My heart goes out for the Japanese families facing yet another earthquake just eight days after the one on New Year’s Day. A magnitude 6.0 earthquake has rocked central Japan, the country’s Meteorological Agency announced. The earthquake struck off the Sea of Japan coast, rattling the same part of the country where a huge tremor on New Year’s Day and its aftershocks caused widespread destruction. Unfortunately, the death toll for the first earthquake is at 200 and still rising because rescuers are trying to provide sorely needed aid to almost 3,500 people still stuck in isolated communities. Many people are still unaccounted.

More than 1,200 aftershocks have blighted central Japan since the New Year’s Day quake. Thankfully, no tsunami warning has yet been issued. Let’s keep the Japanese people in our prayers.

The weather isn’t playing nice here in the states either. Panama City and Marianne Florida have significant tornado damage. The National Weather Service received 11 tornado reports since Monday night: seven in the Florida Panhandle, two in South Georgia and two in southern Alabama, where one death was confirmed. Heavy snow and blizzard conditions swept across parts of the Plains and the Midwest on Monday into Tuesday morning, closing roads and making travel difficult to impossible.

Yes, it is winter, and storms do happen but not ever have there been weather alerts for hazardous winds, snow, flooding and thunderstorms in effect for 49 of the 50 states, the lone exception being North Dakota. How crazy is that?

Finn is being followed by Gerry, the same track across the United States with snow and rain depending on where you’re located. Yup three storms in a row Ember, Finn and Gerry, the beginning of new this year.

Mt. Hood in Oregon has done the unplausible. The decision was made to shut the mountain down not for lack of snow, but precisely the opposite: because of it. Officials at Mt. Hood decided, with a “ferocious blizzard” forecasted for Oregon today that with great storms come great responsibility. We have made the decision to suspend operations tomorrow, January 9.” (1) The storm prediction is for 20 inches of snow and 50 mph sustained winds. Brrrr… Sounds like a good day to be inside with a cup of cocoa to me.

The Las Vegas area had crazy winds Sunday through this morning when it finally calmed down, but with Gerry on Thursday we will once again have high wind conditions into Friday night. It could be a lot worse; I know. Sadly, though Las Vegas has a high number of homeless people struggling to survive in these miserable conditions Like other major cities in the U.S. there isn’t enough shelters to provide for the homeless. Reality check: we’re a third world country. People exist in horrific conditions in every one of our fifty states. It’s not just the major cities.

If all the crazy weather conditions aren’t enough, a study from PNA Nexus (2) noted on January 2nd that the previous study stating the New York City Metro area is sinking 0.06 inches yearly is inaccurate. The new data says 0.08 inches is now. (3) The coastline is sinking faster than expected. It isn’t just NYC affected, “there are other hotspots from the study include Virginia Beach, where 451,000 people and 177,000 properties are at risk, and Baltimore, Maryland, where 826,000 people and 335,000 properties are at risk.” With the sea level rising 10 to 14 inches in the next three decades along the East Coast, this makes for what seems to be an inescapable situation.

My husband and I both have witnessed in Norfolk, Virginia how many streets are flooded whenever there is a rainstorm. I’m talking about a rainy day not a hurricane there’s simply no place for the water to go but on the streets which causes a lot of road damage because they are already below sea level.

Unfortunately, this study isn’t being taken serious enough, nor have previous studies. How many times have you heard climate change doesn’t exist. Ot climate change is just political grandstanding. The truth is It affects you and I and everyone. It may be gradual, but the impacts are real.

My embroidery project is coming along nicely. Today, I’m sewing the Fokker Dr. 1. Truthfully, I didn’t recognize this plane by its full name. In German, the Dreiddecker Triplane was better known as the Fokker DR. 1. It was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker Flugzeugwerke. Manfred Albrecht Freiherr better known to us as The Red Baron was a fighter pilot for the German Air Force. He is considered the ace of the aces in WWI. He was officially credited 80 combat victories.

As I sewed, I listened to the Story of Snoopy versus the Red Baron song by the Royal Guardsman.

(1) https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/oregon-s-mt-hood-meadows-temporarily-suspends-operations

(2) https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article

(3) https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-impacts-are-real-new-satellite-images-show-east-coast-sinking-faster-than-we-though