Monsoon rains causing distress in India

Monsoon season is here: more than 2 million people have been affected by the current monsoonal moisture pummeling the country of India. Almost 80 people have been killed by the tremendous flood waters from heavy monsoon rains. The rain isn't going to let up anytime soon either; forecasts are expecting the rain to still last at least a few more days. The flood waters have forced residents of the affected cities to the trees to escape the fast moving waters. Since the monsoon rains began in August many homes have been completely washed away with its residents still inside, most of the deaths occurring at night. One of the hardest hit areas in India by the  heavy rain is the state Orissa in eastern India, which is where the majority of the deaths have occured so far.


Image:http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1445000/images/_1448701_india_orissa_flood2_150.gif


Article:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-15056411

Famine in Somalia creating violence

The horrific, unspeakable famine that has been plaguing Somalia is taking a turn for the worst. Over 750,000 Somalians are foreseen to be affected by this current famine that has struck the East African country. Nearly half of this number is under the age of five years old. These affected people are being taken advantage of by something much worse than famine itself. As Somalians head to the boarder of Somalia/Kenya for refuge, they are met by violent bandits who want nothing more than to rape, kill and steal. Adding to the current crisis is the high birth rate in the country which directly affects the demand for food in the country.

Dadaab the third largest city in Kenya is now a massive refugee camp for the fleeing Somalians and is still growing at an rapid rate each day. This famine in East Africa is overlooked by the American media and isn't getting enough coverage which is quite upsetting. However despite the poor media coverage, the UN has banded together and up to 60 countries now have donated money for relief in both Kenya and Somalia.


UN declared famine area
Image source: http://www.npr.org/news/graphics/locator-maps/map-somalia-famine-300.gif


Areas of the country where famine has struck
Image source: http://blogs.nature.com/houseofwisdom/images/Famine%20Somalia.png


Article Sources: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/kristof-on-top-of-famine-unspeakable-violence.html

http://www.soschildrensvillages.ca/News/News/child-charity-news/Pages/New-Funds-Pledged-Horn-Africa-709.aspx

Large typhoon hits the already devastated Japan

Typhoon Roke has forced over 1.3 million Japanese inhabitants to leave their homes today as the storm hones in on the mainland of the country. The large city of Nagoya is directly in the path of the Typhoon which is composed of the majority of the people affected by this storm. Officials from the city of Nagoya are asking for military aid to help out the affected populace.The winds of Roke are around 140 km per hour and the storm is threatening the mainland with landslides, heavy rain and flooding due to rivers reaching flood stage.

The region is still trying to recover from another recent tropical storm that hit the islands which left 100 dead in its wake. Luckily, the islands have ample enough warning for these kind of events and should be able to prevent major devastation from occurring from this storm. Additionally, the nuclear power plant that was affected by the March earthquake/tsunami is not in the typhoon's path, which brings a sigh of relief to the Japanese people.



Image source:
http://www.thirdage.com/files/originals/typhoon_0.jpg



Article source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-20/japan-evacuates-as-typhoon-looms/2908552

Large earthquake hits India

This morning Sunday September 18th, 2011 at 8:40 AM Eastern Time, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake occurred at depth of 12.2 miles. The quake hit the northern Indian state of Sikkim, which borders Nepal. The area hit by the earthquake is in the mountainous Himalayas range. The quake was so powerful that it sent members of the Indian Parliament running out of their assembly hall.

Luckily there was no tsunamis warnings issued for the area. However, there have been casualties already; the death toll is at 63 and many more have been injured. At least 100,000 homes were wiped out as well. Collapsed buildings,cracked sidewalks, landslides, and power outages were also associated with this quake closest to the epicenter of the quake near the city of Gangtok. Emergency response crews are rapidly responding to the quake and rescues are underway. At least 6,000 troops are scrambling to clean up debris from destroyed buildings.

Image source:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0005wg6.php


Articles used: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-09-18/india-earthquake-fatalities/50456078/1

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/19/himalayan-earthquake-kills-dozens

Smoke from forest fires blanket WI, IL

A forest fire in the Pagami Creek Region in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness near Ely, MN has been causing hazy conditions and health hazards today. The hardest hit areas were in Wisconsin and Illinois. Smoke from the nearly 100,000 acre forest fire has traveled nearly 600 miles to Eastern Wisconsin near Milwaukee and portions of Chicago. Health officials are worried that inhaling the smoke could cause upper respiratory and allergy concerns for children and older residents of those areas.

The fire started August 18, 2011 when lighting struck 20 miles away from Ely due to the dry conditions the flames began spreading quickly this week after the dry, cold front passed through on Monday bringing with it high winds thus fanning the flames. Hundreds of firefighters were expected to arrive in northern Minnesota today to help combat the fire today, and the cooler temperatures should also help calm the fire's intensity.

  
Aerial image showing the smoke plume traveling across Lake Superior into WI.
Source for image: www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=mkx&storyid=72984&source=0

Article source: http://heraldnews.suntimes.com/news/7639146-418/haze-from-minnesota-wildfire-prompts-health-warning.html

Texas wildfires worst in state's history

Texas firefighters have been kept on their toes this entire wildfire season. Since the wildfire season began in Texas in December the state has experienced more than 20,900 wildfires that have consumed about 3.6 million acres which is roughly the size of Connecticut. The worst of the fires in the state is the Bastrop fire located in central Texas. This fire has destroyed 1400 homes in the area, killed four people and has caused thousands of people to vacate the area.

The current status of the Bastrop fire is about 40 percent contained, and the weather forecast doesn't show much relief for the area. The drought situation in Texas is listed as extreme and all of the counties in Texas have banned outdoor fires for the remainder of the drought.


Source for image:http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/DM_state.htm?TX,S



Articles cited:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/10/us-wildfires-texas-idUSTRE7892SR20110910

http://www.firerescue1.com/urban-interface/articles/1121740-String-of-fires-takes-toll-on-Texas-firefighters/

Hurricane Season in full swing!

The last few weeks have certainly been active with hurricanes. A normal hurricane season begins mid August and continues into the first two weeks of September, normally peaking on September 9th or 10th, a day away from now. The season started off booming with Hurricane Irene hitting the east coast on August 24, 2011 affecting over 55 million people. Irene caused significant flooding in many of the northeastern states with Vermont being one of the states most hard hit. The floods in the northeast destroyed covered bridges in Vermont, washed out roads in Vermont and New Hampshire, and killed 44 people in at least 5 different states.

To make matters worse, about one week later there was Tropical Storm Lee that hit Louisiana and then moved up the east coast causing more flooding in the same areas. As of today, September 8, 2011 there are two tropical storms Mara and Nate, and a Category One hurricane named Katia. Luckily, for the east coast, Hurricane Katia will stay clear and not wreck havoc on the already drenched region.With the horrific wildfires occurring in southeast Texas these tropical storms off its coast are a welcoming sight. However, Tropical Storm Nate is forecasted to stay clear of the Texas coast and drop all of its precipitation in the gulf.

Needless to say, this hurricane season has certainly been interesting and will be memorable for some time.

Source:
http://www.tbnweekly.com/content_articles/090811_fpg-01.txt

http://youtu.be/S1aiSnznuGU