Wisconsin Dams Fail, Drains Manmade Lake

Heavy storms in Wisconsin, have caused the failure of two dams and more are facing failure. The State has dam safety engineers, in planes assessing at least 22 other dams in danger of failing.

Lake Delton, a manmade 245 acre lake and popular tourist spot south of the Wisconsin Dells, overflowed and emptied out Monday when the earthen dams gave way and overflowed into he Wisconsin River. The overflow happened as authorities ordered evacuations and sandbagging in a number of towns across the southern portion of the state.

Gov. Jim Doyle vowed the state would work to replenish the lake and told reporters state workers hope to restore the water to the lake as soon as possible, describing the lake as crucial to the $1 billion annual tourism industry in Wisconsin Dells.

"It's horrible. There's no way we could stop it," said Thomas Diehl, a Lake Delton village trustee. "The breach is between 300 and 400 feet wide. The volume (of water) was just so great there wasn't anything anyone could do."

Bill Pettit, who has owned the Delton Oaks Resort on the lake for 12 years, said he watched the dam wash away and saw the flood water push a two-story lakefront house into the lake. It quickly disappeared under the rushing water.

Pettit looked a half mile down the lake to his resort, where the lake's water was only a trickle."We are out of busienss," he said of his 30-unit resort, which has been in operation since 1948. "We sell lakefront property but there is no more lake."He said he was calling summer vacationers to alert them that the lake is gone and that boating and fishing won't be possible.

Hopefully Bill Pettit and others in the area had a contingency plan, but like many other businesses they probably did not. We will try to find out more about him and his situation and provide an update when we can.

Video of the Homes Falling into the Lake from Fox News.

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Update: Amazon.com Site Back Up

As I was completing my last post about Amazon.com being down the site came back online. Still awaiting for an update from Amazon.com if there is any as to what caused the issue.

The site was down for about two hours by my estimates though I will post an update to this story with more facts as they become available at a later time.

Website of Internets Largest Retailer Amazon.com Down

The Website has been down since this morning and according to a post on Amazon.com seller forums the issue is still unknown and is being investigated by the company engineers. Though it does say that it is due to an unplanned event.

There is no estimated time as of this writing as to when the web retailer will be back online. The post also states they will make an update once they figure out the problem.

UPDATE: as I was about to hit publish the site is now back up at 12:25 PM PST.

Zero Day Threat, The Must Read Book If You Have A Credit Card

A While back I recommended the book Zero Day Threat: The Shocking Truth of How Banks and Credit Bureaus Help Cyber Crooks Steal Your Money and Identity.

I would like to say a little more about this since I only really made a brief mention of the book and site.

The book is an excellent read, and shows in detail how cyber criminals gain access and the tricks they use to steal your identity. It even includes a section on how they get unsuspecting people to contribute to the problem through some work at home schemes.

I wont get into a long drawn out post here but, if you have or use a credit card or debit card you MUST read this book.

Myanmar Update, U.S. Navy Ordered To Leave

After weeks of sitting of the coast of Burma and making 15 requests to assist with relief efforts that have been rejected by the ruling military junta. The United States Navy has been ordered to leave.

Many other relief agencies are expressing regret saying they desperately need the helicopters for heavy lifting and access to remote areas. Use of military helicopters though standard U.N. operating procedure has been rejected through fear of an invasion by the ruling military government.

The French, who proposed sending in relief without permission, have already had their navy leave the area.

AP: Video, U.S. Navy Leaving Area

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