Satellite imagery from NOAA shows Hurricane Irene, then a tropical storm, making landfall in New York City. (NOAA) Click the image to view a slideshow on Examiner.com of Irene's impact.
The Atlantic’s first major hurricane struck the United States over the weekend becoming the first hurricane to make landfall in the country since 2008. It adds to the nation’s tally of billion dollar disasters this year and leaves at least two dozen people dead in its wake.
As reported by the Natural Disasters Examiner, initial damage estimates put losses from the storm at $7 billion. Total losses including the economic impact may approach $20 billion.
More than the economic impact though is the human toll. At latest count, at least 26 people were killed in the massive storm. Eight states stretching from Florida to Connecticut saw citizens lose their lives.
For complete coverage of Hurricane Irene, check out the links from the Natural Disasters Examiner below:
This video screen capture shows the stage at the Indianapolis State Fair as it collapsed. Watch the video below. (YouTube / JSilas7)
Winds alone are not normally associated with the loss of life but a sad reminder of the dangers was seen at the Indianapolis State Fair on Saturday. Powerful thunderstorm winds downed a stage killing five people and injuring dozens while officials appeared to ignore warnings of the impending danger.
The Natural Disasters Examiner wrote in a story on Monday that the warning signs for severe weather in central Indiana were readily apparent as early as two days before the storm.
The National Weather Service discussed the thunderstorm and high wind dangers in its Hazardous Weather Outlook multiple times. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch was issued hours before and a Warning 10 minutes before.
Despite this, officials at the fair failed to make a timely decision to cancel the Sugarland concert. When the winds, estimated at 50 to 70mph struck, it only took a matter of seconds for the stage’s rigging to collapse. Five people died and more than 40 were injured due to their failure.
The tragedy should serve as a reminder to everyone to pay attention to changing weather. Do not ignore weather watches and warnings, no matter what others are doing. The life you save may be your own.
The video below captures the event with shocking clarity. It may be disturbing for some so viewer discretion is advised.
Our hearts and prayers go out to all those affected by the tragedy.
Before (left) and after (right) photos of the Sulzberger Ice Shelf illustrate the calving event associated with the Japan earthquake and resulting tsunami that occurred on March 11, 2011. The icebergs have just begun to separate in the left image. Click the image for a larger view.
Nearly 8,000 miles away the power of the tsunami caused by the March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake was felt in a resounding fashion. New satellite imagery released by NASA shows 50 square miles of ice from the Sulzberger Ice Shelf on the coast of Antarctica being broken off due to the waves.
Scientists have speculated that a tsunami could cause flexing of ice and result in pieces breaking off. The quake and resultant tsunami in Japan have now proven that theory.
NASA researchers utilized imagery from the European Space Agency’s Envisat satellite. The before and after pictures clearly show numerous icebergs having been calved from the shelf.
The tsunami is estimated to have been only one foot high when it reached the Earth’s southernmost continent. However the stress was enough to break apart the 260 foot thick shelf and calve an area of ice equal to the size of Manhattan Island in New York.
Douglas MacAyeal of the University of Chicago and one of the researchers who made the discovery said the event shows how connected the planet’s systems are.
“This is an example not only of the way in which events are connected across great ranges of oceanic distance, but also how events in one kind of Earth system, i.e., the plate tectonic system, can connect with another kind of seemingly unrelated event: the calving of icebergs from Antarctica’s ice sheet,” MacAyeal said in a statement.
Tornadoes and other forms of severe weather have caused extraordinary damage and loss of life this spring across the nation.
Tornadoes, damaging wind, hail and flooding rains are a fact of life in the United States in the springtime. This season however has seen an absolutely devastating series of storms systems that have brought extraordinary levels of destruction and loss of life.
Among our writing assignments for Examiner.com we are the Natural Disasters Examiner. Of late the vast majority of our coverage has centered on the severe weather. Below are some of the stories we have written in recent days about the outbreaks. Follow the links for greater detail including photos and videos.
Deadly severe weather season continues as 13 killed across three states Mother Nature continues to pile on more severe weather in what has been a particularly devastating and deadly spring in the United States. Tornadoes, hail, and damaging wind struck the central and southern U.S. yesterday killing at least 13 people.
2011 tornado statistics provide chilling empirical evidence of a deadly season The scenes of utter devastation have been played out across the nation this spring as tornadoes rip across the landscape. The latest statistics for the tornado season show clearly that the death toll has been staggering and the number of twisters record-setting.
Tornado statistics: Top 25 deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history With an average of 1,200 tornadoes per year, more twisters strike the United States than any other nation in the world. These storms can strike with deadly effects with a single twister covering more than a hundred miles, wiping out entire towns and claiming dozens of lives.
Saturday evening the stage was set for severe weather across the nation’s heartland and Mother Nature came through in spades. More than a dozen tornadoes were reported as were scores of significant hail events.
Despite the number of events most resulted in little damage. However one tornado, by some accounts as big as three quarters of a mile wide, struck the town of Mapleton, Iowa. This massive wedge tornado struck at 7:21 CDT and caused significant damage in the town.
The video below was captured by storm chasers as they tracked the dangerous tornado.
A building's facade lies in the street after the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. Click the image to view a slideshow. (TwitPic / bebe33)
Christchurch, New Zealand was struck by a powerful magnitude 6.3 earthquake on Tuesday that wreaked havoc across the nation’s second largest city. Buildings were reduced to rubble and people buried alive in what is being called the ‘darkest day’ in the New Zealand history.
In September the area was struck by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake and recovery efforts from that quake were still underway when the new quake struck. Buildings that were already weakened by last year’s quake, then the initial quake today struggled to hold up with the ongoing aftershocks.
Prime Minister John Key said, “It is just a scene of utter devastation. We may well be witnessing New Zealand’s darkest day.”
Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Yasi moves inland over flood ravaged Queensland, Australia. Click the image to view more satellite photos on Examiner.com (CIMSS)
Devastating flooding over the past month and a half inundated hundreds of thousands of square miles in the Australian state of Queensland. The last thing the weary residents needed was more stormy weather but that is what came in the form of Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi.
Just a few days ago Tropical Cyclone Anthony made landfall on Australia’s northeast coast. Mercifully it was a relatively small storm. The same cannot be said of Yasi.
Yasi landed at midnight local time on Thursday as a powerful Category 5 storm packing wind gusts to 186 mph. Tens of thousands of residents fled the storm as it approached and reports of down trees, roofs ripped off homes and widespread power outages are being seen.
“This is a cyclone of savagery and intensity,” warned Prime Minister Julia Gillard. “People are facing some really dreadful hours in front of them.”
Accompanying the damaging wind was destructive storm surge more than six feet high that will likely submerge low lying coastal areas. Rains from the storm are sure to drench ground already saturated from the massive flooding Queensland has seen in recent weeks and new flooding is likely.
The storm has moved inland and is near the town of Georgetown. It still is packing powerful punch as a Category 3 cyclone with gusts in excess of 127 mph (205 kph).
Snowfall totals from the latest snowstorm to strike the northeastern United States. Click the image for a larger view. (Examiner.com)
Yet another major snowstorm pummeled the northeastern United States yesterday and last night, their third in less than a month. Snow totals in many areas from this single storm have far exceeded what Denver has received for its entire snow season thus far.
Snow began falling on Wednesday snarling evening commutes from Virginia to New York and picked up in intensity overnight.
Snowfall totals this morning include 18.9 inches at Newark Airport, 19.0 inches at Central Park and 15.1 inches in Philadelphia (click here to view the latest totals from across the region). These all dwarf Denver’s official seasonal total thus far of 12.1 inches!
Even President Barack Obama was not immune to the storm as Marine One, the presidential helicopter, was grounded due to the weather Wednesday. Returning from a trip to Wisconsin, the president took a motorcade back to the White House instead and spent an hour stuck in traffic.
As many as 400,000 residents across the northeast are without electricity as the unusually wet snow wreaked havoc with the utilities. Public schools are closed Thursday and many government offices followed suit with the only exception being emergency personnel.
New York area airports shuttered Wednesday causing flight delays and cancellations across the nation. The FAA reports that most should open late this morning or this afternoon.
Virtually every major city has reported seasonal snowfall totals so far this year far in excess of normal. New York City, Boston, Worcester and Providence all have accumulated more than a foot of snow above average.
Click the image to the left to view a slideshow of images of the snow around New York City (Examiner.com).
Two teens in Australia discovered that certain flotation devices aren't appropriate in a flooding river. (Trevor Pinder)
Sometimes you just can’t save people from themselves. With Australia battling flooding across four of its states, emergency officials have had their hands full providing relief and rescuing those affected by the disaster. The Natural Disasters Examiner reports about how the decision by a young couple to test the floodwaters with inflatable sex dolls earlier this week was not met with amusement by authorities.
The 19-year-old couple chose to enter the waters of the Yarra River near Melbourne with inflatable sex dolls to aid them in their swim. The rushing waters apparently were too much for the pair – and the dolls – and they soon found themselves in danger.
The young lady held onto a tree while her companion and his doll stood watch and began yelling for help. A passerby called police and rescue units retrieved the couple from the river.
According to The Telegraph, officials told the couple that sex dolls were “not a recognized flotation device.” Authorities were not pleased to have had to divert resources for a rescue that should not have been necessary.
Flooding in Australia has become a disaster of gargantuan proportions as hundreds of thousands of acres across four states have been flooded. More than 30 people have been killed and tens of thousands of people are now homeless.
A 'super storm' like one that struck California 150 years ago would flood an area hundreds of miles long. (USGS / Google Earth)
California and earthquakes go together like coffee and a cup but a new study suggests that an entirely different kind of disaster may have a bigger impact. The U.S. Geological Survey gathered 117 scientists to evaluate a hypothetical – but possible – “super storm” and its impact on the Golden State.
At the end of 1861 and into the beginning of 1862 a very wet Pacific storm inundated California with rain. This storm turned much of the Sacramento Valley into an inland sea and flooded an area hundreds of miles long.
Today, California is the United State’s most populous state and it has the equivalent of the eighth largest economy in the world. The study shows that if a similar storm were to occur today the result would be disastrous.
The implications of this disaster scenario are tremendous and stretch far beyond California’s borders. Further, one has to wonder ‘what if’ Thornton and the Denver area were presented with a similar scenario?
