Smacking the globe with natural disasters – all at once.

A man pointing to Portugal on a map of the Earth.

The Earth is covered with all kinds of natural disasters, and all at the same time.

The Earth is packing a punch. Mother Nature is smacking the globe with all kinds of natural disasters – all at once.

The planet is covered with cyclones, floods, thunderstorms, and volcanoes … and we can throw in an earthquake or two, or three.

This is what’s happening today…

Cyclones

  1. Usagi – Philippines
  2. Humberto – Mid-Atlantic
  3. Ingrid – Mexico
  4. Manuel – Mexico (Pacific)
  5. Man-yi – Japan

Severe Storms

  1. Greece
  2. Malaysia
  3. Southeast Coast, Queensland, Australia
  4. Eastern Uruguay
  5. Hawaii (highwind)

Floods

  1. Colorado
  2. Eastern Uruguay
  3. West Africa
  4. Guatemala
  5. Nigeria

Volcanoes

  1. Sinabung -Mayalsia
  2. Lokon-Empung – Philippines
  3. Arenal – Costa Rica
  4. Ubinas -Peru
  5. Suwanosejima – Japan
  6. Santa Maria – Guatemala
  7. Sakurajima – Japan
  8. Kliuchevskoi – Russia
  9. Etna – Italy

Earthquakes

(…just a couple of big ones; there have been more …)

  1. 6.1 Atka, Alaska
  2. 5.3 Elatia, Greece

Manmade Radiological Event

  1. Fukushima Daiichi, Japan

Wow.

 

 

Floods Covering Much Of The Earth

A picture of a train in Toronto stopped by flood waters.

Flash-flooding halted train service in Toronto on Monday, July 8, 2013.

Is global flooding caused by urban sprawl, polar shifting, sea ice melting, or all of the above? Whatever the cause, much of our planet is underwater.

Toronto

According to Environment Canada, a slow moving cluster of thunderstorms with very heavy downpours produced localized flash flooding in the Greater Toronto area, July 8, 2013.  By late Monday evening, 91 mm (3.5 inches) of rain fell in the city while rainfall totals measured 106 mm (4 inches) at the suburban Pearson International Airport after the storms blew east.

The rain began at 4 p.m. local time, stranding commuters in cars, buses and subway trains as the busy rush hour was getting underway.

This isn’t THAT much rain, so why did this sea of rainwater become so dangerous, so fast? The water had no where to go because of human development …

Urban Areas

Most present-day, devastating flooding occurs in the areas where humans should never build or concentrate the population; in areas that are too close to the shorelines, on flood plains, or along major rivers.

Expanding cities clear the trees, cement and pave over the porous soil, and reroute underground water channels to make way for our sewage. We dam natural rivers and build roads and housing developments where we should never build.

How much flooding are we bringing upon ourselves?

A picture of a bus and a car with flood waters halfway up their vehicles.

The streets of Toronto were rivers of water after a slow moving storm system dropped over 3.5 inches of rain into the urban area.

Flooding Around The World

  1. Paraguay
  2. Southeast USA
  3. Midwestern USA
  4. Guinea/Sierra Leone, Africa
  5. North Dakota
  6. Eastern Malaysia
  7. Malaysia Peninsular
  8. Argentina
  9. China

If you look at these areas on a map, you will see that these are the areas that have been over-developed, dammed, and concreted.

There are solutions, you know. Stop changing the natural landscape. Sprawling urban planning is in need of some serious revisions. 

 

 

Europe Going Under Water

A picture of a river flooding a road.

Many European towns are under massive river flooding.

Since 1501, the Danube River has never been as high as it is today. Dresden, Germany  had one of its worst floods 11 years ago, and they called it the flood of the century because the last time it happened was 150 years ago.

People across Europe are finally admitting that the Earth is changing and it’s NOT going back to the ways things used to be.

Persistent rains have hit Germany and Austria the worst, but many parts of the UK have been flooded for months and there looks to be little relief in the days ahead. In the Cumbrian town of Cockermouth, automatic barriers have been installed in hopes of preventing a repeat of the 2009 floods when a month’s amount of rain fell in just 24 hours, destroying 900 homes and forcing hundreds of people to evacuate.

We’re Going Under

Until now, great floods were a 100+ year or so event, but with permanent Earth changes upon us today, urban sprawl is going under water. We have sealed too much of the porous, natural landscape with concrete and asphalt; our growing populations are requiring more roads, buildings require bigger parking lots, and housing developments are crammed into smaller spaces with no trees or natural vegetation left. As ocean levels rise and more violent storms sweep over our cultural landscape, floods WILL continue to impact our cities.

Fixing levees, fortifying bridges, and constructing flood barriers are merely temporary fixes. In a matter of minutes, the power of the Earth can wipe away years of efforts and billions of dollars in “escape” schemes.

Way Behind The Times

A beautiful picture of a windmill with red tulips in Holland.

There ARE future solutions to Earth changes and global flooding. Just look at Holland.

Human are actually antiquated – we may have amazing technology at our fingertips, but as far as our relationship with the Earth goes … we are way behind the times. In order to survive drastic Earth changes (like floods), we ALL have to change.

We must restructure our cities, our transportation networks, our power grid, and how we choose to “house” our expanding population.  Literally, we need to tear down our cities and start over – we need to build lower to the ground in earthquake zones, farther away from natural disaster zones, stop building on flood plains, and relocate farther from the sea shores.

These are all nice places to visit, but no one should live there – not anymore.

Relocating

There are simple solutions to reconstructing our cities. Many parts of Europe are already doing this, and for the areas that are flooding today, it’s your turn to start doing things differently.

Dresden, Germany and Cockermouth, UK rebuilt their towns with the same structures and in the SAME places after floods. Cockermouth built new barriers, but will either of these towns be able to avoid, or prevent, another devastating flood? No. It is happening again in Dresden today. Heads up, Cockermouth.

Sorry to have to tell you this, but these towns are going to have to relocate farther away from the shores of these beautiful rivers, or implement some VERY DIFFERENT construction designs. As the Earth changes today, we MUST admit that the same-ole-same-ole ways just aren’t going to work anymore.

… and study The Netherlands … Holland has the flood-designs down!