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Haiti - Since Isaac stormed through this island country, streams of dirty water run through many of the tent camps earthquake refugees call home.
Floods represent the main threat, aid workers say. They not only destroy the fragile tents, but also bring with them a range of diseases, from stomach illnesses, to skin infections, to parasites, doctors here fear.
At the Marassa tent city in Port au Prince, residents feared what the storm would do to La Riviere Grise, or the gray river, named for its dirty color. After more than more than 24 hours of rain Saturday, La Rivere Grise became a fierce current that flooded part of the camp. Refugees who had been able to accumulate key survival belongings since the earth shook on Jan. 12, 2010 -- a tarp, a cooking pan, some clothes -- lost all again, in a few minutes.
The situation is similar in post-earthquake camps outside Port au Prince. Some tents survived the storms, others were blown away, shredded or buried under mud.
© Photos.com
The USGS has so far recorded more than four dozen quakes in Imperial County, many near the city of Brawley. The first quake, a magnitude 3.9 event, struck at 10:02 a.m. (PST) northwest of Brawley and was followed by a series (swarm) of other quakes in the same general area, the USGS said in a statement.
As of 3 p.m. (PST), there have been no reports of serious damage or injuries, according to authorities in the region.
Some buildings in downtown Brawley did receive minor damage, however. Captain Jesse Zendejas of the Brawley Fire Department described the damage as "cosmetic" and said it occurred in at least three older buildings. Assessments were still ongoing as of press time.
Earthquake swarms are events where a local area experiences sequences of many earthquakes occurring over a relatively short period of time. The length of time used to define a swarm varies, but the USGS points out that an event may be on the order of days, weeks, or months, depending on circumstances.
Swarms are differentiated from aftershocks by the observation that no single earthquake can be attributed as the main shock. Earthquake swarms are generally grouped as events that precede volcanic eruptions in areas where volcanoes exist.
Things are so bad that farmers in the US have begun feeding their cattle candy
Water scarcity's effect on food production means radical steps will be needed to feed population expected to reach 9bn by 2050
Leading water scientists have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the world's population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages.
Humans derive about 20% of their protein from animal-based products now, but this may need to drop to just 5% to feed the extra 2 billion people expected to be alive by 2050, according to research by some of the world's leading water scientists.
"There will not be enough water available on current croplands to produce food for the expected 9 billion population in 2050 if we follow current trends and changes towards diets common in western nations," the report by Malik Falkenmark and colleagues at the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) said.
Major oil producers said Sunday they would be evacuating workers from Gulf of Mexico platforms in the face of an imminent threat of high surf and winds from Tropical Storm Isaac.
BP Plc said it will shut production at all of its Gulf of Mexico oil and gas platforms and evacuate all workers on Sunday in light of Isaac's westerly shift and forecasts that it could strengthen into a hurricane. BP has already shut and evacuated four platforms, including Thunder Horse, the world's largest. The company said Sunday it will shut its other three platforms.
Chevron, second to BP in Gulf oil production, said it would be evacuating some workers directly involved in oil and gas production from some of its platforms. "Chevron continues to closely monitor the projected path of Tropical Storm Isaac and has begun to evacuate some essential personnel from some offshore facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. Production has not been affected," the company said.
A massive typhoon began to make landfall Sunday over Okinawa, bringing winds more ferocious than even the typhoon-weary Japanese island has seen in decades. It will likely be the strongest since 1956, said CN N International meteorologist Tom Sater.
With a cloud field of 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles), Typhoon Bolaven is 20 times larger than Okinawa's length. "It's been very, very severe," said storm chaser James Reynolds, on the northwestern coast of the island. Tree branches were flying through the air amid torrential rain, he said.
The infrastructure on Okinawa is designed to withstand violent storms. "Everything's made of solid concrete," said Reynolds. "Utility poles are so wide you couldn't even put your arms around them," Reynolds said. "All the houses are built with concrete. There's no such thing as a beach house in Okinawa because it would just get destroyed by a typhoon." Still, the power was out where he was Sunday.
With a cloud field of 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles), Typhoon Bolaven is 20 times larger than Okinawa's length. "It's been very, very severe," said storm chaser James Reynolds, on the northwestern coast of the island. Tree branches were flying through the air amid torrential rain, he said.
The infrastructure on Okinawa is designed to withstand violent storms. "Everything's made of solid concrete," said Reynolds. "Utility poles are so wide you couldn't even put your arms around them," Reynolds said. "All the houses are built with concrete. There's no such thing as a beach house in Okinawa because it would just get destroyed by a typhoon." Still, the power was out where he was Sunday.
People from all over El Dorado County say they're hearing loud booms several times a week, but there are many theories on what is causing them. "I thought it was thunder," said one person. "It's definitely not thunder; too consistent. I thought it was just mining," said another person. "I always considered them to be sonic booms from flying aircrafts for years," said Loring Brunius, owner of Sierra Rock Diamond Quarry.
People who live near Pleasant Valley say their days have been interrupted by loud booms, shaking the floor beneath them.
"You can feel it in the ground, no question about it. But no one's been able to figure out why," said Pleasant Valley resident Peter O'Grady. "I tend to hear somewhere between four to six of these things during the weekdays usually between 11 p.m. and 2 p.m.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom just like that," said Lorren Gonzales, who lives near Pleasant Valley.
People who live near Pleasant Valley say their days have been interrupted by loud booms, shaking the floor beneath them.
"You can feel it in the ground, no question about it. But no one's been able to figure out why," said Pleasant Valley resident Peter O'Grady. "I tend to hear somewhere between four to six of these things during the weekdays usually between 11 p.m. and 2 p.m.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom just like that," said Lorren Gonzales, who lives near Pleasant Valley.
Comment:
© USGS
Date-Time
Sunday, August 26, 2012 at 15:05:37 UTC
Sunday, August 26, 2012 at 11:05:37 PM at epicenter Location
2.179°N, 126.893°E
Depth
106.5 km (66.2 miles) set by location program
Region
MOLUCCA SEA
Distances
163 km (101 miles) NNW (340°) from Ternate, Moluccas, Indonesia
240 km (149 miles) ENE (71°) from Manado, Sulawesi, Indonesia
461 km (286 miles) ENE (67°) from Gorontalo, Sulawesi, Indonesia
1022 km (635 miles) SW (236°) from KOROR, Palau
Poaching and a mysterious disease are killing peacocks, India's national bird, in one of their richest habitats here in Uttar Pradesh. The El Salvador area in Greater Noida, near Delhi, is home to a huge peacock population.But as many as 30 of the birds have died in the last fortnight in Patwadi village, according to locals. Of these, 10 died within a week.
On July 6, the UP forest department rescued five peacocks which had fallen ill in the village. One of the birds died while in the department's custody. The five peacocks were meant to be shifted to a veterinary hospital but were reportedly confined inside a nursery in Dadri. The nursery lacked the basic facilities and veterinary care.
According to official sources, district magistrate M K S Sundaram called an urgent meeting on July 7 to discuss the deaths.
He asked the forest department to send the sick peacocks to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute at Bareilly. Jitendra Agarwal, a villager, alleged that the wildlife department did not make efforts to send the birds to Bareilly until one of them died.
"The blood samples were also not taken to identify the exact cause of the deaths although we kept requesting them," he said.
On July 6, the UP forest department rescued five peacocks which had fallen ill in the village. One of the birds died while in the department's custody. The five peacocks were meant to be shifted to a veterinary hospital but were reportedly confined inside a nursery in Dadri. The nursery lacked the basic facilities and veterinary care.
According to official sources, district magistrate M K S Sundaram called an urgent meeting on July 7 to discuss the deaths.
He asked the forest department to send the sick peacocks to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute at Bareilly. Jitendra Agarwal, a villager, alleged that the wildlife department did not make efforts to send the birds to Bareilly until one of them died.
"The blood samples were also not taken to identify the exact cause of the deaths although we kept requesting them," he said.
There was a low-level flood in River Ravi at Baloki but the water level was gradually increasing.
According to Indus River System Authority (IRSA), in River Indus the water inflow at Tarbela was 256,000 cusecs and outflow was 140,000 cusecs, while in River Jhelum at Mangla the water inflow was 63,000 cusecs and outflow was 13,000 cusecs.
In River Chenab, the inflow was 126,800 cusecs and outflow was 91,800 cusecs at Marala. Water inflow recorded in
River Sutlej near Head Sulemanki was 16,777 cusecs and outflow remained 4,792 cusecs.
According to the Meteorological Department, the three rivers of Punjab, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum, were facing flood threat. The department also forecast that within next 48 hours scattered rain/thundershower was expected over Azad Kashmir, Hazara, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Lahore and Gujranwala divisions. The department predicted hot and humid weather elsewhere in the country.
Comment: Forget vegetarianism as a long-term solution; this crisis will be all over long before 2050. No miraculous technologies are going to "increase yields by 300%". Food is likely to become extremely scarce within the next year or two. Start canning while it remains reasonably affordable.
Rising food prices and social unrest: New report shows that all hell will break loose in one to two years