Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.5 earthquake hits Macquarie Island.
5.1 earthquake hits the Rat Islands in the Aleutian Islands.
Two 5.0 earthquakes hit the southern mid-Atlantic ridge.
Storms and Floods
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Eastern Pacific Ocean: Tropical storm 11e (Kevin), located approximately 1057 nm south-southeast of San Diego, is tracking west-northwestward at 06 knots.
In the northwestern Pacific Ocean: Tropical storm 13w (Lupit), located approximately 193 nm northeast of Iwakuni, Japan, is tracking northeastward at 15 knots.
Tropical storm 14w (Miranae), located approximately 429 nm east-southeast of Misawa, Japan, is tracking east-northeastward at 24 knots.
Newsbytes:
El Salvador – Storms, strong winds and heavy rain affected El Salvador from 02 August, 2021. Four homes were damaged by floods in southern parts of the city of San Salvador and another in Chanmico canton of the municipality of San Juan Opico, La Libertad department. Further heavy rain from 06 August caused powerful flash floods in San Miguel city and surrounding areas in San Miguel department. Firefighters rescued people from vehicles in flood water. No injuries were reported.
India – Officials in Madhya Pradesh, India, report that as many as 24 people have now died as a result of the flooding and heavy rainfall that has affected the state since the start of August. As many as 8,832 people have been rescued from flooded areas, thanks to a massive rescue effort from Air Force, Army and National and State Disaster Response Forces. A further 29,280 others have evacuated their homes.
Indonesia – At least 2 people died and hundreds of homes were damaged by floods and landslides across 5 provinces in the first week of August. Heavy rainfall in South Sulawesi Province in early August caused several rivers to overflow in North Luwu Regency. On 03 August the Masamba river broke its banks, flooding areas of Masamba district, affecting about 750 residents and inundating 150 homes. A few days later, further heavy rain caused the Uraso and Lampuawa rivers to overflow on 06 August, damaging around 100 homes and affecting 500 residents of Bone Bone and South Sumakaju districts. Flood water was 60cm deep in some areas. Heavy rainfall triggered a landslide in Central Tarakan District, North Kalimantan on 05 August 2021, burying a house in Selengkung Village. One person died in the incident. Heavy rainfall also caused landslides in two locations of Kelimutu District, Ende Regency. Three houses and a school were severely damaged. Around 20 people were displaced and 41 homes damaged by floods in Serang Regency in Banten Province on 01 August after the overflow of a local river. Flood waters were up to 1.3 metres deep in some areas. Further flooding affected the province on 05 August, when over 100 homes were damaged by floods in the Cilegon City area. A long period of heavy rain on 01 August caused flooding in Rawa Panjang and Pabuaran in Bogor Regency of West Java Province. A total of 190 people were affected and 69 homes damaged.
Wildlife
Bees Decimated in Turkish Wildfires
Turkey’s wildfires have left little behind, turning green forests into ashen, barren hills. The destruction is being intensely felt by Turkey’s beekeepers, who have lost thousands of hives as well as the pine trees and the insects their bees depend on. Twelve days of deadly wildfires have dealt a major blow to Turkey’s honey industry and even its longer term prospects appear bleak.
Tiny Bat Flies 2 000 km
A tiny bat that flew 2,018 kilometers (1,254 miles) from Britain to Russia is being hailed as a mini-Olympian by scientists who hope her flight will teach them more about how climate change is affecting the species.
The Nathusius’ pipistrelle was found in a village in the Pskov region of northwestern Russia, according to the U.K.’s Bat Conservation Trust. The bat, which weighed eight grams (0.28 ounces) and was about the size of a human thumb, had been ringed by a bat recorder near London’s Heathrow Airport in 2016.
Scientists believe the flight is an indication of the effects of climate change on the species, forcing the bats to spend the winter further north.
Unfortunately, the little creature had been attacked by a cat and later died, despite the efforts of Russian conservationists.
Wildfires
Wildfires – Siberia
Russian authorities started to evacuate two villages in a vast region of Siberia where 155 active forest fires burned Sunday.
A dozen villages in northeastern Siberia’s Sakha-Yakutia republic were threatened by the fires. Local authorities were moving the residents of two villages, Kalvitsa and Kharyyalakh, to other inhabited areas as crews totaling 3,600 people worked to contain about half of the blazes. On Saturday, flames destroyed 31 houses and eight maintenance buildings in another village, Byas-Kuel, and about 400 residents were evacuated, local officials said.
Wildfires – Italy
Italian emergency crews ordered hundreds of residents and tourists to leave their residences as wildfires approached Campomarino, on the Adriatic coast. Officials evacuated more than 400 people from their homes, hotels and campsites in the seaside district on Sunday, according to the fire brigade.
Disease
Covid-19
The countries with the 10 greatest number of Covid-19 cases:
Yellow Fever – Brazil
This week, Health Surveillance of Camaquã in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil issued an alert for yellow fever in the interior of the municipality. Four dead howler monkeys were found, one of which underwent testing to identify the presence of the disease, transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito.