Missouri Disaster: “It’s almost as if you’re living on some other planet”

DISASTER DIARY – January 3, 2016

Federal Emergency Declared for the State of Missouri amid Flood Disaster

• Dozens Dead in Missouri, S. Illinois amid Extreme Rain Event.

• Tornadoes, Flooding and other  Extreme Weather Events have left at least 80 people dead, thousands of homes and businesses destroyed or damaged in central and southern U.S. since late December.

“When you’re coming over historic highs from the beginning of time, we kept records by four and five feet,” said Missouri Gov. Nixon. “When you’re seeing 55 close, seeing a house that’s floated, a full house that’s floated into the highway 30 bridge and blowing up, it’s almost as if you’re living on some other planet.”

The White House declared a Federal Emergency for the State of Missouri due to the emergency conditions in the areas affected by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding beginning on December 22, 2015, and continuing.

The areas worst affected by the ongoing disasters are the counties of Audrain, Barry, Barton, Bollinger, Boone, Butler, Callaway, Camden, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Cedar, Christian, Clark, Cole, Cooper, Crawford, Dallas, Dent, Douglas, Dunklin, Franklin, Gasconade, Greene, Hickory, Howard, Howell, Iron, Jasper, Jefferson, Laclede, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Madison, Maries, Marion, McDonald, Miller, Mississippi, Moniteau, Montgomery, Morgan, New Madrid, Newton, Oregon, Osage, Ozark, Pemiscot, Perry, Phelps, Pike, Polk, Pulaski, Ralls, Reynolds, Ripley, Scott, Shannon, St. Charles, St. Clair, St. Francois, St. Louis,  Ste. Genevieve, Stoddard, Stone, Taney, Texas, Vernon, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wright and the independent City of St. Louis.

Gov. Nixon had requested the disaster declaration after touring areas devastated by flooding on Saturday.

Recent Disaster Declarations

Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson has now declared a total to 38 counties as disaster areas due to flooding and storm damage.

Those counties are Baxter, Benton, Boone, Bradley, Calhoun, Carroll, Chicot, Clay, Crawford, Desha, Drew, Faulkner, Franklin, Greene, Izard, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Lawrence, Little River, Logan, Madison, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, Ouachita, Perry, Pike, Polk, Randolph, Scott, Searcy, Sebastian, Sevier, Stone, Washington, White and Yell.

Illinois Disaster Areas

Gov. Rauner has declared at least 12 counties in Central and Southern Illinois as disaster areas due to deadly flooding. Those counties are Alexander, Calhoun, Christian, Clinton, Douglas, Jackson, Jersey, Madison, Monroe, Morgan, Randolph and St. Clair.

Texas Disaster Areas

Texas Gov. Abbott declared a state of disaster in Collin, Dallas, Ellis and Rockwall counties last week following deadly tornadoes and storms that left multiple trails of devastation.

Major Disaster Declared for Oklahoma

The White House declared disaster in the counties of Alfalfa, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Custer, Dewey, Ellis, Grady, Grant, Kingfisher, Kiowa, Logan, Major, Oklahoma, Roger Mills, Washita, and Woods.

Mississippi Gov. Bryant requests major disaster declaration

Bryant has requested the declaration for Benton, Coahoma, Marshall, Quitman and Tippah counties.

Major Disaster Declared for Idaho

The White House has declared a major disaster in the counties of Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, and Kootenai and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.

Georgia declares State of Emergency

Gov. Deal has proclaimed a state of emergency due to excessive rain and extensive flooding in Fannin, Gilmer, Gordon, Macon, Pickens, Towns, Troup and Wilkes counties.

New Mexico’s governor declares state of emergency

Alabama Declares State of Emergency as Flooding From Storms Continues

State of emergency declared in Tennessee after deadly weather

Gov. Jandil declares state of emergency in Louisiana

State of Emergency Extended in Oklahoma

Gov. Fallin has extended a state of emergency to all 77 Oklahoma counties after another winter storm brought ice to western and central parts of the state and heavy flooding in the east and northeast.

Disaster Declared in 13 Illinois Counties

Gov. Quinn declares 13 IL counties disaster areas

Gov. Pat Quinn has declared 6 additional counties in Illinois disaster areas after tornadoes tore through the state, killing at least 6 people and leaving hundreds of others injured.

A total of 85 twisters (confirmed by SPC), including two EF4 tornadoes,  which pack 166 mph to 200 mph winds, touched down in the US heartland destroying or damaging hundreds of homes.

Tornado aftermath in Illinois.

Quinn declared disaster areas in Champaign, Grundy, LaSalle, Massac, Tazewell, Washington, Woodford, Douglas, Jasper, Pope, Wabash, Wayne, and Will counties.

“Illinois was hit extremely hard by deadly tornadoes that left many in a great deal of pain and loss,” Governor Quinn said in a statement. “Although we are still receiving reports of massive damage to communities across our state, we want to make sure people are getting the assistance and resources they need as quickly as possible.”

Related Links

• Deadly Tornadoes Attack U.S. Midwest November 18, 2013
• Seven IL Counties Declared Disaster Areas after Deadly Storms November 19, 2013

Seven IL Counties Declared Disaster Areas after Deadly Storms

“We are still receiving reports of massive damage to communities across our state” —IL Gov. Quinn

Sunday’s deadly storms killed at least six people and injured scores of others, while damaging and destroying hundreds of homes and businesses and cutting power to tens of thousands of residents.

The counties declared disaster areas are Champaign, Grundy, LaSalle, Massac, Tazewell, Washington and Woodford, according to the Disaster Proclamation issued by Gov. Pat Quinn’s office on Monday.

“Although we are still receiving reports of massive damage to communities across our state, we want to make sure people are getting the assistance and resources they need as quickly as possible,” said the governor. “As we pray for the families of those who have lost their lives and others who are injured, the state of Illinois will do everything necessary to help these communities recover.”

A large swarm of storms brought destructive winds and tornadoes to Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York.

Illinois took the brunt of the ferocious weather system, which spawned a total of 76 confirmed tornadoes, and 451 storm reports.

Washington (Population: 16,000), a small city in Tazewell County, about 140 miles southwest of Chicago, was the hardest hit area, with up to 500 homes damaged or destroyed, according to reports. of 16,000.

EF4 Tornadoes

Two of the deadly twisters were rated EF-4 tornadoes, reported the National Weather Service (NWS).

EF4 tornadoes pack destructive winds of between 166 and 260 mph (267 – 322kph), and can leave well-constructed houses leveled, blowing away structures with weak foundations blown away some distance;  throwing cars and generating large missiles.

F4 F touch down in IL November 17, 2013.

Tacloban City, Philippines or the State of  Illinois?

IL deadly tornadoes aftermath – Image credit: Natalie Martinez

Powerful tornadoes tore through large swathes of Illinois on Sunday. Image credit: @WCL_Shawn

Latest Weather Forecast

Strong winds in the Northeast and across the Great Lakes will subside today as the powerful storm system responsible for yesterday’s severe weather continues to move farther away into Canada. Meanwhile, another storm system will move into the Pacific Northwest bringing rain and mountain snow. NWS

“You don’t need temperatures in the 80s and 90s to produce severe weather [since] the strong winds compensate for for the lack of heating,”  said a forecaster at NWS. “That sets the stage for what we call wind shear, which may produce tornadoes.”

Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF scale)

Fujita-Pearson Tornado Scale

F-0  [39%]
40-72 mph, chimney damage, tree branches broken

F-1 [35%]
73-112 mph, mobile homes pushed off foundation or overturned

F-2 [20%]
113-157 mph, considerable damage, mobile homes demolished, trees uprooted

F-3  [5%]
158-205 mph, roofs and walls torn down, trains overturned, cars thrown

F-4 [0.9%]
207-260 mph, well-constructed walls leveled

F-5 [<0.1%]
261-318 mph, homes lifted off foundation and carried considerable distances, autos thrown as far as 100 meters

Source: US gov. [Figures in brackets represent long-term relative frequencies— revised by FIRE-EARTH]

Related Links

• Deadly Tornadoes Attack U.S. Midwest November 18, 2013

Flash Floods Kill Dozens, Destroy Thousands of Homesteads in S. Somalia, Kenya, Uganda

Deadly Flash Floods Wreak Havoc in S. Somalia, Uganda

Tens of thousands of people have lost their homes and livelihoods, and dozens are dead amid flash flooding across a vast region in East Africa.

Flash floods triggered by extreme rain events  in southern Somalia have claimed at least a dozen lives, most of them  children,  left  more than 50,000 others displaced, and submerged thousands of hectares of farmland across the country.

• The flooding in Juba and Shabelle river basins have destroyed scores of homes, businesses and much of the infrastructure in the region.

In Uganda, at least a dozen people  are dead, and 25,000 others made homeless, since flooding began on May 1.

• The lively town of Bulembia Division is now a ghost town, said a report.

• “Further down River Nyamwamba is Kilembe Mines Hospital. The 260 bed hospital was hit by boulders wiping away the staff quarters and flooding the rest of the hospital.”
• “The flash floods are attributed to heavy rains coupled with by the melting glaciers on top of Mountain Rwenzori. According to the climate change unit at the Ministry of Water and Environment, only 18.5 hectares remained [The peak has retreated by more than 85%—Moderator] by 2006 out of the hectares that were at the highest peak of Mountain Rwenzori in 1906.”

The Ruwenzori Range. Satellite images of the Ruwenzori Mountains. Images  taken in 1995 and in 2012  show a decline in the extent of the glaciers on these mountain peaks. A century ago the glaciers of the Ruwenzori Mountains covered nearly 6.5 km².  The glacial recession on the Ruwenzori Mountains is most likely because of higher air temperatures and less snow accumulation during the 20th century
(UNEP n.d.).

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Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Iowa, USA

Fifteen additional Iowa counties have now been declared disaster areas following  damages and losses caused by severe flooding and storms late last month.

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Michigan, USA

Allegan County declares state of emergency from April flooding in attempt to get disaster aid

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Illinois, USA

Gov. Quinn has asked the Federal Government to declare 11 Illinois counties major disaster areas following the storms and flooding that pounded the state in April.

• Quinn declared a total of 49 counties disaster areas following widespread flash and river flooding caused by extreme rain events in April.
• “For the 11 counties included in Thursday’s request, the teams identified 41 homes that were destroyed, 761 with major damage and 2,715 with some damage, according to the governor’s office. In addition, nearly 80 businesses sustained flood damage,” said a report.

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DISASTER CALENDAR – May 10, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,037 Days Left 

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

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,037 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

July 2012: Hottest Month on Record for Continental U.S.

Disaster Calendar – 9 August 2012

SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,315 Days Left

[August 9, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,315 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History…

–

Hi temps and low precipitation intensified drought 2012, covering  about 2/3 of the U.S., as deadly wildfires burned millions of acres

July average temperature for contiguous U.S. climbed to 77.6°F, 3.3°F above the 20th century average, making it the hottest July and the hottest month on record for the country, reported NOAA. “The warm July temperatures contributed to a record-warm first seven months of the year and the warmest 12-month period the nation has experienced since recordkeeping began in 1895.”

“The August 2011-July 2012 period was the warmest 12-month period of any 12-months on record for the contiguous U.S., narrowly surpassing the record broken last month for the July 2011-June 2012 period by 0.07°F. The nationally averaged temperature of 56.1°F was 3.3°F above the long term average. Except Washington, which was near average, every state across the contiguous U.S. had warmer than average temperatures for the period.”

• The previous warmest July was Dust Bowl summer of 1936 when the average U.S. temperature was 77.4°F.
• Precipitation in continental U.S. averaged 2.57, 0.19 inches below average.
• Virginia experienced its warmest July, with a statewide temperature 4.0°F above average.
• Record heat also contributed to the warmest ever January-to-July period.
• U.S. temperatures have now broken the hottest-12-months record 4 times in as many months (see chart below).
• The U.S. Climate Extremes Index (USCEI) soared to a record-large 46 percent (more than twice the average value) during the January-July period, beating the previous record large CEI of 42 percent which occurred in 1934.

Year-to-date temperature Chart, by month, for 2012 (red), compared to the other 117 years on record for the contiguous U.S., with the five ultimately warmest years (orange) and five ultimately coolest years (blue) noted. Source: NCDC

The ten warmest 12-month periods recorded in the U.S. Temperatures have now broken the hottest-12-months record 4 times in as many months.  Source: NCDC

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

U.S. Drought Disaster 2012

About a quarter (24.14%) of the Continental U.S. is now in ‘Extreme’ or ‘Exceptional’ drought (D3 – D4), a rise of about 2 percent since July 31, and nearly a half (46.01%) of the country is experiencing ‘Severe’ to ‘Exceptional’ drought levels (D2 – D4), according to data released by the US Drought Monitor.

U.S. Drought Map. Comparison maps for July 31 and August 7, 2012. Source: US Drought Monitor

• New Mexico. USDA has designated eight counties in New Mexico as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought.

• Nebraska. USDA has designated 38 counties in Nebraska as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Iowa: 3 counties
  • Kansas: 2 counties
  • South Dakota: 3 counties

• Mississippi. USDA has designated 6 counties in Mississippi as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Arkansas: 2 counties

• Oklahoma. USDA has designated 20 counties in Oklahoma as  agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Kansas:  Cherokee County.
  • Missouri: 2 counties.

Oklahoma Drought Map

Oklahoma Drought Maps for July 31 and August 7, 2012. Source: US Drought Monitor.

• South Dakota. USDA has designated 6 counties in South Dakota as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Iowa: Lyon County.
  • Minnesota: 2 counties.

• Ohio. USDA has designated 4 counties in Ohio as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Michigan: Hillsdale County.
  • Indiana: 2 counties.

•  Arkansas. USDA has designated 6 counties in Arkansas as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought.

• Illinois. USDA has designated six  counties in Illinois as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Wisconsin: 2 counties.

• Iowa. USDA has designated ten counties in Iowa as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Minnesota: 2 counties.
  • Nebraska: 2 counties.
  • S. Dakota: 3 counties.

Iowa Drought Maps for July 31 and August 7, 2012. Source: US Drought Monitor. The areas covered by extreme or exceptional drought levels in Iowa have more than doubled from 30.74 percent last week to 69.14 percent on August 7.  Iowa is the country’s top corn and soybean producer.

• Minnesota. USDA has designated 4 counties in Minnesota as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Iowa: Lyon County
  • South Dakota: Two counties

• Kentucky. USDA has designated 9 counties in Kentucky as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Indiana: Perry County.

• Kansas. USDA has designated 21 counties in Kansas, a key farm state,  as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Missouri: 2 counties.
  • Nebraska: 5  counties.
  • Oklahoma: 2 counties.

Kansas Drought Map

Kansas Drought Maps for July 31 and August 7, 2012. Source: US Drought Monitor.

U.S. Corn Condition

Map of the Agricultural Weather Assessments for U.S. Corn Conditions for the week ending August 4, 2012. Source: USDA

Europe. Watch this space!

• Manila, Philippines.  Authorities in the Philippines have appealed for “more medicines, blankets, mats and, more importantly, dry clothes” to help more than two million people displaced or severely affected by floods in and around Manila, as the death toll mounted.
  • many evacuation centers are  unable to provide warm meals for the growing numbers displaced, AFP reported Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman as saying. “Most local government units do a community kitchen, but the volume of evacuees is so big they have been overwhelmed,” she said.

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

73 Illinois Counties Declared Disaster Areas

Illinois suffered major crop losses from severe flooding in the first half of 2011

The fourth-wettest January to June period on record destroyed about half a million acres of crops.

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

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Even Twitter Counters are disabled when Blog posts criticize Obama, or contain “forbidden phrases.”  See also: Google’s Top 10 List of ‘Holy Cows’

Disaster Calendar 2011 – September 23

[September 23, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,636 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Illinois, USA. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 46 counties in Illinois as natural disaster areas (27 other counties are contiguous) due to losses caused by excessive rain, flooding and flash flooding that occurred April 1 to July 31, 2011.
• The 46  counties declared primary disaster areas are: Alexander, Brown, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Crawford, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Franklin, Gallatin, Greene, Hamilton, Hardin, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Jersey, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Lee, Madison, Marion, McDonough, Mercer, Monroe, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, Rock Island, Saline, Schuyler, Scott, St. Clair, Stephenson, Union, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, White and Williamson.
• The 27 contiguous counties in Illinois that were designated as contiguous disaster areas are: Adams, Bond, Bureau, Clark, Clinton, Cumberland, DeKalb, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Jasper, LaSalle, Macoupin, Mason, Massac, Menard, Montgomery, Morgan, Ogle, Peoria, Pike, Sangamon, Shelby, Stark, Warren, Whiteside and Winnebago counties.
• Additionally, the following counties in Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin were also included in the disaster designation they are contiguous:
• Indiana: Gibson,Knox, Posey, Sullivan
• Iowa: Clinton, Dubuque, Louisa, Scott, Des Moines, Jackson, Muscatine,
• Kentucky: Ballard, Crittenden, Livingston, McCracken, Union
• Missouri: Cape Girardeau, Lincoln, Perry, Scott, St. Louis,  Jefferson, Mississippi, Pike, St. Charles, Ste. Genevieve
• Independent city: St. Louis
• Wisconsin: Grant, Green, Lafayette

Other Global Disasters

• Punjab, Pakistan. An outbreak of dengue fever in Pakistan’s Punjab province has claimed 25 more lives, “including a former cabinet secretary and a college professor,” raising the estimated death toll to at least 80, a report said.
• “On an average, 600 to 1,000 dengue patients have been registered every day in Lahore alone for the past three weeks.”
• Southern Sindh province. Dengue Surveillance Cell has reported more than 200 cases of infection in the flood-stricken southern Sindh province so far this year, most of them in Karachi, a report said.
• Japan. Death toll from typhoon ROKE which struck Japan last week has climbed to at least 11, with 5 people still unaccounted for, Kyodo News reported.

Related Links

• 2011 Disaster Calendar – September
• Texas Wildfires Torch 1,100 Homes
• Surprise, Surprise!!

• Mega Heatwaves Could Kill Tens of Thousands in the U.S.  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)
• U.S. Disaster Losses Mounting
• 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season: AAA  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)
• U.S. back-to-back disasters phase has begun

• Pakistan Floods: 6 Million Affected, 2 Million Sickened, 300 Dead
• 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  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)

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