Utah wildfire evacuees allowed to return to homes

About 2,300 Utah wildfire evacuees were allowed to return to their homes Saturday evening after officials determined the blaze no longer posed a threat to them.

By Lynn DeBruin, AP

fills the sky Friday above Saratoga Springs, Utah.

By Lynn DeBruin, AP

fills the sky Friday above Saratoga Springs, Utah.

The decision came after the fire had burned Friday within a quarter mile of some homes in Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City, Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Teresa Rigby said.

No homes have burned, she said, and fire officials were comfortable with the decision to lift the evacuation order after seeing how the 9-square-mile blaze behaved Saturday afternoon during high winds and high temperatures.

"The fire itself is still active but it no longer is a direct threat to homes," Rigby told The Associated Press. "Most of the fire is up on the mountain at this time and not near the subdivisions."

By Sam Noblett, Gannett

Flames roar down a Colorado mountainside Saturday.

The evacuation order, imposed Friday, affected nearly 600 homes and roughly 2,300 residents, according to an updated count released Saturday by fire officials.

Winds pushed some of the fire back on itself Saturday afternoon, Rigby said, and crews managed to put out "hot spots" closest to homes.

The fire that officials believe was started Thursday by target shooters was 30% contained Saturday evening, with full containment expected Tuesday.

Crews also were battling a 16,500-acre brush fire on high desert near the town of Delta in central Utah.

The human-caused fire was 60% contained Saturday evening, BLM spokesman Don Carpenter said, and had burned no homes after breaking out Friday.

While the fire was burning roughly eight miles from the communities of Lynndyl and Leamington, it posed no threat to them at this time, he said.

Elsewhere:

— A fast-growing blaze has spread to 75,537 acres in Colorado, making it the second-largest wildfire in the state's recorded history and threatening numerous homes north of Fort Collins.

High Park Fire Incident Commander Bill Hahnenberg said Saturday morning that the fire spread rapidly toward two subdivisions, Glacier View Meadows and Hewlett Gulch, on Friday as the fire jumped the Narrows section of Poudre Canyon in highly erratic weather conditions and moved northwest. Containment of the fire was reported at 45 percent Saturday morning.

Firefighters had to pull out of the neighborhood Friday when they encountered flames 200 feet high, he said.

"We saved two homes," he said. "And obviously we lost quite a few."

There were 25 fire engines, two 20-person fire crews and five heavy air tankers fighting the fire in the Glacier View Meadows area Saturday, but possible wind gusts of more than 30 mph could ground the aircraft, he said

— In Nevada, a wildfire that has scorched more than 11,000 acres of rugged terrain in northeast Nevada near the Utah line is 75% contained. It began as a U.S. Forest Service prescribed burn that escaped June 9.

— In New Mexico, a lightning-caused wildfire that destroyed 242 homes and businesses is 90% contained after crews got a break in the weather. Crews took advantage of heavy rain Friday to increase containment lines on the 69-square-mile fire near Ruidoso that began June 4. Meanwhile, the more than 464-square-mile Whitewater-Baldy blaze, the largest in state history, is 87% contained. It began May 16 as two lightning-caused blazes that merged to form one fire.

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Powerful storms damage homes in Colo., Wyo.

DENVER (AP) – A quarter-mile-wide tornado cut a swath across mainly open country in southeastern Wyoming, damaging homes, derailing empty train cars and leaving one person with minor injuries, officials said.

By Christian Murdock, AP

Traffic signal technician Dale Skattum replaces the light at the intersection of Santa Rosa Street and Chelton Road in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Thursday, after storms pummeled Colorado and Wyoming.

By Christian Murdock, AP

Traffic signal technician Dale Skattum replaces the light at the intersection of Santa Rosa Street and Chelton Road in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Thursday, after storms pummeled Colorado and Wyoming.

The twister was part of a powerful storm system that rolled through parts of Colorado and Wyoming Thursday afternoon and evening, packing heavy rains, high winds and hail. The storms followed a round of nasty late spring weather that pummeled the region Wednesday.

Thursday's tornado in a sparsely populated area near Wheatland, Wyo., left five structures heavily damaged, and 10 to 12 other structures had lesser damage, said Kelly Ruiz of the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security. One of the destroyed homes was vacant, said local radio station owner Kent Smith, speaking for the Platte County Sheriff's Office.

One person was treated at a hospital for a cut on the head, Smith said.

National Weather Service meteorologist Richard Emanuel said the tornado stayed on the ground for much of its 20-mile path from west of Wheatland to northeast of Chugwater. The area is about 60 miles north of Cheyenne.

"It stayed pretty much over open country," Emanuel said. "It didn't hit any towns or cities."

A twister of that size and duration on the ground was unusual for Wyoming, he said.

A Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad crew reported the tornado struck a stopped train near Wheatland, BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas said. Five empty train cars derailed onto their sides.

Some power lines also were downed, Ruiz said.

Hail the size of golf balls was reported in the Wheatland area, and 2-inch hail was reported in Laramie, National Weather Service meteorologist Tim Trudel said.

In Colorado, a tornado was spotted near Calhan in El Paso County on Thursday night. And meteorologists were trying to confirm a report of a tornado to the north in Elbert County near Simla.

Elbert County officials reported damage to eight houses, including two that were missing roofs and others with broken windows. They also received a report of one minor injury, county emergency management spokeswoman Kara Gerczynski said. Meanwhile 2.5-inch hail was reported in El Paso County near Peterson Air Force Base.

Bernie Meier, a National Weather Service meteorologist stationed in Boulder, said a storm that crossed into the state from Wyoming hit the Greeley area with golf ball sized hail. Though he had no immediate reports of damage, he said it was likely given the size of the hail.

The storms were winding down late Thursday and forecasters said drier weather was expected Friday.

Thursday's storms came as Colorado businesses including a grocery store were cleaning up the mess left after a storm system brought about five tornadoes, hail up to 8 inches deep and heavy rain Wednesday night. No serious damage was reported from the tornadoes Wednesday, but snowplows were called out in Douglas County to clear hail, and firefighters in Colorado Springs rescued about 40 people from flooded cars and homes.

Insurers reported receiving several hundred home and automobile claims in Colorado before the new wave of storms arrived Thursday evening.

The rain provided some help to firefighters who fully contained a 227-acre wildfire in northern Colorado, but the weather initially hurt efforts to control a 6,000-acre blaze in Wyoming's Medicine Bow National Forest.

Storms passed close to the Wyoming fire but mostly brought gusty winds that fanned the flames. Rain and hail fell later but didn't make a significant difference, said fire spokeswoman Beth Hermanson.

Kyle Fredin, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Denver, said the beginning of June is the peak time for such severe weather in Colorado. Most of the state has been experiencing moderate-to-extreme drought conditions.

"It's game-on for this type of thing," he said.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

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Hurricane storm surge imperils 4 million homes

A survey of the USA's vulnerability to hurricane-driven storm-surge damage found that more than four million homes worth over $700 billion are at risk along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.

Storm surge — the massive mound of water that builds up and comes ashore as a hurricane moves over the ocean or Gulf of Mexico— is typically the most dangerous aspect of hurricanes.

The report, released this morning by research and consulting firm CoreLogic of Santa Ana, Calif., found that Florida is the state most prone to storm-surge damage, with about 1.4 million homes at risk, worth a total value of $188 billion.

Louisiana ranks second in total number properties at risk with nearly 500,000, while New York is second in total value of coastal properties possibly exposed at $111 billion.

At the city level, the New York City metro area contains both the highest number of vulnerable properties and the highest exposure in total property value at risk .

"The summer of 2011 gave us some startling insight into the damage that even a weak storm can cause in the New York City metro area," said Howard Botts of CoreLogic. "Hurricane Irene was downgraded to a tropical storm as it passed through New Jersey and New York City, but the impact of the storm was still estimated at as much as $6 billion."

The Atlantic hurricane season began last week and lasts until Nov. 30.

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Algeria floods kill 10; homes damaged (AP)

ALGIERS, Algeria – Authorities in Algeria say torrential downpours have killed at least 10 people and ruined hundreds of homes. A mother and her infant daughter are also missing.

The country's meteorological service had warned about strong thunderstorms across the country from Saturday into Sunday.

The civil protection authority said in a statement that on Sunday it recovered eight bodies from one town, El Bayadh, 435 miles (700 kilometers) southwest of the capital. Rescuers are still looking for a woman and her 9-month-old baby there.

Two other bodies were found in towns to the north of El Bayadh. Hundreds of families were affected when the waters either tore down or inundated their homes.

Algeria often sees heavy rain and flooding in October.

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At least 100 homes damaged by storms near Atlanta (Reuters)

ATLANTA (Reuters) – At least 100 homes were damaged by thundershowers and possible tornadoes that raked Atlanta's northern suburbs on Monday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee moved inland, but no serious injuries were reported.

Local fire officials said the turbulent weather struck Cherokee County at about 3 p.m. local time, downing power lines, snapping utility poles, uprooting trees, shattering glass and shearing roofs and siding from buildings.

The damage extended from the city of Woodstock at the south end of the county to the town of Ball Ground at its northern edge.

"It was a pretty long stretch, about 14, maybe 15 miles," said Tim Cavender, spokesman for the Cherokee County Fire Department.

He said at least 100 homes sustained damage in the area, mostly from high winds, and "there may be more."

A fire department lieutenant reached by telephone said that number was "about right."

"It's significant," added Howard Baker, a spokesman for the county sheriff's department. "We've got numerous homes and commercial businesses with varying degrees of damage."

Fallen trees crushed cars and buildings, he added, describing the overall damage as widespread but far from devastating.

"I'm not aware of any homes that were demolished," he said.

One man who sought refuge in his basement was slightly injured by debris that fell on him and was taken to an area hospital "to be checked out," Cavender said.

He and Baker said some damage appeared to have been caused by tornadoes when severe thunderstorms rolled through the area, but it would take another day to confirm any tornado activity.

The county as a whole lies roughly 20 to 40 miles north of Atlanta, the state capital.

The National Weather Service earlier on Monday issued tornado watch advisories in parts of several states, including Georgia, as Tropical Storm Lee continued to lash the Gulf Coast and the Southeast as it weakened after making landfall early on Sunday in southern Louisiana.

(Reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by Peter Bohan)

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Red Cross: 29,000 have lost homes in NKorea floods (AP)

GENEVA – The Red Cross says over 29,000 people in North Korea have lost their homes from storms and flooding in the past three months.

The International Federation of the Red Cross says it is working to provide emergency food supplies, water and shelter to 7,500 families in the south and southwest of the country.

The humanitarian aid group says in some areas half of homes have been destroyed by floods.

The Red Cross said Monday the worst-hit area in South Hwanghae Province is considered the 'bread basket' of North Korea.

The IFRC's head of delegation in North Korea, Igor Dmitryuk, says the group is trying to find proper shelter for the homeless before the start of North Korea's harsh winter season.

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Flash floods in North Carolina damage homes, leave two dead (Reuters)

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) – Flash floods in Charlotte, North Carolina, damaged nearly 100 homes and left two people dead in apparent drownings, officials said on Sunday.

The American Red Cross said volunteers staffed a shelter for two nights for residents forced from their homes by several hours of heavy rains and flash floods on Friday.

Relief officials, who determined that nearly 100 homes had been affected, also provided assistance for food, clothing and other emergency needs, according to a Red Cross statement.

Firefighters rescued dozens of people from flooded vehicles and homes and responded to more than 80 weather-related calls, Charlotte Fire Department Captain Rob Brisley said on Sunday.

Firefighters also recovered the bodies of a 43-year-old mother and her 16-year-old daughter, who appeared to have drowned in a swollen creek in east Charlotte.

According to police, the woman and teenager fled into the creek's swift-moving waters following a reported larceny at a Burlington Coat Factory.

A store employee who chased them managed to get out of the creek. Authorities found the mother's body on Friday and located the daughter's body on Saturday, police and fire officials said.

(Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Jerry Norton)

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Floods damage homes, disrupt traffic in Denmark (AP)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Authorities say heavy rains have flooded hundreds of homes and several streets in Denmark's capital, disrupting traffic and delaying trains.

Jeppe Ilkjaer, a spokesman for the rescue services company Falck, says his organization has received calls from more than 1,000 home owners in Copenhagen whose cellars have been flooded following the rains late Saturday.

The Danish Road Directorate says the floods have forced it to close four major freeways surrounding the city Sunday and have delayed trains in the region.

No one has been injured by the floods, which also have disrupted telephone lines to Copenhagen police.

Rescue Services said 150 millimeters (6 inches) of rain fell over the Copenhagen area on Saturday and more heavy showers are expected Sunday evening.

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FEMA to supply homes to those displaced by Joplin tornado (Reuters)

KANSAS CITY, Mo (Reuters) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to build up to 348 modular homes for people displaced by the May 22 tornado in Joplin, Missouri, a FEMA official said on Wednesday.

The three-bedroom, one-bath mobile homes will be placed as needed on city-owned land in the north part of town, said Crystal Payton, a FEMA spokesperson in Joplin.

FEMA has identified 624 families or individuals still in need of housing after losing their homes in the tornado, she said.

"This will allow them to develop a permanent housing solution," Payton said Wednesday. "We will work with them on a monthly basis to get their plans together."

FEMA will pay for the homes, available rent-free until late 2012, Payton said. Occupants must show they are attempting to find permanent housing, she said. FEMA has also placed people in existing mobile home parks and apartments in the area.

Mobile homes were also used for people displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but the Joplin homes will be larger and built to higher construction and air quality standards, Payton said.

A total of 155 people were killed as a result of the massive Joplin tornado, the deadliest in the United States in more than 60 years.

(Reporting by Kevin Murphy; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Jerry Norton)

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APNewsBreak: Joplin victims offered existing homes (AP)

JOPLIN, Mo. – Some of the people left homeless by the Joplin tornado could be placed in rental homes nearly an hour's drive away, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Monday it will consider bringing in trailers, as it did for New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, if enough homes are not available.

FEMA's first option for housing the thousands of displaced is to find them existing rental housing within a 55-mile radius of Joplin, because isn't much housing left in in the city of nearly 50,000 residents that was left badly damaged by the May 22 tornado, spokeswoman Susie Stonner told The Associated Press. Nearly a third of the city was damaged by the violent storm.

Stonner said that despite the distance, putting people in permanent housing is preferable to trailers — especially in an area prone to tornadoes and severe weather.

"Wouldn't you prefer to be in a stable building over a mobile home?" she asked. Stonner also noted that getting things like water, sewer lines and developing pads for trailers would take substantial time.

Temporary housing will be made available for up to 18 months. Some people along the Gulf Coast still live in FEMA trailers nearly six years after Hurricane Katrina.

Another FEMA spokesman, Bob Josephson, said the agency will consider bringing trailers to Joplin if enough existing housing isn't available. He said every effort will be made to find existing rental units closest to Joplin and that many residents may simply choose to find their own housing options.

People who lived in the 8,000 structures smashed in the storm have scattered to the homes of friends and relatives or camped out in emergency shelters in the city. Some may leave town — New Orleans lost nearly one-third of its population after Katrina.

Penny Musgraves is happy — and almost surprised — to be alive. But for Musgraves, whose low-income townhouse was ripped away above her head as she protected her cowering 6-year-old daughter, the joy of surviving is beginning to give way to confusion and anxiety about the future.

"I'm kind of scared," said the 45-year-old mother, who is unemployed and currently living with her daughter at the Red Cross shelter set up at Missouri Southern State University. "There isn't much low-income housing. I can't rent a place. I don't know what I'm going to do."

While many of the survivors had insurance, it could be months, if not years, before they can rebuild. Removing the millions of tons of debris and remaking the city's destroyed infrastructure will likely take well into the summer if not longer.

Rebuilding homes can't start until that work is finished. For low-income residents, the Housing Authority of Joplin provides some housing. But it was not known how many, if any, of the homeless it can accommodate.

Recent history suggests many people won't be able to wait for the answers to emerge or for the rebuilding to be completed. The current population could drop substantially.

New Orleans lost 29 percent of its population after Hurricane Katrina as residents left and settled elsewhere. Greensburg, Kan., which was leveled by a tornado in 2007, lost about half its population even though the town was rebuilt. It dropped from 1,574 before the tornado to 777 in 2010.

At the Red Cross shelter, 150 people seemed grateful for the cot, warm food and donations of clothing. Many were trying to figure out where to go next.

Ask 64-year-old William Whittenback where his home is, and he has a quick answer. "Plum off the map," the retiree said.

Whittenback and his 67-year-old wife, Lorna, narrowly made it through the tornado. The roof of the home they've lived in for 15 years collapsed, leaving Lorna with a massive gash on her forehead and her cheeks black and blue. Every house in their neighborhood was a total loss.

The couple has insurance, and Whittenback said he'll rebuild in the same spot. With no family in the area, though, he's wondering where they can live until then.

The weather brought Gerry Guitierrez to Joplin. Now it's forcing him to leave.

"What brought me here? Snow," said Guitierrez, a 29-year-old massage therapist who arrived in Missouri just last month from San Banito, Texas. "I love the cold weather and the snow. I wanted to stay. Now I've got to come up with the money to go back."

Guitierrez lived in an apartment with a friend. But since his friend's name was on the lease, not his, he doubts that FEMA will provide for him since he wasn't a registered resident of Joplin.

"How does it feel being homeless? Honestly, horrible," he said. "It's just so bad."

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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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Japanese from nuke town make brief visit to homes (AP)

TAMURA, Japan – Donning white protective suits and masks, neighbors of Japan's radiation-leaking nuclear plant were finally able to return home Thursday more than two months after the crisis began, but were only given two hours to stuff their belongings into garbage bags before leaving again.

Some residents stole a few minutes to light incense at a makeshift shrine in Namie, one of the deserted, evacuated towns frozen in time since March 11. Debris is still piled several stories high there, with a ship resting precariously atop one heap.

Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from towns near the plant — including Futaba, home to the complex — soon after Japan's massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami flooded the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, which then began spewing radiation. Local officials and nuclear experts escorted several dozen of them back for a two-hour visit Thursday.

"It was just like it was when the quake hit," said Anna Takano, a 17-year-old high school student. "It felt very strange."

Takano said she packed up as much clothing from her home as she could and then made a 10-minute visit to her family grave site.

For most, it was the first time they had been able to check on homes and possessions. Similar visits began earlier for towns farther away from the plant, but Thursday's excursion went deeper into the 12-mile (20-kilometer) no-go zone around the plant than any before it.

Many evacuees from the nuclear zone did not realize how long the crisis would drag on and left with only the clothes they were wearing and their purses or wallets.

Due to radiation concerns, officials allowed only two people per household to return and let them stay at their homes only for two hours. They gave residents no more than one large black plastic bag for collecting things, because of space restrictions and fears of contamination.

"I planned very carefully what I would get," said Mikio Tadano, an architect. "I wanted to get my writing tools, my bankbook, and my daughter's school uniform."

Tadano said his daughter had transferred to a new school outside the zone where she was one of only four students without a uniform — all of them evacuees.

In Tamura, a town on the edge of the zone, residents donned white protective suits from head to foot at a sanitized gymnasium near the 12-mile (20-kilometer) perimeter, and then went into the zone by bus.

After the disaster knocked out cooling systems at the plant, it suffered explosions, fires and spewed radioactive particles into the air, prompting the government to order 80,000 residents around the plant to evacuate.

Workers are pumping water into the reactors to cool their cores, but that water — now highly radioactive — is then spilling out and pooling around the complex.

Workers found a leak Thursday in a temporary storage tank that they're using to hold some of that contaminated water, said Junichi Matsumoto, spokesman for operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. There was no immediate sign it was making its way into the sea or that radiation levels in the air nearby had risen, he said.

Radiation levels in most areas have since declined, but are believed to still pose potential health hazards if sustained for long periods of time.

The radiation in the air near the front gate of the plant surged to 12 millisieverts per hour on March 15, just hours after a third reactor exploded. On Thursday, the radiation level had fallen to 1 percent of that — 114 microsieverts, or 0.114 millisieverts — according to TEPCO.

A typical chest X-ray emits about 50 to 100 microsieverts.

In the town of Namie, near Futaba, the radiation in the air was as high as 0.73 microsieverts per hour Thursday, regional nuclear safety official Masato Kino said. That's about half the level measured on March 30, the earliest date for which readings for the town were collected.

With better data now coming in, the government also recently added more areas to the evacuated zone, meaning another 7,000 outside the no-go zone in places previously believed to be safe are just now preparing to leave their towns.

Including those left homeless by the quake and tsunami, more than 100,000 people remain in shelters across northern Japan. More than 25,000 were killed or are missing.

As the hardships of living in shelters became more acute, the government came under intense pressure to let evacuees back in for short trips. It initially said the situation was too dangerous and the plant too unstable. But after announcing last month that the evacuation order would likely drag on for another six to nine months, the day trips were approved.

Thursday's trip by about 60 townspeople started with a briefing by Futaba officials and safety instructions by experts from TEPCO.

The residents were screened for radiation after the visit, but none showed health-threatening levels of exposure.

So far, 588 people have made visits to their homes. Another 16,000 more from nine towns are still lined up for trips that will be conducted over the next several weeks, according to another NISA official, Tatsuyuki Yamauchi.

A government team also went with the residents to rescue stranded dogs. They brought out four, all of which were in good spirits. Earlier in the crisis, when prohibitions on entering the zone were not strictly enforced, several private groups left food and water for lost dogs, keeping many alive long enough to be rescued and returned to their owners.

Cats have been more difficult to bring back. None were rescued Thursday.

Mihoko Watanabe, 73, said she left food and water for her cat, who remains at her home in Futaba but could not be captured and rescued.

"I'm glad she's alive," Watanabe said. "But it's very sad. She's 23 years old."

___

Associated Press Writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

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Fires destroy half of homes, buildings in Canadian town

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May 17, 2011 ARCHIVES  |  Weather  |  NEWS

Vittorio Hernandez - AHN News

Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada (AHN) - The fires that raged throughout Alberta over the weekend razed half of the homes and buildings in the town of Slave Lake.

Slave Lake Mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee said on Monday that the town lost its town hall and library The school, hospital and police detachment were spared by the blazes. Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach described the fire as the worst disaster in the town's recent history.

Fortunately, there were no reports of deaths or injuries because 95 percent of the 7,000 Slave Lake residents left their homes after local authorities declared a mandatory evacuation on Sunday. However, some residents complained that they had little time left to gather their belongings, which were mostly destroyed by the blaze.

The fires leveled entire communities and left only foundations, driveways and vehicle frames standing.

A total of 22,000 hectares (54,000 acres) were scorched by 115 wildfires that were fueled by 100-kilometer (62-mile) per hour winds, that have overpowered the 900 firefighters who came from all around the proviince to battle the blazes.

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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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