Global Disasters/ Significant Events – November 18, 2013

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – November 18, 2013

Deadly Tornadoes Attack U.S. Midwest

At least SIX people were killed and dozens more injured after 67 tornadoes [confirmed total] spawned by a massive weather system struck parts of 9 states, including Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky. Some 442 events have so far been reported across NINE states after Sunday storm attacks, which flattened large section of the city of Washington, Ill.

Plane crash in Russia’s Kazan kills 50 people on board

Russian authorities confirmed that all 50 people aboard a passenger plane were killed when the aircraft  crashed on landing in central Russia’s city of Kazan, capital of Tatarstan Republic.

Egypt train and bus crash kills 24 near Cairo

24 people were killed and 20 others injured when a train crashed into a pickup truck and a bus near Cairo, the state news agency MENA said on Monday.

50 Children were killed when a train hit their school bus near Manfalut, about  350km south of Cairo, on November 17, 2012.

Guided-missile cruiser struck by “friendly” drone: LATimes

The guided-missile cruiser Chancellorsville was  struck by an aerial-target drone during a training exercise off Ventura County, officials said.

BQM-74E target drones are launched from the guided-missile destroyer McCampbell in 2010. (Ensign Colleen R. Praxmarer / U.S. Navy)

The US Navy vessel was struck on its port side by an BQM-74 series drone, leaving two sailors with burns.

“The drone, controlled from Point Mugu, was being used during a routine exercise meant to test the ship’s radar system’s tracking ability. The test was not designed for the ship to shoot down the drone,” LATimes quoted officials as saying.

Navy technicians are examining the extent of damage to the ship, as other specialists try to establish the possible cause of the drone malfunction, said the report.

Bomb attack kills 31 in Syria including 4 generals

A bomb attack by Saudi-backed foreign terrorists on an army base near Damascus killed at least 31 Syrian military personnel including four generals,  according to reports.

“Three generals and a brigadier-general were among 31 troops killed in a bomb attack that caused a building in the army transport base in Harasta to collapse,” said director for Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Libya declares a State of Emergency in Tripoli as deadly violence erupts

A 48-hour state of emergency has been declared in the Libyan capital Tripoli after gun battles between rival militia groups left at least 45 people dead and more than 400 wounded.

However, eyewitnesses say the death toll is much higher than the official figures.

“Officially, there were more than 40 victims in the clashes in Tripoli in the past two days, but according to our data, the number of victims is much larger,” a medic on the scene told reporters.

Potentially Disastrous Fuel Rod Removal Operation Starts at Fukushima Daiichi

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. TEPCO, has begun removing nuclear fuel rods from a storage pool at a damaged No. 4 reactor building.

The pool contains 1,533 fuel units, of which 1,331 are highly radioactive spent rods. The operator decided to remove unused units first because they release less radiation and heat than the used ones.

Philippines Mega Disaster Update – SitRep No. 27

Super Typhoon HAIYAN affected up to 14 million Filipinos, leaving 5,578 dead or missing, 4,009, 074 homeless, and causing at least PHP10.4 billion worth of damage to the country’s agriculture and infrastructure.

Source: SitRep No. 27 released by Philippines National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRMC)  November 18, 2013. [$1 = 43.66 Philippine pesos]

Mass Burials

Town officials bury some of the victims of the Super Typhoon HAIYAN in a mass grave. Credit: Local news media.

This post will be updated throughout the day as more information becomes available.

Cairo’s Deadliest Day: Official Death Toll Hits 525

Massacre in Egypt: More than 3,000 dead, 5,000 wounded

Supporters of President Mohammed Morsi, who was ousted in a military coup six weeks ago, say about 3,000 demonstrators have been killed and at least 5,000 others wounded, according to news reports.

The latest carnage was the third and by far the bloodiest mass killings of pro Morsi demonstrators since the president was ousted.

The army-installed government has declared a 30-day state of emergency, imposing a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the capital and 10 other provinces.

Violent clashes between the security forces and Morsi supporters have also bloodied the cities of Alexandria, Assiut, Fayoum, Minya and Suez, as well as Beni Suef and Buhayra provinces, reports said.

Turkish Prime Minister RT Erdogan described the mass killings as a “very serious massacre,” said a report.

“I am calling on Western countries. You remained silent in Gaza, you remained silent in Syria … You are still silent on Egypt. So how come you talk about democracy, freedom, global values and human rights?” He said at a news conference.

In contrast, the UAE, one of the Gulf Arab states worried by Morsi’s victory in last year’s election, has fully supported the bloodshed, saying the Egyptian government had “exercised maximum self-control,” said a report.

On February 11, 2011, FIRE-EARTH said:

“Informed sources say influential members of Saudi Arabian royal family are inciting large scale violence in Egypt by promising to pay $1,000 for each demonstrator killed by the Egyptian security apparatus.”

In all likelihood, President Morsi would be killed “accidentally” while in detention, FIRE-EARTH blog advisers said.

On December 18, 2011, FIRE-EARTH commented:

• At least a dozen demonstrators have been killed and about 500 others wounded by the Egyptian army following a third day of clashes in a new round of uprising as the winter of the so called “Arab Spring” deepens.
• Increasingly, the Egyptians are realizing that what they actually participated in wasn’t a “revolution,” but a coup d’etat, cunningly orchestrated by the military and its paymasters and carried out on the back of a mass uprising.
• Egypt is Israel’s next-door neighbor. Hell would freeze over before Egyptians are allowed to have a functioning democracy!

Related Links

• Egypt Military Coup July 4, 2013
• How Much an Egyptian Life Worth? February 11, 2011
• Deadly Winter Follows ‘Arab Spring’ November 20, 2011
• Disaster Calendar 2011 – December 18
• Arab Spring? “We’ll see!” Posted November 20, 2011
• Hell would freeze over before Egyptians are allowed to have a functioning democracy  Posted December 18, 2011

BP-NM Before and After Flooding Satellite Images

Flooding at the Confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers 

Before image below shows the New Madrid Floodway south of Cairo, Illinois and the confluence of the two rivers inundated after Birds Point Levee was intentionally breached on May 2, 2011

Click image to enlarge. Download largest image (5 MB, JPEG) — acquired May 3, 2011

After image of the area was acquired on April 14, 2010 and is used as reference.

Click image to enlarge. Download largest image (5 MB, JPEG).   Images were taken by Landsat-5 satellite. Source: NASA-EO.

Related Links

• Ohio River at Cairo  Posted on May 4, 2011
• Heavy rain, flash floods for Ohio, Mississippi valleys
• Mississippi, Ohio Rivers Still Rising; Cairo Evacuated
• Epic Flooding Could Inundate Large Parts of the U-S  Posted on February 10, 2011
• The Day Before Washington’s Birthday   Posted on February 20, 2011

Ohio River at Cairo

“THIS COUNTRY NO GOOD for FARMING!”

Climate Change, Flood Plains, Explosives and Geoengineering

Hydrograph of Ohio River at Cairo

Source: NWS/AHPS

Latest Flood Warnings

• Severe Thunderstorm Warning
• Flash Flood Warning
• Flood Warning
• Flood Statement

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: Significant River Flood Outlook

Click image to enlarge. Click HERE to enter NWS portal for regional details.

Click image to enlarge. Download largest  image (5 MB, JPEG) acquired on May 3, 2011

These two false-color images taken by MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite on May 3, 2011 (top), and April 29, 2011 (bottom) show conditions along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. (See an image from 2010 for a comparison.) The image taken on May 3 shows the floodway downstream of Cairo completely submerged after the Army Corps of Engineers blew up a levee near Cairo which sits at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Source: NASA-EO.  Click image to enlarge. Download largest  image (5 MB, JPEG) acquired on April 29, 2011.

This photo taken by the US Army Corps of Engineers shows flooded farms near New Madrid, Missouri. The deluge followed the intentional breaching of two levees by the Corps. Click image to enlarge.

Related Links

• Heavy rain, flash floods for Ohio, Mississippi valleys
• Mississippi, Ohio Rivers Still Rising; Cairo Evacuated
• Epic Flooding Could Inundate Large Parts of the U-S  Posted on February 10, 2011
• The Day Before Washington’s Birthday   Posted on February 20, 2011
• Topsoil

Heavy rain, flash floods for Ohio, Mississippi valleys

UPDATE: The first levee at Birds Point has been breached, just after 10 p.m.  

‘Heavy rains driving flash flooding and river flooding to record levels’: NWS

Torrential rain is forecast  for today in parts of 11 already soaking states:

• Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama.

Heavy rain is also forecast Tuesday and Wednesday in parts of 6 states:

• Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

More than 4 inches of rain is forecast in SW Indiana, S. Illinois and W. Kentucky and about 5 inches in central Arkansas, NWS said.

Five-day precipitation forecast (NWS)

Click images to enlarge.

Weather Hazards Map (NWS)

Weather Forecast Map

Flash Flooding

“Flash Flooding is expected today in an eight-state swath from east-central Texas to southwestern Ohio. The area also includes southeastern Oklahoma, most of Arkansas, southeast Missouri, southern Illinois and Indiana, southwest Ohio, western Tennessee, west-central and northern Kentucky. Rain and thundershowers are forecast from central Texas to the eastern and southern Great Lakes. Heavy snow is possible in north-central Washington and light to moderate snow is possible for south-central Wyoming, central Colorado and north-central New Mexico.” NWS said.

Flooding Rivers

Mississippi, Ohio Rivers Still Rising; Cairo Evacuated

The Army Corps of Engineers have reportedly completed the preparation stage and are ready to blow a hole in Birds Point levee in Missouri by 12:00pm local time.

This photo shows natural overtopping at the frontline levee on the Mississippi River on the Birds Point New Madrid Floodway. (Photo: Southeast Missourian/reader submitted).

Once the levee is breached, water at a rate of about 550,000 cubic feet per second will divert from the Mississippi River, causing the water level in the river  near  Cairo to drop by up to seven feet, a report said.

The intentional breaching  of BP-NM floodway is expected to flood more than  130,000 acres and about 200 properties in Mississippi County, Missouri, “and will be devastating to farmers and agricultural businesses in and around the floodway. The floodway has not been placed in operation since the 1937 flood.”

Cairo, Ill. Satellite Image

Small city of Cairo (at center of this astronaut photo) sits at the confluence of Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. “Flooding of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers presents a continual danger to the city; this danger is lessened by the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway that begins directly to the south of the river confluence. During major flood events, the floodway lessens flood stages upstream (such as at Cairo) and adjacent to the floodway. Part of the extensive levee system associated with flood control of the Mississippi River is visible in the image. Barlow Bottoms (image right), located in adjacent Kentucky, is a wetland bird-watching location that is replenished by periodic floods and releases of Ohio River water.” Astronaut photograph ISS012-E-15035 was acquired January 12, 2006. Source: NASA-EO.  Download large image (583 KB, JPEG)

Blowing a 2-mile hole in the levee

The corps plans to blow a 2-mile hole at the southern end of the floodway to drain the water from the farmlands about 24 hours after the first round of detonations,  a report said. The detonations are set to began by midnight Monday.

Flood Zone. Frame grab from an abc news clip. Click image to enlarge.

“Public safety remains the No. 1 issue for the corps of engineers,” the Corps commander said.

“[The levee] continues to be under enormous and unprecedented pressure,” he added. “The Cairo gauge has gone up a foot and a half since yesterday. It’s going to continue to rise.”

“This doesn’t end this historic flood,” he said. “This is just the beginning.”

Missouri farmers on the flood plane are extremely anxious. They fear their lands would be destroyed by toxic sludge after the floodwaters have receded.

Related Links

• Mississippi, Ohio Rivers Still Rising; Cairo Evacuated
• Epic Flooding Could Inundate Large Parts of the U-S  Posted on February 10, 2011
• The Day Before Washington’s Birthday   Posted on February 20, 2011

UPDATED @ 03:31UTC, May 3, 2011

Mississippi, Ohio Rivers Still Rising; Cairo Evacuated

Army Corps of Engineers on standby to blow a hole in Birds Point levee in Missouri

A “sand boil,” an area of excessive water seepage pushing through the ground, has become dangerously large, as the Corps closely monitors rising river levels, expected to crest, surpassing the 60 feet mark by Tuesday.

“That’s not just putting pressure here in Cairo, but the entire system is being put under pressure,” Corps commander said. “This is going to be the biggest amount of stress that these levees have been put under since we started the construction in 1928.”

Blowing up the levee would flood at least 130,000 acres of Missouri farmland, causing severe damage. On the other hand, towns in Illinois and Kentucky could be flooded if the levee were not blown up.

Both the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers have been rising following days of rain which have added to the water levels from the considerably-heavier-than-usual ongoing spring flooding. The city of Cairo (population: 2,800) sits at the confluence of two rivers.

Small city of Cairo (at center of this astronaut photo) sits at the confluence of Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. “Flooding of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers presents a continual danger to the city; this danger is lessened by the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway that begins directly to the south of the river confluence. During major flood events, the floodway lessens flood stages upstream (such as at Cairo) and adjacent to the floodway. Part of the extensive levee system associated with flood control of the Mississippi River is visible in the image. Barlow Bottoms (image right), located in adjacent Kentucky, is a wetland bird-watching location that is replenished by periodic floods and releases of Ohio River water.” Astronaut photograph ISS012-E-15035 was acquired January 12, 2006. Source: NASA-EO.  Download large image (583 KB, JPEG) 

Current Warnings/ Watches

• Severe Thunderstorm Warning
• Flash Flood Warning
• Civil Emergency Message
• Winter Storm Warning
• High Wind Warning
• Flash Flood Watch
• Severe Weather Statement

• Flood Warning
• Gale Warning
• Red Flag Warning
• Flood Advisory

• Flood Watch
• Special Weather Statement
• Hazardous Weather Outlook
• Hydrologic Outlook
• Short Term Forecast

Flooding along Ohio and Mississippi Rivers

Flood conditions along Wabash, Ohio, Black, and Mississippi Rivers are much worse in April 2011 than a year earlier. MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite took these false-color images on April 28, 2011 (top), and April 29, 2010 (bottom). Source: NASA-EO

U-S Flood Map

As of posting, 51 river gauges are reporting major flooding, 80 gauges moderate flooding, 125 gauges minor flooding, and 202 are at near flood stage, as shown in the AHPS map above. Floods are wreaking havoc in the U.S. Midwest, South and the Northeast.

Related Links

• Epic Flooding Could Inundate Large Parts of the U-S  Posted on February 10, 2011
• The Day Before Washington’s Birthday   Posted on February 20, 2011

Image of the Day: Drought in Egypt

What Happened to my Rice?

An Egyptian rice farmer shows his drought damaged rice crop and cracks in the rice terrace soil caused by more than 30 days of no rain in a village near Balqis, 260 km northeast of Cairo. EGYPT: June 17, 2008. Reuters. Photo by NASSER NURI. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!