A quiet 2009 for natural disasters
It was a relatively quiet year globally for natural disasters in 2009. According to Munich Re insurance company, the death toll from 2009 natural disasters was approximately 10,000, well below the average 75,000 deaths per year seen over the decade of the 2000s. Damage from 2009 natural disasters was about $50 billion, compared to the decadal average of $115 billion, and far below the $200 billion in destruction wrought by 2008's natural disasters. The most costly disaster of 2009 was Winter Storm Klaus, which hit northern Spain and southwest France January 23 - 25, causing $5.1 billion in damage. The deadliest weather-related disaster was Category 2 Typhoon Ketsana, which killed 694 people in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Category 2 Typhoon Morakot was a close second, with 614 fatalities, primarily in Taiwan. The deadliest natural disaster overall was the magnitude 7.6 earthquake that shook the Indonesian island of Sumatra on 30 September, killing nearly 1,200 people.
Figure 1. Cars being swept away by Ketsana's flood waters in a still frame from a dramatic YouTube video captured by medical students at the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center.
I'll be back Tuesday with my selection for the top global weather event of 2009: the Horn of Africa drought.
Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
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My relative in Ohio talked about a freezing fog once. First time i've heard that term in a while. They said it stinks for it to be so cold and not being able to see anything.
yeah it is really pretty though. I have been skiing during freezing fog at night, and it was a pretty sight.
The other issue is that it freezes to everything...your outer garments, glasses, cars...my personal favorite: handrails and stairs
In many cold fronts in Miami i could always hear a trains horn and in fact it moving a long. The tracks are a mile away from my house.
Ski lifts :P
This is one of those few mornings a year when one could see the dome, CBD, and CCConnection from the north toll booth on the bridge, thanks to the same.
That was me last weekend at manly beach here in Sydney. I had crumbed fish and a basket of hot chips covered in salt and vinegar. oh and a few choice ale's too.
Doug, that shortwave is currently diving east -southeastward over the Northern Baha California area. It still looks rather vigourous this morning on the water vapor imagery. This piece of energy, if it can hold together and not get flattened out, can be the "trigger" for the GOM Low later this week.
Yep, but my personal preference is for dull overcast and extremely cold, though bright bitter mornings are good as well
I am about 1.5 miles from the nearest rail line and i hear the train horns. I also hear the traffic lights crossing buzzer which is about 1/4 mile away.
Goodnight all, stay safe and stay warm.
Looks like about a 12 hour period of precipitation ending as possible frozen precip.
Region: SOLOMON ISLANDS
Geographic coordinates:9.216S, 157.930E Magnitude:5.8 Mb Depth:35 km
Universal Time (UTC): 5 Jan 2010 13:11:43
Time near the Epicenter: 6 Jan 2010 00:11:43
Location with respect to nearby cities: 172 km (107 miles) SE (136 degrees) of Gizo, Solomon Islands
178 km (110 miles) SW (223 degrees) of Dadali, Solomon Islands
223 km (139 miles) W (277 degrees) of HONIARA, Solomon Islands
1178 km (732 miles) E (90 degrees) of PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea
* From: AFP
* January 06, 2010 2:49AM
A SERIES of powerful aftershocks rattled the Solomon Islands late last night, a day after a 7.2-magnitude quake and tsunami left around 1,000 people homeless on the remote Pacific islands.
The aftershocks, ranging from magnitude 5.3 to 6.9 struck just minutes apart from around 2315 (AEDT) and came as officials visited isolated villages to check on damage after Monday's earthquake.
The latest aftershocks struck very close to Monday's quake, according to seismologists at the US Geological Survey.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said there was no threat of a tsunami but warned localised destructive waves were possible.
Information from the remote area remained sketchy but a police patrol boat from the capital Honiara left on Monday night to assess damage in the region about 300km west of the capital.
There were no reports of deaths or serious injuries following the quakes and tsunami on Monday.
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Another 5.1 magnitude aftershock rattled the region yesterday morning and a 6.2 aftershock late on Monday sent villagers fleeing for higher ground, said the director of the Solomon Islands Disaster Management Office, Loti Yates.
"The quake frightened a lot of people into running away from their coastal villages,'' Yates said.
He added that landslides had occurred on Rendova and Tetepare islands following the 7.2 quake and an earlier 6.5 tremor.
"We are still waiting for the latest reports since the survey of the area yesterday,'' Yates said.
The office said damage was caused by the earthquakes and a tsunami of up to about 2.5m, according to officials in the region.
Officials reported on Monday that at least 500 homes had been damaged or destroyed but Yates said these were all in the Morovo Lagoon area and further damage on Rendova and Tetepare was still to be assessed.
Rendova is home to around 3,600 people, according to UNICEF, which is rebuilding 19 schools on the island following an April 2007 tsunami that killed 52 people in the region, destroyed hundreds of homes and displaced thousands.
UNICEF Pacific representative Isiye Ndombi said rapid response teams had been sent to Rendova and Tetepare, a largely uninhabited island except for an eco-tourism venture.
"It will take several days however until we know the full extent and consequences of this tsunami because these islands are very remote and difficult to access,'' Ndombi said.
THURSDAY AFTERNOON...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE HAS ISSUED A WINTER
STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT
THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON.
* TIMING...4 AM CST THURSDAY TO 6 PM CST THURSDAY
* MAIN IMPACT...2 TO 4 INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION...FOLLOWED BY
BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. THE SNOWFALL WILL STICK TO ROAD
SURFACES WITH NO MELTING...AND STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS WILL CAUSE
A PERIOD OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. THIS WILL CAUSE TRAVEL
PROBLEMS OR DELAYS ACROSS THE MID STATE.
* OTHER IMPACTS...ANOTHER SURGE OF ARCTIC AIR WILL MOVE INTO THE
MID STATE IN THE WAKE OF THE SYSTEM AND WILL DRIVE TEMPERATURES
INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS FRIDAY NIGHT...WITH WIND CHILL READINGS
BELOW ZERO.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT
SNOW...SLEET...OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL.
CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS.
&&
adrian
Jax International Airport
Current Conditions 11:00 a.m.
SUNNY
Temperature: 35*F
Dew Point: 16*F
Wind: West 12 mph with gusts to 22mph
Wind Chill Index: 27*F
Pressure: 1023 mb F
Visibility: 10.0 miles
Official morning low temperature measured at Jax WFO for 01/05/10: 26*F
OK, I'll bite. To what?
in The OC.....
hi SQUAWK....
ha Public Relations, marketing, etc :P
Tell that to the people all the way down to Mexico and over to Florida this weekend.
eyes...me too...it's called blubber...that's why I'm on a diet!
:)
Generally pretty good...back spasms and a little pain, but walking (I don't have to use a cane) and the use of minimal pain meds/muscle relaxants seem to do the trick. Unless of course its very cold...LOL
Thanks, for asking!
It's about 29 here right now and clear as can be...now, Thursday will be another story...low in the low teens and a high in the mid twenties...
Hi kid, good to see you. Are we having any fun lately? Like maybe a new rain dance?
What was your major?
So my friend is going to major in BS...there are a fair number of us here that could teach those courses
Bummer. Cold weather is boring and needs some humor to spice it up. Unless you are up to your kazakass in snow, then it may not be boring - just a pain.
ha yeah :P it was meteorology, but I think I'm better suited to keep that as a hobby, and focus more on what I am more capable of doing
Wow.
whoa
Link
yeah, baby...dig that global warming....
Amy,please don't go down that road.(Cringes)
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