‘This is the worst disaster the nation has seen’

EXTREME WEATHER & CLIMATIC EVENTS
EXTREME RAIN EVENTS
DEADLY FLASH FLOODS
NATIONAL DISASTER
STATE OF EMERGENCY
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Dozens Dead or Missing, Thousands Homeless in Solomons Flooding

Flash flooding has claimed at least 6 lives, left dozens missing and more than 10,000 homeless in the Solomon Islands’ capital Honiara (population: ∼ 70,000), prompting authorities to declare a state of emergency.

“This is the worst disaster the nation has seen,”  said the  Solomon Star newspaper.

Extreme Rain Events lasting for about a week  caused the main Matanikau River to burst its banks, sweeping away entire communities. The rain and flooding continue.

A spokesperson from the National Disaster Management Office said the office will assess the damage to map out the cost but said it will be costly.

“Homes were swept away by flash floods, lives were lost, properties damaged but the real extent of the damage is still sketchy,” the spokesman said.

“Matanikau River caused significant damage and there are other reports from other parts of Guadalcanal that were hard hit on Thursday.”

He said the Guadalcanal plains were also affected.

“Reports from those areas were that homes were flooded and food gardens wiped out.

“Lunga River also unleashed her might yesterday affecting a lot of residents in Lunga.”

The old one-lane Mataniko bridge is gone. On the Guadalcanal plains, hundreds of villagers headed for the hills last night as flooding took away  homes. This is the worst disaster the nation has seen.  Solomon Star News

Strong Quake Strike Solomon Islands

Meanwhile a magnitude 6Mw quake struck about 28km WSW of Kirakira, Solomon Islands.

Magnitude: 6.0Mw
Event Time: 2014-04-04 11:40:32 UTC
Location: 10.530°S 161.672°E
Depth: 63.8km (39.6mi)
Nearby Cities: 28km (17mi) WSW of Kirakira, Solomon Islands
224km (139mi) ESE of Honiara, Solomon Islands
Source: USGS/EHP

SOFTBALL SIZE HAIL BATTER U.S. SOUTH, MIDWEST

EXTREME WEATHER & CLIMATIC EVENTS
SOFTBALL SIZE HAIL
TORNADO ATTACK
STATE OF EMERGENCY
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Tornadoes, high winds, massive hail and torrential rain pound U.S. South, Midwest

A ferocious storm front spawning at least 8 tornadoes,  high winds and torrential rains rolled through the U.S. South and Midwest leaving a trail of destruction and damage in its wake.

Missouri Declares a State of Emergency

Gov. Nixon has declared a statewide state of emergency as a widespread severe weather system continued to batter the state of Missouri with at least three tornadoes, torrential rain, huge hail and high winds, causing flooding and flash flooding.

The Governor ordered activation of the State Emergency Operations Center, and also activated the Missouri State Emergency Operations Plan.

Tornado reports

The Storm prediction Center (SPC) at National Weather Service (NWS) received 8 confirmed reports of tornadoes in Texas, Missouri and Illinois, as well as nearly 200 reports of strong wind and hail.

Hail measuring at least the size of a quarter and as large as a softball hammered multiple areas along the storm path.

Tornadoes, high winds and rainstorm uprooted or damaged thousands of trees and downed power lines, ripping off roofs  and shattering windows across 6 states—Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri,  Illinois and Kentucky.

The storm system brought torrential rains causing flash flooding.

Source: NWS/SPC

Selected Reports (from report summary posted online by SPC)

•  Hail 3.5 inch in diameter reported in DENTON, Texas.
• TENNIS BALL size hail in COLLEGE MOUND, Macon county, MO.
• HAIL was almost to the size of  TENNIS BALLS at BIG FLAT, AR.
• ESTIMATED WIND GUST TO 70 MPH JUST EAST OF CREEK TURNPIKE AND NSU-BA CAMPUS, Wagoner County, OK.
• BASEBALL SIZED HAIL PRODUCED HOLES IN SIDING AND DAMAGED VINYL WINDOW SILLS AND GUTTERS. ALSO, 1.3 INCHES OF RAIN TODAY in Franklin County, MO.
• HAIL 2 TO 2 1/2 INCHES IN DIAMETER, Chariton County, MO.
• THOUSANDS of trees and numerous power lines DOWN across Arkansas, including Bradley, Calhoun, Drew, Garland, Jefferson, Lafayette,  Little River, Ouachita, Pike, Sevier and Union counties.
• ALL POWER OUT IN THE TOWN of  Stamps, Lafayette county, AR.

Major Disaster Declared in Washington State

EXTREME WEATHER & CLIMATIC EVENTS
FLOODING & MUDSLIDES
FEDERAL DISASTER DECLARED
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White House Declares Federal Disaster in the State of Washington

The Oval Office Occupant (30) has declared a major disaster in the State of Washington  in the area affected by flooding and mudslides beginning on March 22, 2014, and continuing.

The worst affected by the disaster are individuals in Snohomish County, including the Sauk-Suiattle, Stillaguamish, and Tulalip Tribes.

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

Death Toll

The death from mudslide in Oso that wiped out a community om March 22, has risen to at least 30, with 13 people still missing.

Massive walls of mud, rock and debris buried the community destroying dozens of homes after a rain-soaked hillside collapsed above the north fork of Stillaguamish River.

A 54m (177ft) wall of rain-sodden earth separated from foothills of the Cascade Mountains along the Stillaguamish River, leaving a trail of  mud, rock and debris up to 5m deep. It buried communities  near the town of Oso, north of Seattle.  FIRE-EARTH estimates the slide moved about 50 million tons of mud, rock and debris. Photo: WSDOT, Handout.

Related Links

• Community Vanishes in Deadly Oso Slide March 25, 2014
• Death Toll Climbs in Washington Landslide March 24, 2014

U.S. Drought Intensifies

EXTREME CLIMATIC EVENTS
WORSENING DROUGHT
CROP DISASTERS
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Drought worsens in the U.S. Midwest, South

Drought Levels D0 to D4, Abnormally Dry to Exceptional Drought, covered about 52.88 percent of the land area in the contiguous United States, up from 51.98 percent last week, according to the US Drought Monitor.

U.S. Drought Class Change (1 week ending April 1, 2014). Source: U.S. Drought Monitor

The West

Areas covered by drought levels D0 – D4 increased marginally to 71.89 percent .  California’s snow-water equivalent is only 32 percent of the average for April 1, when snowpack is at its peak level before the spring melt.

Midwest

D0-D4 drought levels spread to 40.57 percent of the region  from  35.15 percent last week.  The total area covered by snow in the northern Great Lakes region was 56.2% as of April 1, 2014, according to NWS/NOHRSC.

South: Texas
San Angelo Area reservoirs are currently 7.9% full while the Panhandle Planning Region reservoirs are just 1.7% full.

Crop Disaster Declared for 45 Counties in Texas, Oklahoma

The U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA has designated a total of 45 counties in Texas and Oklahoma as crop disaster areas due to the worsening drought.

Those areas are

• Texas. Bell, Dallas, Hamilton, McLennan, Comanche, Eastland, Hill, Mason, Coryell, Fannin, Lamar, Bosque, Erath, Lampasas, Palo, Pinto, Brown, Falls, Limestone, Red River, Burnet, Gillespie, Llano, Rockwall, Callahan, Grayson, McCulloch, San Saba, Collin, Hunt, Menard, Shackelford, Delta, Johnson, Milam, Stephens, Denton, Kaufman, Mills, Tarrant, Ellis, Kimble, Navarro and Williamson counties.

• Oklahoma. Bryan and Choctaw counties.

Drought Disasters 2014

Since January 10, 2014 USDA has declared at least 909 counties across 16 states as crop disaster areas due to worsening drought.

• Those states are: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Utah.

• Crop disasters have been declared in an additional 22 counties in the states of New York and Pennsylvania due to  Freeze.

Notes:
i. USDA trigger point for a countywide disaster declaration is 30 percent crop loss on at least one crop.

ii. The total number of counties designated as agricultural disaster areas includes both primary and contiguous disaster areas.

iii. A number of counties may have been designated crop disaster areas more than once due to multiple disasters.

iv. The U.S. has a total of 3,143 counties and county-equivalents.

v. The disaster designations posted above were approved by USDA on April 2, 2014.

Related Links

• Crop Disaster Declared for 45 Counties in Texas, Oklahoma April 3, 2014
• Crop Disasters Declared in 5 States as Drought Worsens March 27, 2014
• Crop Disasters Declared for Texas, Oklahoma, Idaho March 21, 2014
• Drought
• Agricultural Disasters Index