Archive

Posts Tagged ‘Canada’

Case Study: Tsunami in Seaside, Oregon

June 25, 2011 1 comment

carleton

Oregon Coast’s Vulnerability

tsunami map Recent research suggests that a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake could create tsunami waves that impact over 1,000-km of coastline in the U.S. and Canada. Source: USGS

The northwestern coast of Oregon is susceptible to both local and far-field tsunamis. The Cascadia Subduction Zone, where the eastward moving Juan de Fuca plate meets the westward moving North American Plate, is just off the Pacific Northwest coast of the United States and Canada. It is a 750-kilometer long fault zone. This area is very active tectonically, and therefore has the potential to produce large earthquakes and possibly, subsequent tsunamis. This subduction zone is thought to have last ruptured in 1700.

Additionally, far-field earthquakes throughout the Pacific are also capable of spawning tsunamis that could eventually reach the Oregon coast. Historical records show that since 1812, about 28 tsunamis with wave heights greater than one meter have reached the U.S. west coast. The March 1964 “Good Friday” earthquake created the most devastating of these tsunamis. The epicenter of this earthquake was near Anchorage, Alaska. The tsunami that followed this earthquake reached coasts all along the western U.S. within six hours. Cannon Beach, a small coastal community in northwestern Oregon was inundated during Read more…

Flood evacuations in Minot, N.D., Manitobans along Souris River brace for record high water levels

June 23, 2011 Comments off

winnipeg

Homes in Minot, N.D. are hit by flood waters on June 23, 2011.

Homes in Minot, N.D. are hit by flood waters on June 23, 2011.

Officials ordered immediate evacuations Wednesday in Minot, North Dakota as the area deals with the worst flooding it’s seen in more than four decades.

Meanwhile in Manitoba, the province says several communities will be bracing for rising waters with record-high flood protection levels.

In North Dakota, more than 11,000 people within the Minot flood zones –about a quarter of the city’s residents—were forced to leave Wednesday afternoon. Water from the Souris River breached Minot’s levees Wednesday afternoon.

The Souris River, which is also called the Mouse River south of the border, is expected to reach unprecedented record levels by the end of the week, cresting by June 26.

Officials say there’s nothing more they can do to hold back the water.

“What I see right now is probably the most devastating in terms of the number of people directly impacted and what will likely be the damage,” said Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk of the North Dakota National Guard.

The community was pitching in Wednesday to help those in the flood zones get out with Read more…

Hike in worldwide food prices forces change in diet as more go hungry

June 15, 2011 Comments off

vancouversun

Costs rise 37 per cent in past year; more women, girls negatively impacted

Soaring food prices over the past year have prompted 17 per cent of Canadians to change their diets due to the higher cost of food. But Canadians haven't yet felt the full impact of raw food price increases, in part because of our strong dollar.

Soaring food prices over the past year have prompted 17 per cent of Canadians to change their diets due to the higher cost of food. But Canadians haven’t yet felt the full impact of raw food price increases, in part because of our strong dollar.

Photograph by: Noah Seelam, AFP, Getty Images, Postmedia News

Soaring food prices and health concerns are prompting people around the world to change what they eat, according to a new 17-nation survey done for Oxfam. And Canadians aren’t exempt from the trend.

Of the 16,421 people surveyed by GlobeScan, 53 per cent said say they’re no longer eating the same foods they did two years ago. Nearly four in 10 of those say some of the food they used to eat is now too expensive, while one-third changed their diets for health reasons.

“The rising cost of food is pushing more Read more…

U.S.-Canada Perimeter Security and an Integrated North American Command

June 8, 2011 Comments off

infowars

While few details have emerged surrounding talks between the U.S. and Canada on a North American security perimeter, there is little doubt that deeper military integration between both countries will play an important part of any such deal. Plans for a common security perimeter have renewed calls to expand the NORAD bilateral air defence model to include ground and naval forces. There are also efforts to increase security cooperation in the Arctic and further integrate military command structures.

As part of the Tri Command Vision, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), and Canada Command (Canada COM) are working closer together in the defense and security of North America. Moving forward, the Tri Command strategic goals are to, “Improve unity of effort with each other and with our respective mission partners; develop a culture of continuous collaboration and cooperation in planning, execution, training, information management, and innovation; enhance intelligence and information sharing and fusion.” In order to better achieve these objectives, “The Commands shall develop and share Read more…

Ground holes prompt evacuations in QC

May 30, 2011 Comments off

cbc

Experts are examining several ground holes that have appeared in Quebec City's Charlesbourg's district.Experts are examining several ground holes that have appeared in Quebec City’s Charlesbourg’s district. (Radio-Canada)

Engineers and geologists are examining dozens of deep holes that appeared in the ground in Quebec City’s north end this week, as residents are being urged to leave their homes for safer locations.

City officials served evacuation papers Wednesday to about 15 homes and one business in Quebec City’s Charlesbourg district, where nearly 40 holes have been reported.

The holes, ranging between five and eight metres wide, have appeared this week in various fields, and on one residential driveway.

Engineers are running three kinds of tests: Read more…

Bat disease could allow insects to destroy crops

April 27, 2011 Comments off

dispatch

A deadly disease to bats could become a major financial headache for agriculture, costing Ohio farmers as much as $1.7 billion a year.

A new study is the first to tie a dollar value to the millions of crop-damaging insects that bats routinely devour each year. Now, the night-flying hunters face the threat of a fungal disease that kills most of the bats it infects.

White-nose syndrome, named for the fungus that spreads over bats while they hibernate, has killed at least 1 million bats in 15 states and Canada since it was discovered in New York in 2006.

On March 30, Ohio officials announced that they found the disease among bats hibernating in an abandoned limestone mine in the Wayne National Forest. They fear it will march through Ohio as it has Read more…

Fires and Drought Trouble Texas and Other US Plains States

April 12, 2011 Comments off

voanews

A volunteer firefighter fights a fire which began outside Marfa, Texas, and was carried by winds to nearby Fort Davis, April 9, 2011

Photo: Alberto Tomas Halpern

A volunteer firefighter fights a fire which began outside Marfa, Texas, and was carried by winds to nearby Fort Davis, April 9, 2011

Drought conditions and high winds have fueled destructive wildfires in northern Mexico and the southern U.S. plains states, especially Texas, where dozens of homes have burned in recent days.  The dry weather is also having an impact on agriculture that is likely to cause some food prices to rise.

Fast-moving wildfires scorched around 32,000 hectares of land in the west Texas ranch country around Fort Davis on Saturday and Sunday, killing cattle and horses, and leaving pastures charred and smoky.  The fires reached populated areas near Fort Read more…

Speech By Comrade Chi Haotian Vice-Chairman Of China’s Military Commission

April 11, 2011 Comments off

rense

Revelation 9:13-16 comes to mind when I heard this

 

The following is the actual text of a speech delivered in December, 2005 by Comrade Chi Haotian ­the Vice-Chairman of China’s Military Commission to top officers and generals. Keep in mind that China has for many years advocated deceitful and covert warfare against its enemies. This is their Modus Operandi.

While 99% of Prudent Places USA uses data from scientific and government sources, we would be remiss not to mention one other piece of information. Numerous visionaries and "prophets" have seen troops invading America from China and Russia. Dumitru Duduman and Henry Gruver also predicted attacks along the East and Southeast coasts of America. Since September 11, 2001, nearly anything seems possible. Didn't we mistakenly think prior to 9-11 we were invincible? Impenetrable? Now we have to consider the unthinkable. The map below shows the "seen" routes of invasion.

Following Is Text From Speech:

“Comrades, I’m very excited today, because the large-scale online survey sina.com that was done for us showed that our next generation is quite promising and our Party’s cause will be carried on. In answering the question, “Will you shoot at women, children and prisoners of war,” more than 80 per cent of the respondents answered in the affirmative, exceeding by far our expectations. Today I’d like to focus on why we asked sina.com to conduct this online survey among our people. My speech today is a sequel to my speech last time, during which I started with a discussion of the issue of the three islands [Taiwan, Diaoyu Islands and the Spratley Islands — Ott] and mentioned that 20 years of the idyllic theme of ‘peace and development’ had come to an end, and concluded that modernization under the saber is the only option for China’s next phase. I also mentioned we have a vital stake overseas. The central issue of this survey appears to be whether one should shoot at women, children and prisoners of war, but its real significance goes far beyond that. Ostensibly, our intention is mainly to figure out what the Chinese people’s attitude towards war is: If these future soldiers do not hesitate to kill even noncombatants, they’ll naturally be doubly ready and ruthless in killing combatants. Therefore, the responses to the survey questions may reflect the general attitude people have towards war..We wanted to know: If China’s global development will necessitate massive deaths in enemy countries; will our people endorse that scenario? Will they be for or against it? The fact is, our ‘development’ refers to the great revitalization of the Chinese nation, which, of course, is not limited to the land we have now but also includes the whole world. As everybody Read more…

Forecasters expect 5 big hurricanes

April 8, 2011 Comments off

boston.com

Hurricane seasonAt least five major hurricanes with winds of more than 111 miles per hour are expected to develop in the Atlantic during the 2011 storm season, Colorado State University forecasters said yesterday.

Overall, some 16 named storms are likely, with nine of them reaching hurricane status — an above-average season, said the forecasters led by William Gray and Phil Klotzbach. The forecast reduces by one the group’s preliminary December outlook for 17 named storms.

There is a 72 percent chance that one of the major storms will strike the US coast, above the 52 percent average for the past century, they said, and a 47 percent chance of a Gulf Coast hit. The East Coast’s odds are 48 percent.

“We reduced the number of storms but our statistical models are still calling for an active Read more…

Researchers find superbug gene in New Delhi water

April 7, 2011 Comments off

cosmostv

By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer
LONDON – A gene that can turn many types of bacteria into deadly superbugs was found in about a quarter of water samples taken from drinking supplies and puddles on the streets of New Delhi, according to a new study.
Experts say it’s the latest proof that the new drug-resistance gene, known as NDM-1, named for New Delhi, is widely circulating in the environment — and could potentially spread to the rest of the world.
Bacteria armed with this gene can only be treated with a couple of highly toxic and expensive antibiotics. Since it was first identified in 2008, it has popped up in a number of countries, including the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada and Sweden.
Most of those infections were in people who had recently traveled to or had medical Read more…