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China:
Heat wave hits crisis levels
The
China Meteorological Administration (CMA) Tuesday issued a level two
emergency response for the first time, after a heat wave in eastern
and southern China sent temperatures to record highs and claimed
several lives.
31
July, 2013
The
emergency response came after the National Meteorological Center
(NMC) issued an orange alert for heat, the second-highest level
possible, for four consecutive days in East China's Anhui, Jiangsu,
Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian provinces and Shanghai, Central China's
Hunan and Hubei provinces as well as Southwest China's Chongqing.
It
was the first time in history that the CMA had issued such a
response.
Temperatures
are expected to climb as high as 41 C in central Zhejiang, southeast
of Sichuan Basin and parts of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,
Xinhua quoted the CMA as saying.
The
CMA forecast that temperatures over 35 C will linger along the
Yangtze River and the Huaihe River, regions south of the Yangtze
River and Chongqing from Tuesday to August 8.
According
to statistics from the National Climate Center, which is affiliated
with the CMA, since July 1 the heat wave has spread across one third
of China's territory. And an area of 189,000 square kilometers,
almost the size of Syria, saw temperatures soaring above 35 C for
more than 20 days in July.
This
year saw more hot days because subtropical high pressures are
stronger and more stable than ever, Zhang Mingying, an expert with
the Beijing Municipal Meteorological Bureau, told the Global Times,
advising people to cut down on outdoor activities when temperatures
are high.
In
Shanghai, the mercury climbed to 40.6 C on July 26, the highest
temperature recorded in the city. With temperature topping 39 C,
Tuesday became the 24th high temperature day in July, making it the
hottest July in 140 years.
The
sizzling temperatures in the city led to the deaths of a 63-year-old
woman and a 51-year-old man from heat stroke over the weekend. There
was one death in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, and two in
Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province.
One
of the deceased in Changsha was a 36-year-old migrant worker, who
reportedly worked 38 days in a row during the heat wave.
Elsewhere,
Fenghua, a city in Zhejiang, recorded a temperature of 42.7 C,
becoming the hottest in the country. Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang,
also saw its high temperature surpassing 40 C for five consecutive
days, setting a record for the city.
"There
is more extreme weather as the world's climate is becoming warmer,
but human activities also contribute to the increase in temperature."
Zheng Yan, a research fellow with the Institute for Urban and
Environmental Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told
the Global Times.
Several
provinces are suffering through a drought as the heat wave continues
to scorch a wide swathe of land where flooding is usually the problem
during the rainy season.
Drought
has affected 12.2 million people in mountainous Guizhou Province,
leaving 2 million people there to deal with temporary drinking water
shortages and damaging 840,000 hectares of crops, the provincial
government said on Tuesday.
Thirty-three
counties and cities in Hunan are also facing severe drought, as the
province received less than 30 percent of expected rain this month.
Public
attention has fixed on the late migrant worker in Changsha and the
labor issues involved. To help workers to get some relief from the
heat, companies should pay their employees a heat subsidy, according
to the regulations. In Shanghai, workers theoretically receive an
allowance of at least 200 yuan ($32.6) per month from June to
September when temperatures are high. The size of the allowance
varies in different places.
However,
about one third of the workers in Shanghai do not receive the
allowance, Tang Fuqiang, a Shanghai-based lawyer with the Beijing
Yingke Law Firm, told the Global Times.
Tropical Storm Flossie rages through Hawaiian Islands: 6,000 lose power
Extinction
Protocol,
31
July, 2013
-
A flood advisory remains in effect for Hawaii Island at least through
6:15 p.m. as the brunt of Tropical Storm Flossie moved past Hilo and
East Hawaii and began pestering Kailua-Kona and West Hawaii with
heavy rains and high winds. The lower Puna and Kau areas appeared to
be the most badly hit portions of East Hawaii. The Hawaii Police
Department reported fallen trees on Highway 132, the Pahoa-Kapoho
Highway in the area of Lava Tree State Park. The highway was closed
around noon but reopened about 2:30, Hawaii County Civil Defense
officials said. More than 6,000 customers of the Hawaii Electrical
Light Co., mostly from Volcano to Pahoa, lost power after high winds
knocked down power lines in various areas of Puna, said Kristin
Okinaka, HELCO deputy corporate communications officer. At the peak
there were about 6,300 homes and businesses without power, according
to Hawaii Electric Light Co. That included 2,800 customers from
Volcano to Glenwood, 2,200 customers from Kalapana to Nanawale and
1,300 in Panaewa. Power was restored to some areas, and by
mid-afternoon there were 5,000 customers without power, HELCO
reported. Power has since been restored to about 500 customers, but
HELCO crews are still working on the rest of the outages, Okinaka
said about 3:45 p.m. Portions of Kona and Kohala began feeling the
brunt of the storm about mid-afternoon. –Star Advertiser
Flights
canceled from Alaska: Alaska Airlines has canceled more than two
dozen flights to and from Hawaii Monday, in response to Tropical
Storm Flossie’s approach to the islands overnight Sunday. Bobbie
Egan, a spokesperson for the airline, says morning flights to and
from Hawaii through 2 p.m. Pacific Time have been canceled Monday.
“Due to the tropical storm, Flossie, we’ve had to cancel 26
flights,” Egan said. None of the affected flights are out of early
evening hours onward — about 8 p.m. Pacific time onward — should
continue on schedule. Operations at the Lihue airport on Kauai may be
affected past that point due to a lack of airport staff there. -KTUU
Large
tornado rips through suburb of Milan- a dozen injured
A
tornado has ripped through a suburb of Milan, injuring 12 people and
damaging buildings and vehicles.
Video
shot by witnesses on their mobile phones captured the twister tearing
through an industrial region in Grezzago, leaving a trail of
devastation as it destroyed cars, overturned trucks and uprooted
telegraph poles.
"We
were inside there and a lorry crashed into the wall and came through
it," said Stefano Grimoldi, who was caught up the carnage.
"Then
all the windows broke and we couldn't understand what was happening."
He
added: "Look there is no more roof, no more doors, there's
nothing left."
"It
came from over there - the next little town along in Pozzo D'Ada,"
explained witness Luca Mariani.
"Then
it came through here, Grezzago, then it went towards Trezzo,"
added his friend Anthony Farchica.
"It
lasted, I'm not sure, the time it took, ten minutes or a quarter of
an hour," they added.
Firemen,
civil protection and other rescue services rushed to the scene.
Although
no deaths have been reported there are reports of a dozen injuries.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/milan-tornado-12-hurt-twister-strikes-020215045.html#0UqQIs8
Thai
floods hit 7 provinces
31 July, 2013
Floods
have hit seven provinces in Thailand
claiming lives of at least three people since Monday.
The
Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge over the Moei River has been closed
due to heavy rainfall,
the Disaster Relief Department said.
The
2011 Thai
floods
had claimed lives of at least 815 people.
Extreme weather update for the United States available HERE
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