Much of France has been lashed by downpours throughout January, inundating many homes and shops with muddy water and halting trains on a busy commuter line that runs through Paris. The Seine is expected to reach 6.2 metres on Saturday, a peak last reached in 2016 when floods sent riverside museums scrambling to move artworks from their basements, which was the highest level since 1982. “No water has yet got in” to the Louvre’s Islamic Art wing in the basement, but it will remain off limits to visitors until at least Sunday, the museum said Wednesday. But Paris’s rat problem has gotten much more visible as their dens are swamped with water, forcing them to seek drier shelters. “It doesn’t mean that there are more of them, just that we’re seeing them more,” Pierre Falgayrac, an expert in “urban bio-aggressors” to borrow from the title of one of his books, said. The flooding could thin the population a bit, but Falgayrac said this would be only temporary before returning to the current level of 1.75 rats for every Parisian. Rats on the move The Musee d’Orsay and the Orangerie were also preparing for flooding risks, cancelling their weekly evening opening on Thursday in case works need to be moved. In June 2016 the Louvre transferred 35,000 works — about a quarter of its total — from areas at risk of flooding in just 48 hours. Since then work has started on a conservation site for Louvre works vulnerable to water… [Read full story]
Risks of severe flooding and landslides loom large in typhoon-hit areas. Typhoon Mirinae, the first to hit Vietnam this year, has triggered widespread downpours in Hanoi and other provinces, prompting the authorities to warn of serious flooding in the capital city. Several streets in Hanoi could be submerged with up to 0.4 meter (yard) of water after torrential rains, according to Vietnam's weather forecasting agency. Le Vu Quang , the deputy director of Hanoi Drainage Company, said if 100mm of rain lashes over two hours, many flood-prone areas in Hanoi's eight central districts will become under water. Quang said he…... [read more]
More than 555,000 people had been evacuated in seven provinces and a municipality after rains in recently drought-stricken areas caused floods and mudslides in the Yangtze River basin, the official China Daily said. State media said that as of Thursday evening, floods caused by the most recent four days of rain had resulted in 19 deaths and left seven missing in Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces and Chongqing municipality. China raised its disaster alert to the highest level 4, and the government is describing the floods in some areas, such as eastern Zhejiang province's Qianting River…... [read more]
A cold air mass in central Vietnam has brought heavy rains causing rivers to rise sharply in the last three days, the Central Hydrometeorology Center said Friday. By 1 pm Friday, an average 100- 300 mm rain had fallen in that period, with Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh provinces recording even larger precipitation. Rivers were rising in several provinces, including Quang Binh, Quang Nam and Phu Yen, the office said. Water levels between Thua Thien-Hue and Khanh Hoa provinces were likely to rise further, the office forecast, issuing flood alerts in Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh provinces. Reported by M.V…... [read more]
Prompted by flash-floods and the tides of the Mekong River, the water levels of the Dong Thap Muoi and Long Xuyen quadrilateral areas are on the increase, reported the National Hydrometeorology Center. On September 14, the highest water level of the Hau Giang River in Chau Doc Province will be at 3.5 m (at alarm No. 3). Meanwhile, the water level of the Tien Giang River in Tan Chau will rise to 4 m. In other parts of the Dong Thap Muoi and Long Xuyen quadrilateral areas, the water level is at alarm No.2. Reported by M.V - Translated by…... [read more]
Global demand for oil is stronger than expected as the northern hemisphere ends the year in an icy grip, the IEA said on Friday, raising its estimate for demand in 2010 by 130,000 barrels per day to 87.4 million barrels per day. The International Energy Agency raised its estimate of total oil demand next year by twice as much, or by 260,000 barrels per day to 88.8 mbd "on stronger data from OECD North America and non-OECD Asia." However, "global demand growth should ease in 2011, from 2.5 million barrels per day to 1.3 mbd, amid renewed structural OECD decline,…... [read more]
