Thousands Evacuated Amid Taiwan ERE, Flooding, Landslides

Dozens dead, injured or missing, up to 10,000 evacuated from Taiwan disaster zones

Flooding has triggered numerous landslides in Nantou County and Taichung in central Taiwan, as well as in New Taipei and Taoyuan County, and elswhere, leaving at least 2 dozen people dead, injured or missing, and forcing about 10,000 others to evacuate their homes, Taiwan’s  Central Emergency Operations Center reported.

• Extreme rain events (ERE) combined with the southwest monsoon have also destroyed or damaged thousands of hectares of crops around the island country.

• Flooding have also caused power cuts and water shortages to more than 100,000 homes, reports said. 
• Areas near more than 830 rivers and streams around the country have been put on  red or yellow alert for further flooding and mudslides.
• Meantime, several of Taiwan’s leading manufacturer have  suspended operations after a magnitude 5.2 quake followed by two smaller aftershocks rattled the mountainous Chienshih township north of the island, reports said.

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Egypt. The so-called ‘Supreme Constitutional Court’ in Egypt has dissolved the parliament ahead of presidential runoff, reports said.
  • The highest court has also ruled the army candidate can remain in election race.
  • The decision by the supreme constitutional court, whose judges were appointed by Mubarak, is being seen as a ‘Judicial coup.’
  • Earlier, Mohamed ElBaradei said; ” Electing president in the absence of constitution and parliament is electing an “emperor” with more powers than deposed dictator. A travesty…”
  • On December 18, 2011, FEWW commented:
    • At least a dozen demonstrators have been killed and about 500 others wounded by the Egyptian army following a third day of clashes in a new round of uprising as the winter of the so called “Arab Spring” deepens.
    • Increasingly, the Egyptians are realizing that what they actually participated in wasn’t a “revolution,” but a coup d’etat, cunningly orchestrated by the military and its paymasters and carried out on the back of a mass uprising.
    • Egypt is Israel’s next-door neighbor. Hell would freeze over before Egyptians are allowed to have a functioning democracy!
• See also:
  • Oil Wars: Obama Intensifying Middle East Destabilization Posted  on October 12, 2011
  • Most Unethical Nations in 2011 [and Probably 2012] Posted on December 31, 2011
  • The Next Phase of Collapse: Wars initiated by Israel/US for Hegemony Over World’s Resources  Posted by edro on March 10, 2008

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

Major Dust Storm Moves Across Arizona

Massive dust storm causes near zero visibility in large parts of Arizona

A 100-km wide and up to 3-km high dust storm moved over the Phoenix area Tuesday night, causing near-zero visibility, grounding flights, wreaking havoc on the roads and cutting power to thousands of homes and businesses.

“This was pretty significant,” said an NWS meteorologist. “We heard from a lot of people who lived here for a number of storms and this was the worst they’d seen.”

Wind gusts of up to 60MPH pushed the dust cloud, which originated in Tuscon area,  north across the desert and then northwest through Phoenix, Avondale, Tempe and Scottsdale, reports said.

A very large and historic dust storm moved through a large swatch of Arizona during the late afternoon and evening hours of July 5, 2011. Widespread reports of near zero visibility and winds gusting over 50 mph were received by the NWS Phoenix office. Image and Caption: NWS

North American Monsoon System (NAMS), aka, the Southwest Monsoon.

The dust storm is related to the North American Monsoon. “Monsoon storms can cause damaging winds, torrential rainfall, frequent lightning and dust storms,” NWS said.

The belated North American Monsoon typically starts in mid-June and lasts through late September. 

NAMS

In terms of “weather”, the monsoon is associated with a dramatic in increase in summer precipitation, mostly in the form of thunderstorms.  The basic forcing of the monsoons is derived from a seasonal contrast in the heating of the land continent versus the ocean. Source o image and caption: NWS.

Related Links

• Who needs volcanoes in Arizona
• Wildfires Raging in Arizona, Alaska, NC, Georgia, Texas …
• The worst tornado outbreak in U.S. history

Thailand: Potential flood conditions in eight provinces

Source: ReliefWeb/Thai Government

Date: 05 May 2008

The Meteorological Department of Thailand

The Meteorological Department reported at 4 PM today (May 5th) that an intense southwest monsoon over the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand has strengthened, causing torrential rain over Thailand. People in the provinces of Chanthaburi, Trat, Chumphon, Surat Thani, Ranong, Phangnga, Phuket and Krabi should beware of flooding conditions during this period.

High waves of about two to three meters can be seen in the Andaman Sea. All ships should proceed with caution, and small boats should stay ashore until tomorrow.

Bangkok metropolis and vicinity can expect scattered thundershowers mostly in the afternoon and evening. The daily temperature would range from 26 to 34 degrees Celsius. The speed of southwesterly winds would be around 15 to 30 kilometers per hour.

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