Earth Report – Global Disaster Watch
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.4 Earthquake hits Tonga.
5.3 Earthquake hits the Rat Islands in the Aleutian Islands.
5.1 Earthquake hits Kyrgyzstan.
5.1 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Rat Islands in the Aleutian Islands.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Western Pacific: Tropical Depression 03w (Muifa), located approximately 554 nm southwest of Iwo To, Japan is tracking northward at 09 knots.
In the South Indian Ocean: Tropical cyclone (ts) 17s (Frances), located approximately 275 nm west of Darwin, Australia, is tracking west-southwestward at 15 knots.
NewsBytes:
Singapore – Heavy rain caused flash floods in eastern parts of Singapore on Thursday, with vehicles splashing through water-clogged roads and some cars left stranded, unable to pass through.
India – Incessant rainfall for the past one week has flooded large areas of Arunachal Pradesh’s capital town Itanagar and caused landslides and road blocks at many points. Landslides occurred at Senki View and Donyi Polo Road, while people in Pachin Colony have undertaken temporary flood preventive measures by constructing bunds with bamboo and filling empty cement bags with sand.
Climate Shift Affects Livestock Husbandry in Kenya
A growing number of Kenyans are switching from traditional livestock to drought-resistant camels because of the changing climate.
Longer and less-predictable droughts have resulted in three times as many camels being owned today than a decade ago.
“My husband and I had over a hundred cattle until 2005. But as the climate became drier in this region, the cows stopped producing milk, and 20 to 30 of our cows even died every year,” Mariam Maalim told Germany’s Deutsche Welle broadcaster. She says her new camels produce milk even during drought.
Urban Foxes
There are now four times as many foxes living in urban areas of England than 20 years ago, or about one for every 300 city-dwelling humans.
Researchers found that London has about 18 foxes per square kilometer, while the whole of England is home to about 150,000 of the urban omnivores.
But Trevor Williams, of the rescue group The Fox Project, says he thinks that many foxes have become urban dwellers because cities have expanded into their historic habitats. Foxes also seem to thrive in places like London because of the abundance of rats and mice.
Global Temperature Extremes
The week’s hottest temperature was 114.0 degrees Fahrenheit (45.6 degrees Celsius) in Tillabery, Niger.
The week’s coldest temperature was minus 97.0 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 71.7 degrees Celsius) at Vostok, Antarctica.
Temperatures were tabulated from the more than 10,000 worldwide synoptic weather stations. The United Nations World Meteorological Organization sets the standards for weather observations, and provides a global telecommunications circuit for data distribution.
Anthrax outbreak: Burkina Faso
An anthrax outbreak was reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Wednesday by the Ministère des Ressources Animales et Halieutiques, Ouagadougou , Burkina Faso. The outbreak registered in Banakeledaga, Bama, Houet killed 70 cattle, registered in four (4) herds that belong to four (4) farmers: three (3) of them from the Fulani camp of Banankeledaga and one (1) from the village of Bama.
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Saudi Arabia and Qatar
Between 18 March and 20 April 2017 the national IHR Focal Point of Saudi Arabia reported 13 additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) including two fatal cases.| On 18 April 2017 the national IHR Focal Point of Qatar reported one additional case of MERS.
Crop-eating armyworm marches on
The fall armyworm – which decimates fields as it marches ever forward – has spread to Angola as the caterpillar eats its way through southern Africa, a U.N. agency said.
With Angola the latest country affected, only Lesotho and island nations in the region have escaped the pest, which devours crops in its path, U.N. officials said. Its spread has undermined hopes for a better harvest this year, they added, with swathes of southern, eastern and western Africa infested.
Native to North and South America, the caterpillar was first detected in Western Africa in 2016 and has since spread across sub-Saharan Africa, ravaging maize and other cereal crops.
Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity – New Activity for the week of 19 April – 25 April 2017
Ibu | Halmahera (Indonesia) : Based on PVMBG observations the Darwin VAAC reported that during 19-21 April ash plumes from Ibu rose 1.5-1.8 km (5,000-6,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted E and N.
Kambalny | Southern Kamchatka (Russia) : KVERT reported that moderate activity at Kambalny continued during 15-21 April. Observers in the South Kamchatka Sanctuary noted minor ashfall in the Kurilskoe Lake area on 19 April. The Aviation Colour Code remained at Orange.
Langila | New Britain (Papua New Guinea) : Based on analyses of satellite imagery and wind data, the Darwin VAAC reported that during 23-25 April ash plumes from Langila rose to an altitude of 2.1 km (7,000 ft) a.s.l., and drifted S and 55 km SE.
Manam | Papua New Guinea : RVO reported that activity at Manam decreased on 18 April and continued at low levels through 21 April. Roaring noises came from both Main and Southern craters. Both craters were incandescent, but only Southern Crater ejected incandescent tephra, which became intense during 0900-1100 on 20 April. Pale gray-to-brown plumes with a minor amounts of ash rose from both craters and drifted SE. RSAM values were about 75-150 units, but between about midnight and 0100 on 22 April they began to rise. RSAM values were 600 at 0500, and then they fluctuated between 400 and 1,400 units at least through 1400, the time of the report posting. According to a news article from 25 April the Alert Level was raised to Stage 3, and an official on the island noted that women and children have begun to be evacuated to Bogia on the mainland.
Nishinoshima | Japan : Satellite images of Nishinoshima acquired on 19 April and processed by NASA’s Earth Observatory showed an area of hot lava in the crater. According to a news article, observers aboard a plane passing the volcano on 21 April noted intense activity in the crater. Bombs were ejected as high as 100 m above the crater and incandescent rocks rolled down the flanks, reaching the sea. The report noted brown plumes rising from the crater and lava effusing from an area near the top of the vent.
Poas | Costa Rica : OVSICORI-UNA reported that on 20 April a dense water vapor plume rose from a vent in the newly-forming pyroclastic cone at the site of the old dome in the hot lake at Poás. Gas flux increased from 1,000 tons/day (t/d) on 13 April to 2,500 t/d on 20 April. During 20-22 April Strombolian activity ejected tephra that fell around the vent within a 300-m radius. Gas-and-ash plumes rose 200 m above the vent. The Red Cross of Grecia reported ashfall in Alajuela, Fraijanes, San Miguel, Carbonal, Cajón, San Francisco, San Roque, and San Juan Norte de Poás. Events at 1316 and 1603 on 22 April produced plumes of unknown height. Several more eruptive events were recorded that day; an event at 2212 was very intense, ejecting bombs large distances. An event at 1215 on 23 April generated a plume of unknown height.