Archive | May 20, 2016
Major Evacuation Of 2 Million People As Mega Cyclone Roanu Approaches Bangladesh
Bangladesh is relocating around 2 million people from its coastal areas ahead of cyclone Roanu’s anticipated landfall on Saturday evening, an event that also has authorities in neighbouring India and Myanmar on edge.
The cyclonic storm brought heavy rains this week in Sri Lanka, triggering two landslides that were feared to have killed around 150 people and forced more than 223,000 persons from their homes.
“Low-lying areas of [Bangladesh’s] coastal districts … are likely to be inundated by a storm surge of four to five feet height above normal astronomical tide,” the country’s weather office said on its website.
India’s meteorological department said on Friday evening the storm was likely to move along the country’s east coast and intensify into a severe cyclone in the next 24 hours, before crossing the south Bangladesh coast as a cyclonic storm with lesser intensity.
Bangladesh’s disaster ministry secretary, Mohammad Shah Kamal, told reporters the country had already taken “all sorts of steps” including moving people away from the eye of the storm. India’s Andhra Pradesh state has also moved some people from low-lying areas.
Bangladesh, a poor South Asian country, has been one of the worst victims of nature’s fury in recent years. More than 3,000 people were killed by cyclone Sidr in 2007 and around 200 lives were lost to cyclone Aila in 2009.
Courtesy of theguardian.com
Devastating Hailstorm Wipes Out Crops In Las Cruces, New Mexico
A rainstorm quickly turned into a hailstorm in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
The storm didn’t last very long, but the damage stuck around the day after.
Farmers at the Fabian Garcia Research Institute for New Mexico State University began cleaning up the mess the storm left behind.
“It was hard and I honestly want to say this research farm here on University Avenue got it worse than anywhere I’ve seen even on campus,” senior research specialist, Danise Coon said.
The Institute at Fabian Garcia is well known for producing chile but the rain caused enough damage to jeopardize the crop.
On Thursday, chile and onion crops remained flooded by rain water.
Quarter-size hail destroyed an estimated 30 percent of both the vineyards at the facility.
Project Coordinator for Viticulture Daniel Goodrich told KFOX14 many berries were going to be lost.
Even though the storm ruined many of the plants at the institute, researchers remain hopeful some plants will make a comeback.
“Hopefully they’ll come out of it and will come out stronger than before,” Coon said.
Courtesy of kfoxtv.com
Mega Flooding Has Killed At Least 64 And Displaced More Than 400,000 In Sri Lanka
Hundreds of small boats navigated deep floodwaters that have inundated thousands of homes in the Sri Lankan capital to deliver aid and rescue the elderly and sick from rooftops, as forecasters warned of more heavy rain.
The heavily-indebted Government of President Maithripala Sirisena and Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe have been struggling to deliver aid to the most vulnerable.
More than 400,000 are affected, officials have told local media.
Some stranded residents wading through shoulder-deep water in Colombo waved frantically at a passing army boat for help, pleading to be taken to dry ground.
“We have only the clothing that we are wearing,” said Eranda Dias, a 27-year-old mechanic who escaped with his mother and wife as brackish water filled their home in the city’s outskirts.
“We did not know what to do,” he said as soldiers pulled him up into the boat, explaining that the water had been a half-meter high most of the week and then suddenly rose. His mother, a retired teacher, worried about how she would receive her monthly pension now that her documents were lost.
The weeklong rains have caused chaos across Sri Lanka, unleashing deadly landslides and driving tens of thousands from their homes.
Since Monday, at least 64 people have died from lightning strikes, drowning, falling trees and landslides triggered by the rains, officials said. That includes at least 31 victims of mudslides that swallowed up three hillside villages in the central district of Kegalle, where hundreds were still missing.
Courtesy of thestandard.com.hk
Massive dust storm uproots trees, disrupts traffic in Chandigarh, India
A massive dust storm, accompanied by strong winds, lashed the city this evening uprooting trees in some areas and disrupting traffic in several parts of the city.
The police said they received calls about falling of trees from Sectors 7, 8, 10 and 18, which led to congestion on roads. Some vehicles were also damaged as trees fell on them. The dust storm resulted in major traffic snarls between 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm in many parts of the city, including Sectors 7, 8, 9, 10, 17 and 22.
According to eye-witnesses, two trees fell outside Hotel Mountview in Sector 10 damaging two cars. Similar incidents were reported from Sector 18 where six cars were damaged after two tree fell on them. In Sector 7, two trees damaged two cars and leading to major snarl-ups.
“A 96-km per hour wind began at around 6.30 pm and brought with it a lot of dust. Visibility dropped to 500 metres in many parts of the city,” informed an official of the Met Department.
The dust storm was an outcome of extremely hot conditions, which pushed the mercury over 43°C over the week, said the official. Meanwhile, light rain that followed the dust storm brought a much-needed relief to residents who have been reeling under sweltering conditions for over a week now.
The dust storm left many sectors in the city without power for several hours. The areas affected included sectors 7, 8, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41 and 44 and Burail. — TNS
Two rowers who were practising at Sukhna Lake were caught in the dust storm. Police teams and two fire tenders, each from Sector 17 and Mani Majra fire stations, were rushed to the spot and the youths were rescued.
Courtesy of tribuneindia.com
Mass die off of fish found in a river in Eloor, India
Dead fish floating in the Periyar in the Eloor-Edayar area on Wednesday
Another mass fish kill was found in the Eloor-Edayar belt of the Periyar again on Wednesday. Dead fish were found on both sides of the Pathalam regulator-cum-bridge in large numbers.
Lack of oxygen in water is said to be the reason for the incident.
This is the second time in the last one week that dead fish has surfaced on a large-scale. Last week, fish kill was spotted on Thursday and Friday.
It is the 15th time in a year that incidences of fish kill has been reported. Seeking a solution to pollution of the Periyar, reportedly by nearby industries and slaughterhouses, K. Sajeevan, chairman of the Pollution Control Board, will be holding a meeting at Eloor on May 23.
At least 200 kg of fish had been killed in the last few days, said Siji Sabu, chairperson of the Eloor Municipality. She told The Hindu that the waste from the slaughterhouse at Kalamassery market and the waste-mixed drainage water from the Kalamassery dumping yard are perhaps the reason for the fish kill last week. The immediate fish kill could be the effluents from the industries in Edayar.
Courtesy of thehindu.com
MAGNITUDE 6.0 NORTHERN TERRITORY, AUSTRALIA
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=507606
Subject To Change
Depth: 10 km
Distances: 1330 km NW of Adelaide, Australia / pop: 1,074,159 / local time: 03:44:05.1 2016-05-21
456 km SW of Alice Springs, Australia / pop: 26,188 / local time: 03:44:05.1 2016-05-21
MAGNITUDE 5.0 EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG., P.N.G.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us10005itn#general
Subject To Change
Depth: 107 km
Distances: 97.0 km (60.3 mi) NE of Kainantu, Papua New Guinea
108.0 km (67.1 mi) SE of Madang, Papua New Guinea
111.0 km (69.0 mi) NNW of Lae, Papua New Guinea
137.0 km (85.1 mi) ENE of Goroka, Papua New Guinea
409.0 km (254.1 mi) N of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
MAGNITUDE 2.3 EASTERN TENNESSEE, USA
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=507547
Subject To Change
Depth: 22 km
Distances: 657 km SW of Washington, D. C., United States / pop: 601,723 / local time: 10:11:53.4 2016-05-20
235 km SE of Frankfort, United States / pop: 25,527 / local time: 10:11:53.4 2016-05-20
8 km NE of Maynardville, United States / pop: 2,413 / local time: 10:11:53.4 2016-05-20
MAGNITUDE 5.2 KURIL ISLANDS
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us10005iti#general
Subject To Change
Depth: 82 km
Distances: 119.0 km (73.9 mi) S of Kuril’sk, Russia
226.0 km (140.4 mi) ENE of Nemuro, Japan
247.0 km (153.5 mi) ENE of Shibetsu, Japan
309.0 km (192.0 mi) E of Abashiri, Japan
1184.0 km (735.7 mi) NE of Tokyo, Japan
MAGNITUDE 3.1 AUSTRIA
http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=507553
Subject To Change
Depth: 5 km
Distances: 140 km SE of München, Germany / pop: 1,260,391 / local time: 15:14:45.0 2016-05-20
36 km S of Salzburg, Austria / pop: 150,269 / local time: 15:14:45.0 2016-05-20
19 km SE of Schönau am Königssee, Germany / pop: 5,319 / local time: 15:14:45.0 2016-05-20
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