gezien in de regio van Washington. Het fenomeen staat intussen in de geschiedenisboeken als 'snowmaggedon'. Typisch Amerikaans natuurlijk en ook voor het voorjaar worden de extreme termen niet gespaard. Het NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration) waarschuwt voor "potentieel historische" overstromingen.

In New York viel de regen de voorbije dagen al met bakken uit de lucht. Maar de sneeuwmassa in het midwesten van het land is groter dan vorig jaar en die sneeuw zal straks hoe dan ook beginnen smelten. In december viel er tot vier keer meer neerslag uit de lucht dan gewoonlijk. Rivieren en stromen zullen opzwellen door het extra water en land onder water zetten.

Hoe erg de overstromingen zullen zijn hangt af van de neerslag die de komende maanden nog zal vallen en van hoe snel de sneeuwlaag zal smelten. De bodem is verzadigd en dat kan de wateroverlast in het zuiden en oosten van de VS erger maken. De oorzaak van de extreem vochtige winter ligt volgens weerkundigen bij de invloed van El Nino.

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Northeast flooding sets records

A major rainstorm washed over the water-weary Northeast Tuesday, flooding much of the already saturated region but focusing its withering power on the tiny state of Rhode Island.

"Right now, most of our eyes are on the Pawtuxet River in Cranston," said Tom Econopouly, a senior hydrologist at the Northeast River Forecast Center in nearby Taunton, Massachusetts.

The river was predicted to crest Wednesday morning near 20 feet -- flood stage is 9 feet, he said, adding, "It's very high."

Another record was set in Yantic, Connecticut, where the Yantic River crested Tuesday at 13.6 feet, 4.6 feet above flood stage, he said.

Yet another record was predicted for Saxonville, Massachusetts, where the Sudbury River was expected to reach 13.4 feet Wednesday afternoon. Flood stage is 10 feet.

"I've been working here for over 10 years and I really haven't seen anything like this in my career," Econopouly said.

The cause of all the records was a storm system "that just didn't move" since it formed Sunday night, he said.

y late Tuesday, the storm was lifting, but several rivers had not yet crested, he said.

In all, the storm system dumped 8.75 inches of rain in East Providence, 7.6 inches in downtown Providence, and 5 inches in Cranston, all in Rhode Island, he said.

Compounding the misery was the fact that parts of the region were still trying to shake off the effects of a storm two weeks ago. And this week's system -- with heavy winds and rain -- has left thousands of customers without power.

On the National Weather Service map posted on its Web site, the coast was covered in bright green from Maine to Delaware, indicating widespread flood warnings.

"We haven't seen the worst of it yet," Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri told reporters Tuesday night after seven to eight inches of rain had inundated much of the state. He pleaded with state residents to stay off the roads. "We are very concerned about flooding on the highways," he said.

The Blackstone River in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and the Pawcatuck River in Charleston, Rhode Island, were not expected to crest until 8 a.m. Wednesday, he said.

"None of us alive have seen the kind of flooding we are experiencing now," he said, calling the downpour an event that occurs once every 100 years to 500 years.

Sewage treatment plants around the state were swamped, with one in Warwick, Rhode Island, "completely inundated," he said. That led the Department of Health to order the closure of all beaches in the state. Emergency officials asked residents of affected areas to try to conserve water.

Decisions about school closings were to be announced in the morning, he said.

Carcieri urged residents of low-lying areas not to jeopardize their safety by refusing to comply with officials' requests to evacuate. He noted that some members of the National Guard have been deployed to help.

Cranston Mayor Allan Fung said about 120 homes had been evacuated in the western part of the city.

Dam safety was to be monitored overnight, said Dave Smith, director of the Emergency Management Agency. "The water that's running through the throats of some of those dams is remarkable," he said.

A spokesman for National Grid Energy Services said 12,000 to 14,000 customers were without electricity in the Cranston area, where a substation was underwater.

In Westerly, Rhode Island, another 9,600 customers were in the dark, the spokesman said. He told area residents to expect rotating outages throughout the night and predicted they would continue for "a period of days."

Gas was turned off in some areas, too, he said.

Shelters have been set up throughout the state, said Rhode Island Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts.
"We are looking at historic levels," said Luke Peterson, the assistant town manager for West Warwick, Rhode Island. The Pawtuxet River in Cranston and West Warwick, about 13 miles southwest of Providence, flooded a few weeks ago at record levels. This time, Peterson said, the town has received reports predicting that the river, which reaches flood stage at 9 feet, will crest at 17.5 feet at nearby Cranston. The river crested at 14.98 feet more than two weeks ago.

"There's not a whole lot we can do," Peterson said. "If we try to hold back on our side, we'd make it worse for the neighboring community."

Still, no deaths have been reported in Rhode Island.

Northeast Braces for 'life-threatening' Flooding

Passenger Rescue in Stonington CT

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Noodtoestand in Rhode Island
De zware regenval van de afgelopen dagen in het noordoosten van de Verenigde Staten heeft president Barack Obama ertoe gebracht de noodtoestand af te kondigden in Rhode Island, een kleine staat op ongeveer 300 kilometer ten noordoosten van New York.

De president gaf de federale staat de opdracht sommige taken over te nemen van de lokale autoriteiten van Rhode Island "in deze zone, die door zwaar onweer en overstromingen getroffen is", zei het Witte Huis in een mededeling.

Vanmorgen voorspelde de nationale weerdienst NWS (National Weather Service) op zijn website dat "de zware stortregens van de voorbije dagen de waterlopen in de regio zullen blijven verzadigen". De weerdienst waarschuwde voor zware overstromingen die gevaarlijk kunnen zijn.

De lokale krant Providence Journal signaleerde vandaag in haar online-editie dat de waterlopen van Rhode Island nog nooit zo sterk gezwollen waren

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Rhode Island: Worst flooding in 200 years

WEST WARWICK, R.I. -- Stacey Marcure thought she and her family had survived the worst of flooding two weeks ago, when just 5 inches of water seeped into her basement. Then she woke Tuesday to a fresh burst of heavy flooding spurred by record-setting rainfall that released havoc on this former mill town and much of the Northeast.

Her family made it out safely, though her husband had to be rescued by boat after he returned to raise valuables to the top floor. Now she's staying with relatives, unsure what will become of possessions such as her daughter's first communion dress -- or the home that had been in her family for 70 years.

"It's definitely not going to be livable, at least not for a while," said Marcure, 38, a teacher's assistant.

The rains stopped Wednesday and the floodwaters began to recede in hard-hit Rhode Island, though the worst flooding in 200 years could persist for several days and permanently close businesses already struggling in the weak economy.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano plans to travel to Rhode Island on Friday to assess the damage, a department official told The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the trip hadn't been formally announced.

The latest flooding there was far worse than an inundation earlier this month in the same areas, and the ripple effects were vast and still being tallied: Hundreds were forced from their homes and thousands of properties lost power. Bridges and highways were washed out from Maine to Connecticut and sewage systems were overwhelmed to the point that families were asked to stop flushing toilets.

Homes and cars were submerged along the banks of the Pawtuxet River, which flooded several blocks past its banks in many spots and crested Wednesday at 20.79 feet -- 12 feet above its ordinary level of 9 feet.

Water flowed like a torrent around the Warwick Mall, with rapids encroaching outside an Old Navy. Oil slicks floated on top of muddy water through neighborhoods.

Stonington, Conn., a coastal town on the Rhode Island border, was largely cut off as two of its three bridges went out. A bridge also gave out in Freetown, Mass., isolating about 1,000 residents. In Coventry, R.I., the abutments on a two-lane bridge had washed out and collapse was feared.

A stretch of Interstate 95, the main route linking Boston to New York, was closed in Rhode Island and could remain so at least through Thursday. Amtrak suspended some trains because of water over the tracks.

The heavy rain is the latest setback to Rhode Island, which has struggled for months with an unemployment rate nearing 13 percent -- about three percentage points higher than the national average. Some of the areas worst hit were business districts.

Amy Kempe, a spokeswoman for Gov. Don Carcieri, said it was too soon to know the economic impact of the
latest round of flooding to the state, which has a $220 million budget deficit.