el nino articles 1) red cross funding concerns 2) emergency

8/14/2019 El Nino Articles 1) Red Cross Funding Concerns 2) Emergency

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El Nino Articles

1) Red Cross Funding Concerns

2) Emergency Services Information forHumboldt County

3) Historic Range of rainfall totals and likelihood of flooding

4) Global effects of El Nino

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1) Red Cross Funding Concerns

Posted: 10/12/2009 01:27:09 AM PDT

http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_13543160

The combination of dwindling donations due to the recession and many local fires has theHumboldt County American Red Cross a little worried.

I don't want to go into the winter like this, said Barbara Caldwell, executive director ofthe Humboldt Red Cross.

There have been more situations requiring the Humboldt Red Cross' response this yearthan expected and with the threat of an El Nio year bringing floods, more are likely tocome. Last year, the Humboldt Red Cross spent $25,000 on direct disaster relief and itlooks as if this year will be more costly, she said.

Caldwell is optimistic that money will come, though, so they can help everyone in needand she assures the public that they aren't about to close their doors.

I'm not even going to entertain that thought, she said. There's no one else who doeswhat we do.

Red Cross volunteers will respond any day at any hour to secure disaster victims a placeto stay and give them any needed supplies.

One such emergency was last November when the Budget Motel on Fourth Street inEureka burned down -- it was 3:30 a.m. on a rainy Saturday and backup volunteers had tobe called to assist the three already on scene, she said.
http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_13543160?source=rsshttp://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_13543160?source=rsshttp://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_13543160?source=rss


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The first hotel the Humboldt Red Cross group found to send victims ousted by the firerefused to take them in because they smelled like smoke. After more searching, theHumboldt Red Cross found them a place to stay.

All the emergencies that the group responds to, such as the motel fire, are unpredictable

and it's hard to know how many more are to come.

With this job, you never know, Caldwell said.

The Humboldt Red Cross has two full-time employees, including Caldwell, and the restof the staff is made up of volunteers and some part-time positions.

Humboldt Red Cross board of directors member Mike Moreland said the group is notcurrently in dire straits, but funding is marginal.

If there's no need, we'll probably be OK, he said.

A primary need the Humboldt Red Cross fulfills is helping displaced people after a floodor fire has destroyed or disabled their residence, he said. The Humboldt Red Cross is alsoimportant because of its availability.

Because it's the only entity you can call at 3 a.m. on a Saturday to get an immediateresponse, he said.

There is also less of the bureaucratic guff that are a part of government agencies suchas welfare, Moreland said. The Humboldt Red Cross can also help disaster victimsreplace their medications.

Eureka Fire Department Chief Eric Smith is also a member of the board of directors andsaid the EFD depends on the Humboldt Red Cross.

They're the ones we can count on for helping find places for people who are displaced,Smith said.

The EFD can't extensively help the victims of fires and floods but the Humboldt RedCross makes sure they have a place to stay, clothes to wear and food to eat, Smith said.

Much of the relief this year has been for single families affected by structure fires.

Although funding is currently a little lower than she'd like, Caldwell said she has faith inthe community to help the Humboldt Red Cross get through the year.

Humboldt County is too generous, she said. We care for each other and take care ofeach other.


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For information on the Humboldt Red Cross or to donate, call their headquarters inEureka at 707-443-4521 or visit humboldtredcross.org.

Allison White can be reached at 441-0506 [email protected].

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2) Emergency Services Information forHumboldt County

Humboldt County Ordinance 2203 established the Humboldt Operational Area (OA) andidentified the Sheriff as Director of Emergency Services for the County. The responsehierarchy works in the following manner: When a City or Special District cannoteffectively handle a crisis with their own available resources and organization, they

request OA assistance. OAs will provide whatever resources and assistance which can bemobilized locally from county assets and from other Cities and Special Districts withinthe county. Should additional resources and assistance be needed, the OA will requesthelp from the state Governor's OES. The state, in turn, will provide whatever resourcesand assistance thath can be procured from state assets. FEMA is contacted when the stateneeds assistance to handle the crisis. In some large states such as California, there is anintermediate level between the OAs and the Governor's OES for better efficiency inresponse efforts. In California, the Coastal Region is comprised of the sixteen coastalcounties from Del Norte to Monterey. Any assistance requests from the Humboldt OA godirectly to the Coastal Region which immediately canvasses the sixteen coastal countiesfor needed resources and assistance. Should more assistance be needed, the Coastal

Region will contact the Governor's OES in Sacramento which will, in turn, canvass theother Regions in the State. The Humboldt County OES manages the OA response fromthe Emergency Operations Center (EOC) located in the basement of the CountyCourthouse in the old Civil Defense Shelter. The EOC consists of a large room area fordisplaying/exchanging information and smaller room areas for specific applicationsdepending on the need. http://co.humboldt.ca.us/sheriff/oes/

Floodwater levels are closely monitored by local, state, and federal agencies. Historicflooding events have generally defined the area limits of water intrusion into the

countryside. As water levels approach those limits, a coordinated warning system assistslocal agencies and the public in general to prepare for evacuation and begin floodfightingefforts. This concerted effort usually results in property damage only with no loss of life.However, as happened in 1955 and in 1964, loss of human and animal lives and extensiveproperty damage sometimes does occur. Because of past experience and ongoingemergency management planning efforts, local, state, and federal agencies located inHumboldt County are well-prepared to assist Humboldt County residents during floodevents. Inundation areas are generally well-defined, evacuation destinations and routes
http://humboldtredcross.org/http://humboldtredcross.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://co.humboldt.ca.us/sheriff/oes/http://humboldtredcross.org/mailto:[email protected]://co.humboldt.ca.us/sheriff/oes/


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are identified, and short-term support plans and contingencies for the care of evacuatedpersons and animals are in place. Long-term assistance contingencies will be coordinatedwith out-of-the-area state and federal agencies as needed.

Also: United Way of Humboldt County, Red Cross, Salvation Army,

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3) Historic Range of rainfall totals and likelihood of flooding

North Coast.

From: http://co.humboldt.ca.us/sheriff/oes/

Press Releases: http://co.humboldt.ca.us/sheriff/pressreleases/default.asp

The normal rainfall totals in Eureka are 5.78 inches for November, 6.35 inches forDecember and 5.97 inches for January, according to averages calculated between 1971and 2000, Hartley said. During the last El Nio season, which was classified asmoderate, 5.78 inches of rain was recorded in November, 11.35 inches in December and5.51 inches in January. In an El Nio pattern, sea surface temperatures in the east-centralequatorial Pacific interact with the atmosphere, leading to above-normal oceantemperatures which, in turn, impact rainfall patterns, Hartley said. An increase in theocean temperature can adversely impact salmonids and other local species, according toRandy Brown, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service deputy field supervisor. The higher watertemperature reduces the upwelling, the movement that brings food to the surface. At thesame time, Brown said, other native fish, such as rock fish and whiting, may move farther

north to get into cooler water. Conversely, he said, the higher ocean temperatures maymean the presence of more tropical varieties of fish. The past few years have beenparticularly dry, Humboldt County Agricultural Commissioner Jeff Dolf said, so normalor slightly above normal rainfall this coming winter would be beneficial to ranchers. Inthe year ending June 30, particularly around Humboldt Bay, it was a better year forrainfall than the preceding years. Normal rainfall would be good for everyone, he said.The problem comes when pastures are flooded and inaccessible to cattle. In those cases,ranchers have to buy feed for their cattle, Dolf said. It's a good thing, but you don't wanttoo much of a good thing, he said. Brown noted that additional rainfall would bebeneficial to Trinity Lake and the upper Klamath River both are below normal levels.Jessie Faulkner can be reached at 441-0517 [email protected].

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4) Global effects of El Nino

http://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00230/09-envcli_230397s.jpg

A digital thermal image of El Nio that could lead to more drought in Australia
http://co.humboldt.ca.us/sheriff/oes/http://co.humboldt.ca.us/sheriff/pressreleases/default.aspmailto:[email protected]://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00230/09-envcli_230397s.jpghttp://co.humboldt.ca.us/sheriff/oes/http://co.humboldt.ca.us/sheriff/pressreleases/default.aspmailto:[email protected]://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00230/09-envcli_230397s.jpg


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A new El Nio has begun. The sporadic Pacific Ocean warming, which can disruptweather patterns across the world, is intensifying, say meteorologists.

So, over the next few months, there may be increased drought in Africa, India andAustralia, heavier rainfall in South America and increased extremes in Britain, of warm

and cold. It may make 2010 one of the hottest years on record.

The cyclical phenomenon, which happens every two to seven years, is a majordeterminant of global weather systems. The 1997-98 El Nio combined with globalwarming to push 1998 into being the world's hottest year, and caused major droughts andcatastrophic forest fires in South-east Asia which sent a pall of smoke right across theregion.

Related articles

Leading article: It's an ill wind...

At present, forecasters do not expect this El Nio to equal that of 1998, but it may be thesecond-strongest, and concerned groups, from international insurance companies tocommodity traders, to aid agencies such as Oxfam, have begun to follow its progressanxiously. Its potential for economic and social impact is considerable.

Professor Chris Folland, of the Met Office Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction andResearch, said: "We are likely to see more global warming than we have seen in the pastfew years, which have been rather cool. In fact, we are already seeing it."

El Nio is a periodic warming of the normally cold waters of the eastern tropical Pacific,

the ocean region westwards out from South America along the line of the equator. Sincethe Pacific is a heat reservoir which drives wind patterns around the world, the change inits temperature alters global weather. An El Nio is defined by ocean surfacetemperatures rising by more than 0.5C above the average.

This El Nio is well beyond that, says the Climate Prediction Center of the US NationalWeather Service. "Sea surface temperatures remain +0.5 to +1.5 above average acrossmuch of the equatorial Pacific Ocean," the centre reported last week. "Observations anddynamical model forecasts indicate El Nio conditions will continue to intensify and areexpected to last through the northern hemisphere winter of 2009-10."

The last El Nio was in 2006-07 and, at its peak, sea surface temperatures averaged about0.9 degrees above normal. But this is a stage which has already been reached by this one.

The last El Nio, comparatively weak though it was, is thought to have been partlyresponsible for the extraordinarily warm weather in Britain between the summer of 2006and the spring of 2007: July 2006 was Britain's hottest month, autumn 2006 (September,October and November) was the warmest autumn, winter 2006-07 (December, Januaryand February) was the second warmest in Britain, and April 2007 was our warmest April.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-its-an-ill-wind-1766576.htmlhttp://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-its-an-ill-wind-1766576.htmlhttp://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-its-an-ill-wind-1766576.html


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People have forgotten this because there then began our recent cooler and wetter period,with Britain's two "washout summers" of 2007 and 2008, and they may, in turn, havebeen associated with the counter-phenomenon of La Nia, a cooling of the easterntropical Pacific waters, which followed. The start of the present El Nio was one reasonthe Met Office predicted a "barbecue summer" for 2009.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/new-el-ni241o-threatens-world-with-weather-woe-1766555.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/new-el-ni241o-threatens-world-with-weather-woe-1766555.htmlhttp://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/new-el-ni241o-threatens-world-with-weather-woe-1766555.htmlhttp://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/new-el-ni241o-threatens-world-with-weather-woe-1766555.htmlhttp://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/new-el-ni241o-threatens-world-with-weather-woe-1766555.html

el nino articles 1) red cross funding concerns 2) emergency

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