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Archive for the ‘Flood’ Category

Global Warming Scientist Warns Florida Will Be Under Water

December 23, 2013 Comments off

guardianlv.com

Global WarmingA senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, Jane Long, has warned Florida residents that global warming will lead to them being under water. The remarks were made at a recent three-day conference targeting journalists and addressing the issue of global warming and worldwide climate change at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Though there was discussion of global climate change, Florida was a hot topic as presenters discussed the consequences of rising sea levels. Leonard Berry, a professor at Florida Atlantic University and also a presenter at the conference told his audience “(c)limate change for us in Florida is not a future problem….it’s a current problem.” Berry used photos from 2012 flooding to demonstrate his point.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted a rise in sea level of one to two feet by the middle of this century and a rise in sea level of four to six feet by the end of this century. According to Berry, cities like Tampa Bay have “major problems at three feet.” He attributes Florida’s particular vulnerabiliy to both sea level rise from global warming and the presence of Full Article Here

Russia’s Far East hit by biggest floods in 120 years

August 18, 2013 Comments off

rt.com

Up to 100,000 people may be evacuated from flood-hit regions in Russia’s Far East. Water levels at local reservoirs have already reached historic highs, and officials say the floods raging in the area are expected to continue rising even further.

Floods are currently affecting over 32,500 locals living in over 5,000 homes. Over 17,000 residents have already left the area over the disaster.

Viktor Ishayev, Russia’s Minister for the Far East, said that “in the worst-case scenario up to 100,000 people could be evacuated” from the Amur, Khabarovsk and Jewish Autonomous Regions.

Dozens of bridges have been swamped by the waters, complicating the evacuation.

The area adjacent to the Amur River is experiencing its Read more…

Categories: Flood, Russia Tags: , , ,

Australian summer lurches from fire to floods

January 29, 2013 Comments off

phys.org

Roger Barnes rescues a friend’s surfboard from a flooded home in the Brisbane suburb of Newmarket on Monday.
From bushfires raging in searing tinder-dry conditions to surging floodwaters and destructive tornadoes, Australia has witnessed staggering climate extremes during its summer of 2013. From bushfires raging in searing tinder-dry conditions to surging floodwaters and destructive tornadoes, Australia has witnessed staggering climate extremes during its summer of 2013.  Already this month the country’s largest city Sydney has endured its hottest day on record, a 45.8 degree Celsius (114.4 Fahrenheit) scorcher during a heatwave so extreme heat scales on government forecast maps had to be redrawn. Just a week later, ex-tropical Cyclone Oswald dumped torrential rain on coastal areas of Queensland, leaving four people dead, swamping 2,000 homes and forcing dramatic rooftop rescues of those trapped by the deluge. Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who on Monday toured bushfire-hit areas in southeastern Victoria state even as turbid floodwaters swamped the nation’s northeast, said the contrast was not lost on her. “I was looking at blackened landscape, burnt trees, black Read more at: phys.org
Categories: Australia, Flood Tags: , ,

Depleting the Seas of Fish

February 22, 2012 Comments off

a-w-i-p.com

Stephen Lendman

In November 2006, Washington Post writer Juliet Eilperin headlined, “World’s Fish Supply Running Out, Researchers Warn,” saying:

International ecologists and economists believe “the world will run out of seafood by 2048” if current fishing rates continue.

A journal Science study “conclude(d) that overfishing, pollution and other environmental factors are wiping out important species” globally. They’re also impeding world oceans’ ability to produce seafood, filter nutrients, and resist disease.

Marine biologist Boris Worm warned:

“We really see the end of the line now. It’s within our lifetime. Our children will see a world without seafood if we don’t change things.”

Researchers studied fish populations, catch records, and ocean ecosystems for four years. By 2003, 29% of all species collapsed. It means they’re at least “90% below their historic maximum catch levels.”

In recent years, collapse rates accelerated. In 1980, 13.5% of 1,736 fish species collapsed. Today, Read more…

Categories: Coming Events, Flood Tags: ,

Australian state of Queensland stages its biggest ever evacuation as floodwaters rise

February 6, 2012 Comments off

globalpost.com

An aeriel view of the swollen Balonne River in Queensland is seen just before water levels peaked at 12.75 metres (42 feet) on Jan. 4, 2011. The river is now threatening to reach new highs, devastating the township of St George. AFP/Getty Images

MELBOURNE (Australia) – Thousands of people have been evacuated from the parts of the eastern Australian state of Queensland, where river heights are threatening to reach record levels, local media report.
Over 2,000 people were forcibly evacuated from the inland township of St George on Saturday night, in what the Australian Broadcasting Corporation says was the largest evacuation in the state’s history.


The Australian newspaper says
the nearby Balonne River has already passed the all-time high of 13.4 metres (44 feet) recorded during the devastating floods of 2010, and it is expected to continue rising to over 14 metres (46 feet).
The newspaper says that some 300 to 400 residents had stayed to protect their properties, ignoring warnings that rescue services might not be able to reach them later. Some had built a temporary levee in an attempt to hold back some of the water, but the state Premier Anna Bligh said their efforts had “no prospect” of succeeding. Twenty houses were destroyed over the weekend and a final evacuation was scheduled for Monday morning, local time.
“This is the third flood this town has coped with in just less than two years, so there’s a lot of distress and a lot of emotion,” Bligh added, confirming that she would visit the flood-affected areas on Monday.
Later on Monday morning, some media began reporting that Read more…

Floods create ‘inland sea’ in Australia

February 3, 2012 Comments off

rawstory.com

New South Wales flooding via AFP
 SYDNEY — Major flooding hit parts of Australia’s east on Friday, stranding thousands of residents, prompting a military airlift and leaving some communities only accessible by helicopter.

The deluge, which has sparked dozens of rescues and left about 7,275 people isolated in various parts of New South Wales state has also impacted Queensland to the north where homes have reportedly been inundated.

“From the air it looks like an inland sea,” New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell said after visiting the region.

Evacuations have been ordered from some houses and businesses in the New South Wales town of Moree, where more than 600 people have registered with an evacuation shelter as the Mehi River peaked, the State Emergency Service said.

“The town of Moree is inundated with water — so north Moree is not only cut off, but Read more…

Pakistan’s breadbasket buckles under new flood pressures

September 15, 2011 Comments off

Mail and Guardian

Residents assist a handicapped man while escaping to higher ground from their flooded village in Pakistan’s Sindh province (Reuters)

One year after record floods left 21-million Pakistanis homeless, thousands living on the country’s southern fertile plains have seen their homes washed away for a second time — despite the spending of millions of dollars in aid to avert a fresh crisis.

Anwer Mirani is one of 20 000 people living in Sindh province’s Jamshoro district who have been made homeless again after heavy downpours and rainwater from the surrounding mountains swept their homes away.

“We had just begun to restore our houses when we had to leave again because of the floods,” said the 38-year-old construction worker, wearing a tatty shalwar kameez, the traditional garb of baggy trousers and long shirt.

He took his wife, parents and three children in a boat Read more…

New Orleans braces for Tropical Storm Lee

September 4, 2011 Comments off

rawstory

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – New Orleans, devastated by Hurricane Katrina six years ago, faced a new threat on Saturday from Tropical Storm Lee, which was set to challenge the city’s flood defenses with an onslaught of heavy rain.

The storm was expected to bring up to 20 inches of rain to southeast Louisiana over the next few days, including to low-lying New Orleans, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Lee’s tidal surge could spur coastal flooding in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama before drenching a large swath of the Southeast and Appalachian regions next week.

The slow-moving storm has bedeviled forecasters. Lee’s winds weakened on Saturday night as it Read more…

Nigerian flooding claims 102 lives: Red Cross

September 1, 2011 Comments off

afp

LAGOS — At least 102 people were killed when a dam burst in torrential rain and flooding in southwest Nigeria, a local Red Cross official told AFP Wednesday.

“The death toll for now… is 102,” said Umar Mairiga, disaster management coordinator for the Nigerian Red Cross Society.

He said the Eleyele dam collapsed and several bridges were swept away at the weekend after heavy rains fell for more than seven Read more…

Something is DEFINITELY wrong with our planet. (TIMELINE of Disasters, facts, and anomalies)

July 29, 2011 3 comments

godlikeproductions

Apotheosis

Earthquakes
Yes Earthquakes happen all the time. In fact, they’ve happened millions of times. They began recording them in the mid 1600’s and couldn’t accurately measure the magnitude until the mid 1700’s. After reviewing past earthquakes they found it very rare that an earthquake hit over 8.5 magnitude or higher. Here is the results of all 8.5 magnitudes or higher.

1600’s there were 2 the whole century.

Lima, Peru 8.5
Valdivia, Chile 8.5

1700’s there were 5 the whole century.

Pacific Ocean, USA and Canada 8.7-9.2
Pacific Ocean, Shikoku region, Japan 8.6
Valparaiso, Chile 8.7-9.0
Concepción, Chile 8.5
Lisbon, Portugal 8.5-9.0

1800’s there were 2 the whole century. Read more…