Drought Destroys Fifth of Argentine Corn Crop

Grain fields across Argentina’s Pampas region destroyed by drought

An estimated 20 percent of Argentina’s corn crop has been roasted by drought and parching southern hemisphere summer sun.

Disaster Calendar 2012 – January 6

[January 6, 2012]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,531 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Argentina.  Drought and blazing summer sun have destroyed about a fifth of Argentina’s corn crop.
  • Farmers have stopped late-season corn planting.
  • The lingering drought also threatens the country’s soy harvest.
  • Argentina’s corn harvest forecast is down by 5 million to 7 million metric tons and soybean harvest by 3 million tons, reports said.
  • December rainfall was down to an overall average of about 25mm, down sharply from 85-mm average in December 2010.
  • Argentina is world’s 2nd-largest corn exporter and 3rd largest soybean seller.
  • The country supplies about 20 percent of the world’s traded corn, and half the soymeal.
• Chile. About 60 wildfires have killed, injured or left up to a dozen firefighters missing.
  • Blazes fanned by high winds, have consumed hundreds of homes and destroyed at least 50,000 hectares of woodland and brush since December 26, 2011.
  • Some of the fires were reportedly started by arsonists, one by an Israeli tourist.
  • Chilean President Pinera has invoked anti-terror legislation, which allows for steeper punishments.
  • A blaze in Biobio region has destroyed about 190 hectares of apple trees, cherry orchards and vineyards, a report said.
  • “Up to 300 farmers have lost or suffered damage to their crops, apiaries, warehouses and equipment. It’s estimated the blazes have claimed 67 greenhouses, 640 head of livestock and 650 beehives.”
  • The Agriculture Minister has declared a state of emergency in Quillón, Ránquil, San Rosendo and Florida provinces.
  • An unusually hot and dry weather has prevailed in Chile in the past few months.
• Netherlands. About 1,000 villagers from four villages in the province of Groningen, the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands, are being evacuated after an inland dyke began leaking, and threatened to break amid torrential rains.
  • Local authorities are also moving thousands of cattle from farms in the flood-risk areas.
  • “Hundreds of acres of land would flood in a matter of hours, while the water level in the area would rise to at least 1.50 meters. This is why we started the evacuation,” a local official said at a news conference.

Global Disaster Links

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs

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