WINTER FLOODS

Major winter storm in US

US: The second major snow storm of the winter blanketed the US Northeast and canceled thousands of flights on Wednesday, battering parts of New England with blizzard conditions and up to 30 inches (76 cm) of snow.

The National Weather Service reported snow on the ground in 49 of the 50 states - only Florida was spared - and much of the South was still battling icy conditions that forced Atlanta schools and government to close for the third day in a row.

New York City's Central Park received 9 inches (23 cm) of snow, less than half the amount that fell in a post-Christmas blizzard that paralyzed the city and dented the popularity of Mayor Michael Bloomberg because of a substandard cleanup.

. New York,Thursday, Reuters

Brisbane a 'war zone' after floods

AUSTRALIA: Australia's third-largest city Brisbane was turned into a "war zone" Thursday with whole suburbs under water and infrastructure smashed as the worst flood in decades hit 30,000 properties.

Shocked evacuees surveyed the damage after floods that have swept eastern Australia peaked about a metre (three feet) below feared levels around dawn, sparing thousands more properties in the besieged river city. Queensland's tearful state premier Anna Bligh said relief was tinged with despair at the damage to homes and major landmarks, as well as the scale of the "post-war" rebuilding effort ahead in the city of two million people.

"It's a very mixed story here today, there is some relief and I'm grateful Mother Nature hasn't been as terrible as she could have been, but people are waking up to unbearable agony across our city today," Bligh told Sky News. Brisbane, Thursday, AFP

More rains in Philippines

PHILIPPINEs: Widespread flooding in the Philippines has claimed seven more lives, raising the death toll from two weeks of heavy rain to 40, officials said Wednesday.

The seven deaths occurred over the past four days as floods engulfed Samar, the country's third-largest island, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said in its latest bulletin.

Seven other people remain missing after being swept away by floods or buried by landslides. Soldiers and government personnel are evacuating more people in Samar and nearby Leyte island, the bulletin said.

The heavy rains began shortly before New Year's Eve and have brought misery to 1.29 million people across 144 towns, including 338,000 who fled their homes. AFP