Liver Disease Killing 7,500 Australians Each Year

More than 6 million Australians have liver disease, mostly self-inflicted

More than a quarter of Australians suffer from liver disease, according to a report commissioned by the Australian Liver Association.

The most common form of the disease in Australia is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, affecting 5.5 million across the country. The next most common form is viral hepatitis, including B and C, which affects another 500,000 people.

• The cost to the economy is a “staggering” $51 billion a year.

• Obesity, drug and alcohol abuse are major risk factors.

• ”The majority of patients are also part of the obesity epidemic that we’re seeing in Australia,” said Australian Liver Association Chairwoman.

• ”While liver disease caused by the virus hepatitis C is the No.1 cause for a liver transplant, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease accounts for a much higher proportion of people with liver disease.”

Other Global Disaster/ Significant Events

Peru declares state of emergency in its rainforest

Government of Peru has declared a state of emergency in a part of its northern Amazon rainforest, after discovering high levels of barium, lead, chrome and petroleum-related compounds in the region, which is home to one of its biggest oil fields, said a report.

‘Abnormal heat’ sets record March temps in Australia

Australia’s 2013 summer was the hottest on record, said a report, and the period from October onwards is forecast to be the hottest since records began more than a century ago.

Blistering temperatures were reported across eastern Australia this week.

• Birdsville, Queensland broke a 101-year-old record, posting a high of 42.9ºC  and beating a previous high of 42.1ºC set at Longreach on 28 March 1912, the report said.

• Swan Hill, Victoria set a new late-season record at 38.8ºC and Fowlers Gap, NSW recorded 40.9ºC  ( Both records were previously set on March 29, 1986).

• Melbourne reported peak of 35.6ºC, the hottest this late in the season since the extreme heat of March 1940.

Massive bushfire in Australia destroys many homes

Australian authorities have issued two emergency warnings after a massive bushfire, which consumed 1,300 hectares and many homes,  descended on the 700-strong community of Dereel, west of Melbourne, prompting many residents fleeing for safety, said a report.

Related Links

• Back-to-back Australian Disasters

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DISASTER CALENDAR – March 27, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,081 Days Left 

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

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,081 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

Dozens Dead, Hundreds Injured, Thousands Homeless after Italy Quakes

Tow significant quakes and dozens of aftershocks leave Italy’s Emilia Romagna region in ruins

At least two dozen people have been killed, hundreds more injured and more than 14,000 others left homeless following two quakes which struck near Bologna in N. Italy’s Emilia Romagna region on May 20 and 29 respectively.

The toll as it now stands

• At least 24 people dead
• More than 400 injured
• More than 14,000 people left homeless
• Thousands of building damaged or destroyed
• At least 2,000 businesses lost
• Cost of damage estimated at $650 million
• See also: Italy Declares State of Emergency in EQ Zone Posted on May 23, 2012
• And Shallow earthquake measuring 5.8Mw strikes Emilia Romagna region  Posted on May 29, 2012

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Florida, USA. Nassau County has declared a state of emergency following the damage caused by tropical storm BERYL.

• NY, USA.   Seneca County has declared a state of emergency after extensive damage caused by a line of storms which produced 70MPH winds, heavy rain and large hail.
  • The worst-hit areas are the towns of Seneca Falls, Fayette and Waterloo, reports said.
  • The mayor of the village of Cayuga has also declared a state of emergency to “let people know there’s a lot of damage, and to be safe when they’re traveling through the village.”

• Peru. The Peruvian government has  declared a 30-day state of emergency in the SE province of Espinar after more than a week of protests over a proposed $1.5-billion expansion of the massive Tintaya copper mine left at least two people dead and hundreds of others injured.

• Central and Southern Plains, USA. The NWS storm prediction center has forecast “the development of large, destructive hail, a few tornadoes, and potentially widespread damaging winds over parts of the central and southern Plains later today and tonight.” Southern Kansas, western and central Oklahoma and northern Texas could most likely experience the activity. “Elsewhere, severe storms are also possible from the central high Plains into the Ozark Plateau and northern Texas.”

• Guizhou Province, China. At least 5.5 million people in SW China’s Guizhou province have been affected by droughts, rainstorms and hailstorms so far this year, said the authorities.

• Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). An outbreak of ovine rinderpest (PPR) in DRC, believed to be the worst outbreak of a livestock disease in the country in recent years, is killing thousands of goats and sheep.
  • In one area alone, Massima Nimba in Bandundu province,  about 25,000 goats have died of the disease and 5,000 from infected herds have been culled since January, the authorities 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