China’s Largest Freshwater Lake Reduced by 1/3 in 3 Days: Report

SEVERE HUMAN IMPACT
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Poyang lake water level falling by 30 cm per day

“China’s largest freshwater lake, Poyang, has shrunk by one third in the past three days due to reduced water supply from the Yangtze River and little rainfall,” reported the official Xinhua news agency.

The lake’s surface area was reduced from 2,169 km² on Monday to 1,490 km² Wednesday (October 22) , a reduction of 679 km², reported the Jiangxi Provincial Hydrological Bureau.

“The water level at Xingzi hydrological station was 11.99 meters at 4 p.m. Wednesday, 2.13 meters lower than the levels in normal years. The water level is falling by 30 cm per day.”

Limited water flow from the upper Yangtze River, due to the water being diverted to hydroelectric dams, and lack of rainfall in the province were two major causes for the loss, said the bureau.

Jiangxi Province has received an average precipitation of less than 5 mm since September 20, said the report.

“The sharp fall of water levels in the lake will affect shipping and fishing as well as the water supply for nearby residents.”

From 3500 km² to just 200 km²

The average area of the lake is about 3,500 in normal years. However, it shrank to about 200 due to drought and the practice of diverting water to the Three Gorges Dam in 2012.

“Every year, when the Three Gorges reservoir stores water – to power the dam’s turbines during the winter – the flow rate in the Yangtze drops. This in turn increases the rate at which the level of Poyang lake falls, and the period of low water comes sooner,” said Ye Xuchun, a researcher at China’s Southwest University.

“The incomes in fishing villages are dropping as fast as the water in the lake. Some residents will have move on to other trades,” said Xu Bin, the author of a thesis on the socio-economic consequences of the lake’s environmental disorders. He said: “The soil of China is dry, so the Yangtze is vital. Poyang is one of the key elements and its current predicament is a warning for the future.”

Habitat for 236 Species of Birds

Poyang Lake is a vital habitat for at least 236 species of birds including various endangered species, such as oriental white stork and white crane, and more than 100 species of wintering migrants, including Siberian cranes, according to a recent survey.

 

Deadly Rainstorms Affect 5 Million in China

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Hundred Thousand Homes Destroyed or Damaged in China Rainstorms

Extreme Rain Events (EREs) continue to batter large parts of China, said the country’s National Meteorological Center.

Rainstorms since June 18 have left dozens of people dead or missing, reported Xinhua.

“The Ministry of Civil Affairs said that 4.9 million people in the provinces of Fujian, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan and Yunnan as well as Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chongqing Municipality had been adversely affected by the rain as of 11 a.m. on Sunday, with 337,000 people relocated and 115,000 in urgent need of basic necessities.”

Hunan Province

In Hunan Province alone, as of June 21, flooding had affected about 3 million people, leaving 171,000 homeless, at least seven dead and four missing across 10  cities and 47 counties, according to the civil affairs authority.

Jiangxi Province [as of June 21, 2014]

“Jiangxi’s local bureau of civil affairs reported that at least five people had died across eight cities and 43 counties in the province as of 10 a.m. on Saturday. Downpours have swept the province since Wednesday,” said the report.

About 789,000 people have so far been affected, and 123,000 relocated.

“The rainstorms, which have caused the collapse of or substantial damage to 4,000 houses and affected 63,100 hectares of crops, have led to direct economic losses of 530 million yuan (84.85 million U.S. dollars) in Jiangxi,” Xinhua reported.

 Guangxi Province [as of June 21, 2014]

Severe weather have affected at least 118,700 people, leaving 2,341 homeless and  at least  two dead, as of 3 p.m.  Saturday, according to the regional civil affairs department.

Related Links

• Deadly Rainstorms Devastate Large Swathes of China June 21, 2014

Earlier Disasters

• May Disasters in China Posted on June 13, 2014
• MASS EVACUATIONS FORCED BY MEGA FLOODING IN SOUTH CHINA Posted on June 6, 2014
• Extreme Rain Events, Flooding Devastate SW China Posted on June 3, 2014
• Deadly Floods Affect 6 Million People in China Posted on May 27, 2014
• Deadly Floods Force Mass Evacuations in China Posted on May 26, 2014
• China Battered by Extreme Rain Events, Deadly Floods, Landslides Posted on May 24, 2014

Deadly Rainstorms Devastate Large Swathes of China

EXTREME WEATHER & CLIMATIC EVENTS
EXTREME RAIN EVENTS
DEADLY FLOODING
CROP DISASTERS
SCENARIOS 900, 444, 177, 111, 070, 066, 023, 09
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Deadly Rainstorms, Severe Floods Affecting Millions in Central and southern China

 “Yellow Alerts” for rainstorm have been renewed for Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Yunnan and Guangdong provinces, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Tibet Autonomous Region, and Shanghai, said the National Meteorological Center warning that torrential rains were expected to continue.

Millions of people are affected, more than 300,000 left homeless and dozens are dead or missing, as rainstorm continue to batter large swathes of central, east  and southern China.

Hunan Province

In Hunan Province, flooding has affected about 3 million people, leaving about 171,000 homeless, at least seven dead and four missing across 10  cities and 47 counties, according to the civil affairs authority.

“The rainstorms also caused severe damage to 9,700 houses and 122,700 hectares of crops, and direct economic losses of 1.57 billion yuan in the province,” said the report.

Jiangxi Province

“Jiangxi’s local bureau of civil affairs reported that at least five people had died across eight cities and 43 counties in the province as of 10 a.m. on Saturday. Downpours have swept the province since Wednesday,” said the report.

About 789,000 people have so far been affected, and 123,000 relocated.

“The rainstorms, which have caused the collapse of or substantial damage to 4,000 houses and affected 63,100 hectares of crops, have led to direct economic losses of 530 million yuan (84.85 million U.S. dollars) in Jiangxi,” Xinhua reported.

 Guangxi Province

Severe weather have affected at least 118,700 people, leaving 2,341 homeless and  at least  two dead, as of 3 p.m.  Saturday, according to the regional civil affairs department.

More rain and flooding expected through at least Sunday, said local meteorologists.

Related Links

• May Disasters in China Posted on June 13, 2014
• MASS EVACUATIONS FORCED BY MEGA FLOODING IN SOUTH CHINA Posted on June 6, 2014
• Extreme Rain Events, Flooding Devastate SW China Posted on June 3, 2014
• Deadly Floods Affect 6 Million People in China Posted on May 27, 2014
• Deadly Floods Force Mass Evacuations in China Posted on May 26, 2014
• China Battered by Extreme Rain Events, Deadly Floods, Landslides Posted on May 24, 2014

More Deaths and Destruction as Floods Hit China

Floods in China’s Yunnan province affect 1.6 million, killing dozens

Severe floods in southwest China’s Yunnan Province have affected 1.6 million people, killing at least 45, and displacing more than 26,500 others, said a report.

Original caption: Vehicles are stranded on a landslides-hit road in Yiliang County, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Aug. 25, 2013. Rainstorms-triggered mountain floods, landslides and mud-rock flows hit the county in this weekend. (Xinhua/Peng Hong)

Rainstorms and floods wreak havoc in NE and S China

The latest round of flood crests on the Songhua River is expected to reach Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province [population: ~ 10 million] , on Tuesday, flood control experts said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, nearly 600 oil wells in Daqing, one of China’s major oilfields, which is about 150 kilometers from Harbin, have halted operation.

Persistent downpours since Aug 14 have caused the worst flooding since 1998 in the northeastern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang [85 lives lost, 105 people missing,] which are the heartland of China’s grain production.

Heavy rain is likely to hit the provinces of Yunnan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Sichuan and Hubei and Shanghai, with the precipitation in southwestern Yunnan expected to reach 100 to 150 mm from Sunday to Monday, the National Meteorological Center forecast on Sunday.[Xinhua]

Worst Flooding in a Century

Original caption: Photo taken on Aug. 26, 2013 shows residential houses inundated in floods in Shengdeku Village of Fuyuan County, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. Heilongjiang has seen its worst flooding in a century with continuous rising water levels. About 300 households from the flooded Shengdeku Village and Heiyupao Village of Fuyuan County were evacuated before the floods swept their hometowns, inundating nearly 400,000 mu (about 26,667 hectares) of farmlands. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei). More images…

Typhoon Trami kills 2, affects 200,000 in China

Downpours brought by Typhoon Trami and monsoon have left two people dead and nearly 200,000 affected in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, local authorities said Monday.

Rainstorms also toppled 668 rooms of 348 households and seriously damaged another 855 rooms of 451 households in Guangxi.

Typhoon Trami was the 12th typhoon to hit China this year. Rainstorms brought by the typhoon have also swept Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, affecting 1.4 million people and forcing the relocation of 351,000, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Friday.  [Xinhua]

Original caption: A villager checks his house damaged by flood at Zhoujia Village of Fuchuan Yao Autonomous County, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Aug. 22, 2013. Trami, which was downgraded to tropical storm status, would likely bring persistent rain and cause floods in Guangxi. The region had been drenched by Typhoon Utor last week. (Xinhua/Lu Bo’an)

Hospital hit by landslide in SW China

Original caption: Geologists check the landslide site in Yiliang County, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Aug. 26, 2013. A rain-triggered landslide occurred on Monday morning at a hill behind the People’s Hospital in Yilang, which damaged part of the hospital. Patients and residents in the surrounding area were evacuated and no casualties were reported. (Xinhua/Peng Hong). More images …

Flooding Links

• Major rivers rise, 6,000 dykes breached
• Historic flooding in claims 125 lives, affects 3.7 million

Typhoon SOULIK Affects 2 Million in China

Torrential rains by SOULIK forces hundreds of thousands to evacuate, 20,000 to relocate

Typhoon SOULIK, the seventh typhoon to hit China this year, has affected at least 2 million, forcing 500,000 to evacuate, and leaving at least 20,000 displaced in south China’s Guangdong Province.

SOULIK landed in Fujian province Saturday afternoon, and moved to Jiangxi province on Sunday.

The typhoon brought torrential to Guangdong province. Local weather stations reported precipitation of more than 250mm (10 in) in 20 hours to 4 p.m. Sunday.

SOULIK has affected at least 382,000 people in Guangdong province alone, destroying 1,076 houses in 80 townships in three cities of the province and leaving 3 dead, Xinhua reported.

Torrential rains have further raised water in local rivers to above warning levels, the report said.

Oil pipeline in NW China damaged by mudslide

Original Caption: Villagers help clean oil stains in the Zichang County, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, July 15, 2013. The oil pipe from Ansai County to Yongping Town was damaged by mudslide following days of rainstorms. Rescue efforts for repairing the broken pipe are underway. (Xinhua). More images …

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Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

Iraq Violence: Death Toll Continues to Mount

At least 400 people have been killed and thousands more injured amid escalating violence in Iraq, between July 1 and 14, 2013.

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Brown Declares State of Emergency for Powerhouse Fire

California Gov. Brown has declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County for the so-called Powerhouse Fire. The declaration comes a month after the wildfire destroyed 53 structures, including 24 residences, and more than 47 square miles of brush.

The fire began May 30 near a utility station and was contained on June 11.

“Kelly Huston, deputy director of the California Emergency Management Agency, says the move is required before LA County can qualify for federal emergency highway funds to repair roadways damaged by the fire,” said a report.

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Communication companies help surveillance: Former CIA official

“According to UK newspaper, the Guardian, Snowden has only released part of the intelligence he has. During his revelations of the US surveillance program, Snowden says the US government and US communication companies are involved.

“Although related companies like Google and Microsoft are trying to exclude themselves from the scandal, a former CIA official says communication companies are accomplices in the surveillance.”

Ray McGovern, a former CIA official, told CNTV News:

“What’s happened here is the U.S. companies have become joined in a way with United States Government in such a way that you have the corporations, the government, the media and the congress and judiciary all pretty much joined in a complicit attempt to circumvent the constitution of the United States. There’s zero concern on the part of the communication companies to violate the law. They know that they’ll be protected, even if it’s ex post facto…”

Related Links

• Google Continues to Undermine FIRE-EARTH July 4, 2013
• Google Corporate Terrorism: A Conspiracy Against the People!
• Former CIA official: Communication companies help surveillance July 15, 2013

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Drought, Rainstorms Affect Millions across CHINA

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – Sunday 12  May 2013

Drought Affecting 3.58 Million Hectares of Farmland

Scorching drought in China’s western and central regions has affected at least 3.58 million hectares of farmland, [that’s an area the size of Taiwan,] drought relief authorities said.

• Affected land used to grow crops totaled 2.13 million hectares, lower than the average acreage of 6.3 million hectares over the past few years, according to a statement from the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.”

• At least 5.54 million people and 3.99 million livestock in the two drought-stricken regions are currently short of drinking water, the report said.

Rainstorms Destroy Thousands of Homes, Affect one million in southern and eastern China

Extreme Rain Events have battered southern and eastern China since last week, destroying thousands of homes, and affecting at least a million people, said a report.

As of Saturday, rainstorms have affected about 850,000 people, toppled more than 2,200 homes and forced 14,000 citizens to relocate in Hunan.

Rainstorms have affected about 196,800 people in east China’s Jiangxi Province, local authorities said Saturday.

As of 11 p.m. Friday, the heavy rain, which started from Tuesday, has battered 26 counties in Jiangxi, the provincial flood prevention and drought control headquarters said.

The storms have destroyed about 20,000 hectares of crops, and left tens of thousands displaced.

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events 

Calif. Homes Sinking In Volcanic Grounds, Lakeport Community Evacuated

Homes in Lake County, about 100 miles north of San Francisco, are breaking apart and sinking into cavernous fractures that had first appeared as cracks in the ground.

“We have a dormant volcano, and I’m certain a lot of things that happen here (in Lake County) are as a result of that, but we don’t know about that,” county public works director Scott De Leon told Yahoo News.

Associated Press/Rich Pedroncelli – In this photo taken Monday, May 6, 2013 Robin and Scott Spivey walk past the wreckage of their Tudor-style dream home they had to abandon when the ground gave way causing it to drop 10 feet below the street in Lakeport, Calif. Officials believe that water that has bubbled to the surface is playing a role, in the collapse of the hillside subdivision that has forced the evacuation of 10 homes and the notice of imminent evacuation of another 10 in this upscale subdivision. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli). More images…

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At least 40 killed, 100 injured as explosions shake Turkish town

At least 46 people were killed and 100 others injured, 50 of them seriously, after 3 powerful explosions shook the Turkish town of Reyhanli in the southern Turkish province of Hatay, near the border with Syria, authorities have said.

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Yet another deadly coal mine blast in China

Death toll from a coal mine explosion on Saturday in southwest China’s Sichuan Province rose to 27, local authorities said.

• The blast occurred in Taozigou colliery, Luxian County in the city of Luzhou, according to officials.

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Bangladesh death toll rises to 1125

Death toll from the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory complex in Bangladesh rose to 1,126 by 3:00pm ( local time) on Sunday, after 16 additional bodies were discovered in the rubble, 19 days after the building collapsed, officials said.

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Novel Coronavirus Kills 2 More People in Saudi Arabia

Two more people have died from novel coronavirus (nCoV) in an outbreak in al-Ahsa region of Saudi Arabia, Reuters quoted a Saudi official as saying.

• The latest cluster of infections includes 15 confirmed cases, including 9 deaths, the official has reported.

From April 2012 to [May 8, 2013,] a total of 33 people from Saudi Arabia [2 others reported dead on May 12,] Qatar, Jordan, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and France were confirmed to have an infection caused by the novel coronavirus, CDC reported.

• Saudi Arabia: 24 people; 13 of them died  [at least 15 dead as of May 12, 2013]
• Qatar: 2 people; both survived
• Jordan: 2 people; both died
• UK: 3 people; 2 died, 1 recovered
• UAE: 1 person; died
• France: 1 person, receiving treatment

Coronaviruses are a cause of the common cold. A coronavirus also was the cause of the severe respiratory illness called SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). SARS caused a global epidemic in 2003, but there have not been any known cases of SARS since 2004. This novel coronavirus is not the same coronavirus that caused SARS. —CDC

We know this virus has infected people since 2012, but we don’t know where this virus lives. We know that when people get infected, many of them develop severe pneumonia. What we don’t know is how often people might develop mild disease. We also know that most of the persons who have been infected so far have been older men, often with other medical conditions. We are not sure why we are seeing this pattern and if it will change over time. —WHO

The greatest global concern, however, is about the potential for this new virus to spread. This is partly because the virus has already caused severe disease in multiple countries, although in small numbers, and has persisted in the region since 2012. Of most concern, however, is the fact that the different clusters seen in multiple countries increasingly support the hypothesis that when there is close contact this novel coronavirus can transmit from person-to-person. This pattern of person-to- person transmission has remained limited to some small clusters and so far, there is no evidence that this virus has the capacity to sustain generalized transmission in communities. —WHO

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DISASTER CALENDAR – May 12, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,035 Days Left 

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

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,035 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

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
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

China’s Drought Turning Critical

Drought: Turning up the heat in E China

No rain for East China anytime soon: Forecasters

Drought is wreaking havoc across Central, South and East China. Many of the vast regions lakes, stricken by the worst drought in living memory, have dried up affecting tens of millions of people and millions of their livestock. There’s no prospect for early rain, forecasters say.

The drought that has affected 35 million people across 5 provinces in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, according to the country’s Meteorological officials.

“Among them, about 4.23 million are experiencing difficulties in finding drinking water and 5.06 million are in need of assistance,” said a report.

China Drought Monitor – Worsening Drought Conditions (January 10, 2011)

Source: Division of Climate Impact Assessment/NCC/CMA

“Since early January, precipitation in Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hunan provinces has been about 40 percent to 60 percent less than the same period last year, causing a 60-day drought, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.”

“China’s two largest fresh water lakes – Dongting Lake in Hunan and Poyang Lake in Jiangxi – are both drying up dramatically and, by Friday, 34.83 million people had been affected in the five provinces, the ministry said, citing reports from local civil affairs departments.” The report added.

The drought has affected about 4 million hectares (10 million acres) of crops, pushing up the vegetable prices by  “19 percent from May 23 to May 27,” according to the Baishazhou Market in Wuhan, capital of drought-hit Hubei in Central China.” The report added. 

Once A Lake!

Dried lake near Shijiao town of Qingyuan City, south China’s Guangdong Province.  (Xinhua/Li Zuomiao). Image may be subject to copyright.

The central government has ordered the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River to discharge more water to help irrigate some of the drought stricken croplands downstream; however, the  dam will run out of water if there is no rainfall before June 10, the Three Gorges Corporation has told China Daily.

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