Facts Of The Day 10/7

Hurricanes

• Heavy rain sparked serious flash flooding in parts of Alabama, killing one child and prompting urgent rescues from more than 15 cars and 80 homes.
• As of Wednesday, multiple counties in Georgia report flooding damage and road closures. 
  • Macon-Bibb county issued a flood warning for the Ocmulgee River which was expected to rise to 21.7 feet. 
  • Crawford county reported that flooding has blocked a highway in both directions and a bridge. 
  • Putnam county issued a flood warning for the Little River. 
  • Jasper county issued flash flood warnings.
  • Upson county reported that flooding has blocked a highway in both directions. 
• As of Wednesday, Columbus and Phenix City residents can expect heavy showers and possible thunderstorms through Friday night. 
• Deaths from Hurricane Ida expose flaws in FEMA flood maps.
  • In New York City, 11 people drowned in their homes which were in areas marked as low risk for inundation. 
• After summer storms flooded and damaged multiple subway systems, cities are developing projects for climate change preparedness.

Wildfires

• As of Tuesday, there are currently 52 large active wildfires that have burned 3,008,766 acres across CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, OK, OR, WA, and WY. This year to date, 46,539 wildfires have burned 6,396,813 acres across the country. 
• California encourages prescribed burns to counter wildfires. 
• The California Department of Education’s Emergency Services Team helps California schools navigate wildfires. 
• As more wildfires destroy communities and homes, the service of scent detection dogs finding cremation ashes among wildfire ashes is increasing.  
• After the 2020 wildfires destroyed Detroit’s drinking water treatment system and contaminated its water sources, the city’s water system is still a work in progress.
• As extreme heat intensifies, Phoenix, Arizona, has named a director of the nation’s first publicly funded office of heat response and mitigation. 
• In California, 9 fires have burned 2,021,800 acres as of Tuesday.
  • The Caldor Fire burned 221,775 acres and was 93% contained as of Tuesday. 
  • The Dixie Fire burned 963,309 acres and was 94% contained as of Tuesday.
  • The KNP Complex Fire burned 76,768 acres and was 11% contained as of Tuesday.
• In Colorado, 1 fire has burned a total of 3,792 acres as of Tuesday. 
• In Idaho, 18 fires have burned a total of 247,076 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Montana, 9 fires have burned a total of 206,368 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Nevada, 2 fires have burned a total of 89,637 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Oklahoma, 1 fire has burned a total of 832 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Oregon, 6 fires have burned a total of 292,316 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Washington, 4 fires have burned a total of 131,822 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Wyoming, 2 fires have burned a total of 15,123 acres as of Tuesday.

Extreme Heat

• In California, extreme heat causes more deaths than official records show.
  • Between 2010 and 2019, the hottest decade on record, California’s official data from death certificates attributed 599 deaths to heat exposure, but the actual number is closer to 3,900 deaths. 
• As temperatures continue to intensify, access to air conditioning can mean life or death.
  • Low-income families have a far lower rate of air-conditioning units in their homes than the average family. If they do have it, they are more reluctant to use it because of the cost. 
• With temperatures swinging to the extremes, Boston City Council discussed installing HVAC in its public schools. 
• The heat and drought in Franklin County, Washington caused a rough summer harvest with weird-shaped potatoes, melons that won’t keep, and no moisture to plant wheat.
• In October 2021, dairy prices are rising due to dairy cows suffering heat stress and producing less milk.
• The Ark-La-Tex region faces heatwaves versus the usual fall weather for this time. 
• 85% of wine production comes from California, yet temperatures rising over the next several decades could make it harder or even impossible to produce grapes.
• Due to the ongoing drought in Indiana, trees are stressed and dropping their leaves much earlier. 
• Red tide confirmed at St. George Island in Franklin County.

New Reports And Data

• An October 2021 study found that the 2011 record-breaking drought in Texas was more severe than previously thought. 
• An October 2021 study found that the Montreal Protocol, which protects the ozone layer, will prevent 443 million cases of skin cancer and 63 million cataract cases for Americans.
• An October study found that farming should be as high-yield as possible so it can be limited to relatively small areas and allow more land to be left as natural habitats.