O. Kay Henderson Radio Iowa Tue, 11 Aug 2020 17:43 UTC
Governor Kim Reynolds says an initial estimate indicates 10 million acres of Iowa cropland "was impacted" by yesterday's storm.
"This morning I had a farmer reach out to me to say that this was the worst wind damage to crops and farm buildings that he has ever seen across the state in such a wide area," Reynolds said during a news conference late this morning.
According to the U.S.D.A., 23.4 million acres was seeded with corn and soybeans this spring, so this early estimate indicates 43 percent of Iowa's 2020 corn and soybean crop has been damaged or destroyed.
At least 96 vehicles and nearly 500 firefighters are working at different locations across the city of Guanghan, southwest China's Sichuan Province. As of Wednesday morning, they had rescued at least 30 people, including an old lady stranded on a tree after her house was flooded.
At one of the most populated residential areas in Guanghan, residents of at least two compounds were blocked without electricity or clean water supply, with rescue work underway since Tuesday.
Firefighters have been using lifeboats, canoes, and even bulldozers to evacuate those stranded. A few patients in need of medical assistance were shifted to a nearby hospital, while others were sent to a relocation center or to their relatives' houses.
Thousands of people have shared a photo of clouds in the Ashville, Alabama sky yesterday and no one has been able to identify a reason for the strange phenomenon. Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa and ABC 33/40 Chief Meteorologist James Spann shared the photo set on Sunday evening, submitted by Facebook user Joshua Smith. Smith said he took the pictures on Interstate 59 near Ashville.
Texas was hit with their first hurricane in over a decade at the end of July. Dante Galeazzi of the Texas International Produce Association shares: "The typical rule of thumb is that we'll get a hurricane here in Texas once every 10 years, so Hurricane Hanna was roughly on schedule. Unfortunately, there's little we can do, agriculture-wise, to prepare for these severe weather conditions."
April Flowers of Lone Star Citrus shares: "Hurricane Hanna defied the early forecast predictions and turned south after making landfall, resulting in a direct hit on the upper Rio Grande Valley. It's safe to say that the winds were much higher than originally forecasted."
Heavy rain is continuing to wreak havoc in southwest China's Sichuan Province, with tens of thousands of residents evacuated, houses damaged and roads blocked.
Torrential rain starting from Monday evening in the province has left six people dead and five others missing, and has forced more than 40,000 residents to evacuate as of Wednesday noon, according to the province's flood control and drought relief headquarters.
Around 107,000 people had been affected by the rain across the province, with 14 rivers swollen by floodwater, it said.
The downpours triggered mudslides in some areas of Sichuan, damaging houses and roads. Traffic was interrupted on a national highway due to landslides in Shimian County, Ya'an City.
A car is covered under a fallen tree in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, Aug. 11, 2020.
Mekkhala, the sixth typhoon of this year, made landfall in east China's Fujian Province on Tuesday morning, bringing with it strong winds and torrential rain.
The typhoon landed in coastal areas of Zhangpu County at around 7:30 a.m., bringing gales of up to 33 meters per second near its eye, according to local meteorological authorities.
Strong gales and torrential rain toppled trees and houses, trapped tourists and caused hazards on roads in Zhangzhou City, which administers Zhangpu County, as well as in the coastal city of Xiamen.
In a highway service zone of Zhangzhou, dozens of vehicles took shelter from high winds on the roadside on Tuesday morning. Two police officers also stood in front of a toppled tree near another expressway rest stop in the city to warn upcoming cars of the danger.
The death tally from flood has reached 202 as the country recorded four more flood-related deaths on Wednesday.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services, three people drowned in floodwater in Sunamganj, Kishoreganj and Gazipur districts while the rest died from snake-bite in Faridpur.
Besides, a total of 40,710 people have so far been affected by various diseases - like diarrhoe, RIT since June 30.
Vast swathes of locality and crop field in 163 upazilas across the country have been flooded that turned out to be the longest-lasting one since 1998.
Andrew Scheinthal wsvn.com Thu, 13 Aug 2020 16:45 UTC
Dead fish in Biscayne Bay
Thousands of dead fish have appeared in Miami's Biscayne Bay, alarming residents in the area.
The dead fish could be seen in the water from as far south as the Julia Tuttle Causeway to as far north as the 79th Street Bridge on Tuesday.
"It was a river of dead fish, and then, last night, there were islands of dead fish," said resident Kathryn Mikesell, who usually swims in the bay.
Witnesses called authorities to report they saw thousands of dead fish, including snapper, needlefish, pufferfish, sea trout and crabs. Nearby residents said the smell is overwhelming.
While the mainstream media focuses on the upcoming election, COVID-19 and the endless protests going on in our major cities, another great tragedy is unfolding all across the middle of the country. A nightmarish drought, horrific flooding along the Mississippi River and a giant "derecho" that just hit the farm belt have combined to make this one of the toughest years for farmers ever. And this comes at a particularly bad time, because the stress that the COVID-19 pandemic has put on food distribution systems has already created periodic shortages of certain items around the nation. We definitely could have used an uneventful growing season this year, and unfortunately we didn't get it.
On Monday, an absolutely massive "derecho" roared through the Midwest. According to USA Today, the storm had winds of up to 112 miles per hour...
The storm had winds of up to 112 mph near Cedar Rapids, Iowa - as powerful as an inland hurricane - as it tore from eastern Nebraska across Iowa and parts of Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois, including Chicago and its suburbs.
Most hurricanes don't have winds that high once they finally reach shore, and I have personally never experienced wind speeds of such magnitude.
Needless to say, this very unusual storm caused immense devastation. According to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, approximately 10 million acres of crops were destroyed in Iowa alone...
Comment: As well as natural disasters devastating crop growth, the insane response to the coronavirus crisis and losing value of currency in Western nations in particular, have made the production, availability, purchasing and distribution of food - a MAJOR global issue the likes of which we haven't seen in generations.
Sabina Karki Khabarhub.com Thu, 13 Aug 2020 13:43 UTC
Landslide (Representative image)
As many as 184 people have lost their lives from floods and landslides this monsoon.
According to the National Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NRRMA) sources, a total of 184 people have died whereas 54 have gone missing in various instances of flood and landslides that got instigated after this year's monsoon.
According to Janardan Gautam, the spokesperson of NRRMA, the landslide-triggered by the incessant rainfall that started with the arrival of this year's monsoon has claimed 179 lives and has also caused the disappearance of 43 people till date.
Since the start of this year's monsoon since July 12, five people have lost lives whereas 11 have gone missing due to floods.
Comment: As well as natural disasters devastating crop growth, the insane response to the coronavirus crisis and losing value of currency in Western nations in particular, have made the production, availability, purchasing and distribution of food - a MAJOR global issue the likes of which we haven't seen in generations.
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