Southern soaker heads northward Monday/Solomon Islands Flooding: At Least 16 Dead, Thousands of Homes Destroyed

http://www.weather.com/newscenter/nationalforecast/

- The bulk of the rain shifts east of the Mississippi River Monday, but some showers will hang back into Oklahoma and northern Texas. Rainfall across eastern Tennessee, Alabama, northern Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas could be in the 1-to-3-inch range with a few spots possibly nearing 5 inches.

- Severe thunderstorms, capable of producing damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes, will develop from the Carolinas to northern Florida on Monday. A few severe thunderstorms could also pop in Tennessee.

- Highs will mainly peak in the 60s and 70s with 80s across the southern tip of Texas and 80s to low 90s across the Florida Peninsula.

- The rain and thunderstorms slowly shift off the Carolina and Georgia coasts Tuesday and shift southward through the Florida Peninsula.

- Scattered showers, though, could linger behind the storm Tuesday into Wednesday from the lower Mississippi Valley into the Southeast.

- Thursday and Friday will be beautiful days with highs mainly in the 70s and lower 80s, except reaching into the middle 80s to low 90s in the southern Plains.

Midwest | View Regional Video

- As low pressure quickly moves from the lower Ohio Valley to Lake Erie Monday, a soaking rain of a half inch to over 1 inch will target southern Missouri, central and southern Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and southern Lower Michigan. Parts of Kentucky may even pick up 2 inches.

- A few severe thunderstorms may pop in the Ohio Valley, capable of producing hail, damaging wind gusts and an isolated tornado.

- Showers will linger to the west of the storm Monday across the Plains and Upper Midwest.

- Highs will range from the 40s and 50s north to the 50s and 60s south.

- Scattered showers could linger behind the storm in the mid-Mississippi and Ohio Valleys Tuesday into early Wednesday.

- Warmer air will overspread the region in the upcoming week, starting will the Plains Tuesday.

- A cold front then drops southward across the region Wednesday and Thursday with limited showers.

Northeast | View Regional Video

- Rain overspreads the Mid-Atlantic States and New York Monday and New England Monday night. Rainfall of a half to 2 inches is possible.

- Highs will be mainly in the 50s with some 40s in the mountains and across northern Maine and 60s around Tidewater Virginia.

- The rain will taper off and end from southwest to northeast across the region Tuesday.

- By midweek, the region could be mostly dry, except for a few snow showers in the mountains near the Canadian border and a few showers in the Virginias.

- As warmer southwest winds take over Thursday, much of the region will see highs in the 60s with some 70s in the Virginias but only 40s and 50s in Maine.

- A showery cold front arrives Friday.          

http://www.weather.com/news/solomon-islands-flooding-20140405

At least 16 people are dead in the Solomon Islands after torrential rain from a slow moving tropical cyclone caused rivers to burst their banks and send a torrent of water rushing downstream into low-lying, highly populated areas.
Water from the Matanikau river destroyed bridges, homes and other infrastructure as it inundated the downtown area of the Solomon Islands' capital of Honiara, Al Jazeera reports. Homes and bodies could be seen floating amongst the debris carried away by the floods.
At least 40 people were reportedly still missing, but officials had little hope that they would be found.
"The last report we had was there are 16 in the mortuary and at least 40 still missing, most of them children and it's very unlikely they'll be found alive," Save the Children's emergency manager Graham Kenna told Al Jazeera.
Red Cross secretary general in the Soloman Islands Joanne Zoleveke told Al Jazeera that the river burst its banks rather unexpectedly, despite days of heavy rain, catching people off guard in the city of some 70,000 people.
"We were watching the river but never expected it to rise so fast. It took us by surprise. That is why there are deaths," Zoleveke told Al Jazeera.
Tragic tales of individuals being swept away by the powerful currents were all too common.
"My staff has witnessed a child being swept away by the floodwaters," World Vision's Emergency Response Manager Lawrence Hillary told Al Jazeera. "They are devastated by what they have witnessed."

However, flooding wasn't just limited to the city of Honiara. Surrounding areas in the country's main island of Guadalcanal also experienced record flooding.
"We were starting to receive phone calls also from outside of Honiara as far as the northern part right in the middle of the Guadalcanal Plains of people having to resort to climbing over roofs... to seek shelter from the flooding rivers around them," Yates told Australia Network News.
In one such case, the Solomon Star reports that the body of a student who fell into a river on Thursday was recovered all the way out at sea on Saturday.
Solomon Islands' government spokesman George Herming told the Associated Press that up to 15,000 people are homeless after their homes were flooded or destroyed. Thousands flocked to 16 evacuation centers on higher ground, the New Zealand Herald reports.
Worse yet, with so many people coalescing in evacuation centers, emergency workers fear the lack of sanitation services and fresh water could lead to an outbreak of disease in camps.
Officials in New Zealand and Australia have already pledged funds to aid those in the Solomon Islands, but with so many still missing, the recovery effort is only just beginning.