Large Crack Appears in the Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming

‘Giant crack in the earth’ caused up to ’20 million yards of movement’

The crack, described as “the gash” by people who first reported it, SNS Outfitter & Guides, has appeared in or about mid October on a ranch on the flanks the Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming.

A state geologist has described the movement as a “medium-to-large-sized event [even] by Wyoming standards,” slow-moving landslide probably caused by a combination of excessive precipitation and water from a nearby spring.

The SNS Outfitter & Guides have released the following statement earlier this week:

“Since so many people have commented and asked questions, we wanted to post an update with a little more information. An engineer from Riverton, WY came out to shed a little light on this giant crack in the earth. Apparently, a wet spring lubricated across a cap rock. Then, a small spring on either side caused the bottom to slide out. He estimated 15 to 20 million yards of movement. By range finder, an estimate is 750 yards long and about 50 yards wide.”

Major Disaster Declared in Alaska

Alaska Declared Federal Disaster Area

Alaska Severe Storm (DR-4244)
Incident period: August 27, 2015
Major Disaster Declaration declared on October 30, 2015

The White House has declared a major disaster exists in the State of Alaska in the areas in the areas affected by a severe storm on August 27, 2015.

Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments, said the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas.

Alaska Federal Disasters

This is the 23rd Federal Disaster Declaration for the state since 2000.

Federal Disasters 2015

The federal government has proclaimed 40 Major Disaster Declaration [DR 4205-4244] for a U.S. state/tribal area/territory so far this year. Additionally, the government has issued two Emergency Declarations, EM-3372 and EM-3373, and 33 Fire Management Assistance Declarations, [FM-5084 to FM-5116] for the year to date.

Major Disaster Declarations Since August 2015

• 2ND Major Disaster Declaration for Washington [DR-4243] October 22, 2015

• Major Disaster Declared for Washington [DR-4242] October 16, 2015
• Major Disaster Declared in South Carolina [DR-4241] October 6, 2015
• Major Disaster Declared in California Wildfire [DR-4240]  September 23, 2015
• Major Disaster Declared in Kentucky [DR-4239] August 14, 2015
• Major Disasters Declared in Missouri, W. Virginia, Pine Ridge Reservation, S. Dakota [DR-4236 to DR-4238] August 9, 2015
• Super Typhoon SOUDELOR: Federal disaster declared for Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands [DR-4235] August 6, 2015
• Major Disaster Declared in Iowa [DR-4234] August 3, 2015
• Federal Disaster Declarations
• Drought
• Agricultural Disasters Index

Powerful Cyclone Heading Toward Yemen and Oman

CHAPALA Becomes a Super Cyclone in Arabian Sea

Super Cyclone CHAPALA (TC 04A), currently packing sustained winds of about 260 km/h, is expected to continue strengthening to about 275km/h.

Super Cyclone CHAPALA (TC 04A)

Warning Position at 14:00UTC [30 Oct 15]
Location: near 14.2°N 60.4°E
Moving: W (270 degrees) at 12 km/h
Min pressure: 912 mb [FIRE-EARTH estimate]
Max sustained wind: 260 km/h, strengthening to about 275 km/h  [FIRE-EARTH estimate]
Max wind gusts: 315 km/h, strengthening to about 330 km/h  [FIRE-EARTH estimate]
Max significant wave heights: 13m – 15m

SUPER CYCLONE CHAPALA – VIS/IR Satellite Image – 30 Oct 2015 at 12:30UTC. Source: UW-CIMSS

Links to satellite images are posted at https://feww.wordpress.com/satellite-imagery/

Additional Links:

• http://tropic.ssec.wisc.edu/
• http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/floaters/04A/04A_floater.html

FIRE-EARTH Q&A DAY: Shifting Up a Gear

CJ Members

Shifting Up a Gear

FIRE-EARTH Q&A TODAY will start @ 19:32 UTC.

Gulf of Maine Cod Fishery Collapse Assisted by Warming Waters

‘Slow adaptation in the face of rapid warming leads to collapse of the Gulf of Maine cod fishery’

Vital to New England’s fisheries, Atlantic cod is a key species in the Gulf of Maine ecosystem, say the authors of a new report released by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Researchers used sea surface temperature data to establish temperature trends in the Gulf of Maine since 1982 and over the last decade (2004-2013) and found the Gulf of Maine had experienced unprecedented decadal warming.

The recent 10 year warming trend is remarkable, even for a highly-variable part of the ocean like the northwest Atlantic. Over this period, substantial warming also occurred off of western Australia, in the western Pacific, and in the Barents Sea; and cooling was observed in the eastern Pacific and Bering Sea. The global ocean has a total area of 3.6 x 10⁸ km², yet only 3.1 x 10⁵ km² of the global ocean had warming rates greater than that in the Gulf of Maine over this time period. Thus, the Gulf of Maine has warmed faster than 99.9% of the global ocean between 2004 and 2013. Using sea surface temperatures from 1900-2013, the likelihood of any 2° by 2° segment of the ocean exceeding this 10-year warming rate is less than 0.3%. Based on this analysis, the Gulf of Maine experienced decadal warming that few marine ecosystems have encountered. 

The cod stocks today are on the verge of collapse estimated at only 4% of sustainable yield.

The most recent assessment found that SSB in this stock is now less than 3,000 mt, only 4% of the spawning stock biomass that gives the maximum sustainable yield (SSB_msy).

The report is posted at http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2015/10/28/science.aac9819.full

WMO Admits Ozone Hole ‘Third Largest Ever’

REALLY!

WMO, the UN’s climate and weather organization, reported today a record-size Antarctic Ozone Hole (AOH); however, it said there was no cause for alarm as it should shrink again!

[Be sure to familiarize yourself with the AOH narrative. See links to blog posts on the subject listed below—Ed.]

WMO Antarctic Ozone Bulletin no. 4, 2015

The area of the region where total ozone is less than 220 DU, the so-called “ozone hole area”, averaged over the 30 worst consecutive days has reached 26.9 million square kilometres according to data from NASA. This places 2015 as the third largest ozone hole on record according to this criterion. One has to go back to 2006 and to 2000 to find a larger ozone hole area for this time period. A stable and large vortex, concentric around the south pole and characterised by low temperatures explains why 2015 experiences the largest ozone hole since 2006. […]

The figure shows the partial ozone column between 12 and 20 km altitude above the South Pole station. This is measured with electrochemical ozonesondes launched on balloons from the ground. The small light blue dots show all observations done from 1991 to 2014. The medium blue circles show the measurements from 2006, the year that saw the most severe ozone hole on record. The orange diamonds show data from 2015. Although the 2015 minimum is not as low as in 2006, the 2015 observations still show some of lowest partial columns measured throughout the history of the Antarctic ozone hole. This figure has been provided by Bryan Johnston and Kirk Thoning at the Global Monitoring Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Source: WMO Antarctic Ozone Bulletin no. 4, 2015.

On 5th August the NAT area reached a maximum for the season with 28.2 million km2, which is higher than the maximum reached in recent years. One has to go back to 2009 to find a higher PSC area maximum (28.4 million km2). Also in September and so far in October, the NAT area has been well above the long-term mean. Since mid October, the NAT area has oscillated around the long term maximum for this time of the year.

WMO Antarctic Ozone Bulletin no. 4, 2015 (PDF Download Available). Available from: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/283301743_WMO_Antarctic_Ozone_Bulletin_no._4_2015 [accessed Oct 29, 2015].

Related Links

• Massive Ozone Hole Remains Over Antarctic Posted on October 20, 2011
• Now the planet has two ozone holes! October 3, 2011
• Ozone Hole, Fracking and Other Issues April 22, 2011
• Arctic Ozone at Record Low: Scandinavia is Toast April 5, 2011

• Arctic Ozone Loss Ahoy! March 30, 2011
• UV exposure has increased over the last 30 years on March 17, 2010
• Antarctic Ozone Depth Down to 100 DU October 8, 2008

• Ozone Holes! September 6, 2009
• The Largest Antarctic Ozone Hole September 17, 2008
• Why NASA Doctors Ozone Hole Data? September 21, 2007
• NASA: The Conjuring Continues  September 20, 2007

• NASA Practices Extreme Voodoo September 18, 2007
• NASA’s Re-Doctored Data: More “Acceptable!” September 12, 2007
• NASA’s Ozone Hole Data Doctored? September 10, 2007

More Crops Destroyed by EWE in Nine U.S. States

Drought and deluge, winterkill and severe freeze destroy or damage crops in nine states

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has declared crop disasters in 147 counties across nine states—Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas—due to extreme weather events including drought, excessive rain, flooding, severe freeze and winterkill.

Crop Disaster Areas: Designation # 1  –  Drought 
USDA has designated 29 counties in Texas as crop disaster disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by a recent drought. Those areas are:

• Texas. Angelina, Borden, Brown, Callahan, Coke, Coleman, Concho, Fisher, Garza, Glasscock, Hardin, Howard, Kent, Liberty, McCulloch, Mitchell, Nolan, Polk, Reagan, Runnels, San Jacinto, Scurry, Sterling, Taylor, Tom Green, Trinity and Tyler counties.

Crop Disaster Areas: Designation # 2  –  Excessive Rain and Flooding
USDA has designated a total of 51 counties across three states—South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina—as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rain and flooding that occurred from October 1, 2015, and continues. Those areas are:

• South Carolina. Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Chester, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Florence, Georgetown, Greenville, Greenwood, Hampton, Horry, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Lee, Lexington, Marion, Marlboro, McCormick, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Sumter, Union, Williamsburg and York counties.

• Georgia. Burke, Columbia, Richmond and Screven counties.

• North Carolina. Brunswick, Columbus, Mecklenburg, Robeson and Union counties.

Crop Disaster Areas: Designation # 3  –  Drought
USDA has designated 7 counties in Mississippi and Arkansas as crop disaster disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by a recent drought. Those areas are:

• Mississippi. Bolivar, Coahoma, Quitman, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, and Tunica counties.

• Arkansas. Phillips County.

Crop Disaster Areas: Designation # 4  –  Winterkill
USDA has designated 14 counties in Minnesota as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by winterkill that occurred from April 25, 2015, through Sept. 10, 2015. Those areas are:

• Minnesota. Becker, Beltrami, Benton, Cass, Clearwater, Crow Wing, Douglas, Hubbard, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Otter Tail, Stearns, Todd and Wadena counties.

Crop Disaster Areas: Designation # 5  – Severe Freezes
USDA has designated 4 counties in Colorado as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by severe freezes that occurred from April 2, 2015, through April 19, 2015.

• Colorado. Delta, Gunnison, Mesa, and Montrose counties.

Crop Disaster Areas: Designation # 6  – Drought
USDA has designated a total of 42 counties in three states—Arkansas, Mississippi and Oklahoma—as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by a recent drought. Those counties are:

• Arkansas. Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Chicot, Clark, Cleveland, Dallas, Desha, Drew, Faulkner, Garland, Grant, Hempstead, Hot Spring, Howard, Jefferson, Lee, Lincoln, Lonoke, Monroe, Montgomery, Nevada, Ouachita, Perry, Phillips, Pike, Polk, Prairie, Pulaski, Saline, Scott, Sevier, St. Francis, White, Woodruff and Yell.
  

• Mississippi. Bolivar, Coahoma and Tunica.

• Oklahoma. Le Flore and McCurtain.

All counties and parishes listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Oct. 28, 2015.

Crop Disasters 2015

Beginning January 7, 2015 USDA has declared crop disasters in at least 3,500 counties Those states are Arizona, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.

• About 99 percent of the 2015 crop disaster designations have been due to drought so far this year.

Crop Disasters 2014

In 2014, USDA declared crop disasters in at least 2,904 counties across 44 states. Most of the designations were due to drought.

Those states were:

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan. Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. [FIRE-EARTH has documented all of the above listings. See blog content.]

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

ii. The counties designated as agricultural disaster areas, as listed above, include both primary and contiguous disaster areas.

iii. Some counties may have been designated as crop disaster areas more than once due to multiple disasters.

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

Related Links

• Drought, Deluge Destroy Crops in 12 States October 22, 2015
• Drought, Freeze… Kill Crops in 173 Counties across 7 States October 16, 2015
• Drought Destroys or Damages Crops in Three U.S. States October 8, 2015
• Crop Disasters Declared across Multiple Areas October 1, 2015
• Drought
• Agricultural Disasters Index

Another Nuclear Disaster in the Making?

There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Nuclear Dump Site!

Nuclear Wastes from the manufacture of atom bombs threaten a Missouri Neighborhood.

Radioactive leftovers from the atom bomb program in WW2 (and Cold War era) are buried at a landfill site in St. Louis, Missouri.

The West Lake Landfill, declared an EPA Superfund site in 1990, is associated with elevated rates of rare cancers.

An subsurface smoldering fire, which has been burning at an adjacent site called Bridgeton Landfill for five years, has now crept to less than 300 meters of the radwaste burial site.

In addition to the threat from the underground fire, a grass fire erupted less than 70 meters of the radioactive waste over the weekend.

The entire region sits near a seismic fault line.

Additional Info:

• How and when did the fire start at the Bridgeton Landfill?
• Atomic Bomb-making Wastes Threaten Missouri Neighborhood

Fleeing Thermonuclear Bombs and King Tides

Threatened by rising sea levels, Bikini Islanders request US refuge

More than 1,000 Bikini islanders have asked the United States to relocate them as rising sea levels threaten their homes.

The US government relocated the residents from Bikini Atoll to a nearby island named Kili in the Marshall Islands chain in the 1940s due to atomic bomb tests.

The US conducted at least 23 nuclear tests, including the massive hydrogen bomb, Bravo, the largest weapon detonated at the time, . Bravo (yield 15 Mt), an experimental thermonuclear device surface event, was detonated on Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954 as part of the Operation Castle. Source: U.S. Department of Energy (public domain).

In December 1945, President Harry S. Truman issued a directive to Army and Navy officials for joint testing of nuclear weapons “to determine the effect of atomic bombs on American warships.” Bikini was chosen for nuclear testing because of its location away from regular air and sea routes.

Their new home, however, is now threatened by the climate change dividends—rising sea levels, giant tides and ferocious storms.

Widespread flooding across the Marshall Islands last year caused extensive damage, leaving hundreds of residents homeless.

Bikini Atoll is one of the 29 atolls and five islands that comprise the Marshall Islands. The atolls are scattered over 925,000 square kilometers in the Pacific Ocean, north of the equator. The geographic area is referred to as Micronesia.

The plight of Bikini Islanders since their first forced relocation is posted at https://www.bikiniatoll.com/history.html

Deadly Hindu Kush Earthquake – Update

Hundreds dead, thousands injured, major destruction reported in Hindu Kush earthquake

Death toll in the M7.5 quake that occurred in the Hindu Kusnh region on Monday has claimed about 300 people and left more than  2,000 others injured so far, according to local reports. The casualty toll is expected to rise as rescue workers reach remote mountainous areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan devastated by the event.

The quake has affected a vast region, and caused major devastation to multiple communities.

In 2005, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck Pakistan-administered Kashmir, killing more than 75,000 people.

In April this year, Nepal was struck by its deadliest earthquake on record, killing as many as 10,000 people and destroying or damaging nearly one million homes.

Related Links

• Deadly Earthquake Strikes N. Afghanistan October 26, 2015

To the ‘royal’ parasites in Saudi Arabia, Japan

It’s time to quit!

 

Deadly Earthquake Strikes N. Afghanistan

UPDATE: The event posted earlier has been downgraded to a magnitudes 7.5Mw.

M7.5 earthquake strikes northern Afghanistan

The earthquake parameters may be subject to additional changes due to procedural issues at USGS/EHP.

Centered at 36.441°N 70.717°E, about 254km NNE of Kabul, the quake occurred at a depth of 212.5 km, USGS/EHP reported.

USGS has issued an “Orange” alert level for shaking-related fatalities. This means significant casualties are possible and the disaster is potentially widespread. Past events with this alert level have required a regional or national level response.

• Scores of fatalities and hundreds of injuries have been reported in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. Death toll is likely to rise.

EQ Details
Magnitude: 7.5Mw (downgraded from 7.7)
Location:36.441°N 70.717°E depth=212.5 km (132.1 mi)
Time:2015-10-26 09:09:32 (UTC)
Distances:

• 45km (28mi) N of `Alaqahdari-ye Kiran wa Munjan
• 48km (30mi) SSW of Jarm
• 76km (47mi) S of Fayzabad
• 77km (48mi) WSW of Ashkasham
• 150km E of Konduz (FEWW)
• 254km (158mi) NNE of Kabul

At least two aftershock measuring 4.8 and 4.7Mw reported as of posting.

Latest map of the 881 felt reports collected through LastQuake amsrtphone app and EMSC websites

Earthquake location Map. Source: USGS/EHP.

The quake was felt across a vast region including India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Nepal and Western China.

Related Links

• For previous quakes in the region use search term “Hindu Kush”

Deep Earthquake Strikes N. Afghanistan

M7.7 quake strikes 45km SSW of Jarm, Afghanistan

Centered at 36.463°N, 70.712°E, about 256km NNE of Kabul, the quake occurred at a depth of 213.5 km, USGS/EHP reported.

The quake was felt across a vast region including India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Nepal  and Western China.

… continued

Notice of Resolution: Withdrawal of SEM Support 10-26-2015

• CJ Members

Notice of withdrawal of SEM Support for multiple regions

FIRE-EARTH Science Team has resolved to withdraw SEM Support, as of today, for the following areas in  Europe:

• 4940
• 1802
• 7170

 

Typhoon KOPPU Affects About 2.4 Million People

KOPPU killed 47, injured 82 and left 4 missing

The following stats were issued by the Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) in their latest Situation Report No. 17, published October 24, 2015.

• Typhoon KOPPU [locally know as “LANDO”] has affected 536,408 families or 2,356,408 persons, in Regions, I, II, III, IV-A, V, NCR and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
• The storm has displaced 543,100 people (120,600 families) across Regions I, II, III and CAR.
• So far 47 deaths have been confirmed, with 82 others injured and 4 missing in Regions I, II, III, IV-A and CAR.
• Nearly 24,000 people (5,426 families, or 23, 993 persons) were evacuated from the projected path of the typhoon.
• A total of 803 schools were damaged or destroyed.
• A total of 26,675 houses were damaged or destroyed.
• States of calamity were declared for two (2) provinces, one (1)  city and eleven (11) municipalities.
  • Aurora and Isabela provinces and nine municipalities in six provinces newly declared a state of calamity.
• About 400,000 MT of rice was either damaged or lost due to the storm.
• Total cost of damage to agriculture and infrastructure: PHP9,856,328,602.93 (~ USD211.5 million), ratio of 7:1.

680,000+ Refugees & Migrants Cross the Mediterranean

Greece records highest migration inflows so far this year: IOM

Between January 1 and October 21, 2015 some 680,928 refugees and migrants crossed the the Mediterranean Sea, arriving in Greece (537,460), Italy (139,518), Malta (105)   and Spain (3,845). Some 3,175 people perished in the Mediterranean (estimated global toll stood at 4,480 dead).

About 50,000 refugees and migrants crossed from Turkey to the Greek islands in the past five days alone, reported IOM International.

During the same period, “18 migrants are believed to have lost their lives in two incidents – one on October 19th off the coast of Megisti, the other on October 21st off the coast of Samos.”

“In the shipwreck off Samos, the Hellenic Coast Guard rescued a 32-year-old Syrian, but 14 others, including his wife, two children and other relatives are missing, believed drowned.

“Meanwhile in Italy, so far in the month of October a total of 7,447 migrants have been rescued at sea in the Channel of Sicily. No deaths have been recorded since eight bodies (seven women; one man) were shipped on Monday into Taranto, brought by the Spanish ship Rio Segura, which carried another 633 survivors. Authorities discovered the eight victims in a rubber dinghy carrying 113 migrants. Their cause of death remains unknown,” said the report.

http://missingmigrants.iom.int/en/mediterranean-update-23-october-2015

Notice of Resolution: Withdrawal of SEM Support 10-24-2015

• CJ Members

Notice of withdrawal of SEM Support for multiple regions

FIRE-EARTH Science Team has resolved to withdraw SEM Support, as of today, for the following areas in  North Africa, Middle East, East Asia and the Americas:

• 3015
• 4450
• 8842
• 1868
• 8360
• 6888
• 3757
• 4370
• 3170
• 6109
• 5110
• 2524
• 3399
• 3884

Record-Breaker Hurricane PATRICIA Continues Intensifying

Updated at 15:02UTC

Witnessing historic climate extremes in the making at the speed of light – we told you there would be interesting times ahead!

SUPER PATRICIA BECOMES THE STRONGEST EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC HURRICANE ON RECORD
.

MEGA HURRICANE PATRICIA HEADING FOR POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC LANDFALL IN SOUTHWESTERN MEXICO: NHC

PATRICIA packing sustained winds in excess of 320 KM/HR, according to the National Hurricane Center.

FIRE-EARTH Models show [probability= 0.7] Super PATRICIA intensifying further to an “Extraterrestrial” Category with  maximum sustained winds of about 340 km/hr and maximum wind gusts of near 410 km/hr.

10:00 AM CDT Fri Oct 23 [12:00UTC] – NHC
Location: 17.6°N 105.5°W
Moving: N at 10 mph (15 km/hr)
Min pressure: 880 mb
Max sustained: 200 mph (320 km/hr)  [could intensify to 340 km/hr – FEWW]
Max wind gusts: 395 km/hr [FIRE-EARTH estimate; could increase to 410 km/hr, probability of 0.7]
Max significant wave heights: 17m

POES Composite  –  (Daily Sea Surface Temperatures – SSD/NOAA)

SST near the hurricane’s projected landfall was in excess of 30ºC, as of posting. See image below.

• SST Color Loop: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/H5/sst-pac-loop.html

visible satellite imagery – image taken at 13;15UTC October 23, 2015. Source: UW-CIMSS

Links to satellite images are posted at https://feww.wordpress.com/satellite-imagery/

Related Links

• Mega Hurricane PATRICIA Headed for Mexico October 23, 2015

U.S. Drought Spreads

D0-D4 drought conditions extend by 10.4 percent across CONUS since last week

Areas across the Contiguous United States covered by “Abnormally Dry” (D0) to “Exceptional Drought” (D4) levels have extended by about 10.4 percent since last week, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The latest statistics for total US are 53.02 percent of the area as of October 20, up from 48.69 percent previously.

“Significant rain began to overspread the south-central U.S. on October 21, a day after the drought-monitoring period ended, and will be reflected in next week’s U.S. Drought Monitor.” said the Drought Monitor.

Source: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

Mega Hurricane PATRICIA Headed for Mexico

Potentially catastrophic Hurricane PATRICIA grows into a mega storm, with sustained winds of near 300 km/hr

PATRICIA has grown into a Mega Storm, a monster Category 5 hurricane, with sustained winds of about 300 km/hr, as it bore down on central Mexico’s Pacific coast, prompting the authorities to declare a state of emergency.

“This is an extremely dangerous, potentially catastrophic hurricane,” said the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane warnings were in effect for the Mexican coast from San Blas to Punta San Telmo, including Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta.

PATRICIA is forecast to bring 150 to 300mm of rain, with isolated amounts of up to 500mm possible in some locations.

Hurricane Warning Position NHC

12:30 AM CDT Fri Oct 23  [05:30UTC Fri Oct 23]
Location: 16.5°N, 105.3°W
Moving: NNW at 10 mph (16 km/hr)
Min pressure: 892 mb
Max sustained wind: 185 mph (295 km/hr)
Max wind gusts: 355 km/hr [FIRE-EARTH estimate]
Max significant wave heights: 16m

Links to satellite images are posted at https://feww.wordpress.com/satellite-imagery/

Record High Global Temperature in September, January–September

Each of global oceans and global land temperatures also highest on record for the periods: NCDC/NOAA

State of the Climate Report – Blog Summary of Global highlights: September 2015

• The combined average temperature for global land and ocean surfaces in September 2015 was the highest for September in the 136-year period of record, at 0.90°C (1.62°F) above the 20^th century average of 15.0°C (59.0°F).  It surpassed previous record set in 2014 by 0.19°C.
  • September’s high temperature was also the greatest rise above average for any month in the 136-year historical record, surpassing the previous record set in both February and March this year by 0.02°F (0.01°C).
  • Seven months this year, including the past five, have been record warm for their respective months. January was the second warmest January on record and April third warmest.
• The September globally-averaged land surface temperature was 1.16°C above the 20^th century average. This was also the highest for September in the 1880–2015 record.
  • Record warmth was observed across much of South America and parts of Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.
•  September globally-averaged sea surface temperature was 0.81°C (1.46°F) above the 20^th century average of 16.2°C (61.1°F), the highest departure for September on record, beating the previous record set last year by 0.07°C (0.13°F).

Blog Summary of Global highlights: Year-to-date (January–September 2015)

• The year-to-date temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 0.85°C above the 20^th century average. This was the highest for January–September in the 1880–2015 record, surpassing the previous record set in 2014 by 0.12°C.
• The year-to-date globally-averaged land surface temperature was also the highest for January–September in the 1880–2015 record at 1.29°C above the 20^th century average. This value surpassed the previous record of 2007 by 0.17°C.
• The year-to-date globally-averaged sea surface temperature was 0.69°C above the 20^th century average and the highest for January–September in the 1880–2015 record. This value surpassed the previous record of 2010 by 0.06°C.

Precipitation

September rainfall across Australia was the third lowest for the month in the 116-year period of record. At only 6.2 mm, it was 37 percent of average precipitation.

The Southwest Monsoon rainfall in India, for the seasonal period June 1^st to September 30^th, was 86 percent of the 1951–2000 average. About half of India received deficient rainfall (less than 80 percent of average).

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, State of the Climate: Global Analysis for September 2015, published online October 2015, retrieved on October 22, 2015 from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201509.

State of the Climate Report – Blog Summary of Global highlights: August 2015

• Global temperature at record high in August, June–August, January–August

‘Strong’ Quake Strikes Wellington, New Zealand

M4.4 strikes 30km east of NZ capital

Centered at 41.20S, 175.08E, the quake occurred at a depth of 6km, according to geonet.org.nz

Date/Time: October 22 2015, 9:43:59UTC

There were no immediate reports of damage, however the quake was described as “huge” in online chatter.

Search blog content for additional information concerning seismicity of New Zealand.

Recent Earthquakes – NZ Region

• ‘Severe’ Earthquake Strikes North Island, NZ October 12, 2015

Drought, Deluge Destroy Crops in 12 States

Crop Disasters Declared in Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, N. Carolina, Oklahoma, S. Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated a total 257 counties and parishes across 12 states as crop disaster areas due to drought and other extreme weather events.

Drought Crop Disaster Areas: Designation # 1

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 23 additional counties and parishes in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by a recent drought. Those areas are:

• Arkansas.  Ashley, Chicot, Clark, Columbia, Desha, Drew, Hempstead, Howard, Lafayette, Little River, Miller, Montgomery, Nevada, Ouachita, Pike, Polk and Sevier counties.
• Louisiana. East Carroll, Morehouse and West Carroll parishes.
• Mississippi. Bolivar, Issaquena and Washington counties.

Drought Crop Disaster Areas: Designation # 2

USDA has designated 56 additional parishes and counties in Louisiana,  Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by a recent drought. Those areas are:

• Louisiana. Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia, De-Soto, East-Baton, East-Carroll, East-Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin,  Grant, Iberville, Jefferson-Davis, Lafayette, LaSalle, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe-Coupee, Rapides, Richland, Rouge, Sabine, St-Helena, St-Landry, St.John-the-Baptist, St.Martin, St.Tammany, Tangipahoa, Tensas, Vernon,  Washington, West-Baton-Rouge, West-Carroll, West-Feliciana and Winn parishes.
• Arkansas. Chicot County.
• Mississippi. Adams, Issaquena, Pearl River, Warren, Amite, Jefferson, Pike, Wilkinson, Claiborne, Marion and Walthall counties.
• Texas. Newton, Sabine and Shelby counties.

Drought Crop Disaster Areas: Designation # 3

USDA has designated 57 additional counties and parishes in Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by a recent drought. Those areas are:

• Mississippi. Adams, Amite, Attala, Bolivar, Carroll, Choctaw, Claiborne, Clarke, Coahoma, Copiah, Covington, Forrest, Franklin, Grenada, Hancock, Harrison, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson-Davis, Jones, Kemper, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake, Lincoln, Marion, Montgomery, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Pearl-River, Perry, Pike, Scott, Simpson, Smith, Stone, Sunflower, Walthall, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wilkinson ans Winston counties.
• Louisiana. Concordia, East Feliciana, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Tensas, Washington, and West Feliciana parishes.
• Arkansas. Chicot, Desha and Phillips counties.

Drought Crop Disaster Areas: Designation # 4

USDA has designated 10 counties in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by a recent drought. Those areas are:

• Montana. Broadwater, Gallatin, Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, Madison, Meagher and Park counties.
• Idaho. Fremont County.
• Wyoming. Park and Teton counties.

Drought Crop Disaster Areas: Designation # 5

USDA has designated 17 counties in Oklahoma and Texas as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by a recent drought. Those areas are:

• Oklahoma. Atoka, Bryan, Carter, Choctaw, Coal, Johnson, Latimer, Le Flore, Marshall, McCurtain, Murray, Pittsburg, Pontotoc and Pushmataha counties.
• Texas. Fannin, Grayson and Lamar counties.

Drought Crop Disaster Areas: Designation # 6

USDA has designated 46 counties in Texas as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by a recent drought. Those areas are:

• Texas. Blanco, Borden, Caldwell, Camp, Cherokee, Coke, Coleman, Comal, Concho, Crockett, Crosby, Dickens, Fisher, Franklin, Garza, Gregg, Guadalupe, Hays, Henderson, Hopkins, Howard, Irion, Jones, Kent, Kimble, King, McCulloch, Menard, Mitchell, Nolan, Rains, Reagan, Runnels, Rusk, Schleicher, Scurry, Smith, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Taylor, Tom Green, Travis, Upshur, Van Zandt and Wood counties.

Crop Disaster Areas: Designation # 7

USDA has designated 48 counties in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rain and flooding that occurred from Sept. 22, 2015, through Oct. 4, 2015. Those areas are:

• North Carolina. Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Caldwell, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Halifax, Harnett, Hyde, Iredell, Johnston, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, NewHanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Robeson, Sampson, Surry, Tyrrell, Washington, Watauga, Wayne, Wilkes, Wilson and Yadkin counties.
• South Carolina. Dillon and Horry counties.
• Tennessee. Johnson County.
• Virginia. Grayson County.

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Oct. 21, 2015 .

Crop Disasters 2015

Beginning January 7, 2015 USDA has declared crop disasters in at least 3,353 counties and county equivalents across 43 States [as well as Puerto Rico, and US Virgin Islands]: Arizona, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, Wyoming.

• About 99 percent of the 2015 crop disaster designations are due to drought so far this year.

Crop Disasters 2014

In 2014, USDA declared crop disasters in at least 2,904 counties across 44 states. Most of the designations were due to drought.

Those states were:

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan. Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. [FIRE-EARTH has documented all of the above listings. See blog content.]

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

ii. The counties designated as agricultural disaster areas, as listed above, include both primary and contiguous disaster areas.

iii. Some counties may have been designated as crop disaster areas more than once due to multiple disasters.

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

Related Links

• Drought, Freeze… Kill Crops in 173 Counties across 7 States October 16, 2015
• Drought Destroys or Damages Crops in Three U.S. States October 8, 2015
• Crop Disasters Declared across Multiple Areas October 1, 2015
• Drought
• Agricultural Disasters Index

2ND Major Disaster Declaration for Washington

Federal Disaster Declared in Washington State

Washington Wildfires and Mudslides (DR-4243)
Incident period: August 09, 2015 to September 10, 2015
Major Disaster Declaration declared on October 20, 2015

The White House has declared a major disaster exists in the State of Washington  in the areas affected by the wildfires and mudslides including Chelan, Ferry, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Stevens, Whatcom, and Yakima counties and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments, said the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas.

Federal Disasters 2015

The federal government has proclaimed 39 Major Disaster Declaration [DR 4205-4243] for a U.S. state/tribal area/territory so far this year. Additionally, the government has issued two Emergency Declarations, EM-3372 and EM-3373, and 33 Fire Management Assistance Declarations, [FM-5084 to FM-5116] for the year to date.

Major Disaster Declarations Since August 2015

• Major Disaster Declared for Washington [DR-4242] October 16, 2015
• Major Disaster Declared in South Carolina [DR-4241] October 6, 2015
• Major Disaster Declared in California Wildfire [DR-4240]  September 23, 2015
• Major Disaster Declared in Kentucky [DR-4239] August 14, 2015
• Major Disasters Declared in Missouri, W. Virginia, Pine Ridge Reservation, S. Dakota [DR-4236 to DR-4238] August 9, 2015
• Super Typhoon SOUDELOR: Federal disaster declared for Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands [DR-4235] August 6, 2015
• Major Disaster Declared in Iowa [DR-4234] August 3, 2015
• Federal Disaster Declarations
• Drought
• Agricultural Disasters Index

Drought Deaths Mounting in Southern Madagascar

Severe drought killing scores of people in southern Madagascar

Drought is killing up to ten people per day in one southern Madagascar municipality alone. 

“The death varies from two to ten per day due to drought in our area,” Bernard Tolia, mayor of Anjapaly, told China’s Xinhua news.

“A dozen mayors from south including me alerted the government on Monday to look more closely the situation in our area,” he said.

“It has been almost a year that there was no rain. People have to travel 15 kilometers, often by feet, to find drinking water; livestock is suffering and die while cultivation is impossible due to drought.”

Adverse weather conditions are also affecting crop production elsewhere in southern Africa including southern Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Malawi and South Africa, according to various relief agencies.

The negative impact of extreme weather events is threatening food security for an estimated 27.5 million people across the region, especially in Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, Botswana is experiencing “the worst drought conditions in 30 years with agricultural land badly hit by the lack of irrigation,” AFP reported the government as saying.

South Africa’s 2015 maize production decreased by a third compared with 2014 harvest, due to poor rains, GIEWS reported.

In Malawi, “2,833,212 people will not be able to meet their annual food requirement. In view of this I would like to appeal to all the development partners, other countries, and non-governmental organizations both in Malawi and elsewhere to complement government sources in assisting the food-insecure households,” said the president.

An estimated 1.5 million Zimbabweans (16% of rural households) will be unable to meet their food needs during the 2015/2016 hunger season, some 462,000 in the second quarter of the consumption year and 1,490,024 during the peak hunger season (from January-March, 2016). “This represents a rise of 160% compared to those facing food insecurity during the 2014/2015 hunger season,” according to UNOCHA, and UNRC.

Hunger Emergencies

The World Food Program (WFP) says it’s currently facing six emergencies simultaneously in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, South Sudan, Nepal and Ebola affected regions in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Iraq

The humanitarian situation in Iraq is deteriorating amid rising violence, with more than 3.2 million people fleeing their homes since January 2014, UNOCHA reports.

Humanitarian Disaster Stats
No. of people in need 8.6m
No. of internally displaced people 3.2m
No. of people who live outside camps 2.9m
No. of affected people in host communities 3.2m
No. of Syrian refugees 0.25m