Climatic Disasters for the week of Nov. 30 - Dec. 04, 2021.
6/12/2021- Tracking
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Here’s what we’re watching for the week of Nov. 30 - Dec. 04, 2021.
Earthquake – Peru: On November 28, a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck northern Peru, near the Ecuadorian border. Early reports show modest damage, which is aided in part by the earthquake's depth of 70 miles underground. Despite the fact that no deaths or injuries have been reported as of yet, responders have yet to reach all regions and completely assess the situation.
Flooding in Indonesia: Heavy rains wreaked havoc on 25,000 people in Sumatra and Java, killing at least four. Buildings along a road on Java island were demolished by a landslide, resulting in the deaths. On Nov. 20, both the Padang and Bailang rivers overflowed their banks, resulting in floodwaters up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) deep in some regions.
Storm Arwen – United Kingdom: Storm Arwen stormed into the United Kingdom with gusts surpassing 80 miles per hour (130 kilometers per hour) with torrential rain, sleet, and snow.
Bushfires – Australia: While some regions of the country are experiencing flooding, others are bracing for a fire season that is expected to be above average. The risk of big flames has decreased in places that saw huge fires last year, but large parts of New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia are bracing for a higher risk of fires as the Australian bushfire season begins.
Disasters that have occurred in the past or are currently occurring British Columbia Flooding: Late last week, British Columbia had two more large rain storms, following a week of frantic work to recover from flooding. Rivers along the US-Canada border overflowed, flooding the border city of Abbotsford, which had previously been impacted by previous flooding. Even as firefighters scrambled to set up flood barriers to lessen the impact, the mayor of Abbotsford indicated that more flooding was unavoidable. "There's nothing that can be done," he said.
While some transportation lines began to revive, barges carrying gasoline from the United States were floated up the coast to help alleviate the situation. shortages as rail services and pipelines slowly came back online. Despite the resumption of some rail services, the Port of Vancouver was described by B.C.’s premier as “distressed” as approximately 33% more ships than usual wait outside the backlogged port for space to be available to load or unload.
Meanwhile, scientists and biologists are warning that the floods may have washed away gravel where some fish lay their eggs throughout the winter, resulting in high mortality rates for salmon and other vital species.
Flooding – Australia: While Australia has had multiple episodes of flooding this year, the most recent has left emergency services overloaded after performing a "awful" number of rescues, forcing officials to advise residents to stay at home during severe weather. The State Emergency Service in New South Wales has received over 5,000 requests for assistance, which one local mayor described as "mind-boggling."
2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season: As of Nov. 29, officials are not expecting any more tropical systems to form through the end of the season on Nov. 30. There were 21 named storms in 2021, exceeding the pre-season predictions, and far above the 30-year average of 14.4 named storms per season. These storms included seven hurricanes – of which four were major (Category 3 or higher) hurricanes.
Wildfires in North America: The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported 12 active fires on November 26 that had burned 94,886 acres. Five of these were deemed significant uncontained flames, while only the KNP Complex, which accounted for 88,307 acres burned in currently active fires, was notable in size. In 2021, 52,729 wildfires raged across the United States, consuming 6.6 million acres. Despite some of the greatest fires in history occurring this year, both of these statistics are below the 10-year averages.