Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.5 earthquake hits the Pacific-Antarctic ridge.
5.1 earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.
5.1 earthquake hits southern Xinjiang, China.
5.0 earthquake hits offshore El Salvador.
Storms and Floods
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Southern Hemisphere: Tropical cyclone (tc) 13s (Francisco), located approximately 88 nm east-southeast of Antananarivo, Madagascar, is tracking southwestward at 03 knots.
Tropical cyclone (tc) 16s (Sixteen), located approximately 564 nm south-southeast of Diego Garcia, is tracking south-southwestward at 08 knots.
NewsBytes:
Mississippi, USA – As much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain pelted a wide section of Mississippi from Monday through Thursday, the National Weather Service said. Trash cans and ducks floated through a neighborhood along a rain-swollen river in Mississippi on Friday as residents packed up what they could and fled to higher ground to escape what authorities warned could be devastating weekend flooding. Nearly a foot of water surrounded dozens of mobile homes in the community. A few miles to the south, flood maps showed waters could cover streets in downtown Jackson and be within a few blocks of Mississippi’s Capitol building by Sunday.
Disease
Novel Coronavirus
The death toll from a new coronavirus epidemic in China surged past 1,500 on Saturday, a day after people returning to the capital from holidays were ordered to quarantine themselves for 14 days to try to contain the virus’s spread.
More than two dozen countries have confirmed cases and several nations have suspended trade and travel links with China in a bid to contain the spread of the virus. Three deaths have been recorded outside mainland China – one in Hong Kong one in the Philippines, and the most recent in Japan.