Armyworms March across Southern Africa Plaguing Crop Fields

• CJ Members

Outbreaks of Armyworms across Southern Africa threaten crops in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe

• An outbreak of armyworms has plagued Malawi, spreading across the southern African country and threatening maize and other crops.
• Malawi is the third country in the region to be invaded by armyworms.

• Details of Alert are available from FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

Brazil Agriculture in State of Emergency due to Pest Infestation

States of emergency declared for Brazilian states of Mato Grosso, Goiás and Bahia

Outbreaks of the tiny Helicoverpa caterpillars have been reported in at least 21  states across Brazil, where the pest caused an estimated $4.7 billion dollars worth of damage in 2012.

Mato Grosso is the leading soy state of Brazil, while the central state of Goiás produces about 85% of Brazil’s processing tomatoes.

“Smaller than a human thumb, and with a knack for ploughing through soy, corn and cotton, the Helicoverpa has been terrorizing Asia, Australia and Africa since the 19th century. In India and China, some 50% of pesticides are used to kill the caterpillars. But they hadn’t appeared in South America until last year. In response, Brazil’s agriculture industry recently approved the importation of more powerful pesticides to fend off the menacing insects, but plenty of damage has already been done: The tiny caterpillars cost Brazil an estimated 4.7 billion dollars last summer alone. Outbreaks have been reported in as many as 21 different states throughout the country,” said a report.

The pest is believed to be a serious threat to crops, and could affect Brazil’s soy and corn supplies, and subsequently global grain prices, said the report.

Other crops threatened by the pest include, in addition to the ones listed above, lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, bean, broccoli, cabbage, chrysanthemum, eggplant, head cabbage, green bean, lettuce, okra, pea, pepper, strawberry and watermelon.

The entire life cycle occurs in 55-70 days. Generations are continuous in some tropical climates.

“In March this year GMWatch reported that Brazilian farmers were facing huge losses as GM Bt cotton and other crops were eaten by a plague of caterpillar pests called Helicoverpa, or corn ear worm. Damage was forecast at 2 billion Brazilian Real. http://gmwatch.org/latest-listing/52-2013/14683

“In fact the losses to farmers turned out to be five times as high, reaching 10 billion Brazilian Real so far, according to an article for AgroLink, below. It’s clear that the problem isn’t solved yet, so losses could escalate even higher.

“Brazilian crops that have fallen victim to the pest include cotton, soybean, corn, sorghum, beans and tomato, with the first three crops dominated by GM varieties. http://bit.ly/17PIJfD

“Back in March 2013, cotton consultant Celito Breda said that the plague was due to a number of factors. He named one as the expansion of the cultivation of transgenic maize resistant to caterpillars, whose toxin eliminates 100% of the species Spodoptera (armyworms) but only 10% of Helicoverpa. Breda said that earlier in the plantings of non-GM corn, the caterpillar Spodoptera, which is a cannibal, contributed to the control of Helicoverpa. Without natural enemies, the population of Helicoverpa or corn earworm multiplied. http://gmwatch.org/latest-listing/52-2013/14683″

Related Links

• Armyworms Force Disaster Declarations in Arkansas, Missouri June 24, 2012

TS DEBBY: Florida Declares State of Emergency

More flooding and tornadoes could strike Florida, as DEBBY hovers off the Gulf Coast

Florida Governor declared statewide emergency stating that “the broad impact of Tropical Storm Debby” could affect “virtually every county in Florida.”

As of Monday, DEBBY had forced Gulf of Mexico oil and gas operators to shut down about half of oil and more than a third of natural gas production.

• The storm is forecast to dump at least a foot of rain in the coastal parts of the state, with some areas receiving as much as 25 inches, the hurricane center said.
• Debby is also forecast to drench southern areas of Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.
• Tornadoes spawned by DEBBY have killed at least one person and injured two others, destroying or damaging two dozen homes in Highlands County, Fl.

TS DEBBY: Tropical Storm Force Wind Speed Probability.

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Colorado.  The state of Colorado is becoming a raging inferno due to record heat which is causing the worst fire weather conditions in living memory.
  • Record heat is forecast for southern Plains this week, with heat advisories issued for Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
  • The temperature at Denver International airport reached a record 102 degrees (ºF) on Sunday, June 24, breaking  the old record of 100 degrees set in 2007,  NWS office in Boulder reported.
  • The tinder-dry conditions are contributing to at least in dozen wildfires burning in Colorado today including
    • Waldo Canyon Fire, west of Colorado Springs – 2,800 homes are in immediate danger; 11,000 residents have evacuated 4,000 homes; about 3,500 acres burned; ZERO containment.
    • High Park Fire west of Fort Collins – the second-largest and the most destructive blaze ever recorded in the state has destroyed at least 248 homes; burned 83,205 acres; up to 5,000 people remain evacuated; 45 percent contained.
    • Little Sand Fire near Pagosa Springs, Weber Fire in Montezuma County, State Line Fire  southeast of Durango, Treasure Fire near Leadville, Trout Creek Fire near Rainbow Falls in Douglas County, Woodland Heights Fire near Estes Park southwest of the High Park Fire, and Elbert Fire have so far consumed about 30,000 acres.
    • Wood Hollow fire. The blaze about 1 mile south of Fountain Green in Utah State Division of Forestry Fire & State Lands has exploded to about 40,000 acres destroying numerous structures and scores of farm animals, mostly sheep.
      • Evacuations: Up to 2,000 people have been evacuated. Indian Ridge, Elk Ridge, Big Hollow, and Oaker Hills communities are under mandatory evacuation.
      • Closures: Highway 89 closure is in effect.
      • Weather: “The big worry now is the weather. Everything that can be done is being done,” Gov Herbert said in a televised conference.

Wood Hollow Fire. Photo credit: Utah State Division of Forestry Fire & State Lands

US Weather Hazards Map, June 26, 2012.

• Meantime, Colorado legislators have asked USDA to open up additional land for emergency livestock grazing as farmers, ranchers battle the severe drought affecting the state, a report said.
  • The entire state of Colorado is currently experiencing abnormally dry or drought conditions.

Colorado Drought Map – June 2012 – US Drought Monitor

• Vermont.  Crops in the state of Vermont are under attack by armyworms, a report said.
  • “They are definitely eating, that is what it looks like,” said Heather Darby an agronomist with the University of Vermont Extension.
  • “We get that first call from a farmer who says I don’t know where my corn went. Can you come out and look? And we come out and look around and you can see the worms essentially so bad the ground’s moving.”
• New York.   Armyworms have invaded farm fields throughout Jefferson County, NY,  with a major outbreak of the worms threatening widespread damage to crops, reports said.
  • “This year, it just seems like the moths got a head start on ’em and that’s what’s happened. So we’re starting to get a buildup of these parasitic flies and these fungal diseases now, but it’s a little, you know, too little, too late right now to control what we’ve got going on now,” said an expert with with Cornell Cooperative Extension.

• Alaska.  The Bear Creek fire which was ignited by lightning about 14 miles south of Clear Airforce Base, AK, on June 23, had grown to about 1,500 acres by Sunday local time. On Monday, the blaze exploded by more than 12 folds, consuming more than 20,000 acres.
  • The fire is aided by strong winds, high temperatures and low humidity, burning in black spruce and hardwoods.
  • At least three other fires are burning within close proximity, fire authorities said.

• British Columbia, Canada.  Weekend storms forced at least 700 people to flee their homes, while 1,200 others were placed on evacuation alert.
  • “Weeks of rapid snowmelt and wet weather caused river levels to rise in the B.C. Interior, the Kootenay region and the Fraser Valley, and a weekend of heavy rain and violent thunderstorms pushed many rivers and creeks in those areas to the brink,” said a report.
  • Flooding has left at least one man dead, causing widespread devastation in the region with many homes, businesses and public infrastructure destroyed.
  • The municipality of Sicamous declared a local state of emergency on Saturday, a report said.

• Montana.  Pony Fire in Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, ignited on June 24th, has grown to more than 2,500 acres threatening numerous structures.
  • The town of Mammoth and South Boulder north to the Indiana University Geology Field Station are under mandatory evacuation, Inciweb reported.
  • At least 2 other wildfires, Antelope Lane fire and Corral fire, are burning nearby.

State of the Climate – Global Analysis for May 2012

• The globally-averaged land surface temperature for May 2012 was the all-time warmest May on record, at 1.21°C (2.18°F) above average
• The Northern Hemisphere land and ocean average surface temperature for May 2012 was the all-time warmest May on record, at 0.85°C (1.53°F) above average.
• The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for May 2012 was 0.66°C (1.19°F) above the 20^th century average of 14.8°C (58.6°F). This is the second warmest May since records began in 1880, behind only 2010.

Temperature Anomalies Maps for May 2012 – [Source: NCDC/NOAA]

See also: Hottest U.S. Spring on Record

Today’s Record Temperatures

NOAA/NCDC reported 58 high temperature records broken Monday across nine states: Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Wyoming, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kentucky. The temperature records included

• Colorado: 31 records broken, 7 tied; highest temp 110 degrees at La Junta Airport; old record 107 in 1990

• Kansas: 10 broken, 4 tied; highest temp 114 degrees  northeast of Hill City, old record 108 in 1971

• Kentucky: tied record 94 degrees at London, KY; old record set in 1988

• Missouri:  1 tie, 95 degrees at Kirksville, old record set in 1971

• Nebraska:  4 broken, 1 tied; 105 degrees near Harrisburg in Banner County; old record 98 in 2001

• Wyoming:  6 broken, 8 tied; highest temp 107 at Gillette; old record 99 in 1988

• Texas:  3 broken, 2 tied, highest 102 degrees at Victoria tied 102 in 2009

• Oklahoma: 1 broken, 101 degrees at Ralston in Pawnee County, old record 100 in 1988

• Arkansas:  3 broken, two tied, highest 101 at Little Rock Forecast office and Little Rock airport; old record 99 and 100 in 1988

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs

• Mega Disasters
• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar
• Mass Die-offs

Armyworms Force Disaster Declarations in Arkansas, Missouri

Armyworms devastate crops across 23 U.S. counties 

USDA has designated 19 counties in Arkansas and 4 counties in Missouri as agricultural disaster areas due to damage and losses caused by armyworms that began April 1 and continues.

• The primary disaster areas in Arkansas: Boone, Fulton, Izard, Madison and Sharp counties.
• Contiguous disaster areas in Arkansas:  Baxter, Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Independence, Johnson, Lawrence, Marion, Newton, Randolph, Searcy, Stone and Washington counties.
• The disaster areas in Missouri: Howell, Oregon, Ozark and Taney counties.

A county is designated an agricultural disaster area when the crop losses exceed 30 percent.

Fall armyworm damage corn cobs. –USDA

Fall armyworm cause extensive damage to whorls of corn. Source: Purdue Cooperative Extension Service

Four stages of armyworm development. Image Source: NCSU.

Description (Source: NCSU)

• Adult– The true armyworm moth has grayish-brown forewings, each with a white spot near the center, and grayish-white hind wings. The wingspan averages 38.5 mm.
• Egg – The minute, greenish-white egg is globular in shape.
• Larva – The young armyworm is pale green. The mature larva is basically yellowish or brownish-green with a tan or greenish-brown head mottled with darker brown. The smooth, practically hairless body is marked with three dark longitudinal stripes, one along each side and one down the back. A full-grown armyworm is 30 to 35 mm long.
• Pupa – The reddish-brown 13-mm-long pupa darkens gradually until it is almost black.

See also:

• ARMYWORMS MARCH ACROSS NEW YORK Posted on June 17, 2012
• Disaster Declared as Little Bear Fire Grows Posted on June 10, 2012

Other Global Disaster, Significant Events

• Vermont, USA. The Disaster President has declared 3 Vermont counties—Addison, Lamoille and Orleans—as major disaster areas due to severe storms, hail, flooding, high wind and a tornado that struck the region on May 29.
  • The extreme weather event caused widespread damage to private property as well as public infrastructure.
  • Vermont has now experienced extreme weather events destructive enough to warrant major disaster declarations for the sixth successive year.

• See also: Obama Presidency: Thousand Days of Disaster

[NOTE: This blog endorses neither of the two political mafia families!]

• Gulf of Mexico

Tropical Storm DEBBY. Image source: CIMSS

• TS DEBBY, currently quasistationery,  located about 210 miles SSE of the mouth of the Mississippi River, with winds of about 50MPH, and is expected to intensify into hurricane strength before slamming into Texas/Louisiana/Florida coasts.
• DEBBY could dump up to 10 inches of rain along the Gulf Coast from southern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.
• Tropical Storm Warnings and Watches have been issued for coastal waters of SE Louisiana and S Mississippi.

• Colorado.  Waldo Canyon Fire, which flared up on Saturday, has grown to more than 2,000 acres, and is expected to remain active throughout the night.
  • The fast-moving blaze near Colorado Springs has forced more than 5,000 people to flee their homes.
  • The fire was zero percent contained, as of posting.
  • Mandatory Evacuation Orders:
    • “Cedar Heights Subdivision and Mountain Shadows south of Chuck Wagon are under mandatory evacuation. Boundaries are Rampart Range Road to the west and everything west of 30th and Centennial from Gateway Road north to Chuck Wagon. City of Manitou Springs and Crystal Park Subdivision as well as The north side of Hwy. 24 east from the County line to Waldo Canyon. There are no evacuation orders in place at this time for Mountain Shadows other than those south of Chuck Wagon Road. Garden of the Gods Park and Garden of the Gods Visitor Center are closed. Pikes Peak Hwy. is closed.” USFS reported.

• Colorado. Woodland Heights fire, another explosive blaze that ignited near the mountain community of Estes Park, has destroyed about two dozen structures.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

Disaster Declared as Little Bear Fire Grows

Western wildfires consume dozens of structures, force hundreds to evacuate

A lightning-sparked blaze, the Little Bear Fire, located in White Mountain Wilderness above Bonito Lake in Lincoln County, has so far consumed dozens of structures as it ballooned to more than 10,000 acres almost overnight.

The fire, which started on June 4, is yet to be mapped by GPS for a more accurate estimate of size, the authorities said, as Lincoln County commissioners declared the fast-growing blaze a disaster.

As many as several hundred people have been evacuated from various areas including summer homes and campgrounds close to the fire, and shelters have been set up in Ruidoso and Capitan.

Meantime, the National Weather Service (NWS) has issued red flag warning for parts of 10 states.

U.S. Weather Hazards Map.  Portal

Gila National Forest wildfire

New Mexico’s Gov. Martinez has already declared state of emergency in Catron County, where the largest wildfire in state’s history,  Gila National Forest wildfire (Whitewater Baldy Complex fire), has consumed about 280,000 acres, with less than a third contained.

NM fires are currently aided by air temps of 82ºF and humidity of less than 4 percent.

 Latest available map for Gila National Forest wildfire (Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire). Source: US Forest Service Gila National Forest

[Manmade Volcano] Gila forest, south side of Big Dry.  Photo taken by JoDee Goatz. Credit USFS Gila National Forest

Colorado. The High Park Fire, a fast-moving wildfire which has exploded to more than 8,000 acres since Saturday, is located 15 miles west of Fort Collins. “The fire has crossed County Road 27 south of the Stove Prairie School. High winds are fueling this fire and causing evacuations.” Inciweb reported.

“Evacuations have been ordered for Stove Prairie Road north along County Road 27 to Highway 14, east along Highway 14 to approximately mile marker 111, southeast to Rist Canyon Fire Station 1, then back west to to include Wilderness Ridge Way, Rist Creek Road, Spring Valley Road and County Road 41 and all of the roads that run off of it. Additionally, all of Rist Canyon (west of 27E) and all roads off of it, including Whale Rock Road and Davis Ranch Road. South 3 additional miles on County Road 44H to just north of Stringtown Gulch Road. (Over 800 notifications (contacts, not residents) sent.) A pre-evacuation alert was issued for the Buckhorn Road between mile markers 25 and 27. (5 notifications) At 11:10 P.M. an evacuation alert has been sent to the Poudre Park (along Highway 14) area from mile marker 111 to mile marker 118 (Kings Canyon/Boyd Gulch area). (31 notifications).Additionally Highway 14 from Ted’s Place to Stove Prairie is closed, as well as Stove Prairie Road and Rist Canyon. Ten structures are confirmed lost or damaged and others are threatened.” The report said.

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Florida, USA.  Escambia County in Florida’s panhandle has declared a state of emergency amid an extreme rain event which triggered severe flooding, with the damage so far estimated at $20million, authorities said.
  • A storm moving across the Gulf Coast pummeled parts of Alabama and Florida.
  • Pensacola received up to 18 inches of rain by Saturday, reports said.
  • “Emergency shelters were opened at a few local schools for people who were urged to evacuate from low-lying areas, the newspaper reported. Thousands were without power. Neighboring Santa Rosa County had about 40 homes flooded.” AP reported.
  • “Mobile, Alabama, saw 15 inches (38 cm) of rain that stranded people in cars and caused a dam to break on a private lake, officials said,” Reuters reported.
  • NWS has forecast “a prolonged period of heavy rainfall” and possibility of  flooding “across portions of the Central Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.”

• NY, USA.  Mega brigades of armyworms have destroyed acres of feed in a Buffalo farm and elsewhere in New York and Pennsylvania.
  • “A storm system, about a month ago, brought adult Armyworm moths to Western, New York (from the south),” said Walter Nelson, Program Leader Agriculture & Horticulture at Cornell Cooperative Extension Monroe County.
  • The worms have also been reported in across upstate, in Livingston, Monroe and Orleans counties, as well as in Clarence, Evans, Genesee, Marilla, Newstead  and Wyoming counties.
  • Armyworms invade Pennsylvania lawns!
  • See video.

• Greece. Magnitude 6.1 quake centered at 28.94°E 36.35°N and depth of 10km struck Dodecanese Islands, Greece at 12:44:14.6 UTC (2012-06-10), GEOFON Program reported.
  • The quake struck about 60 km E of Rodos, Dodecanese Islands, Greece and 100km SSE of Mugla, Turkey.
  • The quake may have caused at least moderate damage and casualties; however, there were  and NO reports available as of posting.

Earthquake Map – Dodecanese Islands, Greece.

• Burma.  Burma’s president has declared a state of emergency in the western state of Rakhine, after a week of sectarian violence in the region, which has left at least 17 people dead and hundreds of properties destroyed or damaged, reports said.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar