Typhoon Nesat hits China

A typhoon rampaged past Hong Kong and Hainan Island, one of China's biggest financial centers where schools, businesses, and financial markets closed down.  After passing through the Philippines, killing 39 people and missing 31, the typhoon brought heavy rains and winds, causing many delays on export-dependent harbors.  Tropical cyclones regularly hit Hong Kong, the Philippines and other coastal regions of south China in summer and early in autumn.              

I learned from this article about the different types of warnings that are used to evacuate cities.  Hong Kong has a series of different typhoon warnings. Schools, businesses and government services stop when any No.8 or above typhoon warnings are issued.  Nearly 20 shelters were also set up around Hong Kong, while the government cancelled public events, including the daily flag raising ceremony at the city’s Victoria Harbor. 

Article here:

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/09/29/typhoon-nesat-hits-china

Guatemala landslide kills 15

A landslide in northern Guatemala killed a total of 15 people on tuesday, 3 of them children.  Heavy rains in the morning caused the disaster that loosened the ground and eventually tumbled over houses and crushing people.  Rain and unstable terrain prevented rescue teams from reaching the landslide on foot and crews have been removing dirt with heavy machinery.

This is a classic example of how degradation of the land can easily cause the land to fall apart and cause disasters.  This farm land was already unstable, so with the help of a little rain and previous earthquakes in the weekend, it was a perfect formula.  Farms need to not cut down so many trees and keep some around for their roots to soak up some of the water.

Article Here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/21/us-guatemala-landslide-idUSTRE78K0TH20110921

Earthquake Victims struggle in Himalaya's overnight

After a devastating earthquake that hit the Himalaya's on Monday, rescue workers struggled to provided relief for citizens who were stuck in the high mountains.  Heavy rains and mudslides prevented any sort of help, yet eventually helicopters managed to drop food and supplies and roads were eventually cleared of mud.  This 6.9 earthquake killed 53 people and damaged more than 100,000 homes. 

It is surprising to hear how much of an impact this quake had on surrounding cities; for instance, two men and a child were crushed when a brick wall toppled outside the British Embassy in the capital, Katmandu. Almost 70 more people were injured, and were transported to hospitals across Nepal.  The majority of deaths in India occurred when houses, already weakened from recent monsoon rains, collapsed from the force of the earthquake.

Article here:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iX2jeXsAw-L5eNjWO_uWTss_glhA?docId=1fbea8b8514845efb5e0372d048c4412

6.6 Magnitude Earthquake hits Japan

Location of 6.6 earthquake in Japan

This Saturday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey reported a decent shake to the southern coast of Japan.  No casualties or damage was immediately reported, but this 6.6 earthquake hit 67 miles southeast of Hachinohe and was shallow, at 22.6 miles beneath the surface.

Due to the recent tsunami Japan had, the country has been quite prepared and on guard for any sort of repeated disaster.  It has been reported that only about 10% of Japanese tsunamis now cause death or damage because of hazard mitigation policies, yet a lack of protection or communication can cause true damage.  I feel that it is important for Japan to be on their toes after their recent disaster, because they never know when disaster will strike.

Article Here:
http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110917/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_earthquake

Texas drought hurts ranchers

As things heated up this summer in Texas with record setting highs, the Lone Star State is beginning to feel the affect of the heat wave as farmers and ranchers struggle to feed animals or grow anything.  The rich land was burnt up, leaving nothing but dry riverbeds, withering grass, compared to the never-ending land of green.  The most affected by this are cattle and sheep ranchers, but has cost the state a record $5.2 billion in livestock and crop losses.


The state received just 7.33 inches of rain this year through August, which is the lowest in four decades.The drought is a result of La Niña, which creates drier-than-normal conditions in the southern United States.  To adapt to this crisis, Texans are adjusting their lifestyles in order to conserve the minimal amount of water left in the state.  For example, restaurants are not giving their guests free water when being served. 

Article here:
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/drought/story/2011-09-12/texas-drought-Dust-Bowl-ranchers/50373618/1

Hurricane Irene disrupts natural wildlife & habitat

After the recent devastation that hurricane Irene caused on the east coast, people are finally beginning to become aware of how this natural disaster affected wildlife and the overall ecosystem of animals and other biolife.  As naturalist and green groups have finally caught up with the recovery of personal and human tragedy, the next to facilitate is the environment around them.  This exemplified a classic example of nature vs. nature, rather than man vs. nature.  This enormous storm scattered and tossed around objects as large as boats, causing a large amount of pollution and oil, chemical, and sewage spills.

However, one of the biggest problems environmentalists are facing are not the pollution aspect, but the large scheme crisis of complete destruction of forests or reshaping river-bends.  These natural occurring areas have taken hundreds, even thousands of years to create, but this hurricane tore it all up in a measly day.  This affects animals because not they're natural habitat which they've been living at for years is suddenly gone and wiped away.

^Small fish were swept into a flooded basement in Ausable Forks

Story here:
http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/18370/20110908/irene-s-environmental-legacy-wildlife-habitat-hit-hard-by-storm