Tornado News

Severe, unforecasted winds caused a containership to breakaway from a pier and damaged equipment at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal in New Orleans on Aug. 2, 2020, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.As longshoremen loaded and unloaded cargo from containership CMA CGM Bianca a sudden, localized thunderstorm passed through the area. Ten of the vessel’s 16 mooring lines parted in the high winds, and the ship moved away from the pier. Containers lifted by shoreside gantry cranes struck the ship. One damaged container dropped in the water spilling a cargo of plastic pellets, known as nurdles. A crane operator suffered a minor injury.

The United States is considering ways to discourage U.S. travelers from taking cruises as part of a broader Trump administration effort to limit the spread of coronavirus, according to four officials familiar with the situation.The officials, who asked to remain anonymous, said no decision had been made. The discussions were taking place ahead of a meeting this weekend between Vice President Mike Pence, who is in charge of leading the U.S. response to the coronavirus, and the cruise industry.The administration could advise some or all U.S.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy brought tornadoes and flooding to the U.S. Gulf Coast on Thursday and its heavy rains will drench much of the eastern United States in coming days, forecasters said. Flooding and road closures stretched from east Texas into northwestern Florida after Cindy made landfall early on Thursday near the Louisiana-Texas border and weakened to a tropical depression, the National Weather Service said. Cindy is expected to dump 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 cm) of rain as it heads north and east into the Ohio Valley and the Appalachian Mountains through Saturday, said Brian Hurley, a weather service meteorologist. Totals could reach 9 inches (22.5 cm) in some areas. "We're looking at quite a bit of rain. That's going to be the main threat," he said.

The U.S. Navy has a balanced fleet, but it wants to grow bigger and better. Will the budget allow both? Maritime Reporter's March 2017 cover story on the U.S. Navy was all about the numbers. There exists several plans to grow the fleet beyond the current number of 308 ships, the Mitre recommendation of 414 ships, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment 340-ship proposal, and the Navy’s decision to grow the fleet to 355 ships, and the Trump administration’s 350. With so many numbers being bandied about, there are even more suggestions on how to get there.

The International Energy Agency states that 2.5% of global electricity demand is today provided by wind power—and that figure is set to grow by 42% through to 2021. In Europe alone, according to the 2016 report from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), 754 new offshore turbines in 15 wind farms were grid-connected from 1 January to 31 December 2015, representing a connected capacity increase of 108% over 2014. By 2020, EWEA expects 192 GW of wind turbines to be installed, representing an investment of between €UR90 billion and €UR124 billion. The leading markets are Germany, France, the UK, Poland and Italy, and by 2020 354,000 people—up from 253,000 today—will be employed in the sector.

Strong winds and heavy rainfall were expected across the southeastern United States on Tuesday even as the center of Tropical Storm Colin was moving into the Atlantic Ocean. The storm was 90 miles (145 km) southwest of Charleston, South Carolina, at 4 a.m. eastern time (0800 GMT) and moving at 31 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. A tropical storm warning was in effect from the Altamaha Sound Georgia to Oregon Inlet in North Carolina on Tuesday morning. On its forecast path, Colin was to barrel along the coast of the southeastern United States before moving out to sea during the day. As 50 mph winds were expected in the region, a tornado was reported in Lee County Florida, the National Weather Service said.

Torrential rainstorms battered Louisiana on Sunday, leaving thousands without power, after pounding southeastern Texas as the remnants of Hurricane Patricia converged with a second storm. The heaviest band of rain moved over the Gulf of Mexico, triggering coastal flood warnings and flash flood watches in southwest Louisiana and soaking New Orleans, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). About 22,000 people were left without power in the greater New Orleans area. Some streets were flooded, while a high tide surge brought some coastal flooding as well. Rainfall has totaled as much as 7 inches (18 cm) since late Saturday night, and forecasters predicted another 5 inches (13 cm) could fall.

Heavy rains fueled by the meeting of two strong storm systems, one the remnants of Hurricane Patricia, pounded southeastern Texas on Saturday, triggering flash floods and derailing a freight train as the heavy weather tracked toward Houston. Navarro County, about 50 miles (80 km) south of Dallas, was one of the hardest-hit areas, inundating the tiny town of Powell with 20 inches (50 cm) of rain over 30 hours, according to meteorologist Brett Rathbun of Accuweather. A flash flood was so forceful it swept a Union Pacific freight train off the tracks, pushing locomotives and some rail cars on their sides. No injuries were reported. County…

Huge cranes righted the Eastern Star, the capsized Chinese cruise ship, but still submerged in water. The next step would be to lift it. Authorities said they would search every cabin, the official news agency Xinhua reported. The death toll from the cruise ship that capsized on the Yangtze River has climbed to 82, state media said, as authorities began righting the vessel and said there was no chance of finding anyone else alive. Xu Chengguang, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Transport, said at a press conference on Thursday night that chances of finding more survivors are fading. "Generally speaking, there is no chance of more survivors," he said, adding that it was time to start operation to right the ship, which will speed up the search process.

Chinese authorities began late on Thursday to right a cruise ship that capsized on the Yangtze River, after divers sent to search for survivors found no signs of life inside. With only 14 survivors found, including the captain and chief engineer, since the ship carrying 456 people overturned during a freak tornado on Monday night, the rescue mission has now become an operation to recover hundreds of bodies. "In a situation in which the overall judgment is that there is no chance of people being alive, we could start the work of righting the boat," transport ministry spokesman Xu Chengguang told a news conference. State television confirmed that the righting operation had begun.

President calls meeting of top body to discuss disaster; rescue operation to start righting ship. China has pledged that there would be "no cover-up" of an investigation into the sinking of a cruise ship on the Yangtze River, which has left 75 people dead and over 370 missing, as angry families  gathered near the rescue site to demand answers. Chinese authorities will start righting the ship at 8 p.m. (1200 GMT) on Thursday so rescuers could "search for the missing persons in the shortest possible time and give maximum protection to the dignity of the deceased", state news agency Xinhua said, citing the transport ministry. Earlier on Thursday…

Dozens of people broke through a police cordon on Wednesday as they marched towards the site of a sunken cruise ship in the Yangtze River to demand news of missing relatives. Rescuers searched for more than 400 missing people, many of them elderly, but hopes were fading of finding more survivors from the worst shipping disaster in modern Chinese history. Only 14 people, including the ship's captain, have been found alive since the ship capsized in a tornado on Monday night with 456 people on board. Just 29 bodies have been recovered. Frustrated by the scarcity of information coming from local authorities, about 80 family members hired a bus to take them from Nanjing to Jianli county in Hubei, an eight-hour journey. They started walking towards the rescue site late on Wednesday night.

Death toll more than doubles to 19, more than 400 missing. Rescuers searched a sunken cruise ship in the Yangtze River on Wednesday for more than 400 missing people, many of them elderly, but hopes of finding more survivors were fading in what could be China's worst shipping disaster in almost 70 years. State television showed rescuers, some standing gingerly on the upturned hull of the Eastern Star, and scores of divers working through the night. Only 14 people, including the ship's captain, have been found alive since the ship capsized in a freak tornado on Monday night with 456 people on board. Just 19 bodies have been recovered. Rescuers have not slackened off, even though about 200 divers face difficulties such as cabin doors blocked by tables and beds.

Relatives of more than 400 people missing after a cruise ship capsized on China's Yangtze River were hoping for a "miracle", as authorities said they were racing against time to find any survivors. Divers pulled three people alive from inside an overturned cruise ship and searched for other survivors, state media said, giving some small hope to an apparently massive tragedy with well over 400 people still missing on the Yangtze River. The disaster is one of the country's worst ever shipping accidents, but authorities are following a familiar playbook of media control and online censorship, say independent observers. Eighteen are confirmed dead and over 400 are still missing.

Ship capsizes in "tornado" on southern stretch of Yangtze. Rescuers fought bad weather on Tuesday as they searched for more than 400 people, many of them elderly Chinese tourists, missing after a cruise boat was buffeted by a freak tornado and capsized on the Yangtze River. The accident on Monday night is likely to end up as China's worst shipping disaster in almost 70 years. Divers and other rescue workers pulled five people they found trapped in the upturned hull of the four-deck Eastern Star, a fraction of the 458 people state media reported were on board when the ship capsized. Distraught relatives of some of the passengers scuffled with officials in the city of Shanghai, where many of those on board booked their trips, angry about what they said was a lack of information.

A Pacific storm pounded Southern California with heavy rain and high winds on Friday, triggering a small tornado, flash floods and mudslides that prompted the evacuation of hundreds of homes, damaged dozens of others and disrupted passenger rail services along the coast. One person was found dead on Friday in a rain-swollen flood-control channel in the Orange County town of Garden Grove, which could mark the third storm-related fatality on the West Coast since Thursday. Separately, rescue teams saved two people after they were swept away in the fast-moving Los Angeles River near a homeless encampment, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in Twitter messages.

The Coast Guardsmen of Station Cape Charles are used to responding to disasters at sea. On July 24 that changed as they scrambled to a scene where only their training, teamwork and devotion to duty could help them respond to a disaster ashore. Crewmembers on duty were just beginning their physical training when several members heard their phones go off in unison. A tornado had just touched down in a popular campground nearby and ripped through the rows of trailers and tents. It was over as quickly as it started, but not before it left a wake of destruction, upturning campers and tents. “Once I knew the storm passed, I made sure my family was safe…

US Department of Defense inform it has awarded a $19,802,857 firm-fixed-price contract to Earl Industries, LLC, doing business as General Dynamics NASSCO Mayport, Jacksonville, Florida, for docking phased maintenance availability to include drydocking, hull plating replacement, propulsion engine removal and habitability work onboard 'USS Tornado' (PC 14). The docking phased maintenance availability work on USS Tornado consists of 55 percent hull structure repairs, 16 percent propulsion repairs, 11 percent paint/decking and preservation, and 8 percent auxiliary pumps and systems. The remaining 10 percent miscellaneous repairs consist of temporary services, electrical and electronic repairs. DoD adds that the basic work package consists of 89 work items.

The Coast Guard rescued three mariners from a sinking fishing vessel Saturday in the vicinity of Calibogue Sound, S.C., January 12. Watchstanders in the Coast Guard Sector Charleston command center received a report from Beaufort County Dispatch stating the 62-foot fishing vessel Christina Leigh was taking on water, at 3 p.m. The three mariners aboard had to place the call via cell phone since their VHF radio was damaged. Sector Charleston personnel put out an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast and launched crewmembers from Coast Guard Station Tybee Island at 3:04 p.m. A crew aboard a rescue helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Savannah was also launched. The helicopter crew arrived on scene and located the vessel at 4 p.m.

The same NOAA satellites that helped forecasters predict severe weather, such as the Moore, Okla., tornado last May and November’s deadly Midwest tornado outbreak, also played a key role in rescuing 253 people from potentially life-threatening scenarios throughout the United States and its surrounding waters last year. A combination of NOAA polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites detected distress signals from emergency beacons carried by downed pilots, shipwrecked boaters and stranded hikers and relayed information about their location to first responders on the ground.

On January 21, EU Naval Force warships, FS Siroco, FGS Hessen and ESPS Tornado rendezvoused at sea for a joint replenishment at sea (RAS) with the logistics American ship, USNS Joshua Humphreys from Task Force 53. The RAS saw more than 600 men and women from the EU Naval Force gathered in the same sea area in the Somali Basin, with the excellent coordination between all four ships ensuring that the refueling was carried out quickly and efficiently. On completion, the crews from EU Naval Force ships saluted the crew from USNS Joshua Humphreys and each other…

EU Naval Force reported today that the Spanish Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV), ESPS Relámpago joined its force to perform counter-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia. Contributing to Operation Atalanta, ESPS Relámpago is the new Spanish contribution in place of ESPS Tornado which is now on her way home. ESPS Relámpago and her 83 crew will be part of the EU Naval Force for four months. Deputy Commander of EU Naval Force, Rear Admiral Bartolomé Bauzá said, “I am very pleased to see Spain’s ongoing contribution to Operation Atalanta.

The White House yesterday awarded three NOAA scientists with Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. The award is the highest honor given by the federal government to outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers. Laboratory. The NOAA scientists are part of a group of 102 scientists from across federal agencies that received the prestigious award. “NOAA is home to some of the world’s leading scientific research and our scientists strive each day to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our planet,” said NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan, Ph.D. “Through their research on improving sustainable fisheries management…