ehind it roared down the Roaring River drainage into Fall River and through Horseshoe Park before hitting Estes Park. Two more campers died at Aspenglen Campground, just inside the park's Fall River entrance, but early warnings ensured most of the people in harm's way were able to make their way to higher ground before the waters tore through downtown Estes Park and into Lake Estes. Read more.
2012 Drought Impact
The US is facing one of the worst droughts in years leading to a spike in prices of corn, wheat, soybean. Dry and hot weather conditions in the US and Russian Federation has fueled global wheat prices by 21 per cent to $347 per tonne in July, the United Nation’s body Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has said. Read More.
With the addition of 29 counties in eight states today, there are now 1,297 counties across the nation so stricken by drought and heat that they've been declared natural disaster areas, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack just announced. That's about one-third of all U.S. counties, he said. Read More.
It was just one year ago when the Mississippi River rose to historically high levels, after excessive rainfall and flooding across the Ohio River Valley and the Mid-South.Now, the river is near historic lows from the reverse effect of a widespread significant drought. Read More.
MAJOR X-1.4 SOLAR FLARE AND EARTH DIRECTED CME!
Major X1.4 Solar Flare and Earth Directed CME - Active Region 11520 unleashed a Major X1.4 at 16:47 UTC July 12th. Associated with this blast was a Strong R3 Radio Blackout/Fade out over central America.
As this active region was earth-facing a very strong Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) is now Earth-Bound with impact projected late July 14-Earth July 15th where strong Geomagnetic storms will be possible.
35 Million Euros for Disaster Preparedness
Millions of people from the most vulnerable and poorest communities in Central America, Central Asia
and the Caucasus region, South-East Asia and Southern Africa will benefit from the European
Commission's Disaster-Preparedness Programme (DIPECHO). This year € 35 million has been allocated to
help those at risk from natural disasters. DIPECHO funding comes through a dedicated budget line that
has grown over the years from € 8 million in 1998 to € 35 million in 2012.
An important pillar of the DIPECHO programme is the people-centred and community-based approach in disaster-prone regions of the world. This has proven to be extremely successful because in addition to their impact on disaster risk reduction they provide a partner base in often remote areas. Read More.
Extreme Weather Of The Week Photo Essay
The first week of July saw extreme weather hit across much of the country, with a heat wave, drought and severe wildfires all leaving their mark. High temperatures in the past week have shattered many records, with 262 daily high records tied or broken nationwide on July 4. According to the Associated Press, at least 46 deaths across the U.S. can be blamed on the recent heat.
Along with the heat, dry and drought conditions exist in much of the U.S. A report released last week found that "just under 56 percent of the contiguous United States is in drought conditions," reported LiveScience. This marks the most extensive drought area since records began 12 years ago. Michael Hayes, director of the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said in a statement, "The recent heat and dryness is catching up with us on a national scale."
Animals – Natural Disaster Detectors?
There will always be those who believe that animals can detect signs of an impending natural disaster and those who shrug it off as pure hogwash.
Conservationist Debbie Martyr when speaking to BBC News about this said, “Wild animals in particular are extremely sensitive. They’ve got extremely good hearing and they [probably] heard this flood coming in from a distance.
There would have been vibration, and there may also have been changes in the air pressure [that would] have alerted them and made them move to wherever they felt safer.” Click 