‘Catastrophic’ Fire Warnings Issued in SE Australia amid Worsening Heatwave

Bushfires breaking out in SE Australia as spring heatwave creates extreme conditions

Fire weather warnings have been issued for parts of the Australian states of Tasmania and Victoria as unusually high temperatures and strong winds threaten the country’s southeast, according to the Australian weather bureau.

Catastrophic fire conditions threaten Mallee, North Central, South West and Central districts, including the towns of Anglesea, Braeside and Tyabb in Victoria, said the weather bureau warning that winds of about 60 km/h with damaging gusts of 9up to 115 km/h would likely worsen the conditions.

In Tasmania, similar conditions threaten the Furneaux Islands, North East, East Coast, Midlands, Upper Derwent Valley and South East districts, said the bureau.

People have been warned to prepare for the extremes and review bushfire survival plans.

The bureau has also issued a separate “Severe Weather Warning” for damaging winds for people in the Furneaux Islands, North East, Western, East Coast and South East forecast districts.

“There are 24 bush, grass and scrub fires across the state (NSW), of which 10 remain uncontained,” a local fire official told reporters.

Unseasonably hot conditions are elevating the danger also in NSW, the ACT and Queensland.

Temperatures  are forecast to soar up to 15ºC above normal for this time of the year in multiple areas.

Australian Bureau of Meteorology has forecast the following highs for eastern state capitals:

• Sydney 33ºC
• Melbourne 35ºC
• Hobart 30ºC
• Canberra 31ºC
• Brisbane 31ºC

 

Australia on Fire: Tasmania Burning

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,162 Days Left 

[January 5, 2013] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,162 Days Left to the most Fateful Day in Human History
• Symbolic countdown to the ‘worst day’ in human history began on May 15, 2011 ...

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Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Thousands evacuated or stranded as Tasmania wildfires destroy at least 100 homes

A major heatwave striking much of Australia has sent temperatures soaring to 41.8ºC in the Tasmanian state capital Hobart (highest ever recorded temperature), sparking dozens of separate fires, many of which are currently burning out of control.

• The authorities have blamed the fires on a combination of a record-breaking heatwave, high winds and drought.
• “Clearly, it’s going to take a long time and a lot of work to properly contain these fires.” Said the Tasmanian Fire Service spokesman.
• “Hundreds are still sheltering in evacuation centers in fire-affected parts of the states,” a report said.
• Most of southern Australia remains under record-breaking heat.
• “The current heatwave is unusual due to its areal extent,” said BOM. “More than 70 per cent of the continent is currently experiencing heatwave conditions.”

Alaska Earthquake

A powerful earthquake measuring 7.5Mw struck southern Alaska (55.238°N, 134.777°W) some 102 km (63 miles) W of Craig, at a depth of about 9.9 km (6.2 miles) on Saturday, January 05, 2013 at 08:58 UTC, USGS/EHP reported.

• An initial tsunami Warning for the region, issued by The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, was later cancelled as no destructive waves were reported.

EQ Location Map. Source: USGS/EHP

Global Extremes of Temperature

• Australia. The temperatures in South Australian capital, Adelaide, topped 45 degrees Celsius.

• China. National average temperature in China has fallen to minus 3.8 degrees Celsius (-3.8ºC), the lowest in 28 years.
  • Temperatures in northeast China have plunged to minus 15.3 degrees Celsius (-15ºC), a 43-year low, China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said Saturday.
  • The average temperature in northern China dropped to -7.4ºC (18.7ºF), a 42-year low CMA said.

• New Delhi, India.  The Indian city recorded a maximum daily temperature of 9.8 degrees Celsius (min. temp. dipped to 4.4ºC), some 11 degrees below normal for this time of the year.  Today was also the first time in 44 years for the temperature to fall below 10 degrees.

• Colorado, USA. The coldest place in the continental United States was Alamosa this week, as the temperatures in the San Luis Valley city plunged to minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit (-35.5ºC) on Wednesday, minus 33 on Thursday, and at least -34 on Friday. [Our thoughts are intensely focused on OH and RI.]

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

GLOBAL WARNING

• 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

Another Major Fishery Bites the Dust

World’s biggest wild abalone fishery attacked by killer virus

The world’s biggest wild abalone fishery, off Australian coast of Tasmania, which accounts for a quarter of the global annual harvest, may be under threat from the destructive ganglioneuritis virus, Australian officials said.

White Abalones (Haliotus sorenseni). The White Abalone are highly endangered species. In California, prohibitions on commercial and recreational harvest of this species have been in place since 1996. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License. Credit: Geographer

Australia has already experience its abalone industry in nearby Victoria state devastated by the same virus.

“Our current activities are aimed at trying to determine the location and extent of any disease in the wild so we can develop appropriate control measures,” Tasmania’s chief veterinary officer said.

A rare and expensive shellfish, abalone is regarded as a delicacy in many Southeast Asian countries. Tasmania’s abalone export industry is reportedly worth about US$420 million a year. More …