Maine coasts

Weather is often a go-to conversation filler or ice-breaker. When people don't know what else to say, they gripe about the heat or the cold or the rain or the snow. But severe weather is far more than an inconvenience, and it can be a matter of life or death. Take thunderstorms. There are roughly 100,000 thunderstorms every year in the United States, and 1 in 10 is considered severe. They cause flash floods, spark fires, and create hail, killing more people each year than do tornadoes, lightning, or hurricanes. Severe weather is growing more intense as well. Flash floods tear through dry waterbeds, city streets, and sewer drains at breakneck speed. But in developed urban areas, rain falls on impervious surfaces like sidewalks, parking lots, and driveways. Without land to absorb it, the water inundates roadways, culverts, and underpasses. Hail storms are expected to become more dangerous as the planet keeps overheating. Researchers predict climate change will mean fewer days of … [Read more...] about These Counties Have the Most Severe Weather in Every State

PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Syrian rebels pierce Assad’s siege lines in Homs – opposition Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET:Syrian rebels broke through government lines to ease a siege of their positions in the strategic central city of Homs yesterday despite coming under fierce aerial bombardment, opposition campaigners said. The communally mixed city of Sunni Muslims and Alawites, the minority sect that has dominated Syria since the 1960s, has emerged as a major battleground in the two-year-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. The bloodshed has claimed about 70,000 lives so far, according to the United Nations. Homs, 140km north of Damascus in central Syria, lies on a vital road juncture linking army bases on the Mediterranean coast, home to a large proportion of Assad’s Alawites, and government forces in the capital Damascus. In a counter-offensive, Sunni rebels punched their way through … [Read more...] about Phuket Gazette World News: Syria rebels breach Homs; Pope vote begins; PNG quake; China land protests; Khmer war crimes

PHUKET: After aspiring journalist Howard W French graduated college in 1980 he joined his parents, American medical doctors, in Ivory Coast. His romance with Africa begins with a girl from Mali whom he meets in a nightclub. Intrigued by her tales of Mali’s history, he sets off on an epic overland trip to Mali to see for himself. A Continent for the Taking (Vintage Books, New York, 2005, 280pp). Subtitled The Tragedy and Hope of Africa , it’s mainly the story of his four years as African correspondent for the New York Times, a stint of far too much tragedy and nearly no hope. A Continent for the Taking’ is available from Amazon , or in hardcover by order through all good bookshops in Phuket. — James Eckardt Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page . Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger . … [Read more...] about Yet more dark despair – Phuket Books

PHUKET: Adriano Trapani left Kamala Beach, heading up the steep northern hill, when the tsunami struck Phuket’s west coast. “Initially, I thought it was my bike breaking down again, so I stopped and checked it. Everything was fine with the bike, but soon after, people on foot, bikes and in cars started gathering around me, as I was in a ‘safe zone’. When I looked down from the hill, all I saw was the frothing water full of floating debris,” says Mr Trapani, an established 43-year-old photographer and founder of ‘Phuket Paparazzi’, best known for his ‘Bohemian’ photography workshops on the island. However, in 2004, Mr Trapani was still a tourist in Phuket who had taken a long leap off the corporate ladder he had climbed back in Milan, Italy. His Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Master’s degree in Marketing and Foreign Commerce landed him a job in the marketing department of IT-multinational Fujitsu-Siemens Computers. Less than a year later, he took a better position … [Read more...] about Profile: Adriano Trapani’s journey from Milan to Phuket

PHUKET: Shanghai provided the exact result I forecasted: Lewis Hamilton followed by Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel, with Kimi Raikkonen well in contention. In fact, the safety car may have stopped any further attrition by the Iceman. It was nice to see Kimi back in form. I speculated before Shanghai about how close Williams could get to Ferrari. The answer was ‘not nearly close enough.’ In fact, Williams may be falling back towards Red Bull and others. So it’s on to Bahrain, where the local politics always provide some entertainment and where Pirelli is providing soft and medium compounds for a circuit dominated by long 300kmh straights and slow corners, so brakes will play a significant role. Bahrain demands superb aerodynamics with sturdy low-speed traction. The desert location means the track evolution is uncertain, depending on how much sand blows onto the circuit. High temperatures provide a real challenge to cooling systems and tyre management, with heavy demands on … [Read more...] about F1: The Bahrain challenge – tyres, team rivals and turns