-2.13.08- Tens of thousands of people could be without power for days following a 24-hour winter storm that walloped Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois with sleet, freezing rain and snow. Utility crews are having trouble keeping pace as tree limbs continue to fall. The number of outages reported in Cape Girardeau and the surrounding areas increased during the day Tuesday. At the peak, more than 40,000 utility customers in a six-county area that included Cape Girardeau, Bolllinger, Scott and Perry counties in Missouri and Union and Alexander counties in Illinois were left in the dark. The numbers could go higher as forecasters predicted that winds would pick up overnight Tuesday. Read more

2-1-08- February 1st: On this day there is a mix of dust and clouds over the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Read more

The National Guard has been mobilized after at least 26 tornadoes swept through the Southern U.S. February 5, killing at least 47 people and injuring one hundred more. Read more

JAKARTA, Feb 2-2008 (Reuters) – Floods in Indonesia’s capital have killed three people and displaced nearly 100,000 after two days of torrential rain, a health ministry official said on Saturday. The downpour engulfed parts of the city with up to 1.5 metres (5 ft) of water, causing travel chaos and forcing the main airport to shut for several hours. The rain stopped on Saturday but some areas remained under water. “We can confirm three people were killed in West Jakarta after being washed away by the current,” Rustam Pakaya, head of the health ministry’s crisis centre, said by telephone. Pakaya said later that 96,272 people had been displaced in Jakarta, a city of 14 million including suburbs that is regularly hit by floods at this time of year. Read more

NAMIBIA, Windhoek -2.18.08- Namibia needs to brace for the possibility of “severe food shortages” in the wake of the floods in north-central Namibia, President Hifikepunye Pohamba warned in Windhoek on Friday. The President said not only had the floods disrupted economic activities and schooling, they had prevented subsistence farmers from planting crops for winter harvests on time. Speaking at the annual New Year’s reception at State House for the diplomatic corps, Cabinet ministers and international organisations, Pohamba said the flooded mahangu, maize and sorghum fields “are likely to lead to severe food shortages. It is our resolve as a Government that no human life is lost because of lack of food.” Preceding the January floods, large parts of Namibia were suffering from drought conditions, causing over 4 000 livestock to die Read more

-2.21.08- Ecuador has extended a state of emergency to the entire nation after torrential rains triggered floods and mudslides across the country. The move eases access to $25m (ﾣ12.7m) in emergency funds for repairs. Nearly a month of flooding has claimed at least three lives and forced thousands to flee their homes. The army has been put in charge of the emergency operation, which includes helping to evacuate the flooded areas and repair damaged infrastructure. Read more

-2.18.08- Extra State Emergency Service workers will arrive in Mackay today as wild weather continues in central Queensland city, amid reports of looting as flood-stricken residents attempt to clean up after the deluge. A second taskforce of 37 SES workers – 12 from Cairns and 25 from Brisbane – will fly in this morning to help weary local crews who have answered hundreds of calls for assistance from distressed householders since Thursday. Read more

NEW YORK (AP) -2.22.08- Up to a foot of snow Friday interrupted what had been a mild winter in much of the Northeast and created havoc for travelers, forcing the cancellation of more than 1,100 flights in the New York area alone. Roads were slick throughout the region and there were hundreds of accidents, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged people to look on the bright side. “The timing is perfect, if you think about it,” he said. “We’ll have the whole weekend to clean up the mess.” Read more

-2.13.08- Bolivia�s president declared a national disaster on Tuesday after weeks of torrential rain sparked widespread floods across the country. The unseasonal storms which have been lashing the country since early January, have left thousands of people homeless and up to 60 dead. Run off from the mountains has brought severe floods across the eastern lowlands destroying homes and roads. Read more

Warnings were issued for Canterbury and the Kaikoura coast this morning as a slow moving depression moved east of the South Island. Flash floods triggered landslides making some Canterbury roads impassable, with 120mm (5 inches) of rain falling overnight. This is the first significant rain to have fallen here since last October. As rain lashed the South Island, there were also disruptions to the play in England�s second One Day International in Hamilton, ending up as a much shortened game. Meanwhile New Zealand�s Parliament was meeting up in Wellington for a summit on the country�s drought situation. At present Waikato has been declared a drought area, although many other areas are currently experiencing very dry conditions. It was declared a drought area last month as the area experienced its driest January in a century. Read more