Earth Report – Global Disaster Watch
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.0 Earthquake hits offshore Valparaiso, Chile.
5.3 Earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.
5.1 Earthquake hits Sakhalin, Russia.
5.1 Earthquake hits New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
5.1 Earthquake hits offshore Valparaiso, Chile.
5.0 Earthquake hits offshore Valparaiso, Chile.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
There are no current tropical storms.
NewsBytes:
India – Heavy incessant rains since yesterday night that continued till today morning led to the flash flood in Meghalaya’s South West Garo Hills district, an official said today.
Quebec, Canada – With floodwaters continuing to threaten homes across Quebec, Premier Philippe Couillard said the provincial government is monitoring the situation closely. Rigaud has been in a state of emergency since Thursday with 524 homes affected by the flood. It’s the worst flooding Rigaud has seen in decades so town officials are encouraging those living in the flood zone to evacuate their houses. However, they aren’t being forced to leave and many people are choosing to stay put. So far 234 affected homes continue to be occupied. While many are hopeful the flooding will end soon, some choose to stay in the meantime in order to prevent their homes from being too badly damaged. Homes in the Laurentians have also been damaged by floods while roads have been left inaccessible in Deux-Montagnes, Harrington, Kanesatake, Pointe-Calumet, Prevost, St-Andre-d’Argenteuil, Ste-Marthe-sur-le-Lac and Val Morin. In Montreal, 18 homes on Mercier Island were affected, as have homes in Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Pierrefonds-Roxboro but no evacuations have been reported thus far. A dozen homes in Laval have also been threatened by the overflowing rivers.
Wildfires – Florida, USA
Scattered showers are giving an assist to firefighters battling wildfires in southwest Florida, but officials caution the threat isn’t over.
More than 115 wildfires were burning in the state as of Saturday morning, the Florida Forest Service said. Nearly 30,000 acres of the Sunshine State have been scorched. Some mandatory evacuation orders have been lifted, but many residents still can’t return home.
Thirteen homes in Lee County have been damaged or destroyed by a 400-acre wildfire, Scott said.
More than 2,000 homes had been under a mandatory evacuation order in the county, which includes Fort Myers on the southern part of Florida’s Gulf Coast, but the order was lifted with the fire 95% contained by Saturday afternoon.
Further south in neighboring Collier County, firefighters were making progress on a 5,500-acre fire near the Golden Gate Estates section of Naples. It was about 20% contained, Scott said. The mandatory evacuation zone includes more than 6,000 structures. Flames have damaged or destroyed several vehicles and nine homes, the governor said.
A 700-acre wildfire burning in Polk County was about 60% contained as of Saturday afternoon, Scott said. The mandatory evacuation of about 800 homes in Indian Lake Estates, a golf and fishing community near Lakeland, had been lifted, state officials said.
Measles cases in Italy surge
The outbreak of measles continues to spread across Italy, with more than 1,600 cases of the disease reported in 2017, across 19 of the country’s 21 regions.
The outbreak adds to concern among European health officials who have been monitoring an ongoing outbreak in Romania, where almost 4,800 cases have been reported since the start of 2016. The country has also seen 21 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.