Dallas/Fort Worth area set new rain record with 140cm this year

Complex storm system batters New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas as it sweeps across the U.S.

Some 140.2cm (155.23 in) of precipitation in Dallas-Fort Worth area so far this year has set a new record breaking the rainfall record of 136cm set in 1991.

Meanwhile, fast-moving floodwaters have killed at least three people in the Lone Star state, according to reports.

Dozens of weather warnings, watches and advisories are in effect across the country including Flash Flood Warning, Ice Storm Warning, Winter Storm Warning, High Wind Warning, Flood Warning, Gale Warning and Hard Freeze Warning.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has forecast “Significant accumulations of ice and snow will bring dangerous travel conditions and potential power outages to portions of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Further east, heavy rain could cause river and flash flooding across the Southern Plains, through the holiday weekend.

Extreme Weather Disasters in Texas

Earlier this month, two days of extreme weather, with tornadoes and flooding, left at least six people dead across the state. More…

In May, flooding killed at least two dozen people in Texas and Oklahoma, and prompted Gov. Abbott to declare disaster in 37 counties.

In July, he extended the May disaster declaration, following the severe weather, tornado and flooding event that began on May 4, 2015, to include 122 counties.

On October 13, 2015, Abbott declared disaster in Bastrop County after devastating wildfires.

Record Federal Disaster Declarations

A Major Disaster Declaration was declared for the state of Texas on November 25, 2015 following the earlier damage and loss caused by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding in the counties of Bastrop, Brazoria, Caldwell, Comal, Galveston, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Hays, Hidalgo, Liberty, Navarro, Travis, Willacy, and Wilson during the period of October 22-31, 2015.

Some 339 Major Disaster Declarations (since 1953), Emergency Declarations (since 1993) and Fire Management Assistance Declarations (since 1988) have been declared for Texas, the highest total for any state.

Crop Disasters Declared in 10 U.S. States

Drought and deluge, excessive heat and high wind kill crops in dozens of counties across 10 states

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has declared crop disasters in 118 counties across 10 states due to losses and damages caused by extreme weather events.  The disaster designations are in the states of Virginia, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Delaware and Connecticut.

Disaster Areas: Designation #1 –  Drought 

USDA has designated a total of 19 counties in Connecticut and three neighboring states as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by drought that occurred from April 1, 2015, and continues. Those counties are:

• Connecticut. Fairfield, Litchfield, Hartford, Middlesex, New Haven, New London Tolland and Windham.
• Massachusetts. Berkshire, Hampden and Worcester
• New York. Dutchess, Nassau, Putnam, Suffolk and Westchester
• Rhode Island. Kent, Providence and Washington

Disaster Areas: Designation #2 –  Excessive rain and flooding

USDA has designated a total of 50 counties in North Carolina and two neighboring states 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 counties are:

• North Carolina. Alamance, Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Cabarrus, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Franklin, Gates, Halifax, Harnett, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Martin, Mecklenburg, Moore, Nash, Northampton, Orange, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Person, Richmond, Robeson, Rockingham, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Union, Vance and Warren
• South Carolina. Chesterfield and Lancaster
• Virginia. Brunswick, Danville, Greensville, Halifax, Mecklenburg, Pittsylvania, Southampton and Suffolk

Multiple Crop Disasters in New Jersey and Neighboring States

Disaster Areas: Designation # 3 –  Excessive heat and drought

USDA has designated a total of 22 counties in New Jersey and neighboring states as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive heat and drought conditions that occurred from April 1, 2015, through Sept. 29, 2015. Those counties are:

• New Jersey. Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Essex, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren
• New York. Orange and Richmond
• Pennsylvania. Bucks, Monroe, Philadelphia and Pike

Disaster Areas: Designation # 4 – Excessive rain, flash flooding, high winds and lightning

USDA has designated a total of 14 counties in New Jersey and neighboring states as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rain, flash flooding, high winds and lightning that occurred from May 28, 2015, through July 15, 2015. Those counties are:

• New Jersey.  Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester,  Ocean and Salem
• Delaware. Kent, New Castle and Sussex
• Pennsylvania. Delaware and Philadelphia

Disaster Areas: Designation # 5  Excessive heat and drought

USDA has designated a total of 13 counties in New Jersey and neighboring states as crop disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive heat and drought conditions that occurred from July 16, 2015, through Sept. 29, 2015. Those counties are Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.

• New Jersey. Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean and Salem
• Delaware. Kent, New Castle and Sussex
• Pennsylvania. Delaware and Philadelphia

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Nov. 4, 2015.

Crop Disasters 2015

Beginning January 7, 2015 USDA has declared crop disasters in at least 3,618 counties and county equivalents across 46 States [as well as Puerto Rico, and US Virgin Islands]: Those states are Arizona, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, 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, Rhode Island, 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

• More Crops Destroyed by EWE in Nine U.S. States October 29, 2015
• 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

Floods Severely Affect 8 Million People across India

Extreme Rain Events, flooding and landslides kill hundreds, affect more than 8 million others across India

The worst affected areas are the eastern state of West Bengal, neighboring Odisha, as well as the western states of Gujarat and Rajasthan, and the northeastern state of Manipur, officials have said.

Cyclone KOMEN, tracking across the Bay of Bengal, has brought heavy rains to the states of West Bengal and Odisha, submerging hundreds of villages and leaving more than 150,000 people homeless, according to local reports.

Mayhem in Myanmar

Meanwhile, heavy monsoon rains have left scores of people dead and affected up to a third of a million others across 12 of Myanmar’s 14 states and regions.

“About 850,600 acres (344,493 hectares) of farmlands were submerged, of which Rakhine state suffered the most with over 260, 000 acres (105,300 hectares), an official of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation told Xinhua.

“Most of the country’s major rivers have reached or above their danger levels, said the Meteorology and Hydrology Department,” said a report.

Floods and landslides triggered by extreme rain events since June have impacted large portions of the country, destroying homes, businesses, and farms as well as much of the public infrastructure.

Another Town Destroyed by Floods

Extreme Rain Events trigger devastating floods in NW China

Severe floods have destroyed Niangniangba Town in Qinzhou District of Tianshui City, in northwest China’s Gansu Province.

Extreme rain events, flooding and landslides have affected more than 1.22 million people, leaving at least 20 dead or missing in Tianshui in recent days, said a report.

Original caption: Photo taken on July 31, 2013 shows the Niangniangba Town destroyed by floods in Qinzhou District of Tianshui City, northwest China’s Gansu Province. More than 20 people were dead or missing and about 1.22 million people were affected by the landslides and floods caused by strong rainfall in Tianshui in recent days. (Xinhua/Bai Liping)

Original caption: A bridge is damaged [destroyed] by the flood in Niangniangba Town, Qinzhou District of Tianshui City, northwest China’s Gansu Province, July 31, 2013. More than 20 people were dead or missing and about 1.22 million people were affected by the landslides and floods caused by strong rainfall in Tianshui in recent days. (Xinhua/Bai Liping). More images …

Related Links

• Major Catastrophe Unfolding in China July 30, 2013
• Thousands of Towns and Villages Devastated by Floods in China July 18, 2013
• China to Become Top Wheat Importer after Major Crop Disaster July 17, 2013

North Dakota Declared Disaster Area

Extreme weather, insects and diseases render North Dakota a disaster area

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 52 out of  53 counties in North Dakota as natural disaster areas because of extreme weather, insects and diseases that have plagued the state this year.

Disaster Calendar 2011 – October 27

[October 27, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,602 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• North Dakota. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 52 counties in North Dakota as disaster areas due to losses caused by the combined effects of spring snowstorms, frosts and freezes in late spring and early fall, excessive rain, flooding, ground saturation, landslides, high winds, hail, tornadoes, periods of unseasonably cool spring temperatures, excessive summer heat and weather-related insects and diseases that occurred from Jan. 1, 2011, and continues.

List of 42 counties that are designated as primary disaster areas.  Source: USDA

• The 10 North Dakota counties designated as contiguous disaster areas are Adams, Burleigh, Emmons, Kidder, Logan, Morton, Sheridan, Sioux, Slope and Stark counties.

• Minnesota, Montana and South Dakota. The following 17 bordering counties in the states of Minnesota, Montana and South Dakota have also been designated as disaster areas:

Source: USDA

Other Global Disasters

• Mexico, Central America and Colombia. More than two weeks of torrential rains, triggering widespread flooding and mudslides and swamping up to 1,000 towns and cities in the region, have displaced or severely affected over a million people, destroying  their food stocks in southern Mexico and Central America.
• “In the Mexican state of Tabasco alone, over 250,000 people have been displaced by the floods and are demanding government aid,” a report said.
• Floodwaters have inundated tns of thousands of farms, destroying or damaging hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops in the region.
• “Drought, freezing temperatures, and floods have contributed to the loss of some 400,000 heads of cattle,” the report said.
  
• The region has also experienced  severe losses in the production of corn, beans and sorghum.
• Colombia. Torrential rains have again hit Colombia, killing at least 35 and severely affecting more than 100,000 people.
• The country hasn’t even remotely recovered from last year’s epic floods, which have contributed to devastating mudslides that have destroyed much of Colombia’s infrastructure over  large areas.
• Famine. Food shortages are forcing up prices, and leaving  thousands threatened with famine, the report said.
• “The price of tortillas, a staple in the Mexican diet, is expected to be 30 percent higher at the end of this year relative to 2010. The expectation for the rise in the price of corn is higher, 56 percent in comparison with last year. The price of beans is already 70 percent higher, and that of vegetable shortening 100 percent, sugar 40 percent, milk 50 percent, rice 130 percent, and bread 60 percent.”
• El Salvador. The Mega Deluge has destroyed more than 40 percent of the corn crop and 75 percent of the bean crop according to preliminary reports.
• Guatemala. At least 40,000 peasant farmers whose entire crops have been wiped out are now facing famine.
• Nicaragua. Mega floods have affected up to 150,000 people, displacing at least 10,000 villagers.

Many of the nearly 1,000 towns and cities that have been inundated across the vast geographical area, which  extends from Mexico to Colombia, would be unable to recover from the ongoing disasters and face certain collapse.

In fact, collapse is already occurring:

• Famine is already present in some parts of Mexico, the Torreón Catholic Diocese has reported.
• “Every day hundreds of displaced farmers and their families flock to this city in Coahuila state to ask for food that they can no longer afford to buy. And it is not just food: the cost of potable water is also on the rise, forcing families to turn to sources of drinking water that are contaminated by parasites and pollutants.”

• Minnesota, USA. Thirty-four counties in the state of Minnesota  have been designated as natural disaster areas due to the combine effects of excessive rain, excessive heat, high winds, tornadoes and an early fall frost that occurred during the period of April 1, 2011, through Sept. 15, 2001, USDA reported.

List of the 11 Minnesota counties designated as primary disaster areas.  Source: USDA

List of the Minnesota counties designated as disaster areas because they are contiguous.  Source: USDA

• North and South Dakota. The following counties in North and South Dakota have also been declared as disaster areas because they are contiguous:
• North Dakota: Richland County.
• South Dakota: Deuel, Grant and Roberts counties.

• Turkey. The powerful quake that struck eastern Turkey together with large swarms of aftershocks have now claimed at least 525 lives, injured 1,650 people and made thousands homeless, officials said.
• Hundreds are still missing under the rubble.
• Survivors are buffeted by freezing rain and snow in worsening conditions.
• There are severe shortages of tents and aid supplies, reports said.
• A major earthquake could yet strike Turkey in 2011/2012 with a certainty of 0.7 (P= 66%).

Related Links

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities  (EDRO Forecast)
• 2011 Much More Disastrous: FIRE-EARTH Forecast
• Global Disasters in 2011 Could Impact 1/3 to 1/2 of the Human Population  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)

• U.S. back-to-back disasters phase has begun

• 2011 Disaster Calendar – October
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – September
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – August
• 2010 Disaster Calendar 
• 2011 Disaster Calendar