Key Facts Of The Day 5/11

Storms and Flooding

• The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) found that Texas discriminated against Black and Brown communities in the allocation of federal funds to protect communities from future disasters.
  • The Texas-designated areas eligible for federal grants, as a whole are majority White, while the HUD-designated areas are majority people of color.
    • Texas decided to split about $1 billion in half between HUD- and Texas-designated areas, so areas with more people of color received disproportionately less funding.
• On Monday, an engineer heading planned reconstruction of the Tongue River’s aging Bourbanis Dam in northeastern North Dakota warned the state’s governor that upcoming rainfall could add pressure to the earthen structure already weakened by flooding.
  • The dam is meant to protect mostly rural land, and only one household has been affected thus far.

Wildfires

• As of Monday, there are currently 12 large active wildfires that have burned 322,309 across AZ, CO, NM, and TX. As of Monday, 23,366 wildfires have burned 1,269,758 acres across the country.
• As of Monday, the Tunnel Fire in Arizona has burned 19,075 and is 98% contained. 
• As of Monday, the Cooks Peak Fire in New Mexico has burned 59,359 acres and is 97% contained.
• As of Monday, the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire in New Mexico has burned 176,273 acres and is 43% contained.
  • On Tuesday, schoolchildren were expected to resume in-person classes, while residents on the fire’s northern edges remained under evacuation orders.
  • Two more days of strong winds and dangerously bone-dry conditions are in the forecast before some relief is expected on Friday.
  • The wildfire is spreading north toward mountain resort towns near Taos.
  • The cost of fighting the blaze and another smaller fire burning near Los Alamos National Laboratory has topped $65 million.
  • Gov. Lujan Grisham said the cost to reconstruct houses, prevent post-fire flooding and restore the forest charred by the larger fire after it is out will probably reach billions of dollars.

Extreme Heat

• Californian’s drought is worsening and yet residents used more water in March than any month since 2015.
  • Despite Gov. Newsom askingresidents to voluntarily cut water use by 15%, water usage jumped nearly 19% in March, which was one of the driest months on record.
• Drought continues to impact Kansas wheat fields.
  • A Danville, Kansas farmer estimates a loss of 30 to 40% of their yield potential.
• A sprawling dome of summerlike heat settled over the central U.S. bringing temperatures 20 degrees or more above normal, with scant rainfall.
  • The risks of wildfire and heat-related illness are surging.
  • On Monday, temperatures spiked to 99 degrees in Kansas 
  • On Monday, Oklahoma set a record when temperatures reached 107 degrees.
  • On Monday, San Angelo and Abilene, Texas, hit record highs of 107 degrees.
  • The heat in Texas has pushed electricity demand to midsummer levels.
  • Through Thursday, scores of population centers from Texas to Wisconsin could well see record highs near or above 90 degrees, including Kansas City, St. Louis, Little Rock, Madison, Wis., and Nashville.
  • Human-induced climate change is playing a role in making early-season heat waves more frequent, more intense and longer in duration.
• Oregon adopts new protections for workers exposed to extreme heat and wildfire smoke.
  • The rules, which build on temporary emergency rules adopted last summer, are part of Oregon’s ongoing efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
  • Previously, California and Washington were the only other states to set enforceable heat-related standards to protect outdoor workers.
• In March a heatwave driven by climate change caused the sixth mass bleaching event since 1998 at the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem.
  • The coral bleaching affected 91% of reefs surveyed along the Great Barrier Reef.

New Reports And Data

• A May 2022 report found that coral bleaching affected 91% of reefs surveyed along the Great Barrier Reef this year.
• A May 2022 study found that pregnant women have increasing been exposed to chemicals from plastics and pesticides that may be harmful to development.
• A May 2022 study found a higher incidence of lung cancer and brain tumors in people exposed to wildfires.