El Niño's Impact

(CBS)  Floods on the West Coast, a listless hurricane season on the East Coast, severe rain in South America. What's to blame? El Niño, of course. The Pacific phenomenon, consisting of a giant upwelling of warm water, has changed the weather worldwide.

Early this fall, Dan Rather began a special El Niño watch; in this continuing and timely series, each Friday a CBS correspondent focuses on a different part of the story. While the impact on America - especially the West Coast - has been huge, its effect has been global.

Teetering On The Brink Can't Blame It All On El Nino Big Sur Isolated No More El Nino's Fury Lingers Hurricanes Will Be Back What Is El Niño?

Big Sur's Splendid Isolation
	Moodslide, floods, and collapsed roads have left this coastal California community in a world of its own

Death Valley's Glorious Bloom
	At the harshest of deserts, El Nino's effect has been more magical than menacing.

Broken In Peru
	The trains don't run. Roads lead to nowhere. A CBS News team finds a country wrecked by El Niño's wrath.

Suffering With Rain And Death In Ecuador
	CBS News Correspondent Bill Whitaker travels to El Niño's doorstep to report on Mother Nature's fury first hand.

Firestorms Swell In Australia
	CBS News Correspondent Barry Petersen reports from Australia where forests are turned into flaming tinder.

A Gentler Side Of El Niño
	In Chile's Atacama desert, Bill Whitaker finds life in bloom on usually barren land.

El Niño's Fury From Sea To Shining Sea
	Across the United States, El Niño has reared its ugly head with a bevy of both bizarre-and diverse-results.

The Global Reach Of El Niño
	El Niño is turning the world's climates upside down. For unprepared countries, that's meant disease, homelessness, and death.

El Nino: No Joke, No Hype!
	Commentary by Dan Rather

Video: Eric Engberg Reports On Flooding Threat

Video: Bob McNamara Reports On Florida Tornadoes

Animation: One Year Of El Niño
	Time lapse satellite images from NASA

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