Final Eviction Notice to Australians?

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,139 Days Left 

[January 28, 2013] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,139 Days Left to the most Fateful Day in Human History
• Symbolic countdown to the ‘worst day’ in human history began on May 15, 2011 …

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Global Disasters/ Significant Events

You’ve overstayed your welcome!

Forced evacuations of about 5,000 people are under way in flood-hit city of Bundaberg (pop: ~ 72,000), with authorities warning people could die if they stay.

Severe flooding continues to bury large areas in Queensland, destroying or damaging thousands of properties and forcing mass evacuation of residents in the city of Bundaberg.

Queensland flood map. Source: Bureau of Meteorology

• Floodwater is surging through some parts of the city at  a speed of about 40 knots (~ 75kmh).
• “The velocity of the water, and the rises in the water levels, means that literally houses, particularly in north Bundaberg, and maybe other locations, could be swept away,” said Queensland premier.
• “The communities of Gympie and Maryborough are flooding, Gladstone had suffered severe flooding downstream from Awoonga dam, and Rockhampton was braced for a significant flood from this weekend.”

• The storm is heading to NSW, while floodwaters threaten two major cities of Brisbane and Sydney.

• Earlier this months hundreds of fires in New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria burnt more than 750,000 hectares of the state, destroying dozens of properties and forcing the government to declare disaster in at least 43 local government areas.

Meantime, the Australian PM, who was visiting bushfire-ravaged states of Victoria and NSW, said: 

• “Whether it’s bushfires, whether it’s floods we are being challenged by nature…”
• “Across Queensland the wild weather has broken a lot of hearts. It’s a very tough period…”

• “To those right now, in the grip of this disaster, I say to you: `You are not alone’. This state and its people will rise to the challenge I am supremely confident of that.” Ms. Gillard said.

• “We’ll do whatever we can to protect you, in some cases to rescue you, and to do everything to stand by you in the days, weeks and months ahead. Together we will get through this.”

Challenged by nature? We beg to differ!

We believe you have overstayed your welcome, as far as Mother Nature is concerned.

In the words of Queensland police commissioner:  “Do not wait. Move now. Yr life depends on it.”

• Back-to-back Australian Disasters [index page]

• Wild storms hit Canberra
• Floods likely to isolate hundreds in NSW
• Brisbane expected to flood
• LARGE, out-of-control bushfire continues to threaten homes on the outskirts of the central Victorian community of Violet Town.
• Mass evacuation under way in Qld city

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

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

Statewide Catastrophe Declared in Queensland, Australia

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,140 Days Left 

[January 27, 2013] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,140 Days Left to the most Fateful Day in Human History
• Symbolic countdown to the ‘worst day’ in human history began on May 15, 2011 …

.

Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Australian Army Called to Help as QLD Flood Disaster Intensifies

Flood and storm damage across the Australian state of Queensland has prompted a statewide catastrophe declaration from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), said a report.

• ‘‘Insurers are greatly concerned about extreme weather expected over the next few days in Queensland, with severe inundation already having been experienced in several towns and cities, and major flood warnings now in place for every river from Cairns to the border,’’ said ICA chief executive.

• ‘‘Unfortunately, this catastrophe declaration is the result of the first cyclone to come close to the coast this season, and the weather bureau has warned it’s highly possible we will see more before the end of summer.’’

Meantime, the Queensland Government has asked the Australian Army to help amid extreme rain events, worsening flood disaster  and tornado outbreaks.

“Local rainfall daily records in central and southeast Queensland are tumbling after falls of 461mm at Boolaroo Tops, 454mm in Walla and 272mm in Gayndah since yesterday morning.”

• A giant storm cell is slowly moving southeast toward the population centers, dumping at least 200mm of rain, and destructive winds and tornadoes are expected along the Sunshine Coast and Bribie Island, reports said

• A 5-meter wall of  water is pouring over the spillway of the Awoonga Dam into the Boyne, south of Gladstone.

Awoonga Dam on January 26. Source: Reece Ireland, Gladstone/ via The Australian

• A saddle dam off the Awoonga Dam is close to overflowing, which would put 500 homes in peril, the authorities said.

• “Water continues to spill from Wivenhoe dam in preemptive releases.”

• Forecasters have warned more than 300mm of rain could fall in Wivenhoe Dam catchment, upstream of Brisbane, in the next few days, with coastal areas receiving about 500mm, isolating additional communities.

• Authorities have issued an evacuation order for north Bundaberg after the Burnett River broke its banks.
  • The Burnett River is now forecast to peak at 9 meters—well above the levels recorded during the 2010/11 floods, reports said.

• Residents in the Gympie area, north of Brisbane, are being rescued from rooftop, as Mary River continues to rise to a forecast peak of  peak at 17m.

• Back-to-back Australian Disasters [index page]

• Wild storms hit Canberra
• Floods likely to isolate hundreds in NSW
• Brisbane expected to flood

United States

The deep freeze persists throughout much of the Northeast as forecasters warn of looming ice storms. Severe ice storm are expected to hit Northern Illinois, southern Michigan, NE Missouri, large swathes  of the Midwest as well as mid-Atlantic, and Ontario.

U.S. Weather Hazards Map. Source: NWS

• Tennessee has declared state of emergency as the eastern portion of the state continues to see significant icing, reports said.

• Michigan governor has declared state of emergency to boost propane deliveries.

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

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

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/weather/brisbane-expected-to-flood-20130127-2deip.html

Flooding in Mozambique Displaces 70,000, Killing Dozens

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,141 Days Left 

[January 26, 2013] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,141 Days Left to the most Fateful Day in Human History
• Symbolic countdown to the ‘worst day’ in human history began on May 15, 2011 …

.

Global Disasters/ Significant Events

“We are eating grasshoppers”

Severe flooding, triggered by week-long extreme rain events in South Africa and Zimbabwe,  continued to spread across southern Mozambique.

“The number of displaced people now stood at 67,995 while nearly 85,000 have been affected by the raging waters in recent days, the UN said, urging donors to urgently make more funds available ‘to help deal with this emergency’ in the impoverished southeast African nation.”

Hunger is setting in among tens of thousands of the victims who are waiting for help to arrive, said a report.

“We are eating grasshoppers,” a flood victim told AFP, adding that she believed they were the “lucky ones.”

“We have family in the town, our aunts. They must be on the rooftops now,” she said.

“We left at midnight without taking food. We have nothing to sleep under.”

• Mozambique Floods Threaten 50,000 January 22, 2013

The Great Crocodile Escape

A crocodile farm in northern South Africa was forced to open its gates after being inundated, letting loose at least 15,000 crocodiles.

Australia

Several ‘mini-tornadoes’ spawned by the remnants of cyclone Oswald have hit the Queensland coast injuring about two dozen people, as severe weather and flooding batters the disaster state.

The tornadoes have damaged scores of homes and forced the evacuation of towns around Bundaberg, reports said.

• Tornadoes  caused severe damage to coastal townships of Bargara and Burnett Heads, both of which have since been declared disaster areas.

Further north, severe flooding in Gladstone led to the city (population ~ 30,000) being declared a disaster zone, and the authorities told at least 2,000 people  to evacuate.

• Back-to-back Australian Disasters [index page]

Oklahoma, USA

The drought in Oklahoma has caused more than $2 billion in damage in the past two years, said a report.

Oklahoma Drought Map. Source: Drought Monitor Archives

• “Cities are facing water rationing, and Tulsa residents will see dying lawns, trees and plants.”
• It cost twice as much to feed the livestock. “A load of feed, which lasts about a month, has gone from about $3,500 to $7,500.”
• USDA has declared 917 counties as primary and contiguous drought disaster areas including the entire state of Oklahoma and parts of 25  other states, in January 2013.

High Plains Drought Map. Source: Drought Monitor Archives

• Drought 2013

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

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

Brisbane on high alert for flooding

Brisbane, Qld, is on high alert for flooding as more heavy rain forecast for Monday

Emergency services have warned residents to prepare for “wild weather.”

The following areas are flooding or cut off:

• Maryborough,
• The Sunshine Coast and surrounding areas
• Pine Creek (south of Bundaberg)
• Gympie, where electricity is cut off as a precaution

Heavy rain and flash floods also reported around Maleny, a small town about 90km (56 miles) north of Brisbane.

The Mary River is forecast to reach a high of about 17m overnight, a report said.

It takes very little rain much more rain to tip the balance, Emergency Management Queensland said.

“This year with all of the catchments primed and the river’s already flooding, that 200mm of rain… could mean the difference between a minor flood and a major flood.”

One-Week Rainfall Forecast (BOM)

Rainfall Forecast for Sunday 9 January 2011 to Sunday 16 January 2011

Queensland and NSW Flood Maps [9 January 2011] – Source: BOM

Source: Image from Japan Meteorological Agency satellite MTSAT-1R via Bureau of Meteorology. Posted on 9 January 2011 11:41 UTC

• Latest Satellite Image.
• IR Color Animation

Flooding in Rockhampton, QLD, Australia

Image of Rockmapton flood acquired by ALI on NASA’s EO-1 satellite on January 9, 2011. “The Fitzroy River cuts through the upper right quadrant of the image, and just west of the river, relatively high land remains above the flood. All around that area, flood water predominates, including areas east of the river.” Source NASA-EO. Click image to enlarge. Download larger image (4 MB, JPEG)

Queensland Warnings Summary

• Coastal Wind Warning 1,
• Severe Weather Warning 1,
• Severe Thunderstorm Warning – Queensland 1,
• Flood Warning – Fitzroy River,
• Flood Warning – Burnett River,
• Flood Warning – Coastal rivers – Maryborough to Gold Coast,
• Flood Warning – Mary River,
• Flood Warning – Sunshine Coast (Noosa etc.),
• Flood Warning – Stanley & Brisbane above Wivenhoe Dam,
• Flood Warning – Lockyer, Bremer, Warrill & Brisbane below Wivenhoe.,
• Flood Warning – Condamine-Balonne Rivers,
• Flood Warning – Macintyre/Weir,
• Flood Warning – Moonie River,
• Flood Warning – Thomson/Barcoo/Cooper Ck,
• Queensland flood warning summary.

• Tropical Cyclone Warnings and Information

National Weather and Current Warnings

• New South Wales / Australian Capital Territory,
• Victoria,
• Queensland,
• Western Australia,
• South Australia,
• Tasmania,
• Northern Territory.

• Warnings Summary

AUSTRALIA: TC Hamish Moving South

Australian Bureau of Meteorology predicts TC Hamish will remain a Category 4 system Monday night as it hovers near shoreline along the central Queensland coast.

Hamish, downgraded to a category 4 storm, is located near the Capricornia coast about 250 km east of Yeppoon and 240 km north-north-east of Bundaberg, moving south south-east at near 16 km per hour, a report said.

epa01658587 A handout image released by the Bureau of Meteorology, Japan Meteorological Agency on 08 March 2009 of an infrared satellite image dated 08 March 2009, showing the progress of cyclone Hamish over Australia.

Powerful winds could cause substantial damage to townships and  communities between Yeppoon and Hervey Bay. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology expected sea levels to rise above normal tide line as Hamish moves south-east. Minor flooding may occur along the shoreline.

Hamish is expected to weaken further in the next 24 hours.

Earth Observatory: Tropical Cyclone Hamish

With winds near 240 kilometers per hour (150 miles per hour or 130 knots), Tropical Cyclone Hamish was a powerful Category 4 storm (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) as it moved down the northeast coast of Australia on March 7, 2009. The storm formed on March 5 off the Queensland coast, and intensified as it moved southeast just off shore. By the time the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image on the morning of March 7, the storm was well-formed. The intense storm has a distinct eye, surrounded by a wall of towering clouds. As of March 7, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center predicted that Hamish would come ashore just north of Brisbane on March 9. The storm was forecast to weaken before making landfall.

NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Holli Riebeek.

TROPICAL CYCLONE FORECAST TRACK MAP

Severe Tropical Cyclone Hamish

Tropical Cyclone Advice Number 33 issued at 10:43 pm EST Monday 9 March 2009

Community Threat	Past Cyclone Details
Warning Zone – Gales within 24 hours Watch Zone – Gales from 24 to 48 hours	Past Location and Intensity Number Past Track and Movement
Current Cyclone Details	Forecast Cyclone Details (at 24 and 48 hours from issue)
Current Location and Intensity Number Very Destructive Winds Destructive Winds Strong Gale Force Winds	Forecast Location and Intensity Number Very Destructive Wind Boundary Destructive Wind Boundary Strong Gale Force Wind Boundary Most Likely Future Track Range of Likely Tracks

The forecast path shown above is the Bureau’s best estimate of the cyclone’s future movement and intensity. There is always some uncertainty associated with tropical cyclone forecasting and the grey zone indicates the range of likely tracks.

Due to the uncertainty in the future movement, the indicated winds will almost certainly extend to regions outside the rings on this map. The extent of the warning & watch zones reflects this. (Australia’s BoM)

Remarks:

Severe Tropical Cyclone Hamish is expected to maintain a southeast track parallel to the coast overnight, before slowing down and beginning to weaken during Tuesday.

Damaging winds are expected to continue to affect offshore islands between Yeppoon and Double Island Point (including Heron Island, Lady Elliot Island, and Fraser Island) during the next 24 hours.

Damaging winds are not expected to develop about the mainland coast between Yeppoon and Double Island Point during the next 24 hours, however they may develop later.

As the cyclone moves to the southeast, sea levels are expected to be elevated above the normal tide along the coastline and large waves may produce minor flooding along the foreshore. People living in areas likely to be affected by this flooding should take measures to protect their property as much as possible and be prepared to help their neighbours.

People on offshore islands between Yeppoon and Double Island Point (including Heron Island, Lady Elliot Island, and Fraser Island) should immediately commence or continue preparations, especially securing boats and property.

People on the mainland coast between Yeppoon and Tewantin should consider what action they will need to take if the cyclone threat increases. If you are unsure about the actions to be taken, information is available from your local government or local State Emergency Service. (Source: Australia’s BoM)

Related Links:

• http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/wrap_fwo.pl?IDQP0005.txt

• Forecast Track Map (QLD)
• Tropical Cyclone Advice
• East Coastal Waters issued by Brisbane
• High Seas Warning
• Tropical Cyclone Technical Bulletin