'Unreal': Residents tour Colo. blaze devastation

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (AP) – People who fled the most destructive fire in Colorado's history were allowed visits to the most devastated neighborhoods Sunday, and many found their homes among the nearly 350 burned to the ground. Two bodies have been found in the ruins, and officials did not expect to find more.

By Carolyn Kaster, AP

What is left of a burned home in Colorado's Mountain Shadow neighborhood on Friday.

By Carolyn Kaster, AP

What is left of a burned home in Colorado's Mountain Shadow neighborhood on Friday.

Residents marveled at the random path of disaster. Nothing remained of C.J. Moore's home but the concrete, but the letters in her mailbox were unscathed.

It's just unreal. Unreal," she said. "Good lord! I've never seen anything like this. And thank God there was nobody there. Thank God there were no people here. There would have been no been no hope."

Nearby cars were burned to nothing but charred metal, but three neighbors' homes were untouched. Melted bowling balls were scattered in Moore's front yard.

About 7,000 people would be allowed to return to their homes for good Sunday night. That would leave about 3,000 still evacuated, down from more than 30,000 at the peak of the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs.

The fire was 45 percent contained late Saturday night after a long week of shifting winds that frustrated firefighters. It was one of many burning across the West, including eight in Utah and a fast-growing blaze in Montana that forced residents in several small communities to leave.

Authorities at the Colorado Springs fire said they were confident they had managed in many areas to stop flames from spreading.

"We're cautiously optimistic," incident commander Rich Harvey said Sunday. "We still remain focused on things that could go wrong."

The two victims' names haven't been released. Police Chief Pete Carey said Saturday the approximately 10 people who had been unaccounted for had been located.

Investigators were still trying to determine the cause of the fire that broke out on June 23, and which so far has cost $8.8 million to battle. Dangerous conditions had kept them from beginning their inquiry.

Among the fires elsewhere in the West:

•Utah: Residents were sifting through the ashes of more than 50 houses destroyed.

•Montana: Authorities ordered the evacuation of several communities Saturday as the Ash Creek Complex fires, which have burned more than 70 homes this week, continued to grow.

•Wyoming: A wind-driven wildfire in a sparsely populated area exploded in size, burning an unknown number of structures.

•Idaho: A fast-moving wildfire that destroyed 66 homes had been expected to be

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Fukushima residents tour German renewable village (AP)

FELDHEIM, Germany – A group of residents from the radiation-stricken area around Japan's tsunami-hit nuclear reactors and a Tokyo actor are visiting Germany to learn how renewable energy could work in their homeland.

Among them is Tatsuko Okara, an organic farmer who lives 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the disabled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. Okara told The Associated Press on Wednesday that she first began to worry about the impact a nuclear accident could have on her family after the 1986 meltdown in Chernobyl.

After the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan which caused massive radiation leaks, Okara said she decided to devote herself to sparking an energy revolution in her own nation, such as that which is taking place in Germany.

"I would like to see Japan move away from nuclear energy," Okara said. "But we will need another energy source, that's why we are here to learn how we could make it happen."

The group, organized and led by representatives of Greenpeace Japan, arrived Wednesday in the northeastern German village of Feldheim to learn how its 145 residents have taken advantage of the energy generated by a nearby windfarm and a biofuel plant that burns the waste from a local pig farm to become an entirely self-sustaining, energy-positive village.

The project has its roots in the 1990s, when farmers in the area agreed to rent some of their land to a young researcher wanting to install a wind turbine. In the following years, several dozen turbines sprouted out of the once fallow field — but Feldheim's 145 residents didn't benefit from any of the energy produced in their own back yard.

They made an agreement to receive power from the windpark in partial return for the use of the land, resulting in a 1/4 to 1/3 cut in their energy bills. They then added solar panels and a plant to burn the biofuels they were already producing — in short they drew on the natural resources at hand.

"We are willing to tell you how we did it," Mayor Michael Knape told the group. "If you want, we can even help you build a Feldheim in Japan."

In the wake of the Fukushima disaster, Chancellor Angela Merkel's government voted in June to shutter its network of 17 nuclear reactors by 2020 and instead make the expansion of renewable sources the focus of its energy policy. Germany draws 23 percent of its energy from nuclear power, compared to Japan, which drew some 30 percent of its power from nuclear reactors before the accident.

By comparison, renewable sources now provide Germans with 17 percent of their power, as compared with 9 percent in Japan.

Actor Taro Yamamoto, a resident of Tokyo who has also devoted himself to the fight against nuclear power since the accident, said the first step to bringing about change is for Japan to start educating the people about energy.

"It is important for the Japanese to realize that renewable energy can work on a large scale, and that people can make money from it," said Yamamoto, who actively asked questions about Feldheim's 43 wind turbines and the 600 pigs that produce the waste to fuel the biogas plant.

"In order to let the people of Japan know, it is important to be here, to see this," he said, standing beneath a towering wind turbine.

Knape, Feldheim's mayor, said it took about 10 years for residents in the area to come around to the idea of investing in renewable energy. They were truly convinced when they realized that building their own power network would result in a 25 to 30 percent cut in their electricity bills and annual savings of euro100,000 ($134,180) in energy costs for the farmer's co-op in the village.

The 30 local jobs created through the windpark and the biogas plant provided further proof for Feldheim residents that their decision to rely on renewables, and themselves, was the right one.

"The energy revolution is taking place in the countryside," said Werner Frohwitter, spokesman for Feldheim's energy project. "We have created a whole new perspective for these people."

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Pennsylvania Residents Begin Inventory of Damage from Lee (ContributorNetwork)

Hurricane Irene made quite an impact on a few regions in Pennsylvania, but Tropical Storm Lee compounded that effect by bringing even more rain. As the state was approved for federal help from the damage that Irene brought, Lee came along and made a bad situation that much worse. Some 150,000 residents were evacuated in anticipation of flooding, and Lee did not disappoint. Now, as residents start returning to their homes the real work begins.

Are the mandatory evacuations over?

While not completely lifted, evacuation orders for many areas have been lifted. However, many locations affected by Lee still have a standing curfew order, which could be lifted at any time. Power is being restored slowly and surely to many homes, but those in remote locations might be waiting a little while.

How much damage resulted from Tropical Storm Lee?

More than 2,000 structures were damaged from flooding. While no specific dollar amount has yet to be confirmed, analysts put the cost in the tens of millions of dollars. The situation could have worse if evacuations ahead of the storm and other preparations had not been made. When Lee arrived many officials were still assessing the damage from Irene, and many emergency management agencies were already close by as a result.

Will federal aid be available?

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has asked President Barack Obama to declare a major disaster declaration in the state. Once federal approval is in place, residents will be able to seek federal help. Up to $30,200 will be available to each homeowner to help cover repairs and home essentials, such as furnaces.

What is the death toll from Tropical Storm Lee in Pennsylvania?

Unofficially, the death toll from Lee stands at 12. But that number could have been much higher had residents not evacuated low-lying areas.

How long with the recovery take?

The damage will take a few weeks to sort out, but even the most conservative guesses will stand at months or longer. Many residents are just starting to return to their flood ravaged homes and specific conditions are trickling into the media every hour. The recovery from this disaster will take some time, but some luck will also be needed to avoid another punch from more storm remnants in hurricane season.

Jason Gallagher is a long-time Pennsylvania resident. He has experiences in trends and developments in many regions from having lived in many parts of the Keystone State, and currently resides in the Pittsburgh area.

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Six months after Japan's tsunami, residents worry their plight is fading from view (video) (The Christian Science Monitor)

Minami-Sanriku, Japan – As memorial services were held across the northeast coastal regions to mark six months since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, recovery from the vast disaster is proving to be painfully slow in many places.

Some of the worst-hit towns still resemble wasteland. More than 80,000 people remain in temporary accommodation. The nuclear crisis at Fukushima triggered by the tsunami is ongoing, and the new industry minister resigned over the weekend after making disparaging comments about the city.

“We pray for the lost lives and for the missing to be found as early as possible. We hope that people can return to this town and we can hear cheerful voices again,â€

RELATED: IN PICTURES: Japan's nuclear fallout

Mr. Sato had been in the town hall along with 130 staff when the tsunami struck. He was one of only 10 survivors when the 50-ft. waves came across the roof of the building and washed away 20 of the 30 people who had made it that far.

Most of the residents of the town returned for the service from other areas, as Minami-Sanriku remains largely uninhabitable. Thousands of tons of debris were piled into mountains of wood, earth, metal, and concrete along the waterfront.

A boat rests on the second floor of the former city hospital, facing away from the sea, where the tsunami deposited it as the huge wave pulled back to where it came from after obliterating 95 percent of the town.

Related video:

newslook

Recognizing sacrifices Red steel girders are all that is left of the town’s disaster response center where a young local government worker, Miki Endo, famously stayed at her post sounding an alarm and urging residents to evacuate, until the tsunami engulfed the building and she went missing.

People came from as far as Tokyo to pay their respects at the small makeshift shrine that has appeared in the shell of the building, dedicated to Ms. Endo’s sacrifice. Some residents of Minami-Sanriku want the remains of the building to be turned into a permanent monument to her heroism.

A cluster of 20 prefab housing units behind the Bayside Arena, where Sunday morning’s service was held, is now home to a fraction of the town’s people who lost their homes on March 11.

Kaeko Gyoba was in a club for Minami-Sanriku’s elderly residents with her husband when the earthquake struck. They made it up to the fourth floor and were spared as the waves swept through the three stories below, but left the building standing when the waves receded. It was one of the few buildings spared in the entire town.

“We spent two nights up there until a Self-Defense Force helicopter was able to land at the elementary school nearby and get us out,” says Ms. Gyoba.She stayed with relatives near Tokyo after the disaster, but she returned last month to be with the rest of her family, who now occupy five of the small, flimsy-looking temporary houses.

“It’s very tough living here, I just can’t get used to it. There’s nowhere in the town to shop, you need a car to go anywhere, and I worry how cold it will be in the winter,” says Gyoba. “And none of the family have jobs now. They all worked on the ocean, farming seaweed and oysters. Everything was swept away.”

Fading from public consciousness? Despite the nationwide attention that the six-month memorials have been receiving, some of those still struggling to put their lives back together feel they are gradually fading from people’s consciousness in the rest of the country. There is also anger at politicians in Tokyo who they see as more concerned with partisan fighting than focusing on helping the region’s recovery.

Even the leadership contest to replace former Prime Minister Naoto Kan – heavily criticized for his handling of the crisis – was seen as a self-indulgent distraction by many in the region. His replacement, Yoshihiko Noda, has already lost his trade and industry minister, only eight days after being sworn in.

On his first visit to the disaster zone last week, Trade Minister Yoshio Hachiro joked with a reporter accompanying him on the trip about infecting him with radiation by wiping his jacket on the journalist after coming out of the no-go zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant. The minister went on to describe the area around the stricken facility as, “really like a town of death.”

Hachiro’s behavior provoked outrage not just among residents of Fukushima, but across Japan’s north-east coast. For many, the minister’s attitude betrayed a lack of real empathy from Tokyo politicians with the victims of the triple disasters, and his tearful apology afterward convinced few.

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PA and NJ residents scramble for supplies in preparation for Hurricane Irene (ContributorNetwork)

As Hurricane Irene pounds the East Coast with strong winds, heavy bands of rain, potential power outages, and a high probability of flooding, Philadelphia and New Jersey residents scramble as they prepare for the force of the storm. The storm is being called unprecendented in this area, and residents along the Jersey shore are being urged to evacuate immediately. As the storms nears, many are rushing to local stores to obtain emergency supplies in case of water main breaks, power outages, and flooding. Here are just a few of the supplies you may want to have on hand in case of power failures, flooding, or worse.

Flashlights

In case of power outages associated with this storm, you will want to have flashlights on hand. Should you need to evacuate in the night or just see your way through a dark house through the hurricane, flashlights can come in handy. Make sure you have extra batteries on hand as well.

Candles and matches

Candles and matches are also good to have on hand should the power go out. Keep batches of candles and matches in various parts of the house in easily accessed locations so that you are not scrambling in the dark to find your supplies.

Ready-to-eat meals and bottled water

It is always a good idea to have ready-to-eat meals that do not need to be cooked or warmed, as well as bottled water. Should you have to evacuate or if the power goes out, you will be well-prepared with plenty of sustenance.

Plywood

Residents in flood areas and especially in the Jersey Shore points will want to purchase plywood and board up windows for protection. With wind gusts between 50-100 miles per hour depending upon your location, the last thing you want is to leave your windows unprotected.

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240,000 Chilean residents in quake, tsunami drill (AP)

SANTIAGO, Chile – Some 240,000 residents have mobilized on Chile's northern coast to test responses to a simulated earthquake and tsunami. It's the biggest such exercise ever conducted in the South American nation.

Friday's drill of more than an hour involved police and volunteer organizations who practiced spreading the alarm, helping people take protective measures and overseeing evacuations.

The exercise is part of the Chilean government's efforts to prevent a repeat of the tragedy accompanying the 8.8-magnitude earthquake of February 2010. The quake and tsunami it set off killed 524 people.

Experts from Japan's security agency monitored the drill to offer advice.

(This version CORRECTS that those mobilized were residents as well as emergency workers)

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Tornado destruction exposes Joplin residents to crime (Reuters)

KANSAS CITY, Mo (Reuters) – The historic May 22 tornado not only deprived thousands of Joplin, Missouri, residents of their homes and belongings but made them vulnerable to crimes like identity theft and contractor fraud.

Federal, state and local authorities have banded together to warn citizens about the potential for crime. Arrests have already been made for looting destroyed homes.

"We don't want to see anyone re-victimized who has already been victimized by the tornado," said Bridget Patton, FBI spokeswoman in Kansas City.

The tornado killed 156 people and destroyed some 8,000 homes and other buildings in Joplin. It was the deadliest tornado in the United States in more than 60 years.

The unusually large scope of the disaster warrants the extensive alert to possible criminal acts, Don Ledford, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office for the Western District of Missouri, said.

The FBI recently organized a meeting in Joplin attended by representatives of 13 law enforcement jurisdictions, Patton said. The agency has created a task force to field and investigate fraud and other complaints.

"Experience tells us that following each disaster, unscrupulous individuals, contractors, businesses and even government employees try to take advantage of the disaster and unduly profit," said Robert J. Nixon, supervisory special agent for the FBI in southwest Missouri.

One concern is that criminals will try to get federal disaster relief funds meant for victims by assuming their identities, officials said.

PHONY GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES

Joplin police investigated reports from tornado victims who had been approached by persons who said they were government representatives, said police spokesman Chuck Niess.

"They had fake government credentials and were trying to get personal information," Niess said. There have been no charges in the ongoing cases, he said.

Police warn that some con artists posing as government officials will request a processing fee to secure disaster relief payments or loans. Others have pretended to be safety inspectors who try to collect for repairs they said were required immediately, police say.

Ledford of the U.S. Attorney's Office said no federal charges have been filed in connection with any Joplin crimes but there have been some investigations, which he declined to detail.

One potential crime is identity theft of victims whose credit card, banking and other personal records were tossed to the wind by the tornado or left exposed in destroyed homes. Police advised people to close all accounts immediately, Niess said.

Authorities also have advised caution when giving to organizations that profess to be raising money for victims.

People should be wary of e-mail fund-raising drives, high-pressure personal pitches, requests for cash rather than checks, and organizations with names similar to well-known charities, officials said.

Another scam could be attempted by contractors for cleanup or repairs. They may be unlicensed, uninsured or unqualified or may seek to overcharge and be paid in cash only, police said. The state attorney general has warned contractors they will be prosecuted for any attempted price-gouging.

Police have made some arrests for looting destroyed homes or businesses, which continues to be a problem six weeks after the tornado, Niess said.

"It's almost a non-stop issue," Niess said. "Every thing is still all open and stuff is laying around."

(Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Greg McCune)

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Joplin Residents Live to Describe Inside of Massive Tornado (ContributorNetwork)

The Joplin Globe reports a rare occurrence and yet another amazing story to come out of the EF5 tornado that destroyed large part of Joplin, Mo. Three amateur storm chasers were out trying to track the storm May 22, 2011, when the tornado grew too big for them to chase.

As Eric Parker, his sister Kaylee Parker and their friend Mac Wright were taking shelter from the tornado at a local liquor store, Kaylee Parker was able to get a glimpse of the inside of the mammoth twister.

"I look up and saw these vortexes, and saw debris flying the in the air. It looked like I could see blue sky at the top," Kaylee told the Globe .

Her description sounds like it's from a movie. If you've seen the movie "Twister " you know exactly what Parker is talking about. Towards the end of the movie, both main characters witness the inside of a huge F5 tornado which matches Parker's view from the inside of the storm.

Scientists from the National Weather Service say the tornado was so wide, an eye could have formed that was several hundred yards wide. Much like the eye of a hurricane, the middle of a slow-moving tornado provides a dramatic and relative calm for a few seconds before the wall of the tornado hits again. This wall barrier also contains the highest winds in the tornado.

Radar hits near enough to tornadoes over the past 10 years have provided meteorologist with a computerized look at the inside of a tornado. Eyewitness accounts verify the radar's probing of the twisters.

As rare as this sight is for human eyes, others in Joplin reported seeing the same blue sky inside the funnel. It was a scarce combination of the size, damaging winds and slow movement of the tornado that allowed witnesses to both survive and see the tornado. Once debris was pulled away from houses where people were taking shelter, they could see the full fury of the storm.

All of these stories, eyewitness accounts and scientific appraisals of the tornado that hit Joplin will hopefully make our scientific understanding of nature's most powerful storms. If knowledge gained from the event saves one human life in the future, then the 150 people who died would not have done so in vain.

Even six weeks after the tornado struck, more amazing stories continue to come out of the debris. Every person's story is valuable and worth repeating in memory of those lives that were lost.

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Nebraska residents shrug off flood risk to nuclear plant (Reuters)

BROWNVILLE, Neb (Reuters) – Residents near a nuclear plant on the rain-swollen Missouri River were largely unconcerned about any potential safety risks from flooding ahead of a nuclear regulator's visit on Sunday.

Gregory Jaczko, the chair of the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission will monitor flood preparations during a visit to the Cooper Nuclear Station near Brownville.

The plant is located about 80 miles south of Omaha, where snow melt and heavy rains have forced the waters of the Missouri River over its banks, although they have not flooded the plant and receded slightly on Sunday.

"I just don't think the water is going to get that high," said Brownville resident Kenny Lippold, a retired carpenter who has been following each step of the flood preparations in this riverside village of 148 residents.

"They claim that they are going to keep operating," Lippold said, adding that he will not flee his home of 29 years even though it is less than a mile from the Cooper reactor.

Jaczko will be briefed on Sunday by NRC resident inspectors -- the agency staff who work on-site every day -- plant officials and executives, said Mark Becker, a spokesman at the Nebraska Public Power District, the agency that runs the plant.

Water levels there are down after upstream levees failed, Becker said, relieving worries that water will rise around the Brownville plant as it has at another nuclear plant north of Omaha in Fort Calhoun.

Local shop owner Katy Morgan, 28, said her fears have been assuaged by information she has received via plant officials, who give out emergency radio equipment to residents within a 10-mile radius of the Cooper plant.

"I know everybody freaks out when they talk about nuclear," said Morton, who runs a boutique on Brownville's main thoroughfare. "I suppose if there was a drastic increase in the river I would be concerned. If they say 'evacuate' then I would be concerned," Morton said.

Jaczko will also visit on Monday the Fort Calhoun plant in the town of Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, about 20 miles north of Omaha, an agency official said.

Flood water up to 2-feet deep is standing on the site of the 478-megawatt Fort Calhoun plant, which will stay shut down until the water recedes, the NRC said.

On Sunday afternoon, workers accidentally deflated an auxiliary berm at the plant, said Omaha Public Power District spokesman Jeff Hanson.

Hanson said the "aqua dam" was a supplemental measure that provided workers "more freedom" but was not essential to keeping the plant dry.

"The plant itself is still protected," Hanson said. Floodwater would need to rise over 7 feet to flow over the berms and enter the plant, Hanson said, adding that the supplemental dam was not in original flood prevention plans.

An NRC inspection at Fort Calhoun two years ago indicated deficiencies in the flood preparation area, which have now been remedied, the agency said.

(Writing by Eric Johnson; Editing by Tim Gaynor)

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Some Iowa residents dig in for Missouri River flooding (Reuters)

MISSOURI VALLEY, Iowa (Reuters) – Iowa residents were evacuating flood-prone areas near the Missouri River on Friday and state transportation officials accelerated plans to close part of Interstate 29 due to fast-rising waters.

In Missouri Valley, Iowa, north of Council Bluffs, that meant that David Wilson, his wife Jan Wilson and their dog were left alone among homes evacuated for a three-block area, waiting for the river to reach them on the west side of town.

"All those people are gone," the gray-haired David Wilson said, pointing out vacant homes a mile from the Missouri River. "They're gone. They're gone. And they're gone."

Residents have been shoring up levees along the Missouri River from Montana through Missouri as federal officials reach toward record planned water releases to relieve pressure on six major reservoirs swollen by heavy rains and melting snow.

Six dams from Fort Peck in Montana to Gavins Point on the South Dakota-Nebraska border are at peak releases now, or are planned to reach them by mid June, and hold them to at least mid August.

The river runs freely below Gavins Point for more than 800 miles to the Mississippi River, making those maximum releases planned to start Tuesday a focus for residents along the Lower Missouri, including those in Missouri Valley.

"I'm going to stay here as long as I can," Wilson said. "If the water comes up to the door, I'll put my waders on and get in my boat, which will be parked out front."

Wilson said he was pouring $1,000 into a barricade of concrete, wood and dirt to keep the basement of the house he bought in 1993 from flooding. He has sump pumps, and a generator if power is cut off.

Iowa transportation officials closed a 10-mile section of Interstate 29 north of Council Bluffs late Thursday, earlier than expected because of faster rising floodwaters.

HAMBURG LEVEE WORK CONTINUES

Flooding has disrupted Amtrak rail service on the Empire Builder through North Dakota and the California Zephyr that runs through Omaha. The U.S. Coast Guard has closed about 260 miles of the Missouri to boaters from Gavins Point south to where the borders of Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri meet.

In southwest Iowa, contractors were racing Friday to finish a secondary levee to protect Hamburg from an expected failure of a Missouri River levee that has had three partial breaches.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has little confidence the levee will withstand the full weight of the Missouri. About 300 of Hamburg's 1,200 residents are under mandatory evacuation.

"The Corps is still working hard to get the extra protection of the city dike around Hamburg finished because it is just a matter of time ... before it goes," said Mike Crecelius, emergency management director for Fremont County where Hamburg is located.

"It's not if it goes, it is when it goes."

Corps officials have warned more breaches are likely given the varying strengths of the flood protections and the height, speed and duration of planned water releases.

Heavy Montana rains this week have sharply increased flows into the Fort Peck reservoir, forcing the Corps to increase releases to 60,000 cubic feet per second on Friday, from previous plans for a rate of 50,000.

The Corps has said the Garrison Dam reservoir above Bismarck can handle the additional releases from Fort Peck and has left intact its planned maximum releases at 150,000 cubic feet per second from the other five dams.

Montana officials on Friday reported scores of impassable roads and bridges and worsening flooding in the Missouri River valley, as well as in the Columbia River basin on the other side of the Continental Divide.

Dozens of families evacuated Sun River west of Great Falls when water up to 3 feet deep spilled over from the Sun River, and Roundup in central Montana was accessible only by boat or helicopter due to flooding on the Musselshell River.

On Thursday, a levee breach prompted evacuation warnings for residents near the confluence of the Clark Fork River and Rock Creek east of Missoula in the Columbia River basin.

West of Missoula, the Corps raced to build levees along the Clark Fork after overflows flooded some basements.

(Additional reporting by David Bailey in Minneapolis, Laura Zuckerman in Salmon, Idaho, and Kay Henderson in Des Moines; Editing by Jerry Norton)

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Massachusetts residents face aftermath of tornadoes (Reuters)

BOSTON (Reuters) – Residents of tornado-ravaged towns in western and central Massachusetts faced the arduous tasks of cleaning up and assessing the damage on Friday from the twisters that ripped through the region this week.

Officials have confirmed three deaths from Wednesday's storms and said a fourth death, an elderly man who died of apparent cardiac arrest, may not have been tornado-related.

The late-afternoon tornadoes, moving west to east, tore through some 19 communities, including Springfield, about 90 miles west of Boston, bringing high winds, rain, large hail stones, thunder and lightning.

In Brimfield, Massachusetts, where officials confirmed one death, the path of the twisters destroyed 25 years of hard work and memories in less than a minute, one business owner said.

"It's all gone. Everything's gone. There's nothing left," said Dave Bell, owner of a towing and car repair and restoration business decimated in the storm.

Bell said paperwork from his shop was found more than 50 miles away in Norwood, Massachusetts.

Two of his employees survived the storm underneath a stairwell in one of the buildings, and cars, including his own restored classic automobile, were flipped and scattered around the property, he said.

Bell said he was unsure if he will try to rebuild his business.

About 200 people were injured during the severe weather system, and roughly 14,000 customers in the area remained without power on Friday, emergency management officials said.

The National Weather Service said preliminary indications show that two or three tornadoes touched down in the region on Wednesday.

One tornado identified by survey teams that moved eastward from Westfield, Massachusetts will carry a preliminary classification in the hardest-hit areas as EF-3 or higher on the damage scale, the Weather Service said.

The EF-3 rating means average wind gusts of 136 to 165 miles per hour. The scale extends through EF-5, with wind gusts of more than 200 mph.

Survey teams were still investigating the scope and force of the storms, it said.

The U.S. has been battered by tornadoes this year. A series of deadly twisters hit the Southeast U.S. in April, and a powerful tornado devastated Joplin, Missouri in May. At least four of the tornadoes have been classified as EF-5. More than 500 people have died nationwide so far this year.

(Reporting Lauren Keiper, additional reporting by Zach Howard in Conway, Massachusetts; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Greg McCune)

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Alabama residents cope with stress after deadly storms (Reuters)

TUSCALOOSA, Ala (Reuters) – Emeel Salem Jr. cried as he drove through Tuscaloosa on Saturday for the first time since the April 27 tornado ravaged the Alabama town.

"I'm missing turns because the landmarks that used to be there aren't there," said Salem, a University of Alabama alumnus who plays minor league baseball for the Tampa Bay Rays organization.

The Forest Lake home he rented during the off-season was gone. Where the home once stood, he could see Druid City Hospital, a view he didn't have before the storm.

"I knew it would hit me hard," he said. "I didn't realize I'd be overcome with emotions."

Salem said he wasn't worried about himself, but about fellow residents who lost everything.

It's a common response known as secondary traumatic stress or compassion fatigue, said Karla D. Carmichael, an assistant professor of counselor education at the University of Alabama.

Many of the state's residents are dealing with similar emotions in the storms' wake, and mental health experts are taking action to help.

The Alabama Department of Mental Health and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have partnered to activate Project Rebound, a federally funded program agencies use to assist residents when a natural disaster occurs.

Teams of counselors are on the ground helping residents in hard-hit areas, and the state will be able to hire more counselors for community outreach and educational services with FEMA's help, said John Ziegler, director of the public information office for the state's mental health department.

The state will open a call center to provide free crisis counseling as soon as counselors are hired and trained, he said.

"It's later, after the emergency crisis, that people begin to feel the weight of their emotions, and their loss and their grief," Ziegler said.

Roughly two-thirds of Alabama was ravaged by tornadoes on April 27. More than 230 residents died, including 43 in Tuscaloosa alone.

CHANGED LANDSCAPE FUELS STRESS

Though many of Tuscaloosa's 95,000 residents didn't lose a home or a relative, they have seen the devastation and felt the loss of neighborhoods, businesses and their sense of security.

Residents can no longer purchase craft supplies at Hobby Lobby, shop for discounted items at Big Lots, have a burger at Milo's or pick up coffee at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. All those businesses were destroyed in the storm.

"Everybody in Tuscaloosa potentially has secondary traumatic stress to some degree or another," Carmichael said. "There's going to be an increase in substance abuse, compulsive behavior, over-spending, over-eating, gambling, addiction."

Children are not immune from the destruction.

The city's Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant was leveled during the storm. In the days following the tornado, Carmichael talked with kindergartners and first-graders who knew the Chuck E. Cheese character lived there and wanted to know where he had gone and whether he was okay.

"Chuck E. was taken care of just like everybody else," Carmichael told the schoolchildren. "Chuck E. has a new home. He is staying with friends until they build Chuck E. Cheese's back."

Alabamians who survived the tornadoes may experience depression, guilt, difficulty sleeping, fatigue, nightmares or extra worry in the wake of the disaster, experts said.

The Family Counseling Service in Tuscaloosa has been offering free counseling since the tornado and is now seeing residents come in for treatment.

At first, they feel shock and disbelief, followed by anger and resentment. There will be a sense of loss of what used to be before reaching the stage of acceptance, said Larry Deavers, the center's executive director.

There will be progression and regression as the city recovers, and it is normal for residents to experience different degrees of those stages, he said.

"It doesn't mean you can wrap a bow around it and be done with it," Deavers said. "That's just the way humans are developed and the way we process loss."

"The intensity of those emotions right now is temporary. The key is to allow one another to talk or not to talk."

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Jerry Norton)

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Residents return to flood-damaged homes in Miss. (AP)

CUTOFF, Miss. – Javier Campos returned to his neighborhood for the first time in nearly a month Monday to find the serene little enclave of fishing camps and homes a putrid, mud-caked mess after the historic flooding of the Mississippi River.

"It's too late for praying now," he said, stomping through the sludge.

Like Campos, many residents got their first glimpse Monday of what's left of Cutoff, an unincorporated community on the unprotected side of the river in Mississippi's Tunica County.

Authorities had already used machinery to remove dead deer and propane tanks from roads, but a thick layer of mud coated piles of debris and almost everything else in sight. Some of the houses, most built on stilts on the banks of Tunica Lake, had been flooded nearly to their attics. Only five out of 350 structures didn't flood.

The tally of the damage continues here, but at least a dozen houses are a total loss, and maybe more, with one left laying on its side.

Inspectors let some residents return home over the weekend, but most were seeing the destruction Monday for the first time.

Campos, a 32-year-old handyman, still couldn't quite get to his own home. So he pulled on a pair of gloves and started helping a neighbor salvage what he could.

"It's terrible, man. Everybody needs help," Campos said. "So I'm helping my neighbors, and when I can get back to my house, maybe they will help me."

Despite the devastation, Tunica County Planning Director Pepper Bradford said opening the last sections of the community Monday was a milestone for the roughly 225 households that are permanent residences in a series of fishing camps.

But, he said, danger is lurking.

"My building inspectors are packing heat," Bradford said. "And they have shot some snakes."

The Mississippi River displaced thousands on its march to the sea, despite dramatic action to stem the losses. The rising waters led the Army Corps of Engineers to blow up a Missouri levee to save Midwest communities and open spillways in Louisiana to lessen the risk in heavily populated places like New Orleans.

Places like Cutoff may never be the same. The community sprang from fishing camps that date back decades. It was a place where each of the four camps had a bar and grill, and most people traveled on golf carts. Most of the homes here had been built before new federal and county regulations. If they are substantially damaged, they'll have to be elevated, which will cost too much for many residents.

"I don't know if I can save it," said 47-year-old Diane Austin, who spent Monday wearing yellow rubber gloves and a surgical mask while dragging soiled furniture from her home.

"When I first saw it, I thought, `Yeah, it's bad.' Now that I'm taking stuff out, it's worse," she said.

Scenes like this could play out repeatedly in the coming weeks. Water from the river is expected to remain high into the summer in some places, including downriver in Vicksburg, Miss., where hundreds of people are still displaced.

"It humbles you," said 68-year-old Robert Ivy, a retired truck driver who has lived for about 3 years in Cutoff.

"When you walk in and see all that, you really don't know how in the world you are going to get through it," he said.

The flood also devastated thousands of acres of farmland in Mississippi and Louisiana, and it isn't over yet. The Atchafalaya River in southern Louisiana, overflowing with Mississippi water diverted through the Morganza spillway, was expected to crest Monday at Morgan City. It will be the final place along the Mississippi River system to get the highest water.

Meanwhile, an environmental crisis could be on the horizon in southern Louisiana. The fresh water rolling into the Gulf of Mexico could pose a serious setback for the badly damaged oyster industry, struggling to recover from last year's BP oil spill. Too much fresh water can kill oysters.

"The worst is not over yet," said John Tesvich, the chairman of the Louisiana Oyster Task Force, an industry group. "We're starting to see fresh water in various areas. The next couple of weeks will be critical."

The floodwaters have been the highest on record at more than half of the gauges along the fortress-like levee system built up between Missouri and Louisiana. Sandbags and emergency barriers have been placed around towns, at gaps in the levee system, and around businesses, power facilities and other critical infrastructure.

So far, the Army Corps of Engineers is confident its flood system will hold up. And it's performed well so far, though crews up and down the river have had to chase sand boils — where water undercuts the levee and land on the other side seems to boil.

There will be a lot to watch over the coming weeks. Engineers say levees are weakened when floodwaters recede and erode the earthen ramparts. Also, there is the possibility for water levels to rise again as more storms dump water into the Mississippi River valley.

At the southern end of the Atchafalaya River, there was a guarded sense of relief last week as the corps began closing bays at the Morganza spillway, source of the water threatening Morgan City, an oil and seafood town of about 10,000 people.

The Atchafalaya's expected crest Monday was forecast to reach levels not seen since the landmark 1973 flooding in the Mississippi Valley. Morgan City was on guard as the crest approached.

Morgan City Mayor Tim Matte said the 24-foot floodwall protecting the city was doing its job. The larger fear, he said, was the possible overtopping of levees at Lake Palourde as a result of backwater flooding.

"Within a day or so of (the cresting) you'd pretty well be convinced, OK, we're not going to have an overtopping. Now, all we need to do is make sure our levees are in good shape," he said.

The American Waterways Operators, which represents the U.S. barge industry, said conditions are slowly returning to normal on the Mississippi. However, traffic restrictions, including the number of barges that can be towed at once, remain in effect, said AWO spokeswoman Anne Burns. Most of the backup has cleared, but traffic is still moving slowly to ensure the levees aren't damaged, she said.

Barges haul grain and other farm products from the Midwest to the Port of South Louisiana, where they are loaded on ocean-going vessels for exports or stored in grain elevators to await shipping.

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Quote Roundup: Do Hurricane Predictions Make Waves with Tampa Residents? (ContributorNetwork)

Tampa, Fla., residents can't help but hear about hurricane season each year, and most wonder at our luck in this regard: the area hasn't seen a direct hit from a hurricane in over 90 years.

Last week, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration released its hurricane predictions for the 2011 Atlantic Basin season, which starts June 1. The agency's forecast indicates we're in for a bumpy ride this year, with higher-than-average numbers for named storms and major hurricanes. So, how do locals prepare for hurricane season? Do the NOAA predictions make people more likely to rethink their hurricane preparedness?

"I maintain the same level of preparedness all the time, to be honest. I always keep bottled water on hand, canned food, and food that doesn't require refrigeration or heat to prepare or eat. There are always batteries in my flashlights (I test them regularly) and jar candles in every room. If there's a storm coming, I'll get cash from the ATM and fill the tank on my car, just in case. I'll check our water supply and maybe buy an extra case when I shop, or fill a prescription early. Beyond that, I don't buy into the media frenzy that happens every time they name a storm. I stay prepared all the time because we live in Florida. It's smart to stay ready rather than fight crowds when it's allegedly 'go time.'" -- Angie Nash, teacher, Clearwater

"I really don't pay attention to them. They've been wrong more often than they've been right. I have supplies ready here, but it's nothing specifically for hurricanes." -- Ryan Opel, government contractor, Riverview

"I haven't lived in Tampa all my life, but it's been a long time. My husband's been dealing with it a lot longer, so I trust his judgment. I know he keeps a close eye on the tracking. One thing I do find annoying is that when we moved into this house we made an investment to put a coating on the windows that's supposed to help with breakage and eliminate the need to board up all the windows, and the insurance company didn't give any kind of discount for it." -- Sara Rashas, scopist, Lutz

"We get pretty concerned, but we're already pretty prepared. We have plenty of canned goods, gallons of water, but we do get a little complacent just because it hasn't happened to us yet, not directly anyway. In Puerto Rico, we used to get a lot of hurricanes, so we're pretty used to it. In all, though, I think people who have lived through hurricanes do heed the warnings, but get complacent regardless." -- Mave Christian, nurse, Tampa

"I really don't do anything differently until I have to. I have lived in Florida my entire life. I don't even really think about it at all unless we have to evacuate, then I get what we need." -- Melissa Webster Conway, daycare aide, Crystal River

"I hadn't heard that we're having a busier than average season, but I've been duped in the past. I'm one of those jaded Floridians who has a few canned goods and bottled water. I also have a phone you can plug into the wall. Everything seems to go around us. We're in this perfect little hidey hole in Florida. I've had more damage done to my house and around my house when they've predicted a sunny day." -- Lindsay Fisher, karate studio director, Lutz

"I have lived in Florida since 1973. For almost 30 years, I lived near the beach. The only time I get really nervous is if there's a specific storm headed our way. I'm always prepared. We have a generator, because any strong storm usually knocks out our power. We're in a good location. My daughter and her family plan to evacuate here if there's ever a storm headed to Tampa." -- Debbie Smith, retired nurse, Gainesville

"After living in Florida for over 20 years, I have to say that I'm rather laid back about the subject. It doesn't matter to me if they say it's going to be a bad hurricane season since I've heard it too many times before. Most times, the season passes without cause. I deal with one storm at a time and what it brings us. If a storm were to hit, I think we could manage quite well for a time. My husband and I have talked about where we'd go if a storm came close. We agree that we'd leave our house and get to safer ground if things were looking bad. We have a 4-year-old so I think this makes us think a bit differently than we would have in the past. I think the most important thing that you can do is just stay informed about the weather, because it could change at any moment." -- Susan Eidam, homemaker, Tampa

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Louisiana residents flee homes as Army opens 2 additional floodgates

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May 16, 2011 ARCHIVES  |  Weather  |  NEWS

Vittorio Hernandez - AHN News

Kratz Springs, LA, United States (AHN) - Residents of Louisiana near the swollen Mississippi River fled for their safety on Sunday, while a last-ditch effort to place sandbags and makeshift levees outside their homes was made.

While residents were fleeing for their safety to higher ground, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened two additional gates on the same morning on the Morganza spillway.

Two bays were opened by the corps on Saturday in an attempt to spare Baton Rouge and New Orleans from severe flooding.

The opening of two additional gates was expected to affect about 3,000 square miles of land, 25,000 residents who live hear the river and 11,000 buildings.

It is the first time in 40 years that the Mississippi's water level has forced the opening of floodgates. Officials said it is the worst flooding in the state since 1927.

According to the Army Corps of Engineers, unless the spillway was opened, New Orleans would have been flooded by about 20 feet (6 meters) of water.

Opening the Morganza Spillway, located 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest of Baton Rouge, would enable engineers to control the flow of floodwaters, and divert them around Baton Rouge into the Atchafalaya river basin.

The water will now flow south and inundate homes and farms in Cajun country under 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 meters) of water.

Col. Ed Fleming, commander of the Corps' New Orleans District, hinted that some of the spillway's gates would likely be opened for weeks before the river level falls below flood stage and before the evacuees could return home safely.

Authorities in St. Landry Parish issued a forced evacuation order that affected 2,000 people, including 750 people from 240 homes in Kratz Springs. But residents in other areas were under a voluntary evacuation.

Copyright 2011 by (AHN)
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