Showing posts with label Florida. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Florida. Show all posts
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Saturday, December 12, 2009
FloridaToday.com | Manatees dying at a record pace
FLORIDA TODAY • December 12, 2009 - A record 105 manatees died in Brevard County, Florida this year, almost twice as many as the next highest county and a quarter of the manatees to perish statewide.
Brevard has more habitat; therefore, more manatees tend to live and die here than in any other Florida county.
But biologists are worried about the high numbers that keep dying young. Along the Space Coast, almost half died within a year of birth.
Statewide, 413 sea cows have died this year, putting the species on pace to break the previous record of 417 deaths, set in 2006.
"It's virtually certain that's going to happen," said Pat Rose, executive director of Save the Manatee Club, an advocacy group based in Maitland. "I would love it if that did not happen."
Brevard's total surpassed the previous county record of 87 manatee deaths, also set in 2006, by 20 percent.
Thirteen died here because of cold snaps.
Boats killed six manatees, only 5 percent of the county's overall death toll, and 91 manatees statewide, or 22 percent.
But "perinatal" deaths topped the causes with 48 in Brevard, or 45 percent, and 114 statewide, about 28 percent.
Florida defines perinatal deaths as those that happen before the manatee grows to be 5 feet long -- typically, within a year of birth. The category can include deaths caused by complications with birth and disease.
Boaters against go-slow manatee zones attribute this year's high death toll to a growing manatee population. The record deaths came in the same year the state counted a record 3,802 manatees statewide. The boaters say slow zones do little to protect a species they see thriving.
Manatee conservationists chalk up the statewide deaths from boat strikes and record overall deaths as proof that the species is in peril.
Rose acknowledges that the record perinatal deaths in Brevard may be evidence of robust manatee numbers here.
"But it can't really explain the magnitude of that," he said. "I think it's a really bad year. You don't get these kind of spikes in perinatal deaths without something bad happening."
(2 of 2)
But state biologists don't know what that is. They, like Rose, say the high statewide perinatal deaths can't be explained by population growth alone.
The 101 perinatal deaths last year, however, represented an even higher portion of the overall deaths, almost 30 percent. A total of 337 manatees died statewide in 2008.
This year, the biggest portion of deaths deemed perinatal was in animals too decomposed to tell what killed them.
"It's really hard to say something really statistical about those perinatal deaths because they are really based on the size of the manatee, so it has a big mix of causes," said Martine DeWit, associate research scientist at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg.
This year's perinatal deaths in Brevard nearly tripled the previous 20-year average of about 17.
DeWit suspects that the increase may signify more manatees being born this year. But she stops short of declaring a "recovery."
"I wouldn't call it the species recovering. It could be that the population numbers are growing," she said. "That doesn't mean the population is recovering because there are so many threats to manatees."
Those include red tide, declining warm water springs and seagrass disappearance.
"The overall numbers are relatively high this year. And nothing is really jumping out. We didn't have a big red tide die-off this year," DeWit said. "But what was really obvious this year is that we had really strange cold weather peaks."
The state attributes 54 manatee deaths, about 13 percent, to cold stress in 2009, including 13 deaths in Brevard. That was the second highest on record in the county. The highest was 28 cold stress deaths in 1990.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20091212/NEWS01/912120314/1006/Manatees+dying+at+a+record+pace
Brevard has more habitat; therefore, more manatees tend to live and die here than in any other Florida county.
But biologists are worried about the high numbers that keep dying young. Along the Space Coast, almost half died within a year of birth.
Statewide, 413 sea cows have died this year, putting the species on pace to break the previous record of 417 deaths, set in 2006.
"It's virtually certain that's going to happen," said Pat Rose, executive director of Save the Manatee Club, an advocacy group based in Maitland. "I would love it if that did not happen."
Brevard's total surpassed the previous county record of 87 manatee deaths, also set in 2006, by 20 percent.
Thirteen died here because of cold snaps.
Boats killed six manatees, only 5 percent of the county's overall death toll, and 91 manatees statewide, or 22 percent.
But "perinatal" deaths topped the causes with 48 in Brevard, or 45 percent, and 114 statewide, about 28 percent.
Florida defines perinatal deaths as those that happen before the manatee grows to be 5 feet long -- typically, within a year of birth. The category can include deaths caused by complications with birth and disease.
Boaters against go-slow manatee zones attribute this year's high death toll to a growing manatee population. The record deaths came in the same year the state counted a record 3,802 manatees statewide. The boaters say slow zones do little to protect a species they see thriving.
Manatee conservationists chalk up the statewide deaths from boat strikes and record overall deaths as proof that the species is in peril.
Rose acknowledges that the record perinatal deaths in Brevard may be evidence of robust manatee numbers here.
"But it can't really explain the magnitude of that," he said. "I think it's a really bad year. You don't get these kind of spikes in perinatal deaths without something bad happening."
(2 of 2)
But state biologists don't know what that is. They, like Rose, say the high statewide perinatal deaths can't be explained by population growth alone.
The 101 perinatal deaths last year, however, represented an even higher portion of the overall deaths, almost 30 percent. A total of 337 manatees died statewide in 2008.
This year, the biggest portion of deaths deemed perinatal was in animals too decomposed to tell what killed them.
"It's really hard to say something really statistical about those perinatal deaths because they are really based on the size of the manatee, so it has a big mix of causes," said Martine DeWit, associate research scientist at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg.
This year's perinatal deaths in Brevard nearly tripled the previous 20-year average of about 17.
DeWit suspects that the increase may signify more manatees being born this year. But she stops short of declaring a "recovery."
"I wouldn't call it the species recovering. It could be that the population numbers are growing," she said. "That doesn't mean the population is recovering because there are so many threats to manatees."
Those include red tide, declining warm water springs and seagrass disappearance.
"The overall numbers are relatively high this year. And nothing is really jumping out. We didn't have a big red tide die-off this year," DeWit said. "But what was really obvious this year is that we had really strange cold weather peaks."
The state attributes 54 manatee deaths, about 13 percent, to cold stress in 2009, including 13 deaths in Brevard. That was the second highest on record in the county. The highest was 28 cold stress deaths in 1990.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20091212/NEWS01/912120314/1006/Manatees+dying+at+a+record+pace
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
PRNewsChannel.com | “Sinkholes are to Florida what forest fires are to southern California,” says a sinkhole expert
Sinkhole coverage set to disappear from certain Florida homeowner policies in January
In May, 2008 a large sinkhole gobbled up half of this home in Spring Hill, Florida, displacing a couple and their three dogs, according to WFTS Action News in Tampa, FL. Fortunately, the couple was not home at the time of the incident, but the dogs were; they have since been rescued.
In May, 2008 a large sinkhole gobbled up half of this home in Spring Hill, Florida, displacing a couple and their three dogs, according to WFTS Action News in Tampa, FL. Fortunately, the couple was not home at the time of the incident, but the dogs were; they have since been rescued.(PRNewsChannel) / November 04, 2009 / Tampa, Fla. /
With sinkhole coverage set to disappear from certain Florida homeowner policies in January, Florida property insurance lawyer Ted Corless says it's not too late to renew this vital type of insurance.
“Sinkholes are to Florida what forest fires are to southern California,” says Corless, a sinkhole expert who has most recently been tracking Ocala sinkhole damage.
"Damage from sinkholes in Ocala is nothing new, and certainly not the worst place for this," adds Corless. "But it's an area of Florida that's particularly vulnerable to what has created a disastrous situation for families."
Sinkhole damage is largely created by the acidity of Florida rainwater, which erodes the underground limestone. In September, a sinkhole in Pasco County swallowed a driveway and was measured 80 feet deep by 40 feet wide.
Property insurance lawyers recommend annually using a video camera to track the progress of any cracks throughout a home, and requesting sinkhole protection when renewing insurance coverage. Sinkhole coverage will no longer exist for Pasco and Hernando County homeowners effective in January, unless homeowners specifically renew it.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
TampaBay.com | El Niño brings calm hurricane season but potentially hazardous winter
October 27, 2009 - El Niño has brought Floridians a calmer hurricane season, but the winter could be a much different story.
Think downpours, floods and tornadoes.
"We're going to have a very active winter," said Daniel Noah, the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Tampa Bay.
No hurricanes have threatened Florida this season, which ends Nov. 30. But tornadoes have killed more people in Florida than hurricanes in recent years, so the National Weather Service is trying to get the word out about the flip side of El Niño.
El Niño forms every three to five years as warm surface waters in the Pacific Ocean shift from the west to east. Those warmer waters form upper atmospheric storms that can thwart hurricanes forming in the Atlantic.
But they can also cause havoc during the winter months.
This El Niño started in July and weakened eight hurricanes, Noah said. Now considered a moderate El Niño, it is expected to strengthen in the coming months, producing hazardous weather.
The opposite of El Niño — La Niña — occurs when surface water in the eastern Pacific cool to below average temperatures. That produces warmer winters, drier summers and a more active hurricane season in the Atlantic.
The last El Niño was during 2006 and 2007, and it led to the Christmas Day tornadoes that damaged about 100 homes in Pasco County. FULL STORY
Sunday, September 27, 2009
UPI | At least 75 dead in Philippines floods caused by rainfall that broke all records for a 24-hour period.
UPDATE: LATimes.com | Philippine storm leaves 106 dead and missing
MORE PHOTOS
Motorists drive by vehicles lined up along a road after flash floods caused by Typhoon Ondoy hit Provident Village in Marikina City, Metro Manila September 27, 2009. The Philippines appealed for international aid to help tens of thousands marooned by flashfloods, and apologised for the delays in rescue efforts to avoid potential political fallout from the crisis. REUTERS/John Javellana (PHILIPPINES DISASTER SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT)
A Filipino boy is carried to safety through floodwaters brought by Tropical Storm Ketsana in the Quezon City suburb of Manila. At least 73 people have been killed and more than a quarter of a million displaced after the heaviest rain in more than four decades plunged the Philippine capital into turmoil, officials said. (AFP/Jay Directo)
In this photo released by Philippine Air Force, a group of residents wade through neck-deep floodwater as others stay on the roof of their house Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009 in suburban Pasig City east of Manila, Philippines. Rescuers plucked bodies from muddy floodwaters and saved drenched survivors from rooftops Sunday after a tropical storm tore through the northern Philippines.
(AP Photo/Philippine Air Force, Sgt. Rey Bruna)MORE PHOTOS
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Unusually high tides, strong rip currents with 275 lifeguard rescues Sunday, Jellyfish all at Volusia beaches, Florida
High tides keeps Volusia beaches closed to driving for part of Labor Day
DAYTONA BEACH -- Mother nature wasn't cooperating with those hoping to spend Labor Day at the World's Most Famous Beach.
Unusually high tides forced county officials to close all beach ramps this morning and Beach Patrol Capt. Scott Petersohn they didn't begin to reopen the ramps until about 12:30 p.m. All ramps will not open until later in the day, after the tide recedes.
Those who could find someplace to park other than the beach were free to use the beaches this morning. But tides were too high to allow anyone to drive or park on the beach, he said.
Long lines of cars were waiting at ramps to drive onto the beach about noon, he said.
The long Labor Day weekend, viewed by many as the last big weekend of the summer, is traditionally a very busy time at the beach. But conditions have not been kind to those trying to enjoy the beach this weekend.
Strong rip currents made swimming dangerous, with 275 lifeguard rescues on Sunday alone, Petersohn said. And some of beachgoers who survived the churning surf had to deal with another irritating problem -- jellyfish stings. Petersohn said one person had to be taken to the hospital Sunday after suffering a suspected case of anaphylactic shock from a jellyfish sting.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Sinkhole opens in Hudson, Florida - Bill 742 states - all insurance companies have the right to not renew sink hole coverage in Pasco and Hernando Co
Sinkhole opens in Hudson
Updated: Thursday, 03 Sep 2009, 4:26 PM EDT
HUDSON - A quaint home on a nice street in the Beacon Woods subdivision has no more front yard. It was swallowed Thursday by a sink hole.
Jackie Boone watched the sinkhole as it grew.
"It was little by little, and then suddenly, it was like thunder -- it all just caved in," Boone said.
Engineering crews scrambled all day Thursday to stabilize the sink hole trucking in load after load of fill. Nonetheless, it continued to expand. By day's end, the corner of a two-car garage was hanging over the edge of the hole.
The home is vacant and for sale.
The large sink hole may serve as a wake up call to people in Pasco and Hernando Counties. As of January home owners' insurance rules change because of what's called Bill 742.
"Bill 742 states that all insurance companies have the right to not renew sink hole coverage in Pasco and Hernando counties," said Billy Fernandez, who directs operations for RAB Foundation Repair. In fact, Fernandez told Fox 13 he has been busy speaking to homeowners' associations helping them prepare for the coming insurance change.
"I have met with over six or seven home owners' associations to explain the bill. I've done over 100 inspections in the last month, telling homeowners what the damage is if it's consistent with sink hole activity or not, whether their neighborhood has sink hole activity, just to help them out," Fernandez said.
In the meantime, neighbors watched as the sinkhole continued moving their direction. Bill McCauley lives next door.
"Very scary, very scary. I hear this little rumble, a little louder rumble, and I heard splash and I knew exactly what it was."
With recent sink hole activity and the coming insurance regulation change, Fernandez said homeowners should be prepared. His company will provide free sink hole inspections.
Fernandez can be reached at 727-842-7465
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/nature_coast/Sinkhole_opens_in_Hudson_090309
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/nature_coast/Sinkhole_opens_in_Hudson_090309
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