Global Disasters/ Significant Events Headlines – 11 April 2013

N. Korea’s missile launchpad moves into firing position

Japanese government is on high alert after defense officials said their satellite images showed North Korea (NK) had raised a missile launcher located in eastern part of the country.

• Meantime, military analysts speculate that NK probably would launch multiple medium-range missiles simultaneously or within a short period.

• “There are clear signs that the North could simultaneously fire off Musudan, Scud and Nodong missiles,” South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted an anonymous military source as saying.

• S. Korea is currently on “Watchcon 2” military alert, the highest alert level before going into “state of war,” due to the  “vital threat” from North Korean missiles.

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Flash floods kill dozens, displace tens of thousands in Kenya

At least 32 people were killed and more than 20,000 others displaced by flash floods triggered by extreme rain events in Kenya.

• “Several parts of the country especially the Coast and Western Kenya regions have been affected by flooding following an increased heavy downpour countrywide,” according to Kenya’s Red Cross Society (KRCS).

• Rainstorms and Floods have caused widespread destruction to property and the infrastructure, and severely disrupted farming in the affected regions, especially in Western Kenya, the Coastal region, and parts of Rift Valley.

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Flash floods hit Panua nature preserve, Sulawesi island, Indonesia

“Residents have been evacuated and several trans-Sulawesi roads have been cut off after flash floods hit the Panua nature preserve in Pohuwato, Gorontalo,” said a report.

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DISASTER CALENDAR – April 11, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,066 Days Left 

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

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,066 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

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

Drought Disaster Declared for 202 Counties in 13 States

USDA designates 202 counties in 13 states as agricultural disaster areas due to drought

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 202 additional counties in 13 states as primary and contiguous disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the recent drought.

Those states are California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

• The worst hit state this week was Nebraska with 89 counties designated as primary disaster areas and 3 others as contiguous disaster areas.
• Texas was second with 25 counties, followed by Wyoming where 23 counties were designated as drought disaster areas.

US Drought Map as of April 9, 2013, released by US Drought Monitor on April 11, 2013.

FIRE-EARTH Drought Links 2013

• U-S Drought 2013: Fueled by Heat from Hell? January 31, 2013 [FIRE-EARTH Forecast]
• Drought Disaster Declared in 32 Additional Texas Counties April 4, 2013
• US: Drought Disaster 2013 [Index Page]

Another Round of Extreme Weather Forecast for Thursday

Severe Storms to Hit Ohio/Tennessee Valleys, Southern Mid-Atlantic and Southeast U.S.

Another round of severe weather is forecast for Thursday across the eastern Ohio, Tennessee River Valleys,  the southern Mid-Atlantic and Southeast U.S. The storms will bring damaging winds, tornadoes and large hail, targeting parts of Alabama, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle, NWS reported.

A powerful storm will bring a variety of weather hazards to parts of the central & eastern U.S. on Thursday. In addition to winter weather conditions over parts of the Upper Midwest & Great Lakes, there is a risk of severe thunderstorms for a large portion of the Ohio Valley & Southeast. Flash flooding will also be a threat for much of the lower & mid-Mississippi Valley into the lower Great Lakes. —NOAA

Filtered storm reports gathered by SPC. The map shows some 180 reports including 2 tornadoes.

U.S. weather hazards Map for April 11, 2013. Source: NWS