Some North Texas residents spent Thursday mopping up water, removing debris and cleaning out storm drains after heavy rains moved through overnight.

The heavy soaking led to flash flooding, high-water rescues and evacuations in Gainesville and Southmayd, both near the Texas-Oklahoma border, and caused local officials to keep a wary eye on the skies.

Gainesville City Manager Barry Sullivan said he was relieved to see sunny skies and green grass on Thursday. He started his day assessing flood damage from the previous night. Approximately 35 homes and 15 businesses had water damage, but that damage was minimal compared to 2007 when three people were swept to their deaths in the flood-prone Pecan Creek.

About 15 people were sent to a temporary shelter and nearly 82 sheltered at Whaley United Methodist Church during Wednesday night's flooding and about 53 stayed overnight, Sullivan said.

"Basically, we were just hoping that people would use the...

Concern is growing that severe floods which have affected the harvest in Africa will lead to food shortages, adding to the misery of thousands displaced from their homes.

A British Red Cross team of logistics specialists arrived in Uganda on 23 September to assess the situation and ensure the necessary support reaches those affected by the flooding.John Cunningham, British Red Cross logistician who is currently in Soroti in Uganda, said: "Water continues to flow from the mountains in the North East of the country and this is causing a huge problem for people in Soroti and Katakwi. Families have lost their crops and belongings and many homes have been washed away by the flood waters. Roads are completely underwater which is making access to affected areas very difficult."

Food shortages in East Africa

Kiflemariam Amdemariam, from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said: "Massive damage to crops and the widespread des...

TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT NUMBER 1

NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI

1047 PM HST WED SEP 19 2007

TO - CIVIL DEFENSE IN THE STATE OF HAWAII

SUBJECT - TSUNAMI INFORMATION

THIS STATEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NO ACTION REQUIRED.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

ORIGIN TIME - 1031 PM HST 19 SEP 2007

COORDINATES - 2.1 SOUTH 100.1 EAST

LOCATION - SOUTHERN SUMATRA INDONESIA

MAGNITUDE - 6.6 MOMENT

EVALUATION

BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA A DESTRUCTIVE PACIFIC-WIDE TSUNAMI IS

NOT EXPECTED AND THERE IS NO TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII. REPEAT. A

DESTRUCTIVE PACIFIC-WIDE TSUNAMI IS NOT EXPECTED AND THERE IS NO

TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII.

THIS WILL BE THE ONLY STATEMENT ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS

ADDITIONAL DATA ARE RECEIVED.