Key Facts Of The Day 10/11

Hurricanes

• After hurricane Ian caused devastation across Florida and other parts of the East Coast, communities start recovery efforts.
  • Hurricane Ian hammered Florida with such ferocity that it wiped out whole neighborhoods, tossed boats onto highways, swept away beaches, and swamped homes in roof-deep waters.
  • Overall, 111 deaths have been blamed on Hurricane Ian, including 102 deaths in Florida, five in North Carolina, one in Virginia, and three in Cuba.
    • Two men in their 70s even took their own lives after viewing their losses.
    • Hurricane Ian was the third-deadliest storm to hit the U.S. mainland this century.
  • Survivors of Hurricane Ian face a long emotional road to recover from one of the most damaging storms to hit the U.S. mainland.
    • More pressing needs for food, shelter, and clothing often take priority over seeking counseling, which is in short supply even in good times.
    • Research has shown that between a third and half of those who survive a disaster develop some type of mental distress.
    • Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety rise along with substance abuse. Those with existing mental disorders are at greater risk of having those conditions exacerbated by the trauma. 
  • On the road to Estero Island, the scene of the worst damage to Fort Myers Beach, workers are using heavy machines with huge grapples to snatch debris out of swampy areas and deposit it into trucks. 
  • Florida’s waterways are contaminated and pose health risks.
    • Sewage pipelines overflowed into waterways. Toppled portable toilets spilled into floodwaters. Gasoline and motor oil leaked from partly submerged vehicles. Downed trees have started decomposing on waterlogged roads.
• Human-caused climate change is expected to increase temperature gradients between different levels of the atmosphere as carbon concentrations build up — strengthening wind shears where commercial planes tend to fly and making clear-air turbulence more likely to violently shake aircraft.

Wildfires

• As of Tuesday, there are currently 64 large active wildfires that have burned 708,917 across CA, ID, MO, MT, OK, OR, and WA. As of Tuesday, 55,612 wildfires have burned 6,934,664 acres across the country.
• In California, 1 fire has burned 76,788 acres as of Tuesday.
  • The Mosquito Fire has burned 76,788 acres and is 95% contained as of Tuesday.
• In Oregon, 2 fires have burned 293,742 acres as of Tuesday.
  • The Cedar Creek Fire has burned 122,210 acres and is 38% contained as of Tuesday.

Extreme Heat

• Snow loss is fueling the West’s megadrought.
  • Climate change is making the situation of snow-bare mountain tops more likely, increasing the odds of a lesser-known type of drought called a snow drought.
  • In the near future, the West could lose about a quarter of its historical snowpack.
• With the Colorado River in crisis and reservoir levels continuing to decline, some California water agencies are planning to significantly reduce the amount they take from the river starting next year.
  • Officials with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California said they plan to endorse mandatory conservation measures to begin rationing water for cities and local agencies that supply 19 million people across six counties.
  • Last Wednesday, four water districts and the state’s Colorado River Board said in a letter to the federal government that they are proposing to reduce water use by up to 400,000 acre-feet per year.
  • Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the river’s two largest reservoirs, now sit nearly three-fourths empty.
  • Under a 2019 agreement called the Drought Contingency Plan, Arizona and Nevada are preparing for substantial reductions in water allotments next year. 
  • Mexico is also seeing reduced deliveries under a separate deal.
• Tomatoes, onions, and garlic wither in California’s drought.

New Reports and Data

• An October 2022 study found that climate change made the 2022 summer droughts more likely.
• An October 2022 study found that the Salton Sea, California’s most polluted inland lake, has lost a third of its water in the last 25 years because of a decline in Colorado River flow.