Earth Report – Global Disaster Watch
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.4 earthquake hits new Ireland, Papua New Guinea.
5.3 earthquake hits the Andaman Islands off India.
5.1 earthquake hits the island of Hawaii, Hawaii.
5.0 earthquake hits Tonga.
5.0 earthquake hits south of Sumbawa, Indonesia.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Atlantic Ocean: Invest 95L is an area of disturbed weather in the Atlantic Ocean that has the potential for further tropical development.
In the eastern Pacific Ocean: Hurricane Fabio is located about 735 mi…1180 km wsw of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds…105 mph…165 km/h. Present movement…wnw or 300 degrees at 15 mph…24 km/h.
In the western Pacific Ocean: Tropical Storm (ts) 09w (Prapiroon), located approximately 314 nm west-southwest of Misawa, Japan, is tracking northeastward at 21 knots.
Tropical depression 10w (Ten), located approximately 93 nm southeast of Hagatna, Guam, is tracking north-northwestward at 07 knots.
NewsBytes:
Ivory Coast – Update – Heavy floods triggered by torrential rains on 18 June killed at least 18 people in the commercial capital Abidjan. Flood waters rose up to 2.5 metres high, inundating houses and destroying property across six neighbourhoods in the coastal city. Rescue teams saved 115 people. Several people were forced to seek refuge with other families. A few of them have returned to their homes. The authorities plan to demolish structures in flood-prone areas and compensate the owners. Deadly floods are common during the rainy season that runs from June to October.
Pennsylvania, USA – The region around Pittsburgh has started to recover from the floodwaters that decimated parts of Allegheny County Monday night. At the storm’s worst, numerous roads were closed, more than 15,000 people were without power and swift-water rescuers raced to get to stranded cars and people — including as many as 100 cars stuck in floodwaters on Route 28, officials said.
Total Full Moon Eclipse – Longest in 21st Century
A total full moon eclipse which will be viewable from multiple continents including most of Africa is happening on 27 July. This lunar eclipse will be primarily visible from the world’s Eastern Hemisphere (Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand).
The eclipse will take place at or around midnight for Madagascar and the Middle East. Europe and Africa will view it sometime between sunset and midnight on 27 July, whereas most of Asia, Indonesia and Australia will view it in the morning – sometime between midnight and sunrise on 28 July.
The eclipse, which will last for one hour and 43 minutes, will be the longest lunar eclipse of the whole 21st century.
Wildfires – California, USA
A massive wildfire in rural Northern California has exploded in size and forced evacuations in hot, dry weather that is sweeping through several western states where blazes are threatening thousands of homes.
The fast-moving fire that started Saturday about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco grew dramatically to about 94 square miles (243 square kilometers) by Monday night, largely burning out of control in rugged terrain with a few cattle and horse ranches and sending smoke and ash as far south as San Francisco.
State fire officials said 700 homes and other buildings were threatened but none had burned.
Wildfires – Colorado, USA
Authorities announced late Monday that a fire near Fort Garland, about 205 miles (330 kilometers) southwest of Denver, had destroyed 104 homes in a mountain housing development started by multimillionaire publisher Malcolm Forbes in the 1970s. The damage toll could rise because the burn area is still being surveyed.
Swine Flu – Namibia
The Namibian Ministry of Health has confirmed the death of one person who succumbed to a fresh outbreak of swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus. So far, seven people from the Windhoek local government area have been diagnosed and are being treated for the H1N1 virus. The ministry has since classified the outbreak as a seasonal influenza that has been recurrent in Namibia since the first swine flu outbreak in 2009.
Measles – Brazil
A measles outbreak is growing in Brazil after cases were imported from neighboring Venezuela where health services have collapsed. More than 460 cases of the disease have been confirmed in two Brazilian border states, the Health Ministry said Monday. There are also concerns that the outbreak has reached an isolated tribe that lives in the Amazon that has little resistance to such diseases.