Category: Black Horse

Damages from hailstorms in Texas, Oklahoma estimated to total $3.5B

Brian Lada – April 29, 2021

Major hailstorms pelted three big cities across the south-central United States on Wednesday night, shattering windows, denting vehicles and leaving behind headaches for homeowners. The hail hit such a widespread and populated area that damage estimates are expected to total upwards of $3 billion, according to AccuWeather forecasters.

Communities around Norman, Oklahoma, and San Antonio and Fort Worth, Texas, were hit the hardest by the storms, forcing residents to take shelter inside as the massive hail bombarded the areas.

In Hondo, Texas, located west of San Antonio, hailstones rivaled the size of grapefruits, reaching roughly 4 inches in diameter. In Norman, hail ranged from the size of golf balls to baseballs.

The hail was flying with such ferocity that windows of homes were shattered and, in some cases, caused damage inside.

A window was shattered and a blind severely damaged after hail pelted a home in Norman, Oklahoma. (Twitter/ @marekcornett)

One resident in Haslet, Texas, located near Fort Worth, recorded a video of hail creating waves in the backyard swimming pool while the sound of glass shattering could be heard in the background as chunks of ice knocked out windows.

The aftermath was evident all across the three cities in the wake of the storms, especially at parking lots and car dealerships where vehicles were left out in the elements.

https://www.accuweather.com

US West prepares for possible 1st water shortage declaration

Sam Metz – April 19, 2021

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — The man-made lakes that store water supplying millions of people in the U.S. West and Mexico are projected to shrink to historic lows in the coming months, dropping to levels that could trigger the federal government’s first-ever official shortage declaration and prompt cuts in Arizona and Nevada.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released 24-month projections this week forecasting that less Colorado River water will cascade down from the Rocky Mountains through Lake Powell and Lake Mead and into the arid deserts of the U.S. Southwest and the Gulf of California. Water levels in the two lakes are expected to plummet low enough for the agency to declare an official shortage for the first time, threatening the supply of Colorado River water that growing cities and farms rely on.

It comes as climate change means less snowpack flows into the river and its tributaries, and hotter temperatures parch soil and cause more river water to evaporate as it streams through the drought-plagued American West.

The agency’s models project Lake Mead will fall below 1,075 feet (328 meters) for the first time in June 2021. That’s the level that prompts a shortage declaration under agreements negotiated by seven states that rely on Colorado River water: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

The April projections, however, will not have binding impact. Federal officials regularly issue long-term projections but use those released each August to make decisions about how to allocate river water. If projections don’t improve by then, the Bureau of Reclamation will declare a Level 1 shortage condition. The cuts would be implemented in January.

https://www.sfgate.com

Over 7 Million in East Africa on the brink of starvation

ETH – April 12, 2021

(ETH) – A new report coming out of Africa is revealing that over 7 million people across six East African countries are at the brink of starvation as communities have continually faced existential threats from violence, flooding, covid pandemic, as well as a locust infestation, according to a new warning from the evangelical humanitarian organization World Vision.

World Vision that operates in nearly 100 countries, has sounded the alarm that thousands of children could potentially face death or long-term health consequences if the international community fails to respond quickly to East Africa’s worsening crisis.

One of these voices is Debebe Dawit, who is the program manager for World Vision’s humanitarian emergency affairs team, who also recently visited Ethiopia and witnessed firsthand the impacts of poverty in the East African country and reported that the situation is “severe.”

“The situation is very severe in East Africa, and particularly Ethiopia. Over 2 million people are in need of food assistance,” Dawit told The Christian Post in a Thursday interview. “Among conflict, COVID-19, flooding, locust infestation, all these are adding [an] additional burden to the community.”

East Africa has been pounded by disaster after disaster. Even Before the pandemic began, several countries in East Africa had already faced a widespread locust infestation that reportedly impacted hundreds of thousands of hectares and damaged croplands and pastures. Then it was large-scale flooding that destroyed crops that had already been ready to harvest. The devastation impacted the food supply for 4 million people in the region.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

Caribbean island orders evacuations after volcano warning

AFP – April 9, 2021

The threat of a volcanic eruption has triggered evacuation orders on the eastern Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and the deployment of several cruise ships to house thousands forced to leave their homes.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said the island was on red alert after a shift in volcanic activity at the La Soufriere crater and told residents in northern areas to move to safety immediately.

“I have issued an evacuation order to all residents living in the RED ZONES on the North East and the North West of the island,” he wrote in a tweet late Thursday.

The order came after scientists monitoring the volcano warned authorities they had detected magma moving towards its surface.

The island’s National Emergency Management Organisation said there was a “substantial prospect of disaster.”

The volcano was spitting steam late Thursday, according to images shared by the University of West Indies Seismic Research Centre, which monitors volcanic activity in the eastern Caribbean.

Around 16,000 people live in the declared red zones on what is the biggest island in the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines chain.

Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises said in a press release they were sending two ships to assist the evacuation effort.

Gonsalves said two more ships from cruise liner company Carnival were also on their way.

https://www.spacedaily.com

California on seismic alert: Two shallow M4.6 and M4.4 earthquakes hit off Eureka within seconds – Precursors of the Big One?

Strange Sounds – April 2, 2021

Today morning, two shallow earthquakes (M4.6 and M4.4) hit off the coast of northern California at a depth of 8km and 19km, respectively.The pair of quakes struck 17 seconds apart of each other (8:21:18 and 8:21:35 AM UTC).Some weak or light shaking was probably felt in the Eureka and Fortuna areas.

The third M2.5 quake in the area hit 1 hour after the first two…

Meanwhile, I am sure geologists closely monitor the seismicity along the west coast…

These earthquakes could indeed be precursors of the next Cascadia Megathrust Earthquake or California Big One…

Indeed, the tremors occurred near the Mendecino Triple Junction, an area where the Cascadia Subduction Zone meets with the San Andreas Fault.

Moreover, if you look at the map from PSNS below, additional quakes rattled the Cascadia Subduction Zone off the Oregonian coast and on Victoria Island in Canada, as well.

An earthquake will destroy a sizable portion of the coastal Northwest.

The question isn’t if but when. And keep in mind: The next full-margin rupture of the Cascadia subduction zone will spell the worst natural disaster in the history of the continent.

https://strangesounds.org

7 Plagues That Are Hitting Our Planet Right Now

– March 21, 2021

Things are starting to get really crazy out there.  In recent interviews, I have used the term “stability” to describe the current state of affairs, and some people may think that is quite strange.  But I stand by that assessment.  In the short-term, we have experienced a period of relative stability over the last couple of months, but of course that will soon change.  I believe that global events will soon greatly accelerate, and much chaos is on the horizon.  However, that certainly doesn’t mean that nothing of importance is happening at the moment.  In fact, the following are 7 plagues that are hitting our planet right now…

#1 A Plague Of Millions Of Rats In Australia

Could you imagine having so many rats infesting your community that it is literally impossible to ever get away from the smell?  Right now, millions upon millions of rats are making lives miserable for countless residents of Australia, and in some instances it is literally taking hours just to clean up all of the poop that they leave behind…

#2 Large Earthquakes

According to the USGS, usually we get about 15 earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater each year…

So far in 2021, we have already had 7 that are magnitude 7.0 or greater, and that includes a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that just shook Japan…

#3 Volcanoes Are Roaring To Life All Over The Globe

According to Volcano Discovery, 29 volcanoes around the planet are currently erupting right now, and that includes a volcano in Iceland that had been dormant for hundreds of years…

#4 The “Megadrought” In The Southwestern United States

Earlier this month, I wrote an entire article about the megadrought in the Southwest entitled “You Were Warned That Dust Bowl Conditions Would Return, And Now It Has Happened”.

Well, this drought just continues to get even worse. In fact, NBC News is telling us that there is “little hope for relief” any time soon…

#5 Armies Of Locusts In Africa And The Middle East

In 2020, giant armies of locusts the size of major cites relentlessly marched across parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia.  Millions of farmers had their crops wiped out, and experts told us that it was unlike anything they had ever seen before.

That was only supposed to be a one year plague, but now it is happening again…

#6 H5N8 Bird Flu In Russia

When cases of H5N8 bird flu started to pop up in Russia, many experts started to become extremely concerned that it could start being transmitted from human to human.

Because if it starts spreading widely among humans, the percentage of victims that will die will be far higher than for COVID.

Unfortunately, one of the top experts in Russia says that there is “a fairly high degree of probability” that it is now being passed from one person to another…

#7 The COVID Pandemic

Even though people are being vaccinated at a feverish pace all over the globe, the number of confirmed cases in Brazil is higher than ever before and experts are telling us that a “fourth wave” has begun in Europe.

Could it be possible that the vaccines are not going to be the “saviors” that so many people were anticipating?

At this point, more than 2.7 million victims have already died from COVID, and more are passing away every single day.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com

Forecast for Spring: Nasty Drought Worsens for Much of US

Newsmax – March 19, 2021

With nearly two-thirds of the United States abnormally dry or worse, the government’s spring forecast offers little hope for relief, especially in the West where a devastating megadrought has taken root and worsened.

Weather service and agriculture officials warned of possible water use cutbacks in California and the Southwest, increased wildfires, low levels in key reservoirs such has Lake Mead and Lake Powell and damage to wheat crops.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s official spring outlook Thursday sees an expanding drought with a drier than normal April, May and June for a large swath of the country from Louisiana to Oregon. including some areas hardest hit by the most severe drought. And nearly all of the continental United States is looking at warmer than normal spring, except for tiny parts of the Pacific Northwest and southeast Alaska, which makes drought worse.

“We are predicting prolonged and widespread drought,” National Weather Service Deputy Director Mary Erickson said. “It’s definitely something we’re watching and very concerned about.”

NOAA expects the spring drought to hit 74 million people.

https://www.newsmax.com

Antarctica Apocalypse: Volcanoes beneath ice could erupt and make planet ‘uninhabitable’

Strange Sounds – Mar 10, 2021

Antarctica could be at the heart of the Earth’s doomsday if volcanoes beneath the ice were to erupt and speed up a process that could leave the planet “uninhabitable,” scientists have warned.

The icy continent is home to some 5,000 scientists around the world who study the unspoiled region to learn more about the Earth’s history and the effects of climate change.

But researchers got a shock when they discovered more than 100 dormant volcanoes below the continent’s ice sheet, making it the largest volcanic region on Earth.

The find was particularly important because the activity of these volcanoes could have crucial implications for the rest of the planet.

If one erupts, it could further destabilize some of the region’s ice sheets, which have already been affected by Earth changes.

John Smellie, Professor of Volcanology at the University of Leicester, told The Conversation: “The volcanoes would melt huge caverns in the base of the ice and create enormous quantities of meltwater.

“Because the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is wet rather than frozen to its bed – imagine an ice cube on a kitchen worktop – the meltwater would act as a lubricant and could cause the overlying ice to slip and move more rapidly.

“These volcanoes can also stabilise the ice, however, as they give it something to grip onto – imagine that same ice cube snagging onto a lump-shaped object.

“In any case, the volume of water that would be generated by even a large volcano is a pinprick compared with the volume of overlying ice.

“So a single eruption won’t have much effect on the ice flow. What would make a big difference, is if several volcanoes erupt close to or beneath any of West Antarctica’s prominent ‘ice streams’.”

https://strangesounds.org

Powerful quake hits off New Zealand, prompting evacuations

Nick Perry – March 4, 2021

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — One of the biggest earthquakes to hit the South Pacific in modern history forced thousands of people in New Zealand to evacuate and triggered tsunami warnings across the world Friday, but it did not appear to cause injuries or major damage because it struck in remote ocean.

The magnitude 8.1 quake was the largest in a series of tremors that hit the region over several hours, including two earlier quakes that registered magnitude 7.4 and magnitude 7.3.

The earthquakes triggered warning systems and caused traffic jams and some chaos in New Zealand as people scrambled to get to higher ground, but their remoteness meant they did not appear to pose a widespread threat to lives or infrastructure.

The largest quake struck about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) off the coast of New Zealand. One of the earlier quakes hit much closer to New Zealand and awoke many people as they felt a long, rumbling shaking.

“Hope everyone is ok out there,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wrote on Facebook during the night.

After the largest quake, civil defense authorities in New Zealand told people in some coastal areas to immediately get to higher ground. They said a damaging tsunami was possible, and waves could reach up to 3 meters (10 feet).

Emergency Management Minister Kiri Allan told reporters that people had followed the advisory.

https://abcnews.go.com

A “Biblical” Invasion Of Locusts Threatens To Cause Widespread Famine In The Horn Of Africa

– February 21, 2021

The locusts are back, and they are hungry.  Last year, an unprecedented plague of locusts devastated crops in eastern Africa, across the Middle East and throughout much of Asia.  Many were hoping that it would just be a one year phenomenon, but now the locusts have returned and one British news source is using the world “biblical” to describe this second wave.  At this moment, the Horn of Africa is being hit the hardest, and the UN is warning that this new infestation “threatens the livelihoods of more than 39 million people”…

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the next generation of locusts threatens the livelihoods of more than 39 million people in Ethiopia, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, and Kenya. Over recent months, the pests have been combated on 1.3 million hectares of land in the Horn of Africa. However, in northern and central Kenya, more than 15 districts, including many new areas, have already been severely affected by the second wave of locusts. Around 1.9 million people were already living in a precarious nutrition situation, which could now dramatically worsen.

One reporter recently had the opportunity to fly with a pilot that is tracking locust swarms in Kenya, and he was stunned when they came across a “swarm about twice the size of the City of London ready to devour every bit of vegetation in its wake”.

Can you imagine what it must be like for local farmers when millions upon millions of locusts suddenly show up in their area?

These locusts can literally wipe out an entire farm in as little as 30 seconds, and these swarms are capable of traveling vast distances in a single day…

Swarms can fly up to 150 kilometres a day with the wind, and a single square kilometre swarm can eat as much food in a day as 35,000 people.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com