Fierce Storms in France, Spain, Portugal Kill Dozens

PARIS — A violent late winter storm with fierce rain and hurricane-strength winds ripped across western Europe on Sunday, battering France and four other countries, leaving at least 51 people dead.

The storm, named Xynthia, was the worst in France since 1999 when 90 people died. Prime Minister Francois Fillon held an emergency cabinet meeting and afterward called the storm a "national catastrophe."

Many of the at least 45 victims in France drowned, while others died when hit by parts of buildings or trees and branches that were ripped off by the wind. At least a dozen people were missing Sunday and 59 others were injured.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,587619,00.html?test=latestnews

Massive Magnitude 8.8 Quake Hits Chile, Killing Dozens

BREAKING NEWS — A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, collapsing buildings, killing dozens and downing phone lines. President Michele Bachelet declared a "state of catastrophe" in central Chile and said the death toll was rising.

Chile's top emergency official said at least 78 people were killed.

There have been a number of aftershocks to hit Chile since the quake, the largest one registering at magnitude 6.9, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,587565,00.html

Death toll expected to rise in Madeira flooding

FUNCHAL, Madeira Islands - Rescue workers dug frantically Sunday to free cars and homes buried under heaps of mud in Madeira, after torrential flash floods and mudslides killed at least 42 people on the popular Portuguese island.

Residents looking for missing loved ones were directed by local authorities to the resort's international airport, where a makeshift morgue has been set up.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35496312/ns/world_news-europe/

St. Paul now target of big spring floods

Spring floods will likely wash over much of Minnesota when one of the deepest, wettest snow covers in recent years melts into the region's major rivers, the latest National Weather Service forecast warns.

Not just confined to the flat and flood-plagued Red River Valley, high water this year will also bedevil the metro area, likely forcing closings of several heavily used commuter bridges over the Minnesota River in Scott and Carver counties for the first time since 2001. High water is also likely to inundate parts of St. Paul's Harriet Island, and Warner and Shepard Roads.

http://www.startribune.com/local/84774162.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUI

Swarm of small earthquakes near Redlands

A series of 18 small earthquakes shook Friday near Redlands, but there were no immediate reports of damage, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

“Most of them were small, so they wouldn’t have been felt,” said Paul Caruso, a geophysicist with the agency's National Earthquake Information Center.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/02/swarm-of-small-earthquakes-shake-near-redlands.html

More snow is headed for beleaguered capital

Reporting from Washington - Still digging out Monday from a historic weekend snowstorm that shut down federal offices and schools, the nation's capital was bracing for yet another wallop of winter weather that could dump up to 20 inches of snow by Wednesday.

This comes on top of roughly two feet that landed over the weekend, prompting locals to dub the scene "snowmageddon" and "snowpocalypse."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-snowmagedon9-2010feb09,0,2822823.story

H1N1 Epidemic Is Over: According to Statens Serum Institut (SSI)

According to a report at the Copenhagen Post online, the Winter Epidemic Influenza, H1N1 has now passed, leaving many doses of vaccine unused. This strain of influenza is also known as Swine Flu, and the SSI, the National Disease Control Centre say that the epidemic is now over.

Earlier the National Board of Health in Denmark had estimated figures of 3,000 possible deaths but at the moment there have only been 23 fatalities, with over 1000 admitted to hospital, and a total of 300,000 people who have fallen ill with the disease.

http://www.onlykent.com/20100208/h1n1-epidemic-is-over-according-to-statens-serum-institut-ssi/