Floods Destroy or Damage Thousands of Homes in Indonesia

EXTREME CLIMATIC EVENTS
CLIMATE-RELATED DISASTERS
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Worsening floods and landslides leave dozens dead and 170,000 people homeless in Indonesia

Extreme Rain Events have triggered more flooding and landslides across the Indonesian archipelago, claiming dozens of lives and leaving at least 170,000 people homeless including the northern coast of Java, various parts of the capital Jakarta and North Sulawesi province.

The total number of people who have lost their homes include

• 65,000 In Jakarta
• 85,000 in North Sulawesi province
• 20,000 on the  northern coast of Java

Dozens of people have lost their lives since the latest round of flooding began on January 14.

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency [BNPB] has warned more rains and flooding could hit the disaster areas over the next few days.

Meanwhile, the casualties and the number of people made homeless by the extreme climatic events continue to rise.

Related Links

• Tens of Thousands Displaced in Indonesia Floods, Landslides  January 19, 2014

Ohio Declares Statewide Energy Emergency

EXTREME CLIMATIC EVENTS
ENERGY EMERGENCY
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Ohio Gov declares a state of emergency to speed up fuel shipments

Governor Kasich has declared a statewide energy emergency to speed up shipments of propane to the Mother of Presidents to keep the residents warm.

Ohio has experienced a spike in demand for propane gas both for residential and commercial deliveries due to multiple winter storms that have caused extreme winter conditions, dumping massive amounts of snow and freezing rain across the state.

Most homes in rural areas depend on propane deliveries for heating and cooking.

The emergency declaration waives the state licensing requirements for out-of-state propane transporters allowing them to bring propane into Ohio because of the fuel shortage throughout the state.

Earlier this month, Governor Mary Fallin declared a state of emergency due to the depleted supply of propane in Oklahoma.

Current – Emergency Declarations, Waivers, Exemptions & Permits

In addition to the state of Ohio, governors in at least 24 other states—Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin—have issued similar executive orders waving the licensing requirements for out-of-state propane transporters allowing them to bring propane into their respective states because of widespread fuel shortages, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Two other Emergency Declarations are currently in effect:

• Regional Emergency Declaration Issued by Eastern Service Center (PDF)
• Regional Emergency Declaration Issued by Midwestern Service Center (PDF)

NOTE: The list of Emergency Declarations above may not be complete. Additional declarations may be in effect even if not listed here.

Related Links

• State of Emergency Declared in Oklahoma due to Propane Shortage January 8, 2014

FIRE-EARTH Bulletin NO. 59

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

FIRE-EARTH Bulletin NO. 59 has been released.

Related links

https://feww.wordpress.com/2-bulletin-board/

“Radioactive River” Flowing at Fukushima No. 3 Reactor

NOTE: At least two of the links posted below have previously been censored by Google/WordPress

ONGOING NUCLEAR DISASTER
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Stream of radioactive water 30-cm wide continuously flowing at Reactor No.3

The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), says the radioactive water leaking from the number 3 reactor building is most probably coming from the containment vessel.

A camera installed on a robot took a video of the radioactive stream on the first floor of the reactor building on Saturday. The stream, 30cm wide, is continuously flowing into a drain, said TEPCO.

“Radiactive River” at Fukushima Reactor No. 3. Source: Screenshot from TEPCO video broadcast by NHK.

Technicians have detected 24 million becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive substances, including strontium, as well as 1.7 million becquerels per liter of Cesium 137, TEPCO said in a statement.

That level of contamination is almost as high as the radioactive materials in the water that has been accumulating in the basement of reactor building.

The water temperature is about 20ºC, which matches the temperature of the water at the bottom of the reactor [containment vessel,] said TEPCO.

TEPCO officials believe the water for cooling melted fuel in the containment vessel is leaking for reason that are unknown to them. [Try cracks in the containment vessel. Editor]

The company said they will continue with their investigation until they get to the bottom of it (!)

On November 7, 2013 FIRE-EARTH said [and Google/Wordpress censored]:

Scale of potential catastrophe at Fukushima could dwarf a limited nuclear war.

Related Links

• Fukushima Radiation Level 8 Times* Govt Standard: TEPCO January 13, 2014
• Record Radiation Detected at Fukushima [AGAIN] December 22, 2013
• Japan Renews Nuke Ambitions Despite Fukushima, Common Sense December 14, 2013
• Record Outdoor Radiation Level Detected at Nuked Fukushima Plant December 9, 2013
• TEPCO Continues to Contaminate the World October 3, 2013
• 80 Percent Chance of Major Catastrophe at Fukushima NPP November 7, 2013
• Crimes Against Nature: Water Overflows from 12 Fukushima Barriers October 21, 2013
• Fukushima Potentially More Disastrous Than Hiroshima October 18, 2013
• Fukushima Fatal Farce Turns Deadlier September 1, 2013

For additional links to ongoing nuclear disaster at Fukushima, search blog content.

Severe Quake Rattles Lower North Island, NZ

EARTHQUAKE HAZARD
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M6.2  strikes near Palmerston North, New Zealand

The quake was felt thoroughout New Zealand’s North Island, from Invercargill to Auckland, and as far south as Canterbury in the South Island, according to local reports.

The mainshock was followed by a swarm of aftershocks, with the largest measuring 3.7Mw, as of posting.

The quakes have caused damage to buildings and roads in the lower North Island between Wellington and Manawatu, said reports.

The quake was felt widely in the capital Wellington, leaving “people screaming and ducking for cover as items fell from shelves,” in a shopping mall, said a report.

The shock knocked power to thousands of customers  in Tararua, Manawatu and Taranaki, according to the local power company.

Earthquake Location Map. Source: USGS/EHP

Earthquake Details [USGS/EHP]

• Event Time: 2014-01-20 @ 02:52:45 UTC
• Location: 40.634°S 175.776°E depth=28.0km (17.4mi)
• Nearby Cities
  • 34km (21mi) SSE of Palmerston North, New Zealand
  • 37km (23mi) NNE of Masterton, New Zealand
  • 42km (26mi) E of Levin, New Zealand
  • 71km (44mi) ENE of Paraparaumu, New Zealand
  • 111km (69mi) NE of Wellington, New Zealand

Tectonic Summary

The January 20, 2014 M6.2 earthquake northeast of Masterton in the North Island of New Zealand is located approximately 115 km northeast of Wellington. The earthquake resulted from northeast-southwest oriented normal faulting 175 km to the west of the Hikurangi Trench, where the Pacific plate subducts westward beneath the North Island. At the latitude of this event, the Pacific plate moves towards the west-southwest with respect to the Australia plate at a rate of approximately 42 mm/yr. The faulting character, location and depth of this earthquake indicate it is an intraplate event either within Australia plate crust above the subducting Pacific plate, or within the interior of subducted Pacific slab, rather than a plate boundary event on the subduction zone thrust interface.

New Zealand experiences fairly frequent moderate-sized earthquakes; the region within 200 km of the January 20, 2014 event has experienced 35 earthquakes of M 5.5 or larger over the past century. The 2014 event is just a few kilometers to the east of a M 7.3 earthquake in March of 1934, and approximately 40 km southwest of two M6.2 and 6.4 earthquakes near Dannevirke in March and May of 1990, respectively. The 1990 events did not cause significant damage or fatalities. —USGS/EHP

For more information on earthquakes, including forecasts and warnings, search blog content.