The Stream, September 17: Colorado Floods Cause Expensive Damage

Floods
Flooding in Colorado caused extensive damage for 322 kilometers (200 miles), killing eight people and damaging 19,000 homes, NPR reported. The floods could also cost $US 500 million in road damages alone.

The resort town of Acapulco, Mexico has been nearly cut off by the worst flooding in decades, which blocked roads with mud and submerged the international airport terminal in waist-deep water, AlertNet reported. In the state of Guerrero, flooding has caused approximately $US 387 million in damages, while 50 people have died in recent flood events throughout Mexico.

Middle East
The Dead Sea continues to shrink at an alarming rate of 0.9 meters (3 feet) each year due to industrial water withdrawals and lower inflows of fresh water, Slate Magazine reported. The dropping water levels are also fueling a rapid increase in the number of sink holes, which open up with very little warning and pose a threat to safety.

Israel has agreed to Palestinian requests to allow the transfer of more water and building supplies into the Gaza Strip, doubling the amount of water sold to the Palestinian Authority for residents there, Bloomberg News reported. A new pipeline will be built to carry the extra water into Gaza, where 90 percent of water from an underground aquifer is unsafe to drink.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek