Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 02/02/2008 5:48:19 PM PST by justa-hairyape
Additional info excerpt follows.
About 33,370 square meters of health facilities, such as hospitals, have collapsed and another 74,461 sq m were in danger of collapsing, according to the ministry.
The Chinese must have some serious construction deficiencies. 8 inches of snow collapsing medical buildings ?
New report from Germany. Snow and Ice has closed Highways in Germany this morning. No word when they reopen.
I think the Three Gorges is well north of the weather and won’t be affected.
Cold Snap Wreaks Havoc on Central Asian Power
Ageing electricity networks have been pushed to the limits by this winter’s prolonged sub-zero temperatures.
By Jyldyz Mamytova in Bishkek and Yaroslav Razumov in Almaty (RCA No. 529, 31-Jan-08)
The worst winter in decades has hit Central Asia with one of the worst energy crises in memory, forcing factories to close and leaving people shivering in the darkness. Abnormally low seasonal temperatures, plunging to 30 or 40 degrees below zero, have pushed electric consumption to a record high.
In Kyrgyzstan, a state rich in hydroelectric power, daily consumption is ten per cent higher than it normally would be at this time of year. The jump in use caused water levels in the main reservoir at Toktogul to fall alarmingly as the turbines were kept running in an effort to keep up with demand.
In Tajikistan, which suffers from annual winter energy crises despite its substantial hydroelectric generating capacity, savage power cuts have inflicted severe damage on industrial output and raised questions about the competence of the political leadership.
Even energy-rich Kazakstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have experienced power cuts as sharply-rising domestic consumption overwhelms capacity.
An observer in the Balkan region of western Turkmenistan described the energy crisis in schools and hospitals as critical.
“The worst situation is in the schools,” said this source. “All the local schools have had their boilers cut off, and as a result most teachers hold classes for only 15 minutes and then let the children go.”
Energy industry experts say the Kyrgyz electricity grid had failed a crucial test as a result of the abnormal cold.
Almaz Abdrahmanov, a resident of the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, said that despite freezing daily temperatures of around 20 below zero, the new residential district of Archa-Beshik had been without power for three days.
The electricity shortages come as consumers across the region faces problems with supply of natural gas, again as a consequence of the harsh winter conditions. Major producer Uzbekistan is struggling to cope with increased demand at home and curtailing exports to its neighbours....
Jyldyz Mamytova and Yaroslav Razumov are IWPR contributors in Bishkek and Almaty, respectively.
Other news about China. Japans three biggest auto production facilities in China have shutdown due to cold and snow. Saw a report that over 100,000 warehouses have collapsed in the affected area. Read another report that most of the affected area in southern China has no central heating.
While it is significant disaster right now, the snow will melt across most of China very soon.
The average low temp. at this time of year in southern China is 14C and the average high is 20C so the snow and ice won’t last long. Temps will return to normal in short order.
But, the river that runs thru Guanghou might flood during the thaw.
After all, I can read a map and I understand hydrology.
Think of how super duper insulation would solve a lot of these winter freezing/summer dog-day problems...
The Chinese main problems have been structure failures due to snow accumulation, train track closure, electrical system failures due to ice and highway closure due to ice. Now if they can solve all of that, then insulation would help them be energy efficient. Insulation would help Central Asia right now since they seem to be able to handle the snow and cold okay. Actually any subtropical areas such as China are going to have the same problems if Global Cooling is continuing. Next winter could be worse. We will have to see what happens in the Southern Hemisphere this coming winter.
Structural failure due to snow accumulation can effect even the toughest and most well prepared people. There is a video on Weather.com about the snow accumulation in Detroit Oregon this winter. They have had 13 feet of snow. The video has an interview of a resident. He states that the people in the town are hardy and resilient, but there is not much you can do when your structures begin to fail under the weight of snow. Come to think of it, a foot of snow in Los Angeles could also cause massive structure failures.
You have to ask the question, why does a country that has no missions around the world for their military, such as Iraq, Africa, Afghanistan, Bosnia, etc., why do they need 2.3 million troops. Oh, right, to take back Tawain and invade Hawaii.
And to keep their people under control. 2.3 million troops with 1.3 billion people. There is a story about what happened at one of the train stations when the trains started to move again. There was 2,500 policeman assigned to hold back a couple hundred thousand people. The police had no chance. Of course some machine guns in the hands of some trained soldiers might have worked better. Just for some perspective, the Chinese have deployed twice the number of regular troops that we have deployed in Iraq, just for their snow and ice emergency. If Global Cooling continues for a few more years, the Chinese may have their eyes on the Australian continent.
One cubic foot of fresh fallen snow weighs all of 8 pounds, when melted down it becomes 1 inch of water. Since one cubic foot of(fresh)water weighs 62.4#, 1/12 of that is about 8#. Thus one has to look at DRIFTING vs annual snowfall/precipitation. 13 feet of snow equals a rainfall, in say a 2 day storm, of 13 inches.
From a practical standpoint then there’s a bit of chicken-little-the-sky-is-falling mentality going on here. Unless the area/region typically gets large amounts of precipitation, say monsoon regions, you don’t get an entire years worth of precip in just one week. Is it bone dry the other 51 weeks of the year?
This then is why roofs in europe have very steep pitches, say slate roofs on cathedrals, they last forever. Idiots build flat(and leaking)roofs that winter snow keeps building on for months. So, when they collapse from snow loads they are only killing the idiots inside anyway....
The Chinese have lost over 100,000 warehouses to structural failure (I think the number I saw was actually closer to 150,000). In the greater Los Angeles area all the industrial buildings have flat roofs. The newer type buildings have solid concrete walls that are held in place by the roof. If the roof fails the solid concrete walls fall outward. That is why fireman do not park their trucks too close to these newer industrial buildings (got that tidbit from a fire captain). My old roof in the industrial building space I lease, is basically sheets of plywood nailed to 2x4's and attached to heavy wooden beams. When you walk on the roof areas in-between the 2x4 supports, the roof sags. The plywood sheets appear to be about 8 to 10 feet long.
As an architect I can tell you : all too typical. A flat roof w/minimal slope and 3 layers of tarpaper is dirt cheap to build. That’s why you see so many of them. 10 years go by, the roofing contractor(and his bond)is long gone, and so is the roof; it’s basically the bottom of a swimming pool w/standing pools of water all over it. That water supports fungus, moss, munge which eats down thru the sagging tarpaper : LEAKS....BIG TIME.
So in comes the guy with the rubber roof : BIG BUCKS. These idiots never learn : put a SLOPE on the roof, get the rain/snow OFF of it asap. You may not know anything about a building owner but if he has a building with a flat black roof you’re looking at an IDIOT!
Thanks for the info. The owners just replaced the complete roof of one of their buildings next to mine. I suspect (and now hope) mine will be replaced this summer or next.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.