Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.6 earthquake hits southern Peru.
5.5 earthquake hits Fiji.
5.3 earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.
5.1 earthquake hits the western Indian-Antarctic ridge.
5.0 earthquake hits the west Chile rise.
Storms and Floods
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
There are no current tropical storms.
Wildfires
Wildfire Effect on Wildlife
While many animals have adapted to live with wildfires of the past — which were smaller, more frequent and kept ecosystems in balance across the West — it’s unclear to scientists how animals are coping with today’s unprecedented megafires. A team of researchers tracked a population of black-tailed deer before, during and after the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire and found that deer that had to flee the flames returned home, despite some areas of the landscape being completely burned and void of vegetation to eat. Most of the deer returned home within hours of the fire, while trees were still smoldering.
It’s unknown whether this loyalty-to-home strategy will prove helpful, or harmful, in the future. Smaller wildfires encourage new vegetation growth — tasty for deer — but massive wildfires can actually destroy seed banks, which reduces the amount of plants available to eat. In this case, some of the deer that had to expand their home range to eat did so at the expense of their body condition.
Disease
Covid-19
The countries with the 10 greatest number of Covid-19 cases:
Legionnaires Disease – Oregon, USA
Washington County Public Health is investigating six cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the Murrayhill area of Beaverton. The cases were reported within the last week in people who live within two miles of Murray Boulevard and Scholls Ferry Road. The people range in age from late 40s to early 80s.
Dengue Fever – Most Cases
Through September this year, over 1.3 million dengue fever cases have been reported worldwide. Brazil has seen the most with more than 845,000 cases, which is not unusual as the country routinely report over 1 million, sometime more than 2 million dengue cases annually.
Following Brazil in the first nine months of the year is India with 60,112. Additionally, during the past month, India has reported the most cases on the globe with 46,068.