Destabilization of Middle East Intensifies

Human river of Syrian refugees cross border into northern Iraq

At least 45,000 Syrian refugees have crossed the border into northern Iraq in the past ten days, one of the biggest influxes of refugees since beginning of the Syrian conflict.

At least 45,000 Syrian refugees have crossed the border into northern Iraq in the past 10 days. Photo: UNHCR/G. Gubaeva

“There was war and looting and problems,” said a refugee who trekked with his five children to Iraqi Kurdistan.

“We did not find a morsel (of food), so, with our children, we came here.”

“We fled because there is war, beheadings and killings, and in addition to that there is no work,” said another refugee.

“The economic situation deteriorated and everything became expensive.”

“There was a shortage of food in the market, and everything became expensive, from bread to gas canisters, and unemployment was spreading,” said a refugee whose wife held their three-week-old baby in her arms outside a tent.

“We decided to save ourselves before we died of hunger.”

An estimated 2 million Syrians have fled their country, with most seeking refuge in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.

An estimated 200,000 Syrian refugees have fled to Iraq.

“Rebel militants in Syria release chemical substance near Damascus”

Original caption: Chemical reagents are seen at an arsenal of Syrian rebel militants in Jobar, near the capital of Damascus, on Aug. 24, 2013. Some Syrian soldiers on Saturday suffered suffocation after rebel militants released chemical substance around their hideouts near Damascus, the state-TV reported. (Xinhua/Bassem Tellawi). More images…

U.N. chemical weapons inspectors fired on in Syria

“A vehicle carrying U.N. chemical weapons investigators came under sniper fire Monday as it was heading toward the site of an alleged chemical attack last week that killed hundreds of people,” said a report.

Iraq Violence

Meantime, at least 55 people were killed and more than 120 others injured on Sunday across Iraq by car bombs, IEDs and gunfire.

The latest killings in Baghdad, Baquba, Balad and Mosul raises the monthly death toll to at least 685 civilians dead. The blog estimates the number of wounded at 1,500 since August1.

UNAMI Stats for Armed Violence in Iraq

According to information collected by UNAMI, a minimum of 928 were killed (including 204 civilian police) a further 2109 were injured (including 338 civilian police) in ongoing armed violence in Iraq during July 2013.

• In June 2013, 685 civilians were killed and 1610 were injured.

• In May 2013, 963 civilians were killed and 2191 were injured.

• In April 2013, 595 civilians were killed and 1481 were injured.

• In March 2013, 229 civilians were killed and 853 were injured.

• In February 2013, 418 civilians were killed and 704 were injured.

• In January 2013, 319 civilians were killed and 960 were injured.

• In December 2012, 230 civilians were killed and 655 were injured.

• In November 2012, 445 civilians were killed and 1306 were injured.

ALL figures remain estimates until full investigation and analysis has been carried out, said UNAMI.

FIRE-EARTH log on Syria – dated June 14, 2012

The joint proxy war waged by Saudi Arabia and Israel against Syria has entered a new phase. The head of UN peacekeeping operations has described the Syrian conflict as a “civil war.”

More Deaths and Destruction as Floods Hit China

Floods in China’s Yunnan province affect 1.6 million, killing dozens

Severe floods in southwest China’s Yunnan Province have affected 1.6 million people, killing at least 45, and displacing more than 26,500 others, said a report.

Original caption: Vehicles are stranded on a landslides-hit road in Yiliang County, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Aug. 25, 2013. Rainstorms-triggered mountain floods, landslides and mud-rock flows hit the county in this weekend. (Xinhua/Peng Hong)

Rainstorms and floods wreak havoc in NE and S China

The latest round of flood crests on the Songhua River is expected to reach Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province [population: ~ 10 million] , on Tuesday, flood control experts said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, nearly 600 oil wells in Daqing, one of China’s major oilfields, which is about 150 kilometers from Harbin, have halted operation.

Persistent downpours since Aug 14 have caused the worst flooding since 1998 in the northeastern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang [85 lives lost, 105 people missing,] which are the heartland of China’s grain production.

Heavy rain is likely to hit the provinces of Yunnan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Sichuan and Hubei and Shanghai, with the precipitation in southwestern Yunnan expected to reach 100 to 150 mm from Sunday to Monday, the National Meteorological Center forecast on Sunday.[Xinhua]

Worst Flooding in a Century

Original caption: Photo taken on Aug. 26, 2013 shows residential houses inundated in floods in Shengdeku Village of Fuyuan County, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. Heilongjiang has seen its worst flooding in a century with continuous rising water levels. About 300 households from the flooded Shengdeku Village and Heiyupao Village of Fuyuan County were evacuated before the floods swept their hometowns, inundating nearly 400,000 mu (about 26,667 hectares) of farmlands. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei). More images…

Typhoon Trami kills 2, affects 200,000 in China

Downpours brought by Typhoon Trami and monsoon have left two people dead and nearly 200,000 affected in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, local authorities said Monday.

Rainstorms also toppled 668 rooms of 348 households and seriously damaged another 855 rooms of 451 households in Guangxi.

Typhoon Trami was the 12th typhoon to hit China this year. Rainstorms brought by the typhoon have also swept Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, affecting 1.4 million people and forcing the relocation of 351,000, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Friday.  [Xinhua]

Original caption: A villager checks his house damaged by flood at Zhoujia Village of Fuchuan Yao Autonomous County, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Aug. 22, 2013. Trami, which was downgraded to tropical storm status, would likely bring persistent rain and cause floods in Guangxi. The region had been drenched by Typhoon Utor last week. (Xinhua/Lu Bo’an)

Hospital hit by landslide in SW China

Original caption: Geologists check the landslide site in Yiliang County, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Aug. 26, 2013. A rain-triggered landslide occurred on Monday morning at a hill behind the People’s Hospital in Yilang, which damaged part of the hospital. Patients and residents in the surrounding area were evacuated and no casualties were reported. (Xinhua/Peng Hong). More images …

Flooding Links

• Major rivers rise, 6,000 dykes breached
• Historic flooding in claims 125 lives, affects 3.7 million

Wildfires Rage in Southern Europe

Hundreds of people evacuated in Spain and Portugal due to wildfires

Portugal requested help from Spain and France as the wildfires devastate tens of thousands of hectares of forests across the country.

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RIM FIRE continues to grow; burns 23mi² in YNP

UPDATED at 08:30 UTC on Monday, 26 August 2013

Massive wildfire edges closer to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir

Rim Fire has moved to about 2 miles of a Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, a key reservoir that supplies about 85% San Francisco’s water, or 2.6 million people in the area.

FIRE-EARTH estimates that the fire would have grown to about 145,000 acres, as of posting.

The giant fire, already the 14th largest in California history, continues to threaten power and water supplies to San Francisco, some 195 miles away.

The blaze consumed an additional 3,000 acres within Yosemite National Park by late Sunday, up from [13,000 acres] earlier in the day, forcing  the closure of the White Wolf area and the evacuation of 13 camps, said a report.

Rim Fire continued to spread near Yosemite National Park. Photo Credit: Elias Funez/MCT/Landov via NPR

The fire has so far destroyed at least 11 homes, 12 outbuildings and four commercial properties, as well as two power structures that supply San Francisco with electricity, the report said.

RIM FIRE started on August 17 in the Stanislaus National Forest and remained at 7% containment, with 2,846 personnel deployed, as of posting.

The fire is sending smoke columns to heights of more than 30,000 feet, said USFS.

About 2,250 households are currently under mandatory evacuation, and the blaze threatens 4,500 structures.

California Gov. Brown declared a state of emergency for San Francisco on Friday due to the damage caused to electrical infrastructure serving the City and County of San Francisco, which had forced the officials to shut down two of the three hydroelectric power stations in the YNP area, as well as the power lines.

Latest Mandatory Evacuations

A Mandatory Evacuation has been issued for residences north of Old Yosemite Road (Forest Road 2S01).

An Evacuation Warning has been issued for all residences north of Bull Creek Road (Forest Road 2S02), Bondurant Mine Road, Texas Hill Road, and Wampum Hill. The Mandatory Evacuation and Evacuation Warning has been issued by the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office. [Inciweb]

RIM FIRE Map.  Click map for latest version.

UPDATE continues…

For additional information see:

• RIM FIRE Forces New Closures at Yosemite National Park August 25, 2013
• State of Emergency Declared for SF due to RIM FIRE August 24, 2013
• RIM FIRE Crosses into Yosemite National Park August 24, 2013
• State of Emergency Declared as Calif. Wildfire Explodes August 23, 2013
• Large Wildfires in the West Burn Homes, Force More Evacuations August 21, 2013
• State of Emergency Declared in 31 Montana Counties due to Wildfires August 20, 2013
• Beaver Creek Fire Consumes 100,000 acres
• “Take Your Essentials Belongings and Pets and GO NOW” August 18, 2013

Irish Sea earthquakes send tremors across British Isles

Earthquakes felt both in Ireland and the UK

Two earthquakes struck in the Irish Sea early Sunday, said the British Geological Survey.

The strongest shock measured 3.3 on the Richter scale at a depth of about 5km some 25km off the coast of Blackpool at 10.58am (BST), and was reportedly felt by people on the British mainland.

An earlier quake measuring about 2.4 magnitude at a depth of 3km occurred about 4 hours earlier.

[Really?]

“The Irish National Seismic Network , which monitors seismic activity, has said that today’s earthquakes were ‘most likely the result of glacial rebound, the process whereby stresses built up the weight of glaciers from the last Ice Age are slowly released,'” said a report.

“It was not as strong as the Irish Sea earthquake on May 29th this year. The epicenter of the quake, which registered at magnitude 3.8, was 15km away from the town of Abersoch in Gwynedd, the British Geological Survey (BGS) said.”

A magnitude 4.0 quake struck the Iceland Region (62.90°N, 25.18°W) on Sunday at 07:00 UTC.

Local geologists would be advised to investigate connection between those quakes.

Related Links

• FEWW Volcano Links
• Volcanoes
• FEWW Earthquake Links