Colombian Landslide Emergency

 A "landslide" occured in Medellin Colombia in the poor hillside neighborhood Bello. I put the word "landslide" in quotation marks because one article calls this mass wastage even a landslide while another calls in a mudslide. So I really don't know what went on on this hill in Medellin. But for all intents and purposes, I am going to call it a landslide. This landslide has killed 45 identified people and almost 100 are still missing. Of all those identified as dead, half were children, showing the vulnerability factor of children. Meanwhile the rains still continue and so far over 200 people have died due to these rains and over 1 million are homeless. The President of Colombia has declared a state of emergency, which opens up possibilities for humanitarian aid from around the world. But I believe this situation will play out much like that of Pakistan where countries will be afraid to Colombia due to corruption and the large narcotraffiking. The President is also urging other hillside residents of Medellin to evacuate after this horrible event after people pointed out other dangerous areas, which would be hillsides. I though this was kind of funny that they did not see this sooner, especially since Medellin is a large city with tons of poor slums on hillsides, so I expect landslides to not be a new occurance. Then the President says he plans to give the money to build new homes for these people in the same spot, which is obviously a bad choice.

Links:
Landslide article:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-12/09/c_13641069.htm

Mudslide article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703921204576006080570921602.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Evacuation article:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11944125

Tornado Simulator in Japan

I came across this article while searching for envirnomental hazards. Apparently Japanese scientists are in the process of making a tornado simulator, in efforts to mitigate disaster. According to the hindustan times website, the simulator is 5 meters around and 2.5 meters tall. It can create winds strong enough to create an F3 tornado. These scientists plan on building model houses to test structural integrity. I think that this an interesting mitigation effort, and I wonder if the U.S. has ever applied any similar efforts since we have more tornados. Also I think it is interesting how much effort Japanese scientists are putting into tornado mitigation research considering the fact that earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanos are just, if not more, frequent. However, the articles do hint that tornadoes are becoming more of a problem in Japan. Also this may have something to do with the fact that the low frequency of events tends to mean that they produce a higher magnitude. While the frequency of tornadoes in Japan is not low by any means, it is certainly lower than that of the U.S. So tornadoes in Japan might be more dangerous than they are in the southern portions of the U.S.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0622/Tornadoes-in-Wisconsin-Montana-spur-early-warning-system

Articles about the tornado simulator in Japan:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Artificial-tornadoes-being-created-in-Japan/Article1-634599.aspx
http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report_artificial-tornadoes-developed-to-test-japanese-homes_1478015

Weather in the Northeastern U.S.

A top story from weather.com today talks about the bad weather in the Northeast. The story says the storm moved from the South and midwest. The south had experienced thunderstorms and tornadoes while the midwest experienced moderate winds. This storm will cause rain and moderate winds in the Northeast. I think the example of tornados in the South is a good example of the mixing of northern cold, dry air with warm, moist air from the south. As we discussed in class, this causes tornadoes. The movement of the storm is an example of how wind and air pressure moves "weather". This storm and its movement exhibits the lifting mechanism of frontal lifting I believe because it is a fairly fast moving front associated with severe weather.

Current Winds from weather.com

Link to the weather.com article:

http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/windy-soaking-start-december_2010-11-30

Climate Change Summit in Cancun

The Climate Change Summit starts today in Cancun, Mexico. At this summit representatives from almost 200 countries come together to discuss global warming and how to lessen it effects. The articles I read on the Summit were very realistic, talking about past failures and how the main powers in the world, like Indian, China, and the US, are no longer implementing climate control policies. Much talk is going to be about getting poorer countries to limit deforestation. I find this funny because since the US, China and India have more money, you would think it would be easier for them to try and limit climate change and the greenhouse effect because of the resources at their disposal. Also a lot of the deforestation happens due to the richer countries involvement, like transporting oil and creating plantation lands. Another angle taken by some is the need to assimilate to the climate change. So pretty much these articles are saying that some people have given up trying and are now accepting the inevitable. But I suppose this is a plan of action that these nations have to consider because nothing that they have tried to implement or use has worked so far.

Mexican news story on the Climate Change Summit:


Articles on the Cancun Summit:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/copenhagen-climate-change-confe/8165784/Cancun-climate-change-summit-deaths-from-floods-and-drought-double.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2010/nov/29/cancun-climate-change-copenhagen

Suriname Mine Collapses

Today in Suriname, 7 miners were killed when the gold mine they were working in collapsed.  It is said that these miners were mining at this mine without permission and were not employed by the company. I wonder how much less dangerous this type of mining is when you have permission to mine there, like if they use special safety equipment or something. Also most of the news articles put an emphasis on the fact that these men were mining illegally, which makes it seem like people view this as less tragic and like it was not that big of a deal. While it is true that those men should not have been there in the first place, the fact that the mine collapsed and they died shows that maybe the mines were not that safe in the first place. Also, if you have a gold mine, wouldn't you probably have some type of security to keep illegal miners off of your property? I would think so, especially since this company, Surgold, is mining in this area with the U.S. companies Newmont Mining Corp. and Alcoa Inc.

There is also alot of emphasis placed on the fact that these men were decendants of former african slaves that ran away and formed all african colonies called Maroons.  The area where the mine is located is home to many Maroon decendents and American Indians. I think this is going to show as well how they are left to try and make a living while others drain the land of its resources.

Those killed in the mining accident.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/7-Killed-in-Suriname-Gold-Mine-Collapse-109853559.html

Links:
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/7-Killed-in-Suriname-Gold-Mine-Collapse-109853559.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40304186/ns/world_news-americas/

Seattle Mass Wastage Mitigation

I just read this news article on landslides in Seattle, Washington. According to the article there is a lot of precipitation in November and December in Washington, and this local news article gives pointers on how to avoid landslides from happening on your property. While this article gives good tips, from planting vegetation to using a catch basin, it mentions that there are 18,000 homes in Seattle alone that are in landslide-prone areas. I think that it is funny that the article does not mention that these landslide disasters from the past and future could be, or could have been avoided with better zoning. In addition, the picture the article shows is of a huge house, obviously owned by a wealthy person, sitting on the edge of a steep slope.  This just goes to show how the most desired property to build on is often not the safest property, but people continue to build on these dangerous places, such as slopes, coasts or lake fronts, because of their aesthetic value. However, it is reassuring that the local news is trying to better prepare these people for disaster events that have a high chance of occurring.

It is also interesting that the article uses the term "landslides" when many different mass wastage events could occur. However, it would be confusing and different to the public to call them "mass wastage events" instead of "landslides". 

Above: the house from the article

The article from The Seattle Times:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013441916_landslide16m.html

Other similar articles:
http://www.westseattleherald.com/2010/11/15/news/landslide-season-looms-west-seattle

http://westseattleblog.com/2010/11/west-seattle-weather-watch-on-a-slope-be-landslide-aware

Vietnam Floods

Floods have deen present through out central Vietnam since Tuesday following days of heavy rain, making this a region flood that begun slowly and will end slowly. Because of this thousands of people were able to be evacuated. So far only about nineteen people have died in this flood, which also sticks with the characteristic of few deaths associated with region flooding. However, this flood is not the first to hit this area recently. Since the beginning of October 167 people have been killed in this area. This is suprising seeing as Vietnam is extremely flood-prone due to large amounts of rice paddies, low lying coasts, and 70 percent of the population at risk for flooding. I would have thought that the people would have better mitigation efforts and emergency plans. However, taken into account is the fact that this area of Vietnam is rather poor, so the people or government may not have all the resources they need to better mitigate this disaster. It appears as of now, that Vietnam is experiencing less deaths due to flooding than they were in October, whether that has to do with the people being more aware of the hazards, the intensity of the disaster or something else I am not sure.

Areas most affected in October

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/SNAA-8BB9L9?OpenDocument

Photo from 11-17-10

http://english.vovnews.vn/Home/Flood-in-central-Vietnam-causes-huge-losses/201011/121476.vov

Links:

Stories on the flood from 11-17-10:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/17/AR2010111707394.html

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2010/11/17/11-dead-in-Vietnam-floods/UPI-48091290000551/

Story on one of the previous floods 11-03-10:
http://english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/ns_asia/2010-11-03/679193439826.html

Story on one of the previous floods 10-22-10:
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Death-toll-from-Vietnam-floods-hits-75/701125/

International Focus Shifting Away From Pakistan Floods(?)

An article just came out from the IRIN that said the amount of disaster aid going into Pakistan for the floods is decreasing as media coverage decreases. This makes sense because once the main event with the most photographic opportunities is over, the media is quick to find the next event. So in times when areas need the most help, they don't get it because other countries are more interested in the emergency period.

I read this article and decided to find more on the topic. When I google searched articles on the Pakistan floods, I found three new press releases that said Canada and Japan were donating large amounts of money to help Pakistan. This made me wonder how much more Pakistan was getting before if Canada has donated 46.8 million dollars and Japan has pledged 500 million dollars.  The example of the Japanese pledging 500 million affirms what the article from IRIN said about not seeing some of the money that has been pledged to them so far.

It is estimated that Pakistan will need 1.93 billion within the next year to rebuild, and many are concerned with winter coming up that this disaster will become exacerbated. However, from a political standpoint, nations are worried that their donations will be used for corrupt purposes rather than to help the people of Pakistan.

Twenty minute discussion on trying to get more flood aid between Riz Khan, Salman Ahmad and Peter Gabriel:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=46715

Pakistan November 13, 2010 as compared to November 17, 2010 below



Links:

IRIN article on Pakistan needing more funds:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=91101

Article on Canadian government donating more money to Pakistan:
http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/11/15/pakistan-flood-relief.html

Article on Japan's pledge of money to help Pakistan:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/japan-pledges-additional-500-mil-for-pakistan-flood-relief



Landslides and Floods in the Phillippines

Due to an October typhoon, the Phillippines are experiencing many disasterous floods and landslides.  These new disasters are made worse by the fact that they are still recovering from the huge typhoon that killed 30 people and left 20,000 homeless. So the situation is enhanced by the vulnerability of the population.  The landslide that happened last week in Isabela province took 6 lives. However, the government has been working hard to prevent some of these deaths with emergency evacuations.  They moved 200 families out of their homes in Kalinga because a near-by hillside had caved in, creating a dam that could lead to more flooding if it fails.

The Phillipines is a country that is more prone to landslides than most due to a mountainous terrain, seismic activity and a heavy rainy season. Also the people of the country have become more vulnerable due to quick urbanization that creates many squatter settlements on the outskirts of major cities.

I can image that getting aid and assistance to distant communities is difficult due to all the flooding and mass wastage problems. As of right now I cannot find anything on the Phillippines  getting assistance from other nations, like Costa Rica is getting right now. Also, as of what I can see, the Phillippines is not using air transport to deliver aid.

Photo of typhoon Megi that hit last month; note how large it is and that it covered all of the Phillippines

Photo of the severity of typhoon Megi

Article on the landslides and floods in the Phillipines:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40052795/ns/world_news/

Article on why the Phillippines are more vulnerable to mass wastage events:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=90967

Articles on Typhoon Megi:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/20/typhoon-megi-leaves-phili_n_770302.html#s161846
*favorite pages for the pictures*

http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/super-typhoon-megi-hits-the-phillippines-0647/

Costa Rican Rainy Season Bringing on Disasters

The rainy season this year in Central America has been particularly wet due to low pressure and hurricane Tomas. All the rain these countries are recieving is causing damage to property with floods and landslides. Costa Rica has been hit particularly hard due troubles delivering aid and the lack of water supply. Panama, Colombia, Guatemala and Nicaragua have pledged aid to Costa Rica, but since there is so much flooding, rain, bridge failure, and mass wastage, they have to fly the aid into remote areas, which can be a difficult process. Much damage has been done to a community, Pico Blanco in San Antonio de Escazú, on the mountainside near the capital. Alot of the disaster aid is coming in the form of bottled water because some of their water processing plants have been damaged by the bad weather.

In addition to water and transportation, Costa Rica is taking a hard hit on its economy which is largely based on agriculture and tourism. A large amount of crop land is flooded, and many tourists may be detered from visiting Costa Rica due to the weather.

In addition to looking at the geography aspect of this. the political side is also interesting. Even though Nicaragua has pledged aid to Costa Rica, the supplies and money have yet to be sent. This is due to a long time rivalry between the two countries. Also, this is a good example that even better off countries in the western hemisphere can experience disasters, however on a much smaller scale than they would have been in a less developed country.

Landslide damage in Pico Blanco

Links to new stories on the landslide and damage to the country due to floods and landslides:

http://www.ticotimes.net/News/Daily-News/Escazu-Landslide-Leaves-at-Least-20-Dead-10-Missing-Costa-Rica-on-Red-Alert_Thursday-November-04-2010
http://www.amcostarica.com/morenews2.htm

http://www.insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2010/november/07/costarica10110701.htm

Hurricane Tomas and Haiti

The Hurricane Tomas is at a very low magnitude right now, and it's making its way through the Caribbean. This hurricane did not directly hit the island of Haiti, but skimmed the southern peninsula and caused storms in most of the country. I have noticed that there is a little bit of a media focus on Haiti during this hurricane, which makes sense. First of all, what most people think of first, is that Haiti is in a fragile state since the earthquake in January. And it is. Many people whose homes were destroyed still live in camps of tents. In this regard, a lange amout of the population is highly vulnerable even to the smallest of storms. This leads to another reason the media is focused on Haiti. The earthquake was a large disaster that was vastly covered by the media, so now people are more aware of this country and its needs than they were before. Before, not many people would have known that Haiti is the poorest country in this hemisphere and that getting hit with a hazard event would have caused it so much damage partialy due to poor infrastructure and a vulnerable population. Now the people of the world are more aware of this and focus more attention on this country, including hazard events in the Caribbean which are quite common.

AP video of Haitians in flooded areas:


Links:

Article on the hurricane in Haiti:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-haiti-storm-20101106,0,5016484.story

Article called "Ways to help Haiti in wake of hurricane Tomas"
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/1105/Ways-to-help-Haiti-in-wake-of-hurricane-Tomas

Iceland Volcanos Being Watched

The volcano Grimsvotn in Iceland is under an alert right now. The glacial ice on the volcano is melting, which may cause an eruption or at the very least the threat of lahars. Also an earthquake occured on the volcano Katla in Iceland. It was a magnitude 3 and there is concern that that quake could trigger more quakes or an eruption.  The reasoning behid why these volcanoes may erupt is very plausible. Katla has not had a major eruption since 1819 with a small glacial eruption in 1955 and some volcanic activity in 1999. On the other hand, Grimsvotn is a very active volcano, erupting on average once a decade. So Katla is overdue for an eruption while Grimsvotn experiences them frequently, with the last on being in 2004.  Scientists have been following Katla's activity to watch for signs of a major eruption, which is expected in the near future. I believe alot of the new coverage and fear for these volcanoes erupting stems from the newly percieved threat of volcanic eruption in Iceland since April with the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull.  Not to say that the percieved view of those in Iceland has changed a lot becuase they are used to volcanos, but the world is more focused on volcanic activity in Iceland since that major eruption.

Volcanoes in Iceland

http://www.decadevolcano.net/volcanoes/iceland/hekla.htm

Eyjafjallajokull eruption in April

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0418/Iceland-s-Eyjafjallajoekull-volcano-is-nothing-to-Angry-Sister-Katla

Links:
Information on Grimsvotn:
http://iceland.vefur.is/iceland_nature/volcanoes_in_iceland/grimsvotn.htm

Information on Katla:
http://iceland.vefur.is/iceland_nature/volcanoes_in_iceland/katla.htm

Small news article on Grimsvotn:
http://www.herald.ie/world-news/iceland-on-volcano-alert-2407239.html

Small news article on Katla:

http://fromtheold.com/news/earth/volcanoes/30-magnitude-earthquake-icelands-biggest-volcano-katla-20684

Indonesia Volcano and Tsunami

     The Indonesian volcano Mt. Merapi erupted Tuesday and has erupted 4 times after that, the latest being a little after midnight on 10/30 (IST.)  The last time Merapi erupted was 4 years ago.
      I thought it was really interesting that while we are learning about volcanoes, this volcano erupts. It just seemed to me that volcano eruptions were not very common occurrences, and if I did by chance hear about on, it was catastrophic. Now I know that volcanic eruptions are just very irregular.
      Also I figured that this volcano was probably considered pretty active because it last erupted 4 years ago and now it is erupting multiple times. Upon looking into the history of it, I saw that it does erupt very often. So I thought it was really weird that some people are deciding to stay near the volcano even though they are urged to leave. The article in the Hindustan times says that some of these people are trying to protect their property. This makes me wonder what the hazard education and population is like in the Mt. Merapi area.  I would have thought that the people would know, seeing as the volcano is really active, the danger and risk it poses. It should be noted, however, that it is estimated that only 36 people have died.
      Another interesting factor to this volcanic eruption is the fact that a tsunami struck Indonesia at almost the same time. The volcano and the site where the tsunami hit were only a couple hours apart.  The tsunami was triggered by an earthquake, and therefore the volcanic eruption may have been initiated by the quake as well. This area is also the area where the Boxing Day tsunami/earthquake took place. So far the tsunami/earthquake has only taken about 400 lives with about 300 people missing. So the area is already doing much better than it did in the Boxing Day disaster. Not only does this probably have something to do with education, community preparedness,  and stronger buildings but also the magnitude of this quake was much less (7.7 as compared to 9.)


Links

Article on the latest volcanic eruption:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Indonesia-volcano-belches-hot-ash-in-new-eruption/Article1-619736.aspx

Eruption history of Merapi:
http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0603-25=&volpage=erupt

Articles on tsunami and volcanic eruption:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20101030/tap-indonesia-tsunami-volcano-aeccaac.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=DTN+Asia%3A

http://www.ncnnews.org/nphweb/html/ncn/article.jsp?sid=10000006&id=10009695

Video showing dust from Merapi:

Storms in Midwest and South

Yesterday the weather was horrible. So when I was just about to go to bed my roommate asked me to look ath the weather for the next day, to see if it would clear up. Instead I found out about what has been and will be going on in the Midwest and South. These storms are apparently of historically epic proportions. The winds are causing tornadoes and property damage. And the low pressure record was broken in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Being a part of this crazy storm we all know it was really windy, rainy and cold yesterday. But if my roommate had not asked me to look at the weather for today, would I have known that this is not only a problem here but for much of the Midwest and Southern states as well and that it is a record-setting storm? Probably not. This just goes to show that I am as guilty as anybody for not being informed when it comes to hazard events and only notice when it is directly effecting me at that moment.

In addition to some people, such as myself, not being informed on the extent of the hazard event taking place right now, there is another example of what we talk about in class that can be noted. This storm is causing large amounts of damage throughout the US, but in one article I read, the website showed this picture:

http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/slideshow-midwest-wind-storm_2010-10-26

And added that this is a building in St. Louis that was built before 1920. Therefore, it was built at a time when maybe building codes were not as inforced and the structure had weakened with time. This makes me wonder how well newer buildings are holding up in comparison to these older ones. Also I believe that particularly here in Wisconsin we are used to strong winds, so are our buildings holding up any better than other areas that maybe have less frequency of strong winds?

Wind Chill in US today:
http://www.weather.com/maps/maptype/currentweatherusnational/uscurrentwindchill_large.html?clip=undefined&region=undefined&collection=localwxforecast&presname=undefined

 

Links to the articles I read and used:
http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/slideshow-midwest-wind-storm_2010-10-26
http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/midwest-storm-impacts-news_2010-10-25

Earthquake and Tsunami Detection

An article came out this week on pcmag.com about how now the IBM will be able to use computer hard drives to predict earthquakes and get details about ones that have happened. Also the hard drives can predict and track Tsunamis. The IBM have been able to do this since 2006 but the patent for it was employed until 2010. The article states that this method of forecasting could give people minutes to act before the earthquake would hit and gives information to rescue teams on the places most effected so that they can be more effective.  According to the text however, some of the longest warning systems for earthquakes only give people ten seconds, so this method seems to good to be true to me.  Fitting in with the text on the deterministic method, the article states that  the reliability of using this method is spotty, mostly because people could have laptops and be moving them around a lot so the data is inconsistent. Also not all people have computers so this method of detecting and recording earthquakes and tsunamis is very much so geared towards the MDCs, while the LMDs would have little to no use for this method.

Link to the article:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2371337,00.asp

Video- Bob Friedlander talking about IBM method:

Oil Spills Taken Seriously in Canada and Not As Seriously in Caribbean

 

http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/Blog/the-people-say-no-oil-tankers-no-problem/blog/26692

   

     An article at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2010-10/18/c_13563064.htm states that many Canadians are against having crude oil tankers ship oil from Canadian coastlines to other parts of the world.  They fear for the loss of habitat in case of a disaster and many realize that they have not given serious thought to a plan in case of an oil spill related emergency. Due to recent events, I believe the world in general is more aware of risks associated with oil production, and people percieve it as more of a threat now, even though the level of the threat has not really changed. However, this is a good thing in cases like the one in Canada because people are putting mroe thought into whether the risk outweighs the benefits, mitigation and emergencty plans to control the oil spills if they occur.
     In related news, an oil spill just recently occured in a steam leading to the Caribbean Sea, apparently due to thieves trying to steal oil, which is now causing problems in the Caribbean. The pipeline was fixed but already about 20,000 gallons was lost.   The way the article describes the situation is very suspicious becuase it says that the area that the theives tried to steal from was sparcely populated. This just makes it seem very easy for people to come along and try to steal oil.  As of right now it is just speculated that the spill was caused by people trying to steal oil, and maybe more news will be uncovered later in the development of the story.  In any case, the Ecopetrol, a Colombian oil company who own that pipeline, has not taken away the same lesson from recent events like they have in Canada.  Their emegency plan stopped the spill, but not before it released 20,000 gallons of oil into the water.  Also, if the thievery thing is true, they probably don't have a very secure pipeline that is monitored and difficult for civilians to encounter and break into.

Links:

Canada story:
 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2010-10/18/c_13563064.htm

Story on Colombian pipeline:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/12437-fuel-spill-creates-environmental-emergency-near-santa-marta.html

Federal Aid Going to North Carolina

Yesterday, according to whitehouse.gov, President Obama official declared North Carolina an area of major disaster. The state has been having severe weeather problems since the tropical storm Nicole hit in late September, early October. The types of help people in North Carolina will recieve includes grants for housing needs, loans to help pay off uninsured losses and programs to help the people recover in general.  Also an emphasis will be placed on hazard mitigation.

I believe this example goes to show a bit of the inequity associated with federal aid because the governor of North Carolina is a democrat. Also in the past, North Carolina has contributed a high GDP to the US economy, meaning the government tends the favor those that have contributed the most. Also this is an example of how the federal government spends a lot of money on disaster relief, but it is good that they will emphasize disaster mitigation with part of the money.

Link to the whitehouse.gov press release:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/10/14/president-obama-signs-north-carolina-disaster-declaration

"FEMA tours Windsor, NC" from a week ago

Oklahoma Earthquake

There was an earthquake this morning in Oklahoma with a magnitude that varies depending on the source between 4.3 and 5.1. In one article on oknews.com they say this is the second biggest quake in the history of Oklahoma, but not damage was done. Apparently Oklahoma feels deals with many small earthquakes every year and so they are well equipped to prevent disaster. Also they probably applied more protective measures after the biggest earthquake on record in the state (a 5.5 in 1952). The video below adds to this by having interviews with people who were in the quake. The people generally had no idea what was happening and were very suprised since they are used to magnitudes in the 3's.

Another article I found was particularly interesting, and that was one with a really tiny bit about the earthquake and then the rest was Facebook or Twitter comments from Oklahomans who felt the earthquake. I thought this was really interesting, and something I had never really seen before. I think it goes to show how much we rely on the internet for news and communication.

Links:

Article on this quake being the second-largest on record:
http://www.newsok.com/oklahoma-earthquake-rating-upgraded-to-magnitude-5.1/article/3504094

Article with Facebook and Twitter comments:
http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/local_news/4.3-magnitude-earthquake-rocked-oklahoma-wednesday-morning

This is the video I mentioned in the post. It starts off kindof wierd , but the information gets better:

Volcanoes, Global Climate Change and the Media

     I read an article that came out today on guardian.co.uk on how large the carbon footprint of volcanoes is. I thought this would be an interesting article considering we have talked in class about how many disaster events are incorrectly linked to global warming.  I liked how this article dispelled the idea that volcanoes produce more carbon than humans do because placing some of the burden of carbon emissions on something out of our control seems like something some people would try to do.
     Also this article stated that sulphur dioxide and ash spewed from the volcano causes a bit of global cooling, but hints that it doesn't do enough to severely hinder global warming. I found all this information really interesting and was quick to believe it because I don't really have much previous knowledge on volcanoes. Since we discussed how naive views can be changed easily just by how the information is presented. Since this article on this website seemed nicely laid out and the facts seemed to make sense, I was quick to believe it. It is very possible that this could be untrue information, tricking ignorant people like myself, however, I highly doubt it. Just to double check I looked up more information on volcanoes and global cooling. In  an article on msnbc.com it also discusses how volcanoes cause a bit of global cooling.  This article in particular was from April about a volcano in Iceland. This article said that massive volcanic activity (like volcano Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991) must happen for any significant cooling to occur, which supported what was said in the guardian.co.uk article.

Links:

article on guardian.co.uk entitled "What's the Carbon Footprint of... a Volcano?"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2010/oct/07/carbon-footprint-volcano

article on msnbc.com entitled "Volcano Could Mean Cooling, Acid Rain"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36556083

CBS news on the Ireland volcano (April), but also has information on Philippines eruption, volcanoes and global cooling in general

Predictions After the Okinawa Earthquake

     Off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 happened yesterday. Not much damage was sustained due to the earthquake happening not directly in an inhabited area, and also Japan is not unaccustomed to earthquakes of this magnitude. However, since it happened in the water, the Japan Meteorological Society sent out a tsunami warning for areas near where the earthquake took place.
     I think this prediction of tsunami is a perfect example of what we read in chapter five of the text book on warnings. Issuing warnings is tricky business because whether you issue a false warning or don't issue one at all when it is need, the public becomes mistrustful. So some places have levels of warnings such as was used in those areas of Japan. Had the JMS been more sure of a tsunami, they would have used the term "tsunami watch" rather than "tsunami warning" because the implications are stronger with the first term.
     It turned out that the JMS believed the "tsunami" arrived without notice and only a minute change in water level occured.  So they would have been fine not issuing a warning at all, but to be on the safe side they issued a less strong warning.
     Also this goes along with what Professor Hupy said yesterday about the percieved hazard of tsunamis since the tsunami in 2004. People today see tsunamis as a bigger threat because a large, damaging tsunami happened recently, but the risk of getting hit by a tsunami has not changed. So in Japan, they put out a warning even though the risk was slight because people are more fearful that a tsunami will happen.

Links:

Fox News story on the earthquake in Okinawa and on the tsunami warning:
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/10/04/earthquake-strikes-japan-okinawa-island/

Eau Claire Flood Trends and the Swiss Cheese Model

     I thought the flooding here in Eau Claire was bad, but not much damage was reported in the city (especially compared to that of other areas, see first link below). I read a Leader Telegram article that said it was because of the prevention actions (like buying private land off the river banks) the city took after the 1993 flood.  When I looked into some history on flooding of the Chippewa River, there have been a few really nasty ones. The first one I could find was 1884 at 12.9 feet above the flood stage level. Then the major floods progressively become less and less high. I'm not really sure what this trend shows. Maybe it shows how technological advances help out with flood control or how getting properties off the flood planes reduce damages. Or maybe this is related to global warming in some way.
    One thing I found really interesting after today's lecture on Reason's swiss cheese model was that the Eau Claire flood obviously avoided enough holes, like not getting more rain, warning people of the flood and not having to much destructive flotsom.  But I believe there may have been one "hole" the flood went through, and that would be the National Weather Service's dangerous flood stage level being too high for the Chipewwa. Granted, everyone knew it was incorrect, but it still sort of shows an example of the holes in the swiss cheese model.

Links:

Leader Telegram article on the damages of the floods in Wisconsin:
http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/article_dc21a7e6-cc0c-11df-a057-001cc4c002e0.html

Leader Telegram article on minimal EC flood:
http://www.leadertelegram.com/news/front_page/article_c3722832-cb86-11df-a99e-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=story

history on Eau Claire flooding:
http://emergencymanagement.wi.gov/mitigation/stories/hm-eau_claire_success.pdf

Chippewa River Flood!

     Tons of people had come to look at the river this weekend. Many were confused becuase it had not rained it a while, so why would the river flood?  I'm not sure, but it was probably runoff water from the rains we had a few days earlier. The river was at its highest on Saturday/Sunday, and by Sunday morning it started to go down again.  There was alot of pieces of trees floating down the river as a result of flood damage.

     My friend talked to a police office on Saturday morning who said parts of lower campus had flooded over night. She works at the bookstore in Davis and then had to help get merchandise out of the basement because the water had gotten in there. She said alot of merchandise was waterlogged and pretty gross.

     I talked to another friend who has lived in Eau Claire her whole life and she said she has never seen the river this high before.  So the flood definately was a unique event and one that got the public's attention. 

Article from WEAU on receding water:

http://www.weau.com/home/headlines/103828399.html

Wet Weather in Wisconsin

     Much of western Wisconsin is experiencing heavy rains and flooding today. One of the most severe areas is the city of Arcadia, roughly 50 miles south of Eau Claire. It is a city of 2,400 and some were relocated last night. People are being advised to stay out of the city which is in a state of emergency. No deaths or injuries have been reported yet. There was a very early warning for the flooding (I remember seeing it on the news Wednesday morning.) The police and fire department responded very promptly. The Red Cross has made a church in Arcadia a shelter for residents. Also the National Guard has deployed emergency vehicles to Arcadia to help get people out. Overall, I think the advanced warning and the responce to the floods and rain was very prompt and effective.
     Like I mentioned earlier, I saw this warning on the news Wednesday morning. But I forgot about it because I didn't think it would be that big of a deal and it was a boring news story with graphs and radar images. So when I saw that Arcadia was is a state of emergency with video and pictures of the high rains and flooding, I was alittle shocked. I think this just goes to show we as a society in general are not interested in disasters and weather unless it is happening right now and is severe.

Links:

LaCrosse Tribune article on the State of Emergency in Arcadia:
http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/article_c736a1e0-c6ff-11df-8334-001cc4c002e0.html

WEAU report on the Red Cross setting up shelter in Arcadia:
http://www.weau.com/home/headlines/103606404.html

Crocodiles, Money, and Looting: Following Hurricane Karl

     Today I did a Google search on Hurricane Karl, expecting to find new information on deaths, damages, aid, ect. And while a few stories showed up estimating insured losses of the area, most of the stories are about the many endangered crocodiles that were freed by Karl. Of course, this story is important to protect the public, but I just thought it was funny that this story tended to take prevalence over that of the financial cost or that the president, Felipe Calderon, visited the disaster area. I guess in a way this relates to the idea that journalists are reporting on stories they think people want to hear, but I honestly don't understand why anyone would want to hear more about the crocodiles than the cost or what the president had to say.
     Moving on, as I previously mentioned, many reports are out that the insured losses are worth between 200 and 300 million dollars.  This figure makes me wonder how much uninsured damage was done to the area and what kind of aid will be available for Mexico.
     Another funny story I found was about Felipe Calderon, president of Mexico's, visit to the disaster site. This report claimed that he is  asking for clean water and food for the Veracruz area, but in the same report it mentions that people are "looting" in flooded places for food and alcohol. When does "looting" become an act of survival? If the president is asking for aid in the form of food and water, why does it matter if these people are taking those very provisions where they are available? Even if the looted stores are functional in the future, what are they going to do with all those goods anyway?  I just think it is a somewhat petty thing to worry about at the moment. I can see if it was alcohol or Ipods or jewelry because those things are not necessary for survival, and I am sure not everyone is out stealing alcohol and expensive luxury items. But then again, where is the line drawn between thievery and survival in disaster situations?

Links:
Insured Loss:
http://www.property-casualty.com/News/2010/9/Pages/AIR-Insured-Losses-From-Hurricane-Karl-Up-To-200M.aspx

President/ looter article:
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/americas/Calderon-Storm-Damaged-Veracruz-Needs-Help-VOA-News-103449904.html

One of many crocodile articles:
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6818847-hurricane-karl-leaves-crocs-on-the-loose

Follow Up on Hurricane Karl

     Last Friday I posted a blog about how the hurricane left the Yucatan and gained strength. Karl re-entered Mexico at the coastal city of Veracruz on Friday.  Precautions were taken, and many people were evacuated. The reports claim only 7-12 people were killed, however a lot of material damage was sustained.  Veracruz is a large city in Mexico with much of it economy based on its ports. This hurricane will most likely have a bad effect on this sector of the economy, but most of the municipalities have been placed in a state of emergency and will get some form of aid. However, like we discussed in class, that aid will probably be put towards rebuilding and getting the city functioning as quickly as possible and not much long-term planning will go into it. So therefore next time a hurricane or other disaster hits, the city will have to do the same thing over again. Also, upon doing a quick search, I learned that the president of the municipality of Veracruz is a member of the openly corrupt PRI party, so it will be interesting to see how the clean-up of Veracruz will be handled.
     In addition to the damage sustained in Veracruz, many other Mexican cities are facing Karl's lingering effects. Many areas near Veracruz and further inland are facing heavy rains that could possibly lead to floods or landslides. I have a friend in Northern-central Mexico right now who says the rains are extremely heavy even though she was far enough inland to not face the actual hurricane.

Tropical Storm Karl Becomes a Hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico

     This week there have been several hurricanes and tropical storms forming and moving across the Atlantic towards Mexico. Hurricane Karl is one of these hurricanes. When it reached the Yucatan Peninsula it was a tropical storm, but once it got past the peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico it became a small hurricane. Right now it is just skimming the coast in some cities.  It is predicted that parts of Mexico's Eastern coast will feel at least some effects of the hurricane, mostly in the form of heavy rains, flooding and landslides in the mountains. There are hurricane warnings for much of the East coast, including the city of Poza Rica which houses an oil-processing center for Pemex. If the hurricane does get worse and precautions are not taken, the effects on the oil industry of this city in particular could be devastating. However, the Eastern Coast of Mexico is not unaccustomed to tropical storms and hurricanes, so the area is knowledgeable of how to deal with these events. To support this claim, the parts of the coast that Hurricane Karl has touched recorded minimal damage and no deaths or injuries.
     I have a few friends that live in the capital city of the Yucatan. I have been trying to contact them to see what the storm was like, but I have not heard back from them yet.


Links:
http://www.salon.com/wires/us/2010/09/16/D9I937L00_tropical_weather/

This video shows Tropical Storm Karl leaving the Yucatan to gain strength in the Gulf.

New Zealand Earthquake 9/4/10

     A 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit the south island of New Zealand on the morning of September 4. This earthquake was an aftershock of the 7.0 earthquake that had hit the evening before.  Of the several cities damaged by the aftershock, Christchurch was one of the worst. Since the 7.1 earthquake, many more aftershock quakes have hit the area. The estimated rebuilding cost is about 4 billion New Zealand dollars just for the city of Christchurch.
     There have been no fatalities so far and only two people injured, but the damage done to the southern island is devastating. Homes are destroyed, cars smashed, and streets broken up. People's lives have been abruptly disrupted by the quake, and the aftershocks are making it hard for an normalcy to return. There were some reports of people robbing shops that had been damaged, but these looters were stopped quickly. Also the rebuilding of Christchurch will take time and a lot of money, which is bound to have a negative impact on the people. All in all, however, the people of the southern island were relatively physically unharmed and, in my opinion, that is what matters most. But the repercussions of this quake and its aftershocks could harm the economy and the people's health, whether it be psychological damage due to witnessing the quake or, as suggested by guardian.co.uk, poisoned groundwater due to a damaged sewer system.
     According to the USGS website, there had been an earthquake the night before in New Zealand, so perhaps people could have been more prepared for the quake. Other than that, New Zealand often experiences earthquakes, and therefore the people know how to handle themselves in that situation, which is apparent because only two people have been severely injured.



Links:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/08/christchurch-new-zealand-_n_708742.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSRTR2HZ86

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iQRjyuI6Pc4hlaaxS-tjgOlct2pw

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/04/earthquake-christchurch-new-zealand