States of Emergency Declared in NJ, NY, FL… — Ongoing Emergencies in AZ, CA

NJ Declares State of Emergency

NJ Governor has declared a state of emergency in Bergen, Essex, Monmouth, Ocean and Passaic counties due to the damage caused by torrential rains.

Many areas of the state have experienced flooding over the past few days. Know how to stay safe after a flood https://t.co/BzTQIgv9VH. #ReadyNJ #flooding #floodsafety #TurnAroundDontDrown #summersafety pic.twitter.com/YQZE2tRXLk

— NJOEM (@ReadyNJ) August 14, 2018

#BREAKING: Gov. Murphy declares state of emergency in multiple counties due to flooding https://t.co/5dU9OQ3SKG pic.twitter.com/Q0tRSW6NAS

— News12NJ (@News12NJ) August 14, 2018

Part of New York under State of Emergency due to flooding

Effective immediately, Seneca County Sheriff Tim Luce and the Seneca County Emergency Management Office has declared a State of Emergency for the Towns of Covert, Lodi, Ovid, and Romulus. This includes the Villages of Interlaken, Lodi, and Ovid. Heavy rain has caused major flooding in those affected areas. Many roadways are now closed and no unnecessary travel is advised. Emergency crews are working diligently to assist citizens. Citizens are urged to shelter in place and move to higher ground if they are experiencing high water.”

Sheriff Luce and Emergency Management Office declared a state of emergency in southern SENECA County, tTowns of Covert,Lodi,Romulus and Ovid

— Seneca NY Sheriff (@SenecaSheriff) August 14, 2018

Twin Tiers: Disaster declared in Troy Borough due to flash flooding; Wellsburg declares state of emergency

Severe Red Tide: Florida Declares State of Emergency
Florida has declaring a state of because of the severe red tide affecting Florida’s west coast. The worst affected areas are Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

AZ Governor Declares State Of Emergency For Town Of Mammoth
“Governor Doug Ducey today declared a State of Emergency for the Town of Mammoth in Pinal County after unusual amounts of heavy rain from monsoons compromised the town’s potable water system. The storms resulted in significant roadway damage and the loss of accessible water throughout the area, including for personal use, and has prevented emergency response capabilities for fire suppression. Currently, Mammoth has established cooling centers and is distributing water to residents.”

Red Tides Attack Shenzhen; Beijing Issues Air Pollution Alert

MAJOR DISASTERS
INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION
RED TIDES
WATER POLLUTION
AIR POLLUTION
SCENARIOS 817, 797, 699, 404, 402, 05, 02
.

Image of the Day:

Red tides splash on China’s ‘most successful’ SEZ

Shenzhen [Population: ~ 20 million] is a major city in southern China’s Guangdong Province. Located north of Hong Kong, the city is part of China’s first Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

Original caption: Aerial photo taken on Nov. 25, 2014 shows the red tides, a bloom of bacteria that gives a red tint to coastal waters, on the waters of Dameisha in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Li Suren). More images…

Beijing issues air pollution alert

Beijing municipal authorities issued an air pollution alert  Tuesday afternoon, as forecasters warned of serious smog on Tuesday and Wednesday, reported the official Xinhua.

“Air quality index (AQI) in Beijing hit 236 at 6 p.m. with the index of PM 2.5 exceeding 200, according to the Beijing environmental protection monitoring center website.”

The PM2.5 AQI had exceeded the hazardous levels, reaching 361, as of posting.

Industrial air pollution cost Europe up to €189 billion in 2012

Meantime, the European Environment Agency (EEA) reported that air pollution from Europe’s largest industrial facilities cost the region as much as €189 billion in 2012.

The upper estimate of €189 billion [$235b] is approximately equivalent to the GDP of Finland or 50% of the GDP of Poland. The estimated cost was at least €329 and possibly up to €1,053 billion over the period 2008 – 2012, said the report.

 

Massive Red Tide Blooming in GOM Continues Growing

World’s Largest ‘Sewage Pond’ hit by Biggest Red Tide in 10 Years

A massive red tide blooming off the coast of SW Florid, which is killing scores of fish, continues to grow.

The red tide stretches about 150km long and 100km wide in the Gulf of Mexico, researchers said.  The bloom was 130km long and 80km wide just last week.

“Satellite images from the Optical Oceanography Laboratory at the University of South Florida show a patchy bloom up to 60 miles wide and 90 miles long, at least 20 miles offshore between Dixie and northern Pinellas counties in northwest and southwest Florida.”

The bloom is the largest to plague the region since 2005, according to the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium.

“Florida red tide,” which the bloom is also known as, occurs when a microscopic algae called Karenia brevis (K. brevis) begins to multiply out of control.

K. brevis produces a toxin that attacks the central nervous systems of fish, marine mammals and birds. The toxin has recently killed scores of fish, eel, sea snakes and octopus.

“This bloom has caused an ongoing fish kill. FWC’s Fish Kill Hotline has received reports of thousands of dead and moribund benthic reef fish including various snapper and grouper species, hogfish, grunts, crabs, flounder, bull sharks, lionfish, baitfish, eel, sea snakes, tomtates, lizardfish, filefish, octopus, and triggerfish.”

The toxin can trigger respiratory distress in people, especially those with asthma, emphysema, or other respiratory conditions.

“It could have large impacts if it were to move inshore,” said the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). “It has been killing a lot of marine species, especially fish, as it waits offshore.”

“I have seen analogies that equate red tide with a forest fire,” said manager of the ocean technology program at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida. “There is an ecosystem reset.”

Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB)

Algal blooms occur in natural waters used for drinking and/or recreation when certain types of microscopic algae grow quickly in water, often in response to changes in levels of chemicals such as nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer, in the water. Algal blooms can deplete the oxygen and block the sunlight that other organisms need to live, and some can produce toxins that are harmful to the health of the environment, plants, animals, and people. [Source: CDC]

Mass Die-off of Manatees in Florida Waters

MASS DIE-OFF: ENDANGERED MAMMALS

Record number of manatees die in Florida waters 

Toxic algae bloom in the Gulf of Mexico was the leading killer of the endangered manatees in Florida waters this year, says Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Dinoflagellates, the marine plankton responsible for algal bloom (red tide), which produce deadly neurotoxins, settle on the sea grasses that manatees eat, impairing their nervous system and causing them to drown, or so it’s thought.

At least 92 manatee deaths in the Indian River Lagoon, in central Florida, along the Atlantic coast is also thought to have been caused by algal bloom.

See also:  Manatee death toll rising in Florida despite Red Tide ebbing

A large percentage of manatees are also killed by boats.

Some 803 manatee deaths occurred in Florida waters between January 1 and December 13, the largest toll for any year since record-keeping began 40 years ago.

Some 392 manatee died in Florida in 2012 and 453 deaths were recorded in 2011.

“The previous record was 766 manatee deaths and that was in 2010,” said the commission spokesman. “That was a year when cold weather was a major factor.”

As of 2011 about 4,834 manatees were living in Florida’s waters, an aerial survey showed.

A group of three West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) was photographed feeding on seagrass. Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus Trichechus, order Sirenia ) are large, aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals. Also known as  sea cows, they measure up to 13 feet (4.0 m) long, and weigh as much as 1,300 pounds (590 kg). Photo: NOAA

Florida, USA. “The cold December weather caused 35 manatee deaths, adding to what was already a record-breaking annual total of manatee deaths. Last year, 767 manatees died, which was more than double the annual average, said the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.”

Cozy Relationship or Federal Felony: Environmental group suing U.S. Govt over oil permits [May 16, 2010]

The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group, has filed a notice of intent to sue Ken Salazar the U.S. Interior Secretary, and the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) for failing to get the necessary environmental permits, required by two environmental laws, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Endangered Species Act, before approving offshore oil operations.

Note, the key words and phrases here are, “failing to get the necessary environmental permits,” the Endangered Species Act and “the Marine Mammal Protection Act.” and

“The Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act prohibit private entities, such as oil companies, as well as federal agencies, such as the Minerals Management Service — the branch of the Interior Department responsible for managing offshore oil activities — from killing, harming, or harassing marine mammals, unless they have received authorizations and take measures to minimize the impacts of their activities. The Endangered Species Act protects species such as the sperm whale, which is listed as endangered, while the Marine Mammal Protection Act applies to all marine mammals, such as the bottlenose dolphin and the Florida manatee.” The group said in their notice.

Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act

Florida Statute: 370.12 and Florid Administrative Code: Chapter 68C-22

This act declares Florida a refuge and sanctuary for the manatee, the Florida state marine mammal. The act declares it unlawful for any person at any time, by any means, or in any manner to intentionally or negligently annoy, molest, harass, or disturb or attempt to molest, harass, or disturb any manatee; injure or harm or attempt to injure or harm any manatee; capture or collect or attempt to capture or collect any manatee; pursue, hunt, wound, or kill or attempt to pursue, hunt, wound, or kill any manatee; or possess, literally or constructively, any manatee or any part of any manatee. The Florida statute provides guidelines for counties to establish manatee speed zones on county waters, as well as manatee protection zones. The Florida Administrative Code sets forth rules by county where manatee protection applies. Source: NOAA/CS

Related News

• Manatee death toll hits record in Florida, ‘Red Tide’ blamed

Related Links

• Florida’s Endangered Manatees Faced Another Deadly Year January 5, 2012
• Seagrass in Crisis  June 30, 2009
• At least 123 bottlenose dolphins became stranded along the Texas coast since November 2011, of which 119 died: NOAA, June 13, 2012

Significant Algal Bloom Forecast for Western Lake Erie

Significant harmful algal bloom forecast for western Lake Erie this summer: NOAA

Western Lake Erie will have a significant bloom of cyanobacteria, a toxic blue-green algae, this summer, NOAA and its research partners have predicted. The harmful algal bloom (HAB) season is expected to be larger than last year, but less than the record-setting 2011 bloom.

“This annual forecast and NOAA’s weekly bulletins provide the most advanced ecological information possible to Great Lakes businesses and resource managers so they can save time and money on the things they do that drive recreational activities and the economy,” said NOAA’s assistant administrator for the National Ocean Service.

Satellite image of record-breaking 2011 bloom. Credit: MERIS et al., – processed by NOAA

Related Links and Images

• Fish Mass Die-off Near Galveston, Texas  August 14, 2012
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – November November 7, 2011
• Red Tide Kills Millions of Fish Along Texas Coast  November 4, 2011
• Massive ecosystem collapses occurring in Great Lakes  October 5, 2011
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – October  October 3, 2011

• Significant ‘Red Tide’ to Plague New England in 2010 February 25, 2010
• World’s beaches turned killing fields  August 25, 2009
• Hundreds of Dead Animals Litter NZ Beaches August 7, 2009
• Our Dead Zone Largest Ever This Year!  July 16, 2008
• Oceans, Where Life Started, Are Dying – Part II  March 16, 2008
• Who needs Chesapeake crabs? March 5, 2009

Global Disasters/ Significant Events Headlines – 6 April 2013

Fukushima Nuke Plant Leaking Large Quantities of Radioactive Water

Up to 120 tons of radioactive water may have leaked from one of the seven underground storage tanks at Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, contaminating the surrounding ground, Tokyo Electric Power Co was reported as saying.

The storage tanks hold about 13,000 cubic meters of contaminated water, which  TEPCO is transferring to other tanks nearby, Kyodo news wire quoted the utility as saying.

Third large oil spill in 7 days: Shell Pipeline ruptures in Texas

Thousands of gallons of oil have spilled from Shell Pipeline in West Columbia, Texas, the third incident of the kind in a week, said a report.

Manatee death toll rising in Florida despite Red Tide ebbing

Red Tide, a deadly algae bloom, has killed at least 241 manatees in Florida so far this year, surpassing the previous record of 151 deaths set in 1996.

The recent Red Tide bloom in the Gulf of Mexico began in September 2012  covering a 70-mile (113-km) stretch of southwest Florida’s coast from Sarasota County to Lee County, which is  home to a large population of the state’s estimated 5,000 manatees, said a report.

Karenia brevis. Photo:  FFWCC

Meanwhile, deaths of 85 manatees since July on Florida’s Atlantic coast remain a mystery. The mass die-off occurred  in the Indian River Lagoon, Brevard County.

• Red Tide Kills Millions of Fish Along Texas Coast

Mount Karangetang: A Mountain of Fire

Lava spewes from the top of Mount Karangetang. Photo: AFP. Image may be subject to copyright.

• One of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, Karangetang, aka, Api Siau, is a located on the northern part of Siau Island.
• Karangetang was one of the three volcanoes that erupted after the The Great East Japan Earthquake struck on March 11, 2011.

Frozen Britain

UK temperatures over the past week fell to among the coldest experienced in April for nearly 100 years, with maximum temperatures barely above the freezing in many parts of the southeast, reports said.

At -11.2ºC (11.8 degrees Fahrenheit), the village of Braemar in Scotland, about 90 km west of Aberdeen, held the joint coldest weather anywhere in the UK in April for nearly a century.

US Weather: Snow Impacting the Upper Midwest and Northern Great Lakes

‘A storm system moving through the Upper Midwest will bring a round of late-season winter weather to parts of the northern Great Lakes region on Saturday. The heaviest snow will fall from northeastern Minnesota through northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. These areas could see up to 6 inches of snow.’ NOAA reported.

• How Homo Ignarus Killed Spring

Previous Global Disasters/ Significant Events Headlines

• Global Disasters/ Significant Events Headlines – 2 April 2013

Fish Mass Die-off Near Galveston, Texas

Large fish kill off Galveston blamed on neurotoxic algal bloom

As many as a million dead Gulf menhaden that littered Galveston’s West End beaches on the weekend are believed to have been killed by an algal bloom known as Karenia brevis.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept (TPWD) said it had received reports of fish kills from Sea Rim State Park, Sargent Beach and Surfsidehas, and confirmed a bloom of Karenia brevis, also known as red tide, in Galveston Bay.

Karenia brevis. Photo:  FFWCC

Current Status

August 13, 2012 – afternoon

TPWD began receiving reports of fish kills on Friday, August 10. The reports were from Quintana Beach to the mouth of the Colorado River and included mostly Gulf menhaden with a few mentions of gafftopsail and hardhead catfish. Additional fish kills were reported over the weekend at Surfside Beach and Galveston; samples were collected from the Surfside jetty and San Luis Pass to look for Karenia brevis. Dead flounder and stingrays have been reported at Kemah and Bacliff; biologists originally thought that low oxygen levels were to blame, but additional investigations will be conducted to determine if K. brevis is the cause. In addition, fishermen reported coughing and dead fish 4 miles offshore of Galveston.

Related Links

• U.S. Disaster Impact Leaps 24 Folds Posted August 1, 2012
• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID DECLINE 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

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

Red Tide Kills Millions of Fish Along Texas Coast

Persisting red tide has killed millions of fish along the coast of Texas since last month

Staff of Padre Island National Seashore continue to find coyotes that are sick or dead, probably from ingesting fish killed by the brevetoxin, a lethal neurotoxin released by Karenia brevis, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) said.

Disaster Calendar 2011 – November 4

[November 4, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,594 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Texas, USA. Persisting red tide (algal bloom) has killed millions of fish along the coast of Texas since last month. Staff of Padre Island National Seashore continue to find sick or dead coyotes, probably from ingesting fish killed by the brevetoxin, Texas Parks and Wildlife department (TPWD) said.
• Various concentrations levels of Karenia brevis have been found among oysters, clams and mussels leases along the coast.
  
• Karenia brevis is a single-celled, photosynthetic organism that blooms and produces lethal neurotoxins called brevetoxins.
• Common in Gulf of Mexico, K. brevis is responsible for red tide along the coastal waters of Texas and Florida.
• An estimated 4.2million fish were killed by the lethal brevetoxin between September 15 and October  30, TPWD reported.
• Red tide is particularly intense this year because of the Texas drought and recent excessive heat, which help the algae thrive.
• Red tide can cause respiratory irritation, skin rashes and burning in humans.
• “The red tides caused by the dinoflagellate Gonyaulax are serious because this organism produces saxitonin & gonyautoxins which accumulate in shellfish and if ingested may lead to paralytic shellfish poisoning and can lead to death,” a report said.
• Karenia brevis toxic aerosol is blown onshore by wind.

Other Disasters

• British Columbia, Canada. The highly contagious Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA), has been found on B.C.’s central coast, according to researchers at Simon Fraser University.
• The highly contagious marine influenza virus has been found in Chinook, coho and chum species.
  
• The virus was also found in sockeye smolts collected in B.C.’s Central Coast.
• “We looked at 60 fish, and we got it in two different generations, 600 kilometres apart, four different species. That’s a huge red flag.” Said a researcher at SFU.
• Chile’s wild fish stocks have been decimated by ISA since 2007, costing the country about $2 billion in losses.
• ISA threatens both wild salmon and herring, biologists at Simon Fraser University said.
  

Related Links

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities  (EDRO Forecast)
• 2011 Much More Disastrous: FIRE-EARTH Forecast
• Global Disasters in 2011 Could Impact 1/3 to 1/2 of the Human Population  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)

• 2011 Disaster Calendar – October
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – September
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – August
• 2010 Disaster Calendar 
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

• Chinook Salmon Fisheries Collapsing
• Collapsing Fisheries
• Can’t have your water and eat the fish, too!
• Q. How Can You Tell When Ecosystem Nears Collapse?
• 2010 Disaster Calendar [January]

Significant ‘Red Tide’ to Plague New England in 2010

Shelfish such as Mussels and clams accumulate biotoxins produced by Alexandrium, which can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning in humans who ingest them.

NOAA Public Release

Researchers Issue Outlook for a Significant New England ‘Red Tide’ in 2010

Seed Population on Seafloor Points to a large ‘Red Tide’; Impacts will Depend on Ocean Conditions and Weather

Researchers at Gulf of Maine Toxicity project have issued an outlook for a significant regional bloom of a toxic alga that causes ‘red tides’ in the spring and summer of this year, potentially threatening the New England shellfish industry.

Microscopic image of Alexandrium fundyense cysts, the “seeds” that fall to the ocean bottom at the end of one season’s blooms.  Under the right conditions, these cells can germinate the following year to initiate another season’s blooms. High resolution (Credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

The outlook is based on a seafloor survey of the seed-like cysts of Alexandrium fundyense, an organism that causes harmful algal blooms, sometimes referred to as ‘red tides’. Cysts deposited in the fall hatch the following spring; last fall the abundance of cysts in the sediment was 60 percent higher than observed prior to the historic bloom of 2005, indicating that a large bloom is likely in the spring of 2010.

The cyst bed also appears to have expanded to the south, so the 2010 bloom may affect areas such as Massachusetts Bay and Georges Bank sooner than has been the case in past years.

Maps showing the concentration of Alexandrium cysts buried in Gulf of Maine seafloor sediments over four years. The cyst abundance in 2009 is higher than ever observed and the Alexandrium cyst “seedbed” extends further to the south than was ever observed before.  High resolution (Credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Although the algae in the water pose no direct threat to human beings, toxins produced by Alexandrium can accumulate in filter-feeding organisms such as mussels and clams, which can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning in humans who consume them. In order to protect public health, shellfish beds are monitored by state agencies and closed when toxin concentrations rise above a quarantine level. There have been no illnesses from legally harvested shellfish in recent years despite some severe blooms.

“’Red tide’ is a chronic problem in the Gulf of Maine and states have limited resources to handle it,” said Darcie Couture, director of Biotoxin Monitoring for the Maine Department of Marine Resources. “When we get this information about the potential severity of a bloom season and the dynamics of the bloom once the season has started, then it gives us an advantage in staging our resources during an otherwise overwhelming environmental and economic crisis.”

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