Large Landslide in Colombia

A landslide in Bogota, located in the southwestern mountainous area of Colombia killed 1 person and 15 people are still reported missing according to Colombian officials. The landslide occurred sometime around sunset on Monday, December 12th. Colombian officials have stated that the landslide buried three homes and the only body recovered was of a deceased 8 year old child. Blame for the landslide has been placed upon the heavy rains that have been pouring down on Colombia since September. Monday's landslide brings Colombia's rainy season death toll up to 145, which has greatly surpassed last years rainy season (September-December) death toll which reached 80 causalities.  

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45658613/ns/world_news-americas/

Fire Tornado Rages Above a Plastic Processing Plant

In Budapest, Hungary, a manufacturing plant for processing and developing plastics caught on fire. The cause of the fire is still unknown, however, no causalities were reported. Strong winds and intense heat lead to the creation of a fire tornado above the burning building. Thick black clouds of smoke filled the sky as the building and plastics within burned. The burning plastics and materials filled the air with harmful carcinogens and dangerous toxic gases. This toxic smoke and gas can be very harmful for people and wildlife living near the plant.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/110304-fire-tornado-picture-firenado-science-whirl-devil-budapest-hungary/

2011- The Most Expensive Natural Disaster Year

The year, 2011, has broken a record for the most expensive year due to natural disasters. The cost associated with natural disasters this year, has reached $52 billion in the United States alone. This is due in large part to 12 large scale disaster events that were each over $1 billion in damage. This broke the previous record, set in 2008, when there was 9 large scale disaster events that had over $1 billion in damage per event. The natural disasters that led to this 52 billion dollars of damage include 81 large tornadoes that struck the midwest and southeastern United States, a horrible drought that crippled the south and led to expensive wildfires. Some other events include the large snowstorms in the northeastern U.S. and the Tropical Storm Lee that ravaged the eastern coast. Flooding across several parts of the nation also added to the $52 billion in damage. Although some people like to blame these weather events on global warming, it is important to point out that as the population rises and new buildings are built, this leads to a "larger base" for natural disasters to strike in highly populated/developed areas of the nation which in turn leads to more expensive disasters.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/07/9279468-us-adds-more-billion-dollar-disasters-to-2011-list

Extreme Drought could lead to Flooding in Texas

A large rain system moving through the central United States could lead to large scale flooding in Texas, the weather channel warns. Heavy rain in the central states that already have saturated soil (Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky) could lead to flooding in the drought stricken state of Texas. These states are expected to receive 6 or more inches of rainfall that could directly affect their southern neighbor Texas. Although this rain will be good for Texas, where currently 83% of the state is being affected by an extreme drought, the heavy amounts of rain could have some negative effects. Chris Dolce, a meteorologist for the Weather Channel, stated that too much rain, too quickly, has the potential to cause heavy flooding in the drought stricken state of Texas.


http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/04/9201608-flood-threat-for-ark-tenn-ky-ohio-even-texas

Los Angeles being Hit by Hurricane Force Winds

The city of Los Angeles and its surrounding areas are being struck by strong Santa Ana winds that are moving with hurricane force speed. The Santa Ana winds develop during cooler months when westward flowing wind currents reach intense speeds as they squeeze through the mountain ranges in southern California. These strong winds lower the humidity of the area and can cause wildfires as a result. In Los Angeles, on Wednesday night, (11-30-11) a wind gust of 97 miles per hour was recorded. Several other areas around the region reported wind gusts of 85mph. These high wind speeds knocked down trees, which lead to power outages in some areas of L.A. The Los Angeles airport had to delay and cancel some flights due to the fierce wind gusts and debris flying across the runways. The National Weather Service has warned citizens living in and around L.A. to close their windows and secure all outdoor objects such as law furniture. These strongs winds are expected to stay for a few days untill this weather system moves through. 

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/30/9122369-97-mph-santa-ana-winds-knock-out-power-down-trees-in-la

U.N. says Climate Change is Causing more Weather Disasters

According to a report released by the U.N. natural weather disasters are on a rise due to climate change. They state that this climate change will lead to more extreme weather events such as large hurricanes and severe droughts. They believe that climate change is causing the long heat-waves and torrential rainfalls being experienced around the planet. The U.N. believes many low-lying states and countries are in danger of losing land as a result of rising sea levels brought on by climate change. This will lead to an increase in damage costs and potential deaths brought on by extreme storms or unusual weather patterns. The National Climate Data Center released a report that stated in the U.S, the cost of weather disasters has reached 50 billion dollars in 2011 alone. The U.N. states a major cause of the climate change is the large amounts of green house gases and air warming aerosols being used around the world.   

http://www.enn.com/press_releases/3884

Concerns over Japanese exports

New research reported in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal has found extremely high levels of radioactive material in north-eastern Japan, especially in areas near the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The Fukushima nuclear power plant was damaged after a large earthquake and tsunami struck Japan earlier in 2011. The high levels of radioactive material exceed the levels considered safe for farming and food consumption. An earlier study, conducted by Japan, suggested that the levels of radiation were under the safety limit and therefore safe for consumption. However, as new research shows, areas around the Fukushima power plant were eight times the safety limit and neighboring regions were either at the safety limit or just slightly under it. Areas of western Japan are below the safety limit and scientists credit these low radioactive levels to the large mountain range that splits down the center of Japan, which helps to shelter western Japan from the dispersal of airborne radioactive material. Scientists are concerned most over the radioactive element, Caesium-137, because it has been known to linger in an environment for decades. Caesium-137 is the same radioactive element that was released during the Chernobyl disaster. This is a large concern for Japanese food exports because the north-eastern part of Japan, near the Fukushima plant, is one of Japan's main agricultural areas.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15691571