A snow storm hit the upper Midwest Sunday dumping more than a foot of snow in some areas. In Minneapolis the storm system dropped 10.6 inches of snow where Menomonie, WI got 13.8 inches and Eau Claire 13 inches by Sunday night. These conditions made roads treacherous and unsafe, leading to at least one fatal crash in Minnesota. This has been Minneapolis' heaviest snowfall since the blizzard two years ago that caused the Metrodome roof to collapse. Stadium officials took precautions and blasted the heat in an effort to melt the snow from the roof as quickly as possible. Minnesota state patrol reported more than 600 crashes by Monday morning, 1,140 spinouts, and 63 other accidents which also reported injuries. Many schools were closed Monday across Minnesota and Wisconsin. Around 150 flights were cancelled on Sunday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, but flights were operating on time Monday morning. Snowplows worked on clearing highways, ramps, and bridges for drivers, but many crashes still occurred. According to meteorologist Paul Douglas, Every storm is different, and this one was especially fickle, for a
number of reasons. Usually a thick layer of cold air needs to be in
place for a major snowfall. We didn’t have that with this storm,
temperatures aloft fairly close to freezing this morning. But the upward
motion, the vertical velocities associated with this storm are
unusually intense. Not only does this create moderate to heavy snow, but
strong upward motion cools the column of air overhead, preventing a
changeover to ice or rain, which would keep final amounts down. Nevertheless, many people are welcoming the snow because there was not much snow last
winter and it is getting people more into the Christmas spirit!!
Authorities say the death toll has climbed above 700 from the destructive typhoon that hit southern Philippines last week. Typhoon Bopha is the strongest and deadliest storm to hit the Philippines this year and nearly 900 more people are still unaccounted for in the aftermath.. Both the number of deaths and missing people have risen during the past few days and are still likely to increase further this week said Benito Ramos, head of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Control. If not many people are found a live, Bopha could prove to be more deadly than Tropical Storm Washi, which killed 1,268 people only a year ago. Hundreds to thousands of people have to live in evacuation centers, must rely on the government for some form of assistance, and are begging for food and water everyday.
Farming communities were the worst hit and it may take years for them to recover, which is not good for the community, which rely on it for their livelihood. The United Nations announced a global appeal to raise $65 million to help people affected by the storm and emergency funds are being released due to President Benigno Aquino III declaring a state of national calamity. Local authorities are being criticized for not anticipating the scale of the destruction, thus why so many people lost their lives. Also it was said the illegal logging and mining may have contributed to landslides and flash floods around the area. Ramon Paje, Environmental Secretary of Aquino's government said the devastation on Mindanao is now proving that timber harvesting must stop especially in natural forests.
A rare tornado killed 3 people in New Zealand earlier this week and damaged more than 250 peoples' homes causing $11 million worth of damage. These residents that lost their homes were taken to an air force base in Whenuapai, where council staff and welfare workers assisted them. People described this unusual storm as a "mini tornado", uprooting trees, damaging buildings, and flooded roads causing them to close. Sam Nuthall told reporters "You couldn't see it coming ... there was debris flying everywhere, steel getting thrown around." Others described it as getting very still and very very black and all of a sudden it hit. New Zealand isn't prone to large destructive tornadoes like the Midwest in the U.S. because of its temperate maritime climate. Daniel Corbett a meteorologist said that there was very warm, humid air hanging around that created the conditions for this tornado to occur. Meteorologists also failed to warn people of this fatal tornado saying that it is harder to predict these tornadoes because they are too small to see on radar. But they did give out warnings of strong tornado like wind gusts. This tornado also equalled the deadliest recorded in New Zealand's history.
Typhoon Bopha hit southern Philippines and destroyed buildings while setting off floods and landslides early this December. Bopha is the most powerful typhoon to hit this area in decades with top winds at 110 mph. Millions of people were in its path that lived in unprepared communities. The typhoon has affected more than 213,000 people and more than 179,000 people are in evacuation centers. A landslide occurred blocking a national highway leaving hundreds of people stuck on the road. Today, the official death toll has climbed to 325 people with nearly 400 Filipinos still unaccounted for. It appears the Typhoon Bopha could be twice as deadly as Hurricane Sandy. This typhoon has washed away villages, roads and buildings, flattened cornfields and banana plantations, destroyed fishing fleets, and buried homes under landslides. Local authorities have been doing their best relocating people and preparing evacuation centers. Maintenance workers have also been working on clearing mud and rocks on roads so traffic is able to get through. The fact that some areas did not have the best preparation of typhoons really made a difference in how they were affected by the storm.
Four train cars crashed into a creek near the Deleware River after falling off a failed bridge in Paulsboro, New Jersey. All four train cars were carrying vinyl chloride a highly toxic and flammable substance, which leaked from at least one car into the creek. 71 patients went to the local hospital with respiratory issues and scratchy throats with 68 being discharged later, 3 still remained in stable condition. Nearby schools were placed on lockdown and areas were evacuated around the accident. Officals say that the air surrounding the wreck is being monitored and is safe.
Vinyl chloride is a chemical used to make plastic and vinyl products and according to the Environmental Protection Agency is a Group A human carcinogen. Just a short time exposure to this chemical in the air can result in central nervous system effects, such as dizziness, drowsiness, and headaches. Agencies are working to remove the wreckage and getting the rest of the material out of the train car with great caution. Luckily no one was severely injured in this incident, but this could have happened if people were around the area where the train cars derailed.
