DISASTER Diary – May 26, 2013

Namibia Declares National Drought Emergency

President of Namibia has declared a national drought emergency due to significantly below-average precipitation.

• An estimated 331,000 people, 14 percent of the Namibia’s population of 2.324 million,  in rural communities across 13 regions have now been classified as food insecure so far this year.

• An additional 448,000 people have been classified as moderately food insecure.

•   Those moderately food insecure could rapidly become food insecure, UN reported.

• About 109,000 children under age 5 living in rural households classified severely and moderately food insecure are at risk of malnutrition due to reduced availability, access and utilization of food, compounded by limited access to safe water and improved sanitation, UN said.

Namibia: Rainfall Anomaly for Q1 2013. Source: SADC FANR

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

• 11 Regions across the country are without water tanks for additional storage.

• About 32% of households and communities use boreholes as their main sources of water, followed by piped water (20%) and public taps in neighboring houses (19%).

• As a result of the severe drought, water tables in boreholes are currently low with reduced yields.

• The cost of water has risen and most households are now using their limited funds to buy food instead of water.

• Only 33% of households have improved sanitation facilities.

• 50% of the population practice open defecation. [Source: U.N.]

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Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Extreme Rain Events Flood San Antonio, Texas

At least two people were killed on Saturday as torrential rains in San Antonio triggered severe flooding forcing the rescue of about 240 people, officials said.

• San Antonio was inundated with about 10 inches of rain Saturday, the second-wettest-day recorded, San Antonio Express-News reported.

• “Saturday was not only the wettest day in May ever recorded, but with 9.87 inches of rain at the San Antonio International Airport, it was the second wettest day ever recorded in San Antonio, according to the National Weather Service. The wettest day on record is Oct. 17, 1998, when 11.26 inches of rain fell.”

• NWS issued Flood Warnings  for rivers affecting Bexar, Wilson and Karnes counties.

-oOo-

Average CO₂ at Mauna Loa:
Last 5 days of preliminary daily average CO₂

• May 24 – 399.84        
• May 23 – 399.67        
• May 22 – 399.97        
• May 21 – 399.74        
• May 20 – 400.11
  

-oOo-

M5.7 Earthquake, Plumas County, Northern Calif

A state of emergency has been declared in Plumas County after the magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the area Thursday, causing damage both to infrastructure as well as homes and businesses.

• “The earthquake did not injure anyone but did cause moderate damage and was felt by people as far away as the Bay Area, Reno and into Oregon,” said a report.

-oOo-

DISASTER CALENDAR – May 26, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,021 Days Left 

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

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,021 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

Humanitarian Crisis in Malawi Caused by Drought and Deluge

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,133 Days Left 

[February 3, 2013] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,133 Days Left to the most Fateful Day in Human History
• Symbolic countdown to the ‘worst day’ in human history began on May 15, 2011 …

.

Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Drought and deluge leave 4 million Malawians food insecure

Mega drought and deluge have left about 4 million people food insecure and children at a high risk of malnutrition and disease across Malawi (population: ~ 15 million).  Severe flooding, triggered by extreme rain events, has destroyed homes,  crops, roads and any semblance of public infrastructure.

• Flooding has displaced tens of thousands of people leaving them without food, shelter, clothing or medical supplies in the landlocked country in southeast Africa.

• The flooding has also compromised access to safe water, sanitation and overall hygiene in the affected communities, said UNICEF.

• “A continuing food crisis in Malawi afflicts more than 4 million people – and more than a million of them are children under age five or pregnant women. Food insecurity is not only a major cause of malnutrition, but has also worsened the risk for diseases.”

• “We remain on high alert as the flooding spreads to other areas,” said the UNICEF Country Representative in Malawi.

GLOBAL WARNINGS

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