Earth Report – Global Disaster Watch
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.5 earthquake hits southwest of Sumatra, Indonesia.
5.2 earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.
5.1 earthquake hits the Sunda Strait, Indonesia.
5.1 earthquake hits southern Sumatra, Indonesia.
5.0 earthquake hits south of Australia.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
There are currently no tropical storm systems..
Newsbytes:
Australia – Emergency services in New South Wales are facing the largest flood operation in the state’s history as more defence force personnel and volunteers from around the world join rescue and relief efforts. Hundreds more homes are expected to go under this week and more than 1,000 people have been evacuated as flood levels rose faster than expected overnight on Monday. Volunteers are coming from New Zealand, the US, and Singapore. Upwards of 200 people have been rescued from floodwater in the past 24 hours.
Population – 8 Billion People
There are now eight billion humans on the planet. A baby born somewhere on Tuesday will be the world’s eight billionth person, according to a projection by the United Nations. The UN attributes the growth to human development, with people living longer thanks to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine. It is also the result of higher fertility rates, particularly in the world’s poorest countries — most of which are in sub-Saharan Africa — putting their development goals at risk.
Population growth has also magnified the environmental impacts of economic development. But while some worry that eight billion humans is too many for planet Earth, most experts say the bigger problem is the overconsumption of resources by the wealthiest people.