Earth ChangesS


People

US: Slow migration unfolds in flood's path


Associated Press
Fri, 13 May 2011 09:00 UTC
Yazoo City - A slow migration is unfolding here as people and wild animals - hogs, deer and snakes among them - seek higher ground from the floodwaters rising inexorably along the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
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© AP/Robert RayFloodwaters invade downtown Vicksburg on Wednesday. Historic Vicksburg, the site of a pivotal Civil War battle, has been one of the hardest hit cities. All along the river's path, residents are worried about the flood's impact on homes and farmland.
Brett Robinson drove slowly down River Road near his Yazoo City farm on Thursday, gazing out over corn fields now beginning to look more like lakes. He stopped his truck, pulled out a rifle and shot dead a wild hog swimming through his corn. He'll lose the crop anyway, but that hog could be a nuisance long after the water recedes.

"We lose a lot of crops to them," he said of wild pigs. "We can lose 40 acres in a night. They can give birth three times a year and have 15 in a litter."

Wild pigs multiply faster than farmers can deal with them. Yet the rising flood is driving them into the open, giving farmers an opportunity to kill them as wild animals seek higher ground.

Not far away, a raccoon clung atop a power pole, perched above several feet of water. Nearby, a snake swam through the inundated corn. Ants are seemingly everywhere and fish sought to swim against the current as water washed over a road.
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Cloud Lightning

US: Fort Worth lightning strikes create fireball explosions


Digital Journal
Fri, 13 May 2011 10:51 UTC
Dramatic explosions lighting up the Fort Worth night sky on Tuesday provided a multi-colored display that left residents in awe and thousands without power, thanks to an intense thunderstorm system that moved through the area.

The explosions resulted from lightning strikes hitting feeder lines used for electricity transmission throughout the neighborhoods. The explosions included intense blue, orange, purple and red colors, ranging over what appeared to be a multiple-block area.

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Nuke

Plan to Flood Fukushima Reactor Could Cause New Blast, Experts Warn

Justin McCurry
The Guardian, UK
Fri, 13 May 2011 10:20 UTC
Plant operator Tepco reveals meltdown and breach of pressure vessel, with Greenpeace warning against pumping water in

A worker inside the No 1 reactor building
© APA worker inside the No 1 reactor building at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Experts have warned of a potentially dangerous radiation leak if Japan proceeds with plans to flood a damaged reactor containment vessel at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The facility's operator has admitted uranium fuel rods in the No 1 reactor partially melted after being fully exposed because of the 11 March tsunami.

Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) said water levels had fallen to at least one metre below four-metre-long fuel rods inside the reactor core and melted fuel had slumped to the bottom of the reactor's containment vessel.

The damage is more severe than Tepco had previously reported and is almost certain to frustrate its quest to bring the plant under control within six to nine months. Officials said the leaked fuel was being kept cool and there was no risk of an explosion of the kind that blew the roof off the reactor in March.
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Nuke

Fukushima - One Step Forward and Four Steps Back as Each Unit Challenged by New Problems


Fairewinds Associates
Fri, 13 May 2011 09:53 UTC
Gundersen says Fukushima's gaseous and liquid releases continue unabated. With a meltdown at Unit 1, Unit 4 leaning and facing possible collapse, several units contaminating ground water, and area school children outside the exclusion zone receiving adult occupational radiation doses, the situation continues to worsen. TEPCO needs a cohesive plan and international support to protect against world-wide contamination.

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Bizarro Earth

Multiple vortex forming over Northern America


Crisis Boom
Fri, 13 May 2011 09:35 UTC
There is an upper level low pressure system vortex storm forming of East Coast of US. It's an occluded front with a low pressure of 29.29hg or 992mb. The winds are rotating the system counterclockwise. In previous post we gave some possible explanation of the situation and we gave some notes about polar cyclones, arctic storms, nor'eastern storms and explanation of Coriolis effect.

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© Unknown
The upper level low pressure systems are important to forecasting and can dramatically alter one's forecast. Upper level lows can occur in association with a mid-latitude cyclone or may begin without the aid of a mid-latitude cyclone. Upper level lows without the aid of a surface low can develop when air flows over a mountain range, in association with an upper level short wave, or in association with a jet streak.

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© Unknown
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Evil Rays

Japan Reactor-Core Damage Worse Than Thought

Joe Carroll and Michio Nakayama
Bloomberg
Thu, 12 May 2011 08:13 UTC
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The No. 1 reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant. Source: Air Photo Service via Bloomberg

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said one of the reactor cores at its stricken Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant is more seriously damaged than previously thought, setting back the utility's plan to resolve the crisis.

Fuel rods in the core of the No. 1 reactor are fully exposed, with the water level 1 meter (3.3 feet) below the base of the fuel assembly, Junichi Matsumoto, a general manager at the utility known as Tepco, told reporters at a briefing in Tokyo. Melted fuel has dropped to the bottom of the pressure vessel and is still being cooled, Matsumoto said.

Japan is trying to contain the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl after a quake and tsunami two months ago knocked out power and cooling systems at the Fukushima station. While authorities have previously suspected a partial meltdown at unit 1, high radiation levels had prevented workers from entering the building to check the damage until last week.
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Bizarro Earth

Made In Taiwan: Footage Of Taipei Tornado

Fergal Tierney
Irish Weather Online
Thu, 12 May 2011 23:39 UTC
This is a video shot by a Taipei resident as a tornado affected part of the Taiwanese capital on May 12th. The twister lasted around two minutes, flipping an SUV on top of some motorcycles, though there were no reports of casualties.


There was a stationary front lying over the area at the time, with an extremely humid airmass to its south. The 00Z Taipei sounding shows enhanced low-level moisture and some windshear, which both contributed to vigorous convection and updraft rotation.

The event, however, will not be recorded on Central Weather Bureau's list of natural disasters as it was not recorded by their weather station. This may have implications for the owners of the vehicles, as the local insurance industry normally relies on the CWB record for claims purposes.
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Fish

U.S.: Thousands of fish dead along I-210 beach

Kristian Claus and Brandon Richards
KPLC
Wed, 11 May 2011 22:17 UTC
Image

Lake Charles, Louisiana - Thousands of dead fish were discovered Wednesday, lining the shore of the I-210 beach.

Most of the fish washed ashore on the southwest corner of the beach.

Officials with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries identified the fish as Shad, which are known to travel in huge schools and are more common in creeks.

Biologists collected samples of the fish to send off for testing. Though no official results are back, biologists said the fish kill was most likely caused by low oxygen levels. Low oxygen levels are usually caused by low tides and high temperatures and usually affect one species.

Fish kills are common along the Gulf Coast, especially during the summer months.

Since officials don't believe the fish pose any threat to humans or animals, the I-210 beach remains open.
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Bug

US: Cicadas Invade South After 13-Year Sleep


SkyNews
Thu, 12 May 2011 16:20 UTC
cicada
© UnknownThe last cicada swarm in the US was in Virginia in 2004
Another natural phenomenon has hit the Southern States as swarms of cicadas return after 13 years hibernating underground.

Every 13 years the inch-long insects emerge from their underground lairs to plague America's Deep South in a feeding and breeding frenzy.

It adds to the natural phenomena the region has battled with after tornadoes last month and floods in Mississippi this week.

Apart from their intense 120-decibel mating racket and the frustration of finding them in hair, clothes and lunch-boxes, they're completely harmless to humans.
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Bizarro Earth

Namibia: Residents Face The Fury of Raging Floods

Charles Tjtindi
African Review
Sat, 07 May 2011 10:54 UTC
Namibia Floods
© UNICEF / Africa ReviewA settlement in North-Central Namibia totally cut off by flood waters .
The waters of the raging floods in North-Central and North-Eastern Namibia might have subsided drastically over the last couple of weeks, but it would seemingly take more to restore the lives of an about 220 000 people estimated to have been affected by the floods.

According to the United Nation's Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Namibia, Kari Egge, the figure is based on the assumption that about 15 per cent of residents of the country's seven flood hit regions would carry the consequences of the disaster.

The floods resulted in the loss of lives and severe damage to properties and infrastructure; led to the closure of school and clinics, and disrupted the daily routines of those it affected. Over 100,000 learners in 324 schools were affected by flooding, of which 163 were closed, and 22 health clinics were either submerged or completely surrounded by water.

The fact that the areas prone to the annual flooding hosts more than half of Namibia's total population did not ease the burden on government. Preliminary assessments showed that the priority requirements were food, shelter, transport and education.
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