Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.6 Earthquake hits the Mariana Islands.
5.5 Earthquake hits off the east coast of North Island, New Zealand.
Storms and Floods
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the North Atlantic:
Post Tropical Cyclone Matthew is located about 60 mi…95 km ESE of Cape Hatteras North Carolina with maximum sustained winds…75 mph…120 km/h. Present movement…ENE or 75 degrees at 14 mph…22 km/h.
Tropical Storm Nicole is located about 555 mi…895 km S of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds…50 mph…85 km/h. Present movement…stationary.
In the Western Pacific:
Tropical Storm 22w (Aere), located approximately 197 nm east of Hong Kong, is tracking east-northeastward at 02 knots.
Tropical storm 23w (Songda), located approximately 488 nm east-southeast of Iwo To, is tracking northwestward at 17 knots.
Newsbytes:
Haiti – Haiti has begun three days of national mourning for those killed by Hurricane Matthew, which devastated the south of the country. At least 900 people are believed to have died.
Hurricane Matthew – After a protracted and violent journey up the southeast U.S. seaboard, a weakened Hurricane Matthew made landfall Saturday in South Carolina, inundating a vast stretch of the coast with torrential rain and triggering floods far inland. 10 deaths in the US have been attributed to the storm.
Disease
Mumps Outbreak – Arkansas, USA – Update
The mumps outbreak in northwest Arkansas has eclipsed the 400 case mark as the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) puts the suspected and lab confirmed case tally at 427 as of Friday. The majority of cases are Marshallese (66 percent) and are believed to have common exposures within a local church and in school settings.
The index case appears to be an unvaccinated 27-year-old woman with no international travel but who was visited by an individual who traveled from an area in Iowa where mumps was spreading at that time.
Burkholderia cepacia outbreak in Venezuelan Hospital
An outbreak of the bacterium, Burkholderia cepacia, at Hospital Dr. Luis Felipe Guevara Rojas in El Tigre, Anzoátegui State, Venezuela has sickened 22 infants, according to the College of Physicians in the country.
Pediatric doctors suggest the outbreak is linked to water shortages, which have been going on for six months. “The water shortages have worsened in the past 30 days. The short supply is then stored and is likely the source of the outbreak”, the doctors note. To make matters worse, shortages of antibiotics are a major part of the outbreak problem as no antibiotics have been available in two days.
This follows reports of outbreaks of diphtheria and malaria in Venezuela. The number of malaria cases are set to break all records and the reemergence of diphtheria has medical professionals concerned about a nationwide outbreak.
Pneumonia in South Vietnam
Hospitals in southern Vietnam have recorded a surge in the number of children being admitted over respiratory diseases, most prominently pneumonia, in recent months.
According to statistics provided by Dong Nai Children’s Hospital in Dong Nai Province, there have been a rocketing number of new pneumonia admissions for the past two months. In August and September alone, the hospital treated over 5,000 outpatients and nearly 1,700 inpatients of pneumonia, an increase of 1,632 cases compared to the same period last year.