Earth ChangesS


Better Earth

US: Race to raise town's flood wall after levee breaches


MSNBC
Tue, 14 Jun 2011 09:30 UTC
Secondary levee is being raised by 3 feet as Missouri River waters approach
Image
© Nati Harnik/APThe breached Missouri River levee near Hamburg, Iowa, is seen at bottom letting water into farmland on Monday.
Hamburg, Iowa - Crews are trying to beat floodwaters expected to arrive in this Missouri River town on Tuesday by building up a secondary barrier to protect it from a massive hole in the main levee.

The river ruptured two levees in northwest Missouri on Monday, sending torrents of water over rural farmland toward Hamburg in southwest Iowa and a Missouri resort community downriver.

By Wednesday, water spilling through a nearly 300-foot hole in the levee near Hamburg, population 1,100, was expected to top a secondary levee started last week to protect the town.

The Army Corps of Engineers said crews are working to increase that wall's height by 3 feet. If it breaks, parts of Hamburg could be under as much as 10 feet of standing water, officials said.

"For right now, we believe we'll be able to get that elevation raised in the time available as that water flows across in the next 48 hours," Col. Bob Ruch, the corps' Omaha District commander, said Monday evening. "We've had excellent working conditions."
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Stop

North Dakota, US: Sinkhole closes Fargo overpass

Mike Nowatzki and Wendy Reuer
In Forum
Tue, 14 Jun 2011 08:34 UTC
Image
© Dave Wallis / The ForumThe Seventh Avenue North bridge over Interstate 29 in Fargo was closed to traffic after the asphalt road surface caved in because of a sinkhole that opened up Sunday
A bridge over Interstate 29 in north Fargo, slated to be replaced next year, is still sound after a sinkhole was discovered this past weekend near its base, officials say.

Traffic is being detoured away from the Seventh Avenue North overpass because of the sinkhole, which measures about 2 feet deep and 3 feet wide, said Lee Anderson, Fargo Public Works maintenance supervisor.

Jamie Olson with the North Dakota Department of Transportation said Monday that engineers found the sinkhole caused no problems for the 45-year-old bridge.

"There are no issues with the structure of the bridge," Olson said.

NDDOT plans to fully reconstruct the two-lane overpass in 2012, widening it to include an enclosed pedestrian walkway.
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Cloud Lightning

US: Is Extreme Weather The New Normal? New England, Nation Experience Destructive Extremes


The Boston Channel
Mon, 13 Jun 2011 13:36 UTC
Image
© Unknown
Click here to watch the video.

Last week temperatures in Boston neared 100 degrees in early June.

Just days before, three Massachusetts residents were killed by a deadly string of three powerful tornadoes that tore across the western part of the state, inflicting tens of millions of dollars in property damage in more than a dozen Massachusetts communities, including Springfield, Monson, Sturbridge and Brimfield.

It will be months before many families can recover.

"We are experiencing most extreme spring on record," said Dr. Jeff Masters, a meteorologist with Weather Underground.

It's not just an issue for New Englanders, although for us it comes on the heels of a brutally cold and snowy winter.
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Phoenix

US: Firefighters Secure Homes as Brush Fire Grows

Brian Hamacher and Sharon Lawson
NBC News
Fri, 10 Jun 2011 07:30 UTC
Image
© Tiffanni Helberg/CBS-4 A raging western Miami-Dade brush fire can be viewed from Okeechobee Road. By Saturday the raging flames had destroyed at least 58,000 acres
West Miami-Dade brush fire consumes over 50,000 acres

The brush fire battle in West Miami-Dade isn't getting any easier for firefighters as it continues to burn Friday morning.

The fire has now consumed more than 50,000 acres and is about 55 percent contained, according to the Florida Division of Forestry.

On Thursday, firefighters evacuated homes in the Miccosukee Tiger Trail complex after the fire came as close as 40 feet to the homes. Miami Dade Fire Rescue along with The Florida Division of Forestry teamed up to knock down the flames

"We knew that we couldn't stop it," said Scott Peterich with the Division of Forestry. "So, Miami Dade Fire Rescue and us decided to go ahead and do this counter fire. We created a back fire, and now we have a black area making it safe for the structures."
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Bizarro Earth

Heavy rains and floods kill 100 people in China

Clifford Coonan
Irish Times
Mon, 13 Jun 2011 22:34 UTC
china flood
© ReutersRescue workers move people to a safe area in Xiushui county, Jiangxi province, China. Areas which were recently drought-stricken were transformed into flood zones by heavy rains.Rescue workers move people to a safe area in Xiushui county, Jiangxi province, China. Areas which were recently drought-stricken were transformed into flood zones by heavy rains
China continued to deal with extremes of weather at the weekend as the central and southern regions, which were drought-stricken just days ago, were transformed into flood zones by pounding rains, killing more than 100 people.

Fearful of an even greater catastrophe, the China Meteorological Administration yesterday issued a level-three emergency alert in response to strong rainstorms that were expected to hit the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze river.

A provincial government adviser told the Xinhua news agency how drought had increased the risk of disaster, as the soil had become dried out, prompting more landslide risk.
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Alarm Clock

Warning: extreme weather ahead

John Vidal
The Guardian
Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:47 UTC
Image
© Willoughby Owen/Getty Images/FlickrA tornado makes its way across Baca county, Colorado, in May 2010.
Tornados, wildfires, droughts and floods were once seen as freak conditions. But the environmental disasters now striking the world are shocking signs of 'global weirding'

Drought zones have been declared across much of England and Wales, yet Scotland has just registered its wettest-ever May. The warmest British spring in 100 years followed one of the coldest UK winters in 300 years. June in London has been colder than March. February was warm enough to strip on Snowdon, but last Saturday it snowed there.

Welcome to the climate rollercoaster, or what is being coined the "new normal" of weather. What was, until quite recently, predictable, temperate, mild and equable British weather, guaranteed to be warmish and wettish, ensuring green lawns in August, now sees the seasons reversed and temperature and rainfall records broken almost every year. When Kent receives as much rain (4mm) in May as Timbuktu, Manchester has more sunshine than Marbella, and soils in southern England are drier than those in Egypt, something is happening.

Comment: Yes, the climate is changing. No, it's not caused by man-made forces. For the real scoop on 'climate change', try these:

Planet-X, Comets and Earth Changes by J.M. McCanney

Planetary Alignments and the Solar Capacitor - Things are heatin' up!

Cyclones, Earthquakes, Volcanoes And Other Electrical Phenomena

Pole Shift? Look to the Skies!

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Attention

Strong Quakes again rock shaken New Zealand city

Ray Lilley
Associated Press
Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:53 UTC
A series of aftershocks rattled New Zealand's quake-devastated city of Christchurch again Monday, toppling one of the few buildings still standing downtown and sinking thousands of homes into darkness.
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© Martin Hunter/Getty ImagesA car is trapped in water on Ferry Road after two magnitude 6.0 and 5.5 earthquakes struck on Monday in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Bricks came crashing down in the cordoned-off city center, where only workers have tread since it was devastated in February's major earthquake. About 200 people were there when the quakes struck Monday, and two were briefly trapped in a church. In all, 10 people were injured in the city.

"We are being enveloped with dust," Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker told New Zealand's National Radio. "It is very, very scary."

All across the city, people fled buildings in panic when a 5.2-magnitude quake struck during lunchtime; just over an hour later, a 6.0 hit, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Other smaller quakes were also recorded.

In the central city and nearby suburbs, several buildings were damaged.
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Cloud Lightning

Parts of Bulgaria under Severe Weather Warning


Novinite
Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:47 UTC
Image
© File photoDanegerous weather with strong winds, rain and thunder is forecast for many locations in Bulgaria
The National Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) declared code orange for dangerous weather for northeastern Bulgaria for the afternoon.

Code orange means intense weather situations with potential damage, injuries and casualties.

The other parts of the country are under code yellow, which also means potentially dangerous weather.

Dark clouds quickly arrived in Bulgaria's capital Sofia Thursday morning bringing thunder, lightning and downpours. Traffic was reported at standstill on many major roads. There are also fallen trees and branches. The mercury rapidly slipped down to 19 degrees Celsius and the temperatures are expected to reach 26 degrees in the afternoon.
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Bizarro Earth

Molucca Sea - Earthquake Magnitude 6.4


USGS
Mon, 13 Jun 2011 11:22 UTC
Molucca Quake_130611
© USGSEarthquake Location.
Date-Time:
Monday, June 13, 2011 at 14:31:17 UTC

Monday, June 13, 2011 at 10:31:17 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
2.516°N, 126.438°E

Depth:
13.7 km (8.5 miles)

Region:
MOLUCCA SEA

Distances:
210 km (130 miles) ENE of Manado, Sulawesi, Indonesia

219 km (136 miles) NNW of Ternate, Moluccas, Indonesia

1040 km (646 miles) WSW of KOROR, Palau

1465 km (910 miles) SSE of MANILA, Philippines
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Attention

US: Midwesterners Brace for New Missouri River Flooding

Michael Avok
Reuters
Sun, 12 Jun 2011 00:00 UTC
Image
© ReutersKammrad mother and sons participate in sand bagging efforts in Council Bluffs
For flood-weary residents and sandbag crews in the Midwest, Sunday was largely a day of rest.

Or, was it just the calm before the storm?

To be sure, there were some efforts up and down the Missouri River on Sunday to protect towns, homes and rail lines against the arrival of floodwaters.

But for the most part, the situation was quiet in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.

"Waiting. Just waiting," said Terry Compton, who was working her shift at the local convenience store. She knows the water is coming. The only question was when.

Residents have been shoring up levees along the Missouri River from Montana through Missouri as federal officials widen flood gates to allow record, or near-record water releases to ease pressure on six major reservoirs swollen by heavy rains and melting snow.

Six dams between Fort Peck in Montana and Gavins Point on the South Dakota-Nebraska border were at peak releases or were expected to reach them within days, and dam operators plan to maintain them at least until mid-August.
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