Texas Drought Causes Urban Forest Die-off

2011 Texas drought kills 5.6 million urban shade trees: TFS

The historic drought has killed an estimated 5.6 million shade trees, dubbed ‘urban forest,’ throughout the cities, towns and communities across the state of Texas since last year, Texas Forest Service (TFS) reported.

Disaster Calendar 2012 – February 16

[February 16, 2012]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,490 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Texas, USA.  Last year’s unrelenting drought killed an estimated 5.6 million shade trees, dubbed urban forest,’ throughout the communities across the state, Texas Forest Service(TFS) reported.
  • “This estimate is preliminary because trees are continuing to die from the drought,” said Pete Smith, Texas Forest Service staff forester and lead researcher. “This means we may be significantly undercounting the number of trees that ultimately will succumb to the drought. That number may not be known until the end of 2012, if ever.”
  • “All cities and towns in Texas were included in the study with the exception of the Trans Pecos region, where tree mortality was determined to be a result of a February 2011 cold snap; not the drought,” said the report.
  • The loss of economic and environmental benefits provided by the trees is estimated at about $280 million per year, TFS said.
  • To prevent safety hazards posed by falling dead trees, the authorities will have to remove them. The estimated cost of  removing the dead trees is $560 million.

Texas Drought Map (Feb. 2012). Source: US Drought Monitor

Other Global Disasters

• Madagascar.   Death toll from Cyclone Giovanna, which struck Madagascar on February 14, 2012, has risen to at least 16, officials have reported.
  • Many people were reported missing and about 100 injured.
  • The deadly Cat 4B cyclone slammed the Indian Ocean island with sustained winds of  231km (143 miles) per hour and wind gusts exceeding 275kph.
  • The storm has destroyed about 4,000 structures, mostly homes, and dozens of schools, leaving up to 15,000 people homeless.
  • Much of the infrastructure in several cities have also been destroyed, with vast areas submerged under up to 3 feet of water.

• Honduras.  Death toll has risen to 360 following a massive prison fire that destroyed large parts of the Comayagua complex located about 100km (60 miles) north of the in Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa.

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

• Disaster declaration renewed in Texas
• Drought 2012
• Texas drought kills 500 million trees

• US 2011 Mega Disasters Costs Exceed $52 Billion*
• Billion-dollar disasters of 2011 [Updated]

US 2011 Mega Disasters Costs Exceed $52 Billion*

12 Mega Disasters in 2011 [so far]

The U.S. has sustained 112 weather/climate related Mega Disasters over the past 31+ years, with the overall damages/costs exceeding $1 billion: NOAA

*[NOTE: FIRE-EARTH estimates the total cost of damage from 2011 Mega Disasters to exceed $70 billion.]

Disaster Calendar 2011 – December 8

[December 8, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,560 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• United States. The U.S. has sustained 112 weather/climate related Mega Disasters over the past 31+ years, with the overall damages/costs exceeding $1 billion.
• More than 10 percent of these (12 disasters)  have occurred so far this year.
•  The previous record was set in 2008, with nine $1 billion disasters.
• “We have good reason to believe [sic] that what happened this year is not an anomaly, but instead is a harbinger of what is to come,” NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco said in an interview.

YOUR models can’t duplicate our forecasts!

[Note: NOAA and IPCC simply lack any weather/climate model with such level of predictive power. There’s NO way Administrator Jane Lubchenco could back her prediction up with any scientific evidence whatever. We know this with complete certainty because Models based on ‘science-as-usual’ assumptions and conventional algorithms are incapable of providing long-term forecasts with any degree of accuracy. On the other hand, forecasts posted on this blog are proven to be unparalleled in accuracy time and time again because they employ powerful models that observe the planet in entirely different lights, and resonate with her movements. While FIRE-EARTH has NO objection to its forecasts being echoed by other sources, the Moderators expect at least basic acknowledgement.]

List of ‘Billion-Dollar’ Disasters that have occurred in 2011, as of posting (source NOAA):

1. Texas, New Mexico, Arizona Wildfires Spring-Fall 2011
2. Hurricane Irene, August 20-29, 2011
3. Upper Midwest Flooding, Summer, 2011
4. Mississippi River flooding, Spring-Summer, 2011
5. Southern Plains/Southwest Drought, Heatwave, & Wildfires, Spring-Fall, 2011
6. Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather June 18-22, 2011
7. Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes, May 22-27, 2011
8. Southeast/Ohio Valley/Midwest Tornadoes, April 25-30, 2011
9. Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes, April 14-16, 2011
10. Southeast/Midwest Tornadoes, April 8-11, 2011
11. Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes, April 4-5, 2011
12. Groundhog Day Blizzard, Jan 29-Feb 3, 2011

Several  new records were set in 2011,  so far, including 

• Texas Drought: The most intense drought 117 years of records occurred in Texas this summer.
• Tornadoes: 199 tornadoes struck on April 27, the highest on record for any single day in the United States.

Across the Globe

• UK. The UK Met Office has issued its highest warning, a red alert, prompting regional authorities to shut hundreds of schools, and causing bridge and road closures, as 90mph winds batter the country’s coastal areas, a report said.
• “Parts of England and Northern Ireland are also being hit by extreme wind and rain.”
• Wind gust of 130 mph were reported in the Ski resort of  Aonach Mor, near Fort William in the Scottish Highlands.
• Police forces in Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway, Central Scotland and Lothian and Borders have issued a ‘do not travel’ warning, advising motorists against all travel, as severe winds  batter the country, the report said.

• Colombia. Bogota (Population ~8.8 million), the capital and largest city of Colombia, has declared a state of emergency after extreme rain events triggered severe flooding, inundating the southwestern part of the city and leaving 10,000 people homeless,  El Tiempo newspaper reported.
• “The river’s water volume has reached record levels — 64cm above that which is needed to issue a red alert — flooding more than 700 farms in the surrounding areas,” said the report.
• In all probability water levels would continue to rise.
• More than 21 people were killed, about 40 missing and dozens of others are trapped in the northwestern city of Manizales after a landslide, a report said.
• Since the start of the second rainy season in September, at least 500,000 people have been affected by floods and landslides across the country, including more than 50,000 in Bogota.
• The rainy season has claimed at least 134 lives, destroyed about 1,000 homes and damage up to 80,000 others.

Global Disasters

• 2011 Much More Disastrous
• 2010 Disasters [Includes Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters: 2011 SIX TIMES MORE DISASTROUS THAN 2010
• 2011 Disaster Calendar