Every Life Secure - Emergency Preparedness Blog

The Surprising Effects of the U.S. Drought - See the Pictures

The drought painted in pictures.  It ain't pretty in more ways than one...

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Seen the Corn Lately?

Well, it doesn't look so good.  The drought just keeps getting worse.  See this week's 6-week drought animation.

Reminder - be prepared for any disaster...

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Corn and Soybeans Hit Record High Prices As Drought Worsens

Corn prices hit an all-time high and soybean prices hit a record high as well amid hightened concern over the impact of drought in the United States.  Over 61% of the United States is in moderate to severe drought and over 70% of the corn and soybean crops are currently affected by the drought.

If you are not already prepared to deal with a food shortage, this is a good reminder of the reality that we do depend on agircultural products.  The ready availability of such products is not guaranteed.  Most of us have not experienced a severe food shortage in our lifetime.  The problem is that many of us also don't really believe in the reality of something unless we have already experienced it.  It is possible to go hungry even in America (remember Katrina).  Don't doubt that reality.  Simply be prepared for it.

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61% of Continental United States Now In Moderate to Severe Drought

The drought story is just getting worse and there is no significant weather relief predicted.  61% of the continental United States is now considered by the Drought Monitor to be in moderate to exceptional drought.  This is the most since 1956 when 58% of the country was hit by drought.  So in terms of the breadth of drought impact, this is the worst in 56 years.

Here are so quotes that put some detail on this developing disaster:

From the Associated Press:

Topsoil has turned dry while "crops, pastures and rangeland have deteriorated at a rate rarely seen in the last 18 years," (National Climatic Data Center)

Around a third of the nation's corn crop has been hurt, with some of it so badly damaged that farmers have already cut down their withered plants to feed to cattle. As of Sunday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said, 38 percent of the corn crop was in poor or very poor condition, compared with 30 percent a week earlier.

From Reuters:

"We're moving from a crisis to a horror story," said Purdue University
agronomist Tony Vyn. "I see an increasing number of fields that will produce
zero grain."

"They're moving corn from good-and-excellent condition to poor-to-very poor
in one week, which skips fair condition. What they're saying is it's a lot worse
than they thought," said farmer Larry Winger, who farms along the
Illinois-Indiana border 30 miles south of Purdue, commenting on the USDA
report.

"Corn and soybeans in the U.S. Midwest baked in an unrelenting heat wave on
Monday with fears rising of big crop losses that will boost food and fuel prices
and cut exports and aid from the world's top shipper of the key crops."

What is the message?

The message is the same as we always share in this blog: be prepared for any emergency or disaster.  These things happen and we all need to take steps to prepare for them.  Prudent food and water storage is one of the steps that we can all take.

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Are you In A Drought Area? Watch the Drought Get Worse Over the Past Six Weeks

Many want to know if they are officially in a drought area.  Watch this animation to see if your area has made the latest drought map from the U.S. Drought Monitor.  You will see that the drought has been getting worse in the last six weeks.

A drought is just one of many threats one might face anywhere in the United States.  An emegency or disaster can stike anywhere, at any time.  Make sure you are secure with emergency preparedness supplies.  Among other supplies, emergency water is critical to have on hand.

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Drought Emergency Declared Across 1,000 Counties in 26 States - Worst Drought Conditions in 24 Years

The Federal government just declared drought emergencies and opened up aid to farmers in 1,000 counties in 26 states.  This is the worst drought in the United States in the past 24 years.  A 12% decrease in corn crop yield in the U.S. is expected because of the drought.  Soybean production projections were dropped 8% due to the drought.

If there is not some relief from rain soon, yield projections will continue to decline.

Such drought conditions remind us of the need to be prepared for emergencies and disasters.

Every Life Secure... Is Yours?^TM -- Over 500,000 Lives Secure and counting.

How Much of the United States is in Drought?

I was very surprised to read that 56% of the continental U.S. is now considered to be in a state of drought by the weekly Drought Monitor.  Apparently this is the driest year since 1988.  We are not back to the dust bowl days of the 1930's but it does remind us that drought is not just an "African" phenomenum.  We have our own water supply issues right here in the United States.

So often we thing about certain kinds of disasters as something that happens elsewhere.  This allows us to put a large percent of the hazards in this life out of our minds.  But the reality remains that no matter where you live, short and long term disasters are potential disrupters to your life as you typically know it.

Drought in much of America is just another reminder of the need to prepare so as to be secure in any emergency or disaster.

Every Life Secure... Is Yours?^TM -- Over 500,000 Lives Secure and counting.