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Drought Situation -
July 1934
Lack of rainfall for an extended period of time affects crops,
causes wells and springs to dry up, and lakes to diminish through
water use, evaporation, stream flow . The results of these
situations is that we have to stop washing our cars, discontinue
watering of lawns, flowers, and shrubs, start water conservation
via personal actions, new stepped water use rates, rebate plans,
loss of landscape jobs and projects, loss or reduced crop yields,
and backlogs of business for well digging companies.
As the water table drops and springs dry up, wildlife and birdlike began moving resulting
in increased observations and increased numbers of road kills and
decreased flows water flows for some spring-supplied communities
. This is a good time to provide a water source for wildlife
as they need water just like us. As the plant, shrubs, and
trees are faced with continued drought conditions, the potential
for wildfires and forest fires similar to the recent California
wildfire increases and reduces the ability for fire fighting
organization to combat the fires. Extreme care must be used
to prevent the start of fires as these fires could sweep through
entire subdivisions or communities.
As the situation worsens, the lower levels of the community
supply lakes will exceed the capability of the community water
treatment facilities to completely treat the water and the quality
of well water may also deteriorate. At first, low immune groups of
the population must switch to other water sources, such as bottled
water. Later the situation will deteriorate further to where
the entire population will have to switch to other water sources
for drinking and cooking. Likewise there will be a
tremendous economic impact on the area as the lack of water
results in job losses in primary markets and then secondary
markets such as groceries, drug stores, gas stations, and other
service organizations.
1930's Dust Bowl
There are many stories about the Midwest dust storms, lack of
water, and of farmers having to abandon their farms and moving
elsewhere. By 1934,
about sixty-five percent of the United States (see below) was in
severe to extreme drought.
Countless crops and livestock were damaged or destroyed by
drought, high temperatures, and high winds, and many people in
what came to be known as the Dust Bowl (an area of the Plains that
included parts of Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and New
Mexico) faced severe hardships. Although the worst of the
agricultural problems were in the Plains, the drought's effects
were felt throughout the United States.
Droughts are a normal part of life
in the Great Plains. Many droughts are short-term and may
only affect small areas, but multiple-year droughts like the Dust
Bowl of the 1930's are relatively common as well. In 2002,
Nebraska experienced its third driest year on record and lost more
than one billon dollars in crop losses. Mountain snows in
Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana that provide water and fill
reservoirs along the Platte and Missouri Rivers have been low for
several years.
The Georgia Situation
Seasonal Drought Outlook
Latest Seasonal Assessment
- The drought over central and
southern Texas has recently expanded mostly northward into Oklahoma, and is
expected to either persist or intensify during the next three months. In the
West, drought is forecast to persist over much of California. This is
primarily because the main storm track is forecast to shift northward for
the late winter, affecting mostly Oregon and Washington. Across the northern
tier of states, signals from La Niña composites favor at least limited
improvement for northwest Montana and for southwestern North Dakota. For the
Great Lakes area, improvement in current drought conditions is expected for
central Wisconsin, though prospects for significant relief are less likely
over northern Wisconsin and adjoining upper Michigan. Small areas of
improvement are also indicated across portions of the upper Ohio Valley and
central Appalachians, with some improvement expected over the southern
Appalachians/Piedmont area. In the southern Atlantic region, the Feb-Apr
2009 precipitation forecast shows a tilt in the odds for drier than normal
conditions. This results in drought expansion from Florida into coastal
Georgia and South Carolina.
Current Fire Danger Classification
The term red flag weather conditions signify the increased
fire risk that is present in the brown area shown above. In addition
there are municipalities that have only weeks or months of water supply
left. There is no indication with long range weather forecast that the
situation will change in the coming months.
For the Disaster Response Ministry, there is the need to identify
additional shelters within churches and training new shelter teams in North Georgia and the
Greater Atlanta area. In addition, guidelines for setting up POD's
(Points of Distribution) for distributing water, etc. are being drawn up and
may be used in the near future. United Methodist may be called upon
to staff
some of these free distribution centers.
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