Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.0 earthquake hits the Santa Cruz Islands.
Storms and Floods
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
There are no current tropical Storms.
Birds, Insects and Hurricanes
Scientists have new insight into how birds and insects become trapped inside the eyes of hurricanes.
Ship logs as far back as the 19th century detail how vessels became resting places for birds, exhausted from such entrapments. But studies by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln of weather radar “bioscatter” echoes during hurricanes show in detail how the storms can turn a free bird into a whirlybird.
Researchers found that the stronger the hurricane, the more birds appeared to be in the eye. And with the increasing intensity of the storms, the more difficult it will be for the birds to leave the relative safety of the eye. That could mean they need to spend as much as a week flying in circles across thousands of miles.
Disease
Covid-19
The countries with the 10 greatest number of Covid-19 cases:
Measles – DR Congo
From the beginning of the year through the end of September 2021, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported 41,099 suspected measles cases and 991 confirmed, including 603 deaths (CFR 1.5%) in 369 health districts across 26 provinces of the country.
Volcanos
La Palma Destruction
The ongoing violent eruption of Spain’s La Palma volcano saw chunks of lava the size of buildings spewed from its craters.
Erratic and powerful lava flows forced an additional 800 residents from their homes as molten rock approached their municipalities. Nearly 7,000 people have evacuated since the Canary Island volcano began erupting on Sept. 19.
Lockdowns have been imposed when toxic gases from the eruption have threatened to blow over populated areas. Lava has destroyed more than 1,400 buildings on La Palma, including homes, farms and a cement factory.