Disaster Diary – July 9, 2013
Posted by feww on July 9, 2013
Extreme rain event in Toronto triggers flash floods
Some 126 mm of rain fell across Toronto, mostly during the evening commute, causing flash floods and traffic chaos.
The amount of rainfall shattered both the previous one-day rainfall record of 29.2 mm, and the monthly average rainfall for July, which is less than 70mm, said Environment Canada.
Three regional power companies, Toronto Hydro, Enersource and Powerstream reported power outages to more than 900,000 customers in Etobicoke, Mississauga, Markham and Richmond Hill.
Floodwaters submerged subways and roads forcing authorities to suspend flights, as well as train, metro and ferry services.
Related News
Heavy rains flood roads, homes; state of emergency declared in central Manitoba community
The R.M. of Mossey River, north of Dauphin, received 150 mm of rain in just two hours on Saturday, said a report.
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RM of Buckland declares state of emergency after severe flooding
The Rural Municipality of Buckland, north of Prince Albert, has declared a state of emergency due to flooding, said a report.
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Rainstorms lash large parts of China
Original caption: Rescuers open up landslide-blocked Damazhuang tunnel on 302 provincial road in Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, July 9, 2013. Downpours have submerged the quake-razed old town ruins of Beichuan, which was hit by an 8.0-magnitude earthquake in May 2008. (Xinhua). More images …
Links to China Flood Headline News and Photos
At least 16,900 people in 4,920 households in the district have been affected. Direct economic losses are estimated at 768 million yuan (125.18 million U.S. dollars).
Local governments have relocated over 5,200 residents and tourists to get them out of the way of potential geological disasters.
Downpours also submerged quake-razed ruins in Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County, which has received 300 mm of precipitation. More than 42,000 people in Beichuan have been affected by the downpours.
- Vehicles, pedestrians fall into river after bridge collapsed in SW China
- Severe rainstorms batter quake-hit areas in SW China
- Rainstorms forecast for Beijing
As of 9 a.m. Monday, the commission had reported nine people dead and 11 missing in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, seven fatalities and two missing in neighboring Yunnan Province, four deaths in central China’s Hubei Province and three losses of life in east China’s Anhui Province.
A further ten fatalities were also reported in Beijing, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Tibet Autonomous Region, and provinces of Hebei, Heilongjiang, Shandong and Gansu. One person is also missing in Helongjiang Province.
Since July 3, natural disasters caused by downpours have affected about 6.75 million people in 284 counties, districts or prefecture-level cities across China, according to the commission.
Heavy rains that started on Friday have left three people dead and affected lives of about 1.87 million residents in central China’s Hubei Province, local authorities said Sunday.
The provincial civil affairs department said the downpours have also forced the relocation of about 114,000 people in 29 counties.
More than 7,000 houses have been destroyed or damaged and 151,900 hectares of crops have been affected. Economic losses are estimated at about 684 million yuan (about 111.6 million U.S. dollars), according to the department.
The highest precipitation in the province reached 168 mm in 24 hours in Tuanfeng County, the department said. [Source: Xinhua]
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Douglas County, NV declares a state of emergency due to exploding Bison fire
A state of emergency has been declared in Douglas County as the Bison fire exploded to nearly 26,000 acres. The blaze was reportedly 25% contained, as of posting.
The Bison Fire started at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 4, 2013. The lightning-caused fire is located along the western slope of the Pinenut Mountain range in Douglas County, Nevada, and is burning a combination of BLM public lands, Native American allotment lands, and private lands about five miles east of Gardnerville (east of U.S. Highway 395).
The fire has made significant runs on July 7 and 8 to the northeast through the Slater Mine area, burning through dense stands of pinyon pine, as well as crossing over the crest of the Pine Nut Range and backing down into the north end of Smith Valley. [Inciweb.]
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Another Pathetic Turn in the Fukushima Farce
Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima nuke plant reported Monday it had detected radioactive caesium-134 at levels that were 90 times higher than three days earlier. The latest incident occurred at an observation well located between the damaged reactor No. 2 and the ocean, reports said.
TEPCO said it had detected caesium-134 at 9,000 becquerels per liter, or 150 times above Japan’s safety standard (!) in the well, which is just 25 meters from the ocean.
Ouch!
“We don’t know what is the reason behind the spike,” Tepco spokeswoman Mayumi Yoshida told Reuters. “We’re still looking to determine the causes behind it.”
Try criminally-negligent INCOMPETENCE!
Probability of a Nuclear Disaster by Country
The following probability figures calculated by FIRE-EARTH on April 8, 2011 still hold!
- Japan (880)³
- United States (865)
- France (855)
- Taiwan (850)
- Belgium, China, 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:
- The list represents a snapshot of events at the time of calculating the probabilities. Any forecast posted here is subject to numerous variable factors.
- 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.
- Probability includes a significant worsening of Fukushima nuclear disaster, and future quakes forecast for Japan.
- 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.
- Safety issues considered in compiling these lists include the age, number of units and capacity of nuclear reactors in each country/state, previous incidents, probability of damage from human-enhanced natural disasters, e.g., earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity, hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, wildfires, flooding…]
- The Blog’s knowledge concerning the extent to which the factors described in (3) might worsen during the forecast period greatly influences the forecast. (Last UPDATED: June 26, 2011)
Related Links
- Nuke Disasters
- Japan Quakes
- Probability of a Nuclear Disaster by Country
- Record High Radiation Found in Fukushima Fish March 1, 2013
- Radiation Record Broken by Fukushima Fish March 18, 2013
- Fukushima Pre-Harvested Rice Contaminated by Radiation September 24, 2011
- Japan Earthquakes, Disasters: Recent History and FIRE-EARTH Forecasts
Also search blog for dozens of additional entries on “Fukushima.”
Fire Earth 
Quaternary said
Reboot!
Pam said
no such thing as a bad Japanese, or a good one–they are all pretty much the same.
John S. said
Japanese seem to be strapped in their oversized, well-overdue-for-a-recall toyotas parked in their tiny garages with the engines running at full throttle.
liz said
Events of the last hundred years or so show Japanese have been incapable of making intelligent decisions.
Candice said
Among industrialized nations, Japanese are the least socially evolved and the most selfish. They are also the least environmentally conscious, judging by their mass murder of whales and dolphins and wanton release of radioactive materials into the environment.
Bo said
To: world without
does your list include the Chinese and Korean islands that Japan has illegally annexed?
world without said
There’re 10 things the japanese shouldn’t be allowed to have, and nuclear industry is one of them.