Third Ever Global Coral Bleaching Event Declared

Bleaching intensifies in Hawaii, high ocean temperatures threaten Caribbean corals: NOAA

NOAA has declared the third global coral bleaching event ever known, as record high ocean temperatures cause widespread coral bleaching across Hawaii. The researchers also confirmed the same stressful conditions are now expanding to the Caribbean, said a report released today.

Waters are warming in the Caribbean, threatening coral in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, NOAA scientists said. Coral bleaching began in the Florida Keys and South Florida in August, but now scientists expect bleaching conditions there to diminish.

“The coral bleaching and disease, brought on by climate change and coupled with events like the current El Niño, are the largest and most pervasive threats to coral reefs around the world,” said NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch coordinator. “As a result, we are losing huge areas of coral across the U.S., as well as internationally. What really has us concerned is this event has been going on for more than a year and our preliminary model projections indicate it’s likely to last well into 2016.”

“Last year’s bleaching at Lisianski Atoll was the worst our scientists have seen,” said NOAA’s deputy superintendent for the monument. “Almost one and a half square miles of reef bleached last year and are now completely dead.”

Exposure to stressful environmental conditions such as high temperatures causes coral bleaching.  Stress causes corals to reject the symbiotic algae living in their tissues, causing corals to turn white or pale, leaving the coral without a major source of food, and making it more susceptible to disease.

The first ever recorded global bleaching occurred in 1998, followed by a second event in 2010, said the report.

October 2015-January 2016: NOAA’s standard 4-month bleaching outlook shows a threat of bleaching continuing in the Caribbean, Hawaii and Kiribati, and potentially expanding into the Republic of the Marshall Islands. (Credit: NOAA)

Report posted at NOAA declares third ever global coral bleaching event

Hurricane SANDY Causes Much Destruction in Cuba

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,233 Days Left 

[October 26, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016. 

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,233 Days Left to the ‘Worst 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

SANDY leaves at least two dozen people dead across the Caribbean

The deadly hurricane slammed into Cuba with 180kph winds, leaving behind a trail of destruction.

Santiago de Cuba, the country’s second largest city, took a direct hit from the Cat 3A hurricane, when the storm landed  early Thursday morning.

Hurricane SANDY

Hurricane SANDY Slamming into the Bahamas afetr leaving behind a deadly trail of destruction in Jamaica and Cuba. IR Sat Image (NHC Enhancement)  sourced from CIMSS.

• “Everything is destroyed in Santiago [located about 470 miles SE of Havana; population of >500,000.] People are going to have to work very hard to recover,” a resident of the city, told Reuters.
• The deadly hurricane has reportedly destroyed or damaged many of the city’s 300,000 homes.
• A local TV reporter has described Santiago de Cuba as “a city without trees” after so many were uprooted by SANDY.
• As of 3:00am EDT, SANDY had claimed at least two dozen lives across the Caribbean.
• The hurricane could land along the Mid-Atlantic coast next week.
• Hurricane warnings, storm warnings and watches are in effect along the entire east coast of Florida and Mid-Atlantic coast, as of posting ( Updated Friday @ 9:30UTC ).

SANDY Leaves Battered Bahamas

Hurricane SANDY leaving the Bahamas after battering the islands. IR Sat Image sourced from CIMSS.

Australia

Far western portion of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has been declared a disaster area after bushfires scorched 25,000 hectares of land  in less than a week, a report said.

Myanmar

State of Emergency has been declared  by the Myanmar government after five days of deadly violence between the Buddhists majority and Rohingya people, which have left about 100 dead and thousands of homes burned.

• This week’s clashed are said to be the worst since violence flared up in June, which left at least 80 people dead and up to a 100,000 forced out of their homes, after an alleged rape.
• Myanmar’s estimated 800,000 Rohingya, who are officially stateless, are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, according to the U.N.

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

GLOBAL WARNING

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!

Hurricane IRENE wreaks havoc across the Caribbean

IRENE destroys/damages hundreds of homes in U.S. Virgin Islands

[August 24, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,666 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

READ THIS FIRST

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FIRE-EARTH will continue to update the 2011 Disaster Calendar for the benefit of its readers.

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The Blog Moderators Condemn in the Strongest Possible Terms the Continued Removal of Content and Hacking of FIRE-EARTH and Affiliated Blogs by WordPress!

Disaster Calendar 2011 – August 24 Entry

• Puerto Rico. IRENE has destroyed/damaged hundreds of homes across the Caribbean, killing at least 2 people, downing  trees and causing widespread power outages in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• The governor of Puerto Rico has declared a state of emergency.
• The White House declares a state of emergency in Puerto Rico.
• Thousands of tourists and residents have been evacuated.
• Virginia, USA. A state of emergency has been declared in Culpeper County after a magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit Mineral, VA. The Town of Culpeper is 36 miles from Mineral, reports said.
• Wisconsin, USA. Gov. Scott Walker has declared a state of emergency in 3 Wisconsin counties, Burnett, Douglas and Washburn because of hundreds of thousands of downed trees, a report said.
• “Severe storms in July and early August left nearly 2 million cords of wood on the ground. Local governments and the timber industry are racing to clean up the mess before the wood rots or catches fire.”
• Texas, USA. As Dallas-Fort Worth area set a record high of 107 degrees, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT), initiated Energy Emergency Alert Level 2B, which might lead to rotating outages, reports said.
• “Until we get a break in this extreme heat and record drought, we appreciate consumers and businesses conserving electricity as they are able, especially between 3 and 7 pm,” an ERCOT VP said.  “We also appreciate all the state agencies, school districts, businesses and residents who have taken steps to get the word out about the importance of conservation during these extreme weather conditions.”
• Iowa, USA. The White House has declared a major disaster exists in the State of Iowa following the widespread damage caused by severe storms, straight-line winds, and flooding during the period of July 9-14, 2011.
• New York, USA. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated eight New York counties as primary disaster areas following widespread damage and crop losses caused by torrential rain, flash flooding, high winds, lightning and below normal temperatures during the period of March 1 – June 1, 2011, USDA said.
• The primary disaster areas: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Clinton, Cortland, Ontario, Tompkins, Wayne  and Yates counties.
• Contiguous disaster areas: Broome, Chemung , Essex, Madison, Schuyler, Tioga, Cayuga, Chenango, Franklin, Monroe  Seneca, Wyoming, Chautauqua, Erie, Livingston, Onondaga and Steuben counties.

Related Links

• 2011 Much More Disastrous: FIRE-EARTH Forecast
• Global Disasters in 2011 Could Impact 1/3 to 1/2 of the Human Population
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – August
• 2010 Disaster Calendar 
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

Another Strong Quake Strikes Haiti as Expected

Earthquake Measuring Up to 6.4 Mw Strikes Offshore 60 km  WSW of PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti

The earthquake struck 9.9 km (6.2 miles), but was poorly constrained, USGS/EHP reported.

The event occurred about 880 km of  a strong quake that struck near the Grand Cayman earlier today.

On January 13 after the first powerful earthquake struck, FEWW said:

FEWW Forecast: Another Major Earthquake Could Strike the Region Soon with a Probability of 60% [P ≥ 0.55]

FEWW Moderators also forecast earlier to day as follows:

The Gonave Microplate, near the boundaries of which this earthquake occurred, could produce more seismicity in 2010, with possibly another powerful quake measuring 7.4 to 7.6Mw striking its southern boundary.  Kingston, Jamaica could experience a powerful quake with a probability of 65 percent.

10-degree Map Centered at 20°N,75°W

Earthquake Location map. Source: USGS/EHP. Enhanced by FEWW.

Estimated Population Exposed to Earthquake Shaking. Click Image for USGS PDF file.

Earthquake Details

• Magnitude: 6.1 [EQ magnitude estimated by FEWW: 6.4 Mw]
• Date-Time:
  • Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 11:03:44 UTC
  • Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 06:03:44 AM at epicenter
• Location: 18.428°N, 72.875°W
• Depth: 9.9 km (6.2 miles) (poorly constrained)
• Region: HAITI REGION
• Distances:
  • 60 km (35 miles) WSW of PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti
  • 95 km (60 miles) ENE of Les Cayes, Haiti
  • 160 km (100 miles) SSW of Cap-Haitien, Haiti
  • 1110 km (690 miles) SE of Miami, Florida
• Location Uncertainty: horizontal +/- 6.5 km (4.0 miles); depth +/- 25.7 km (16.0 miles) –Possible error
• Source: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
• Event ID: us2010rsbb

USGS Shakemap. Click image to enlarge.

Seismic Hazard Map. Major Tectonic Boundaries: Subduction Zones -purple, Ridges -red and Transform Faults -green  (USGS). Click image to enlarge.

Major Tectonic Boundaries: Subduction Zones -purple, Ridges -red and Transform Faults -green. Location Map (USGS). Click image to enlarge.

Map of Haiti. USGS/EHP

Major Tectonic Boundaries: Subduction Zones -purple, Ridges -red and Transform Faults -green. Location Map (USGS). Click image to enlarge.

Tsunami Advisory:

The quake should have produced a small local tsunami. However, the NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Center at Ewa Beach, Hawaii, at 11:11 UTC Wed Jan 20,  2010 said:

A destructive tsunami was not generated based on earthquake and historical tsunami data. This earthquake is located too far inland to generate a tsunami in the Caribbean.

The coordinates provided by NWSPTWC were: 18.6 NORTH 72.9 WEST.  And the Quake Location Details according to USGS were: 18.428°N, 72.875°W
Both sets of coordinates place the quake epicenter offshore Haiti, according to Google Earth.

Google Map of the Quake Location places the epicenter of the earthquake offshore Haiti (Hispaniola Island). Image may be subject to copyright. Click image to enlarge.

Related Links:

• Strong Quake Strikes Cayman Islands Region
• Haiti Quake Causes Widespread Death, Destruction
• Haiti Earthquake Disaster Links Page!

• FEWW Volcano Links
• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes

• More Photos from Port-au-Prince