Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.5 Earthquake hits the Carlsberg ridge.
5.2 Earthquake hits the State of Yap, Micronesia.
Storms and Floods
Tropical Storms
In the Western Pacific:
Super Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Yolanda in the Philippines, will go down in history as one of the strongest storms ever recorded on the face of the earth. Most unsettling is Haiyan was near peak intensity at initial landfall over Eastern Samar province in the Philippines around 3:40 PM EST Thursday (4:40 AM Friday in the Philippines). This could make Haiyan the strongest tropical cyclone to ever make landfall in any ocean basin.
More than 100 people have reportedly lost their lives.
Haiyan is now in the South China Sea headed toward northern Vietnam this weekend. That said, the latest forecast from the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre indicates Haiyan will weaken steadily as it nears Vietnam. Coastal storm surge flooding, damaging winds, and local flash flooding will be the threats in northern Vietnam with Haiyan.
In the Indian Ocean, Tropical Cyclone 3A is headed westward into Somalia, well north of Mogadishu Sunday, U.S. time.
NewsBytes:
Tornado hits Pikit in the Philippines killing two people and injuring another.
Heavy snowfall obstructs election campaign in Humla, Nepal.
Wildfires
New Bushfires near Sydney, Australia
Firefighters in Australia are scrambling to contain fresh wildfires that are threatening houses near Sydney.
Crews on the ground and in the air are trying to contain the fires, which are currently just north of the capital.
There have been no immediate reports of injuries or structure damage.
Disease
Measles outbreak hits Queensland, Australia
Thirty-five people have now contracted measles in Queensland in one of the worst outbreaks of the disease in Queensland’s recent history.
Volcanos
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity:
Etna (Sicily, Italy): Explosions from the New SE crater continued over night and this morning, although their frequency and size has decreased. Tremor levels have remained essentially unchanged and are still low.
Yasur (Tanna Island, Vanuatu): Strong semi-continuous ash emissions and relatively strong strombolian explosions that eject large bombs outside the crater were reported.
Indonesia’s Mt. Sinabung volcano eruption this week prompts emergency with at least 1,700 evacuated:
