Powerful Earthquake Strikes Sichuan, China

PB-043H

M6.5 Quake Rocks Jiuzhaigou County in SW China’s Sichuan Province

Multiple aftershocks expected, but none reported as of posting [T+14 mins.]

EQD [USGS]

Magnitude: 6.5 mww
Location: 33.217°N, 103.843°E [36km W of Yongle, China]
Depth: 10.0 km
Time:13:19:49.570 (UTC) 2017-08-08

Additional information will be issued by FIRE-EARTH Science at 14:20UTC, via FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

Deadly Floods, Landslides Affect 3.7 Million People in S. China

Dozens dead or missing, 200,000 displaced in southern China floods three days

Floods, landslides and mudslides have left dozens of people dead or missing and at least 197,000 others displaced in southern China since Saturday, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

According to the Ministry, by 9 a.m. Monday, about 3.7 million people in seven provinces, including Hubei and Sichuan, and Chongqing Municipality, had been affected by the disasters.

Extreme weather events has destroyed thousands of homes and 20,900 hectares of crops, with the direct economic losses estimated at about US$407.9 million, the officials said.

In northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at least 13,000 people were displaced after torrential rains battered region , the report said.

’14 dead in floods, hailstorms across 3 Chinese provinces’

“Floods and landslides have caused 13 deaths in southwest China’s Guizhou Province and central China’s Hunan Province while a hailstorm had killed one in northern Shanxi Province as of Thursday morning, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.

“Guizhou has reported nine fatalities and nine missing with about 65,600 people evacuated, due to heavy rainfall and landslides this month, said the ministry in a statement.

“Hunan has confirmed that four people have died, six remain missing and 157,000 people have been evacuated, while Shanxi reported one death and one missing, the statement said.

Forest Fires Rage Out of Control in Sichuan, SW China

EXTREME CLIMATIC EVENTS
RAGING FOREST FIRES
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What little forest left …

Photo dated February 15, 2014 shows a forest fire raging out of control on a mountain in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Sichuan Province. Source: Xinhua/Cheng Xueli

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

Thousands of Towns and Villages Devastated by Floods in China

Extreme Rain Events and floods destroy or damage an estimated 200,000 homes affecting 50 million people

Extreme rain events and devastating floods have left about 600 people dead or missing and affected up to 50 million others  in 30 provinces since the beginning of the year, authorities said.

The toll so far this year stands at

• No of people killed by floods: at least 337 
• No of people missing: 213
  
• No of injuries: NOT released, possibly thousands
• No of houses destroyed: at least 150,000
• No of houses damaged: NOT released, probably hundreds of thousands
• Farmland affected: 4 million hectares
• Source: China’s Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFCDRH)

And the flood season hasn’t even started!

“China is expected to face serious flood control challenges in the next 30 days as it heads into flood season,” said a report quoting the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

This year’s flood season will run from about July 15 to Aug 15, authorities said.

Heavy rainfall is expected in northern and southwestern China, causing severe flooding in many major rivers, such as the upper reaches of the Yangtze, Haihe, Yellow, Songhua and Liaohe rivers.

Gansu, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Henan and Guangdong provinces should expect 24-hour rainfall amounts of up to 200 mm, said the National Meteorological Center.

Sichuan will be in the height of its rainy season over the next few months, possibly bringing more chaos to the already battered province.

“Since most of the same parts of Sichuan province will be hit again with heavy rainfall, severe floods, flash floods and mudslides are likely,” said a Ministry of Water Resources official. (Xinhua)

Meantime, Tropical Cyclone CIMARON, the eighth storm of the year, is forecast to make landfall  in Southeast China on Friday, just days after Tropical Storm SOULIK hit Fujian and Jiangxi provinces.

Sichuan Province

Rainstorms and floods hit 43 counties in Sichuan producing total  precipitations of 400 mm to 800 mm in Deyang and Dujiangyan, and 800 mm to 1,151 mm in some areas  between July 7 and 12, said deputy head of the Sichuan Provincial Meteorological Administration.

The extreme events destroyed 13,400 houses, affecting 3.47 million people and forcing at least 300,000 people to relocate.

Related Links

• China to Become Top Wheat Importer after Major Crop Disaster July 17, 2013
• Fire Destroys 200 Houses in SW China July 17, 2013
• Flooding Destroys Town of Caopo in SW China July 16, 2013

• Typhoon SOULIK Affects 2 Million in China  July 15, 2013
• Hundreds of Thousands Evacuated as SOULIK Hits China July 13, 2013
• Extreme Weather Wreaks Havoc in SW China July 10, 2013

Extreme Weather Wreaks Havoc in SW China

Extreme Rain Events affect more than 10 million, destroy tens of thousands of homes in 300 counties

Extreme Rain Events have affected more than 508,000 people in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, destroying at least 300 homes and raising water levels on major rivers dangerously high, said Xinhua.

“Rainstorm-triggered natural disasters have wreaked havoc in 21 provincial-level regions in China since July 3, leaving at least 33 dead and another 14 missing, the National Commission for Disaster Reduction said Monday.”

In central China’s Hubei Province, Extreme Rain Events have left a dozen people dead, about 2 million affected, 114,000 people in 29 counties relocated, tens of thousands of homes destroyed or damaged and about 200,000 hectares of crops ruined.

In Yunnan Province, rainstorms have affected about 30,000 people and destroyed at least 5,300 houses.  Schools in the area have been abandoned.

• Since July 3, natural disasters triggered by extreme weather have killed or left missing scores of people, affected more than 10 million, displacing hundreds of thousands of others in as many as 300 counties across 21 provinces.

Original caption: A road is destroyed by rainstorm-triggered landslide in Wenchuan County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, July 10, 2013. Rainstorms battered the county in these two days. (Xinhua/Lu Guotong). More images …

Related Links

• 3 dead, 1.9 million affected in C China rainstorm

• Vehicles, pedestrians fall into river after bridge collapsed in SW China 
• Landslide hits SW China, 30-40 buried

• Rainstorms trigger landslide, flood in Wenchuan, SW China
• Communication, power, roads all cut after rainfall in Beichuan county
• Thousands of people trapped in Sichuan tunnel
• Strong rainstorms hit SW China
• Severe rainstorms batter quake-hit SW China

• Vehicles, pedestrians fall into river after bridge collapsed in SW China
• Severe rainstorms batter quake-hit areas in SW China

• 33 dead, 14 missing in rainstorm-triggered natural disasters

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – 25 April 2013

Another two million dead and Texas would have named a town after Bush

Mr Obama will help dedicate the George W. Bush Presidential ‘Lie-Bury’ and Museum on Thursday. He is on record as saying “the failed policies of George W. Bush” wiped away a budget surplus.  Mr. Bush put two wars “on a credit card,” led the country away “from our values” and “crashed the economy.”

• Ironically, Mr Bush, 66, has read little more than about half dozen books in his entire life.
• He raised more than $500 million for his presidential center, which will occupy 23 acres on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

0O0

Spain unemployment hits record high

Total number of unemployed people in Spain has now topped 6.2 million, a new record of 27.2 percent of the nation’s workforce, according to the official data.

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Death Toll Rises in Bangladesh Building Collapse

At least 228 people were killed and up to 2,000 others injured when a building collapsed in a suburb of the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.

• More than 2,000 people were in the Rana Plaza building in Savar, about 30km outside Dhaka, when it collapsed on Wednesday.
• It’s not known how many people are still trapped in the rubble.
• The factory owners, who have gone into hiding, had ignored warnings after cracks were noticed on Tuesday, Police said.

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China: Death toll in Lushan quake reaches 196

Death toll from M7.0 earthquake that hit Lushan County, Sichuan Province, on Saturday has climbed to 196, with at least 21 people reported as missing, and about 12,000 people injured.

• Meantime, two dozen people were reportedly injured when two quakes hit Yibin City, about 500 km from Lushan County.
• “Two successive earthquakes measuring 4.8 and 4.2 magnitude jolted , southwest China’s Sichuan Province, on Thursday morning, leaving 24 people injured and thousands of houses damaged.” said a report.
  

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Afghanistan: Earthquake and flooding kill 40 people

Death toll from a 5.6Mw earthquake that struck NW of Jalalabad, Afghanistan on Wednesday has climbed to at least 20, with more than 150 other injured.

• The quake left hundreds of homes destroyed or damaged.

Meantime, ongoping flash floods in the northern province of Balkh have left at least 20 people dead and thousands of houses destroyed or damaged.

0O0

IRAQ: Clashes between army and Sunni militants kill more than 100

Iraq continues to plunge deeper into sectarian violence after two days of fighting between government forces and Sunni militants left at least 100 people dead and scores of others injured.

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DISASTER CALENDAR – April 25, 2013 —  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,052 Days Left 

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

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,052 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

Disaster Diary – April 22, 2013

Earthquake in China: Up to 208 dead, 11,500 injured, 150,000 displaced, 1.5 million affected

The magnitude 7.0 quake, which struck the mountainous Lushan County of Sichuan Province in SW China on Saturday, has killed up to 208 people (184 bodies recovered, 24 others missing), injured more than 11,500, including about 1,000 serious injuries, left an estimated 150,000 people homeless, and directly affected at least 1.5 million people.

More than 2,300 aftershocks have been recorded in Lushan County as of 4 p.m. Beijing time on Monday, the China Earthquake Administration (CEA) reported; however, only four of the initial shocks were significant, measuring greater than 5.0Mw.

More than 200 major landslides have blocked 57 roads and highways  in 3 areas within the quake damage zone, China’s CCTV reported. The landslides have also severely damaged much of the vegetation in the disaster zone increasing the likelihood of more landslides triggered by rain.

Freeze frame from a CCTV video clip showing one of more than 200 major landslides that have caused 57 road and highway blockages in the quake hit area of Sichuan Province, SW China.

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Nigeria fighting: Scores killed, more than 2,000 homes destroyed

Intense fighting between the Nigerian military forces and Boko Haram militants in Baga, northern Nigeria has reportedly killed about 200 people.

• Much of the town was torched, including some 2,000 homes, causing many of the fatalities. Most of the bodies were charred beyond recognition.
• “Residents of Baga fled into the bush and only returned on Sunday afternoon to find much of the town destroyed and human and animal corpses strewn through the streets,” said a report.
• Since 2009, thousands of people have lost their life in the Boko Haram insurgency.

CHINA: Avian Flu Cases Steadily Rising

China confirmed two new cases of human H7N9 avian influenza in Zhejiang Province. The total number of reported infections stand at 104, including 21 deaths, as of 4:00 pm Monday, Beijing time, said a report.

US: City of Grand Rapids Declares a State of Emergency

Rising Grand River has inundated scores of homes in several western Michigan towns and communities, prompting the authorities to declare states of emergency in Grand Rapids and Kent county.

The mayor of small town of Beardstown, has also declared a state of emergency, as Illinois River water levels continued to rise.

Illinois Gov. Quinn has declared 3 additional counties disaster areas from flooding, raising the disaster declaration total  to at least 41 counties.

Flooding and high water across the Midwesthave been responsible for at least 6 deaths, reports said.

Flooding have been reported in six states, and Flood Warnings were in effect across parts of 14 states, as of posting.

US Flood Map shows 174 locations in flood as of 04/22/2013 at 11:50 am EDT [04/22/2013 15:50 UTC]

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DISASTER CALENDAR – April 22, 2013 —  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,055 Days Left 

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

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,055 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

Drought Affecting Millions in China

4th consecutive year of drought plaguing 53 percent of arable land in China

Lingering severe drought has left millions of people and farm animals in China without drinking water.

The worst affected areas are southwest China’s Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces, and northwestern Shaanxi and Gansu provinces.

in Yunnan province 134 rivers and 138 reservoirs have dried up, reports say.

• Two separate droughts across vast areas have affected at least ten million people, damaging or destroying large amounts of crops.

• “Yunnan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces face the worst drought among the western regions of the country, with a total of 31.67 million mu (2.11 million hectares) of arable land affected, or 53 percent of the total arable land affected by drought across the country,” said the report.
  

• At least 4.97 million people in southwest China’s Yunnan Province have been affected by the drought. More than 1.43 million people and 796,000 livestock lack sufficient drinking water.

• “In Gansu, lingering drought that began last autumn has affected 3.123 million people 47 counties and districts of which 643,400 are still facing a drinking water shortage, according to the provincial Civil Affairs Bureau.”

• More than one million people in Guizhou and Gansu provinces are facing drinking water shortages.

China Disaster News

• China’s Dangerous Air Pollution Extends to Japan March 12, 2013
• Thousands of Dead Pigs Dumped in Shanghai River March 11, 2013
• China Shrouded in Sand, Dust and PM March 10, 2013

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March 15, 2013 — DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,093 Days Left 

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

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,093 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

Drought Parches Millions of Hectares of Farmland in China

Millions of Chinese short of drinking water as drought destroys
large swathes of cropland

Severe drought in China has left about 9 million people and tens of millions of farm animals short of drinking water, parching about 4 million hectares of farmland in Gansu, Hubei, Shanxi, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, drought-relief officials said.

SW China’s Yunnan province, which borders Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, is said to be the worst hit area.

Earlier this months, the authorities declared 8 additional provinces as drought-stricken areas.

In 2011, parts of China experienced their worst drought in living memory, with rainfall averaging 50 percent of the  normal, destroying crops and cutting hydroelectric power from dams, officials said.

China is home to 20 percent of the world population, but has only about 5 percent of the world’s fresh water resources.

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

Disaster Declared in Idaho Counties after Landslides and Flooding

Disaster Calendar 2012 – April 5

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,441 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

100-year rainfall records broken in Idaho and Bonner counties, Id

Extreme rain events have caused damaging landslides and closed roads throughout Shoshone, Idaho and Bonner counties, Id., prompting Governor Otter to declare a state of emergency.

• Idaho, USA.  Extreme rain events have supersaturated the soil triggering multiple landslides, causing  widespread damage to infrastructure, closing roads throughout Shoshone, Idaho and Bonner counties, Id., and prompting Governor Otter to declare a state of emergency. 
  • “The landslides and flooding have damaged multiple roads in all three counties, causing residents and first responders to detour extensively around the closed roads. The landslide on Leitch Creek Road in Idaho County deposited an estimated 80,000 cubic yards of debris across the road, making it impassable for some time,”  said a report.

Significant Events

• Mississippi, USA.  “March temperatures were above average across the entire NWS Jackson forecast area, with a new monthly average temperature record set at 3 of 6 area climate sites.”  NWS reported.
  • Warmest March on Record reported at
    • Greenwood (64.8ºF)
    • Hattiesburg (68.0)
    • Vicksburg/Tallulah (66.2)
  • 2nd Warmest at
    • Greenville (64.3)
  • 3rd Warmest
    • Jackson (66.3)
  • 4th Warmest
    • Meridian (65.0)

• Current U.S. Drought Monitor

Other Disasters

• Texas, USA.  The City of Forney (aka, the Antique Capital of Texas) in Kaufman County has been declare a disaster area after a tornado touchdown in downtown area mid afternoon Tuesday.
  • The twister damaged or destroyed about 100 structures,  and  a dozen people injured.

• China.   Exceptional, extreme and severe levels of drought have spread to 13 Chinese provinces, leaving about 8 million people and 5 million heads of livestock without sufficient drinking water.
  
  • The worst affected provinces include Yunnan, Sichuan [a major farming area,] Hebei, Shanxi and Gansu, the Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said. 
    
  • “The drought has also dried up reservoirs and threatened spring planting, affecting 60.1 million mu (4 million hectares) of crop land as of Thursday.“
• Buenos Aires, Argentina. Torrential rains and hail storms across Buenos Aires have left at least twelve people dead and many injured, reports said.

• England, UK.  Following two years of very low winter rainfall, large parts of England are officially in drought.
  • The drought has forced seven water companies throughout the UK to impose a temporary use bans (locally known as hosepipe bans).
  • “Dry winters can be particularly harmful because winter rain normally tops up groundwater and reservoirs. East Anglia, the South East and parts of Yorkshire are currently in drought, and other parts of the country  are affected. If the dry weather continues, more restrictions are likely to be necessary.” UK govt said.
• Current situation: “East Anglia, the south east of England and south and east Yorkshire are in drought. . In parts of the Midlands, the south west of England and Wales some river flows are very low for the time of year and there are some noticeable impacts on the environment, but public water supplies are not affected.
• “England and Wales had 38 per cent of the long term average rainfall in March. This ranged from 29 per cent in Wales to 68 per cent in our Anglian region. With dry weather affecting many regions this week, soil moisture deficits have continued to increase. River flows remain exceptionally low for the time of year in many areas. Groundwater levels continue to decrease and remain lower than at the same time in March 1976 in parts of Shropshire, the Chilterns, and the North Downs.”

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs

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

China Drought

• Terraforming China Posted  on April 2, 2012
• China’s War on Nature Intensifies Posted on March 23, 2012
• Drought and Deluge Index

Violent Storms Kill at least 65 in S China

Violent storms and torrential rains devastated southern China killing at least 65, and leaving thousands homeless.

Deadly storms and torrential rains claimed at least 65 lives leaving about 200 people injured and 14 others  missing, with more than  50 thousand people made homeless, the official Xinhua reported the authorities as saying.

Original Caption: Photo taken on May 7, 2010 shows the scene of landslide in Tianxin Village, Egong Town of Dingnan County in east China’s Jiangxi Province. Seven people were dead and five were missing after floods and landslides wreaked havoc in Jiangxi over the past two days.(Xinhua/Zhou Ke). Image may be subject to copyright.

“As of Friday, the storms had affected up to 2.55 million people and 100,000 hectares of arable land, leaving 65 people dead, 14 missing, 9,900 buildings damaged, said the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters in a statement on its website.” Xinhua said.

Two days of heavy downpour caused floods and triggered landslides and mud flows  in south China’s provinces of Guangdong, Sichuan and Guizhou.

Fire-Earth had forecast a major disaster in China on May 4, 2010, though the blog did not release any specific details.

Related Links:

• 70 Killed in Afghanistan Flash Floods
• Landslides Leave 55 Dead or Missing in Tajikistan
• Southern U.S. Flooding Update
• Parking Lot Vanishes Under Landslide

• Landslides Kill Dozens of People
• Landslides Kill Dozens of People
• FLOODING: Kentucky governor declares a state of emergency Posted on May 4, 2010
• 2010 Disaster Calender [May] Posted on May 1, 2010
• Landslide kills at least 10 in Kenya

• Landslide News
• Landslide and sinkhole close part of U.S. 64
• Taiwan Massive Landslide Buries 6-Lane Freeway
• Mudslide Buries Chemical Factory in China

• Super-destructive events may strike anytime
• Extreme Rain Events, Floods, Mudslides 2010
• 2010 Likely the Most Disastrous Year on Record: FEWW
• 2010: Year One of Human-Enhanced Disasters

• 2010 Disasters
• 2010 Disaster Calender [May]
• Landslides

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Climate Change Causing China Drought

Drought in southwestern China caused by climate change: Chinese experts

Chinese meteorologists say the ongoing severe drought in southwest China is caused by climate change.

The drought has left more between 18 and 62 million people and 11.7 million to more that 20 million livestock with insufficient drinking water “over a region encompassing the southwestern provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the municipality of Chongqing, data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs showed.”

[Note: the figures vary widely depending on each day’s published definition of “affected by drought” and “short of drinking water.” See also data entries in 2010: Year One of Human-Enhanced Disasters.]

A parched reservoir in Green Pool Dame at Shilin County, Kunming City, Yunnan Province (February 2, 2010). Photo:AFP/Getty Images. Image may be subject to copyright. Click image to enlarge.

“The direct reason for the drought is light rain and high temperatures,” Ren Fuming, a leading expert at China’s National Climate Center, told Outlook Weekly, a popular magazine in China, Xinhua said.

Zhang Peiqun, another senior meteorologist with the center, who agrees with Ren Fumings, aid the rainfall in worst-affected Yunnan province is the lowest in living memory while the average temperature since the beginning of winter has been the highest on record.

“The decreased rainfall during the rainy season led to less water in store and high temperatures resulted in greater evaporation, directly causing the severe drought,” Zhang said.

Zhang believes complicated ocean currents and anomalous atmospheric circulation are responsible for the drought. [See: Kelvin waves in Your Worst Fears About El Niño.]

“Zhang said the lingering cold air mass that formed last September in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau had fenced off the warm and moist currents from the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal, and at the same time the cold air from the north has had difficulty reaching the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau hinterland.” Xinhua reported.

“The cold and warm currents can’t converge to produce rain, so there is little rain,” Zhang said.

Sun Honglie, director of the national expert committee on climate change, said he believed the drought was was caused by anomalous atmospheric currents.

“It is not an environmental or ecological problem,” he said. “But the drought is bound to have an impact on the ecological system.”

“Another expert, Chen Yiyu, an academic at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, also said the year has seen anomalous climate conditions globally and that the drought in China is part of the phenomenon.” Xinhua said.

[Note: They are probably refering to the impact of El Niño.]

Water Severely Rationed

In Fuyuan County there has been no tap water since late 2009, residents said, complaining that “rationed water supply has not been steady, and that they have had to fetch water themselves from a village three miles away.” Epoch Times said.

“Each family is given four water tickets every two weeks and each ticket entitles the bearer to 100 kg (about 26 gallons) of water, which is not enough for daily use at all, especially for a large family of six or seven. So we have to fetch water from somewhere else. I haven’t taken a shower for a few months.” a resident was reported as saying.

Statistics released recently indicated that as of March 17, 2010, some “43,486,000 hectares (about 17.6 million acres) of crops were affected by the drought, among which 940,000 hectares (about 380,566 acres) yielded zero production, causing a direct economic loss of 19 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion).”

Related Links:

• Praying for rain in parched Guyana
• Your Worst Fears About El Niño
• Global Weather Chaos
• Climate Locked into ‘Unending’ El Niño?
• Unraveling El Niño Mysteries
• El Niño [Main Page, Links to Weekly Updates Archive]

• 2010: Year One of Human-Enhanced Disasters
• WORST EVER DROUGHT in SW China
• Arctic Ice Affects Global Climate, Weather
• Transitory Impact of AO is the ‘Good News’

Moderate Earthquake, Massive Damage, Yunnan, China

Quake measuring 5 on Richter scale rocked Western Yunnan, destroying about 600 houses and damaging up to 18,000 others

The earthquake occurred in western Yunnan about 85 km (55 miles) NE of Dali at a depth of 35 km (21.7 miles) early Monday local time.

The tremor has affected 302,000 people, with 31 injured and 61,000 relocated, but no deaths were reported so far, China’s official news agency Xinhua said. “The quake flattened 579 houses and damaged another 17,400.”

China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs has sent tents, war clothing, and rice to the victims, Xinhua added.

According to other reports, about 400 livestock, including pigs, sheep and chicken had been killed in the quake.

10-degree Map Centered at 25°N,100°E

Earthquake Location Map. Source: USGS/EHP. Enhanced by FEWW

Earthquake Details

• Magnitude: 4.9 Mw
• Date-Time: Sunday, November 01, 2009 at 21:07:23 UTC    [Monday, November 02, 2009 at 05:07:23 AM at epicenter]
• Location: 25.919°N, 100.748°E
• Depth: 35 km (21.7 miles)
• Region: YUNNAN, CHINA
• Distances:
  • 85 km (55 miles) NE of Dali, Yunnan, China
  • 120 km (75 miles) SW of Panzhihua (Dukou), Sichuan, China
  • 700 km (435 miles) SW of Chongqing, Chongqing, China
  • 2130 km (1320 miles) SW of BEIJING, Beijing, China
• Location Uncertainty:  horizontal +/- 10.7 km (6.6 miles)
• Source: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
• Event ID:  us2009nla2

Seismic Hazard Map

Major Tectonic Boundaries: Subduction Zones -purple, Ridges -red and Transform Faults -green

Related Links:

• FEWW Earthquake Index

Another Deadly Earthquake Cluster Hits China

China quake damages more than 100,000 homes, 25 dead

Revised figures in brackets are from a more recent report by AP.

BEIJING, Aug 31 (Reuters) – An earthquake that hit southwest China’s Sichuan and Yunnan provinces has killed [32] people [another 467 people injured], damaged or destroyed more than 258,000 homes and affected at least 600,000 residents [about 152,000 were evacuated,] state media said on Sunday.

Li Fucui, 47, cries in front of the debris of her collapsed house, which buried her brother-in-law, in Huili County, Sichuan Province. (Image: Reuters). Image may be subject to copyright.

The epicenter of Saturday’s quake, which struck around 4:30 p.m. (0730 GMT), was about 20 miles (30 km) southeast of Panzhihua, near Sichuan’s border with Yunnan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was about 6 miles (10 km) deep.

The USGS put the magnitude of the quake at 5.7, while China’s official Xinhua news agency said it measured 6.1.

A 5.6-magnitude aftershock hit the same area 24 hours later, the USGS said on Sunday. There were no immediate reports of further damage.

Xinhua said Saturday’s quake had injured more than 250 people, and three more were missing.

It added that 656 schools had also been damaged and that heavy rain and difficult terrain were hampering rescue efforts, with mobile telephone communications patchy.

State television showed pictures of houses with large cracks in their sides, broken tiles on the road and people receiving medical attention under tents.

The government was rushing disaster relief to the affected areas, including thousands of tents and blankets and tonnes of food and water, Xinhua said.

Parts of Sichuan province were devastated by an earthquake that killed about 70,000 people in May. The province, known for its pandas and fiery cuisine, has struggled to rebuild after the disaster, which left 10 million people homeless. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Alex Richardson)

China should prepare for another massive earthquake in the Sichuan and Yunnan border area this winter!

China “Frankenstein”

Nature Angry About Beijing Olympics?

China competes with Venice

Residents row boats along a flooded street in the township of Yuecheng in Deqing county, west of Guangdong Province, June 18, 2008. REUTERS/Aly Song. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Here’s what the China “Frankenstein” looks like:

Hundreds of troops, police and rescue workers are shoring up dams which might burst under torrential rain that has already flooded an area of about 24,000 square kilometers, including homes, businesses and farmlands.

The damage:

• Floods have killed about 180 people so far in Guangdong
• Another 60 people are missing
• More rain is expected in the annual flood season
• Six reservoirs are in “danger of bursting” in southern Guangxi region
• About 1.7 million people have been evacuated in nine southern provinces since the start of the flood season earlier this month.
• Floodwater has collapsed about 150,000 homes,
• About 2.4 million hectares (~ 6 million acres) of crops have been damaged or destroyed
• The mounting economic losses already exceed $4 billion

All of this comes in addition to the soaring food prices the have already plagued China, record snowstorms last winter and, of course, the Sichuan earthquake which killed about 70,000 people and left five million homeless. Serious danger of epidemics in the soaring summer temperatures looms.

Droughts, floods and other human-enhanced disasters throughout China are nothing new, of course, but their frequency and intensity this year are alarming experts.

The biggest disaster yet to strike China in 2008 may prove to be a major drought causing water shortages throughout the country later in the summer.

It’s as if nature is mad at China: Drop the Olympics, or have your annual quota of H2O now!

Related Links:

• China rushes to fix dams as 9,000 sq miles flooded
• China earthquake: Teacher left students behind as he ran to safety

• Why Didn’t China Prevent the Loss of 86,000 Lives?
• The Anguished Cries of China Quake Nurse
• Chinese paratroopers rescuing survivors or preventing plague?
• How Many More Survivors?
• Heavy Death Toll, Corruption, Criminal Incompetence
• Why Was the Girl Removed from Family?

• Chinese Leaders Incapable of Handling Quake Aftermath
• Bigger China Disaster Unfolds

• China’s grieving quake parents start to voice anger
• Beijing’s quick response to disaster won’t cover cracks of corruption
• Almost five million left homeless, China says
• Corruption blamed for rising death toll in China
• Parents’ grief turns to anger at shoddily built deathtrap schools

• Earthquake Predictions In China Are Also Political

More Links:

• China “quake lake” fears force new evacuation
• Swelling China lakes a danger 2 weeks after quake
• Big aftershock causes more misery in China

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Why Didn’t China Prevent the Loss of 86,000 Lives?

China Regime: As Evil as Evil Comes!

Are Earthquake Predictions in China Political?

The following excerpts are from an article written by Wu Weilin, Epoch Times Staff [ May 28, 2008 ] Full Article

Was the recent devastating earthquake in Sichuan, China predicted before it struck? Did the Chinese regime ignore earthquake warnings and thereby caused the loss of more than 86,000 lives?

“On July 28, 2006, the Director of the China Earthquake Administration, Chen Jianmin, was speaking on a program of the regime’s mouth piece, China’s Central TV station. He stated with certainty that earthquakes were predictable. But immediately after the recent devastation in Sichuan, Chinese officials claimed that the prediction of earthquakes was a tough task worldwide. Another commentator said that earthquake prediction in China is a political issue.” Said Wu Weilin of Epoch Times.

[Wrapping it up!] Soldiers march to scatter disinfectant in Yingxiu town of Wenchuan county, the epicentre of the earthquake, Sichuan province May 26, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer The image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

What Happened to the Predictions?

“According to Chen, China has been predicting earthquakes since the Xingtai earthquake back in 1966, which killed 8,064 people. ‘Through continuous scientific research and information gained from many actual cases, we can make a prediction on a certain type of earthquake.’ However, after the earthquake in Sichuan took place, Zhang Ziaodong from the China Earthquake Networks Center held a press conference at China’s State Department on May 13. At the conference Zhang denied the quake in Sichuan was predictable and said that predicting earthquakes was a ‘difficult task worldwide.'”

Why did the Chinese media stay quiet about this important issue? “A frontline reporter disclosed that Beijing had sent out rules on reporting the earthquake, ‘To propagate positive, constructive news and forbidding criticism and introspective articles.’ Recently, according to our source, Beijing has officially banned discussing the subject of earthquake prediction in public.”

“However, more and more information has indicated accurate prediction on the quake had been presented to Beijing on many occasions. The communist military had also taken preventative measures based on the predictions.”

Predictions Had Saved Lives Before, Why Not This Time?

“Chen also said during an interview with CCTV two years ago, that following an accurate prediction, a quake that took place in China on February 4, 1975, only took 1,300 lives instead of 100,000. Chen also gave examples from overseas, how predicting earthquakes had cut down the number of deaths – only three died in California in 2003 and 40 in Japan in 2004, two countries where earthquake prediction was released before the event.

“By May 24, 2008, the Sichuan quake was estimated to have killed 60,560, injured 352,290, and 26,221 people were still missing, according to information released from China’s State Department. A Chinese social economist, He Qinglian, commented about the difference in speeches coming out of Beijing about quake prediction before and after Sichuan, ‘In China, earthquake prediction is pure science and earthquake forecasting announcement is pure politics. This is how it works in China, whether in the past or present.‘” [emphasis added.]

Related Links:

• The Anguished Cries of China Quake Nurse
• Chinese paratroopers rescuing survivors or preventing plague?
• How Many More Survivors?
• Heavy Death Toll, Corruption, Criminal Incompetence
• Why Was the Girl Removed from Family?

• Chinese Leaders Incapable of Handling Quake Aftermath
• Bigger China Disaster Unfolds

• China’s grieving quake parents start to voice anger
• Beijing’s quick response to disaster won’t cover cracks of corruption
• Almost five million left homeless, China says
• Corruption blamed for rising death toll in China
• Parents’ grief turns to anger at shoddily built deathtrap schools

• Earthquake Predictions In China Are Also Political

./.

More Disasters Hit China

A Shrinking World Series

China aftershock destroys 71,000 homes, kills 6

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Writer

CHENGDU, China – A powerful 6-magnitude aftershock destroyed tens of thousands of homes in central China on Sunday, killing six people and straining recovery efforts from the country’s worst earthquake in three decades. More than 500 others were injured. (Source)

Quake Data:

• Magnitude: 6.0
• Date-Time: Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 08:21:49 UTC
  Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 04:21:49 PM at epicen
• Location: 32.587°N, 105.424°E
• Depth: 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
• Region: SICHUAN-GANSU BORDER REGION, CHINA
• Distances: 40 km (25 miles) WNW of Guangyuan, Sichuan, China
  140 km (85 miles) NNE of Mianyang, Sichuan, China
  350 km (220 miles) NNW of Chongqing, Chongqing, China
  1275 km (790 miles) SW of BEIJING, Beijing, China

People walk on a collapsed bridge. A powerful aftershock on May 25, 2008 hit quake-ravaged central China damaging thousands of homes, killing 6 people and injuring dozens more. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Related Links:

• Powerful quake rocks central China
• Swelling China lakes a danger 2 weeks after quake

Related Videos:

• Fears for China quake dams
• China evacuee camp

The Anguished Cries of China Quake Nurse

Why was the quake nurse reduced to tears and had to beg the soldiers to rescue children?

If rescuing the children wasn’t their priority, and clearly it wasn’t, what were the soldiers ordered to do?

Anguished Chinese Nurse Serving in the Earthquake Disaster Area:

Please Rescue The Children!

Photo below was taken by Jason Lee of Reuters news agency (China). The caption reads:

“A nurse holding a general’s written order begs soldiers to rescue surviving children still buried in the ruins of another nearby school in the old city district near a mountain at the earthquake-hit Beichuan county, Sichuan province, May 15, 2008. The soldiers are not under the command of the general, whose written order reads: ‘Please arrange for rescue operations at this school as quickly as possible.'”

What were the orders soldiers own general gave them?

When did the authorities decide they couldn’t cope with too many quake survivors?

Credit: Reuters/Jason Lee (china) Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

A close up of the nurse’s face. Her heartfelt agony speaks a thousand words!

[Reuters caption: A nurse cries as she begs soldiers to rescue surviving children still buried in the ruins of another nearby school in the old city district near a mountain at the earthquake-hit Beichuan county, Sichuan province, May 15, 2008. REUTERS/Jason Lee (CHINA) Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

The Olympics can wait; the survivors can’t!

“Although the time for the best chance of rescue, the first 72 hours after an earthquake, has passed [exactly as planned by CPC], saving lives remains the top priority of our work [believe what I say, not what I do, you ‘ignorant peasants’],” the [doublespeaking] Chinese president, Hu Jintao, told the survivors. (Source)

To the CORRUPT Chinese Government: The World is Watching YOU!

“Parents’ grief turns to anger at shoddily built deathtrap schools”

“Three days after the quake struck, troops and fire engines queued idly along the roadsides waiting for orders.”

“‘I saw a doctor walking along the lines of bloody bodies, checking pulses and looking at wounds. If he shook his head the nurses were instructed not to take the person to the operating theatre but move them to another room to die. It was like a scene from a war film,’ she said.” (Source)

Related Links:

• Chinese paratroopers rescuing survivors or preventing plague?
• Official worries over possible plague at Sichuan quake epicenter
• Chinese Leaders Incapable of Handling Quake Aftermath

• China Earthquake, Heavy Death Toll, Corruption, Criminal Incompetence

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No End Seen to China Quake Aftershocks

Another major earthquake in the making?

China Earthquake: Large Cluster of Powerful Shocks!

• Mainshock: 7.9 Magnitude – Monday, May 12, 2008 at 02:28:01 [time at epicenter]

• Latest aftershock: 5.5 Magnitude – Friday, May 16, 2008 at 01:25:48 PM [time at epicenter]

• Total number of major aftershocks: 59 [and continuing]

The last 4 aftershocks have strengthened in magnitude from 4.3 to 5.5 Mw. Is there another major shock in the making?

This map shows the predicted (theoretical) travel times, in minutes, of the compressional (P) wave from the earthquake location to points around the globe. The heavy black lines shown are the approximate distances to the P-wave shadow zone (103 to 140 degrees). (Caption: USGS)

Shadow zone

The shadow zone is the area of the earth from angular distances of 104 to 140 degrees from a given earthquake that does not receive any direct P waves. The shadow zone results from S waves being stopped entirely by the liquid core and P waves being bent (refracted) by the liquid core.

Did you know?

Through measuring how P and S waves travel through the earth and out the other side, a seismic wave shadow zone was discovered in about 1910. From the lack of S waves and a great slowing of the P wave velocity (by about 40%) it was deduced that the outer core is made of liquid. The shadow zone also defined the diameter of the core.

[If the outer core was not made of liquid, Earth could probably breakup into several pieces as a result of a v. large earthquake! FEWW]

Text and image: USGS.

Chinese paratroopers rescuing survivors or preventing plague?

The Riddle of the Chinese Paratroopers

China parachutes 100 paratroopers to “cut-off” quake area

The first batch of 100 elite paratroopers were parachuted into an area near the epicenter of Monday’s earthquake in southwest China [“cut-off” area in Maoxian county, northeast of the epicenter in Wenchuan] Wednesday afternoon [about 60 hours later], reported Xinhua.

Elite Paratroopers landing near quake epicenter. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

So what’s the problem?

1. There are an estimated 30,000 people burried in the area. How could 100 paratroopers help rescue such large number of victims?

2. The paratroopers landed two days after the mainshock had struck. By then the survival chances of the victims who had been buried alive had already been reduced by about 80 percent.

3. Anyone rescued from the rubble would need medical attention, freshwater, food, blankets, tents … to survive. Did the paratroopers carry all of the vital supplies in their rucksacks?

Therefore, the question remains: Are the paratroopers sent to rescue the “survivors,” or to “finish off the job,” i.e., bury everyone, alive or dead, to prevent potential outbreaks of plague and other pandemics? [The Beijing Olympics are just around the corner!]

Related Links:

• Official worries over possible plague at Sichuan quake epicenter
• Chinese Leaders Incapable of Handling Quake Aftermath

• The Anguished Cries of Chinese Quake Nurse

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