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Posts Tagged ‘Toronto’

Major Blackouts in U.S., Canada as Deadly Storms, Tornadoes Kill 18

Posted by feww on December 24, 2013

EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS

Deadly storms pummel northern US, eastern Canada leaving a million homes dark, cold

Deadly storms cut power to about a million homes in the U.S. and Canada, leaving at least 18 people dead, grounding hundreds of flights, delaying thousands more and causing major disruptions to transport networks throughout vast regions.

Ice storm has caused massive outages in the state of Michigan as well as in western and northern NY, leaving more than 2 inches of ice on trees and many roads.

On Monday, up to half a million homes and businesses in Michigan, upstate New York and northern New England and as many in eastern Canada remained without electricity as thick ice continued to fell trees and bring down power lines, according to reports.

Toronto’s Mayor has called the ice storm “one of the worst storms in Toronto history.”

The ice storm also battered New York state, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, forcing New York Governor to declare a winter ice storm emergency on Friday in four counties where were more than 2 inches of ice covered the roads.

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The Storm Prediction Center has recorded at least 12 confirmed tornado reports and more than 320 wind reports since Friday, December 20, 2013.

High and Low Temperatures for the contiguous U.S. on Monday 

  • High Temperature: 86 degrees (30ºC) at Fort Myers/Southwest Florida, several other locations in FL
  • Low Temperature:  -37 degrees (-38ºC) at 13 miles northeast of Poplar, MT

Source: NWS Weather Prediction Center, College Park, MD – Issued 7 pm EST Monday, December 23, 2013

Temperature Range for Monday: 123 degrees

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Posted in Global Disaster watch, global disasters, global disasters 2013, Significant Event Imagery, significant events | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Deadly Ice Storm Paralyzes Eastern Canada

Posted by feww on December 23, 2013

EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS

“One of the worst storms in Toronto history,” kills at least 12, cuts power to 400,000 homes

A severe ice storm paralyzed eastern Canada with massive snow and freezing rain, leaving at least a dozen people dead and cutting power to at least 400,000 homes.

The system severely impacted Toronto, Canada’s largest city, as well as Ottawa and Montreal, forcing hundreds of flight cancellations and stranding thousands of people.

Toronto’s Mayor called the ice storm “one of the worst storms in Toronto history,” adding that he may declare a state of emergency.

Flooding caused by the storm killed at least four people in Kentucky earlier, while a tornado caused extensive damage in Arkansas.

At least three others have been killed in storm related incidents across the U.S.

The ice storm also battered New York state, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, forcing New York Governor to declare a winter ice storm emergency in four counties where were more than 2 inches of ice covered the roads.

The storm left about half a million homes in the region without power and forced the closure of large section of public transport system.

The complex storm system brought a minor heatwave to the northeast, raising the mercury to record highs in New York City and Philadelphia on Saturday. The temperature in New York’s Central Park rose above 65 degrees, breaking a 2011 record of 62 degrees on Saturday and 71 degrees on Sunday, smashing a 1998 record of 63 degrees, while Philadelphia reported a record 68 degrees on Sunday, said NWS.

Other States of Emergency Declaration

Dozens of other counties, cities, towns and communities have also declared states of emergency for ice and snow due to the extreme weather brought by the ice storm including

  • Cities of Beloit and Sun Prairie in Wisconsin
  • City of Rockford, Illinois
  • City of North Liberty, Iowa

National High and Low Temperature (for the contiguous United States)

High Temperature for Sunday:  88 degrees at Punta Gorda, FL

Low Temperature for Sunday:  -24 at Williston, NC

NWS Weather Prediction Center, College Park, MD Issued 1 am EST Monday, December 23, 2013

Temperature Range for Sunday: 112 degrees

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Disaster Diary – July 9, 2013

Posted by feww on July 9, 2013

Extreme rain event in Toronto triggers flash floods

Some 126 mm of rain fell across Toronto, mostly during the evening commute, causing flash floods and traffic chaos.

The amount of rainfall shattered both the previous one-day rainfall record of 29.2 mm, and the monthly average rainfall for  July, which is less than 70mm, said Environment Canada.

Three regional power companies, Toronto Hydro, Enersource and Powerstream reported power outages to more than 900,000 customers in Etobicoke, Mississauga, Markham and Richmond Hill.

Floodwaters  submerged subways and roads forcing authorities to suspend flights, as well as train, metro and  ferry services.

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Heavy rains flood roads, homes; state of emergency declared  in central Manitoba community

The R.M. of Mossey River, north of Dauphin, received 150 mm of rain in just two hours on Saturday, said a report.

-oOo-

RM of Buckland declares state of emergency after severe flooding

The Rural Municipality of Buckland, north of Prince Albert, has declared a state of emergency due to flooding, said a report.

-oOo-

Rainstorms lash large parts of China

china flood and landslide
Original caption: Rescuers open up landslide-blocked Damazhuang tunnel on 302 provincial road in Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, July 9, 2013. Downpours have submerged the quake-razed old town ruins of Beichuan, which was hit by an 8.0-magnitude earthquake in May 2008. (Xinhua). More images …

Links to China Flood Headline News and Photos

At least 16,900 people in 4,920 households in the district have been affected. Direct economic losses are estimated at 768 million yuan (125.18 million U.S. dollars).

Local governments have relocated over 5,200 residents and tourists to get them out of the way of potential geological disasters.

Downpours also submerged quake-razed ruins in Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County, which has received 300 mm of precipitation. More than 42,000 people in Beichuan have been affected by the downpours.

As of 9 a.m. Monday, the commission had reported nine people dead and 11 missing in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, seven fatalities and two missing in neighboring Yunnan Province, four deaths in central China’s Hubei Province and three losses of life in east China’s Anhui Province.

A further ten fatalities were also reported in Beijing, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Tibet Autonomous Region, and provinces of Hebei, Heilongjiang, Shandong and Gansu. One person is also missing in Helongjiang Province.

Since July 3, natural disasters caused by downpours have affected about 6.75 million people in 284 counties, districts or prefecture-level cities across China, according to the commission.

Heavy rains that started on Friday have left three people dead and affected lives of about 1.87 million residents in central China’s Hubei Province, local authorities said Sunday.

The provincial civil affairs department said the downpours have also forced the relocation of about 114,000 people in 29 counties.

More than 7,000 houses have been destroyed or damaged and 151,900 hectares of crops have been affected. Economic losses are estimated at about 684 million yuan (about 111.6 million U.S. dollars), according to the department.

The highest precipitation in the province reached 168 mm in 24 hours in Tuanfeng County, the department said. [Source: Xinhua]

-oOo-

Douglas County, NV declares a state of emergency due to exploding Bison fire

A state of emergency has been declared in Douglas County as the Bison fire exploded to nearly 26,000 acres. The blaze was reportedly 25% contained, as of posting.

The Bison Fire started at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 4, 2013. The lightning-caused fire is located along the western slope of the Pinenut Mountain range in Douglas County, Nevada, and is burning a combination of BLM public lands, Native American allotment lands, and private lands about five miles east of Gardnerville (east of U.S. Highway 395).

The fire has made significant runs on July 7 and 8 to the northeast through the Slater Mine area, burning through dense stands of pinyon pine, as well as crossing over the crest of the Pine Nut Range and backing down into the north end of Smith Valley. [Inciweb.]

-oOo-

Another Pathetic Turn in the Fukushima Farce

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima nuke plant reported Monday it had detected radioactive caesium-134 at levels that were 90 times higher than three days earlier. The latest incident occurred at an observation well located between the damaged reactor No. 2 and the ocean, reports said.

TEPCO said it had detected caesium-134 at 9,000 becquerels per liter, or 150 times above Japan’s safety standard (!) in the well, which is just 25 meters from the ocean.

Ouch!

“We don’t know what is the reason behind the spike,” Tepco spokeswoman Mayumi Yoshida told Reuters. “We’re still looking to determine the causes behind it.”

Try criminally-negligent INCOMPETENCE!

Probability of a Nuclear Disaster by Country

The following probability figures  calculated by FIRE-EARTH on April 8, 2011 still hold!

  • Japan (880)³
  • United States (865)
  • France (855)
  • Taiwan (850)
  • Belgium, China, Finland, India,  South Korea, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Russia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Armenia, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania,  Hungary, Bulgaria, Spain,  Pakistan, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico,  South Africa, Canada (810)
  • Germany, Sweden, Netherlands (800)
  • Switzerland  (750)

Notes:

  1. The list represents a snapshot of events at the time of calculating the probabilities. Any forecast posted  here is subject to numerous variable factors.
  2. Figures in the bracket represent the probability of an incident occurring out of 1,000; the forecast duration is valid for the next 50  months.
  3. Probability includes a significant worsening of Fukushima nuclear disaster, and future quakes forecast for Japan.
  4. A nuclear incident is defined as a level 5 (Accident With Wider Consequences), or worse, on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES). See below.
  5. Safety issues considered in compiling these lists include the age, number of units and capacity of nuclear reactors in each country/state, previous incidents, probability of damage from human-enhanced natural disasters, e.g., earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity, hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, wildfires, flooding…]
  6. The  Blog’s knowledge concerning the extent to which the factors described in (3) might worsen during the forecast period greatly influences the forecast. (Last UPDATED: June 26, 2011)

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Also search blog for dozens of additional entries on “Fukushima.”

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