Earth Report – Global Disaster Watch
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.2 earthquake hits the southern mid-Atlantic ridge.
5.1 earthquake hits near the coast of central Peru.
5.0 earthquake hits the Near islands in the Aleutian Islands.
Two 5.0 earthquakes hit the southern mid-Atlantic ridge.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Eastern Pacific Ocean: Tropical storm 11e (Kevin), located approximately 914 nm south-southeast of San Diego, is tracking northwestward at 07 knots.
Tropical depression 12e (Twelve), located approximately 1505 nm southeast of San Diego, is tracking west-northwestward at 07 knots.
In the northwestern Pacific Ocean: Tropical storm 13w (Lupit), located approximately 180 nm southwest of Misawa, Japan, is tracking northeastward at 19 knots. Final warning.
Newsbytes:
India – Disaster authorities in India report over 400 villages in the state of Uttar Pradesh have been flooded after several rivers broke their banks. Due to excess rainfall in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, excess water was released in River Chambal from District Dholpur, which led to floods in Districts Jalaun and Auraiya in Uttar Pradesh.
Ethiopia – The Awash River has broken its banks in northern Ethiopia, flooding areas of Afar Region resulting in evacuations and inundation of farmlands.
China – Over 80,000 people have evacuated their homes in responses to flooding in wide area of Sichuan Province, southwestern China. As of 09 August, more than 440,000 people in 119 towns and villages in 19 districts or cities in the province have been affected. A total of 80,794 people have been transferred to safer areas. Almost 20 homes have ben severely damaged or have collapsed. There were no reports of injuries or casualties.
USA – Areas around the city of Omaha, Nebraska, saw severe flash flooding after a storm dumped over 5 inches (127 mm) of rain late on 07 August 2021. In some of the worst flooding in 20 years, areas of downtown Omaha were under water after rain flowed to lower lying areas of the city.
Russia – Regions of Russia‘s Far East are facing yet another wave of flooding after days of heavy rain caused river levels to rise. In Amur Region, the Amur, Zeya, Selemdzha, Tom and Zavitaya rivers are all flowing above flood stage. As of 09 August, 182 homes were flooded. 1 bridge is damaged and 40 sections of highways are flooded leaving 28 settlements cut off by road. The Jewish Autonomous Oblast, where 17 settlement are seeing flooding from the Amur River, mostly in Obluchensky and Leninsky districts. As of 09 August, 3 roads, over 1,500 hectares of farmland and 27 household plots were flooded.
Landmark UN Climate Report
A newly released IPCC report shows that global heating is widespread, rapid and intensifying, and that extreme weather such as wildfires and floods will become more commonplace unless drastic and sustained changes are made – urgently.
The report, based on 14,000 scientific publications from around the world and prepared by 234 scientists from 66 countries, is the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of the physical science basis of human-caused climate change. It conclusively and definitively explains that human influence has warmed the climate at an unprecedented rate for at least the past 2,000 years. It is the first in a series of reports to be published over the coming months.
Some of the headline statements to emerge from the sobering report include:
“It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred.”
“Human-induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe. Evidence of observed changes in extremes such as heatwaves, heavy precipitation, droughts, and tropical cyclones, and, in particular, their attribution to human influence, has strengthened since the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5).”
“Many changes in the climate system become larger in direct relation to increasing global warming. They include increases in the frequency and intensity of hot extremes, marine heatwaves, and heavy precipitation, agricultural and ecological droughts in some regions, and proportion of intense tropical cyclones, as well as reductions in Arctic sea ice, snow cover and permafrost.”
“Continued global warming is projected to further intensify the global water cycle, including its variability, global monsoon precipitation and the severity of wet and dry events.”
“Many changes due to past and future greenhouse gas emissions are irreversible for centuries to millennia, especially changes in the ocean, ice sheets and global sea level.”
“Global surface temperature will continue to increase until at least the mid-century under all emissions scenarios considered. Global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C will be exceeded during the 21st century unless deep reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions occur in the coming decades.”
Covid-19
The countries with the 10 greatest number of Covid-19 cases:
Foot and Mouth Disease – South Africa
More than 20 sites have been quarantined following a foot and mouth disease outbreak in KwaZulu-Natal. A movement protocol and permit system for the movement of cloven-hoofed animals is in place in the diseases management area to contain the disease and prevent further spread.