Flood warnings for Oroville as Oklahoma residents are warned to prepare for "worst-case scenario"

There's a shit-load of serious stuff coming through the wires.
I am exhausted and can't fo any more so I will leave you with this.

Flood Warnings For 

Oroville, DWR Pulls Hourly 

Data Lake Level, 

Thunderstorm Manufactured

Also this...

Meanwhile in Kansas...

Oklahoma residents are warned to prepare for the 'worst-case scenario' as the Midwest braces for flooding and forecasters predict the Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers will rise to 'record-breaking' levels

Communities along the swollen Arkansas River in Oklahoma and Arkansas are preparing for further flooding, with the mayor of Tulsa urging thousands of residents behind the city's aging levees to be ready to evacuate in the event of a 'worst-case scenario'.

'This is a flood of historic magnitude,' said Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, joined by state emergency officials and officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday.

Hutchinson said that he directed $250,000 in state funds toward the flood response. The Republican says he has also requested federal assistance from the Trump administration.

Flooding has already closed 12 state highways, the governor said, and 400 households have agreed to voluntary evacuations.

In Oklahoma, Muskogee County Emergency Management spokeswoman Trish German says flooding from intense thunderstorms and the nearby river has forced the evacuations of more than 2,400 people. German says almost 1,100 homes have been flooded.

She said about 2 inches of rain has fallen on the area since Tuesday night. Forecasters say the same amount is possible Wednesday.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma's second largest city, Mayor G.T. Bynum warned that the city's 70-year-old levees were being tested 'in a way that they have never been before'.

'Please prepare for the worst-case scenario that we've had in the history of the city,' he said on Tuesday. So far, he added, the 20-mile levee system, which protects some 10,000 people, was working as designed.

More than a week of stormy weather, including violent downpours and deadly tornadoes, has devastated the central United States.

It has caused record-breaking floods in parts of the two states, which have turned highways into lakes and submerged all but the roofs of some homes.

And according to the National Weather Service (NWS), more rain is forecast and the flooding is expected to spread.

'The rain has been coming fast and furiously and it all has to drain through the rivers,' Patrick Burke, a meteorologist at the NWS Weather Prediction Center, said in an interview on Wednesday.

More heavy downpours were forecast through Wednesday night over much of the two states, with between 1 and 3 inches expected, he said.

The Arkansas River is projected to crest on Wednesday at 42.5 feet in Van Buren, breaking the 1945 record of 38.42 feet.

'Based on impact statements from previous floods and the newest forecast crests, this will be the worst flooding in recorded history along the Arkansas River from Toad Suck and points northwest,' the NWS tweeted Sunday.

They predicted levees would be flooded and there would be 'significant impacts to life and property across a very large area'.

Due to already significant rain in the area, the flooding is expected to be 'prolonged and impacts will remain significant through much of the upcoming summer'.

In Arkansas, 13 counties are bracing for historic flooding this week. Those include, Sebastian, Crawford, Logan, Johnson, Yell, Pope, Perry, Conway, Faulkner, Pulaski, Jefferson, Lincoln and Desha.

The Arkansas River has already flooded hundreds of homes in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, and more are expected to be flooded as more water is released from a dam. City officials expect as many as 500 homes to flood eventually.

And the floods will only continue as the NWS' Weather Prediction Center released a warning of a moderate risk of excessive rainfall, anticipating five to seven inches of rain across the region in states including Illinois, Iowa and Missouri.

By early June, rivers are expected to crest to the highest levels on record all the way down to Little Rock, Arkansas, Burke said.

At least six people have died as a result of the latest round of flooding and storms in Oklahoma, according to the state's Department of Health.

The US Army Corps of Engineers has raised the release of water from the Keystone Dam, in northeastern Oklahoma on the Arkansas and Cimarron rivers about 23 miles from Tulsa, into the river system to 275,000 cubic feet per second to stop the dam from overflowing.

Corps hydrologist David Williams said Wednesday that the level of Keystone Lake peaked on Tuesday 'and is now dropping'.

The reservoir is about 23 miles northeast of Tulsa. Williams said flows from a hydroelectric dam at the reservoir will be reduced by Saturday from 275,000 cubic feet per second to 150,000 cubic feet per second.

US Sen Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma says the additional flow in the Arkansas River has strained a levee system built in the 1940s that protects residential areas.

Inhofe is also the former mayor of Tulsa. He says 'there have been problems' but that the levees are 'still performing'.

Col Bob Dixon of the US Army Corps of Engineers said the levee system is 'performing admirably' as the river approaches its expected crest near Fort Smith, the state's second-largest city. The crest is expected to occur sometime on Wednesday.

Still, the river is nearly twice the level it was 10 days ago, and widespread flooding persists.

'Just because the river has crested doesn't mean we're out of danger,' Dixon said.

Dixon says the levee system will be strained as the rush of water moves downstream. He says floodwaters should begin to slowly recede in Fort Smith but that it will likely take weeks.

Arkansas Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Melody Daniel says 45 homes have been affected by floodwaters in Sebastian County, but the number is expected to rise to 'several hundred'.

One death has been attributed to the flooding. Authorities are urging people not to drive around barricades.

A plague of extreme weather has upended life in the region, with more than 300 tornadoes touching down in the Midwest in the last two weeks.

Several tornadoes touched down on Tuesday evening in Kansas, damaging homes, uprooting trees and ripping down power lines, according to the NWS.

Tornadoes also pulverized buildings in western Ohio, killing one person, and injuring scores of others.

President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday evening that he spoke with Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and will offer FEMA and federal air to help with the record flooding

The floods got so bad in Oklahoma that the water turned the community of Braggs into an island last week.

'They were panicking. With morale the way it was — crisis mode — I wanted them to see me face to face and hear me say, "It's going to be alright,"' Muskogee County Commissioner Ken Doke told the Tulsa World.

The National Guard has also been asked to help with flooding in Kansas, where the Arkansas River runs through. Gov Laura Kelly declared a state of disaster in 49 of Kansas' 105 counties, as per Weather.com.

President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday evening that he spoke with Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and will offer FEMA and federal air to help with the record flooding

President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday evening that he spoke with Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and will offer FEMA and federal air to help with the record flooding

'Flood advisories are in effect, watches and warnings in some of the same neighborhoods we have been talking about for month,' Fox News Senior Meteorologist Janice Dean said Tuesday. 'They can't take any more rainfall and all of that is going to go downstream.'

'We could see incredible damage, possibly catastrophic damage for these areas that are affected by heavy rainfall. Some of those areas could get hit hard by catastrophic flooding, people are being told to evacuate their homes right now,' he added.

So far, evacuations were ordered in nine counties in Arkansas.

The rain will flood the Mississippi River, which is projected to swell and crest at 44 feet in St. Louis this week – the second-highest record in history.

The highest the river has crested was at 5 ½ feet higher in 1993.

'This has definitely been a year for the record books. It's certainly on the short list for worst [local] river flooding ever,' Thomas Spriggs, a senior meteorologist with the NWS St Louis told the St. Louis Dispatch. 'It's going to go on for a while longer yet.'

This year alone the Mississippi River in St Louis has been above flood stage for 73 consecutive days.

On Monday Missouri Governor Mike Parson deployed the Missouri National Guard to support sandbagging operations to shore up a levee near Brunswick.

'Missouri has been battling historic flooding since March, which is depleting local resources, and now flooding conditions in many parts of the state are only getting worse,' Parson said Monday.

'In addition, communities from Carl Junction to Jefferson City are facing the challenge of recovering from tornadoes and severe storms, further challenging civilian resources.

'The Guard has demonstrated its capabilities in response to natural disasters across Missouri, and I know they'll make a difference at this critical time,' he added. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7083031/Oklahoma-residents-warned-prepare-worst-case-scenario-Midwest-braces-flooding.html?fbclid=IwAR12lAe_kluoMYuBC_8zVI5wLZCyb96Qyx600sNpr5J_VhwYsn6hSSl9IFA


See #noplant19 on Twitter

John Bolton appears to have backed off Iran escalation

Bolton Finally Backs Off Iran Escalation: It's "Not Over" But US "Deterred" Threat

Zero Hedge,

30 May, 2019

In perhaps the best sign thus far that a potential US war with Iran has been averted (at least for the near term), given the possibility that both heightened saber-rattling and the potential for an "accidental" deadly encounter between IRGC forces and the recent build-up of American deployments could have led to a major conflict, White House National Security Adviser John Bolton himself appears to now be fast climbing down the escalation ladder. 

According to Reuters on Thursday Bolton is singing a different tune compared to the war rhetoric of the past weeks since the crisis began: "The threat from Iran is not over but quick action from the United States has helped deter it." This echoes a prior Pentagon statement essentially saying the "clear" Iran threat intelligence against US forces was accurate but that the US carrier and other extra force deployments to the Persian Gulf region thwarted Iran's intentions. 

“I don’t think this threat is over, but I do think you can make at least a conditional claim that the quick response and the deployment and other steps that we took did serve as a deterrent,” Bolton told reporters during a visit to London on Thursday. 

Image source: The New York Times

When pressed over whether he was at odds with President Trump who has repeatedly stated the US is not looking for regime change in Tehran, Bolton responded: 

“The policy we’re pursuing is not a policy of regime change. That’s the fact and everybody should understand it that way.”

Bolton even seemed to have backed away from prior statements of defense officials which accused Iran's leaders of having "ordered" attacks on oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz as well as a Saudi oil pipeline in the past weeks. 

Late last week an official Pentagon statement said "the leadership of Iran at the highest level" ordered a spate of disruptive attacks.

But now Bolton seems have have introduced more ambiguity, identifying Iran's "surrogates" - and stopping short of prior direct and more aggressive "top leadership" accusations - as possibly behind the attacks. Per Reuters: 

Bolton said there was some prospect that evidence Iran was behind attacks this month on oil tankers in the Gulf would be presented to the United Nations Security Council next week.

“I don’t think anybody who is familiar with the situation in the region, whether they have examined the evidence or not, has come to any conclusion other than that these attacks were carried out by Iran or their surrogates,” he said.

Over the past week, following Trump's extended hand for Iran's leaders to "call me," we've seen a consistent deescalation following weeks of dangerous escalation, including threats and counter-threats of military action by both sides.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reportedly said this week that the "road is not closed" on talks with the US if Washington drops the sanctions and returns to upholding the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) - something not at all likely to happen. 

Meanwhile...

Trump unleashes tariffs on Mexico

"This Is A Black Swan Event": Futures, Peso Tumble As Trump Unleashes Tariffs On Mexico "Until Illegal Immigration Stops"

Zero Hedge,

30 May, 2019

Update 2: some borderline apocalyptic observations from Bloomberg markets live managing editor, Mark Cudmore who writes the following:

This Mexico tariff news is far worse than even the initial market reaction makes it out to be. The timing is almost immediate. Chaos for both companies and bureaucrats. No time for anyone to prepare or make contingencies. The only way the S&P 500 doesn't sink massively today is if Trump rows back on this. The U.S. imported almost $350b worth of goods from Mexico in 2018.

What makes it even worse again, if possible, is that so many traders were hoping Trump would soon take a more conciliatory trade zone because U.S. stocks have weakened.

This is a black swan event for markets and people aren't even registering. Maybe traders are all hoping there's some mistake or that this won't be implemented.

* * *

Update 1: it's going from bad to worse, with the White House warning that it will hike Mexico tariffs to 25% by October 1, if the border crisis persists, as Trump is activating a scorched earth approach whereby he will "punish" any offshore nation that he believes is transgressing, by imposing tariffs.

Meanwhile, moments after Trump's shock tweet, the Mexican deputy foreign minister Seade said that if President's threat to impose tariffs is carried out, "it would be disastrous", and Mexico would "respond strongly", adding that "we will not remain with out arms folded" before the tariff deadline "to see if it is serious."

* * *

Following an earlier leaked story from the Wall Street Journal, President Trump has confirmed that he will impose tariffs on Mexico until the illegal immigration problems at the southern US border are fixed.

Amid negotations and escalations in the process of moving USMCA through Congress, Trump has decided to go after one on America's closest trade partners: "On June 10th, the United States will impose a 5% Tariff on all goods coming into our Country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP. The Tariff will gradually increase until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied, at which time the Tariffs will be removed. Details from the White House to follow."

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

On June 10th, the United States will impose a 5% Tariff on all goods coming into our Country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP. The Tariff will gradually increase until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied,..

51K

11:30 AM - May 31, 2019

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28.9K people are talking about this

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

 · 1h

On June 10th, the United States will impose a 5% Tariff on all goods coming into our Country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP. The Tariff will gradually increase until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied,..

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

....at which time the Tariffs will be removed. Details from the White House to follow.

34.4K

11:30 AM - May 31, 2019

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12.7K people are talking about this

The reaction in markets was swift. Futures slumped...

And the peso plunged...

So it appears 'Tariff Man' is true to his word - imposing arbitrary tariffs on anyone and everyone until he gets what he wants to Make America Great Again.

https://www.rt.com/news/460688-trump-mexico-tariffs-immigration/