This devastation dates from 1974, when Mitsubishi shut down an 84-year-old coal mine on the wind-blown, storm-swept island of Hashima, 12 miles (19 kilometers) southwest of town.

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There is the rubbish that comes from the land, delivered by run-off, storm water drains and the wind-blown rubbish that people leave behind.

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Hundreds of thousands of people in Indiana through Maryland are still dealing with this heat without the benefits of electricity, due to a derecho -- or massive storm usually with straight-line wind damage -- that barreled eastward late Friday and into Saturday and was fueled, in part, by the extreme heat.

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Nonetheless, its storm surge -- joined by heavy wind, rain and tornadoes -- left a swath of destruction from east Texas to Alabama.

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Emergency officials in New Jersey said they were monitoring a coastal storm, expected to bring lashing rain, wind, snow and possibly coastal flooding to the region hit by super-storm Sandy in October.

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"The brunt of the storm itself was intense but short -- there was very strong rain and wind for about 15 minutes, at which point the rain cleared and the lightning show began, " said Matthew Burke, a CNN iReporter who photographed lightning sprawling across the New York City skyline.

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The storm started to wind down Thursday night in Wichita after leaving 14.2 inches of snow over two days -- the second highest storm total in the city's history, according to the National Weather Service.

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