2 O 10 IN PICTURES PART 4 2010

2 O 10 IN PICTURES PART 4 2010 THE YEAR OF “RECORD AND NEAR-RECORD” NATURAL DISASTERS Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of North Carolina, USA

SEVERE WINDSTORMS (Continued) • ATLANTIC BASIN TROPICAL STORMS AND HURRICANES (Continued)

HURRICANE EARL BECOMES A CAT 4 STORM AGAIN AS IT HEADS TOWARDS THE EAST COAST OF USA WIND BANDS EXTEND 200 MI FROM EYE AUGUST 29 – SEPTEMBER 4, 2010

DANIELLE, EARL AND FRANK: AUG 29

FLOODING: ST JOHNS, ANTIGUA

HURRICANE EARL’S FORECAST: SEPT 1

5, 000 EVACUATE NORTH CAROLINA’S OUTER BANKS: SEPT 1

TROPICAL STORM GASTON JOINS EARL AND FIONA: SEPT 1

TROPICAL STORM HERMINE: A RAINMAKER; SEPT 6, 2010

TROPICAL STORM IGOR: SEPT 8, 2010

HURRICANES IGOR, JULIA AND KARL: SEPT 15, 2010

A RARE PHENOMENON: THREE ACTIVE HURRICANES ON SEPT 17

BERMUDA EXPERIENCED GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN: SEPT 19 -20

TROPICAL STORM KARL: SEPT 14 -17, 2010

Karl dumped 8 more inches (21. 5 cm) of rain in Veracruz within 90 minutes, 31. 4 cm in the nearby mountains, causing landslides, and 25. 4 cm across the central and southern Gulf coast region before drenching Mexico City.

FLOODING FROM KARL: NORTH OF VERACRUZ; SEPT 18

TROPICAL STORM LISA: SEPT 25, 2010

TROPICAL STORM MATTHEW: SEPT 24, 2010

FAST MOVING NICOLE FORMED NEAR CUBA: SEPT 29

OTTO’S PATH AFTER BECOMING A HURRICANE IN 2 DAYS: OCT 8

TROPICAL STORM PAULA FORMS NEAR HONDURAS: OCT 11

PAULA HEADED TOWARDS CUBA AS CAT 2 HURRICANE: OCT 13

Cuba's current weak economy is still recovering from 2008’s devastating trio of Hurricanes Gustav, Ike and Paloma that caused $10 billion in damage to the tobacco fields of Pinar del Rio and to other parts of the island.

DEPRESSION 19 BECOMES TROPICAL STORM RICHARD: OCT 21

TOMAS BECAME A HURRICANE IN ONE DAY: OCTOBER 30

In the eastern Caribbean, Tomas left at least 14 dead, many homeless, and island nations suffering from millions of dollars in damages to banana crops, housing, and infrastructure from wind, flooding, and landslides

TOMAS: IMPACTS SAINT LUCIA

HAITI EARTHQUAKE EVACUEES WITH NO PLACE TO GO

WILDFIRES (Continued) • MOUNT CARMEL FIRE, ISRAEL’S 2010 WILDFIRE REVEALED A LACK OF PREPARATION, WHILE SHOWING THE BENEFITS OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION DECEMBER 1 -8, 2010

THE WILDFIRE NEAR HAIFA, THE 3 RD LARGEST CITY

Israel’s summer of 2010 had been one of the hottest and driest on record, creating conditions that are favorable for wildfires. The cause: A 14 -year-old-boy says he had been smoking, using a hookah pipe, in a forest, and the fire got out of control within minutes and swept across 10, 000 acres in 24 hours. .

ISRAEL’S WORST WILDFIRE IN HISTORY FINDS ISRAEL UNPREPARED The emergency showed that Israel had neglected to invest in the equipment and personnel needed to effectively combat wildfires that have become pervasive in recent years amid unseasonably high temperatures and periods of drought

FIREFIGHTERS ON THE GROUND

AN INTENSE FIRE EXACERBATED BY WIND AND DRYNESS

FIREFIGHTERS ON THE GROUND

The flames, fanned by high winds, were like a giant wave at sea, traveling at times with leaps of 500 meters. After only two days, the fire killed 42 people and consumed more than 10, 000 acres, destroying a large part of the Carmel Forest, one of Israel's natural crown jewels and a popular tourist and vacation destination that is known as “Little Switzerland” because of its beauty. .

Thirteen nations of the international community responded immediately with material assets and pledges of help

PLANES FROM FOUR COUNTRIES FOUGHT THE FIRE

LANDSLIDES (Continued) • COLOMBIA LANDSLIDE DISASTER IN COLOMBIA OCCURS DURING COLOMBIA’S WORST RAINY SEASON IN DECADES 1900 GMT DECEMBER 6, 2010

LOCATION

Prior to Dec. 6 th weeks of heavy rain across the country had already caused floods and landslides that killed more than 200 people and displaced thousands

The December 6 th landslide disaster, which was triggered by heavy rain, happened near Giraldo, 80 km (50 miles) north of the city of Medellin. A mountainside collapsed in the Antioquia province on Monday, December 6 th, sweeping away houses and burying villages and people under tons of rock and mud.

SEARCH AND RESCUE

Local residents used their bare hands immediately after the slide to dig into tons of mud that buried 30 houses, and, in spite of the hopelessness of the task without heavy machinery, were still able to save seven people. Red Cross sniffer dogs have identified locations where victims are buried, but officials say it could take several days to dig them out.

SEARCH AND RESCUE

The rescue effort was hampered by continued heavy rainfall, which increased the likelihood of additional landslides.

WINTER STORMS (Continued) • THE GREAT WINTER SOLSTICE STORM OF 2010 • EUROPE WINTER STORM OF 2010 • EASTERN SEABOARD NOR’EASTER

THE GREAT SOLSTICE WINTER STORM OF 2010 RAIN FALLING FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO BAKERSFIELD December 19 -21, 2010

The Great Winter Solstice Storm of 2010 was one for the record books, a once in a hundred years event, marked by the most rainfall ever to fall in the month of December and the 4 th heaviest daily rainfall (on Sunday) of all time.

PACIFIC STORMS BROUGHT HEAVY RAIN, FLOODING AND ROCKFALLS/MUDFLOWS TO CALIFORNIA

WINTER ARRIVED AT 3: 38 PM ON TUESDAY, DEC. 21 • Historic rainfall brought much of California into a state of emergency with widespread flooding affecting many people just before Christmas.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DRENCHED WITH UP TO 20 CM Los Angeles received one-fourth of its annual rainfall (nearly 10 cm (4 in )) in 3 days.

WINTER STORM HITS CA: DEC 20, 2010

ROCK SLIDE A rock slide triggered by the prolonged heavy rainfall closed the Pacific Coast Highway in both directions at the Ventura-L. A. county line.

1 m (3 ft) OF WATER IN KERN CITY, CA: DEC 20, 2010

FLOODING CREATES CHAOS: DEC 20, 2010

From Friday (17 th) through midday on Monday (20 th), Bakersfield was drenched with 3. 79 in. of rain, which is 5 times the normal amount for an entire December and 58% of a normal year’s rainfall. The flooding, mudslides, falling rocks, crested creeks and downed trees created havoc in the Bakersfield area and led to the declaration of a local emergency.

WINTER STORMS RETURN TO EUROPE Northern European airports and railways were disrupted during weekends starting Dec. 3 and Dec. 18, and were struggling to recover full service before Christmas. December 3 - 25, 2010

WINTER STORM IN DUBLIN: DEC 22, 2010

NOR’EASTER WINTER STORM STRIKES THE EASTERN SEABOARD OF THE USA SNOW AND HIGH WINDS FROM GEORGIA TO MAINE December 24 - 30, 2010

NOR’ESTER WIND FIELD ON DECEMBER 26

WINTER STORM SNOW FALL: DEC 26, 2010

NEW YORK SNOW FALL: DEC 26, 2010

SEVERE WINDSTORMS (Continued) • RARE NEW YEAR’S EVE TORNADOES STRIKE ARKANSAS, MISSOURI AND ILLINOIS DECEMBER 31, 2010

LOCATION OF TORNADO OUTBREAK ON NEW YEAR’S EVE

TORNADOES WERE FUELED BY UNSEASONLY WARM AIR IN THE SOUTH