Mass Evacuations from Flooded Northern Gaza

EXTREME RAIN EVENT

Thousands evacuated from flooded homes in northern Gaza Strip

Severe flooding caused by four days of extreme rains has forced the authorities in the Palestinian territory and the UN Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) to evacuate more than 5,200 people from flooded homes.

Many more people have been trapped inside flooded homes as waters continue to rise.

“Large swathes of northern Gaza are a disaster area with water as far as the eye can see,” said UNRWA that administers refugee camps in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Areas near a refugee camp in northern Gaza “have become a massive lake with two-meter-high waters engulfing homes and stranding thousands,” said an UNRWA spokesman.

With a population of 1.8 million people, Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas on earth, home to mostly impoverished refugees and their descendants.

The strip has experienced 12-hour blackouts daily since the lone power plant was switched off in November due to a fuel shortage, said a report.

Recent Disasters in Gaza Strip

• Egypt’s FMD outbreak reaches Gaza, threatening entire Middle East May 2, 2012
• 2010 Disaster Calendar [February]
• 2010 Disaster Calendar [January]

Federal Disaster Declared in California

Disaster President Declares California Federal Disaster Area

The White House has declared California a Major Disaster Area in the area affected by the Rim Fire during the period of August 17 to October 24, 2013.

RIM FIRE became the 3rd largest wildfire in California history after burning at least 246,350 acres (997km², or 385mi²), including about 7 percent of Yosemite’s backcountry.

Federal funding, while they last, is being made available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the Rim Fire in Tuolumne County.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments, said FEMA.

Related Links and Background Information

• RIM FIRE Now 3RD Largest Wildfire in Calif. History
• RIM FIRE Now 4th Largest Wildfire in California History September 1, 2013
• Calif Wildfire Burns 864km² August 31, 2013
• State of Emergency Declared for Mariposa County, CA August 30, 2013
• RIM FIRE Becomes 5th Largest in Calif. History August 30, 2013

State of Phyto Emergency Declared in Costa Rica

Costa Rica declares a state of emergency due to banana pest

World’s 2nd largest banana exporter has declared a state of phytosanitary emergency for one year due to an explosive increase of pest populations in banana crops.

Boisduval scales and banana mealybugs have plagued more than 24,000 hectares of plantations in the country’s Atlantic region, from Talamanca to Sarapiqui, said the Ministry of Agriculture’s State Phytosanitary Service (SFE).

Damage caused by Boisduval scales to banana fingers.  Source: SFE

SFE believes the damage caused by the insects, usually just aesthetic in nature, would trigger rejections in packing plants, leading to “serious economic harm” for growers.

“The biggest risk that we face is that importing countries impose restrictions, including the return of shipments or market closure, bringing serious consequences and reducing the country’s commercial credibility,” said SFE in a news release.

“Previously, special permits were provided for the importation of a certain amount of bags, but the situation continues to worsen, which is why it was decided to resort to a state of emergency.”

Japan Renews Nuke Ambitions Despite Fukushima, Common Sense

Japan should embrace nuclear power: Government panel

“Nuclear energy is an important and fundamental base energy source that will support the stability of energy demand and supply,” the panel wrote in its report.

The panel is headed by the honorary chairman of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp, Japan’s largest steel maker and one of its heaviest energy consumers, said a report.

Unsurprisingly, the panel’s recommendations are driven by economic incentives alone and have no base in science or reason in common sense.

If Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe remains in power his government would almost certainly heed the panel’s advice and expand Japan’s reliance on nuclear energy, despite widespread anti-nuclear sentiment after the 2011 Fukushima triple meltdown.

Ironically, the previous government of the Democratic Party of Japan, decided to abandon to abandon nuclear power following a recommendation from a similar panel.

Nuclear reactors in Japan, one of the world’s most seismic prone countries, provided about a third of electricity before the 2011 Fukushima catastrophe.

Prior to the Fukushima incident, the world’s worst nuclear disaster since 1986 Chernobyl meltdown, the government had considered boosting the contribution of nuclear energy to over 50 percent.

Enough said!

CJ Recommendation

The decision by the government to reactivate Japan’s idled reactors would justify any and all future defensive measures taken by nature to neutralize the additional threats, recommends CJ panel.

Magnitude 5.5 Quake Shakes Tokyo

Significant earthquake strikes offshore eastern Japan

Quake Details [USGS/EHP]

Magnitude: 5.4
Event Time: 2013-12-14 04:06:14UTC
Epicenter: 35.621°N, 140.686°E
Depth: 36.0km (22.4mi)
Nearby Cities
11km (7mi) SSE of Asahi, Japan
90km (56mi) E of Tokyo, Japan

Quake Details [Japan Met]
Magnitude: 5.5
Time:  13:06 JST 14 Dec 2013 (JST)
Epicenter: 35.6ºN, 140.8ºE ( Chiba-ken, Toho-oki)
Depth: 50 km
Max JMA Seismic Intensity: 4

Earthquake Location Map

Earthquake Location Map. Source: USGS/EHP.

Earthquake Location Map. Source: Japan Met

“Complex” Storm System Buffeting Central and Eastern U.S.

EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS

Heavy snowfall and freezing rain forecast this weekend

A complex storm system will impact the Central and Eastern U.S. this weekend: NWS

Heavy snowfall is forecast across parts of the Midwest into the Ohio Valley and on to the Northeast, while freezing rain could impact the central Appalachians into southern New England this weekend,  said NWS.

Up to 10 inches of snow could fall on parts of the affected region, including the state of Maine, starting Saturday night.

Emergency Proclamation for Maine

Meantime, Maine Gov. Paul LePage issued an emergency proclamation on Friday waiving the U.S. Department of Transportation rules for at least two weeks and ensuring that heating fuel transport and delivery trucks could operate extra hours because of the frigid temperatures and a propane shortage throughout the region.

U.S. Weather Hazards Map (Hazmap)  for Saturday, December 14, 2013. Source: NWS.

Recent Extreme Weather Events

• Major Winter Storm Battering Southern Plains through Ohio Valley December 6, 2013
• Major Winter Storm Affecting Much of the U.S. December 5, 2013
• Massive Winter Storm Engulfs Much of Western, Central and Northern U.S. December 4, 2013
• Massive Storm System Impacting Western and Central U.S. December 3, 2013
• Nor’easter Spawned by Deadly Thanksgiving Storm November 27, 2013
• Deadly Thanksgiving Storm Moves East November 26, 2013

Significant Quake Strikes near Lost Hills, California

M4.1 strikes 24km NNW of Lost Hills, CA

Centered at 35.811°N, 119.801°W, the quake struck at a depth of 22.2km (13.8mi), reported USGS/EHP.

• Event Time: 2013-12-13 07:49:57 UTC
• Epicenter: 35.811°N 119.801°W
• Depth: 22.2km (13.8mi)
• Nearby Cities
  • 24km (15mi) NNW of Lost Hills, California
  • 35km (22mi) SE of Avenal, California
  • 39km (24mi) SW of Corcoran, California
  • 49km (30mi) WNW of Wasco, California
  • 341km (212mi) SSE of Sacramento, California

Earthquake Location Map

Earthquake Location Map. Source: USGS/EHP.  Location and Magnitude contributed by: Northern California Seismic System, UC Berkeley and USGS Menlo Park