Weather

AFP - Residents in the flood-hit northwest began returning to their homes Monday but police warned it could take years to recover from the devastation left by the heaviest rainfall on record.

AFP - Flooding in the world's major port cities caused by melting icecaps could cause up to 28 trillion dollars (18 trillion euros) in damage in 2050, environmental group WWF said in a report Monday.

AP - Police and army experts say they're urgently checking the safety of about 1,800 bridges in northern England amid some of the worst storms ever recorded in Britain.

Reuters - Lifeboats and military helicopters rescued hundreds of people overnight in northern England and a policeman was killed as torrential rain flooded homes, washed away bridges and closed roads.

AFP - Rescuers were working on Friday to evacuate about 200 people by helicopter from a town after storms triggered flooding across parts of the country, police said.

AP - A landmark court ruling blaming the Army Corps of Engineers' "monumental negligence" for some of the worst flooding from Hurricane Katrina could lead to a new deluge: billions of dollars in legal action from thousands of storm victims.

Reuters - Warmer-than-average temperatures are forecast for the northern and western United States this December, the U.S. National Weather Service said Thursday, with the government unable to offer a projection for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.

Reuters - A U.S. judge ruled on Wednesday the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was negligent in maintaining a key navigational channel in New Orleans and was liable for some damage caused by massive flooding from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Reuters - A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.8 struck northeast of the South Pacific island nation of Tonga on Tuesday, the United States Geological Survey said, but a destructive tsunami was not expected.