Typhoon Durian slams into northern Philippines

MANILA, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Typhoon Durian slammed into the northern Philippines on Thursday, tearing up trees and leaving thousands stranded, but looked set to skirt Manila as it swept to the south of the capital of 12 million people.

The eastern island of Catanduanes, where the eye of the category 4 typhoon crossed the coast, was cut off after power companies halted operations and mobile phone signals died.

Villagers along the coast were urged to evacuate as disaster officials raised the alert level to maximum and warned of flash floods, landslides and storm surges from Durian, which was one notch below a category 5 "super typhoon".

"We expect these strong winds to blow until early evening," said Jesse Robredo, mayor of Naga City in the Bicol region. "The winds are uprooting trees and causing roofs to fly."

Durian, packing winds of up to 190 kph (120 mph) and gusts of 225 kph (140 mph), was expected to hit resort areas in Batangas province and Mindoro island, south of the capital, before weakening as it moved west into the South China Sea.

"There was a big change in direction," said weather services chief Nathaniel Cruz. "Manila will no longer be a direct hit."

Still, Cruz warned the capital's residents to prepare for heavy rain and strong winds.

Named after a pungent and spiky Asian fruit, Durian is the fourth typhoon to hit the Philippines in three months.

In September, 213 people were killed when Typhoon Xangsane battered the north and centre of the country, leaving millions without electricity or running water for days.

Xangsane also killed dozens in Vietnam but it was unclear whether Durian would hit that country after the Philippines.

STORM DAMAGE

Luzon island, where Manila is located, is the country's most populated region, its business hub and the main growing area for rice and coconuts.

The recent run of typhoons damaged crops, transport links and power lines, dragging down third-quarter economic growth.

There were concerns about electricity supplies in the wake of Durian as Batangas province is home to three generation plants that serve the capital and surrounding areas.

But First Gen Corp, owner of two of the plants, said there were no plans for a shutdown and that the company was ready for an emergency.

The third plant is owned by a joint venture of National Power Corp and Korea Electric and Power Corp.

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell, said its refinery in Batangas that processes 110,000 barrels of oil per day would continue running despite the typhoon.

Northwest Airlines cancelled flights to Japan and some domestic air travel was cut. Ferry passengers were stranded south of Manila after the coast guard ordered vessels to port.

Children were given the day off school in Manila and surrounding provinces on Thursday, with the heavy weather likely to disrupt travel plans over a long holiday weekend.

Storms regularly hit the Philippines. In the worst disaster in recent years, more than 5,000 people died on the central island of Leyte in 1991 in floods triggered by a typhoon.

In 2004, a series of storms left about 1,800 people dead or missing, including 480 who were killed when mudslides buried three towns in Quezon, an eastern province.

Washington and Colorado snowstorms blamed in deaths, injuries and delays

SEATTLE (AP) — A new storm headed into Washington state Wednesday as the region shivered in the aftermath of unusually heavy rain and snow that caused traffic nightmares and power outages.
The stormy weather has been linked to two deaths in Washington, and another snowstorm in Colorado has been blamed for at least five deaths.

Winter storm warnings were issued for much of Washington into Thursday with up to a foot of new snow possible in the Cascade Range. One to 6 inches was predicted for the central Puget Sound area, including Seattle, the National Weather Service said.

While much of the eastern third of the nation basked in readings in the 60s and 50s Wednesday, overnight temperatures in western Washington plunged into the low 20s.

Additional precipitation could break Seattle's one-month precipitation record — 15.33 inches set in December 1933 when the official reporting station was at the old downtown Federal Building. As of early Wednesday the weather service had recorded 15.26 inches for November at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Two 16-year-old boys were found dead Tuesday in a garage east of Port Angeles in the Upper Peninsula, apparently the victims of carbon monoxide poisoning. They apparently were trying to refuel a portable generator used to supply power during a storm-caused blackout, said Jim Borte, a spokesman for the Clallam County sheriff's office.

In Colorado, at least five people were dead after a wintry storm dropped up to 2 feet of snow in the mountains and turned the morning commute into an icy crawl for drivers in Denver, Colorado Springs and Boulder on Wednesday.

Slick roads contributed to the crash of a minivan that authorities suspect was being used to smuggle illegal immigrants Tuesday night about 20 miles west of Denver, leaving four dead and up to 11 injured. The State Patrol initially said weather did not appear to be a factor.

The van lost control on a curve, struck a tree and rolled, the patrol said.

The driver, Jose Francisco Franco-Rodriguez, 23, fled on foot but was captured. He is being held for investigation of human smuggling careless driving resulting in death, Idaho Springs Police Chief Dave Wohlers said.

A 10-year-old boy was killed Tuesday night when a pickup skidded off a snow-packed highway about 55 miles north of Denver and rolled.

World Cup organizers canceled a men's downhill practice at the Beaver Creek resort near Vail, saying the racers — who can exceed 70 mph — couldn't see far enough in the heavy snowfall. They also cited the threat of avalanches.

Philippines on red alert for Typhoon Durian

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines raised its highest alert level and warned residents to move to higher ground on Wednesday as Typhoon Durian barrelled toward the north of the country, gaining strength on a path toward Manila.

Disaster officials warned of possible flash floods, landslides and storm surges of up to 15 feet from Durian, the fourth typhoon to hit the Southeast Asian archipelago in three months.

Schools in Manila and surrounding provinces were suspended and all sea travel was halted as residents braced for Durian to hit the eastern island of Catanduanes on Thursday morning en route toward the densely-populated northern island of Luzon.

Durian, named after a pungent fruit, was packing winds of up to 190 kph (120 mph) with gusts of up to 225 kph (140 mph) but the weather bureau said it was likely to weaken when it reaches land.

If the storm continues on its current path, it could sweep close to Manila on Friday morning. The sprawling capital of 12 million people was severely battered by Typhoon Xangsane in late September.

Luzon, where Manila is based, is the country's business hub and the main growing area for rice and coconuts.

"All governors have convened their disaster coordinating councils and have stockpiled medicines and food. Their heavy equipment and rescue teams are already on standby," Anthony Golez, deputy administrator of the Office of the Civil Defense, said.

Two other typhoons, Cimaron and Chebi, hit the country in late October and early November, causing landslides and flashfloods in some areas and widespread crop damage.

Storms regularly hit the Philippines. In the worst disaster in recent years, more than 5,000 people died on the central island of Leyte in 1991 in floods triggered by a typhoon.

In 2004, a series of storms left about 1,800 people dead or missing, including 480 who were killed when mudslides buried three towns in Quezon, an eastern province.

California sea lions attack humans

SAN FRANCISCO - Tourists flock to Fisherman's Wharf for the seafood and the stunning views of San Francisco Bay, but for many visitors, the real stars are the dozens of playful, whiskered sea lions that lounge by the water's edge, gulping down fish.

Now a series of sea-lion attacks on people in recent months has led experts to warn that the animals are not as cute and cuddly as they appear.

"People should understand these animals are out there not to attack people or humans. But they're out there to survive for themselves," said Jim Oswald, a spokesman for the Marine Mammal Center across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.

In the most frightening of the recent episodes, a rogue sea lion bit 14 swimmers this month and chased 10 more out of the water at San Francisco's Aquatic Park, a sheltered lagoon near the bay. At least one victim suffered puncture wounds.

Some scientists speculate that the animals' aggressive behavior is being caused by eating fish contaminated by toxic algae, or by a shortage of food off the coast. But wildlife experts say even healthy sea lions are best left alone.

In Southern California in June, a sea lion charged several people on Manhattan Beach and bit a man before waddling into the water and swimming away. In Berkeley, a woman was hospitalized last spring after a sea lion took a chunk out of her leg.

Last year, a group of sea lions took over a Newport Beach marina and caused a vintage 50-foot yacht to capsize when they boarded it. And a lifeguard in Santa Barbara was bitten three times while swimming off El Capitan State Beach.

In Alaska, a huge sea lion jumped onto a fisherman's boat in 2004, knocked him overboard and pulled him underwater; he escaped without serious injury.

Sea lions, which can reach 1,000 pounds, typically bite only if they feel threatened or cornered. And they are more likely to flee than fight if they can escape. Researchers have described the most recent attacks, in which some swimmers were chased through open water, as abnormal behavior.

Still, with a population numbering about 200,000 and growing, these playful, social creatures are increasingly likely to cross paths with humans.

Sea lions accustomed to the easy pickings of seafood scraps in popular fishing areas can become aggressive toward people if they fear their food is about to be taken away, Oswald said.

The Berkeley attack, for example, was at a marina where fishermen dock their boats and feed fish scraps to sea lions. After they ran out of scraps, the sea lion turned aggressive and bit a crew member.

At the same time, a drop in fish stocks off the Southern California coast due to El Nino-like conditions could be driving more hungry sea lions than usual to San Francisco Bay, said Lynn Cullivan, a spokesman for San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.

Humans could also be contributing to aggression in sea lions in another way: Toxic algae blooms fed by agricultural runoff and other pollution can lead to the poisoning of marine mammals by a chemical called domoic acid, which can cause brain damage. The Marine Mammal Center treated more than 200 sea lions for domoic acid poisoning last year.

Veterinarians at the center believe the brain damage caused by the poison could have led to the marauding animal's erratic behavior in Aquatic Park, Oswald said, though they cannot be sure without actually examining the sea lion.

So far park rangers have not been able to track the attacker down. Nevertheless, the lagoon where the attacks occurred has been reopened to swimmers, though with new signs warning people to stay away from sea lions.

"People who swim with the lions — though I'm sure that's nice — it's probably not the best thing to do," Oswald said. "It's a wild animal. And you want to keep them wild."

Australian report: Carbon dioxide emissions have doubled since the 1990s

SYDNEY, Australia — The rate at which humans are pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere has more than doubled since the 1990s, according to Australian research, the latest report warning about the high rate of emissions accumulating in the atmosphere.
Findings published by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization also showed that 2005 marked the fourth-consecutive year of increased carbon dioxide emissions.

"To have four years in a row of above-average carbon dioxide growth is unprecedented," Paul Fraser, a scientist with the CSIRO's center for marine and atmospheric research, said in a statement.

The study analyzed a 30-year record of air samples collected at an Australian Bureau of Meteorology observation station on the southern island state of Tasmania.

Mike Raupach, a scientist with the organization, said from 2000 to 2005 the growth rate of carbon dioxide emissions was more than 2.5% per year, whereas in the 1990s it was less than 1% per year.

Raupach, who is also co-chairman of the Global Carbon Project, said 7.85 billion tons of carbon passed into the atmosphere last year, compared to 6.67 billion tons in 2000.

About half of all carbon dioxide emissions remain trapped in the atmosphere, and the rest are absorbed by the land and oceans, Raupach said. As emissions rise, so does the amount of carbon in the air.

Earlier this month, the World Meteorological Organization reported the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached 379.1 parts per million in 2005, more than 35% higher than in the late 18th century.

Raupach and Fraser presented their findings last week at an annual science meeting at Tasmania's Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station.

Floods death toll rises to 34 in Kenya

NAIROBI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The worst floods in decades have killed 11 more Kenyans in the last two weeks, bringing the death toll to 34 since last month, the Red Cross said on Wednesday.

Torrential rains have battered the Horn of Africa region in recent weeks, killing hundreds, uprooting thousands more and triggering a humanitarian disaster. Somalia and parts of neighbouring Ethiopia and Kenya have been particularly hard hit.

"Our assessment is one person died in Northeastern province and 10 in Eastern," a Kenyan Red Cross spokeswoman said.

Earlier this month the charity appealed for $7 million for flood relief, and she said it would now need more than that.

So far, the appeal had only raised about $70,000, she said.

A Kenyan government minister gave a lower overall death toll, saying 20 people had died since the floods began. He said the authorities were working with the United Nations to deliver emergency aid and move affected communities to higher ground.

"Our estimation is that 20 people have died so far," said Wario Ali, an assistant minister for special programmes. He said the government had spent $3 million so far on relief operations.

The situation is worse in Somalia, where more people have lost their homes but security problems have restricted efforts by aid agencies to help them.

"In some areas people are sitting on dykes, completely surrounded by water and have no access to drinking water and food," the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

In a statement on Wednesday, it said it was airlifting tarpaulins to 350,000 Somalis in the worst affected areas. Weather experts expect the rains to continue into January.

Nonnative animals flourish in Hawaii

HONOLULU - In Hawaii's warm, moist environment, interlopers have flourished — pillaging forests, screeching through the night in suburban neighborhoods and rooting around in rural taro patches.

Stealthy species such as hybrid Polynesian pigs and a newly discovered gall wasp have eluded eradication efforts and taken hold in an ecosystem that once was home to only one terrestrial mammal — an insectivorous bat. Partly as a result, Hawaii today has more than 300 endangered and threatened plant and animal species accounting for about a quarter of the United States' protected species.

Some nonnative animals arrived by accident, such as the noisy coqui frog from Puerto Rico. Others — including the Big Island's wild horses and cattle, Molokai's resident goats and Honolulu's feral felines — were either deliberately released for hunting or broke free from residents who had brought them.

Humans have strengthened their defenses, spraying lethal citric acid to kill coqui frogs and setting out traps for pigs in suburban Oahu. One Big Island taro farmer said earlier this year that he shot and killed several wild horses that had damaged his crops.

Hawaii wildlife officials made their own stance clear. On Nov. 6, state-hired hunters shot and killed four dogs believed to have slain at least 113 fledgling wedge-tailed shearwaters inside an Oahu nature reserve.

"Pets that are abandoned or left to run loose in a Hawaiian ecosystem become predators with catastrophic results," said Peter Young, chairman of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

It is a serious issue for the islands, with their isolated environments. There are about 9,975 endemic species, while another 1,100 have disappeared as invasive species showed up, said Earl Campbell, who heads the Invasive Species Division of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's regional office in Honolulu.

Native inhabitants have evolved without defenses needed to fend off aggressive attackers and competitors they now face, Campbell said. Mint in Hawaii is not minty, for example. Nettles do not sting. And unlike their continental cousins, Hawaii's native raspberry does not have prickles — meaning they are not tough enough to withstand foraging by nonnative animals such as pigs.

"If you look at factors that cause problems for species, invasives are important in many places. But here it is the primary reason right now that things are declining," Campbell said.

Not everyone feels the nonnative animals and plans need all be wiped out, though. Of the approximately 5,000 alien species in Hawaii, only about 300-500 have gone on to wreak significant damage, he said. Some, including plants, are even beneficial.

"The term 'invasive species' makes one think that the hordes are at our gates and threatening to destroy life as we know it, when actually the animals who are considered invasive for the most part had no say in coming to Hawaii," said Cathy Goeggel, Animal Rights Hawaii director.

She suggested that some harmful animals could be fenced out or relocated, such as rooting pigs.

At the center of it all are people who need to recognize their mistakes and think more about how to make things better, said Christy Martin, spokeswoman for the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species, a partnership that brings together a long list of federal, state and private agencies.

"There's definitely a disconnect between caring for animals and setting up cat-feeding stations, and protecting the ones that are native, that are supposed to be there, that need our help definitely more than the cats do," Martin said.

There are programs and rules to keep potentially invasive animals out of the islands. But there is nothing comparable to keep potentially invasive plants from being imported and planted in Hawaiian gardens.

It would be too difficult, costly and controversial to eliminate established invasive animals, such as pigs and goats, which live in hard-to-reach places and are hunted by some poorer residents to feed their families. Efforts now are concentrated on controlling the old invasive species, fighting off the newer ones, keeping the would-be problems out and continuing to educate the public.

The first animals introduced by people were rats, which arrived first with Polynesians' voyaging canoes. Quick-spreading haole koa was planted in the 1980s to provide fodder for cattle in the islands, Martin said.

"If only we'd chosen better. And we say that again and again," she said.

Winter Cleans House Across the Country

Tropical storm Durian threatens northern Philippines

MANILA (AFP) - Weather forecasters have raised flood and landslide alerts as tropical storm Durian threatened the northern Philippines with winds of up to 105 kilometers (65 miles) an hour.

At 4:00pm (0800 GMT) the storm was about 730 kilometers (453 miles) east of the central island of Samar, forecasters said Tuesday.

It was expected to creep northwest to within 170 kilometers (105 miles) of the coast of the main island of Luzon within the next two days, they added.

The weather bureau raised the lowest of a four-stage alert over Catanduanes island off eastern Luzon, warning its population of about a quarter million people to stay alert "against possible flashfloods and landslides."

It said the northern section of the country would start to feel the effects of the storm by Friday.

Eight typhoons and tropical storms have hit the Philippines so far this year.

Earlier this month the northern Philippines was hit by typhoon Chebi, which left more than eight people dead.

In October typhoon Xangsane, the strongest in more than 10 years, slammed into Manila and Luzon leaving as many as 200 people dead or missing.

Thousands of Indonesian mudflow victims protest

SURABAYA, Indonesia, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Thousands of Indonesians blocked a key road on Java island with truckloads of sand on Monday to press the operator of an exploratory oil well spewing torrents of mud to pay more compensation.

Some 10,000 people have been displaced and entire villages inundated by the mud that has flowed since a drilling accident in May, causing an unfolding environmental disaster in the Sidoarjo area, near Indonesia's second largest city of Surabaya.

"We are here to claim our rights as Indonesian citizens. A few days ago, we not only lost our houses but also our paddy fields and all the infrastructure because of Lapindo," Muhammad Kudori, a representative for the protesters, said after meeting top local officials and the head of the operator of the oil well.

The Banjar Panji well was operated by Indonesia's Lapindo Brantas, a unit of PT Energi Mega Persada , partly owned by the Bakrie Group, which is controlled by the family of Indonesia's chief social welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie.

The firm has denied the mud flow is directly linked to the drilling operation.

So far the company has offered a monthly stipend of 300,000 rupiah ($32.86) to villagers who have lost their houses and rent for new accommodation. It has also set aside 6.9 billion rupiah to cover agricultural losses over the next few years.

Anger has been mounting in the area with the hot mud gushing at a rate of 50,000 cubic metres (1.75 million cubic feet) a day from the well despite several government contingency plans to plug the leak.

Many of the protesters who gathered outside the Sidoarjo regent's office had lost their homes and fields in the past week because of the mudflow, which was also blamed for a gas pipeline explosion in the area last Wednesday that killed 11 people.

"I agree with your demand on the compensation of houses and buildings," Basuki Hadimulyo, managing head of a national task force formed by the government to tackle the mudflow, said.

"I will fight for your rights in Jakarta."

In the middle of negotiations, the representatives of the victims walked out as national team could not guarantee the compensation they demanded.

The protesters blocked a road connecting Surabaya with northern cities of East Java with three trucks of sand.

Several experts have said the mudflow could have been triggered by a crack about 6,000 feet (1,800 metres) deep inside the well.

North Korea takes aim at bird flu after South is hit

SEOUL, Nov 27 (Reuters) - North Korea is stepping up measures to prevent bird flu, its official media said on Monday, following an announcement over the weekend from the South that it had an outbreak of the highly virulent H5N1 strain.

North Korea, which had an outbreak of bird flu at two poultry farms near Pyongyang in February 2005, said it had inoculated poultry and increased checks along its borders.

"Quarantine measures against avian influenza are being conducted with stepped up activity," KCNA news agency quoted a health official as saying.

South Korea's agriculture ministry ordered the culling of 236,000 poultry within a 500-metre (1,640-ft) radius of a poultry farm in North Cholla province about 170 km (100 miles) from Seoul where the H5N1 strain was found.

Quarantine authorities also banned the shipment of more than 5 million poultry from 221 farms within a 10-km (6.2-mile) radius of the farm.

Real taste of winter for the West

The coldest air of the year is settling over the western U.S., bringing snow even to low elevations. Snow levels are down to sea level in Washington and parts of the Seattle metro area received nearly half a foot of snow since Sunday. Snow showers will continue in the Seattle area on Monday and an inch of snow is possible in Portland, Ore., as well. Winter weather advisories and warnings are widespread across all for the mountains across the region. Expect at least a foot of snow from the Oregon Cascades to the California Sierra and into the Utah Wasatch and Montana Bitterroots over the next 24 to 36 hours. In addition to the snow, bitterly cold air will flow into the region. High temperatures will only be in the 30s across the Northwest and throughout the Great Basin. Teens and 20s can be expected in the northern Rockies. As this storm system deepens over the West, look for snow to continue across the Rockies through Tuesday. The system will emerge into the Plains by Wednesday, with rain and thunderstorms ahead of it and snow behind it. Much colder air will overspread the entire country throughout the week.

Welcome To Sunday

Australians pray for rain as drought-of-the-century continues

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Churchgoers prayed for rain Sunday in the hopes of breaking the worst drought to hit Australian farmers in more than a century.

Already the world's driest inhabited continent, Australia has been ravaged in recent months by the worst drought in recorded memory, which has devastated crops and bankrupted many farmers.

Archbishop Philip Wilson, the president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, called for a national day of prayer Sunday to ask God for more rain.

"We're praying for rain, that God might bless us with rains," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio Sunday.

Worshippers were "also praying in solidarity with the people who ... are suffering in their lives because of the drought," he added.

Jock Laurie, the president of the New South Wales Farmers Association, said that while crops have already been lost, the day of prayer could help boost morale.

"I think it just shows that city people really are starting to get a very good understanding of the impact it's having on rural communities," he told the ABC. "You really can't underestimate how ... good it is to have this support."

Heading into a stormy period


Workers try to rescue a car in Pueblo Nuevo near Capira, some 40 Kilometers west of Panama City, Panama, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2006. Rains and landslides in Central American killed five people in Panama, including a pregnant woman, and left two others missing in Honduras, officials said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

Heavy rains, flooding kill 8 in Panama

PANAMA CITY, Panama - Heavy rains and flooding in Panama have left at least eight people dead and damaged hundreds of homes, the government said Friday.

The rains, which began Monday and were predicted to last until Saturday, have caused rivers to overflow and bridges to collapse, cutting off several communities northwest of the capital of Panama City, authorities said.

The dead included two men killed in a landslide, two men who drowned, a couple killed when a tree fell on their house, and a pregnant woman who suffered a spike in her blood pressure but failed to receive medical attention because her community had been cut off, said National Civil Protection Director Roberto Velasquez.

The eighth fatality occurred in the community of Capira, 50 miles west of the capital, Velasquez said. He did not release any details.

A search was also under way for a park guard reported missing in the Colon province, the federal Environment Department said.

On Friday, officials sent first aid, bottled water, dry goods and other domestic items by helicopter to the Cocle, Colon, and Panama provinces, Interior Minister Ileana Golcher said.

More than 200 houses have been destroyed and nearly 700 others damaged, the Civil Protection Department said.

Floods kill seven in Somalia, death toll climbs to 96

MOGADISHU (AFP) - Floods have killed at least seven people, including five children, as the fourth week of heavy rains pounded Somalia, bringing the death toll to at least 96.

Three people drowned in Middle Shabelle region when a wooden dhow capsized as they were fleeing to safety, officials said Sunday.

"We buried three people -- two of them children -- near Kunyabarow area this afternoon after they died from drowning," said Abdullahi Moalim Gesey, a local elder, told AFP.

Health officials said a 72-year-old man and his one-year-old grandson were killed and swept for several kilometres when their hut collapsed under heavy flooding in Mukayka village in Middle Shabelle region.

"The were sleeping in their small cottage when heavy floods swept the area. The old man and his grandson were discovered about seven kilometres away from their home," added Hussein Nur Ahmed, a community health official.

And in Buulo-Barde district in Somalia's central Hiraan region, two children drowned after water swept through their house, according to officials from Somalia's powerful Islamic movement.

"Two more children from the same family died, but problems associated to floods are still continuing and the toll is still rising," said Sheikh Hussein Barre Raghe, head of Buulo-Barde Islamic courts.

Raghe said the affected civilians may die if humanitarian aid was delayed.

Sunday's casualties brings the death toll to 96 since torrential rains started pounding the region in October, mainly flooding the main Shabelle and Juba rivers that have their source at the Ethiopian highlands.

Around one million Somalis are estimated to be affected by the flooding, of which at least 336,000 have been forced from their homes, according to the United Nations.

Health officials have also sounded the alarm for outbreaks of waterborne diseases, particularly cholera, which has already been confirmed in two areas.

The rains have destroyed farmlands, disrupted food supplies, cut off villages and washed away roads, complicating the delivery of aid to the most vulnerable and impoverished in remote areas.

The Horn of Africa country is also on the brink of all-out war between the Islamic movement and government troops, backed by Ethiopian forces.

Flood-hit Kenya must be declared emergency-aid group

NAIROBI, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki should declare massive flooding that has killed hundreds and displaced thousands across east Africa a "national emergency", aid agency ActionAid said.

Torrential rains in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan in recent weeks have affected at least 1.8 million people in the region, the U.N. says.

"The President needs to prioritise this immediately. Things are getting out of control," said Joyce Umbima, director for ActionAid Kenya, in a statement late on Friday.

"We need to deal with this problem head-on, and bring in some specialist expertise. People are suffering terribly."

There was no immediate comment from the president's office.

Aid workers fear thousands of people across the region face outbreaks of cholera, diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases unless they are given safe drinking water soon.

"Many people are still out in the open and torrential rains have continued overnight, so they have been exposed to constant rain. They are now at risk of disease and landslides are becoming a problem," Umbima added.

According to Kenya's meteorological department, the rains are expected to continue until mid-January.

In Somalia, the United Nations said flooding that has displaced thousands living near the Juba River will continue to worsen in the chaotic Horn of African nation.

"Aerial reconnaissance indicated a very serious situation in parts of Middle and Lower Juba and historical trends indicate that the worst flooding along the Juba is yet to come," said a report by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

"Entire settlements are under water with communities completely cut off and having moved to higher grounds living in makeshift shelter," it added after a recent aerial mission over some of the affected areas.

Chaos from Somalia's worst flooding in decades has come amid mounting fears of war between the nation's interim government and rival Islamists. The U.N. has said insecurity is hampering relief efforts for those affected by flooding in Somalia.

The OCHA report said two helicopters were expected to start delivering food aid next week.

Scientists: Climate change clues in sky

Site of killer tornado becomes tourist attraction

RIEGELWOOD, N.C. (AP) — A devastating tornado that killed eight people has become a grisly tourist attraction.

Visitors have driven from as far as Fayetteville and Raleigh, 70 and 130 miles respectively, to see destroyed homes and other damage caused by the twister. Some stop to snap pictures with cameras and cellphones.

"You see the pictures and hear the stories on television, but you want to see it in person," said Jim Davison, who drove past the area many times from his home in Wilmington to his job in Elizabethtown, but never stopped until late last week.

"I guess curiosity gets the best of you," he said.

About 100 residents were displaced and 42 homes were damaged by the Nov. 16 twister. Officials estimate the damage at $500,000.

Two children remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, while one adult was in stable condition at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington and was expected to be released soon, said Kip Godwin, chairman of the Columbus County Board of Commissioners.

Some of the visitors stop on their way through the area to other destinations. Others make a special trip.

Becky Lanier and her mother, Alice Peterson, live 15 miles away. Peterson said they came by late last week to show Lanier's children how blessed they are.

"It's almost unreal," Peterson said. "I feel so sad for the people. My heart and my prayers go out to them."

World neglects tsunami risk lessons - Red Cross

JAKARTA, Nov 27 (Reuters) - The world could see a replay of the massive death and destruction caused by the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami if it fails to spend more on disaster risk reduction, the Red Cross/Red Crescent said on Monday.

The tsunami that left more than 200,000 people dead or missing around the Indian Ocean should have taught the value of preparedness, but "risk reduction has remained low on the international agenda," the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in a statement.

It called for a rise in annual disaster preparedness global spending to $1 billion, 10 percent of the amount spent on humanitarian aid. The figure is now around four percent.

Too often "when the first assessment of damage is done and the costing of reconstruction after an earthquake or some other disaster is done, risk reduction is not immediately factored in," Johan Schaar, federation special representative for the tsunami, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"What's most often done is simply rebuilding what was there, (but) if what was there constituted risk for people it has to change" to reduce chances of similar death and destruction in the future.

Risk reduction can range from educating people in first aid and what to do if disasters occur, to protecting coastlines from tsunamis and implementing earthquake-safe construction codes.

Aside from the potential lives to be saved, the federation estimates a dollar spent on prevention can save as much as $10 in reconstruction and rebuilding costs.

In one such measure, the Indonesian Red Cross launched a radio network to transmit early warnings to communities in Aceh, the Indonesian province hardest hit by the tsunami with more than 170,000 killed or missing.

In such efforts, an important part of success is educating people on how to use the system, not just getting the hardware in place, said the Geneva-based Schaar, who was in Jakarta for meetings after a visit to Aceh.

"There's been good efforts at building this early warning system for the Indian Ocean countries but it's been a lot of focus on the technical aspects," he said.

"...if people are not reached by the warning and if they don't know what to do when the warning comes -- we often talk about the last mile of an early warning system -- then it will not be effective."

On other aspects of the tsunami recovery effort, Schaar said the federation as well as governments and other agencies have had to cope with unrealistic expectations at times.

In Aceh, for example, "it affected an area that had been in conflict for 20 years and you had weak government and very undeveloped infrastructure," he said, referring to a simmering civil war between separatists and the Indonesian government.

A peace agreement a few months after the tsunami has thus far been effective in stopping the Aceh fighting.

While reconstruction there is in "a dynamic phase" and a federation programme has helped get virtually all refugees who were in tents into better shelters, it will still be years before recovery is complete, Schaar said.

"...this is something we are going to be involved in for five years or more to really see this through," he said.

This United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) picture shows Somali refugees displaced by floods crossing a swollen river in Dadaab, Kenya. Raging flood waters have killed at least nine people as a third week of heavy rains pounded southern Somalia, bringing the death toll to at least 89.(AFP/UNHCR/File/Brendan Bannon)

Floods kill nine in Somalia, death toll climbs to 89

MOGADISHU (AFP) - Raging flood waters killed at least nine people, including five sleeping children, overnight as a third week of heavy rains pounded southern Somalia, bringing the death toll to at least 89.

And with no end in sight to unusually heavy seasonal rains that have brought misery to a country already on the brink of war, UN officials said conflict could badly hurt emergency relief efforts for nearly a million Somalis.

The children were killed when their homes in villages near the provincial town of Jowhar, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of Mogadishu, were washed away by waters from rivers that burst their banks, local officials said.

"Five children died after heavy floods swept their homes away while they were sleeping," said Ibrahim Nur Osman, the security commander for Somalia's powerful Islamist movement in Middle Shabelle region where Jowhar is situated.

Meanwhile, rescuers recovered the bodies of four people buried in the mud around Mustaqbal village in Lower Shabelle region, where tens of thousands are facing acute food shortages.

"Four bodies, one of them an elderly woman, have been discovered dead around Mustaqbal in the mud," said Garad Abukar Mohamed, the secretary for the local Islamic administration.

"The water level is rising all the time and thousands of people are trapped in flood-hit areas that nobody can reach," he told AFP, adding that the death toll would likely rise as food stocks had been destroyed.

Scores of survivors were clinging to trees, grieving for the loss of their loved ones and property as well as trying to avoid being eaten by crocodiles unleashed by the flooding of the Shabelle and Jubba rivers, residents said.

At least 13 of the flood fatalities are known to have been devoured by the crocodiles, which have been on a feeding frenzy in Beledweyne, further north of Jowhar, according to locals.

"Casualties are increasing day-by-day," Osman told AFP. "People are getting killed, others injured, while others are being evacuated. Everybody is grieving from treetops where they have escaped."

The village of Bulo-Warey, where the children died overnight Thursday, was completely inundated, with the surviving residents fleeing as best they could, an official said.

"I tell you that none of the affected people is in the village because the whole place is covered by water," said Osman Adan Ibrahim, a local Islamist representative.

The floods have compounded difficulties for Somalis already on edge fearing an outbreak of all-out war between the Islamists and the country's weak Ethiopian-backed government that many believe could spark a regional conflict.

Despite assurances from the rival sides that airlifts of relief supplies -- necessary because most land routes have been cut -- will be safe in the event of war, UN officials said they feared fighting would derail aid operations.

"That is a disaster and we want to avoid it," Eric Laroche, head of the Kenya-based UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for Somalia, told reporters in Nairobi.

OCHA appealed for 15 million dollars (11.5 million dollars) for its urgent Somali operations, but warned that amount might increase in the coming days as torrential rains continue to pound Somalia.

Nearly one million Somalis are estimated to be affected by the flooding, of which at least 336,000 have been forced from their homes, according to the United Nations.

Health officials have also sounded the alarm for outbreaks of waterborne diseases, particularly cholera, which has already been confirmed in two areas.

The rains have destroyed farmlands, disrupted food supplies, cut off villages and washed away roads, complicating the delivery of aid to the most vulnerable and impoverished in remote areas.

200 dead or missing in Afghan floods

KABUL, Afghanistan - Heavy rain again battered remote villages in western Afghanistan already devastated by flooding, as the death toll rose to 120, officials said Monday.

Aid workers delivered several tons of food and aid to people in Badghis province, said Habibullah Murghabi, the head of a government-appointed disaster committee. The delivery had taken more than two days of travel by donkey and horse to reach flood-affected villages in the mountainous region.

Two NATO helicopters also delivered 17,600 pounds of food and medicine to Badghis.

Murghabi said the death toll in Balamurghab and Ghormach districts had risen to 62, while 92 people were reported missing.

"The roads are still bad, and last night there was heavy rain again. It's still raining now," Murghabi said by telephone from Badghis.

Heavy rain Thursday triggered flash floods that inundated several villages in Badghis. Some 50,000 families live in the inundated area.

Other affected areas in the west include Farah province, where at least 18 people have died in recent days, said provincial police chief Gen. Sayed Aga Saqib. One village of eight houses had been washed away, he said.

Floods also hit the southern province of Uruzgan over the weekend, killing 40 people and destroying hundreds of homes in four districts, said Qayum Qayumi, the governor's spokesman.

Two-thirds of China cities face water shortages

BEIJING, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Two-thirds of Chinese cities face water shortages, state media reported on Friday, one of the top problems facing the rapidly urbanising landscape.

More than 400 cities had water shortages, with 100 of them "in serious trouble", lacking enough water to support industry or daily life, the China Daily quoted an unamed official from the Ministry of Water Resources as saying.

The problem was compounded by pollution, with 45 billion tonnes of untreated waste water pumped directly into lakes and rivers, the report said.

Per capita water resources in the world's most populous country are less than a third of the global average, and falling.

The government also predicts 400 million rural residents will move into China's cities in the next 20 years, and the rapid urbanisation is expected to put a further strain on resources.

Already, water levels in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, China's longest, have hit a historic low, and the country is considering massive engineering schemes to divert water to the parched north of the country.

Snowflakes spotted in Central Florida
Rare sight comes with cold temperatures across state

ORLANDO, Fla. - Snowbirds come to the Sunshine State to escape them, but weather officials said a few snowflakes were spotted in Central Florida.

The flakes, mixed with rain, fell about 9 p.m. Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. Snow shovels were not needed, but some of the white stuff did hit the ground before melting, weather-service meteorologist John Pendergrast said.

"It's just cold enough in the lower levels of the atmosphere" to keep the flakes from melting, Pendergrast said.

The last time the region saw snow was in 2003, when flakes fell over Brevard and Volusia counties.

Temperatures in the area Tuesday night dipped to the low 40s, and were expected to fall to the 30s, Pendergrast said.

Wind chills may drop into the 20s in parts of north Florida and high temperatures may only reach the 60s as far south as the Keys on Wednesday, state meteorologist Ben Nelson said.

Miami wasn't expected to even hit 70 on Wednesday, and low temperatures were expected to dive into the mid-40s.

A developing storm out at sea off of Florida's east coast is driving cold air southward into the state, which resulted in freeze watches for several locations in the Panhandle earlier this week. Residents were being reminded to protect themselves, their plants, their pets and their pipes.

The cold weather is expected to last through Thanksgiving, but by the end of the week warmer temperatures were forecast to return. By Sunday, the high in Miami is expected to be 81.

Weather complicating holiday travel

Heavy rain and high wind gusts didn't do anything to help throngs of travelers making their way to be with family and friends for Thanksgiving, as airports reported delays and traffic jams clogged major thoroughfares.
Rain was forecasted Thursday for coastal areas from the Mid-Atlantic to New England. Freezing rain was possible in higher elevations of Pennsylvania and New York. A wet Thanksgiving also was expected in many areas of the Northwest. Snow was expected in parts of Washington, Oregon, western Montana and Wyoming.

A flatbed truck jackknifed, spilling 55-gallon drums of acetone and rubbing alcohol and shutting down one side of one of Southern California's busiest freeways near Los Angeles International Airport.

On Wednesday, long lines formed at airports well before daybreak, and some drivers in the South saw winter hit the roads early as millions of Americans made the annual dash home for Thanksgiving.

The AAA estimated that 38.3 million people would travel 50 miles or more for Thanksgiving — up a million from last year.

Moderating gas prices may be one reason for the increase, said the automobile association's Robert Sinclair.

Since peaking above $3 per gallon in early August, gasoline pump prices have dropped by around 80 cents per gallon nationwide in the past three months. Wednesday's nationwide average gas price was $2.23 a gallon, according to AAA.

Thanksgiving air travel was expected to surge, too. AAA predicted 4.8 million travelers will fly to their Thanksgiving destination. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey anticipated 1.6 million passengers — about 2% more than last year — would pass through LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International airports.

By late afternoon Wednesday, the strains were evident, with airports reporting delays, and traffic jams on major thoroughfares. The National Weather Service predicted heavy rain and winds in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. — conditions that promised to further aggravate travel conditions.

At LaGuardia, arrivals were delayed about two hours, and departures about an hour and a half, said Steve Coleman, Port Authority spokesman. Kennedy Airport had 30-minute delays on arrivals and departures, while Newark Liberty International Airport had an average hour-long delay on arrivals.

Traffic was moving smoothly at several other major airports, including the world's busiest, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

"I expected it to be a lot worse than it is, but the day is still young," said Steve Miller as he waited for relatives arriving from Fort Myers, Fla.

At Boston's Logan International Airport, wait times at security checkpoints were averaging less than 10 minutes and there were no long lines at ticket counters at midday.

Drivers in parts of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia faced high winds and flooded roads Wednesday as an early winter storm swept across the South.

The weather slowed traffic between the Carolinas on Interstate 95, one of the main arteries for East Coast travel. Some ferry service along North Carolina's coast was halted on Wednesday due to the storm; the state Department of Transportation said it would likely not resume until Thanksgiving Day.

In Virginia, a tunnel between Norfolk and Portsmouth was shut down because of high water, and high winds prompted operators of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to limit vehicles crossing the span to cars and pickups.

Motorists along Interstate 40, an east-west highway that spans more than 2,500 miles, were seeing more than just fall colors along the route: State troopers will be posted every 10 miles.

The coordinated effort between state police in the eight states the highway passes through — California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina — is aimed at reducing accidents and fatalities Wednesday and Thursday.

One of Southern California's busiest freeways was shut down on one side for hours when a flatbed truck carrying hazardous materials jackknifed, spilling 55-gallon drums of acetone and rubbing alcohol.

Southbound traffic on Interstate 405 in Hawthorne became so backed up some drivers were directed to travel in the wrong direction to the nearest exit to help ease the gridlock. The truck's driver and another motorist were hospitalized with minor injuries, the Los Angeles County Fire Department reported.

In New York, scores of people packed the train waiting area at Pennsylvania Station by noon, including Sandra Clifton. Her flight last year to Pittsburgh took so long — 27 hours thanks to flight cancellations and delays — that this year she was taking the train to see different relatives outside Philadelphia.

"It broke my mother's heart," said Clifton, 39. "I love my family. I just can't always get to them."

SOMALIA-KENYA: Threat of disease outbreaks as flooding persists

NAIROBI, 23 November (IRIN) - Two cases of cholera have been reported in southern Somalia, aid officials said on Thursday, amid fears that the devastating floods that have hit the Horn of Africa could lead to further outbreaks of water-borne diseases and malaria.

The two cases were reported in a village near the town of Jilib, close to the Juba River, which breached its banks after torrential rainfall, James Lorenz, communications officer for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said.

According to MSF, lack of clean drinking water was the main problem in southern Somalia because 70 percent of the shallow wells on which residents depend for water had been contaminated. Shortages of charcoal and firewood meant people did not boil drinking water and were therefore exposed to water-borne diseases.

There were also food shortages as many families along the Juba and Shabelle river valleys in southern Somalia had lost food stocks due to the floods, MSF said in a statement. Flooding had also destroyed crops due for harvest in December. Shelter materials were also required.

Fears of water-borne diseases were also expressed in neighbouring Kenya where villages in Northeastern Province, the Tana River delta and the coastal region have been submerged after heavy rainfall.

"With the collapse of latrines we fear there will be outbreaks of diarrhoeal diseases and malaria," said James Kisia, director of health at the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS).

There were also fears that the polio virus could spread through the use of contaminated water, Kisia said. One polio case was reported in October in the Dadaab refugee camps sheltering more than 160,000 people, most of them from Somalia.

Poliomyelitis ('polio') is caused by the polio virus, which enters the body orally, infecting the intestinal lining and leading to paralysis.

Kisia said the KRCS, which estimates that 300,000 Kenyans have been affected by the floods, had sent teams to the Northeastern Province to help with hygiene awareness campaigns in an effort to prevent disease. The agency had also supplied water treatment tablets and mobilised its volunteers to ensure they were ready to cope with any outbreaks.

The KRCS was also preparing relief supplies for western Kenya amid meteorological reports that rainfall would intensify in the area, which is also prone to flooding, according to Kisia.

Flooding in Kenya has damaged many roads and bridges, particularly in the Indian Ocean coastal region, hampering relief efforts. The army and the Ministry of Public Works have been repairing the roads and bridges in the Coast Province. In Northeastern Province, however, most of the main roads remained impassable.

On 17 November, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, approved requests for funding through the Central Emergency Relief Fund submitted by UN agencies in Kenya. An amount of US$11.8 million was allocated to Kenya for emergency support in food and nutrition, logistics, protection, health, water, refugee and livestock sectors. The money will fund relief work by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization.

The UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also provided an emergency cash grant of $50,000 through the UN Development Fund to the Kenya Red Cross Society for non-food items, health and water interventions.

Strong quake hits northern Japan

TOKYO (AFP) - A strong quake, with a magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter scale, jolted northern Japan, near an area that was recently hit by tsunamis, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The quake happened at 8:15 pm (1115 GMT) off the eastern shore of Nemuro city of Hokkaido prefecture, 1,000 kilometers (625 miles) north of Tokyo, the agency said.

The quake, which happened around islands claimed by both Japan and Russia, was 100 kilometers deep, the agency said.

There were no immediate reports of damage and no concerns about a tsunami, the agency said.

The Nemuro area experienced minor tsunamis last week after one of the biggest earthquakes in recent times hit near the northeastern Russian-ruled Kuril islands.

Japan lies at the junction of four tectonic plates and endures about 20 percent of the world's most powerful earthquakes, which frequently jolt Tokyo and other major cities.

Floods kill seven more in Somalia, six in Kenya

MOGADISHU, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Seven people, including children, and dozens of cattle drowned after a river burst its banks in flood-hit Somalia, residents said on Wednesday, as aid workers stepped up efforts to help over 300,000 people affected.

In Kenya, local media said six people had died in flooding and several buildings had collapsed.

Floods have killed scores, driven tens of thousands from their homes, submerged villages and washed away bridges and roads in southcentral Somalia, making it difficult to get aid to victims still trapped and stoking fears of disease.

At least five people have been killed by crocodiles as they waded through waist-deep floodwaters, that have submerged large swathes of farmland and washed away food stocks.

Residents in the remote Hagarwaajo village in the southern Middle Juba region said the Juba river had burst overnight.

"Five children and two elderly people drowned. Fifty cattle and 100 goats were also washed away," Hussein Mohamed Gudane, a local elder at Hagarwaajo told Reuters by telephone. "We fear many more will die because it is still raining heavily."

In the neighbouring Middle Shabelle region, health workers said people were falling ill because of the floodwaters.

"I have treated nearly 30 people, mostly women and children suffering from diarrhoea," said Abdi Abdulle Hirsi, a doctor in the town of Marka. "There must be many more sick victims out there since most of the areas are unreachable."

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had started airlifting tarpaulins to assist some 324,000 Somalis.

U.N. aid bodies say up to 1.8 million people have been affected by torrential rains that have pounded the Horn of Africa, forcing tens of thousands from their homes.

In Kenya, where the coastal and northeastern provinces are the worst hit, six people drowned, local media said on Wednesday. One television station said three buildings in Mombasa had collapsed after heavy rains there.

Thousands of people living in a refugee camp near the Somali border are being evacuated after storms swept across the area.

The heavy rains in the region are forecast to continue into at least December.

Dead birds raise avian flu fears in Somalia

JOWHAR, Somalia, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Dozens of dead birds in a flood ravaged village in Somalia have raised fears of an avian flu outbreak in a country with limited health facilities, officials said on Wednesday.

The carcasses of the dead birds, which were thought to be ducks, were found in Elbaraf, 55 km (34 miles) north of the town of Jowhar, local veterinarian Ali Hamud told Reuters.

"We burnt 51 carcasses," Hamud said.

Scientists have suggested that migratory birds play an important role in the spread of the deadly H5N1 flu virus, which originated in Asia and has killed more than 150 people worldwide so far.

Hamud said most of the birds found had tags around their feet and necks indicating they had been come via the "Orient Institute" in Zagreb, Croatia.

Somalia is already battling floods that have submerged villages and farmland and washed away bridges and food stocks.

"We don't have the capacity to test the birds here for bird flu or other diseases. Floods are already ravaging villages here and the last thing we want is an epidemic," Hamud said.

Resident Nur Jimale said the birds were spotted 10 days ago in flocks of hundreds.

"We fear the unusual birds have brought diseases with them. I just saw their carcasses lying everywhere yesterday. I have never seen such birds in Somalia," he said.

Already one of the poorest countries in Africa, Somalia has lost tens of thousands of people to conflict and famine since 1991.

usa East Coast Woes Continue

While most of the country will have smooth sailing weather-wise on this travel day, parts of the eastern U.S. will have problems. A storm system off the Southeast coast will bring heavy rain to parts of the Eastern Seaboard today. The Carolinas and Virginia will bear the brunt of the rough weather. Some areas could see 2-3" of rain today and localized flooding is possible. Look for rain to move into the Washington-Baltimore area shortly after lunch time. Showers will be approaching Philadelphia towards day's end. Strong winds are also expected, especially along the coast, where gusts to 50 mph are likely. These winds will lead to high surf, strong rip current, coastal flooding, and beach erosion. Gusty winds will also extend to interior sections of the Carolinas and Virginia, with gusts approaching 40 mph. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving is not looking to be a nice weather day for some cities in the Northeast. Rain and breezy conditions will impact the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Rain is also on tap for Hartford, Providence, and Boston.

Snow falls in central Florida as state endures unusual November cold snap

ORLANDO (AP) — Snowbirds come to the Sunshine State to escape them, but weather officials said a few snowflakes were spotted in Central Florida.

The flakes, mixed with rain, fell about 9 p.m. Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. Snow shovels were not needed, but some of the white stuff did hit the ground before melting, weather-service meteorologist John Pendergrast said.

"It's just cold enough in the lower levels of the atmosphere" to keep the flakes from melting, Pendergrast said.

The last time the region saw snow was in 2003, when flakes fell over Brevard and Volusia counties.

It was Florida's first November snowfall since 1912 when Tallahassee received flurries on Nov. 27-28, WKMG-TV in Orlando reported.

Temperatures in the area Tuesday night dipped to the low 40s, and were expected to fall to the 30s, Pendergrast said.

Wind chills may drop into the 20s in parts of north Florida and high temperatures may only reach the 60s as far south as the Keys on Wednesday, state meteorologist Ben Nelson said.

Miami wasn't expected to even hit 70°F on Wednesday, and low temperatures were expected to dive into the mid-40s.

A developing storm out at sea off of Florida's east coast is driving cold air southward into the state, which resulted in freeze watches for several locations in the Panhandle earlier this week. Residents were being reminded to protect themselves, their plants, their pets and their pipes.

The cold weather is expected to last through Thanksgiving, but by the end of the week warmer temperatures were forecast to return. By Sunday, the high in Miami is expected to be 81°F.

Afghan flood death toll climbs to 120

KABUL, Afghanistan - Heavy rain again battered remote villages in western Afghanistan already devastated by flooding, as the death toll rose to 120, officials said Monday.

Aid workers delivered several tons of food and aid to people in Badghis province, said Habibullah Murghabi, the head of a government-appointed disaster committee. The delivery had taken more than two days of travel by donkey and horse to reach flood-affected villages in the mountainous region.

Murghabi said the death toll in Balamurghab and Ghormach districts had risen to 62, while 92 people were reported missing.

"The roads are still bad, and last night there was heavy rain again. It's still raining now," Murghabi said by telephone from Badghis.

Heavy rain Thursday triggered flash floods that inundated several villages in Badghis. Some 50,000 families live in the inundated area.

Other affected areas in the west include Farah province, where at least 18 people have died in recent days, said provincial police chief Gen. Sayed Aga Saqib. One village of eight houses had been washed away, he said.

Floods also hit the southern province of Uruzgan over the weekend, killing 40 people and destroying hundreds of homes in four districts, said Qayum Qayumi, the governor's spokesman.

45 dead, thousands homeless from heavy Sri Lanka seasonal rains

COLOMBO (AFP) - At least 45 people have died from floods and mudslides caused by heavy seasonal rains in Sri Lanka that left 91,000 families temporarily homeless, the National Disaster Management Centre said.

The number of people drowned in the past three weeks was at 30 while 15 were buried alive in mudslides, N.D. Hettiarachchi, director of the centre said.

"Most of the families have gone back to their homes, but heavy rains in the past two days affected another 8,300 families who had to abandon their homes and move to high ground," Hettiarachchi told AFP on Monday.

He said the government spent half a million dollars to provide immediate relief to the affected people while about 2.7 million dollars would be needed to rebuild the flood-damaged homes in the central and northwest regions of the island.

The latest flooding is the worst natural disaster since the December 2004 tsunami that killed an estimated 31,000 people and displaced a million people along much of the island's coastlines.

Sri Lanka depends on monsoon rains for farming as well as for power generation. However, the seasonal rains also cause property damage and loss of life in low-lying areas.

The two main monsoon seasons in Sri Lanka are from May to September and December to February and rains also lash different parts of the island between October and November and again between March and April.

Global warming said killing some species

WASHINGTON — Animal and plant species have begun dying off or changing sooner than predicted because of global warming, a review of hundreds of research studies contends.
These fast-moving adaptations come as a surprise even to biologists and ecologists because they are occurring so rapidly.

At least 70 species of frogs, mostly mountain-dwellers that had nowhere to go to escape the creeping heat, have gone extinct because of climate change, the analysis says. It also reports that between 100 and 200 other cold-dependent animal species, such as penguins and polar bears are in deep trouble.

"We are finally seeing species going extinct," said University of Texas biologist Camille Parmesan, author of the study. "Now we've got the evidence. It's here. It's real. This is not just biologists' intuition. It's what's happening."

Her review of 866 scientific studies is summed up in the journal Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics.

Parmesan reports seeing trends of animal populations moving northward if they can, of species adapting slightly because of climate change, of plants blooming earlier, and of an increase in pests and parasites.

Parmesan and others have been predicting such changes for years, but even she was surprised to find evidence that it's already happening; she figured it would be another decade away.

Just five years ago biologists, though not complacent, figured the harmful biological effects of global warming were much farther down the road, said Douglas Futuyma, professor of ecology and evolution at the State University of New York in Stony Brook.

"I feel as though we are staring crisis in the face," Futuyma said. "It's not just down the road somewhere. It is just hurtling toward us. Anyone who is 10 years old right now is going to be facing a very different and frightening world by the time that they are 50 or 60."

While over the past several years studies have shown problems with certain species, animal populations or geographic areas, Parmesan's is the first comprehensive analysis showing the big picture of global-warming induced changes, said Chris Thomas, a professor of conservation biology at the University of York in England.

While it's impossible to prove conclusively that the changes are the result of global warming, the evidence is so strong and other supportable explanations are lacking, Thomas said, so it is "statistically virtually impossible that these are just chance observations."

The most noticeable changes in plants and animals have to do with earlier springs, Parmesan said. The best example can be seen in earlier cherry blossoms and grape harvests and in 65 British bird species that in general are laying their first eggs nearly nine days earlier than 35 years ago.

Parmesan said she worries most about the cold-adapted species, such as emperor penguins that have dropped from 300 breeding pairs to just nine in the western Antarctic Peninsula, or polar bears, which are dropping in numbers and weight in the Arctic.

The cold-dependent species on mountaintops have nowhere to go, which is why two-thirds of a certain grouping of frog species have already gone extinct, Parmesan said.

Populations of animals that adapt better to warmth or can move and live farther north are adapting better than other populations in the same species, Parmesan said.

"We are seeing a lot of evolution now," Parmesan said. However, no new gene mutations have shown themselves, not surprising because that could take millions of years, she said.

IRAQ: Thousands forced out by floods

BAGHDAD, 21 November (IRIN) - Heavy rains, thunderstorms and enormous mudslides in Iraq's northern autonomous region of Kurdistan have submerged vast areas and made nearly 3,000 families homeless, the Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS) said on Tuesday.

Those affected blame the government for not heeding their repeated calls for better housing.

"We warned both the central and regional governments many times that we are vulnerable in these houses and demanded for their urgent help," said Haji Kemeran Ali, a 66-year-old farmer who is now living in a small tent with his eight-member family in Sulaimaniyah.

Mazin Abdullah Salom, an IRCS spokesman in Baghdad, told IRIN that nearly 3,000 families, about 18,000 individuals, had been forced to flee their demolished homes because of flash floods which began on 25 October and went on until early November.

Salom added that these people were now living in camps and that IRCS volunteers had distributed aid to them, including food, tents, blankets, jerry-cans, heaters, mattresses, clothes, carpets, detergents and shoes.

The International Committee of the Red Crescent (ICRC) in Iraq said that at least 20 people were killed and dozens injured in the floods while infrastructure was severely damaged.

"Bridges, houses, and schools were flattened; hydropower stations were destroyed; livestock was decimated; thousands of fruit trees were washed away and agricultural land was made unusable," the ICRC said in a statement.

"It is a desperate situation for those who lost all their basic means of a livelihood. Much more assistance will be required in order to come back to normal life," said Hans Peter Giess, the ICRC relief coordinator who visited some of the most affected areas and met with villagers.

The affected families were poor farmers and were living on mountain cliffs in poorly constructed houses, mainly made of mud or wood, he said. With low and limited income, housing has become a serious problem for many local residents in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region.

"They [central and regional governments] have turned deaf ears to our calls. They have to do something for us. They have to stop putting money into just their pockets and they have to stop forgetting poor people," said farmer Ali, who lost his one-storey house and all his cattle.

HIV infections on rise in all regions- U.N. report

GENEVA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - HIV infections are on the rise in all regions and in China the deadly virus is gradually spreading from high-risk groups to the general population, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

Nearly 40 million adults and children are infected worldwide and the most striking increases in new cases have been in east Asia and in eastern Europe/central Asia, mainly due to drug use and unsafe sex, UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation said.

Sub-Saharan Africa still bears the brunt of the AIDS scourge, with 24.7 million or nearly two-thirds of people living with HIV globally, according to the report.

"In the past two years, the number of people living with HIV increased in every region in the world," said the report which largely drew comparisons with adjusted figures for 2004 rather than 2005, due to changes in methodology and data.

China's drug-fuelled HIV epidemic, which accounts for about half of the country's estimated 650,000 infections, has reached "alarming proportions", the agencies said in a joint annual report "2006 AIDS Epidemic Update".

"With HIV spreading gradually from most-at-risk populations to the general population, the number of HIV infections in women is growing too," the report said of China.

Of the 2.9 million global deaths from AIDS last year, 2.1 million occurred in Africa, heart of the 25-year-old epidemic.

Some 4.3 million people across the globe became infected with HIV this year, with a heavy concentration among young people, bringing the total number of people with the killer disease to an estimated 39.5 million. Africa recorded 2.8 million new infections this year.

DIVERGENT AFRICAN TRENDS

Some countries including Uganda are seeing a resurgence of infection rates after having successfully reduced them, according to the report.

"This is worrying -- as we know, increased HIV prevention programmes in these countries have shown progress in the past -- Uganda being a prime example," said UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot. "We need to greatly intensify life-saving prevention efforts while we expand HIV treatment programmes".

The report cited "evidence of diminishing or stable HIV spreadin most east African and west African countries", while epidemics continue to grow in Mozambique, South Africa and Swaziland.

"One third of all people with HIV globally live in southern Africa and 34 percent of all deaths due to AIDS in 2006 occurred there," it noted.

In South Africa, where an estimated 5.5 million people have HIV, the epidemic continues unabated, suggesting the disease's prevalence has not yet reached a plateau, it said.

But even stability of epidemics in some countries masks high rates of new HIV infections and AIDS deaths in places including Lesotho -- where one in four adults have the disease.

Life expectancy for women in Zimbabwe is now among the lowest in the world at 34 years, while for men it is 37 years.

HIGH-RISK BEHAVIOUR

In Asia, an estimated 8.6 million people are living with HIV, an increase of nearly one million, and 630,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses in the vast region this year.

India, where the epidemic appears to be stable or diminishing in some parts while growing modestly in others, has 5.7 million infected people, mainly through heterosexual sex.

In China, where the epidemic began in rural areas, the report noted concerns that its large number of migrants (an estimated 120-150 million) could spread the virus even further.

"HIV outbreaks among men who have sex with men are now becoming evident in Cambodia, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam," the report said.

Yet very few had national AIDS programmes which adequately address the role of sex between men in spreading epidemics.

Younger HIV epidemics in eastern Europe and central Asia continue to grow, especially in Ukraine which has the highest HIV adult prevalence in all of Europe, estimated at 1.5 percent.

In Russia, where 80 percent of an estimated 940,000 people with HIV are under 30, drug use is the main mode of spread.

In Latin America, two-thirds of the estimated 1.7 million people living with HIV reside in the four largest countries: Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Argentina. In the United States, an estimated 1.2 million were living with the virus in 2005.

Northeast faces cold winter, but stocks buffer

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Top forecasters predict normal to colder-than-normal weather for the U.S. Northeast this winter, but high fuel stockpiles may buffer consumers in the world's biggest heating oil region from price spikes.

A Reuters poll showed temperatures for the United States are expected to average above normal for the December to February period, but the densely populated cities in the East will be below normal.

The Northeast is home to about 80 percent of U.S. heating oil consumption. Businesses and households in the Midwest tend to favor natural gas as a heating fuel.

While the El Nino weather phenomenon has experts mixed on when the colder weather may hit, a repeat of last year's record heating bills is unlikely as stockpiles of distillate fuels are about 6 percent above year-ago levels.

"The bottom line is it comes down to very comfortable stocks," said Mike Wittner, head of energy research for Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank. "It is still hard for me to at this point in time see real tightness and a real surge in the heating oil cracks to take place."

Heating oil prices surged last year as the U.S. energy sector struggled to restore operations following from damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Meanwhile, the warmer weather in the rest of the country could spell soft demand for natural gas.

"Natural gas inventories are finishing the injection season at very high levels, and the generally warmer December outlook should be moderately bearish for natural gas prices," said WSI Corp. in a report this week.

Gas prices spiked to a record last December, but have fallen off sharply as mild weather boosted inventories.

Forecasters said they are watching the activity of the El Nino phenomenon -- an abnormal warming in the tropical Pacific Ocean that tends to affect weather across North America -- for further direction.

"We've discovered that in situations when the El Nino continued to strengthen throughout the winter periods of December to January, those tend to be warmer winters," said Matt Rogers, manager of energy weather for Earthsat.

"In cases when it weakened in December, you had a colder January to February," he added.

Forecasters are mixed over when colder weather will arrive in the Northeast, with some predicting cool temperatures early in the season and others toward the tail end of winter.

Analysts say a cold December and an early draw on stocks would have a greater influence on heating oil prices.

"Early cold counts more than late cold," said Wittner.

Indonesia's Aceh needs three more years to rebuild

SINGAPORE (AFP) - Indonesia's Aceh needs three more years to rebuild itself after the December 2004 tsunami, the head of the province's reconstruction agency said.

Kuntoro Mangkusubroto told AFP in an interview that there has been "very good" progress but much more needs to be done.

"There is still a lot more that hasn't yet been built. Because of this, reconstruction will go on for another three years," Mangkusubroto said on the sidelines of a regional Red Cross conference.

The tsunami destroyed more than 800 kilometres (500 miles) of Aceh's coastline, left more than 168,000 people dead or missing, destroyed livelihoods and flattened infrastructure and houses.

According to schedule, 48,000 homes out of the needed 128,000 have already been built, said Mangkusubroto, director of the Aceh Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR).

"What we planned, we've been able to carry out," he said, also citing progress in rebuilding the province's ports.

In April a 7.0 million Singapore dollar (4.5 million US) pier, funded by the Singapore Red Cross, opened in the west coast town of Meulaboh.

"But what's even better is that people's livelihoods are going very well," he said. "Eighty percent of the paddy fields have started production."

In September about 1,000 tsunami survivors laid siege to the BRR headquarters, complaining of the slow disbursement of aid.

"They are acting like they are a king and we are the subjects. There is no realization of the projects in the field," tsunami survivor Zulkarnai, who is living in barracks near the provincial capital, said at the time.

Mangkusubroto said most of the demonstrators were landless and had rented their homes before the disaster.

"It's true this is a group of people who have nothing," he said, explaining that their needs would be addressed next year.

He said they were among about 50,000 individuals still living in temporary barracks housing.

The British-based aid agency Oxfam on Friday called for the urgent rehousing of about 70,000 tsunami survivors still living in temporary shelter.

Oxfam director Barbara Stocking said that although reconstruction efforts had picked up speed, it was vital that relocation took place soon, as poor sanitation and the approach of the rainy season heightened the threat of disease.

"It's true there is a great deal that needs to be finished. Everybody wants it finished today," said Mangkusubroto. "But a lot has been damaged so we still need three years... 128,000 houses cannot be built in one or two years."

Mangkusubroto said the rains should not worsen the condition of those living in temporary housing because none are in tents any more.

"But for us, the rainy season means there will be a lot of logistical problems... It's tough because the roads become damaged and things like that."

Construction of a vital west coast road linking the provincial capital Banda Aceh with Meulaboh has barely begun nearly two years after the US Agency for International Development (USAID) took on the task.

It is the largest reconstruction project planned but has been delayed by wrangling over its route and land purchases.

Mangkusubroto told AFP the biggest obstacle he faces is delivering building materials to where they are needed.

He said his agency has vowed to eradicate corruption in the projects it handles but that has proven difficult in a country named as among the world's most graft-prone by watchdog Transparency International.

With about 4,000 individual reconstruction projects, the agency has to expect a problem with "one or two" of them, he said.

Welcome to Sunday

"Inaction over climate change might have apocalyptic economic costs"


A displaced family is seen seeking refuge on a dry spot in Dadaab, Kenya, November 12. The United Nations and aid groups have launched a massive humanitarian operation in Kenya to assist more than 150,000 people hit by killer floods caused by unusually heavy seasonal rains.(AFP/File/Frederic Courbet)

Huge aid operation underway as floods, crocs ravage Kenya, Somalia

NAIROBI (AFP) - The United Nations and aid groups have launched a massive humanitarian operation in Kenya to assist more than 150,000 people hit by killer floods caused by unusually heavy seasonal rains.

Neighboring Somalia, which is on the brink of war, the country's weak government under threat from a powerful Islamist movement, appealed for emergency international aid to help 1.5 million people affected by flooding.

Residents of flood-hit areas of Somalia reported that nine people had been devoured by crocodiles unleashed by raging waters, bringing the death toll from three weeks of flooding to at least 52.

In Kenya, authorities said the death toll had risen to at least 28 with the drowning of five more people in the east, badly hit along with the country's northern and coastal areas.

The five -- two adults and three students -- drowned in Mwingi district after their vehicle was swept away when a river burst its banks, local police chief Stanley Mwita said.

At least 20 people were reported missing in the nearby town of Garissa, about 300 kilometres (185 miles) east of the capital, which was submerged by the floods and was still underwater, officials said.

At least 150,000 people, including nearly 80,000 desperate refugees from Somalia in camps in northeast Kenya, have been forced from their homes by the floods, according to the United Nations and local disaster relief groups.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) began on Sunday airlifting emergency supplies to the affected Somalis at the Dadaab refugee camp complex, about 470 kilometers (290 miles) northeast of Nairobi.

Three flights were delivering an initial batch of 25,000 tarpaulins, health kits and 7.2 tonnes of fuel to Dadaab, which has been almost entirely cut off by the floods.

"If the rains continue, we are then facing a humanitarian crisis," UNHCR spokesman Emmanuel Nyabera told AFP, adding that the agency was negotiating with the Kenyan government to move the refugees to higher ground.

At least 100 tonnes of emergency food supplies have been bogged down in Kenya as roads become impassable, according to UN agencies.

Meanwhile, the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) started distributing supplies to some 8,000 newly displaced people, forced from their homes when the River Tana broke its banks and swept through villages and farmlands on the coast.

"With help from the government, we are hurrying to deliver emergency assistance to 8,000 people who were displaced along the River Tana," KRCS head of disaster response Abdi Ahmed told AFP.

The agency appealed on Friday for 7.9 million dollars (6.1 million euros) to assist 300,000 people expected to be affected by the floods in the next three months.

The same day, the UN warned that a dam on the Tana was on the brink of bursting, raising the possibility of controlled releases of water that could hit thousands more who live along its banks.

It also warned that the situation in Kenya and Somalia as well as Ethiopia -- all of which were hit by a scorching drought earlier this year -- is expected to worsen in the coming weeks with some 1.5 to 1.8 million affected.

The onset of rains has compounded problems across the Horn of Africa already brought by the drought as parched soil in the worst-affected areas is unable to absorb the water, officials say.

And, the few crops that survived the drought are being destroyed by flooding, according to the UN World Food Programme.

The floods began in late October, have destroyed major stretches of road, cut off villages and refugee camps, disrupted food supplies, and raised the threat of waterborne disease in the three countries.

The United Nations says the flooding could be the worst in 50 years to hit Somalia, which has had no functioning central authority or coordinated disaster response mechanisms since it was plunged into anarchy in 1991.

Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi, whose administration is also girding for war with a powerful Islamist movement, appealed Sunday for urgent aid to avert a humanitarian catastrophe, spokesman Abdurahman Mohamed Nur Dinari said.

"Without that help, we are facing a disaster where many people will die, not only of floods, but also of disease and food shortages," he told AFP in Baidoa, the government's temporary seat about 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of Mogadishu.

Flooding, mudslides in two N.Y. counties
Schools closed, crews responded to thousands of calls

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - Two upstate New York counties remained under a state of emergency Friday as officials began cleaning up from a heavy rain that produced flash floods and highway mudslides.

Dozens of schools in Broome, Chenango and Delaware counties were closed Friday, many because of impassable local roads. Much of the flooding involved creeks and sewers overflowing.

Sections of Interstate 88 east of Binghamton remained closed after mudslides caused a 20-vehicle crash about 6 p.m. Thursday, leaving several people hurt and one seriously injured, said Broome County spokeswoman Darcy Fauci.

A state of emergency continued Friday in Broome and Delaware counties, although Broome County officials had lifted a general travel restriction. A travel advisory remained in effect in Chenango County.

At the height of the storm, the emergency dispatch office answered 3,000 calls including 750 911 calls, officials said. About 350 homes at least temporarily lost electricity.

Multiple cars were abandoned Thursday night in rapidly rising waters. Emergency personnel had to rescue more than 200 residents from their homes or car roofs.

One man was rescued from flood waters after his car was swept away in the town of Fenton, Fauci said. The man, who officials did not identify, clung to a tree until rescuers arrived.

Some drivers trying to leave downtown Binghamton were stuck in traffic for nearly two hours because of flooded intersections.

Most areas around Binghamton received about 3 1/2 to 4 inches of rain, weather service officials said.

"But it doesn't take much when the ground is already saturated," said Dan Padazona, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

So far this year, the area has received 47 inches of rain.

The current record was set in 1972 when the area got 48.04 inches of rain, said Jim Brewster, meteorologist with the weather service. Records dated back only to 1951.

No more significant rainfall was expected Friday night, Padazona said. The Susquehanna River was expected to crest Friday just above flood stage but not cause any significant problems like it did in early summer.

Broome County was pounded in late June with heavy rains and flooding. During a nearly relentless four-day deluge, the Binghamton area received 7.14 inches of rain, including a record 4 inches in one 24-hour period. During that storm, a culvert failed beneath I-88, ripping the interstate in two and killing two truckers who drove into the chasm.

Elsewhere in the state, Herkimer County also experienced some minor flooding as more than two inches of rain fell and some creeks overflowed, said Hugh Johnson, a meteorologist with the weather service in Albany.

The storm, produced by the same system that caused deadly tornadoes in North Carolina Thursday, grew less potent as it made its way across the state.

The weather service in Binghamton received reports of trees or power lines down in Onondaga, Madison and Oneida Counties. Additional flooding was reported in areas of Chenango, Delaware and Otsego Counties. Most areas had 2 to 2 1/2 inches of rainfall.

Herkimer and Montgomery counties also experienced some high winds, with trees and power lines downed, weather service officials said.

North Carolina officials: $500K in tornado damage

RIEGELWOOD, N.C. - A tornado that killed eight people in southeastern North Carolina caused at least $500,000 worth of damage, officials said.

Kip Godwin, chairman of the Columbus County Board of Commissioners, said Saturday that damage assessment teams determined that 13 homes in the Riegelwood area were destroyed. One home had major damage and a couple dozen more had minor damage, he said.

The damage estimate could increase after officials analyze tax values, Godwin said.

The tornado hit a mobile home park in Riegelwood early Thursday. Cleanup efforts continued Saturday as victims tried to uncover some of their belongings.

Also Saturday, a disaster assistance center opened to help storm victims apply for state disaster grants and loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Four children were listed in critical condition at hospitals Friday, and Godwin said Saturday there were no updates on their conditions.

The tornado was part of a devastating line of thunderstorms that killed 12 as they swept across the South. Riegelwood is a small town on the Cape Fear River about 20 miles west of coastal Wilmington.

California to restrict ocean fishing

MONTEREY, Calif. - Flying over California's rugged Central Coast, Mike Sutton pointed to kelp forests and rocky reefs just below the water's surface that will soon be off-limits to fishing under one of the nation's most ambitious plans to protect marine life.

"We're trying to make sure our oceans are protected as our land," said Sutton, a marine expert at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Despite intense opposition from many fishermen, California wildlife regulators are creating the nation's most extensive network of "marine protected areas" — stretches of ocean where fishing will be banned or severely restricted.

The first chain of refuges, covering some 200 square miles and stretching from Santa Barbara to Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco, is due to take effect early next year. The state plans similar protected zones along the more intensely fished coasts of northern and southern California.

Conservationists say such networks are a new approach to saving the oceans from overfishing. They believe California's plan could serve as a model for other states and countries.

"It's the beginning of a historic shift in how we restore, protect and manage our oceans," said Warner Chabot, vice president of the Ocean Conservancy. "We're doing something that's as historic for the oceans as what Teddy Roosevelt did 100 years ago when he created national parks and forests."

However, the planned restricted areas overlap with some of California's most productive fishing grounds, and commercial and recreational fishermen question whether they're even necessary given the existing array of state and federal regulations.

"We're duplicating conservation efforts unnecessarily," said Vern Goehring, manager of the California Fisheries Coalition. "There are significant actions already under way to prevent overfishing in California."

Fishermen say the no-fishing zones will put more pressure on areas outside the reserves and could lead to increased seafood imports from countries with fewer marine protections.

At Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf, longtime trollers and crabbers say the new restrictions will cripple their industry, hurt fishing communities and leave Californians with less fresh, local seafood.

"We're being regulated out of business," said Mike Rivets, a 70-year-old fisherman for salmon, crab and tuna.

But scientists say more must be done to protect marine life.

A report in this month's issue of the journal Science warns that nearly a third of the world's seafood species have collapsed — meaning their catch has declined by 90 percent or more — and all populations of fished species could collapse by 2048 if current fishing and pollution trends continue.

"We've mismanaged the oceans from abundance into scarcity," said Karen Garrison, an ocean expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "We can't protect our oceans without setting aside safe havens where fish can grow big and the whole food web can thrive."

The protected areas will include marine reserves where all fishing will be banned, as well as marine parks and conservation areas that will allow some forms of sport fishing.

All the restricted zones are designed to harbor rockfish, abalone, shellfish and other species that stay in one area, rather than migratory fish such as salmon and tuna. Sea otters and other marine mammals are expected to benefit from the increased food supply.

Governments worldwide have been creating marine sanctuaries with various levels of restrictions for the past 40 years.

In June, President Bush created the world's biggest protected marine area in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, covering 140,000 square miles of largely uninhabited islands, atolls and coral reefs where commercial fishing will be phased out over the next five years.

Australia created a network of reserves on the Great Barrier Reef last year. South Africa and New Zealand are working on plans to protect coastal fisheries.

The Fish and Game Commission voted for the Central Coast preserves in August after two years of negotiations between fishermen, conservationists and coastal residents. Conservation groups had sought even greater restrictions, but were generally pleased with the outcome.

Many fishermen, however, are embittered.

"They felt betrayed by the process. They felt that all their input was ignored," said Bob Fletcher, who heads the Sportfishing Association of California.

In the Central Coast port of Morro Bay, Darby Neil is worried about the fate of Virg's Landing, the charter boat operator his grandfather started more than 40 years ago.

"They've already squeezed us down to nothing," Neil said. "It's already so severe that we really can't take anymore."

Small blaze burns in remote SoCal wilderness

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A small blaze burning in a remote area of the Angeles National Forest on Sunday had charred about 100 acres, a fire official said.
The Nowhere Fire was reported Saturday afternoon near the Bridge to Nowhere in a remote area only accessible by foot, said Dee Dechert, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman.

No evacuations were ordered and there are no homes in the area of the fire, which was burning on private and public lands within Los Angeles County near the San Bernardino County line.

A handful of firefighters spent the night in the Sheep Mountain Wilderness to monitor the fire and about 200 were airlifted in on Sunday, Dechert said.

The inaccessible terrain, marked by heavy brush, chaparral and scattered timber, is a difficult two-and-a-half hour hike into the forest, she said. Because the terrain is so steep and rocky, it would have been too dangerous for more firefighters to have stayed overnight.

On Saturday, deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department San Dimas station escorted about a half-dozen hikers from the area. Another man and his dog were located early Sunday after they didn't return as planned Saturday night, said Deputy Dave Smail.

"We just evacuated everybody so they don't trapped by the flames," he said.

Dechert said winds expected later Sunday were a concern. The weather around Los Angeles was exceptionally warm for November, with highs in the 90s in some areas.

"We're hoping to get enough firefighters on the scene before the winds do pick up," Dechert said. "There is a decent chance of it spreading."