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Heat wave - United States, Canada
Typhoon Saomai - Mariana Islands, Philippines,
Japan, Taiwan, China
Flood - Ethiopia
Severe storms, Tornadoes and torrential
rains - United States
Typhoon Xangsane - Philippines, Vietnam,
Thailand
Snowstorm - United States
Wildfire - United States
Other events
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Catastrophe Report 10
July 25th - November 8th 2006 |
Wildfire - United States
| Territory: |
|
United States |
| Region: |
|
California |
| Date: |
|
26 October 2006 |
| Event: |
|
Wildfire |
| Impact: |
|
The fire killed five fire fighters who were trapped
in their fire engine and destroyed 34 homes and 20 other buildings.
Initial cost estimates are around US$10 million, but can be
expected to rise. In total, 40,200 acres were destroyed before
the fire was brought under control. The event is the latest
in a record US wildfire season that has seen fires consume 9.4
million acres, topping the previous year’s total of 8.6
million acres. |
| Summary: |
|
The so-called ‘Esperanza’ fire was
started deliberately in an area of chaparral near the town of
Cabazon, Riverside County, in southern California, and burned
for four days before being brought under control. Chaparral
is dense scrub wood that is highly flammable and difficult to
fight once ablaze. This is reflected by the fact that the fire
spread extremely rapidly, driven by a powerful Santa Ana wind,
and consumed an estimated 24,000 acres in the first 18 hours. |
| Data sources: |
|
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_details_info?incident_id=161
NASA Earth Observatory
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13945
|
| Additional sources:
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|
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanza_Fire
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