Crop Disaster Declared in Five States

High Winds, Hail, Excessive Rain and Flooding prompt USDA to declare crop disaster for44 counties in five states

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 44 counties across five states as agricultural disaster areas due to losses caused by a combination of excessive rain, related flooding, high winds and hail in three separate declarations.

Designation # 1: Ten Counties in New Jersey have been declared  Crop Disaster Areas due to losses caused by excessive rain, related flooding, high winds and hail that occurred May 1 – September 24, 2013.

Those counties are Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean and  Salem.

Designation # 2: USDA has designated 20 counties in Michigan as Agricultural Disaster Areas due losses caused by hail that occurred June 10 – August 2, 2013

Those areas are Bay, Calhoun, Eaton, Genesee, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Huron, Ingham, Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston, Midland, Monroe, Oakland, Saginaw,  Sanilac, Shiawassee, Tuscola, Washtenaw, and  Wayne counties.

Designation # 3: USDA has designated fourteen counties in three states–Florida, Georgia and Alabama– as crop disaster areas due to losses caused by excessive rain that occurred May 1 – September 25, 2013.

• Florida: Escambia, Madison, Santa Rosa, Taylor, Dixie, Jefferson, Okaloosa, Hamilton, Lafayette and Suwannee counties.
• Georgia: Brooks and Lowndes counties.
• Alabama: Baldwin and Escambia counties.

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas Nov. 13, 2013.

“Secretary Vilsack also reminds producers that Congress has not funded the five disaster assistance programs authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill. These are SURE; the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP); the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish (ELAP); the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP); and the Tree Assistance Program (TAP). Production losses due to disasters occurring after Sept. 30, 2011, are not eligible for disaster program coverage,” said USDA.

Recent Crop Disaster Designations

• Crop Disasters
• Crop Disaster Declared in Maine and Montana November 1, 2013

Agricultural Disaster Declared for 204 Counties

204 Counties across 10 states declared agricultural disaster areas

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 204 counties across 10 states—Georgia, Alabama, Florida, The Carolinas,  Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky and Tennessee—as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rain and flooding in two separate declarations.

First Disaster Declaration

USDA has designated 148 counties across six states—Georgia, Alabama, Florida, The Carolinas and Tennessee—as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rain that began April 1, 2013, and continuing.

List of Disaster Areas – Excessive Rain

• Georgia: Appling, Clinch, Grady, Macon, Treutlen, Turner, Twiggs, Union, Atkinson, Coffee, Greene, Madison, Walton, Ware, Washington, Wayne, Bacon, Colquitt, Gwinnett, Miller, Wheeler, Wilcox, Wilkinson, Baker, Cook, Hancock, Mitchell, Bibb, Dooly, Henry, Monroe, Baldwin, Crawford, Hart, Montgomery, Bulloch, Dougherty, Houston, Murray, Banks, Crisp, Irwin, Morgan, Butts, Early, Lee, Pickens, Barrow, Decatur, Jackson, Newton, Calhoun, Evans, Liberty, Pulaski, Ben Hill, De Kalb, Jasper, Oconee, Camden, Forsyth, Lincoln, Rabun, Berrien, Echols, Jeff Davis, Oglethorpe, Candler, Fulton, Long, Richmond, Bleckley, Effingham, Jefferson, Peach, Charlton, Glynn, Lumpkin, Schley, Brantley, Elbert, Jenkins, Pierce, Clayton, Gordon, McDuffie, Stephens, Brooks, Emanuel, Johnson, Putnam, Dawson, Habersham, McIntosh, Sumter, Bryan, Fannin, Jones, Rockdale, Dodge, Hall, Marion, Burke, Franklin, Lanier, Screven, Talbot, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Toombs, Chatham, Gilmer, Laurens, Seminole, Upson, Warren, White, Wilkes, Clarke, Glascock, Lowndes, Taylor, Worth, Telfair, Thomas, Tift and Towns counties.

• Alabama: Houston County.

• Florida: Baker, Gadsden, Jackson, Leon, Columbia, Hamilton, Jefferson and Madison counties.
  

• North Carolina: Cherokee and Clay counties.
  

• South Carolina: Abbeville, Anderson, Jasper, Aiken, Barnwell, McCormick, Allendale, Hampton and Oconee counties.

• Tennessee: Polk County.

Second disaster Declaration

USDA has designated 56 counties across five states—Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky and Tennessee—as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rainfall and flooding that occurred July 15 – August 19, 2013.

List of Disaster Areas – Excessive Rainfall and Flooding

• Missouri: Butler, Gasconade, New Madrid, Stoddard, Camden, Laclede, Osage, Texas, Cole, Maries, Pemiscot, Vernon, Dunklin, Miller, Pulaski, Webster, Barton, Cape Girardeau, Dent, Mississippi, St. Clair, Bates, Carter, Douglas, Moniteau, Scott, Benton, Cedar, Franklin, Montgomery, Shannon, Bollinger, Christian, Greene, Morgan, Warren, Boone, Crawford, Hickory, Phelps Callaway, Dallas, Howell, Ripley, Wright and Wayne counties.

• Arkansas: Clay, Craighead, Greene and Mississippi counties.

• Kansas: Bourbon, Crawford and Linn counties.

• Kentucky: Fulton County.

• Tennessee: Dyer and Lake counties.

All counties listed above were designated as agricultural disaster areas on September 25, 2013.

“Secretary Vilsack also reminds producers that Congress has not funded the five disaster assistance programs authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill. These are SURE; the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP); the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish (ELAP); the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP); and the Tree Assistance Program (TAP). Production losses due to disasters occurring after Sept. 30, 2011, are not eligible for disaster program coverage,” said USDA.

Notes:
1. The total number of counties designated as agricultural disaster areas includes both primary and contiguous disaster areas.
2. USDA trigger point for a countywide disaster declaration is 30 percent crop loss on at least one crop.
3. The U.S. has a total of 3,143 counties and county-equivalents.

Related Links

• Agricultural Disaster Declared for 194 Counties in 13 States September 20, 2013
• Agricultural Disaster Declared for 138 counties in 14 States
• Drought 2013
• Agricultural Disasters Index

Agricultural Disaster Declared for 194 Counties in 13 States

Drought and Deluge Prompt Disaster Declarations in Multiple Regions across U.S.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 194 counties in 13 states across 5 regions as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused either by drought, or by one or more of hail, severe freezing, excessive snow, excessive rain and flooding.

• As of September 18, 2013, at least 1,345 counties and parishes, or 42.8% of all U.S. counties and county equivalents, were designated as agricultural disaster areas due to the ongoing drought.
  
• Since September 11, 2013 a total of 332 counties have been designated as Agricultural Disaster Areas.

[Notes: 1. The total number of counties designated as agricultural disaster areas includes both primary and contiguous disaster areas. 2. The USDA trigger point for a countywide disaster declaration is a 30 percent crop loss on at least one crop. 3. The U.S. has a total of 3,143 counties and county-equivalents.]

Drought Disaster

USDA has designated a total of eight counties in Idaho and Montana as Agricultural Disaster Areas.

• Idaho: Clearwater, Lewis, Idaho, Latah, Nez Perce and Shoshone counties.
• Montana: Mineral and Missoula counties.

Excessive Rain and Flooding Disasters Beginning January 1, 2013

USDA has designated 102 counties in five states—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee—as Agricultural Disaster Areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rain and flooding that began January 1, 2013, and continues.

• Alabama (64 Counties):  Autauga, Cleburne, Geneva, Macon, Baldwin, Coosa, Greene, Madison, Barbour, Covington, Hale, Marengo, Blount, Crenshaw, Henry, Mobile, Bullock, Cullman, Houston, Monroe, Calhoun, Dale, Jackson, Montgomery, Cherokee, Dallas, Jefferson, Morgan, Chilton, Elmore, Lamar, Perry, Choctaw, Etowah, Lauderdale, Pickens, Clarke, Fayette, Lowndes, Pike, Russell, St. Clair, Shelby, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington, Wilcox, Bibb, Coffee, Escambia, Marion, Butler, Colbert, Lawrence, Marshall, Chambers, Conecuh, Lee, Randolph, Clay, De Kalb, Limestone and Winston counties.

• Florida (5 Counties):  Escambia, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa and Walton.

• Georgia (13 Counties): Carroll, Clay, Floyd, Polk, Chattahoochee, Dade, Haralson, Quitman, Chattooga, Early , Muscogee, Seminole and Stewart.

• Mississippi (11 Counties): Clarke, Jackson, Lowndes, Tishomingo, George, Kemper, Monroe, Wayne, Greene, Lauderdale and Noxubee.

• Tennessee (7 Counties): Franklin, Hardin, Lincoln, Wayne, Giles, Lawrence and Marion counties.
  

Excessive Rain and Flooding Disasters Beginning May 1, 2013

USDA has designated 54 counties in three states—The Carolinas and Tennessee—as Agricultural Disaster Areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rain and flooding that began May 1, 2013, and continues.

• North Carolina (41 Counties): Avery, Cleveland, Henderson, Rutherford, Brunswick, Columbus, Madison, Transylvania, Buncombe, Durham, Orange, Watauga, Wilson, Alamance, Chatham, Jackson, New Hanover, Ashe, Edgecombe, Johnston, Pender, Bladen, Gaston, Lincoln, Burke, Granville, McDowell, Pitt, Caldwell, Greene, Mitchell, Polk, Caswell, Haywood, Nash, Person, Robeson, Wake, Wayne, Wilkes and Yancey counties.

• South Carolina (8 Counties): Cherokee, Greenville, Oconee, Spartanburg, Dillon, Horry, Pickens and York counties.

• Tennessee (5 Counties): Carter, Cocke, Greene, Johnson and Unicoi.

Disasters caused by combined effects of severe freezing and excessive snow followed by excessive rainfall and flooding that occurred January 1 – August 2, 2013

USDA has designated 22 counties in Minnesota and Iowa as Agricultural Disaster Areas due to the combined effects of severe freezing and excessive snow followed by excessive rainfall and flooding that occurred January 1 – August 2, 2013.

• Minnesota (18 Counties): Dodge, Koochiching, Mower, Steele, Freeborn, Lake of the Woods, Olmsted, Beltrami, Goodhue, Roseau, Waseca, Faribault, Itasca, St. Louis, Winona, Fillmore, Rice and Wabasha counties.
  

• Iowa (4 Counties): Howard, Mitchell, Winnebago and Worth.

Hail Disaster on August 6, 2013

USDA has designated 8 counties in Minnesota and Wisconsin as Agricultural Disaster Areas due to damages and losses caused by hail that occurred August 6, 2013.

• Minnesota: Dakota, Goodhue, Ramsey, Scott, Hennepi, Rice and Washington counties.
  

• Wisconsin: Pierce County.

Related Links

• Agricultural Disaster Declared for 138 counties in 14 States
• Drought 2013
• Agricultural Disasters Index

Agricultural Disaster Declared in 14 States

138 Counties in 14 states have been declared agricultural disaster areas

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 138 counties (includes 1 Parish) across 14 states as agricultural disaster areas in 6 separate declarations.

[The figure includes both primary and contiguous disaster areas.]

Drought Disaster

USDA has designated 55 counties in five states as agricultural disaster areas due to  damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. Those areas are

• California:  Alameda, El Dorado, Placer, Solano, Alpine, Glenn, Plumas, Sonoma, Amador, Lake, Sacramento, Sutter, Butte, Marin, San Mateo, Tehama, Colusa, Napa, Santa Cruz, Yolo, Contra Costa, Nevada, Sierra, Yuba, Calaveras, Monterey, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Lassen, San Benito, Santa Clara, Trinity, Mendocino, San Francisco, Shasta, Tuolumne and  Mono counties.

• Nevada: Douglas, Carson City and Washoe counties.

• Texas: Camp, Gregg, Marion, Titus, Cass, Harrison, Morris, Upshur, Bowie, Panola, Rusk, Wood, Franklin, Red River and Smith counties.

• Arkansas: Miller County.

• Louisiana: Caddo Parish.

Agricultural Disaster Designations due to the Drought

At least 1,333 counties across 28 states have now been designated agricultural disaster areas due to the ongoing drought so far this year. [The figure includes both the primary and contiguous drought disaster areas. ]

U.S. Drought Disaster Map as of August 21, 2013. At least 1,333 counties, or 42.41% of all U.S. counties*, were designated as agricultural disaster areas due to the ongoing drought, a net rise of 0.41%  since last week. [The figure includes both primary and contiguous disaster designations.] Source: USDA. Map enhanced by FIRE-EARTH.

Flood Disaster

USDA has declared 41 counties in three states–Florida, Alabama, Georgia–as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rain and flooding that occurred June 4 – August 1, 2013. Those counties are

• Florida: Bay, Citrus, Gadsden, Madison, Calhoun, Clay, Liberty, Marion, Putnam, St. Johns, Santa Rosa, Taylor, Alachua, Columbia, Gilchrist, Jackson, Baker, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Bradford, Duval, Holmes, Levy, Nassau, Okaloosa, Suwannee, Union, Walton and Washington counties.
  

• Alabama: Covington, Escambia, Geneva and Houston counties.

• Georgia: Camden, Clinch, Lowndes, Ware, Charlton, Echols and  Seminole counties.

Freeze Disaster

USDA has declared 23 counties in three states–Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma–as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by a freeze that occurred April 1 – May 10, 2013. Those counties are

• Kansas: Grant, Meade, Stanton, Haskell, Morton, Stevens, Kearny, Seward, Wichita, Clark, Gray, Logan, Finney, Greeley, Scott, Ford, Hamilton and Wallace counties.

• Colorado: Baca and Prowers counties.

• Oklahoma: Beaver, Cimarron and Texas counties.

Hailstorm Disaster

USDA has declared 9 counties in three states–Montana, Idaho, Wyoming–as agricultural disaster areas due to losses caused by a hailstorm August 1, 2013. Those counties are

• Montana: Gallatin, Broadwater, Jefferson, Madison, Meagher and Park counties.

• Idaho: Fremont County.

• Wyoming: Park and Teton counties.

Disaster Caused by Extreme Cold

USDA has designated 8 counties  in Idaho as a agricultural disaster areas due to losses caused by freezing temperatures that occurred April 14 – May 24, 2013.

Those counties are Gem, Ada, Adams, Boise, Canyon, Payette, Valley and Washington.

Related Links

• U.S. Drought Expands  August 22, 2013
• U.S. Drought Map – August 13, 2013
• Drought Disaster Declared in 37 Counties Across 5 States August 15, 2013
• Agricultural Disaster Declared for Dozens of U.S. Counties August 8, 2013
• U-S Drought 2013: Fueled by Heat from Hell? January 31, 2013 [FIRE-EARTH Forecast]
• US: Drought Disaster 2013 [Index Page]
• Agricultural Disasters Index

Disaster Declared for 27 Counties in Three States

Drought Disaster Declared for 10 Counties in California and Arizona

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated eight counties in California as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought.

• The disaster declaration lists Imperial, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties as primary disaster areas, and Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego and San Luis Obispo as contiguous disaster areas.

• Additionally two counties in Arizona—La Paz and Yuma—have also been designated as contiguous disaster areas.

Georgia Disaster Areas

In a separate disaster declaration, USDA has designated a total of 13 counties in Georgia as primary or contiguous  natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rain, high winds and hail that occurred from Feb. 24 – March 24, 2013.

• Those counties are Evans, Montgomery, Tattnall, Treutlen, Appling, Candler, Johnson, Long, Bryan, Emanuel, Laurens, Toombs, Bulloch, Jeff Davis, Liberty, Wayne and Wheeler.

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Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Singapore smog from Indonesia fires continued to choke the city-state

Haze caused by forest fires in Indonesia enveloped Singapore, pushing  the pollution standards index to 371 on Thursday.

Parts of Malaysia have also been shrouded in “hazardous” pollution levels, prompting the authorities to close hundreds of schools in the south.

Air Quality Index for Singapore, June 20, 2013 @ 12:00UTC. Sources:
Meteorological Service Singapore; http://aqicn.org Composite image by FEWW.

Prelude to more serious events?

Our colleagues at EDRO believe that the collapse of Singapore may occur as a result of volcanic activity on the island of Sumatra. However, they have not disclosed any further detail.

Map of Singapore smog. Source: ASEAN Specialized Meteorological Center/ Meteorological Service Singapore via BBC

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Bolivia declares a state of emergency amid nationwide drought

The Bolivian government has declared a state of national emergency due to drought in the departments of Chuquisaca, Santa Cruz, Tarija and Cochabamba.

The drought has so far destroyed 84,000 hectares of crops and affected 16,000 families.

“To date, we have 16,000 families affected in the Bolivian Chaco region in Chuquisaca, Tarijo and Santa Cruz, and 226,000 head of cattle as well as 806,000 hectares of crops are at risk,” Deputy Minister of Civil Defense Oscar Cabrera told reporters.

Meantime, cold weather has affected six departments in the south and west. Frost has caused crop losses in the departments of Oruro, Potosi and La Paz located on the high plateau, as well as the valley regions Tarija, Chuquisaca and Cochabamba, added Cabera.

-oOo-

Beijing’s Air Pollution Again Rises to “Very Unhealthy”

“Death Penalty” for China’s Polluters

Meantime, China’s “supreme court and procuratorate jointly issued the new judicial explanation on Tuesday that imposes harsher punishments on polluters. In the most serious cases the death penalty could be handed down,” said a report.

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DISASTER CALENDAR – June 20, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN:

996 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 996 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity [To be updated.]
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY 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

Mad Cow Disease Reemerges in California

California dairy cow had mad cow disease

Health officials have confirmed that a dairy cow in California’s Central Valley had bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly referred to as the mad cow disease, but insist that the US beef and dairy products are safe.

• BSE is a fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle that can be easily passed on to humans; it has an incubation period of up to 8 year in cattle and about 12 years in humans.
• The disease is easily transmitted to humans by eating food contaminated with the brain, spinal cord or digestive tract of infected carcasses.
• An outbreak of BSE in the United Kingdom killed at least 166 people (an additional 50 known fatalities occurred in other countries) and about 180,000 cattle in the 1980s, and forced the authorities to destroy about 4.5 million cows at cost of more than $7 billion.
• BSE prion is not destroyed through cooking and can be transmitted to humans who consume contaminated beef products.
• An estimated half a million cattle infected with BSE entered the human food chain in the 1980s.
• A second strain of BSE prion, discovered in 2004, may have also entered the food chain.
• The diseased animal was he first confirmed case of mad cow disease in the U.S. in 6 years.
• The first known case of BSE infection in North America was reported in Alberta, Canada in 1993.
• South Korea has suspended sales of U.S. beef on Wednesday.

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Pennsylvania, USA.  Pennsylvania Governor has declared a statewide disaster emergency following the chaos caused by the late spring storm. Parts of western and northern Pennsylvania were paralyzed by heavy snowfall, and the rest of the State experienced heavy rain.

• Florida, USA.  A total of  12 counties in Florida have been designated by USDA as Natural Disaster Areas due to damage and losses caused by frost and freezing temperatures that occurred January 3-16, 2012.
  • Primary natural disaster areas in Florida: Hendry, Nassau and Palm Beach counties.
  • Contiguous disaster areas: Baker, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Duval, Glades, Lee, Martin and Okeechobee counties.
• Georgia. Charlton and Camden counties in Georgia were also declared  natural disaster areas because they’re contiguous.

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