Premature Snow Storm Does Damage Along The East

A snow storm according to many to be the earliest they have ever seen dropped 30 inches of snow along the Northeast coast from Maryland to Maine. It caused damage including snapped trees, powerlines, and electrical failure to millions of homes. This incident although not clearly stated could be a minor freakout that the East tends to go through when it snows an abnormal amount. People were said to be struggling to get gas and crews were being brought in from Michigan and Canada...Although this storm created the largest amount of power outages per home than any previous records. The damage is also linked to the wet heavy characteristics that the snow exhibited. If you want to see video on the situation you may find a link on the video's page.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45100861/ns/weather/

New Zealand Cargo Ship

The Rena slowly taking on water and keeling over.

A cargo ship named The Rena has struck a reef of the coast of New Zealand which caused huge cracks in the hull and is taking on water by the day. The oil used to power the ship is what the current concern is. Over 350 tons of fuel oil have already been spewed into the sea killing thousands of sea birds. The oil will continue to leak without contraint due to the bad weather that is recently been plaguing the area. The Bay of Plenty is popular for its long sandy beaches but with oil now making its way to shore the damage is becoming more widespread.

Dust Storm In Texas

70 mph winds ripped through Lubbock, Texas Monday making visibility almost zero. Texas has been undergoing huge droughts this season which can lead to dust storms such as this. Citizens of Lubbock described the storm as an "8,000 foot high rolling dust cloud." Attached to the article here, is amazing footage of the could making it's way into town. Situations like this have huge health concerns because inhaling dust in large quantities can be deadly. Storms like this go to show the domino effect that droughts can cause.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44939529/ns/weather/

Hurricane Jova is about to make Landfall

Hurricane Jova has built to a category 3 hurricane as it swirls off the Pacific Coast of Mexico on Monday. Already with 125 mph winds Jova seems to be growing as it heads towards Barra de Navidad. It is expected to make landfall on Tuesday at the same time it's expected to reach a category 4 storm. To prepare for the hit local hotels and buisness owners are boarding up windows, and cleaning water channels to prepare for the onslaught of water. It's good that they can brace for a storm like this although the nearby hills help protect the port in town. It's about 50/50 as far as locals say. Some are stocking up with supplies while others watch the beast with a beer in hand. The tourists think differently however, and most have checked out of their hotels. The local government has already established areas for citizens to go if they choose. Ballrooms, basements, and schools are all set for shelters in case the storm gets ugly.

Floods in Thailand Ruin Ancient City

Flooding at a World Heritage Site in Thailand

Floods in Thailand continue after starting back in mid-July. The floods have already took the lives of 224 people with the number growing by the day. The ancient city of Ayutthaya is about 400 years old and considered a World Heritage Site. This is just one of 500 temples that are being affected by the on going flooding in this region. If you look at this in the paradigm aspect of engineering you can take into account that these structures although built fairly strong to have survived over 400 years. This is a prime example of an in-tangible loss because they have historical meaning and can no longer be rebuilt with the same thought in mind.  The temples may be strong but the surrounding homes that seem to be made of shanty material are some of the most susceptible buildings to flooding. Not only do they allow water to consume the house they are not built to withstand this onslaught of water. The behavioral paradigm would go about this flooding event in saying that people shouldn't build on a low lying landscape. However, this area is very poor so most of the citizens in the town are forced to live in the more susceptible areas. The development approach gets into what can be done following an event such as this in order to enhance mitigation efforts. In a case such as flooding along the Chao Phraya, once the flood waters reside they may want to look into building higher embankments to prevent future floods of this magnitude. They may also want to look into the clean up of this area afterwards. Since the water is very stagnant it has the potential to foster disease. During or even directly afterwards setting up a hospital or shelter that gives medical attention would quickly decrease the amount of casualties afterwards. Summing this all up in the complexity approach you can quickly see why area's like this tend to take flooding in a more damaging way. If your in an impoverished area you don't have the funding to create higher embankments or flood gates. You also don't have sufficient jobs that would allow the citizens to build better homes or homes in other places. Without proper buildings or location of certain buildings (i.e. hospitals) the area is going to be at a much higher risk for casualties not only during the incident but following the disaster as well.


Information found at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44772469/ns/weather/

Massive Chemical Fire Rages in Dallas, Texas

A fire broke out today in a large chemical plant called Magnablend Inc located in Waxahachie, Texas. Residents that lived around the plant were ordered to evacuate due to the toxic compounds that may be in the air. On top of residents the local college and elementary schools were also evacuated. Although they don't currently know what caused the fire to break out, all the employee's had a chance to get out before the fire started to consume the entire building. Due to the chemical nature of the fire the ground crews were trying to contain it with little success. It quickly spread to the parking lot and lit a firetruck on fire as well. The gases in this blaze are what to worry about not only will the fumes become mixed with the air but the explosions and fire will launch volatiles into the air leaving citizens susceptible to skin exposure. The state of Texas is expected to bring in an air-monitoring system to gauge how bad the air quality is, in case further evacuations have to occur. An event like this is out of the norm of environmental hazards but the consequences can often be catastrophic. It would be interesting to see how not only the air quality but water quality will be affected by an incident like this. See the following link for a live video account of the situation.