Blizzards Destroy Homes, Decimate Crops in C. China

Snowstorm wreaks havoc across central China

Lingering winter storms have affected hundreds of thousands of people in central and southwest China provinces of Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou, destroying homes, blocking highways and decimating crops, Xinhua quoted the authorities as saying.

In Hubei Province alone the snowstorm and freezing rains have destroyed at least 188 houses and 28,000 hectares of crops since Tuesday, affecting 336,000 people, 495 of whom were forced to relocate, according to the Department of Civil Affairs of Hubei Province.

Winter storms have also affected Hunan Province, which neighbors Hubei, blocking several highways and cutting vegetable supplies to the cities, said the report.

Guizhou Province in southwest China has also issued warnings for icy roads, following days of freezing rain. “Its traffic and police authorities have initiated emergency responses to ensure traffic flows on highways.”

 

MASS EVACUATIONS FORCED BY MEGA FLOODING IN SOUTH CHINA

EXTREME WEATHER & CLIMATIC EVENTS
EXTREME RAIN EVENTS
SEVERE FLOODING
MEGA DISASTER
MASS DISPLACEMENT
SCENARIOS  444, 070, 023
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20,000+ homes destroyed or damaged, 100,000 people evacuated in S China

The latest round of Extreme Rain Events have triggered major flooding across south China affecting about 2 million people, and leaving at least two dozen dead in Guizhou and Sichuan provinces as well as Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

In Guizhou Province alone, flooding has severely affected more than 1.2 million people in 44 counties forcing mass evacuation of at least 88,000 people. At least 18,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, said the Guizhou Civil Affairs Department, reported Xinhua.

Power, water and communications lines were cut off across most of Guizhou Province, said reports.

 

Continued ….

Earlier this month …

• Extreme Rain Events, Flooding Devastate SW China Posted by feww on June 3, 2014

Related Links

• Deadly Floods Affect 6 Million People in China May 27, 2014
• China Battered by Extreme Rain Events, Deadly Floods, Landslides  May 24, 2014

 

Extreme Rain Events, Flooding Devastate SW China

EXTREME RAIN EVENTS
SEVERE FLOODING
MEGA DISASTERS
MASS EVACUATIONS
SCENARIOS 444, 070, 023, 09
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Extreme Rain Events Trigger Severe Flooding in SW China’s Guizhou and Sichuan provinces

Severe flooding and mudslides have affected more than six million people in central and southern China leaving at least 500,000 people homeless since late last month.

Hanan province issued a red alert last week as Extreme Rain Events continued to pound the region unleashing more floods and mudslides.

Floods have claimed at least 12 lives with two people reported missing, officials said.

“More than 1.37 million people in eight cities and prefectures in [Hunan] province have been affected, and 3,431 houses have collapsed [and more than 50,000 people were relocated.] Landslides triggered by rainstorms have occurred on sections of the No.209 national highway in Xiangxi Tu and Miao Autonomous Prefecture,” said a report.

Original caption: Heavy rain batters most areas of Guizhou.  Rescuers transfer children trapped in a flooded elementary school in Pingba County of Anshun city, southwest China’s Guizhou province, June 3, 2014. Heavy rain has battered most areas of Guizhou since Monday. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

Related Links

• Deadly Floods Affect 6 Million People in China May 27, 2014
• China Battered by Extreme Rain Events, Deadly Floods, Landslides  May 24, 2014

Disaster Calendar – August 19, 2013

Hundreds dead or missing as floods and mudslides devastate China

Extreme rain events, flooding and mudslides in northeast and southern China have left hundreds of people dead, injured or missing.

“The Heilongjiang Provincial Hydrological Bureau forecast the stretch of the Heilong River between Tongjiang and Fuyuan County will witness the largest flooding in its history. Authorities in Tongjiang have started a Grade I response preparing for floods,” said a report.

• The deluge has destroyed or damaged at least 210,000 houses in Jilin, Heilongjiang, Guangdong and Liaoning provinces, with the direct economic losses estimated at 18.5 billion yuan (3 billion U.S. dollars), said a report.
• Torrential rains and floods triggered by Typhoon Utor have affected 680,000 people in eight cities in Guangxi. Some 16,660 hectares of crops have been damaged and 1,080 houses have been destroyed.
• In Guangdong Province, TY UTOR has affected more than 2.5 million people destroying or damaging about 19,000 houses and forcing 513,000 people to relocate. The extreme rain has also ruined 173,333 hectares of farmland, according to local authorities.
• “In central China’s Hunan Province, landslides triggered by continuous rainfalls over the past two days have left one dead and 14 others buried or missing,” said a report.

[NOTE: Some of the stats quoted above are already outdated as the  catastrophe continues to unfold in China on an almost hourly basis.]

Original caption: People walk on ruins after the flood in Nankouqian Township, Fushun, northeast China’s Liaoning Province, Aug. 18, 2013. The death toll has risen to 54 as of Monday morning after the worst flooding in decades ravaged Fushun City, northeast China’s Liaoning Province, said the local authorities on Aug. 19, 2013. Extreme rainstorms battered Liaoning from Thursday to Saturday, leaving many rivers flooded in Fushun. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)

• In Fushun City, 139,800 houses were damaged and many have collapsed.

• In Guangdong province, 19,000 houses have collapsed or sustained severe damage, forcing  about 513,000 residents to relocate.  The direct economic loss is estimated at 490 million yuan (80 million U.S. dollars).
• “Heilongjiang Province reported [37]  flood-related deaths. The floods have destroyed over 2,500 houses and severely damaged at least 12,500 others, with direct economic losses estimated at 7.13 billion yuan (1.15 billion U.S. dollars).”
• In Jilin Province, at least “35,000 houses were destroyed or damaged with direct economic losses at 2.4 billion yuan (387 million U.S. dollars).”
• “As of 10 a.m. Monday, a total of 1.8 million people in 30 counties in Liaoning Province have been affected and 162,000 have been evacuated from flooded areas. More than 6,100 buildings have collapsed and the total direct economic loss is around 8.5 billion yuan(1.39 billion U.S. dollars), according to the ministry.”

Don’t bring your car to China!

Heping Town in Shantou City, south China’s Guangdong Province devastated by extreme rain events and severe flooding, August19, 2013.  (Xinhua/Yao Jun). More images…

-oOo-

Philippines’ Cebu declares calamity as sunken ferry leaks oil

The central Philippine province of Cebu has declared a state of calamity as an oil slick from a ferry that sank last week spread to about 20 percent of the coast, said a report.

-oOo-

16 Counties across three states declared agricultural disaster areas

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 16 counties in three states as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by frost and freezing temperatures that occurred March 25-29, 2013.

The disaster designations are

• Alabama: Baldwin, Escambia, Mobile, Washington, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington and Monroe counties.

• Florida: Escambia, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties.

• Mississippi: George, Greene, Jackson and Wayne counties.

-oOo-

Beaver Creek Fire Consumes 100,000 acres

As of August 18, 2013 10pm,  the Beaver Creek Fire had grown to at about 100,921 acres with 8% containment.

Beaver Creek Fire. Red Flag conditions, including higher temperatures and wind gusts to 38 miles per hour, increased fire activity on the Beaver Creek Fire. Credit: Sawtooth National Forest/ USFS.

For additional information see

• “Take Your Essentials Belongings and Pets and GO NOW” August 18, 2013

Floods Kill Dozens in NE China

China Plagued by Extreme Weather Events

Flooding in the northeast, drought and extreme heat in the south, central and the southwest affecting about 20 percent of China’s population, FIRE-EARTH models show.

Flooding in northeast China’s Jilin, Heilongjiang and Liaoning provinces has left dozens of people dead, millions affected and at least a million others relocated.

• The deluge has destroyed or damaged at least 55,000 houses in Jilin and  Heilongjiang provinces, with the direct economic losses direct economic losses estimated at 10 billion yuan (1.6 billion U.S. dollars), said a report.
• Torrential rains and floods triggered by Typhoon Utor have affected 680,000 people in eight cities in Guangxi. Some 16,660 hectares of crops have been damaged and 1,080 houses have been destroyed.
• In Guangdong Province, TY UTOR has affected more than 2.5 million people destroying about 4,000 houses and forcing 321,500 people to relocate. The extreme rain has also ruined 173,333 hectares of farmland, according to local authorities.
• “In central China’s Hunan Province, landslides triggered by continuous rainfalls over the past two days have left one dead and 14 others buried or missing,” said a report.

Flood-devastated Shachang Residential Compound in Hongshi Town, Huadian City, NE China’s Jilin Province, Aug. 17, 2013. (Xinhua/Xu Chang). More images …

Drought, heatwave affecting half the population in SW China’s

Guizhou province

The heat wave has spread across the province since July, causing rivers and reservoirs to dry up and affecting 16.67 million people, or about 48 percent of Guizhou’s total population, according to the headquarters.

“Half of the 88 counties in our province are on the ‘worst-hit’ list, with more than 2.98 million people facing drinking water shortages,” said an official with the headquarters.

In Wumian, a village some 240 kilometers southeast of Guiyang, the provincial capital, villagers have had to queue up at the only well in the village to get water.

Villager Yang Aduo told Xinhua that he waited two hours before getting a bucket of water, and he had to wait several hours for the sediment to settle before drinking.

Drought leaves 13 million thirsty in China’s south

“A drought that has parched since last month has left nearly 13 million people without easy access to drinking water, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Thursday.”

• Drought ‘Orange Alert’ Issued in E China

Related Links

• Extreme heat kills at least 40 people in south China August 13, 2013
• Drought, Extreme Heat Cripple China, Japan, S. Korea August 11, 2013

• Major Catastrophe Unfolding in China
• China’s Latest Drought Disaster Figures
• Shanghai Sets Yet Another Record High Temp August 7, 2013

China’s Latest Drought Disaster Figures Confirm FIRE-EARTH Estimates

Drought affecting 27 mln people in China: Ministry of Civil Affairs

Persistent drought since  June has affected 27.11 million people in “11 provincial-level areas across China,” said the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA).

The drought has left 5.1 million people and  1.56 million livestock short of drinking water, with the direct economic losses put at 12.21 billion yuan (1.99 billion U.S dollars), MCA reported.

The drought has also damaged or destroyed 2.6 million hectares of crops nationwide, according to the report.

Original caption: Drought has affected the growth of corns in Dongshan Village of Pengshui County, southwest China’s Chongqing, Aug. 1, 2013. Lingering droughts in Chongqing have resulted in sever damage for crops and shortage of water supply. (Xinhua/Chen Cheng). More images…

See FIRE-EARTH post Major Catastrophe Unfolding in China, and  the related links.

Major Catastrophe Unfolding in China

Tens of millions affected by severe drought, heat wave in China

Drought has affected tens of millions of people in southern, southwestern, eastern and central China, leaving millions of people and livestock short of drinking water, and damaging or destroying millions of hectares of crops.

The drought is forecast to intensify and spread in the coming days and weeks, and heat wave to linger.

Original caption: A farmer pulls a cow to drink in a dried pool in Qianguang Village, Yuping County of southwest China’s Guizhou Province, July 29, 2013. Due to little rainfall and high temperature, 38 counties in Guizhou Province faced with serious drought in recent days. (Xinhua/Yao Lei). More images …

Shanghai, China’s financial capital, is set to have the hottest July on record.

• Shanghai saw a high of 39.1ºC on Monday, the 7th straight day for temperatures to remain above 38 degrees, and the longest period of on record.

Many cities in [neighboring] Zhejiang saw temperatures rise above 40 degrees Celsius on a couple days last week. Meanwhile, the heat is worsening the drought in the province, which received 74 percent less rain than normal in the first 29 days of July. (Xinhua)

Original caption: A boy sits on the chapped riverbeds near the Wantou Bridge over Yaojiang River in Ningbo, east China’s Zhejiang Province, July 28, 2013. Unrelenting heat in Ningbo has drawn the water table of the Yaojiang River down and parts of the beds were chapped, which led to the death of mussels and fish. (Xinhua/Hu Xuejun)

Hunan meteorologic center issued orange alert for drought on Monday

Many cities in Hunan also endured record-high temperatures this month. The provincial capital Changsha reported temperatures at or above 35 degrees Celsius in all of the past 29 days.

Temperatures could climb to 41ºC in Hunan’s central and eastern parts, the report said.

The province also received over 70 percent less rain than normal this month, leaving 33 counties and cities to contend with a severe drought.

Original caption: A villager walks on a dried-up bed of Shima Reservoir at Shima Village of Shaoyang County, central China’s Hunan Province, July 27, 2013. A drought that has already lasted several weeks is continuing to linger in Hunan, leaving 533,000 people short of drinking water. (Xinhua/Zeng Yong). More images …

July Heat

At least 43 counties and cities in southern China have seen temperatures top 40ºC so far this month, said China’s National Meteorological Center.

Related Links

• More Disasters Hit China July 28, 2013
• Drought Drying Up Thousands of Rivers and Reservoirs in China  July 27, 2013
• Dozens Killed, Hundreds Injured in Gansu Quakes, China July 22, 2013
• Climate Catastrophes Cumulate in China   July 20, 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
• Fire Destroys 200 Houses in SW China July 17, 2013
• Flooding Destroys Town of Caopo in SW China July 16, 2013
• Typhoon SOULIK Affects 2 Million in China  July 15, 2013
• Hundreds of Thousands Evacuated as SOULIK Hits China July 13, 2013
• Extreme Weather Wreaks Havoc in SW China July 10, 201

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Disaster Calendar: July 30, 2013

SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN:  956 Days Left

FIRE-EARTH Climate Models show climate change forcings and feedbacks switching global weather patterns onto “primordial tracks.”

FIRE-EARTH Population Model shows mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

Critical Planetary Overload

• Critical Overload Threatens Planetary Life Support Systems
• RAPID CHANGE IN PROGRESS!

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

Collapse in Progress

• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Drought Affecting Millions in China

4th consecutive year of drought plaguing 53 percent of arable land in China

Lingering severe drought has left millions of people and farm animals in China without drinking water.

The worst affected areas are southwest China’s Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces, and northwestern Shaanxi and Gansu provinces.

in Yunnan province 134 rivers and 138 reservoirs have dried up, reports say.

• Two separate droughts across vast areas have affected at least ten million people, damaging or destroying large amounts of crops.

• “Yunnan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces face the worst drought among the western regions of the country, with a total of 31.67 million mu (2.11 million hectares) of arable land affected, or 53 percent of the total arable land affected by drought across the country,” said the report.
  

• At least 4.97 million people in southwest China’s Yunnan Province have been affected by the drought. More than 1.43 million people and 796,000 livestock lack sufficient drinking water.

• “In Gansu, lingering drought that began last autumn has affected 3.123 million people 47 counties and districts of which 643,400 are still facing a drinking water shortage, according to the provincial Civil Affairs Bureau.”

• More than one million people in Guizhou and Gansu provinces are facing drinking water shortages.

China Disaster News

• China’s Dangerous Air Pollution Extends to Japan March 12, 2013
• Thousands of Dead Pigs Dumped in Shanghai River March 11, 2013
• China Shrouded in Sand, Dust and PM March 10, 2013

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March 15, 2013 — DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,093 Days Left 

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

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,093 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• 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

Deadly Earthquakes Destroy or Damage 20,000 Buildings in China

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,286 Days Left

[September 7, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016. 

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,286 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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Quakes rattle SW China killing dozens, injuring at least 150 and destroying or damaging 20,000 buildings

Earthquake cluster struck SW China’s Yunnan and Guizhou provinces causing many deaths, injuries and major damage to property, reports said.

The seismic pattern suggests a major earthquake could strike the region in the coming days – FIRE-EARTH Forecast

• The largest quake in the cluster measured 5.7Mw, which was epicentered at 103.95°E,  27.53°N, striking at a depth of about 10km (@ 2012-09-07; 04:16:31.5 UTC), GEOFON Program reported.
• The mainshock was followed by more than a dozen aftershocks, the largest of which measured 5.6Mw, as of posting.
• “All the victims were from the city of Zhaotong, which administers Yiliang. Preliminary investigation showed that more than 20,000 houses were damaged or had collapsed in the quake, according to the official.” Xinhua reported.
  
• “More than 100,000 people have been evacuated in Yunnan as of 3:10 p.m., said an official with the province’s civil affairs department.”

Related Links

• FEWW Volcano Links
• Volcanoes
• FEWW Earthquake Links

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!

Million Homes Destroyed or Damaged in China Rainstorms

Rainstorms spawn flooding, landslides and avalanches wreaking havoc  affecting millions in China

Flooding, landslides, avalanches and torrents of mud triggered by extreme rain events in multiple regions of China have left dozens dead, scores of others injured, affecting millions of residents, with at least a million people displaced.

Original Caption: Rescuers convoy residents trapped by a rainstorm-triggered flood in the Huangpi District of Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei Province, July 13, 2012. Many parts of the Huangpi District, a suburb of Wuhan, were inundated by flood following torrential rainstorms that have struck here for days. (Xinhua/Hao Tongqian)

The worst affected areas are

• Guizhou province in the southwest (more than a million affected)
• Hubei (more than 2 million affected) and Hunan provinces in central China
• East China’s Anhui province

The Central Meteorological Station has forecast heavy rains for large swaths of Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces as well as Shanghai Municipality for Saturday through late Monday, the official Xinhua news agency reported. 

• See also: Epic flooding and massive landslides …  posted July 12, 2012

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

Floods Affect Millions in East, South, SW and Central China

Storms, flooding and landslides leave many dead or missing around China

Extreme rain events in the Chinese provinces of Hunan, Guizhou, Jiangxi and Sichuan, as well as the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, have triggered severe flooding and landslides, affecting  thousands of towns and villages, disrupting the lives of tens of millions of people, leaving many dead or missing, and forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate. The disasters have destroyed tens of thousands of homes, millions of hectares of crops and much of the infrastructures .

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Syria.  The joint proxy war waged by Saudi Arabia and Israel against Syria has entered a new phase. The head of UN peacekeeping operations has described the Syrian conflict as a “civil war.”
  • Meantime, Germany’s leading daily newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported the May 25 Houla massacre was perpetrated by opposition forces aligned with the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
  • “The report refutes the official account by the United States and other major powers and presented uncritically by the media. The massacre was attributed to pro-government forces and used to step up the propaganda offensive for military intervention against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Without providing any serious evidence, the US and its allies claimed that either the Syrian Army or pro-government Shabiha militas carried out the mass killing of over 100 people.” Said a report.
  • “The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung article is given additional weight by a report in Spiegel Online from March 29 pointing to the widespread practice of summary execution carried out by the FSA. Spiegel interviewed a member of an opposition ‘burial brigade’ who had ‘executed four men by slitting their throats.'”

• Gaza.  The water in Gaza is too contaminated to drink, says a joint report by the Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and Save the Children.
  •  The report “Gaza’s Children: Falling Behind” describes the impact of the ongoing blockade on the lives and health of Gaza’s children.
  • Gaza’s only fresh source of water is highly contaminated by fertilizer and human feces, the report says.
  • The number of children being treated for diarrhea has doubled in 5 years, and the levels of nitrates found in the water are responsible for to the doubling since the blockade began, according to the report.
  • Israel’s 5-year blockade is preventing crucial sanitation equipment from entering the territory, and Gaza’s sewage system is “completely broken.”
  • The report will be launched on June 20, 2012 at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, London, UK.

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

Thousands Evacuated as U.S. Wildfires Grow

Wildfires in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and California force thousands to evacuate, consume hundreds of structures

New Mexico. The Little Bear Fire located in Smokey Bear Ranger District, Lincoln National Forest, and the White Mountain Wilderness, has now grown to more than 26,000 acres (~ 41 sq miles; 105km²), destroying or damaging dozens of structures.

Evacuations: All campgrounds west of Bonito Lake; subdivisions of Villa Madonna, Enchanted Forest, Nogal Canyon (Forest Road 400, campground and summer homes), Angus, Sierra Vista, Sontara (1,2 and 3), Rancho Ruidoso, Copper Canyon, and Loma Grande; Eagle Lakes Campground, Eagle Creek summer homes, Ski Run Road (State Highway 532) at mile marker 3, State Highway 48 to Capitan, and State Highway 37 to Highway 380 and Ski Apache.

Shelters: First Baptist Church on Country Club Road, Church of Christ on Sudderth Road in Ruidoso, and Trinity Baptist Church in Capitan. Pets and livestock may be taken to J&J Country Church in Ruidoso, or the fairgrounds in Capitan.

The blaze is 0% contained, and is aided by air temps of 82ºF, relative humidity of less than 6 percent, and westerly winds of 20mph.

Colorado. The High Park Fire, located approximately 15 miles west of Fort Collins, was sparked Saturday June 9th  and has consumed  more than 20,000 acres (~ 31 sq miles; 81km²); the blaze continues to grow rapidly.

• The blaze has a HIGH growth potential among areas of rough terrain and beetle killed trees.
• The fire has damaged or destroyed at least 2 dozens structure, threatening many more.
• New evacuation order for the area south of County Road 38E from Gindler Ranch Road west to Milner Ranch Road (325 notifications). This area is located south and west of the Horsetooth Reservoir inlet. The High Park Fire is moving rapidly in this direction, Inciweb reported.
• Other evacuation orders include:
  • Crystal Mountain area including Crystal Mountain Road and the Upper Buckhorn. The burning pattern of High Park Fire could potentially cut off exit routes for residents in this area and they should leave now (24 notifications).
    
  • Any residents who have not already left the Crystal Mountain Area must now evacuate to the west on Buckhorn Road. County Road 27 is no longer passable so evacuation to the east is impossible.
  • Evacuation orders have also been issued for the Bonner Peak Subdivision (183 notifications), Buckhorn Rd from CR27 to Pennock Pass and residents to the south approximately 3/4-1 mile. (69 notifications). Evacuation order issued for the area North of CR38E, from Horsetooth Reservoir to Redstone Canyon to Lory State Park. (326 notifications)
  • Evacuations have been ordered for Stove Prairie Road north along County Road 27 to Highway 14, east along Highway 14 to approximately mile marker 111, southeast to Rist Canyon Fire Station 1, then back west to to include Wilderness Ridge Way, Rist Creek Road, Spring Valley Road and County Road 41 and all of the roads that run off of it.
  • All of Rist Canyon (west of 27E) and all roads off of it, including Whale Rock Road and Davis Ranch Road. South 3 additional miles on County Road 44H to just north of Stringtown Gulch Road.
  • At 11:10 P.M. an evacuation alert has been sent to the Poudre Park (along Highway 14) area from mile marker 111 to mile marker 118.
  • Additionally Highway 14 from Ted’s Place to Stove Prairie is closed, as well as Stove Prairie Road and Rist Canyon. Additional evacuations as of approximately 5 a.m. Sunday include all residents from County Road 27E to Bellvue and for the area south and west of Bellvue, including Lory State Park and Red Stone Canyon, and Buckhorn Road from Masonville up to Stove Prairie School.
  • Evacuation ordered for CR 29C and McMurry Ranch Road (33 notifications). Approximately 2,200 notifications (contacts, not residents) have been sent for evacuations on this fire.

Gila National Forest wildfire

New Mexico’s Gov. Martinez has already declared state of emergency in Catron County, where the largest wildfire in state’s history,  Gila National Forest wildfire (Whitewater Baldy Complex fire), has consumed about 280,000 acres, with 37% contained.

The fire is currently aided by air temps of 86ºF, relative humidity of less than 7 percent.

See also: Disaster Declared as Little Bear Fire Grows

Wyoming. A wildfire in Wyoming’s Guernsey State Park has consumed ABOUT 4,000 acres and forced the evacuation of up to 1,000 campers and visitors, AP reported.

Other Major Fires include

• Arizona. Gladiator – 16,240 acres – Prescott National Forest – 45% contained.

• California.  George Bush Fire – 1,707 acres – George Bush Tree/Golden Trout Wilderness – Sequoia National Forest – 85% contained.

• Colorado. Little Sand – 8,238 acres – San Juan National Forest – 13 miles NW of Pagosa Springs – 30% contained.

• Utah. Box Creek Fire – 5 miles west of Greenwich – 2,018 acres – 75% contained.

• Utah. Lost Lake Fires – 2,076 acres – Fishlake National Forest – 55% contained.

• Wyoming.  Cow Camp Fire – 8,493 acres – Medicine Bow – Routt National Forest – 20 Miles NE of Wheatland –  70% contained.

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• China.  Extreme rain events in southern China have left large parts of Jiangxi, Hunan and Guizhou provinces submerged affecting millions of people.
  • Thousands of homes have been damaged or destroyed.
  • Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated.
  • Tens of thousands of hectares of crop have been destroyed.
  • Flooding in Hunan province triggered massive landslides blocking major railroads, including Hukun Railway, which connects Shanghai and Kunming, capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province, a report said.
  • The authorities reported about a dozen dead or missing.

• Hindu Kush, Afghanistan.Two earthquakes measuring 5.4 and 5.7Mw struck Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan, about 175km north of Kabul.
  •  The quakes destroyed dozens of homes in Dara Azara, a remote village in the Baghlan province, burying about 100 people in the rubble, reports said.

Up-to-date weekly average CO₂ at Mauna Loa (ESRL/Global Monitoring Division)

• Week of June 3, 2012:     395.38 ppm
• Weekly value from 1 year ago:     393.69 ppm
• Weekly value from 10 years ago:     375.82 ppm

The graph, updated weekly, shows as individual points daily mean CO₂ up to and including the week (Sunday through Saturday) previous to today. The daily means are based on hours during which CO₂ was likely representative of “background” conditions, defined as times when the measurement is representative of air at mid-altitudes over the Pacific Ocean. That air has had several days time or more to mix, smoothing out most of the CO₂ variability encountered elsewhere, making the measurements representative of CO₂ over hundreds of km or more. The selection process is designed to filter out any influence of nearby emissions, or removals, of CO₂ such as caused by the vegetation on the island of Hawaii, and likewise emissions from the volcanic crater of Mauna Loa. The weekly mean (red bar) is simply the average of all days in the week for which a background value could be defined. The average standard deviation of day to day variability, calculated as the difference from the appropriate weekly mean, equals 0.38 ppm for the entire record. As a visual aid, the blue lines present monthly means of background data as they are presented under Recent Monthly CO₂ at Mauna Loa. PDF Version. ESRL/Mauna Loa Global Monitoring Division.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
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Climate Change Causing China Drought

Drought in southwestern China caused by climate change: Chinese experts

Chinese meteorologists say the ongoing severe drought in southwest China is caused by climate change.

The drought has left more between 18 and 62 million people and 11.7 million to more that 20 million livestock with insufficient drinking water “over a region encompassing the southwestern provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the municipality of Chongqing, data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs showed.”

[Note: the figures vary widely depending on each day’s published definition of “affected by drought” and “short of drinking water.” See also data entries in 2010: Year One of Human-Enhanced Disasters.]

A parched reservoir in Green Pool Dame at Shilin County, Kunming City, Yunnan Province (February 2, 2010). Photo:AFP/Getty Images. Image may be subject to copyright. Click image to enlarge.

“The direct reason for the drought is light rain and high temperatures,” Ren Fuming, a leading expert at China’s National Climate Center, told Outlook Weekly, a popular magazine in China, Xinhua said.

Zhang Peiqun, another senior meteorologist with the center, who agrees with Ren Fumings, aid the rainfall in worst-affected Yunnan province is the lowest in living memory while the average temperature since the beginning of winter has been the highest on record.

“The decreased rainfall during the rainy season led to less water in store and high temperatures resulted in greater evaporation, directly causing the severe drought,” Zhang said.

Zhang believes complicated ocean currents and anomalous atmospheric circulation are responsible for the drought. [See: Kelvin waves in Your Worst Fears About El Niño.]

“Zhang said the lingering cold air mass that formed last September in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau had fenced off the warm and moist currents from the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal, and at the same time the cold air from the north has had difficulty reaching the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau hinterland.” Xinhua reported.

“The cold and warm currents can’t converge to produce rain, so there is little rain,” Zhang said.

Sun Honglie, director of the national expert committee on climate change, said he believed the drought was was caused by anomalous atmospheric currents.

“It is not an environmental or ecological problem,” he said. “But the drought is bound to have an impact on the ecological system.”

“Another expert, Chen Yiyu, an academic at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, also said the year has seen anomalous climate conditions globally and that the drought in China is part of the phenomenon.” Xinhua said.

[Note: They are probably refering to the impact of El Niño.]

Water Severely Rationed

In Fuyuan County there has been no tap water since late 2009, residents said, complaining that “rationed water supply has not been steady, and that they have had to fetch water themselves from a village three miles away.” Epoch Times said.

“Each family is given four water tickets every two weeks and each ticket entitles the bearer to 100 kg (about 26 gallons) of water, which is not enough for daily use at all, especially for a large family of six or seven. So we have to fetch water from somewhere else. I haven’t taken a shower for a few months.” a resident was reported as saying.

Statistics released recently indicated that as of March 17, 2010, some “43,486,000 hectares (about 17.6 million acres) of crops were affected by the drought, among which 940,000 hectares (about 380,566 acres) yielded zero production, causing a direct economic loss of 19 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion).”

Related Links:

• Praying for rain in parched Guyana
• Your Worst Fears About El Niño
• Global Weather Chaos
• Climate Locked into ‘Unending’ El Niño?
• Unraveling El Niño Mysteries
• El Niño [Main Page, Links to Weekly Updates Archive]

• 2010: Year One of Human-Enhanced Disasters
• WORST EVER DROUGHT in SW China
• Arctic Ice Affects Global Climate, Weather
• Transitory Impact of AO is the ‘Good News’

If you’re flying to Beijing for the Olympics …

Make sure you sample the barreled water

In China’s southwestern province of Guizhou, polluted barreled water has made more than 200 ill. The victims feel ill with hepatitis A.

“The source of the water was heavily polluted and its production lacked strict sterilization,” according to Beijing News. News Report

According to a report, about half the water used in coolers in the Olympics host city could be tainted.

Hep A: An acute infectious disease of the liver

Hepatitis A, (formerly known as infectious hepatitis), is an acute infectious disease of the liver caused by Hepatitis A virus, which is most commonly transmitted by the fecal-oral route via contaminated food or drinking water. Every year, approximately 10 million people worldwide are infected with the virus. The time between infection and the appearance of the symptoms, (the incubation period), is between two and six weeks and the average incubation period is 28 days.

Electron micrograph of hepatitis A virions. Source: CDC

In developing countries, and in regions with poor hygiene standards, the incidence of infection with this virus approaches 100% and the illness is usually contracted in early childhood. Hepatitis A infection causes no clinical signs and symptoms in over 90% of these children and since the infection confers lifelong immunity, the disease is of no special significance to the indigenous population. In Europe, the United States and other industrialised countries, on the other hand, the infection is contracted primarily by susceptible young adults, most of whom are infected with the virus during trips to countries with a high incidence of the disease. (Source: Wikipedia)