Flood | featured news

President Barack Obama traveled to flood-stricken New Jersey Sunday to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Irene.

President Obama on Wednesday declared a major disaster area in New York state because of Hurricane Irene, while residents of neighboring New Jersey faced fresh flooding as rivers were pushed to their limits by runoff from northern regions.

Almost a dozen New England towns were rendered virtual islands Monday as floodwaters from the remnants of Hurricane Irene reshaped parts of Vermont and upstate New York, turning placid rivers into raging torrents and some streets into treacherous mud bogs.

New York became the latest state to declare a state of emergency in a scramble to get ahead of Hurricane Irene as the storm prepares to make a potentially deadly drive up the East Coast. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's declaration Thursday follows those of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley. North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue - whose state is projected to take the first hit Saturday when Hurricane Irene makes landfall in the U.S. - limited her declaration to counties east of Interstate 95.

Virginia officials warned residents on Thursday to prepare for massive power outages, flooding and damage from Hurricane Irene comparable to that of Hurricane Isabel, which knocked out power to about 2 million people as it tore through the state in 2003.

A temporary earthen levee is the only barrier standing between Hamburg, Iowa, and the floodwaters of the Missouri River.

Crews are trying to beat floodwaters expected in an Iowa town on Tuesday by building up a secondary barrier to protect it from a massive hole in its main Missouri River levee.

More flooding across central China has killed 41 people, state media reported Friday, bringing the total killed in seasonal flooding this year to at least 95.

Monster tornadoes, historic floods, massive wildfires and widespread drought may all be related to La Nia weather pattern.

The swollen Missouri River is threatening to inundate a small southwest Iowa town where officials are piling massive sandbags on a faltering levee to contain floodwaters that could leave the community under several feet of water....