Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.3 Earthquake hits Tarapaca, Chile.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Banda Sea.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Flores region, Indonesia.
Storms and Floods
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Atlantic Ocean: Tropical Storm Ophelia is located about 790 mi…1270 km WSW of the Azores with maximum sustained winds…50 mph…85 km/h. Present movement…SE or 125 degrees at 3 mph…6 km/h.
In the Western Pacific Ocean: Tropical depression 23w (twenty-three), located approximately 156 nm south of Hanoi, Vietnam, is tracking west-northwestward at 13 knots.
Newsbytes:
South Africa (Gauteng) – At least one person died and several others were injured in what was described by eye witnesses as a “tornado” that ripped off the roofs of a primary school, a shopping mall and many houses on Johannesburg’s West Rand. At least 150 homes were damaged in Putfontein and Etwatwa near Daveyton. Numerous squatter shacks were blown onto adjoining roads.
South Africa (KZN) – A massive storm has hit parts of KwaZulu-Natal with the eThekwini Municipality urging residents to stay indoors until it subsides. All roads in the southern parts of the province have been closed off. More than 300 schools were affected by closures.
Wildlife
Rampant Rhino Poaching – South Africa
Despite a legal supply of horns from private farmers having been released on the domestic market, the latest poaching figures gathered from around the country indicate staggering numbers of rhinos continue to be killed illegally by heavily armed poaching gangs.
Nowhere is this more evident than in KwaZulu-Natal, where a fresh wave of rhino killings swept across the province’s game parks last month, leaving more rhinos slaughtered in a single month than ever before.
Before the month of September had ended, 36 rhinos had been butchered for their horns in KZN over a period of 29 or fewer days. Most of the incidents occurred in the killing fields at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, home to the founding population of the southern white rhino.
Wildfires
Wildfires – California
More than a dozen fast-moving wildfires tearing through California’s wine country have killed at least 10 people, destroying hundreds of homes, authorities said Monday.
Fanned by winds of over 80km/h, the blazes have forced more than 20 000 people to evacuate in the country’s heaviest populated state since they began on Sunday night.
California’s fire service said about 73 000 acres have been ravaged by the major infernos.
Rare “fire devil” spotted during Portugal wildfires
Disease
Yemen: Cholera Update
The total number of suspected cholera cases in Yemen this year hit the half a million mark on Sunday, and nearly 2000 people have died since the outbreak began to spread rapidly at the end of April.
The overall caseload nationwide has declined since early July, particularly in the worst affected areas. But suspected cases of the deadly waterborne disease continue to rage across the country, infecting an estimated 5000 people per day.
Nigeria: Monkeypox Update
n a follow-up on the monkeypox situation in Nigeria, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is now reporting 31 suspected cases across 7 States – Bayelsa, Rivers, Ekiti, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Ogun and Cross River States. So far, there have been no deaths recorded.