Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.6 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands.
5.6 Earthquake hits the Balleny Islands.
5.4 Earthquake hits Antofagasta, Chile.
5.1 Earthquake hits Tonga.
Storms and Floods
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
There are no current tropical storms.
NewsBytes:
Malaysia – More than 10,000 residents in the Beaufort district remain on high alert after floods hit 27 villages on Friday night. The villagers are standing by to evacuate their homes while the authorities monitor the situation at Padas river which had reached a dangerous level of 9.16m.
Indonesia – Three districts in Bone Bolango regency namely North Bulango, Bulango Ulu and Central Suwawa, Gorontalo Province, were inundated by a two-meter flood. About 300 families from Tupa and Boidu villages were evacuated.
Environment
Towering Attractions
The proliferation of cellphone masts and tall broadcast antenna towers during the past 30 years has resulted in a sharp increase in lightning strikes in areas near the structures.
A research group from the University of Oklahoma found that nearly 100 percent of the U.S. locations studied that had more than 100 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in a recent 20-year period were within 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) of an antenna tower registered with the Federal Communications Commission.
The taller the tower, the greater the likelihood of more strikes.
The frequency of strikes near the towers was between 115 percent and 140 percent higher than in areas 2 to 4 kilometers (1.25 to 2.5 miles) away from the towers.
Disease
Yemen: Cholera Update
The World Health Organization (WHO) country office in Yemen reported the latest cholera data on their Twitter page Friday: #Cholera continues to spread in Yemen. Over 73,700 suspected cholera cases and 605 associated deaths have been reported in 19 governorates. Unicef fears the Yemen cholera outbreak could hit 300,000 in coming weeks.
Ebola in DRC
In a follow-up on the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in Likati Health Zone, Bas Uele Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), two further cases have been confirmed as positive for EVD by serology on June 2, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).