Earth Report – Global Disaster Watch
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.6 earthquake hits offshore Maule, Chile.
5.3 earthquake hits the Carlsberg ridge.
5.3 earthquake hits offshore Maule, Chile.
5.2 earthquake hits offshore El Salvador.
5.0 earthquake hits off the coast of El Salvador.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Atlantic Ocean: Hurricane Lorenzo is located about 1045 mi…1680 km wsw of the Azores with maximum sustained winds…105 mph…165 km/h. Present movement…nne or 20 degrees at 14 mph…23 km/h.
In the Eastern Pacific Ocean: Tropical Depression Narda is located about 0 mi…0 km n of Las Islas Marias Mexico and about 115 mi…190 km s of Mazatlan Mexico with maximum sustained winds…35 mph…55 km/h. Present movement…nw or 315 degrees at 17 mph…28 km/h.
In the Western Pacific Ocean: Typhoon (td) 19w (Mitag), located approximately 161 nm south-southeast of Taipei, Taiwan, is tracking northward at 11 knots.
NewsBytes:
UK – Cars have been submerged and villages and towns devastated by surging floodwater that followed torrential downpours this weekend. Britain is braced for several days of “persistent” rain and the tail-end of record-breaking Hurricane Lorenzo is set to bring gale force winds later in the week. The 600-mile-wide hurricane became the strongest this far east in the Atlantic region overnight bringing winds of up to 160mph.
Dengue Fever – Malaysia
Malaysian health officials report the number of dengue fever cases have surpassed 100,000 for 2019 to date. Through Sep. 29, 100,803 cases have been reported with Selangor state reporting more than half with 55,908 cases. This is followed by Kuala Lumpur (11,615) and Johor (8,610). In addition, 143 dengue fatalities have been reported.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.2 earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.
5.1 earthquake hits Chitinskaya Oblast, Russia.
5.1 earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.
5.0 earthquake hits the mid-endian ridge.
5.0 earthquake hits near the north coast of Colombia.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Atlantic Ocean: Hurricane Lorenzo is located about 1360 mi…2190 km sw of the Azores with maximum sustained winds…155 mph…250 km/h. Present movement…n or 10 degrees at 10 mph…17 km/h.
In the Eastern Pacific Ocean: Tropical Storm Narda is located about 75 mi…120 km s of Zihuatanejo Mexico and about 100 mi…160 km wsw of Acapulco Mexico with maximum sustained winds…45 mph…75 km/h. Present movement…nw or 315 degrees at 9 mph…14 km/h.
In the Western Pacific Ocean: Tropical Storm (td) 19w (Mitag), located approximately 449 nm south-southwest of Kadena AFB, Japan, is tracking northwestward at 10 knots.
NewsBytes:
UK – Heavy rain across parts of Wales and England, including Manchester, Cardiff, Lancashire and Leeds, has caused chaos forcing residents to flee their homes and severe travel disruption resulting from mudslides on train tracks.
Turkey – Heavy rains hit northwestern Turkey on Saturday, blocking roads in Artvin province of the Black Sea region, according to local media. Streams overflowed in the Borcka district of Artvin, some villages and neighborhood roads were closed due to landslides. The rains also flooded the lower floors of some buildings.
Niger – U.N. agencies are rushing to provide aid to tens of thousands of people affected by severe flooding in Niger. Floods caused by heavy rains, which began in June, have killed 57 people and affected 211,000.
India – A heavy spell of retreating monsoon rains has flooded wide areas of northern India, killing dozens of people this past week, an official said Saturday. Most of the 59 fatalities were caused by house collapses, lightning and drowning in Uttar Pradesh state. They included at least five people dying of snake bites in flooded areas. The temple city of Varanasi was lashed by 19 centimeters (7 inches) of rain on Thursday and Friday, flooding the bathing areas of the Ganges River used by thousands of Hindu pilgrims. Schools were shut on Saturday as the downpour caused disruptions in the state capital, Lucknow, and several towns, including Amethi and Hardoi.
Jellyfish Population Surges
Human activities are allowing jellyfish numbers to surge in the world’s oceans, which a new U.N. report says are undergoing profound and dangerous changes.
French researchers say that the population of jellyfish is increasing because of man-made factors such as overfishing, deep-sea trawling and the heating of the oceans in the deepening climate crisis.
Overfishing is eliminating some of the jellies’ natural predators, such as tuna and sea turtles, especially those that feed on plankton, giving the jellyfish more of the plankton to feed on themselves and thrive.
Whale Stranding – South Carolina, USA
South Carolina wildlife officials say five pilot whales were found stranded on Edisto Beach Saturday morning. Beachgoers found the mammals on the shore and tried to rescue them, but four of the whales died and at least two of them were calves. Officials said one of the whales was dead before crews could get to the beach to help and some of them had to be put down because they were too sick or injured.
African Swine Fever – Timor-Leste
Officials in Timor-Leste, an island country just north of Australia, became the 10th country to report an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) which has caused the death of hundreds of pigs on national territory.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.1 earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.
5.4 earthquake hits southern Xinjiang, China.
5.3 earthquake hits southeast of Easter Island.
5.2 earthquake hits south of Fiji.
5.0 earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.
5.0 earthquake hits south of the Kermedec Islands.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Atlantic Ocean: Hurricane Lorenzo is located about 1560 mi…2510 km sw of the Azores with maximum sustained winds…115 mph…185 km/h. Present movement…nnw or 330 degrees at 10 mph…17 km/h.
In the Western Pacific Ocean: Tropical Storm (td) 19w (Mitag), located approximately 572 nm south-southeast of Kadena AFB, Japan, is tracking northwestward at 20 knots.
NewsBytes:
Sri Lanka – Earlier this week reports were received that one person had died and more than 45,000 people had been affected by heavy monsoon rains in the southern and western provinces in the country. A spokesman from Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre told the publication: “We have issued landslide warnings in certain areas, because this rain and volume at this time is unexpected.” On Wednesday, the Disaster Management Centre said 80,000 people across the region have now been affected by heavy rains and strong winds with reports that more than 14,000 people had been evacuated to safer locations.
Legionnaires Disease – North Carolina, USA
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has announced an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease potentially linked to the Mountain State Fair in North Carolina. As of today, there are 32 confirmed illnesses and one person has died.
Dengue Fever – Central America
In Honduras, more than 71,200 people have been affected by the disease making it the worst outbreak in the country’s history. Nearly one quarter of the cases reported were classified as severe dengue and more than 65 percent of the 128 deaths so far are children under 15. Guatemala (22,755), Nicaragua (91,269), and El Salvador (16,573) are also reporting massive increases in dengue cases compared to previous years.
The size of this outbreak is unprecedented across Central America. Dengue is a disease that affects the most vulnerable–those who live in places where there is poor sanitation and where mosquitoes thrive. A combination of seasonal rains and warming temperatures are being blamed for dengue’s rapid spread–creating more stagnant pools that are perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Ebola – DR Congo
The Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues this week with 29 new confirmed cases reported in North Kivu and Ituri provinces from 18-24 September 2019, versus 57 in the previous week.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.0 earthquake hits Neuquen, Argentina.
5.5 earthquake hits the Canary Islands.
5.5 earthquake hits the central east Pacific rise.
5.4 earthquake hits Coquimbo, Chile.
5.2 earthquake hits south of Fiji.
5.1 earthquake hits the Solomon Islands.
5.0 earthquake hits southern Xinjiang, China.
5.0 earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Atlantic Ocean:Tropical Storm Karen is located about 350 mi…565 km se of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds…40 mph…65 km/h. Present movement…ne or 55 degrees at 8 mph…13 km/h.
Hurricane Lorenzo is located about 1620 mi…2605 km sw of the Azores with maximum sustained winds…145 mph…230 km/h. Present movement…nnw or 330 degrees at 14 mph…22 km/h.
In the Western Pacific Ocean: Tropical depression (td) 19w (Nineteen), located approximately 906 nm southeast of Kadena AFB, Japan, is tracking westward at 21 knots.
NewsBytes:
India – At least 11 people have been killed and six are missing after the Western Indian city of Pune and its neighboring areas were hit by heavy rain and flash floods. More than 28,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas and the local administration is on alert for more rain. Pune, which is around 200 kilometers (124 miles) east of India’s financial hub of Mumbai, has received 113% more rainfall than average since the start of the monsoon season in early June.
Disappearing Birds
Pollution, habitat loss and environmental degradation have led to North America’s bird population plunging by 2.9 billion since 1970, a new report says.
Writing in the journal Science, scientists say the greatest losses have occurred among species that live in grasslands, such as blackbirds, finches, sparrows and warblers. Their populations dropped by around 53% over the past half-century while overall bird losses were about 29%.
“Birds are the quintessential indicators of environmental health, the canaries in the coal mine, and they’re telling us it’s urgent to take action to ensure our planet can continue to sustain wildlife and people,” said co-author Peter Marra.
Global Temperature Extremes
The week’s hottest temperature was 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 degrees Celsius) in Basrah, Iraq.
The week’s coldest temperature was minus 99.0 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 72.7 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.
Polio – Pakistan
Pakistan reported an additional four wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases during the past week. This brings the total cases to 66 in 2019 to date. This compares to seven this time last year.
Dengue Fever – Bangladesh
Since the beginning of the year, more than 85,000 dengue fever cases have been reported by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). In addition, the officials death toll has risen to 75, although unofficial totals are reported at more than 160.