Paducah Preparing for Catastrophic Flooding

    Experts at the National Weather Service say people in portions of the Local 6 area need to prepare for "catastrophic" flooding. Flash flooding will continue to impact even those who do not live in the normally flood prone areas. The high rainfall totals have set the stage for potentially catastrophic flooding considering the given forecast for more thunderstorms until Wednesday.
     All the rain could possibly be record breaking for Ohio River flood levels. The lower Ohio River will crest above the 1997 levels and current forecast crests will near or in some cases exceed the flood of record. People in Livingston County living near the Ohio River have been asked to evacuate their home by 10 a.m., Wednesday.

http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/Prepare-for-catastrophic-flooding-120582579.html

Tornado Swarm Kills More than 40 People

   Severe weather resulting in tornadoes swept the South killing more than 40 people over a three day period. More than 240 tornado reports flowed in between Thursday and Sunday. Several reports indicated EF-3
damage. North Carolina was hit the hardest. Other areas hit included Oklahoma, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas.
    A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. Tornado season runs from March to early July. An average of 70 people are killed every year by tornadoes.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/135358/20110418/tornado-weather-storm-north-carolina-oklahoma-alabama-mississippi-arkansas.htm

Yellowstone Supervolcaon fed by Bigger Plume

   The underground volcanic plume at Yellowstone in the U.S. may be bigger than previously thought, according to a study by geologists. Researchers used seismic waves from earthquakes to build up an image of the hot spot beneath Yellowstone.
   The volcanic hot spot below Yellowstone feeds the hot springs, mud pots and geysers that bring millions of visitors to the U.S. national park each year. But the Yellowstone "super volcano" has erupted violently in the distant past and could do so again at some point. AN article will be published in Geophysical Research Letters journal later this year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13061779

6.7 Earthquake hits off Indonesia's Main Island

   A brief tsunami warning has been issued after a strong earthquake hit off of Indonesia's main island. The epicenter was centered about 200 miles off southern Java, just 15 miles beneath the ocean floor. Just after 90 minutes after the quake, the tsunami threat had passed and people, whom gathered in mosques on high ground, were told to return home.
   Indonesia is prone to seismic upheavel due to its location on the so-called, "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. A slightly smaller quake shook Fiji just hours later.

http://www.newser.com/story/115524/indonesia-earthquake-triggers-tsunami-warning.html

Japan Hit with 7.1 Tremor

    The 7.1 magnitude tremor triggered a brief tsunami warning and forced workers to evacuate the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. The quake came as Japan said it was extending the evacuation zone around the nuclear plant because of radiation concerns.
    The plant's operator, Tepco, said power used to pump water to cool three damaged reactors had been cut briefly, but early indications suggested the plant had not sustained any further damage.
     The official death toll from the disaster is 13,130, while 13,718 remain unaccounted for. More than 150,000 people have been made homeless and many have lost their jobs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13032122

Japan Quake World's Costliest Natural Disaster

The Japanese government says the cost of this month's devastating earthquake and tsunami may reach $309 billion, making it the world's most costly natural disaster. The disaster even tops the vast damage that was caused by Hurricane Katrina. The insurance industry estimates Katrina caused around $125 billion worth of damage. The damage total could actually go higher because the government's estimate did not include the possible wider effects on the country's economy, such as reduced factory production caused by planned power outages, or the effect of nuclear radiation leaks in the nation's food and water supply. There has already been declared a shortage on the iPad 2. The effects on the US are still unknown.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/east-pacific/Japan-Quake-Is-Worlds-Costliest-Natural-Disaster-118504664.html

Kentucky Restaurant Floats Away

A seafood eatery aboard a barge broke from its moorings on the flood-swollen Ohio River, then drifted downriver during the dinner rush before the 83 patrons were rescued by firefighters using a gangplank of ladders and ropes. The patrons used cell phones to call for help when the restaurant floated 100 feet downstream. Fortunately, the power stayed on and prevented a panic. No one was hurt and everyone was safely rescued from the restaurant. The new destination for the restaurant is still unknown at the moment, but one thing is certain, it will not stay on the Ohio. The Ohio River has been flood-swollen the last couple of weeks due to the amount of rainfall in the area.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/12/national/main20042500.shtml