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Archive for category: Wind Power

The Latest: Typhoon death toll in China rises to 12

August 29, 2017/in Images, News, Outdoor Events, Weather, Wind Power /by Jason Pohl

BEIJING 

The Latest on Typhoon Hato (all times local):

12:20 p.m.

The death toll from Typhoon Hato has risen to 12 as the most powerful storm to hit the southern Chinese region around Hong Kong in more than half a century barreled west.

Macau says eight people were killed in the gambling enclave, including two men found overnight in a parking garage. Another 153 were listed as injured amid extensive flooding, power outages, and the smashing of doors and windows by the high winds and driving rain.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency says four more people were killed in the neighboring province of Guangdong and one person remains missing. Hato roared into the area on Wednesday with winds of up to 160 kilometers (99 miles) per hour.

Macau lawmaker Jose Pereira Coutinho called the typhoon destruction “a calamity,” adding that had heard from many people who still had no water or electricity.

___

11:20 a.m.

Authorities and state media say the death toll from powerful Typhoon Hato in southern China has risen to at least nine.

Macau’s Government Information Bureau said five people were killed and 153 injured in the gambling enclave.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency said Wednesday another four were killed in the neighboring province of Guangdong while one person remains missing. Hato was the most powerful typhoon to hit the area in 53 years, packing winds of up to 160 kilometers (99 miles) per hour on Tuesday.

Xinhua said that in southern China, almost 27,000 people were evacuated to emergency shelters, while extensive damage to farmland and the loss of power to almost 2 million households was also reported.

___

4:25 p.m.

Officials say a powerful typhoon has caused at least three deaths in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau.

Macau’s Government Information Bureau said three men, aged 30, 45 and 62, were killed in falls and accidents Wednesday related to the heavy rain and gusting winds. At least two other people were listed as missing.

Typhoon Hato came within 60 kilometers (37 miles) of the nearby financial center of Hong Kong.

China’s weather service said the storm made landfall around noon in Zhuhai in the neighboring province of Guangdong, with winds gusting at 45 meters (147.64 feet) per second.

Flooding and power outages were also reported in Hong Kong and Macau, which lie across the water 64 kilometers (40 miles) from each other.

Original Post and Picture: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/nation-world/article168806237.html

https://wirelesswind.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Hong_Kong_Asia_Storm_61393.jpg 759 1140 Jason Pohl /wp-content/uploads/2017/04/wirelesswind-logob.png Jason Pohl2017-08-29 14:39:072017-08-29 14:39:07The Latest: Typhoon death toll in China rises to 12

High above KC’s changing skyline, crane operators build downtown’s revitalization

August 9, 2017/in Construction, Cranes, News, Outdoor Events, Wind Power /by Jason Pohl

Perched high above a Children’s Mercy Hospital construction site, Carl Potter gently moves his left wrist and the 100-plus-foot tower crane rumbles to the right.

A push of his wrist sends the crane’s hook to the ground, where dozens of construction workers wait to attach a cement bucket to the crane’s rigging. They look like toy soldiers from this vantage point.

One of the four walkie-talkies used to communicate with the workers goes off, and he’s on to the next pick. Sometimes he eyes the drop and sometimes can’t see his work at all — relying on radio signals to navigate.

“It’s constant. There’s a tentative schedule, but I don’t eat lunch, I don’t have time,” says Potter, a tower crane operator for about 17 years.

As one of about 4,500 heavy machine operators in the Operating Engineers Local 101 union, Potter has been busy handling downtown Kansas City’s construction boom.

From his operator’s chair, Potter has a breathtaking view of downtown — a skyline crane operators have forged in the last decade — the Sprint Center, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and the current construction of the city’s Two Light luxury apartments.

“Downtown’s growth has been the single most important thing that has happened to the construction industry,” said Jeff Holt, director of operations for Wilkerson Crane rentals, which owns cranes and provides operators. “Ten years ago you didn’t go downtown for nothing, and as an operator, the pride of driving downtown and seeing the things you’ve built, being a part of that change, it’s incredible.”

Potter, 41, of Lee’s Summit, has been up since 3:30 a.m. and has been overlooking the parking garage construction site inside the closet-sized cockpit since 4:30 a.m..

There’s a honey bun, oatmeal cream pie and a few empty energy drink cans in a neat row near his left arm rest. Underneath, a small cabinet door conceals a few water bottles filled with urine — it would be a waste of time to make the 10-minute climb down to use the restroom.

There’s an AM/FM radio built into the crane’s dashboard, but Potter doesn’t use it, opting for complete concentration during his typical 11-hour shifts. Potter tries to minimize distractions in a construction industry that accounts for more than 4,500 deaths annually, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. He combines this discipline with more than 4,000 hours of required training by the union’s certification program.

Learning how

About 30 miles north in Weston, Stoney Cox stands on top of a 100-foot tower crane.

Cox, administrator of the union’s apprenticeship program, surveys the 220-acre training facility and casually leans over the railing. The facility is one of the largest in the country with a diverse landscape of hills and trees.

The Operating Engineers represent workers who use heavy machines, which include large dirt excavators, rollers, bulldozers and various cranes. The facility has more than 50 machines on the property to practice on. The international union often hosts conferences and training sessions on the property.

“Apprentices will take these cranes entirely apart almost a dozen times and learn every part of the machine before they even sit in an operator’s chair,” Cox says.

The three-year program requires 4,000 hours of training, including time in the facility’s classrooms and in the field working as an oiler. An oiler acts as an assistant to the large machine operators, maintaining the equipment, and in turn, the operator trains the apprentice on the job.

Nationally, middle-skill jobs, which require education beyond high school but not a four-year degree, make up the largest part of the labor market in the United States. In both Missouri and Kansas, there aren’t enough skilled laborers to fill the jobs, according to the National Skills Coalition.

Local 101 president Michael Charlton says the union has had a steady flow of apprentices the last few years to meet the area’s growing demand. They’ve struggled to recruit in the past, but Charlton says a more aggressive online advertising campaign and career fairs have boosted numbers.

“There’s zero cost to be an apprentice,” Cox said. “We use that a lot when we go to career fairs. Then parents come in and are asking, ‘You telling me little Johnny doesn’t have to pay for this?’ He pays nothing.”

At the same time, college is getting more expensive. The average four-year college student graduates with more than $30,000 in debt, according to the Institute of College Access and Success. As an apprentice, workers can earn close to $40,000 a year and can make $70,000 to $100,000 by the time they are journeymen.

Holt says high- school students aren’t exposed to certificate programs and trade schools. Often, he says, construction work is looked down upon.

“There’s a definite push that you need a college education to do anything,” Holt said. “This is a great living; I have done this since I was 18. I didn’t go to college — college wasn’t for me — and there are a lot of kids like that out there.”

“I know I can do my job”

Monica Confer always felt restless in a classroom. She stopped going to high school when she was 14 and opted for a GED certificate instead.

She held a bunch of jobs as a teenager and in her early 20s, running forklifts for warehouses and spending time in an auction yard. Confer had her son at 19, and the jobs weren’t cutting it.

“I needed better benefits for my son,” said Confer, 38, of Kansas City. “I could not afford insurance making less than $10 an hour.”

College wasn’t an option. She grew up in a union family, and her father’s friend recommended she apply to the Operating Engineers. She started as an apprentice in 2002.

Sometimes when she arrives at a new job site, she said, guys ask if she is the oiler; they’re surprised to see a woman in the operator’s chair.

“I’ve never had any big problems,” Confer said. “I think it used to bother me but I don’t even care anymore. Whatever, I know I can do my job.”

Charlton remembers a time when there were no women in Local 101 but says women now make up of about 20 percent of the workforce.

In 2014, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 9.8 million people working in the construction industry. Of those, 872,000 of them, or 8.9 percent, were women.

Confer admits a level of paranoia about safety on the job. She typically wakes up by 4 a.m. to get to a job site about an hour early, especially at a new site. She goes through 20 minutes of safety inspections and gets to know every inch of the machine.

She has gotten home, sat on her couch and panicked about whether she had set the crane’s brake. She’ll climb back into her SUV and drive back to the construction site to double check.

“Everybody sees the crane collapses on the news. I have never been on a job when there’s been a crane accident,” Confer said. “If something were to happen and you hadn’t done your safety checks, that’s your conscience, legalities aside.”

Unstable ground conditions, high gusts of wind and operator error are the leading causes of crane accidents, Charlton said. And with more cranes among denser populations downtown there’s less room for error.

Boom town

Tommy Wilson, an urban planner for the Downtown Council of Kansas City, marks the beginning of the city’s revitalization around 2003 with the approval and planning of the Power & Light District. The boom includes construction of the the Sprint Center, H&R Block’s headquarters and new residential spaces. In 10 years, close to $6.5 billion dollars has been invested into downtown.

Wilson says the streetcar’s construction sparked a second wave of development in 2013, with an additional $1 billion invested along the Main Street route. “Our next step and goal is to make the redevelopment sustainable. Sustainability is having a good residential population that calls this place home,” Wilson says.

He says around 24,500 people live downtown, and that number will grow to nearly 30,000 by 2020.

As more people move downtown, more retail and additional office spaces follow, attracting additional residents — it’s a cycle of growth that Wilson projects will continue.

“This downtown revitalization isn’t just a fun phase we are going through” Wilson says. “We want this growth to continue for decades to come.”

Author: Jacob Gedetsis: 816-234-4416, @jacobgedetsis

Original text and pictures:  http://www.kansascity.com/living/spirit/article165286002.html

 

 

https://wirelesswind.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/wirelesswind.jpg 468 768 Jason Pohl /wp-content/uploads/2017/04/wirelesswind-logob.png Jason Pohl2017-08-09 15:39:332017-08-09 15:39:33High above KC’s changing skyline, crane operators build downtown’s revitalization

Exploring the weather hazards behind 5 deadly, notorious plane crashes

July 26, 2017/in Outdoor Events, Weather, Wind Power /by Jason Pohl

Though many unfortunate factors can result in aviation accidents, among an aircraft’s greatest threats are ice, fog and wind shear, which is rapidly changing wind currents.

A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) study shows more than two-thirds of all weather-related general aviation crashes have been fatal.

Microbursts: An invisible killer

According to NASA, phenomena known as microbursts, which are short-lived downdrafts that are often present during thunderstorms, can create forceful and dangerous wind shear.

The National Weather Service (NWS) defines downdrafts as small-scale columns of air that rapidly sink toward the ground, usually accompanied by rain.

Planes are particularly vulnerable during takeoff and landing.

On July 9, 1982, a microburst brought down Pan Am flight 759 from New Orleans International Airport, killing 153 people.

It caused decreasing headwind and downdraft, which the pilot would have struggled to recognize in time, the NTSB official report concluded.

A microburst also caused Delta Airlines flight 191 to crash in Dallas on Aug. 2, 1985.

While attempting to pass through rain beneath a storm, it crashed 6,300 feet north of its runway at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, hitting and killing a driver, according to the NTSB report.

Lack of training and real-time wind shear hazard information contributed to the deaths of 134 passengers, the NTSB reported.

Between 1970 and 1985, low-altitude wind shear caused crashes that killed 575 people, according to the NTSB.

In 1988, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandated that commercial aircraft be equipped with wind shear detection systems by 1993.

“Wind shear accidents have become very rare in recent years thanks to better forecasting tools, pilot training and sophisticated onboard warning systems,” said Patrick Smith, an active airline pilot and air travel blogger.

“But the phenomena is still potentially dangerous,” he said.

Fatal fog risk

Foggy conditions are also often deadly for pilots, according to the Flight Safety Foundation.

They occur when water droplets suspend in the air at the Earth’s surface.

Hazards arise when visibility is reduced to a quarter of a mile or less, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA).

In 1977, upon takeoff from Los Rodeos Airport in the Canary Islands, KLM flight 4805 sheared the top off Pan Am flight 1736, which shared the same runway.

According to the official report, heavy fog enveloping the airport prevented both flight crews from spotting each other until it was too late.

It was the deadliest fog-related crash in history, killing 574 people.

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The control tower was unable to see the two planes, and at the time, the Los Rodeos Airport had no ground tracking radar.

A number of other factors, including poor communication, also contributed.

“The ultimate cause was the KLM pilot initiating takeoff without clearance and disregarding his crew’s inquiries about whether they were cleared for takeoff,” said aviation consultant Jim Goldfuss.

“Airport surveillance radars as well as taxiway and runway lighting technology has adapted to prevent accidents like this,” he said.

Icy aircraft dangers

Ice-covered planes pose another potentially deadly risk.

In 1982, 78 people perished when Air Florida flight 90 smashed into a bridge, collapsing into the icy Potomac River shortly after takeoff.

Air Florida 90 Crash, 1982

The tail section of the Air Florida jetliner that crashed in the Potomac River in Washington is hoisted by a crane onto a floating barge after being removed, Monday, Jan. 19, 1982 from the water. (AP Photo)

“Parked at the terminal, an aircraft collects precipitation the way your car does — via snowfall, sleet, freezing rain or frost,” Smith said.

Icing can disrupt airflow around a wing, which robs a plane of lift, he said.

Flight 90 departed Washington National Airport with icy wings during moderate to heavy snowfall, according to the crash report.

“[This] changes the wing’s shape, which can result in a stall at a higher-than-expected speed,” said Goldfuss.

The NTSB reported that the flight crew’s failure to use engine anti-ice before takeoff and their decision to depart with ice on the plane contributed to the crash.

A decade later, US Air flight 405 departed New York’s LaGuardia Airport, also with icy wings.

The plane lost lift just after leaving the runway and crashed into a nearby bay, killing 27.

It had been previously de-iced.

However, the NTSB concluded that the flight crew’s failure to check for ice accumulation on the wings 35 minutes after exposure to precipitation was a contributing factor to the crash, which occurred more than 20 years ago.

“We’ve come a long way with it as far as anti-icing and de-icing, as well as improved crew training and how to deal with icing conditions,” said Smith.

“Those [crashes] were tough lessons to learn,” said Smith, “but airliner crashes brought on by icing have become exceptionally rare.”

Author: Ashley Williams

Original Source and pictures: https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/the-weather-hazards-behind-5-deadly-plane-crashes/70001522

https://wirelesswind.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/plane1.jpg 388 590 Jason Pohl /wp-content/uploads/2017/04/wirelesswind-logob.png Jason Pohl2017-07-26 14:00:212017-07-26 14:00:21Exploring the weather hazards behind 5 deadly, notorious plane crashes

Rain, strong winds leave 13 dead, 100 injured across Punjab

July 26, 2017/in Weather, Wind Power /by Jason Pohl

LAHORE: Around 13 people died and over 100 were injured in separate incidents after rain and windstorms lashed several cities across Punjab on Saturday.

Several cities, including Lahore, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Kasur, Bahawalnagar, Multan, Chichawatni and Lodhran received light and heavy rain on Saturday, along with gusty winds.

Six people died and around 60 were injured in Bahawalnagar alone, after thunderstorm hit the city in southern Punjab. Strong winds knocked down billboards and brought down roofs and walls of various structures.

An emergency was declared at the District Headquarters Hospital. Among the deceased was a 10-year-old girl while the injured too included five children and 10 women.

In Chichawatni, Sahiwal, various rain and wind-related incidents caused the deaths of three people, including two children and led to injuries to around 22 people.

In Lahore, a man died and three others were wounded after roof of a house collapsed in Chauhang area. A woman died in a similar incident in Faisalabad in which one was also injured.

In Multan, a man died of electrocution while 19 were injured in rain-related accidents. Similarly, in Rajanpur, a father and son were killed after being electrocuted.

Over 28 people were reported injured in different incidents in Multan and Lodhran as well.

The rainfall resulted in tripping of several feeders of Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco), suspending power supply to a large part of the region.

The cities affected by subsequent power breakdown included Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur and Nankana Sahib.

Meanwhile, several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as Murree and surrounding areas received heavy rain and hail.

Original Source and Picture: https://www.geo.tv/latest/145303-13-dead-100-injured-in-rain-related-accidents-in-punjab

https://wirelesswind.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/punjab.jpg 573 762 Jason Pohl /wp-content/uploads/2017/04/wirelesswind-logob.png Jason Pohl2017-07-26 13:57:492017-07-26 13:57:49Rain, strong winds leave 13 dead, 100 injured across Punjab

At Least 1 Dead as Dust Storms Cause Pileups in Illinois

July 26, 2017/in Weather, Wind Power /by Jason Pohl

At least one person was killed Wednesday after blowing dust triggered multiple vehicle collisions throughout Illinois.

Strong thunderstorm winds caused the dust storms in the Prairie State, according to weather.com meteorologist Brian Donegan. A portion of Interstate 72 near New Berlin and along Interstate 55 near Auburn were affected by the conditions.

The fatal accident occurred on Route 36 between Tuscola and Camargo, IllinoisHomepage.net reports. The roadway was shut down between the two towns. The victim’s identity has not yet been released.

The vehicle containing the victim was involved in a multi-car accident that included at least one tractor-trailer, according to the State-Journal Register. Multiple other injuries were reported from the pileup and at least one motorist had to be pulled from the wreckage of their car.

Julie Wubben captured this video of dust storm in Chestnut, Illinois. #ilwx #cILwx pic.twitter.com/XU6D0e248L

— JC Fultz (@jcfultz) May 17, 2017

Share your pictures of the dust storm impacting central Illinois by clicking See It, Send It in the WICS mobile app! https://t.co/LvOM9nsus6 pic.twitter.com/Dg5AwHzNqV

— WICS ABC 20 (@wics_abc20) May 17, 2017

Police shut down Interstate 72 at the Morgan-Sangamon county line and eastbound Illinois Route 104 at Auburn due to the conditions, which they described as being a “total blackout” at times, the State Journal-Register reports.

U.S. Route 6 had to be closed between Wyanet and Princeton after poor visibility caused two crashes, according to NewsTribune. Traffic on Interstate 80 was slowed to a halt due to accidents.

A ground stop was temporarily in place at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago due to the winds, ABC7 Chicago reports.

More than 3,740 were left without power Wednesday, according to local utility Ameren.

Author: Ada Carr

Original Source: https://weather.com/news/news/dust-storm-wind-illinois-fatal-accident-vehicle-collisions

Picture: http://newschannel20.com/news/local/dust-storms-in-illinois-causes-fatal-car-accidents-05-18-2017

https://wirelesswind.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/dust1.jpg 555 986 Jason Pohl /wp-content/uploads/2017/04/wirelesswind-logob.png Jason Pohl2017-07-26 13:01:442017-07-26 13:53:24At Least 1 Dead as Dust Storms Cause Pileups in Illinois

Gale force winds cause accidents and powercuts

July 26, 2017/in Outdoor Events, Weather, Wind Power /by Jason Pohl

Gale force winds caused accidents and power cuts in parts of Macclesfield.

Strong gusts of up to 55mph caused a Costa Coffee van to come off the road along the A537 Cat and Fiddle.

Macclesfield Police responded to the accident which took place yesterday afternoon (Tuesday, June 6) with a humorous tweet “Ground by the wind. This is going to Costa lot to repair #ohbeans”.

There have also been reports of a power cut in Prestbury.

Engineers are heading to the SK10 4 postcode.

A spokesperson for Electricity North West, said: “Damage to an overhead line caused the loss of power to 15 customers in Macclesfield at 12.59am this morning.

“Power supplies have been removed to customers to allow our engineers to safely carry out repairs. Our engineers are working to get customers power supply back on as soon as possible.

“We would like to apologise for any inconvenience and thank customers for their support. If any customers need any further information we are on hand 24/7 on the new national number 105 or Twitter @ElectricityNW.”

Last night, the Met Office made an official ‘yellow’ warning, which means severe weather is possible over the next few days, in hilly areas.

Author: Stuart Greer

Original source & picture: http://www.macclesfield-express.co.uk/news/gale-force-winds-cause-accidents-13149364

https://wirelesswind.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/beans1.jpg 539 810 Jason Pohl /wp-content/uploads/2017/04/wirelesswind-logob.png Jason Pohl2017-07-26 12:40:092017-07-26 12:40:09Gale force winds cause accidents and powercuts
Crane toppled over

What is wind turbulence

June 10, 2017/in Wind Power /by Jason Pohl

Think about chaotic movement, unstable flow of wind… this is what wind turbulence means. If still not clear… remember last time you were on an airplane there was turbulences. Not nice.

Why is so important wind turbulence in any tall construction? Very simple, assume your hands and arms are the wind and a small bar of metal is a crane. Now try to bend it applying continuous force, you will probably bend it (unless the metal bar was too big to start with!) but it is very unlikely that the bar would snap. This is a continuous and steady flow of wind.

Now bend the metal back and forwards, you will see what happens very quickly.. the metal will snap in half (eventually). This is wind turbulence for you, a chaotic pushing and pulling by the wind on any structure and that is what it makes it dangerous.

Some of the windiest places in Scotland for wind turbines (like a crane, very tall structure) where it would be the perfect place for a wind mill, wind turbulence has stop some projects going forward because this chaotic (wind turbulence) flow of wind would eventually break the structure.

https://wirelesswind.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/cranedown_large.jpg 244 468 Jason Pohl /wp-content/uploads/2017/04/wirelesswind-logob.png Jason Pohl2017-06-10 14:52:162017-06-10 15:46:05What is wind turbulence
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  • The Latest: Typhoon death toll in China rises to 12August 29, 2017 - 2:39 pm
  • Crane collapses onto apartment block at Wolli Creek; residents unable to return homeAugust 9, 2017 - 3:46 pm
  • High above KC’s changing skyline, crane operators build downtown’s revitalizationAugust 9, 2017 - 3:39 pm
  • Exploring the weather hazards behind 5 deadly, notorious plane crashesJuly 26, 2017 - 2:00 pm
  • Gale force winds cause accidents and powercutsJuly 26, 2017 - 12:40 pm

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