Citizen Journalist: #storm

Showing posts with label #storm. Show all posts

Thursday, November 10, 2022

Powerful storm in California as Sacramento County faces a tornado

The powerful storm in California left one person dead and two others missing. Floodwaters in a canal swept them away while a tornado touched down in Sacramento County. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado touched down at 1:40 p.m. a few miles outside the town of Galt. It blew away a tin roof on a barn and downed utility lines. The stormy weather raised concerns because it was Election Day and it could keep people from voting. Moreover, there were warnings of flash flood in some areas. The Ontario Fire Department mentioned about a current in a canal in the city that swept six people away. One of them died while firefighters rescued three others. Search is on for the missing persons. 1 dead, 2 missing after floods, snow, tornado hit California on Election Day.

Heavy rain drenched Orange County. There are very close contests here and the result could play a major role to decide which party controls Congress. The Republican Party of the County urged members to vote early and avoid getting stuck in the rain on Election Day. The storm came on Monday and was forecast to continue through Wednesday. This led to issue of evacuation orders in parts of Southern California. The Met department in Northern California warned about the heavy rainfall with consequent debris flows and flash floods in the areas devastated by wildfires in Colorado. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the greater Lake Tahoe area. It could lead to heavy snow in the region with consequent backups in major highways in the area. The agency cautioned that driving in the region would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. Drivers could face whiteout conditions and sub-zero wind chills along ridgelines and near the mountain passes.

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Hurricane Ian flattens portions of the coast of Florida, wash away homes

The Category 4 hurricane Ian devastated Fort Myers Beach in Florida. There were abandoned vehicles in the roadway and debris of broken trees, boat trailers etcetera on the road. The fierce winds flattened large portions of the seaside tourist town. The barrier islands along the southwest Florida coast are famous for their seashells, fishing and laid-back lifestyle. These took major hits with both Sanibel and Captiva isolated and cut off from vehicular traffic. This was because of collapse of the only bridge to the mainland. There was devastation at a mobile home park in Fort Myers Beach. The owners tried to salvage whatever was possible. Hurricane Ian sweeps away homes, memories on barrier islands. A family who owned a gas station business for two years lost it but felt it could recover the loss because the business had insurance.

The storm surge had lifted a dozen large boats. These were nearly 48 feet long and the storm carried those away across the parking lot and a four-lane road and deposited them in a mangrove preserve. The surge left signs of destruction all over the place. Life in the coastal region took a severe hit. As one affected person said - “I thought that given that I have a concrete home with hurricane shutters and storm-grade windows, everything would hold. …. And for the most part it did. We just didn’t think we’d get an 18-foot storm surge.” His home is more than a block from the beach and about 6 feet above sea level. It is also elevated so the living space is about 10 feet off the ground. However, these did not help. Obviously, the behavior of nature is unpredictable and the people have to suffer. This can be taken as a warning from Nature on the miseries that climate change can bring on humanity.

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Hurricane Ian struck the western tip of the island, left millions of Cubans without power and is headed towards Florida

The hurricane knocked out power across all of Cuba. Initially, there was loss of power in the western provinces, but later the entire grid collapsed. That meant nearly 11 million people were left without electricity. Hurricane Ian made landfall as a Category 3 storm and devastated Pinar del Rio province. That meant destruction of large numbers of the country's most important tobacco farms. The authorities had to arrange evacuation of tens of thousands of people as the disaster left behind damaged houses and floods. The US National Hurricane Center said Cuba suffered "significant wind and storm surge impacts." The hurricane had struck with top sustained winds of 125mph and it could gain strength as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico and nears the southwestern coast of Florida. Already orders are given for millions of people of Florida to leave. Hurricane Ian leaves 11 million in Cuba without electricity as it heads towards Florida. Warning is given to residents as well as holidaymakers to take precautions and not be complacent. This is because the hurricane could become a Category 4 storm, with wind speeds of 140mph across the whole state.

Deanne Criswell, spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), held an emergency briefing at the White House. She summed up the grim situation and said - “The storm surge is going to be significant, and you put 20 inches of rain on top of that…. We are talking about impacts in parts of Florida that haven't seen a major direct impact in nearly 100 years." Incidentally, Hurricane Ian is heading towards the Florida Keys. This is a popular holiday destination consisting several islands, some less than a mile wide. US President Joe Biden cancelled a planned trip and called mayors in three Florida cities to assure them federal support is ready to deploy food, fuel and shelter. FEMA has already set up 29 emergency community shelters. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, has declared a state of emergency and urged residents to be prepared. There are predictions of floods for much of the Florida peninsula midweek. This could lead to heavy rainfall for the southeast of the US later this week.

Saturday, September 10, 2022

Tropical storm Kay strikes parts of Southern California with winds of over 100 mph

Regions in Southern California faced winds of 100 mph or more. These set off alarms related to coastal flooding and mudslides. The storm system along the northern coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula could deliver heavy rains, flash flooding, strong winds and muggy conditions. The tropical storm Kay lay about 130 miles off the coast of San Diego. Meteorologists are surprised that the storm has managed to maintain much of its strength even as it moved into the chilly waters near California. Usually, tropical storms lose much of their punch s they move north. That is the opinion of a meteorologist of the National Weather Service in San Diego. Kay continued to produce strong gusts in Southern California. Forecasters indicated Kay was producing 2 to 4 inches of rain in the southernmost areas of California. Some isolated pockets received 6 to 8 inches. Tropical Storm Kay ‘keeps punching’ as it hits SoCal with 100-mph winds, intense rain. Heavy rains and winds of 100 mph struck the mountains in San Diego County. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the northeastern some part of the county.

Singer Alicia Keys postponed her sold-out concert at San Diego State University in view of the possibilities of foul weather. However, the game between the Dodgers and Padres took off as scheduled at Petco Park. There are dangers of flash flood in the mountains of Southern California. The warnings apply to parts of the desert. Areas near the Imperial Valley were under a flash flood warning. The intense winds led to damaged power lines and uprooted trees in San Diego County. Incidentally, it was in 1997 that Southern California last felt the effects of a tropical storm. At the time, it was Tropical Storm Nora. It led to floods, disruption of power apart from traffic crashes. There was also destruction of homes in Orange County.

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Greenland is losing ice at a fast rate with global sea level rise

A study in the Nature Climate Change journal reveals widespread loss of ice from Greenland. The extent of loss could result in global sea level rise of nearly a foot. There is no apparent way to prevent this from happening even if the world stopped releasing planet-heating emissions immediately. The overall loss could trigger at least 10 inches of sea level rise, irrespective of the climate warming scenarios. That would be a matter of concern because it would be equal to the total rise over the last century from Greenland, Antarctica and thermal expansion. Researchers from the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland made note of changes in ice-sheet volume in and around Greenland. It seems meltwater runoff was the primary driver. Subsequently, relying on "well-established theory," they rang the danger bells. The Greenland ice sheet -- equivalent to 110 trillion tons of ice -- will cease to exist as the ice sheet reacts to the changes that have already occurred. Greenland ice losses set to raise global sea levels by nearly a foot, new research shows. The authors did not specify a timeline but their prediction is that the change in sea levels can occur by the end of the century.

Massive sheets of ice sheets can melt at a fast rate when the air temperature is warm. Moreover, the warmer ocean water also erodes the sheet around the edges. Incidentally, a current report released earlier this year by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cautions that coastal regions of the United States could expect 10 to 12 inches of sea level rise in the next three decades. This could mean increase in the frequency of high tide floods and storm surges would spread further inland. In case all the ice melted, it would lift sea levels by roughly 25 feet around the world. This extent of sea level rise could leave some places devastated. The amount of ice that melted in Greenland between July 15 and 17 alone was approximately 6 billion tons of water per day. That is a whole lot of water.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Kolkata hit by sudden storm with wind speeds of 70 km/hour - leaves three dead and six injured

Kolkata was hit by a sudden storm with wind speeds of 70 km/hour that has left three dead and six injured. The storm was accompanied by rain and it took its toll on not just the city but the coastal areas of the state also. Of the tree persons killed, two were in Jadavpur in southern part of the city and one at Beliaghata in northern part of the metropolis.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 18 August 2016.

The three deaths are due to uprooted trees and at least six other persons were injured in different localities in the storm. The condition of one of them was critical. There was heavy traffic snarls at different parts of the city due to water logging. It caused problems for home bound commuters.
Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee informed that the municipal corporation has deployed 22 teams to clear the uprooted trees from the roads. Moreover, due to snapping of overhead wires, train services in Sealdah section were disrupted for hours.

Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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