Global Disasters/ Significant Events – September 29, 2013

Deep Freeze Ends Growing Season in Nevada Counties

The growing season has ended for White Pine, Southern Lander and Southern Eureka counties, said NWS.

Temperatures dipped into the 20s across the majority of Southern Lander/Eureka and White Pine counties on Friday, killing most tender vegetation in these areas.

Light freezes have also occurred in other forecast zones including Northern Lander, Northern Eureka, Southeastern Elko and northern Nye counties. Growing season in isolated areas in these counties may have also ended.

-oOo-

Dozens drown as Nigeria boat sinks

At least 48 people drowned and more that 100 others are reported missing after a boat sank on the River Niger in central Nigeria late Friday, according to local reports.

The boat may have been overloaded, carrying more that two and a half times the number of passengers allowed, reports said.

-oOo-

Dozens Still missing after refugee boat sinks

“More than 30 people were still missing two days after a boat carrying asylum seekers to Australia sank off the Indonesian coast, killing 22 people including seven children,” Indonesian security officials said.

-oOo-

Dozens killed in Mumbai building collapse

Death toll reached 60 on Sunday in the collapsed apartment building in India’s financial capital of Mumbai, officials said. Some 33 others were rescued from the building’s wreckage.

The five-story building, which collapsed on Friday, was the third deadly cave-in of a Mumbai structure in six months, said a report.

“In April, at least 72 people died when an illegally constructed building fell. Two months later, a three-story structure collapsed, killing at least 10 people, including five children.”

-oOo-

Giant Hornets Kill Dozens in China

Attacks by swarms of giant hornets in Shaanxi province, central China, has left at least 28 people dead and up to a thousand others injured, many of them seriously, according to reports.

Terrorized victims have described being chased by large swarms of hornets for hundreds of yards and stung as many as 200 times over several minutes.

The insects have a highly toxic sting that can lead to anaphylactic shock and kidney failure, according to experts.

It’s believed that the swarms are populated mainly by the Asian giant hornet or Vespa mandarinia, which grows up to 50mm (2 ins.) long with a 6mm sting.

Experts have previously suggested that warmer temperatures in the region may be responsible for hornets breeding more successfully.

-oOo-

Wisconsin Gov Signs Emergency Declaration for Buckling I-43 bridge\

A span on the Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge in Green Bay shows signs of buckling Wednesday in this view looking west. Gov. Scott Walker signed an emergency declaration Friday that makes federal funds available for repairs. Photo credit: Jim Matthews/ jsonline.com

-oOo-

German Town Evacuated after Gas Explosion

The entire town of Hartenhausen (population: ~ 3,000) near Ludwigshafen  in central Germany was evacuated on Saturday after a major gas explosion injured 16 firefighters and shattered windows. The blast was so powerful it could be heard up to 30 kilometers away, AP reported.

-oOo-

50 Nigerian students killed in armed attack

At least 50 Nigerian students have been killed in an armed attack, AP reported. The attack occurred at an agricultural college in northeast Nigeria’s Yobe State.  Gunmen broke into the college dorm at night and shot students as they slept. The authorities have blamed the Boko Haram [“Western education is forbidden”] group.

-oOo-

Bomb blasts kill 39 in Peshawar, NW Pakistan

Two bomb explosions in the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar killed 36 people and wounded more than 100 on Sunday, authorities said.

The victims included 12 members of a family who were shopping at the blast sites, according to local officials.
The powerful blasts destroyed about 20 buildings and many vehicles in nearby streets.

The Peshawar twin blasts were the third major terrorist in the city over the past 8 days. A twin suicide bomb attack on a Christian church on September 22 killed more than more than 80 people. On Friday September 27, a bomb planted on a bus carrying local government employees exploded killing at least 19 people.

-oOo-

Iraq Violence: Death Toll for September Reaches 1,079

At least 30 more people were killed in Iraq Saturday and Sunday, as of posting, in the cities of Arbil, Baghdad, Baiji, Basra, Falluja Mosul, Mussayab, Muqdadiya and Tikrit by bombs, AEDs, IEDs and gunfire, raising the death toll for September to 1,079 so far.

Death toll for 2013 has exceeded 6,000 and is expected to climb higher.

Continued…

Drought: State of Emergency Declared in Wisconsin

Drought conditions prompt Wisconsin Gov to declare a state of emergency in 42 southern and central counties

Drought has hit plants during the most vulnerable time in their growing cycle, killing their pollen.

“The lack of rainfall since May in the southern half of the state has hit hard in a crucial part of the growing season,” Walker said in a statement. “Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics Service reports this week that most of the land in these counties is short or very short of soil moisture.”

• With 78,000 farms across the state, Wisconsin is the nation’s top producer of cranberries, oats and snap peas and is among the top-five producing states of potatoes, maple syrup, sweet corn, green peas, cucumbers for pickles, and other crops, said Wisconsin Department of Agriculture.

• The state is also home to about 13,000 dairy farms with an average of 100 cows.

• All counties in the southern half of the state are affected.

U.S. Drought Map. Released July 5, 2012

Links to Recent Related Entries

• U.S. Corn Belt Hit by Drought, Heat Wave Posted on July 9, 2012
• Record Heatwave Kills Dozens in U.S. Posted on July 8, 2012
• Drought Disaster Declared in Montana Posted on July 5, 2012
• Colorado Declared Agri Disaster Area Posted on July 4, 2012

• Disaster Declared in 94 Counties across 4 States Posted on July 3, 2012
• Deadly Heat Blankets Eastern U.S. Posted on July 2, 2012
• States of Emergency Declared in 4 States and DC as Storm Death Toll Rises Posted  on July 1, 2012
• Deadly Heat Wave Affects Third of U.S. Population Posted on June 30, 2012
• The record-setting heat wave continues to expand Posted on June 30, 2012
• Explosive Wildfires Continue Erupting Across the U.S. Posted on June 29, 2012
• Destructive Wildfire Activity Intensifies in Colorado Posted on June 28, 2012
• Drought 2012 Posted on January 8, 2012

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

• China.  Epic flooding and massive landslides spawned by extreme rain events have buried parts of 8 provinces in China affecting about 20 million people. Deaths, destruction and evacuations are occurring in Jiangsu, Anhui and Shandong provinces in east China, Henan and Hubei provinces in central China, Chongqing Municipality and Sichuan Province in southwest China and Shaanxi Province in northwest China,Xinhua reported. The official weekly toll currently stands at:
  • Dead or missing:  100 people
  • Displaced: 1.17 million people
  • Houses destroyed: 66,000
  • Destroyed or damaged crops: 982,400 hectares
    
  • A mile-wide landslide in Sichuan province is currently burying everything in it path, threatening to block rivers and cause additional disasters.
  • More than 113.36 million people, about 9 percent of the China’s population, have been affected by natural disasters (floods, hail and landslides has had the greatest impact, followed by droughts, earthquakes, snowstorms and typhoons), with at least 465 dead and and 97 missing in the first half of this year, the report said.

U.S. Overwhelmed by Excessive Heat, Fire, Flooding, Extreme Weather Events

More than 40,000 Coloradans flee their homes as firestorms rage across the state

Firestorms ravaging Colorado, as temperatures rise 20+ degrees above average in central U.S. and the Rockies

• “This is a fire of epic proportions,” said Colorado Springs Fire Chief, Rich Brown.

• “This is the worst fire season in the history of Colorado… it looks surreal,” said Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper.

• “We are in a very critical situation now. Unfortunately we do have structures and homes that are burning in the northwest corner of Colorado Springs. We have mandatory evacuation over a considerable area,” fire information officer Rob Deyerberg told Reuters.

• Some 3 dozen active wildfires are currently burning hundreds of thousands of acres in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, South Dakota and California.

The fast-moving Waldo Canyon Fire in Pike National Forest, El Paso County, which ignited on June 23, has grown to more than 6,500 acres, destroying numerous homes and forcing at least 32,000 people from their homes.

• High Park Fire west of Fort Collins – the second-largest and the most destructive blaze ever recorded in the state has destroyed at least 257 homes; burned 87,250acres; up to 5,000 people remain evacuated; 55 percent contained.
• Little Sand Fire near Pagosa Springs, Weber Fire in Montezuma County, State Line Fire  southeast of Durango, Treasure Fire near Leadville, Trout Creek Fire near Rainbow Falls in Douglas County, Woodland Heights Fire near Estes Park southwest of the High Park Fire, and Elbert Fire have so far consumed about 40,000 acres.

US Weather Hazards Map, June 27, 2012

Red Flag Warnings are currently in effect for 13 states:

• Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana.

Heat Advisories are in effect this afternoon to late evening in eight central states:

• North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana

Critical Fire Weather areas exist in parts of Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma, Storm Prediction Center reported.

Flood Warning and Flash Flood Emergency continue in Florida. Major flooding is expected in Clay county through Thursday PM, and flash flood emergency in Duval county and NE Clay.

Excessive Heat Warning is in effect for much of Kansas.

For other current hazards and warnings Click Here.

Utah Wildfires

The Wood Hollow Fire, a blaze about 1 mile south of Fountain Green in Utah State Division of Forestry Fire & State Lands has exploded to about 40,000 acres, claiming at least one life and destroying numerous structures and scores of farm animals, mostly sheep.

• Evacuations:
  • The entire town of Fairview (pop: 1,200) has been evacuated.
  • Up to 2,000 others have been evacuated from surrounding communities.
  • Indian Ridge, Elk Ridge, Big Hollow, and Oaker Hills communities are under mandatory evacuation.
• Closures: Highway 89 closure is in effect for a second time.
• Weather: “The big worry now is the weather. Everything that can be done is being done,” Gov Herbert said in a televised conference.

Wisconsin State of Emergency

Wisconsin Governor has declared a state of emergency for three northwestern counties of  Douglas, Ashland and Bayfield counties devastated by flooding that damaged at least 500 homes and businesses.

Agricultural Disasters

Pennsylvania and New York. USDA has designates 21 counties in Pennsylvania and 2 counties in New York as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by freezing temperatures from March 1 – May 13, 2012.

• List of Pennsylvania disaster areas: (PDA)Clarion, Forest, Schuylkill, Venango and Warren Counties.  (CDA) Armstrong, Berks, Butler, Carbon, Columbia, Crawford, Dauphin, Elk, Erie, Jefferson, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, McKean, Mercer and Northumberland counties.
• List of New York disaster areas:  Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties.

Wyoming. USDA has designated 4 counties in Wyoming—Hot Springs, Fremont, Park, and Washakie—as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by drought that began March 1, 2012, and continues.

Record Power Consumption

Texans set two new records for hourly power demand as their large cities baked under triple-digit heat, with record temperatures set in Houston and San Antonio.  Power demand reached 66,583 megawatts (MW) on Monday in the 60-minute period between 16:00 and 17:00, setting a new record for June, and exceeding Monday’s peak of 65,047MW, a report said.

• “Houston’s high temperature reached 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39 Celsius), 12 degrees above normal and breaking the record of 99 degrees. San Antonio hit 105, also a record,” said the report .

Collapsing Cities

Stockton, California. The river port city of Stockton, California (pop: 300,000),  may become the largest US city to declare bankruptcy, after the city failed to make a deal with its creditors.

• Located about 90 miles (144km) east of San Francisco, the city was hit hard during the US housing market crash.
• Stockton’s unemployment rate (~ 16%) and violent crimes rank among the highest in the U.S.

North Las Vegas, Nevada. The Nevada city of North Las Vegas, described as “ground zero for foreclosures” was officially declared as a disaster area on June 23.

• “One in every 195 homes is in foreclosure, the state’s highest rate. Once the nation’s fastest growing city, it lost more than 3,000 businesses in three years after the recession hit in 2007. Its total revenue has plunged from $817 million in 2009 to $298 million this year,” AP reported.

Tropical Depression DEBBY

Tropical Depression DEBBY is expected to continue moving ENE across Florida and into the Atlantic. The storm is forecast to re-intensify as it clears the eastern U.S. coast, NWS reported

• Coastal and inland flooding still pose major threats across the affected areas. 

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs

• Mega Disasters
• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar
• Mass Die-offs

Hurricane IRENE wreaks havoc across the Caribbean

IRENE destroys/damages hundreds of homes in U.S. Virgin Islands

[August 24, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,666 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

READ THIS FIRST

Continued hacking and content censorship

In view of the continued hacking and censorship of this blog by the Internet Mafia, the Moderators have decided to maintain only a minimum presence at this site, until further notice.

FIRE-EARTH will continue to update the 2011 Disaster Calendar for the benefit of its readers.

WordPress is HACKING this blog!

WordPress Continues to Hack Fire-Earth, Affiliated Blogs

The Blog Moderators Condemn in the Strongest Possible Terms the Continued Removal of Content and Hacking of FIRE-EARTH and Affiliated Blogs by WordPress!

Disaster Calendar 2011 – August 24 Entry

• Puerto Rico. IRENE has destroyed/damaged hundreds of homes across the Caribbean, killing at least 2 people, downing  trees and causing widespread power outages in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• The governor of Puerto Rico has declared a state of emergency.
• The White House declares a state of emergency in Puerto Rico.
• Thousands of tourists and residents have been evacuated.
• Virginia, USA. A state of emergency has been declared in Culpeper County after a magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit Mineral, VA. The Town of Culpeper is 36 miles from Mineral, reports said.
• Wisconsin, USA. Gov. Scott Walker has declared a state of emergency in 3 Wisconsin counties, Burnett, Douglas and Washburn because of hundreds of thousands of downed trees, a report said.
• “Severe storms in July and early August left nearly 2 million cords of wood on the ground. Local governments and the timber industry are racing to clean up the mess before the wood rots or catches fire.”
• Texas, USA. As Dallas-Fort Worth area set a record high of 107 degrees, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT), initiated Energy Emergency Alert Level 2B, which might lead to rotating outages, reports said.
• “Until we get a break in this extreme heat and record drought, we appreciate consumers and businesses conserving electricity as they are able, especially between 3 and 7 pm,” an ERCOT VP said.  “We also appreciate all the state agencies, school districts, businesses and residents who have taken steps to get the word out about the importance of conservation during these extreme weather conditions.”
• Iowa, USA. The White House has declared a major disaster exists in the State of Iowa following the widespread damage caused by severe storms, straight-line winds, and flooding during the period of July 9-14, 2011.
• New York, USA. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated eight New York counties as primary disaster areas following widespread damage and crop losses caused by torrential rain, flash flooding, high winds, lightning and below normal temperatures during the period of March 1 – June 1, 2011, USDA said.
• The primary disaster areas: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Clinton, Cortland, Ontario, Tompkins, Wayne  and Yates counties.
• Contiguous disaster areas: Broome, Chemung , Essex, Madison, Schuyler, Tioga, Cayuga, Chenango, Franklin, Monroe  Seneca, Wyoming, Chautauqua, Erie, Livingston, Onondaga and Steuben counties.

Related Links

• 2011 Much More Disastrous: FIRE-EARTH Forecast
• Global Disasters in 2011 Could Impact 1/3 to 1/2 of the Human Population
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – August
• 2010 Disaster Calendar 
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

Wisconsin Wind Chill Temps to Drop to -33ºC

Wisconsin declares a state of emergency in 72 counties

Wind chill temperatures expected to drop to as low as minus 27 degrees F (- 33ºC).

Gov Jim Doyle of Wisconsin declared a state of emergency in 72 counties as a powerful snowstorm barreled through the upper Midwest depositing about 20 inches of snow, causing extensive power outages, closing many roads in several states and grounding thousands of flights across the region.

The deadly snowstorm which has claimed at least 4 lives so far,  hit Wisconsin and Minnesota first and moved eastward toward Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Ohio. In Minnesota the roof of the Metrodome in Minneapolis collapsed under about 2 feet of snow.

The National Weather Service has issued a  blizzard warning for Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Chicago, northern, and north-western Illinois, as well as Michigan, North and South Dakota.

“In Wisconsin, wind gusts were as high as 70 miles per hour, the National Weather Service said, and an advisory was issued with wind chill temperatures expected to drop to minus 20 degrees F to minus 27 degrees F (minus 29ºC to minus 33ºC).” A report said.

Pacific Northwest

Extreme rain events in parts of the Pacific Northwest have  triggered major mudslides, closing roads and blocking at least one railroad track in the state of Washington. Forecasters say storms could dump an additional 15cm (6 inches)   or more of rain in the Cascade Range and Olympic Mountains, a report said.

Middle East

Torrential rains, snow, fierce winds and a major sandstorm hit countries across the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean for a second day.  The storms sunk a  cargo ship off the Israeli port of Ashdod and disrupted shipping in the Suez canal and  most Egyptian ports on the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

A factory collapsed in the port of Alexandria killing at least three people and pushing the reported death toll from climate-related incidents to at least 6 in the region so far.

U.S Weather Outlook

Click image to update. Click HERE to Animate.

National Weather Service. Click image to enter portal.

Related Links:

• Megadisasters Loom

• 2010 Disasters
• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Index of Human Impact on Nature (HIoN) March 2008
• 2010: The Year of Disasters
• Earth’s Human Induced Antiphase Nears Completion

• FEWW DISASTER FORECAST 2011
• Earth: Wounded and Feverish
• 2011 SIX TIMES MORE DISASTROUS THAN 2010