Archive for September, 2017
Typhoon Talim heading for Kyushu
Sunday, September 17th, 2017
Typhoon Talim—the Northwest Pacific Basin’s sixth typhoon of the year—is expected to hit Japan later this week.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of Typhoon Talim in the East China Sea at 10:15 a.m. local time (02:15 Universal Time) on September 14, 2017.
At that time, Typhoon Talim had maximum sustained winds of 115 knots (130 miles or 210 kilometers per hour)—equivalent to a category 4 hurricane—as it moved north along the coast of China. Forecasters expected the storm to curve to the northeast and weaken a bit before making landfall late on September 16 on the island of Kyushu, Japan.
More tropical cyclones spin up each year in the Northwest Pacific than any other ocean basin. On average, the Northwest Pacific sees 17 typhoons each year, according to statistics maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. For comparison, the Atlantic Basin sees an average of six hurricanes each year.
The high activity in the Northwest Pacific is driven in part by the fact that it tends to have large areas of warm water in comparison to other ocean basins. Warm ocean water, along with low wind shear, are two key ingredients that fuel and sustain hurricanes.
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References
- AAP (2017, September 13) Japanese islands hit as Talim intensifies. Accessed September 15, 2017.
- Japan Meteorological Agency TY 1718 (Talim). Accessed September 15, 2017.
- Joint Typhoon Warning Center Current Northwest Pacific/North Indian Ocean* Tropical Systems. Accessed September 15, 2017.
- NOAA Talim. Accessed September 15, 2017.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens
At Cox’s Bazar: Some 150,000 Rohingya children will be immunized over 7 days for measles, rubella and polio.
Sunday, September 17th, 2017“…..Refugee camps were already beyond capacity and new arrivals were staying in schools or huddling in makeshift settlements with no toilets along roadsides and in open fields. Police were checking vehicles to prevent the Rohingya from spreading to nearby towns in an attempt to control the situation…..many children are suffering from flu and risk pneumonia……. Many are suffering from diarrhea, dehydration, skin diseases or worse……..”
Jose, Maria, and Lee: Where are they heading?
Sunday, September 17th, 2017
Maria is about 590 miles east-southeast of the Lesser Antilles and is packing maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. The storm is moving toward the Caribbean at 19 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. It is expected to gain strength through the weekend and become a hurricane by late Monday, forecasters said.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Jose was about 475 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, on Saturday evening, according to the hurricane center.
The category 1 storm could bring rain and wind to the northeastern United States later this week.
A third storm, Tropical Storm Lee, formed earlier Saturday in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Lee is spinning about 720 miles west-southwest of Cape Verde off northwest Africa, according to the hurricane center
FEMA is coordinating a major federal effort in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) to rush much-needed care and commodities to Hurricane Irma survivors while supporting the restoration of basic services.
Sunday, September 17th, 2017Coordinated Efforts Underway to Meet Survivor Needs and Restore Basic Services in Virgin Islands
St. Croix, Virgin Islands – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is coordinating a major federal effort in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) to rush much-needed care and commodities to Hurricane Irma survivors while supporting the restoration of basic services.
One week since Hurricane Irma tore through the Virgin Islands, FEMA continues to work with the federal family, as well as territorial, local, private sector and voluntary agency partners, to respond to immediate survivor needs while jumpstarting the longer-term recovery effort.
“We know survivors are having a very tough time right now, but we want to assure them that FEMA, along with the entire federal family, is working tirelessly to help meet their needs,” said Federal Coordinating Officer William Vogel. “Recovery will require all of us, survivors included, working together.”
As of today, FEMA has sent more than 582,000 meals and 380,000 liters of water to the USVI for the response effort. These basic commodities, along with cots, diapers, baby formula, temporary roofing materials and other necessities, are going to local Points of Distribution in St. John and St. Thomas and to shelters operated by our recovery partner the American Red Cross and others. Additional commodities are arriving on a daily basis.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and the Departments of Defense (DoD), and Health and Human Services (HHS) are some of the federal agencies participating in the massive federal effort to assist the Virgin Islands and its people.
Generators have arrived in St. Thomas for installation in St. Thomas and St. John critical facilities, including shelters, hospitals, emergency service buildings and water treatment plants. USACE has deployed a Power Planning and Response Team to assist with assessments and generator installations in these critical facilities.
The Coast Guard cutter fleet from Sector San Juan, along with other Coast Guard cutters, are supporting Hurricane Irma relief efforts by providing maritime security, assisting with port assessments, as well as transporting supplies, equipment, Coast Guard teams and other government agency responders to St. John and St. Thomas. USCG is also working with Virgin Island and federal responders on coordinating the transportation of people who need to be evacuated from the island.
For the first time in history HHS medical personnel were embedded with DoD search and rescue teams to evacuate dialysis patients requiring treatment from USVI. Additional HHS personnel are providing medical assistance at hospitals in St. Thomas and St. John. In all, approximately 10,000 DoD and 100 HHS personnel are supporting response operations in the USVI and Puerto Rico.
The September 7 presidential disaster declaration for the Virgin Islands makes federal assistance available to eligible homeowners, renters and business owners affected by Hurricane Irma in St. John and St. Thomas.
Survivors who sustained uninsured or underinsured Irma-related damage to their homes, vehicles, personal property, business or its inventory beginning Sept. 6, 2017, and continuing should register for assistance.
Registration can be completed online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, in Spanish at www.DisasterAssistance.gov/es, or by phone at 1-800-621-3362 or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services may call 1-800-621-3362.
The toll-free telephone numbers operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week (local time) until further notice. Operators are standing by to assist survivors in English, Spanish and many other languages.
St. Martin after Irma: Severe food and water shortages were tearing at the social fabric, leaving residents to scavenge for food and, in some cases, fight over what little remained.
Saturday, September 16th, 2017https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpmMOStk6Gs
“…..But there is still almost no fuel or electricity, and food delivery, for now, remains erratic. A near total communication blackout throttles the island. Almost all of the schools are destroyed and will be closed for months, at best.
Hourslong lines wind through the port, as families, tourists and migrant workers alike wait for aid, receiving an odd assortment of items that on some days include frozen chicken and a three-pound bag of mozzarella cheese — on an island with no power and few working appliances to cook or refrigerate them…..”
CDC: 14 new Salmonella cases tied to papayas. The case total now stands at 235, with 78 hospitalizations and 2 deaths (1 in New York and 1 in California).
Saturday, September 16th, 2017
CDC: Raw milk from the K-Bar Dairy in Paradise, Texas, tested positive for Brucella RB51, a rare bacterium that can cause serious illness.
Saturday, September 16th, 2017“People who consumed raw milk or raw milk products from one Texas dairy should contact their health care provider immediately, warn health investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Raw milk from the K-Bar Dairy in Paradise, Texas (northwest of Fort Worth), tested positive for a rare but potentially serious bacteria known as Brucella RB51.
CDC advises that people who consumed raw milk or milk products from the K-Bar Dairy between June 1 and Aug. 7, 2017, should get antibiotic treatment to avoid the risk of lifelong, chronic infections. Initially, people with brucellosis experience fever, sweats, aches and fatigue. If not treated, Brucella RB51 infection can result in long-term complications, like arthritis; heart problems; enlargement of the spleen or liver; and, in rare cases, nervous system problems, like meningitis RB51 can cause severe illness in people with weakened immune systems and miscarriages in pregnant women…..”
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announces that wildland fire suppression costs for the fiscal year have exceeded $2 billion, making 2017 the most expensive year on record.
Saturday, September 16th, 2017“…..At the peak of Western fire season, there were three times as many uncontained large fires on the landscape as compared to the five-year average, and almost three times as many personnel assigned to fires. More than 27,000 people supported firefighting activities during peak Western fire season. The Forest Service has been at Preparedness Level 5, the highest level, for 35 days as of September 14, 2017. Approximately 2.2 million acres of National Forest system lands have burned in that time…..”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MdW0Exghmc
