NibiruMagick 2012′s Climate Change Update: (14 February 2012) Radioactive “Okinawa soba”, Mass Bird Kills in New Zealand, Global Volcano updates

Uploaded by on Feb 13, 2012

High levels of radioactive cesium have been detected in noodles produced in Okinawa, apparently because they were made with water filtered by ashes from Fukushima-produced wood. The noodles, called “Okinawa soba,” had a level of radioactivity of 258 becquerels of cesium per kilogram.
http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=ED-20120213-…

US: Study Finds Minnesota Groundwater Full of Chemicals
http://www.sott.net/signs/list_by_category/4-The-Living-Planet?page=1

Alert status raised on Indonesia’s Galunggung volcano
http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/

What’s erupting? Map of currently active volcanoes
http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/erupting_volcanoes.html

TC Giovanna makes landfall in Madagascar as Category 4 storm today
http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/

Roads in Ain Draham blocked by 31 inches (80 cm) of snow — Star Wars movie towns covered in snow.
http://iceagenow.info/

Gundersen: They are creating 100 to 1,000 times more radioactive material by burning debris than keeping it in concentrated form (AUDIO)
http://enenews.com/,

JoeyB’s Earth Changes Report: Feb. 10/2012 (Part 1)

Uploaded by on Feb 10, 2012

links below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krDQFFkB84I&feature=g-all-u&context=G2…
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29156
http://www.naturalnews.com/034906_Bill_Gates_geo-engineering_chemtrails.html
http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/magma-plume-large-explo…
http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/indonesias-mt-lokon-vol…
http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/600-birds-found-dead-in…
http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/afghanistan-hit-with-he…
http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/europe-continues-to-suf…
http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/philippines-mt-kanlaon-…
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/241324-Pakistan-Whale-Shark-s-Death-a-Mystery
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/241349-Venice-Freezes-As-Deadly-Chill-Grips…
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/241367-US-Cape-Cod-dolphin-beachings-rise-t…
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/241368-Over-200-dolphins-dead-in-northern-Peru
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/241387-Europe-s-Danube-Freezes-Over-Cold-Sn…
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/241394-Smoke-From-Dump-Fire-Blankets-Jamaic…
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/241422-Believe-it-or-not-the-sky-is-falling…
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/241428-Is-Venus-Rotation-Slowing-Down-
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120209100544.htm
Donate $1 to JoeyB613:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=HA3D…
FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes only. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 106A-117 of the U.S. Copyright Law.
Connect with Joey on Facebook:
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also, visit my website: http://www.PlanetofChange.com

Strange sounds in sky explained by scientists

Mr. Khalilov, what is the nature of the unusual very low-pitched sounds reported by a great number of people in different parts of the planet since the summer of 2011? Many call them “The Sound of the Apocalypse”. Information about that comes from all over the world: US, UK, Costa Rica, Russia, Czech Republic, Australia, etc.
We have analyzed records of these sounds and found that most of their spectrum lies within the infrasound range, i.e. is not audible to humans. What people hear is only a small fraction of the actual power of these sounds. They are low-frequency acoustic emissions in the range between 20 and 100 Hz modulated by ultra-low infrasonic waves from 0.1 to 15 Hz. In geophysics, they are called acoustic-gravity waves; they are formed in the upper atmosphere, at the atmosphere-ionosphere boundary in particular. There can be quite a lot of causes why those waves are generated: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, storms, tsunamis, etc. However, the scale of the observed humming sound in terms of both the area covered and its power far exceeds those that can be generated by the above-mentioned phenomena.
In that case, what could be causing this humming in the sky?
In our opinion, the source of such powerful and immense manifestation of acoustic-gravity waves must be very large-scale energy processes. These processes include powerful solar flares and huge energy flows generated by them, rushing towards Earth’s surface and destabilizing the magnetosphere, ionosphere and upper atmosphere. Thus, the effects of powerful solar flares: the impact of shock waves in the solar wind, streams of corpuscles and bursts of electromagnetic radiation are the main causes of generation of acoustic-gravitation waves following increased solar activity.
Given the surge in solar activity as manifested itself in the higher number and energy of solar flares since mid-2011, we can assume that there is a high probability of impact of the substantial increase in solar activity on the generation of the unusual humming coming from the sky. It should be pointed out that solar activity began to rise sharply since early 2011, with its amplitude significantly higher than all forecasts given by a number of influential scientific institutions in 2010 and 2011. Meanwhile, the observed increase in solar activity is fully consistent with the forecast of the International Committee GEOCHANGE published in the Committee’s Report in June 2010. If this growth rate of solar activity continues, its amplitude by the end of 2012 will be higher than the amplitude of 23rd solar cycle, and in 2013-2014 the solar activity will reach its peak the amplitude of which was predicted by us to be 1.5 – 1.7 times higher than the amplitude of the 23rd cycle.
But you said that the cause of the “sky hum” can lie within Earth’s core as well, what does it mean?
There is one more possible cause of these sounds and it may lie at the Earth’s core. The fact is that the acceleration of the drift of the Earth’s north magnetic pole which increased more than fivefold between 1998 and 2003 and is at the same level today points to intensification of energy processes in the Earth’s core, since it is processes in the inner and outer core that form the Earth’s geomagnetic field. Meanwhile, as we have already reported, on November 15, 2011 all ATROPATENA geophysical stations which record three-dimensional variations of the Earth’s gravitational field almost simultaneously registered a powerful gravitational impulse. The stations are deployed in Istanbul, Kiev, Baku, Islamabad and Yogyakarta, with the first and last one being separated by a distance of about 10,000 km. Such a phenomenon is only possible if the source of this emanation is at the Earth’s core level. That huge energy release from the Earth’s core at the end of the last year was some kind of a start signal indicating the transition of the Earth’s internal energy into a new active phase.
Intensification of the energy processes in the Earth’s core can modulate the geomagnetic field which, through a chain of physical processes at the ionosphere – atmosphere boundary level, generates acoustic-gravity waves the audible range of which has been heard by people in the form of a frightening low-frequency sound in different parts of our planet.
In both cases, even though the causes of acoustic-gravity waves are of a quite understandable geophysical nature, they are indicative of the expected significant increase in solar activity and the geodynamic activity of our planet. There is no doubt that processes in the core rule the internal energy of our planet, therefore, we should expect by the end of 2012 a sharp rise in strong earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and extreme weather events with peak levels in 2013 – 2014.
Thank you for your answers.

WOSCO International News Agency


www.wosco.org

http://wosco.org/index.shtml?script=news.pl&action=info&id_file=365

JoeyB’s Earth Changes Report: Solar Flares, Raining Goo Balls in UK and Texas Fireballs Feb. 3/2012

Whoops! My apologies for the late posting, this one got by me.  Regardless, it took two video’s to get through this action packed Earth changes so it’s most definintely worthy of your attention…

From:    JoeyB613 |    Feb  3, 2012
links below: http://www.space.com/14463-stunning-photo-shows-growing-a… http://news.yahoo.com/18-mile-crack-seen-nasa-antarctic-g… http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/6-0… http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/rus… http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/mex… http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/phi… http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/110… http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/ear… http://www.sott.net/articles/show/241029-US-Texas-Fireball http://www.sott.net/articles/show/241057-Natural-tilts-in… http://www.sott.net/articles/show/241063-Bird-Numbers-Plu… http://www.sott.net/articles/show/241064-Scientists-Snare… http://www.sott.net/articles/show/241071-US-Fearsome-Frid… http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/03/us/colorado-winter-storm/in… http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120202164819… http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120203113308… http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120202151401… http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120202151604… http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-02-insight-southern-ocea… http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-02-sediments-enol-lake-r… http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-02-mission-comet.html http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-02-coral-growth-western-… http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-02-surface-mars-life-mil… http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-02-scientists-high-preci… http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_summary&a… http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_summary&a… http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_summary&a… http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_summary&a… http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid… http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2012/02/pollution-c… Donate $1 to JoeyB613: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&h… FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes only. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 106A-117 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Connect with Joey on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bellmorej

Earth Changes Report: Feb. 3/2012(part 2)

From:    JoeyB613|    Feb  3, 2012       |      652 views

Loading…
links below: http://www.spaceweather.com/ http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php http://quakes.globalincidentmap.com/ http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/?view=1 http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcanoes.html http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/04/dea… http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/04/str… http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120202092246… http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-02-deforestation-threate… Donate $1 to JoeyB613: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&h… FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes only. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 106A-117 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Connect with Joey on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bellmorej

NibiruMagick2012′s Climate Change Update: 2,941+ monthly weather records broken USA (11 December 2011)

Uploaded by on Dec 10, 2011

Records for extreme heat and extreme cold were broken in all 50 U.S. states in 2011, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, an international nonprofit environmental organization. The extremes at time have been disastrous, costing Americans an estimated overall $53 billion. NRDC released a web-based extreme-weather mapping tool showing exactly how areas have been hit, including state-by-state analyses on weather extremes, record breakers, rainfall and snowfall. In 2011, there were at least 2,941 monthly weather records broken by extreme events that struck communities in the US. The frequency and intensity of some extreme events is likely to worsen with climate change.
http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2011/12/11/nrdc-released-2011-extreme-weathe…

http://www.sott.net/signs/list_by_category/4-The-Living-Planet?page=1
http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/
http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/
http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php
http://enenews.com/

Climate Change Data, 5200 Years & The Mayan Calendar (3rd Dec 2011)

Uploaded by on Dec 3, 2011

Mirrored from Thyalwaysseek on Dec 3, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/user/Thyalwaysseek

CLIMATE CHANGE ARTICLE:
http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/5200event.htm

VOLCANO ARTICLE:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15995845

VOLCANO BLOG & UPDATES:
http://www.jonfr.com/volcano/

PRECESSION OF THE EQUINOXES:
http://www.crystalinks.com/precession.html

END OF THE FIFTH SUN:
http://www.diagnosis2012.co.uk/5thsun.htm

THY ALWAYS SEEK FACE BOOK PAGE:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Thy-Always-Seek/222832624395130

__________________________

MrRedway1′s Channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrRedway1

The Redway
http://www.redway2.net/

Do You Now Understand Why You Need To Prepare For Emergencies? This Has Been The Worst Year For Natural Disasters In U.S. History

The Economic Collapse Blog
Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:08 CDT

There has been a natural disaster that has caused at least a billion dollars of damage inside the United States every single month so far this year. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there have been 10 major disasters in the United States this year. On average, usually there are only about 3 major disasters a year. At this point, disasters are happening inside the United States so frequently that there seems to be no gap between them. We just seem to go from one major disaster to the next. Last year, FEMA declared an all-time record of 81 disasters inside the United States. This year, we are on pace for well over 100. We just got done dealing with Hurricane Irene, and now we are dealing with historic wildfires in Texas and unprecedented flooding up in the northeast part of the country. This has been the worst year for natural disasters in U.S. history, and we still have nearly four months left to go. Hopefully after everything that has happened this year it has become abundantly clear to all of us why we need to prepare for emergencies. The world is becoming an increasingly unstable place, and you never know what is going to happen next.

Thankfully, the U.S. has not experienced a disaster on the level of Hurricane Katrina so far this year, but what makes this year different is that we have never seen so many major disasters happen so rapidly. Since the beginning of the year we have had to deal with record-setting winter storms, nightmarish tornadoes, “once in a century” earthquakes, historic flooding all over the country, severe drought and some of the worst wildfires the U.S. has ever experienced.

Is there a reason why the United States is being hit by major disaster after major disaster or is all of this just a really unfortunately coincidence? The following are just a few of the nightmarish natural disasters that the U.S. has had to deal with so far this year…..

Texas Wildfires

At this point, the state of Texas has been on fire for nearly 300 consecutive days. This has been the worst wildfire season that Texas has ever experienced.

So far, an astounding 3.6 million acres has been burned. Vast stretches of Texas have been transformed into desolate wastelands.

Over the past week alone, the Texas Forest Service has responded to more than 180 new fires. The incredibly dry weather and the scorching temperatures have combined to turn the state of Texas into a tinderbox.

One massive wildfire near Austin, Texas has burned approximately 1,400 homes and continues to spread. The state desperately needs rain and it needs it now.

To get an idea of just how fast the fires in Texas are spreading, just watch this video.

Historic Drought

Right now, approximately 81 percent of the state of Texas is experiencing “exceptional drought” conditions. Not only has this created an ideal environment for wildfires, it is also absolutely crippling ranchers and farmers.

Farmers in Texas have lost over half of the cotton crop so far. This is likely to cause clothing prices to rise substantially in the months ahead.

Ranchers in Texas have been forced to slaughter huge numbers of cattle because the drought has made it incredibly difficult to feed them. Sadly, the number of U.S. cattle is now down to its lowest level since 1963.

You might want to stock up on beef. In the coming months the price of beef is likely to go significantly higher.

It is hard to describe just how bad things are down in Texas right now. Overall, it is estimated that the drought has caused more than $5 billion in damage to the agricultural industry so far.

But wait, there is more bad news. In fact, if things don’t improve soon we could see massive problems with winter wheat. Just check out what an article recently posted on Yahoo news had to say….

The bad news does not stop there. Winter-wheat-planting season runs from September through October and rain is vital to germination. Texas and Oklahoma produce almost a third of winter wheat in the U.S. – the hard wheat used in bread products. This week, Bloomberg financial news quoted wheat economists predicting a 50% jump in winter-wheat prices. If the dearth of rain continues and there is no moisture in the soil to germinate the wheat, prices could climb higher still.

Flooding In The Northeast

We just got done with Hurricane Irene, and now Tropical Storm Lee is dumping huge amounts of rain all over the northeast United States. In fact, there has been so much rain up in Pennsylvania that more than 100,000 people were evacuated from the Wilkes-Barre area on Thursday because of rising waters on the Susquehanna River.

Rivers and creeks all over Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey are flooding. The region desperately needs a break from rain, but it does not look like that is going to happen quite yet.

The big problem is that many of these areas had already been hit really hard by Hurricane Irene. As a result of Hurricane Irene, millions of people lost power and dozens of people lost their lives. Hurricane Irene caused the worst flooding that Vermont had experienced since 1927, and the total economic damage from Irene could reach as high as $16 billion.

Now there are three more storms in the Atlantic that we will have to keep an eye on. Hopefully Tropical Storm Nate, Tropical Storm Maria and Hurricane Katia will not cause major problems, but with the way this year has been going you never know what is going to happen.

Disturbing Earthquakes

As I have written about previously, the number of major earthquakes around the globe is significantly increasing. Back in 2001, the world had 1361 earthquakes of magnitude-5.0 or greater. This year, we are on pace to have over 2800, which would be the highest number this decade by far.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the U.S. experienced two of the weirdest earthquakes that it has seen in ages. The earthquake in Virginia that made headlines all over the nation is being called a “once a century” earthquake. The east coast very rarely sees anything like this happen.

Continued here:

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/234943-Do-You-Now-Understand-Why-You-Need-To-Prepare-For-Emergencies-This-Has-Been-The-Worst-Year-For-Natural-Disasters-In-U-S-History

This 6 part video illustrates natural disasters from 2011, including new footage never seen before…

End of the World 2012 and What To Believe

September 13, 2010 at 3:27 pm (PT)


milky-way-galaxyI choose to look at the world ending 2012 hype from a scientific point of view as I search and read information on the subject. There are lots of differing explanations regarding the various galactic alignments and their significance. There are many religious viewpoints, predictions, and prophecies that are swirling around the topic, any of which I do not wish to challenge as people have the right to think and decide for themselves, and who am I to say one way or the other.

Looking at the physics of what will be happening during the 2012 time period is curious in that it does present some interesting galactic alignments and perhaps some plausible arguments that things could get interesting, or maybe not.

black-hole-projects-gravitational-plane-from-center-of-galaxy

All galaxies are flat and circular, apparently with very few exceptions. Much of the scientific community apparently believes that the energy source which drives the rotation and shape of each galaxy consists of a “supermassive” black hole which exists in the center. The black hole spins at an incredibly high rate because of its incredible mass, and as it rotates it captures and accelerates debris and forces it all into a swirling disk around it forming the black hole’s “equator”.

I have read some suggestions that the galaxy’s equatorial plane at its very center,  consists of a projected gravity plane and therefore will influence objects that pass through it in a particular way (In other words, objects passing through it will be uniquely affected). However a black hole apparently projects a spherical gravitational field, really no different from other objects, with no one plane exhibiting more force than another. This is one of the arguments.

Our galaxy’s galactic plane is easily seen at night away from city lights, and viewed as a dark band slicing lengthwise through the center of the Milky Way itself, although somewhat irregular in appearance. This dark band at the center of the galactic (equatorial) plane is thought to be filled with dust and mass.

Our solar system moves up through the galactic plane and then back down through the galactic plane in reoccurring cycles through time. In fact ancient civilizations like the Mayans evidently based their calendars on this cycle and called the time when we appear to pass through the galactic equinox to be the end of each age. Some believe this brings worldwide devastation while the Earth is sitting on what they call “the dark rift”. There is also some controversy regarding the cycle time of the solar system passing in and out through the galactic plane, and there are some that say we aren’t even close to doing so. I personally haven’t sorted out all of the angles myself yet, so I’m not suggesting either way at the moment.

The implications of the Earth passing through the galactic plane and its controversial gravitational influence is speculative, although ancients have described periods of devastation. My instinct tells me that the strength of this gravitational influence would be very small considering the vast distances involved, but I always try and keep an open mind while gathering more facts.

2012-earthquakes-solar-flares-volcanoes-myan-calendar

One might think that the earth-changes that we may be experiencing at the present time are the beginnings of the influences of the very thin band of forces produced along the equatorial plane projected out from the black hole in the center of our galaxy. The band is so thin and concentrated (relatively compared to the massive size of the galaxy itself), that it may only take one or maybe two years to transit through the dense region (I have also read reports of lesser time to transit through – months, rather than a year or two).

If we are truly about to pass through the dense portion of the galactic plane, we conceivably could experience the effects of earth stresses, assuming that the galactic plane forces are strong enough. In addition, our Sun will also be experiencing whatever influence that the plane will have on it. Not only that, but it will coincide with the sunspot cycle which will also be peaking in the approximate 2012 time frame. There may be the potential for extra powerful solar phenomenon including solar flares and filament eruptions.

We are presently experiencing a much higher than average number of earthquakes in several earthquake-magnitude categories, given the same amount of time averaged over the last 10 years or even the last 110 years. The tectonic plates, a thin crustal layer floating on top of an ooze of hot molten rock, are moving and shifting, causing earthquakes and volcanic activity. This is nothing new, however an increase in activity is logically caused by something… or maybe anomalous.

The Earth’s spinning core of molten iron creates our magnetic field and pole, which is now drifting out of position faster and faster. Again, this phenomenon is nothing new, however something is happening now which is speeding up the process. Pole shifts have happened in the past, and will happen again. It is somewhat unclear how fast it can occur and to what extent it will cause disruption.

2012-what-to-believe

If the “dark rift”, or the galactic dark band that we are apparently approaching truly contains dust, debris, and objects caught up by the swirling gravitational influence of the galaxy’s central black hole, then we may experience the risk of collisions with such objects, if in fact we transit through debris rather than just the theoretical plane itself. Most of us know that an asteroid, if large enough (several miles wide), has the potential to wipe us out all together. We have managed to map a lot of the larger asteroids within our own solar system, but we have no idea what we will run into if we begin to pass through the galactic plane of our galaxy. Personally, at this moment I believe the biggest 2012 risk is the increased chances of asteroid impact as we traverse through the dark rift debris field.

Having said all that, I am not a scientist or astronomer, simply an Engineer by trade with a curiosity of natural occurring events such as these. These are only my observations or opinions of the moment. No doubt I will be posting on this topic again as I put more of the galactic pieces together…

There are a ton of websites with all sorts of information on the subject, many of which are probably hype while others seem to point out possible truths. Make up your own mind about it, or simply keep an open mind.

If it turns out that we are not actually about to pass through the dark band (dust and debris), or the galactic plane itself, or if the gravitational influence of the galactic plane is not a concentrated energy source as some predict, then good… there are enough other potential disaster scenarios to worry about to keep one’s preparedness plans up to date.

If nothing ‘bad’ happens, I will be thrilled. On the other hand my survival preparedness tendencies will continue to keep me ready as I am able for whatever may come my way.
http://modernsurvivalblog.com/natural-disasters/end-of-the-world-2012-and-what-to-believe/

Second giant ice island set to break off Greenland glacier

 
September 1, 2011GREENLAND - New photographs taken of a vast glacier in northern Greenland have revealed the astonishing rate of its breakup, with one scientist saying he was rendered “speechless.” In August 2010, part of the Petermann Glacier about four times the size of Manhattan island broke off , prompting a hearing in Congress. Researcher Alun Hubbard, of the Centre for Glaciology at Aberystwyth University, U.K., told msnbc.com by phone that another section, about twice the size of Manhattan, appeared close to breaking off. In 2009, scientists installed GPS masts on the glacier to track its movement. Taken nearly two years after the picture above, this photo shows the extent of the ice loss. The channel is about ten miles wide. But when they returned in July this year, they found the ice had been melting so quickly — at an unexpected 16-and-a-half feet in two years — that some of the masts stuck into the glacier were no longer in position. Hubbard, who has been working with Jason Box, of Ohio State University, and others, said in a statement issued by the Byrd Polar Research Center that scientists were still trying to work out how fast the glacier was moving and the effect on the ice sheet feeding the glacier. But he said he was taken aback by the difference between 2009 and 2011 when he visited the glacier in late July. “Although I knew what to expect in terms of ice loss from satellite imagery, I was still completely unprepared for the gob-smacking scale of the break-up, which rendered me speechless,” he said in the statement. “I’m very familiar with the glacier. It’s very hard to sort of envisage something so big not being there … to come back and basically see an ice shelf has disappeared, which is 20 kilometers across (about 12 miles) … I was speechless and started laughing because I couldn’t sort of believe it,” Hubbard added, speaking to msnbc.com. –MSNBC

US: 2008 Record for billion-dollar weather disasters tied – frequency and cost of extreme weather are rising

MSNBC
Wed, 17 Aug 2011 04:19 CDT
Print

© Nati Harnik / Associated Press
A tractor sits in floodwater from the Missouri River in Plattsmouth, Neb., on Aug. 10.

With four months still to go in 2011, the United States has already tied its yearly record for the number of weather disasters with an economic loss of $1 billion or more, the U.S. government reported Wednesday.

With the bulk of the hurricane season ahead and winter storms after that, National Weather Service Director Jack Hayes said 2011 could surpass the record, first set in 2008.

“I don’t think it takes a wizard to predict 2011 is likely to go down as one of the more extreme years for weather in history,” he told journalists on a conference call.

The “new reality” is that both the frequency and the cost of extreme weather are rising, making the nation more economically vulnerable and putting more lives and livelihoods at risk, Hayes said.

The number of U.S. natural disasters has tripled in the last 20 years and 2010 was a record breaker with about 250, the NWS said, citing data from Munich Re, a company that insures insurance giants.

© NCDC Property Claim Services (PCS)

In the report released Wednesday, the National Climatic Data Center listed these billion-dollar events in 2011, in reverse chronological order:

    • Upper Midwest flooding (Summer). Estimated losses exceed $2 billion and flooding along the Missouri and Souris Rivers continues.
    • Mississippi River flooding (Spring-summer). Estimated economic loss ranges from $2-4 billion and some areas are still flooded. At least 2 deaths.
    • Southern Plains/Southwest drought, heat wave, wildfires (Spring-summer). Total direct losses top $5 billion; “both direct and total economic losses will rise dramatically as the event continues,” the NWS said.
    • Midwest/Southeast tornadoes (May 22-27). An estimated 180 tornadoes caused 177 deaths, most in Joplin, Mo., and nearly $5 billion in insured losses. Total losses are greater than $7 billion.
    • Southeast/Ohio Valley/Midwest tornadoes (April 25-30). An estimated 305 tornadoes left 327 dead and caused nearly $7 billion in insured losses. Total losses topped $9 billion.
    • Midwest/Southeast tornadoes (April 14-16). An estimated 160 tornadoes killed 38 people and caused $1.4 billion in insured losses; total losses topped $2 billion.
    • Southeast/Midwest tornadoes (April 8-11). An estimated 59 tornadoes caused insured losses of $1.5 billion; total losses topped $2.2 billion.
    • Midwest/Southeast tornadoes (April 4-5). An estimated 46 tornadoes left 9 dead and caused more than $1.6 billion in insured losses; total losses topped $2.3 billion.
  • Central/East Groundhog Day Blizzard (Jan. 29-Feb. 3). The storm was tied to 36 deaths and caused insured losses of $1.1 billion; total losses topped $2 billion.
In addition to the nine large disasters, thunderstorms in the first half of 2011 caused some $20 billion in losses, double the previous three-year average of $10 billion.

Economic losses from all severe weather so far this year have reached $35 billion, the report stated, a large amount but still small compared to a few singular disasters like Hurricane Katrina, where losses topped $100 billion.

The rising costs are due partly to demographics, Hayes said. The population is rising and there are more people and more buildings in environmentally vulnerable areas, such as coastal regions.

Asked if global warming was to blame for the rising frequency of wild weather, Hayes said that was “a research question” and that it would be difficult to link any one severe season to overall climate change.

The report was issued in conjunction with a government “Weather-ready” campaign to better prepare Americans for violent weather.

In the current fiscal climate, the campaign focuses on already-budgeted items such as upgrading the weather radar system and on better coordination among existing agencies.

For example, one program aims to have rainfall forecasters work more closely with the agencies that build and maintain levees and operate flood-control canals.

The campaign was timed with the advent of what is traditionally the busiest part of the June-through-November Atlantic hurricane season.

The United States has not been hit by a hurricane in three years.

“Those are the types of things that lull people to sleep. We want people vigilant,” Hayes said.

The National Hurricane Center has predicted there will be as many as 19 tropical storms this year. So far there have been seven, but none have strengthened into hurricanes.

Only one, Tropical Storm Don, came ashore in the United States but it quickly fizzled over the Texas coast without delivering the rain that is badly needed in the parched state.

Reuters contributed to this report.