WARNING: Global Disasters to Intensify

SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,739 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

FIRE-EARTH Models show that global disasters could intensify in the 9 month period starting about July 2011 compared with the previous corresponding period (pcp).

Disaster Calendar 2011 – June 12 Entry

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• China. Death toll from heavy rain, flooding and landslides in central and southern china has climbed to at least 100, with about 80 others reported missing, reports said. The extreme weather events have affected up to 10 million people in 13 provinces, destroying about half million hectares of crops.

• NY, USA. The WH has declared 21 upstate New York counties as disaster areas because of the damage caused by storms, flooding and tornadoes from April 26 to May 8.  The declaration covers the following counties: Allegany, Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Delaware, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Madison, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Steuben, Tioga, Ulster, Warren, and Yates.

• North Dakota, USA. A presidential disaster declaration has been issued for major portions of North Dakota including a  total of 42 counties, the Spirit Lake Nation, the Three Affiliated Tribes and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa reservations. Counties covered by the declaration included Barnes, Benson, Billings, Bottineau, Burke, Burleigh, Cass, Cavalier, Dickey, Divide, Eddy, Foster, Grand Forks, Grant, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McHenry, McIntosh, McLean, Mercer, Morton, Mountrail, Nelson, Pembina, Pierce, Ramsey, Ransom, Renville, Richland, Rolette, Sargent, Sheridan, Steele, Stutsman, Towner, Traill, Walsh, Ward, Wells and Williams.

• South Dakota, USA. Yankton county has been added to SD flooding federal disaster list, which already included Aurora, Beadle, Brookings, Brown, Buffalo, Clark, Codington, Day, Edmunds, Faulk, Grant, Hamlin, Hand, Hughes, Hyde, Jackson, Jerauld, Kingsbury, Lake, Marshall, Miner, Moody, Perkins, Potter, Roberts, Sanborn, Spink Stanley Sully and Union counties.

• China. Some 103 children aged 14 or younger have been seriously poisoned and hundreds of others sickened from lead pollution in eastern china, a report said. The victims were found to have every high levels of lead contamination in their blood.

Probability of a Nuclear Disaster – by Country

Places Most at Risk of Nuclear Disasters – Global

Nuclear power is harmful to the planet and all lifeforms. Any nuclear disaster striking anywhere on the planet has global implications.

Currently 32 countries operate nuclear power plants, 27 of which are building even more reactor units. Fifteen other countries that are currently without nuclear power  plan to build one or more plants.

Probability of a Nuclear Disaster by Country

• Japan (880)³
• United States (865)
• Taiwan (850)
• Belgium, China, France, Finland, India,  South Korea, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Russia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Armenia, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania,  Hungary, Bulgaria, Spain,  Pakistan, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico,  South Africa, Canada (810)
• Germany, Sweden, Netherlands (800)
• Switzerland  (750)

NOTES:

1. The list represents a snapshot of events at the time of calculating the probabilities. Any forecast posted  here is subject to numerous variable factors.
2. Figures in the bracket represent the probability of an incident occurring out of 1,000; the forecast duration is valid for the next 50  months.
3. Probability includes a significant worsening of Fukushima nuclear disaster, and future quakes forecast for Japan.
4. A nuclear incident is defined as a level 5 (Accident With Wider Consequences), or worse, on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES). See below.
5. Safety issues considered in compiling these lists include the age, number of units and capacity of nuclear reactors in each place, previous incidents, probability of damage from human-induced catastrophes such as war, as well as human-enhanced natural disasters, e.g, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity, hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, wildfires, flooding… , and other geophysical events.]
6. The  Blog’s knowledge concerning the extent to which those factors described in (3) might worsen during the forecast period greatly influences the forecasts.

Related Links

• Japan Earthquakes, Disasters: Recent History and FIRE-EARTH Forecasts
• WARNING: JPTRMT1

FIRE-EARTH Disaster Links

• 2011 Disaster Calendar – June
• 2011 Much More Disastrous
• 2010 Disasters [Includes Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters: 2011 SIX TIMES MORE DISASTROUS THAN 2010
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

Drought and deluge disaster images of the day

Death toll climbs as severe flooding and landslide plague central China

Original caption: Photo taken on June 10, 2011 shows a site of the landslide at Guanshan village of Zhanqiao Township, Linxiang, Yueyang City, central China’s Hunan Province. Torrential rain hit most parts of Yueyang city Thursday night, causing mud-rock flows in Guanshan village. China’s flood death toll continued to rise Friday. (Xinhua/Guo Feng). Image may be subject to copyright. More images…

Dorset Drought

Original caption: A firefighter walks through charred ground after a blaze affecting over 5 square miles (500 hectares) of Dorset’s Upton Heath was was brought under control overnight near Poole in southwest England June 10, 2011. Parts of the East Anglia region in eastern England have been declared to be in a state of drought after some areas of the country had their driest spring on record, the British government said on Friday. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth. Image may be subject to copyright. More images…

June 10 Entry – Disaster Calendar 2011

• [June 10, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,741 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History
• England. “Parts of the East Anglia region in eastern England have been declared to be in a state of drought after some areas of the country had their driest spring on record, the British government said on Friday.”
• “Drought has hit parts of East Anglia, with other areas in England and Wales also giving grounds for concern,” Environment Secretary said.
• China. Severe rain in China has triggered widespread floods and landslides in central and eastern regions of the country since Thursday, killing at least 44 people and leaving 33 others missing in three provinces of Jiangxi, Hubei and Hunan, a report said.
• “Flood waters measured more than 2 meters deep in Tongcheng’s low-lying areas. Traffic in the county seat was paralyzed, as flood waters in the area measured between 60 to 90 cm deep.”
• Guizhou, China. Severe flooding in Guizhou since Tuesday has killed at least 21 people and left 32 others missing, forcing about 100,000 people to abandon their homes, a report said.

Related Links

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Index of Human Impact on Nature (HIoN) March 2008
• 2010: The Year of Disasters
• 2010 Disaster Calendar
• 2011 SIX TIMES MORE DISASTROUS THAN 2010
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – June

 

Deadly Tornadoes, Landslides and Forest Fires

MUST BE NEWS FROM EARTH AGAIN!

FIRE-EARTH log: 2011 Disaster Calendar – MAY

[May 22, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from planetary response to the harm caused by humans could occur by early 2016. SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,760 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Siberia, Russia. Forest fires have consumed about 100,000 hectares of Far East Russian and Siberian forestry since April 5, 2011. Some 197 wildfires covering an area of about 66,284 ha are still burning, including 21 large fires which account for about a half of the total area on fire in Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and Amur region, a report said.
• “7,050 people and 1267 pieces of equipment have been involved in fighting forest fires.”
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Death toll from landslides that buried an orphanage near the Malaysian capital has climbed to 16.  All but one of the victims are said to be children, according to the officials.
• Kansas, USA.  A deadly tornado swept through the town of Reading in eastern Kansas, killing at least one person, injuring an unspecified number of others, destroying more than 20 homes and damaging 200 other building, a state emergency management official was reported as saying on Sunday.
• SPC had received at least 18 tornado reports, as of posting.

More Tornadoes May Be On the Way

US Weather Forecast Map for May 22, 2011. Click image to enlarge.

Related Links

• 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season: AAA
• More Severe Thunderstorms, Rain and Flash Flooding
• MEGA DELUGE 2011?

• April Tornado Stats
• The worst tornado outbreak in U.S. history
• U.S. Tornado Update – April 29
• U.S. Tornadoes, Storms Kill at least 195

• Mile-wide Mega Tornado Devastates Alabama
• Tornado Record for April Smashed
• When Weather Went Really Crazy
• U.S. Tornado Outbreak – Update 19 April
• Mega Tornadoes to Bombard U-S Tornado Alley

2011 Disasters

• 2011 Much More Disastrous
• 2010 Disasters [Includes Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters: 2011 SIX TIMES MORE DISASTROUS THAN 2010
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

Gansu Landslides: More of China Crumbles

Massive landslides triggered by large scale flooding kill at least 127 people, leave 2,000 missing

The landslides have “leveled an area about 5 km long and 500 meters wide,” affecting at least 20,000 people a statement posted on the website of the provincial government said, Xinhua reported.

Original caption: Photo taken by mobile phone shows rescuers searching for missing personnel in Zhouqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China’s Gansu Province, Aug. 8, 2010. At least 96 people have been confirmed dead in landslides triggered by torrential rains in Zhouqu County. (Xinhua)

“Someone said the fifth floor of my residential building had been submerged. People are busy looking for family members and friends,” said Li Tiankui, a resident who lived near the Bailong River.

Bailong River was blocked by debris which changed its course and formed a 3-km long lake, measuring 100 meters wide and 9 meters deep, and holding about 1.5 million cubic meters of water, the provincial flood control department said. More …

Related Links:

• Collapse Headlines 28 July 2010
• China is crumbling one mountainside, a mine, couple of cities, two dozen dams …  at a time
• Death toll from China bridge collapse rises to 37, with 29 others still missing

China Under Deluge

At least 10 million People Affected by Floods in China

Torrential Rains, Flash Floods and Landslides Claim Hundreds of Lives in Southern China

Floods have destroyed more than 8,000 homes in one county alone, the Lichuan County of Jiangxi Province.

Original Caption: Flood heavily inundate the roads and vernacular dwellings, at Shayuan Village of Hecheng Town, Zixi County, southeast China’s Jiangxi Province, June 19, 2010. Rain-triggered landslides in eastern and southern China have killed at least 46 people since Sunday. As of 10:00 a.m. Saturday, downpours that began pounding southern China Sunday had left 88 people dead, 48 missing, and forced the evacuation of 757,000 residents from their homes. About 9.27 million people in Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Guizhou and Sichuan were affected by the heavy rains. as direct economic losses caused by the heavy rains have topped 10 billion yuan (about 1.46 billion U.S. dollars). The torrential downpours have also triggered flash floods, caused rivers to swell, inundated crops, and disrupted traffic and telecommunications. (Xinhua/Wu Zhigui). Image may b subject to copyright.

At least 10  million people in Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Guizhou and Sichuan have been affected by the heavy rains, flooding and landslides, reports say, putting the direct economic loss at about $1.5 billion, so far.

More…

China may never recover from the disaster

“The scope and intensity of the rain have increased,” China’s National Meteorological Center on Sunday warned of more rainstorms to hit the affected regions.

“In parts of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Henan, Guangxi and other areas of the south, the rainfall will be 100-180 millimetres. In other parts, the rainfall will be more than 200 millimetres.”

Up to 100,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed, with about 1 million hectares (2.47 million acres) of crops ruined, reports say.

Related Links:

• Global Flooding and Landslide Headlines
• Photos of sinkholes in China

• Deadly Landslides Kill 100 in Bangladesh, Burma, China
• Landslides Kill at least 44 in South China
• 2010 Disaster Calendar [JUNE]
• Towns and Villages Turned into Lakes
• Latest Landslide in China

• Oklahoma City Under Deluge
• U.S. Floods Hit Texas, Oregon, Wyoming, Utah, Missouri …
• Deadly Tornadoes Turn U.S. Midwest into ‘War Zone’
• A Dry Run for Climate Chaos Heading Our Way
• U.S. Warmer, Drier in March

• U.S. Weather at a Glance
• Southern U.S. Flooding Update
• FLOODING: Kentucky governor declares a state of emergency
• Rhode Island: Step Nearer Collapse?
• Flooding in Midwest Kills 1, Swamps Roads, Rail Line

• Arkansas Floodwaters Submerge Campground, Killing 16
• U.S. Floods Hit Texas, Oregon, Wyoming, Utah, Missouri …
• 2010 Disasters

Latest Landslide in China

Water reservoir sinks in Fuling District, Chongqing, China

As yet another round of torrential rains struck southern China, a combination of flooding and landslides wreak havoc across the region.

According to China’s Xinhua official news agency:

Parts of Shaoguan City in Guangdong Province have been flooded due to the sudden onslaught of heavy rains.

The city’s sewage system was unable to deal with the volume of rain, forcing the closure of some kindergartens and schools on lower levels.

A student of Guangdong Province said, “The water rose to the level of our knees. We came out from the classroom one by one, and rolled up our trousers and took off our shoes.”

The following excerpts are from the same report  released by Xinhua:

In Chongqing Municipality, continuous storms have caused a water reservoir to sink in Fuling District. A split near the top is over 100 meters long, and is getting worse.

Survivoe Chen Mingshu said, “The width of the crack is 30 centimeters, and the sunken area is more than one meter deep.”

Residents of the surrounding areas have been evacuated to safety. Local authorities have dispatched related experts to monitor the situation around the clock.

The storms have also triggered landslides in Luxi county of Hunan Province. A massive falling rock struck the roof of a restaurant, destroying not only the building, but a van parked nearby as well.

Restaurant employee Xiang Ping said, “I was in the kitchen at 9 o’clock when I heard the sound of the landslide. I immediately ran out, and the rock stopped at the gate. I could not get into the house and ran onto the road.”

Related departments have arrived at the accident site and went to great length to remove the huge rock and resume traffic.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/video/2010-05/20/c_13306419.htm

Meanwhile, 4 miners were reported as missing after a coalmine collapsed in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality Wednesday, Xinhua reported local authorities as saying.

Related Links:

• Violent Storms Kill at least 65 in S China
• Deadly Rainstorms, Landslides Strike Central China
• China Mine Explosion Death Toll Rises to 21
• Another China Mine Disaster Kills 12, Traps 32

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Serial No 1,747. Starting April 2010, each entry on this blog has a unique serial number. If any of the numbers are missing, it may mean that the corresponding entry has been blocked by Google/the authorities in your country. Please drop us a line if you detect any anomaly/missing number(s).

Ready to Welcome Climate Refugees?

Brought to you by ‘nonnegotiable lifestyle’

Not a climate refugee yet? You’ll probably have to play host to a few, for now!

Here’s a sample of what may soon be occurring on much larger scales:

About 300,000 people living on the slopes of Mount Elgon, Bududa, Uganda, will be moved: Ugandan Government

The government says another 200,000 people who live in western Uganda, near the Ruwenzori mountains, should also be relocated, bringing the total of people at risk of floods and landslides to a whopping half a million. And that is just the beginning!

Map of Uganda. Click image to enlarge. Source: U.S. Govt. Image enhanced by Fire-Earth.

The total population at risk of landslides and floods is estimated to be 500,000,” Ugandan deputy minister for disaster preparedness, Musa Ecweru said.

He has described the recent deadly mudslide in Bududa as a “wake-up call.”

Fearing more floods and landslides, about 300,000 people have already abandoned their homes in the mountainous regions in Bududa including the districts of Budaka, Butaleja, and Tororo, he said.

His fears are compounded by recent meteorological reports forecasting above normal rainfall throughout the ongoing rainy season which ends in May [but might linger on longer this year.]

Ecweru says most of the mountainous area in eastern border of  his  country with Kenya, especially the slopes of Mount Elgon (located about  about 275km north-east of the capital Kampala), is too dangerous for human habitation.

“The Elgon region has been invaded up to very dangerous slopes and if we don’t relocate these people we are likely to witness a repeat of what we have witnessed,” he said, referring to the massive mudslide last struck the region on March 1.

A woman searches for her missing relatives on a pile of soil in Bududa village, 210 km (130 miles) east-northeast of the Ugandan capital Kampala, March 3, 2010. The landslide in eastern Uganda has killed at least 80 people and villagers are digging with bare hands and simple tools in the hope of finding survivors, a government minister and Ugandan media said on Tuesday. Credit: REUTERS/James Akena. Image may be subject to copyright. For more images click link bottom of page.

According to different reports between 82 and 106 bodies have so far been recovered from the  mudslide in the Bududa district, but the death toll is thought to be between 106 and 350. A fast-moving avalanche of earth buried homes, schools, shops and other structures, turning entire villages into instant graves.

Folks, learn to be a good host, look after any guest who comes your way. Who knows, you could be knocking on other peoples’ door before long.

AND never say, “it would never happen to us!”

Related Links:

• 2010 Disaster Calender
• Storms, Extreme Rain Events, Floods, Landslides
• Drought and Deluge
• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Index of Human Impact on Nature (HIoN) March 2008
• 2010: The Year of Disasters
• Earth’s Human Induced Antiphase Nears Completion

Related News Links:

• Floods displace over 300,000 people in Uganda
• Uganda plans to resettle 500,000 over mudslide risk
• Over 500,000 people in Uganda at risk of landslides, floods

More images of mudslides:

• Reuters photos

Mirinae Carved a Path of Death and Mayhem in Vietnam

Tropical Cyclone Mirinae Left a Trail of Death and Destruction Behind in Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia

At Least 117 dead, hundreds injured, thousands of homes destroyed or damaged, thousands of hectares of rice and other croplands ruined.

Typhoon Mirinae killed at least 25 people in Philippines, with several others reported missing, after making landfall on October 30, 2009. The storm damaged about 15,000 structures, mostly houses, affecting about 100,000.

Mirinae temporarily lost its sting and weakened to a tropical depression as it passed over Luzon.

On November 2, 2009 it made another land fall in Vietnam’s central coastal areas as a tropical storm. It triggered severe flooding killing at least 90 people with 11 others reported as missing, and at least 60 injured, according to the officials.

More than 80,000 people were evacuated.

“Most of the victims were because of serious floods that hit the provinces of Phu Yen, Binh Dinh and Gia Lai in particular,” an official said.

Some 338 mm (13 inches) of rain fell in Vietnam’s central regions, according to the country’s national disaster committee, destroying or damaging about 2,600 homes and up to 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) of farmland.

“Rain is not very heavy now but several areas in our province are seriously flooded,” an official said.

Mirinae left two people dead in Cambodia.

In September, TS Ketsana, one of Vietnam’s worst disasters in recent years, left about 165 people dead with hundreds more injured. It unleashed severe floods, inundated many thousands of homes and damaged thousands of hectares of ready to harvest rice paddies and croplands.

Related Links:

• Mirinae: Philippines Phlooded
• Possible Tropical Cyclone Forming Near Luzon
• TS MIRINAE – UPDATE 31 October 2009
• MIRINAE: Another Cyclone Heading Philippines Way
• Typhoon MIRINAE “In-Touch” with LUPIT

Typhoon LUPIT: Cruel, Harsh, or Wicked?

Typhoon LUPIT – 21 Oct 2009

• How long will LUPIT loiter around Luzon

• How much more rain will it dump?

• Will LUPIT move away and come back, AGAIN!
  

At 00:00 UTC – Oct 21, 2009
Max Winds:   160km/h (85 knots)  Category: 2
Max Gusts:  195 km/h (105knots)
Coordinates: 20.5ºN 128.9ºE
Movement past six hours: 280 degrees at 15 km/h (08 kts)
Location: About 925 km (500 kts) NE of Manila Philippines

Summary of Storm Activity

Lupit is tracking westward steered by a subtropical ridge extension to the north. Deep convection has become more organized near the storm center over the past six hours, JTWC reported.

Typhoon LUPIT – MTSAT Still image.

LUPIT Track by UniSys Weather.  Click image to enlarge and update.

History Color Code - The chart color codes intensity (category based on Saffir-Simpson scale)

NOTE: Pressures are in millibars and winds are in knots where one knot is equal to 1.15 mph. Source: UniSys Weather

LUPIT 5-day track. Source JTWC. Click image to enlarge.

Typhoon LUPIT – 20 Oct 2009

Typhoon LUPIT (22W): JTWC/SATOP multispectral satellite image. October 20, 2009 at 05:00 UTC. Click image to enlarge.

Typhoon LUPIT – 20 October 2009, at 09:00UTC

Position: 20.4ºN, 129.3ºE
Location: Approximately 1,110 km (600 NM) northeast of Manila, Philippines.
Movement:  WNW at about 15km/h (8 knots)
Center: LUPIT’s Eye has once again become visible
System Characteristics: LUPIT has good radial out flow
Maximum significant wave height:  ~ 11 meters (34 feet)
Max sustained winds: 175km/h (95 knots)
Max gusts: 215 km/h (115 knots)

Super Typhoon Lupit. Date/Time as inset. Click on image to animate.

MTSAT IR Image. Updated at 30 mins intervals. Click image to enlarge.

Background and More images:

• Typhoon LUPIT: Cruel, Harsh, or Wicked?
• Typhoon LUPIT Update – 17 Oct 2009
• LUPIT: The Mercy Storm?

LUPIT 3-day projected track. Image: JMA. Image may be subject to copyright. Click image to enlarge!

• LUPIT 3-day projected track.

Satellite Loops/Animation/Images

• Tropical West Pacific – Infrared
• Tropical West Pacific – Enhanced IR
• Tropical West Pacific – Water Vapor
• Tropical West Pacific – Visible

• Northwest Pacific – Water Vapor
• Northwest Pacific – Visible
• Northwest Pacific – Visible (Colorized)
• Northwest Pacific – Infrared
• Northwest Pacific – IR (Aviation Color Enhancement)

• West Pacific – Water Vapor
• West Pacific – Visible
• West Pacific – Visible (Colorized)
• West Pacific – Infrared
• West Pacific – IR (Aviation Color Enhancement)

Other Satellite Images:

• FEWW Satellite Imagery

Related Links:

• Super Typhoon LUPIT: The Sauntering Storm
• Typhoon LUPIT Update – 17 Oct 2009
• LUPIT: The Mercy Storm?

• Parma Hampers Recovery Efforts in Vietnam
• Philippines Still Flooded
• Philippines Terminally Impacted?

• Images of the Day: Super Typhoon Melor
• Could Typhoon Melor Drag Parma Back to Philippines?
• When Will Global Food Shortages Begin Biting

• “Twin-engine” hurricanes, “Supercharged” Typhoons
• Super Typhoon Parma May Churn Manila to Vanila
• Philippines Extreme Rain from TS Ketsana

• Manila Flooding Could Trigger Quakes
• Philippines: Worst Floods in Living Memory
• Philippines Worst Ever Flood Casualties Climb a Notch

• Earth undergoing significant geophysical disturbances
• Typhoon Melor Leaves a Trail of Destruction in Japan
• Typhoon Melor Arriving in Japan, Leaving Lasting Impression

Typhoon LUPIT Update – 17 Oct 2009

LUPIT has intensified to typhoon strength moving toward central and northern Luzon, Philippines

Previous Entry:

• LUPIT: The Mercy Storm?

Typhoon Data Summary

At 2:00 AM local time, Saturday October 17, typhoon LUPIT [locally known as “RAMIL”] was located about 850 km east of VIRAC, CATANDUANES (14.6°N; 133.2°E) with maximum sustained winds of 120 km/h and gusts of up to 150 km/h moving WNW at about 20/km/h, Philippines PAGASA reported.

FEWW Forecast:

Moderators believe LUPIT has the potential of becoming the most destructive typhoon yet to strike Philippines in 2009.

FEWW Previous Forecast

• LUPIT: The Mercy Storm?

MTSAT IR Image. Updated at 30 mins intervals. Click image to enlarge.

Satellite Loops/Animation/Images

• Tropical West Pacific – Infrared
• Tropical West Pacific – Enhanced IR
• Tropical West Pacific – Water Vapor
• Tropical West Pacific – Visible

• Northwest Pacific – Water Vapor
• Northwest Pacific – Visible
• Northwest Pacific – Visible (Colorized)
• Northwest Pacific – Infrared
• Northwest Pacific – IR (Aviation Color Enhancement)

• West Pacific – Water Vapor
• West Pacific – Visible
• West Pacific – Visible (Colorized)
• West Pacific – Infrared
• West Pacific – IR (Aviation Color Enhancement)

Other Satellite Images:

• FEWW Satellite Imagery

MTSAT – RGB Still Image. Time/Date as inset. Click image to  enlarge and update.

MTSAT – AVN Enhancement – Still Image. Time/Date as inset. Click image to  enlarge and update.

Cyclone LUPIT Projected track. Solid centers represent wind forces stronger than 117km/h. Source: JTWC.

Related Links:

• LUPIT: The Mercy Storm?

• Parma Hampers Recovery Efforts in Vietnam
• Philippines Still Flooded
• Philippines Terminally Impacted?

• Images of the Day: Super Typhoon Melor
• Could Typhoon Melor Drag Parma Back to Philippines?
• When Will Global Food Shortages Begin Biting

• “Twin-engine” hurricanes, “Supercharged” Typhoons
• Super Typhoon Parma May Churn Manila to Vanila
• Philippines Extreme Rain from TS Ketsana

• Manila Flooding Could Trigger Quakes
• Philippines: Worst Floods in Living Memory
• Philippines Worst Ever Flood Casualties Climb a Notch

• Earth undergoing significant geophysical disturbances
• Typhoon Melor Leaves a Trail of Destruction in Japan
• Typhoon Melor Arriving in Japan, Leaving Lasting Impression

Philippines Still Flooded

Image of the Day:
‘Pepeng’ [Parma] may have gone; Floods, risk of landslides remain strong

More than a week after Parma first hit N Luzon, the roads  in central Dagupan city, northern Philippines remain flooded.

Residents wade through a flooded road brought on rains by typhoon Parma in central Dagupan city in northern Philippines October 10, 2009. REUTERS/Erik de Castro. Image may be subject to copyright.

“The most important thing is to open roads so we can send relief goods because we cannot hope to find alternate routes,” said Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro .

“As of now, food and relief materials can only be delivered by helicopters because it will take 2-5 days to clear up roads and bridges washed out by floods and landslides,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Ernesto Torres, of the national disaster agency.

About 500,000 tons of ready to harvest rice and other crops have been destroyed by the two storms, Ketsana and Parma, the equivalent of about 7 percent of 2009 fourth quarter forecast harvest of 6.5 million tons, said Jesus Emmanuel Paras, Agriculture undersecretary.

Various sources have estimated the cost of damage to crops and infrastructure at up to $500million.

Related Links:

• Philippines Terminally Impacted?

• Images of the Day: Super Typhoon Melor
• Could Typhoon Melor Drag Parma Back to Philippines?
• When Will Global Food Shortages Begin Biting

• “Twin-engine” hurricanes, “Supercharged” Typhoons
• Super Typhoon Parma May Churn Manila to Vanila
• Philippines Extreme Rain from TS Ketsana

• Manila Flooding Could Trigger Quakes
• Philippines: Worst Floods in Living Memory
• Philippines Worst Ever Flood Casualties Climb a Notch

• Earth undergoing significant geophysical disturbances
• Typhoon Melor Leaves a Trail of Destruction in Japan
• Typhoon Melor Arriving in Japan, Leaving Lasting Impression

US Southeast floods kill at least 10

Bury your car before it buries you!

Image of the Day: Another washed out bridge

A washed out bridge is shown Monday, Sept. 21, 2009 in Douglasville, Ga. Heavy rain caused flooding in and around the Atlanta area. (AP Photo/John Bazemore). Image may be subject to copyright.

Floods triggered by torrential rain have blocked roads, killing at least a dozen people  in the south-eastern US, including six in the state of Georgia.

One of the victims was reported to be a two-year-old boy who was swept from his father’s arms in one of the worst affected areas, Carroll County, where violent floodwaters  destroyed  the boy’s mobile home.

ANOTHER RAINY NIGHT IN GEORGIA: A motorist abandons her car on Interstate 85 near Lilburn, Ga. early Monday morning after a stalled tropical storm dumped about 60 cm (2ft) of rain in less than 48 hours in the region. (Curtis Compton /Atlanta Journal & Constitution /September 21, 2009, Via LATimes). Image may be subject to copyright.

“Hundreds of roads and bridges were under water or washed out in the Atlanta area and other parts of the state, including 17 bridges on state and interstate highways.” AP reported.

Water rose as high as window-level on some houses in North Carolina’s Polk County, forcing emergency officials to evacuate homes along a seven-mile stretch of road. Flooding in more than 20 counties in western North Carolina closed roads, delayed school and forced evacuations.

As 60cm  (2ft) of rain fell in less than 48 hours, the Governor of Georgia Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency in 17 counties.

“We are currently focused on rescuing victims of the storms targeting Georgia and preventing further damage,” Perdue said. “State personnel and equipment are being deployed to assist effected communities.”

“Remember, flash floods are the No. 1 weather-related killer in the United States,”  AFP reported Charley English, director of Georgia’s Emergency Management Agency as saying. “Turn around when you come to a flooded area; never drive through flooded roads.”

the states of Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee have also been affected by flooding, as more heavy rain and flash floods were forecast for the region.

Related News Links:

Storms Pound Southeast; Motorists Trapped In Cars Die As ‘Historic’ Rains Swamp Roads

Related Links:

• FEWW FORECAST: 2009 Likely Wettest Year on Record

• Nature Rejects More Cars
• Car burial day in S. Korea
• Nature’s Assault on Cars Continues
• Drought and Deluge
• Landslides, Floods, Extreme Rain Events

• CO2e Links Page
• World CO2 Emissions
• Carbon Footprint of Your Dollar
• New York Cognitive Dissonance
• Canceling Your Life Insurance Policy with Nature
• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities

Nature’s Assault on Cars Continues

Image of the Day: Heavy rain causes widespread damage in NE Scotland

Police view the damage of a bridge that has been washed away during flooding in the Burnbank area on Friday in Fochabers, Scotland. Heavy rain has caused widespread damage to the north east parts of Scotland. (JEFF J MITCHELL, GETTY IMAGES/September 4, 2009). Iamge may be subject to copyright.

About 500 homes in the Elgin and Fochabers, Moray, Scotland, were evacuated due to the rivers Lossie and Spey flooding their banks after a record amount of rainfall. The residents were forced to spend the night in makeshift shelters.

Related Links:

• Car burial day in S. Korea
• Drought and Deluge
• Landslides, Floods, Extreme Rain Events
• CO2e Links Page
• World CO2 Emissions
• Carbon Footprint of Your Dollar
• New York Cognitive Dissonance

Landslide Consumes Homes

Landslide undermines a house in Nachterstedt, Germany

A large landslide undermined a house and caused a second one to partially collapse, slipping down some 100m into a large crater next to Lake Concordia,  Nachterstedt, Germany. Three people who lived in the houses are missing, presumed swept away into the lake.

House slipped into a large crater in Nachterstedt, Germany. Everything must have happened within a few seconds, a local official said. (Getty Images). Image may be subject to copyright.

The landslide which struck without warning, buried the debris in a massive crater next to the lake.  The lake was reportedly formed in what was  a disused opencast coalmine.

The threat of further landslides hampered the search and rescue team.

“It is too dangerous to search for the missing persons, the hillside is still moving,” local fire department spokesman said.

Related Video:

• http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE56J1UO20090720

Related Links:

• Mining Sets Off Earthquake in Germany
• Magnitude 4.5 Quake Hits France-Germany Border

Climate Change, Earthquakes, Volcanic Eruptions

Climate Change IS Increasing the Frequencies of Major Geological Events

There will be more earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides both on the land and sea floor

In a study first published on the web in 2004, NASA and United States Geological Survey (USGS) scientists found that retreating glaciers in southern Alaska may lead to more earthquakes in future.

“The study examined the likelihood of increased earthquake activity in southern Alaska as a result of rapidly melting glaciers. As glaciers melt they lighten the load on the Earth’s crust. Tectonic plates, that are mobile pieces of the Earth’s crust, can then move more freely.” [The study appeared in the July 2004 issue of the Journal of Global and Planetary Change.

Jeanne Sauber of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Bruce Molnia, a research geologist at USGS used NASA satellite and global positioning instruments, together with computer models, to analyze tectonic plates movements in relation to melting glaciers in Alaska.

"Historically, when big ice masses started to retreat, the number of earthquakes increased," Sauber said. "More than 10,000 years ago, at the end of the great ice age, big earthquakes occurred in Scandinavia as the large glaciers began to melt. In Canada, many more moderate earthquakes occurred as ice sheets melted there," she added.

"Southern Alaskan glaciers are very sensitive to climate change, Sauber added. Many glaciers have shrunk or disappeared over the last 100 years. The trend, which appears to be accelerating, seems to be caused by higher temperatures and changes in precipitation." the report said.

They discovered that a tectonic plate under the Pacific Ocean in southern Alaska was pushing toward the coast, creating very steep mountains. "The high mountains and heavy precipitation are critical for glacier formation. The colliding plates create a great deal of pressure that builds up, and eventually is relieved by earthquakes."

The sheer weight of massive glaciers that rest atop active seismic areas help minimize plate tectonic movements. "But, as the glaciers melt and their load on the plate lessens, there is a greater likelihood of an earthquake happening to relieve the large strain underneath."

Major earthquakes occur as a result of plate tectonic movements.

The researchers believe that a 1979 earthquake in southern Alaska, dubbed the St. Elias earthquake, which  measured 7.2 on the Richter scale, occurred  because the local glaciers melted.

"Along the fault zone, in the region of the St. Elias earthquake, pressure from the Pacific plate sliding under the continental plate had built up since 1899 when previous earthquakes occurred. Between 1899 and 1979, many glaciers near the fault zone thinned by hundreds of meters and some completely disappeared. Photographs of these glaciers, many taken by Molnia during the last 30 years, were used to identify details within areas of greatest ice loss."

"Field measurements were also used to determine how much the glacier's ice thickness changed since the late 19th century. The researchers estimated the volume of ice that melted and then calculated how much instability the loss of ice may have caused. They found the loss of ice would have been enough to stimulate the 1979 earthquake.

The two scientists, Sauber and Molnia used data from global positioning system and NASA satellites as well as Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) to document the glacier extent and topography.

"In the future, in areas like Alaska where earthquakes occur and glaciers are changing, their relationship must be considered to better assess earthquake hazard, and our satellite assets are allowing us to do this by tracking the changes in extent and volume of the ice, and movement of the Earth," Sauber said. Source

"Climate change: Tearing the Earth apart?"

Bill McGuire, professor of Geophysical Hazards at University College, in an article in New Scientist, titled "Climate change: Tearing the Earth apart?" wrote:

"In the early 1970s John Chappell of the Australian National University in Canberra was the first to make the link between glacial advances and retreats and the rate of global volcanism. We now know that the warming that heralded the start of the current interglacial period around 10,000 years ago brought forth a burst of volcanic activity in Iceland, as melting ice caps reduced pressures on the magma chambers below. Allen Glazner of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill identified a similar pattern in eastern California over the past 800,000 years. Increased levels of volcanic activity are also recorded at mid-latitude ice-covered volcanoes in the Cascades Range of the US and in the Andes."

"[I]t shouldn’t come as a surprise that the loading and unloading of the Earth’s crust by ice or water can trigger seismic and volcanic activity and even landslides. Dumping the weight of a kilometre-thick ice sheet onto a continent or removing a deep column of water from the ocean floor will inevitably affect the stresses and strains on the underlying rock.” McGuire said.

“Not every volcanic eruption and earthquake in the years to come will have a climate-change link…  Yet as the century progresses we should not be surprised by more geological disasters as a direct and indirect result of dramatic changes to our environment. The only saving grace is that a significant increase in volcanic activity would pump large volumes of sulphate gases into the stratosphere, which would cool the Earth’s surface and slow global warming, at least for a time. It’s a hell of a price to pay, though, for ignoring a phenomenon that could be far more easily sorted if we lived more considered and sustainable lives.” He said.

FEWW Team believes that aerial bombardment, nuclear tests, large scale urbanization, use of explosives for mining and similar activities, as well as human mobility also play  significant roles in increasing the frequencies of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and land and sea-floor landslides.