Global Disasters/ Significant Events – 5 May 2013

Fifth of UK households borrowed money or used savings to cover food costs

One in five UK households, or the equivalent of five million households, borrowed money or used savings to cover food costs in April, according to a survey.

• The figures defy official statistics released last week that showed personal bankruptcies had dropped to a 5-year low.

• The households who used savings, or borrowed money to pay for food, were mostly low income families. Among this group:
• 82% worried about food prices
• 55% said they were likely to cut back on food spending in the next few months
• 57% said they found it difficult to cope on their current income
• 32% borrowed money from friends and family in April, said the report.

The executive director of “Which?”, the organization that carried out the survey,  said: “Our tracker shows that many households are stretched to their financial breaking point, with rising food prices one of the top worries for squeezed consumers.

“It’s simply shocking that so many people need to use savings or credit to pay for essentials like food.”

0O0

Image of the Week

Crates of pesticides and fertilizer at a strawberry farm are destroyed as a raging brush fire  pushes towards the coast, in Camarillo (Ventura County, SoCal) May 2, 2013.  The so-called Springs Fire was just under 60 percent contained, as of posting. Credit: Reuters/Gene Blevins

0O0

Israel strikes Syria again

Israeli jets bombed Syria on Sunday, rocking Damascus for several hours and sending columns of flame into the night sky.

• Syrian state television reported that the bombing that occurred around a military research facility at Jamraya had caused ‘many civilian casualties and widespread damage’ and quoted a letter from the foreign minister to the United Nations saying: ‘The blatant Israeli aggression has the aim to provide direct military support to the terrorist groups after they failed to control territory.'”

0O0

Death toll from Bangladesh factory collapse reaches 610

The death toll from Dhaka factory collapse climbed to 610 on Sunday after the authorities pulled dozens of bodies from the wreckage of Rana Plaza, the eight-story building that housed five garment factories.

• The toll is expected to rise further, an official told reporters.
  

0O0

Chinese no longer trust the Red Cross! 

Many people in China no longer trust the Red Cross Society and refused to donate through the organization because the charity’s image has been seriously damaged by a series of scandals, said a report.

In contrast to making generous donations through the Red Cross after the earthquake in Wenchuan 5 years ago, many people choose to donate to other charities, or contributed nothing, after the recent Lushan quake.

[Search blog content for the role of Red Cross in disappearance of  donations after  911 and Haiti quake.]

0O0

.

DISASTER CALENDAR – May 5, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,042 Days Left 

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

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,042 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

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – 4 May 2013

100 killed or injured, 100,000 displaced as flash floods devastate parts of Kenya

Flash floods triggered by extreme rain events have left about 80 people dead, 20 injured and more than 100,000 others displaced in Rift Valley, eastern, western and central Kenya. 

Floods have caused widespread devastation, destroying much of the harvest, property and infrastructure throughout the affected areas.

0O0

California wildfires

Springs Fire in Ventura County has blackened more than 30,000 acres, but was 30% contained as of posting.

• Some 4,000 firefighters are tackling six significant wildfires in California, the state fire agency says.

• Fire crews have tackled more than 700 wildfires so far this year, about 250 more than average for the period.

• Hundreds of residences were under evacuation order, as of posting.

0O0

State of Emergency Declared in Guatemala

The Guatemalan government has declared states of emergency in four towns near a controversial silver mine after clashes between police and anti-mining protesters in the southeast of the country.

• The government has outlawed gatherings in the towns of Jalapa and Mataquescuinlta, and the areas of Casillas and San Rafael Las Flores.

0O0

Saudi evacuates villages after dam partially collapses

Several villages in southern Saudi Arabia were evacuated after a dam partially collapsed due to heavy rains, Al Arabia Channel reported.

.

DISASTER CALENDAR – May 4, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,043 Days Left 

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

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,043 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

Wildfire Threatens 4,000 Houses on SoCal Coast

Springs Fire consumes about 20,000 acres, dozens of buildings in Ventura County

More than 1,000 fire crews are tackling the massive blaze in Ventura County, which threatens about 4,000 houses, hundreds of businesses and Point Mugu U.S. Naval Air Station, as authorities issue new evacuation orders for thousands of residents.

• Officials said flames have crept within 100 feet of homes in Hidden Valley as the fire veered dangerously close to luxury homes and ranches in the area.
• Residents were ordered to evacuate about  1250 houses in Hidden Valley and adjacent canyon roads, southeast of Camarillo, including parts of Newbury Park, Sycamore Canyon, Deer Canyon, Brome Ranch, La Jolla Canyon, Yerba Buena and several other communities, Ventura County fire officials said.
• Fire officials have warned the locals to avoid inhaling the smoke,  especially because it contains dangerous chemical fumes released into the air after highly toxic pesticides caught fire at an agricultural storage facility in Laguna Farms.
• A sudden and ferocious start to a California fire season has seen dozens of blazes igniting in California.
• Red Flag Warning were in effect for two large regions in Northern and Southern California, as of posting.
• Humidity remained in single digits for the Red Flag Warning areas.
• Fire officials have compared the moisture levels in the hillsides vegetation to the norm for the month of August.
• The temperature in Camarillo (Ventura County) reached a record high of 96ºF (36ºC) at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, the National Weather Service reported.
• California State Uni at Channel Islands campus, including student dorm, remained closed for a second day on Friday.

US Weather Hazards Map – May 4, 2013. Source: NWS

Related Links

• Thousands Flee California Wildfires  May 3, 2013
• Drought Disaster Spreads to Counties in 5 States May 2, 2013
• U-S Drought 2013: Fueled by Heat from Hell? January 31, 2013 [FIRE-EARTH Forecast]
• US: Drought Disaster 2013 [Index Page]

Thousands Flee California Wildfires

“I opened the front door and the whole mountain was on fire.” —a Ventura County resident

Thousands of people including residents in several Ventura County communities and students at Cal State Uni Channel Islands were forced to evacuate after several wildfires consumed more than 10,000 acres.

• California wildfire expected to gain strength as wind, heat ramp up [UPDATED May 3, 20137:27 a.m. PDT]

• Fast moving Springs fire forced authorities to evacuate students from Cal State Uni Channel Islands in Camarillo and resident of several neighborhoods in Ventura County.

• More than 2,000 homes were threatened by the blaze, which had damaged about two dozen homes, as of posting.

• Springs fire, powered by Santa Ana winds, extremely low humidity and temperatures in the upper 90s, had consumed at least 8,000 acres and was only 10% contained, as of posting.

• Banning Fire in Riverside County, which has consumed at least 3,000 acres since Wednesday, was 40% contained by Thursday, said Cal Fire.

• Another brush fire in Tehama County, north of the town of Butte Meadows, had consumed more than 2,000 acres and was only 10% contained.

• Several other fires were burning in northern Calif., as of posting.

• Officials closed a 10-mile section of Pacific Coast Highway between Las Posas Road in Ventura County and the Los Angeles County due to extreme fire hazard.

• “This is the problem we have: high winds, high temperatures, low humidities, plus the (vegetation) fuels that have been suffering from the drought we’ve had this winter. This all adds up to a perfect storm for wildfire.”

• Some 945 fire personnel are tackling the blaze from fire departments throughout the Southland.

Calif. Max Temps Forecast. See inset for forecast time and period.

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

US military cargo plane crashes in Kyrgyzstan

A US tanker aircraft used for midair refueling over Afghanistan has crashed after taking off from US Manas airbase near Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek, according to reports.

• The US military uses the Manas airbase for its operations in Afghanistan since 2001.
  • A crew of five people were flying the KC-135 Stratotanker, according to AKI Press, a Kyrgyz news agency.

Second Crash in 4 Days

• At least 7 crew members of a 747-400 US cargo plane were killed when the aircraft crashed at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan on Monday.

The Dubai-bound Boeing 747-400—operated by Florida-based National Air Cargo—crashed just after takeoff from Bagram Air Base around 11:20 a.m. local time, Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board said.

0O0

Death Toll in Bangladesh Building Collapse Climbs to 507

The death toll from the collapse of an eight-story factory building near the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, has climbed to  507, officials have said.

0Oo

Outbreaks of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in NW China, SW China, Tibet and Xinjiang

China’s Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) has confirmed outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in cattle in southwest China, and Tibet Autonomous Region, said a report.

A village in Dagze County in Lhasa City reported on April 25 that 145 heads of cattle were showing suspected signs of the disease, according to the MOA.

“Local authorities sealed off and sterilized the infected area, where 527 heads of cattle have been culled and safely disposed of, so as to prevent spreading the disease,” the ministry was reported as saying.

0O0

Death Toll in Gold Mine Collapse Climbs to 100

About 100 miners have reportedly been killed after an “unlicensed” gold mine collapsed in Sudan’s Darfur region. The gold mine, some 200 km NW of the North Darfur state capital El Fasher, began to collapse on Monday, trapping nine of the rescue team on Thursday.

0O0

Chinese ring sold rodent meat as beef and mutton

Some 904 people have been arrested in China during a three-month surveillance campaign involving food-related crimes. The ring sold rodent meat, rat and fox, as  beef and mutton, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has revealed.

• Police have uncovered 382 cases involving fake meat, and seized more than 20,000 tons of illegal products since January 25, the ministry said.
  

• “In Wuxi, in east China’s Jiangsu Province, suspects made fake mutton from fox, mink and rat by adding chemicals. The products were sold to markets and the suspects made more than 10 million yuan (1.62 million U.S. dollars) from the illegal activities,” the report said.
  

0O0

.

DISASTER CALENDAR – May 3, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,044 Days Left 

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

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,044 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