Southern Sierra Loses Snow Cover

EXTREME WEATHER & CLIMATIC EVENTS
EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT
NEAR ZERO SNOWPACK WATER CONTENT
CRITICALLY LOW GROUNDWATER LEVELS
WATER FAMINE
CROP DISASTERS
DESTRUCTIVE WILDFIRES
SCENARIOS 03, 04, 101
MULTIPLE STATES OF EMERGENCY
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ZERO Snow on Southern Sierra Mountains

California’s Southern Sierra has lost all of its snow cover, as of May 27, 2014. Snowpack provides about a third of the water used by California’s cities and farms.

The statewide average snow water equivalent in the Golden State  dropped to less than 0.3 inch, or just 3% of the average for the date, and only 1% of the April 1 average.

The following is a summary of California Cooperative Snow Surveys as reported on May 27, 2014 .

Impact of Drought on Calif Agriculture

California’s drought could cost farmers at least $2billion this year, forcing them to leave fallow up to a million acres of land.

Tens of thousands of full time and seasonal jobs could be lost as a result of the drought, now in its third year, described by officials as catastrophic.

 Crop Disasters in Calif

All of the 58 counties in the country’s most populous and 3rd largest state have now been declared crop disaster areas at least once this year.

Disaster Applications

The Golden State has made 362 Disaster Applications to USDA, as of May 1, 2014, compared with 157 for the entire 2012, and 331 throughout 2013.

Three Weeks Ago…

Vital groundwater provides up to 60% of California’s water supply during droughts

California groundwater resources are at historically low levels, and recent groundwater levels are more than 100 feet below previous historic lows in some parts of the state, according to a recent report released by the California Department of Water Resources.

About 30 million Californians, over three quarters of the state’s population, receives at least part of their drinking water from groundwater, said California Water Foundation.

Groundwater is the only supply available for some regions during drought, and it’s critical to the state’s agricultural economy.

Drought causes water famine leading to crop disasters. It degrades water quality, and leads to surface and groundwater level declines, land subsidence, soil erosion, intense wildfires, humongous dust storms, and spread of disease.

Related Links

• California’s Snow Story: Going, Going … May 21, 2014
• Calif SWEQ Drops to 0.6 Inch on May 20, 2014
• California Running Out of Snow May 17, 2014
• Severe – Exceptional Drought Plagues 100% of California May 16, 2014
• California Groundwater Levels 100 Feet Below Previous Historic Lows May 7, 2014

Deadly Floods Affect 6 Million People in China

UPDATED 07:30UTC

EXTREME RAIN EVENTS
DEADLY FLOODING
MUDSLIDES
MEGA DISASTER
MASS EVACUATIONS
SCENARIOS 444, 070, 023, 09
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Destructive floods leave 500,000 people homeless in China

Severe flooding and mudslides have affected more than six million people in central and southern China leaving at least 500,000 people homeless.

Hanan province issued a red alert as Extreme Rain Events continued to pound the region unleashing more floods and mudslides.

Floods have claimed at least 12 lives with two people reported missing, officials said.

“More than 1.37 million people in eight cities and prefectures in [Hunan] province have been affected, and 3,431 houses have collapsed [and more than 50,000 people were relocated.] Landslides triggered by rainstorms have occurred on sections of the No.209 national highway in Xiangxi Tu and Miao Autonomous Prefecture,” said a report.

South China

Meanwhile, the death toll from extreme weather events in south China reached 40 on Tuesday, with several others reported missing.

Flooding and landslides in 8 southern provinces have affected at least 5.51 million people, destroying tens of thousands of homes and leaving 447,000 homeless.

About 264,800 hectares of crops have been destroyed in flood related disasters, causing direct economic losses of about $1.18 billion, said the report.

Related Links

• Deadly Floods Force Mass Evacuations in China May 26, 2014