Earth Report – Global Disaster Watch
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.6 earthquake hits New Guinea, Papua New Guinea.
5.4 earthquake hits Samoa.
5.4 earthquake hits Panama.
5.3 earthquake hits the Hindu just, Afghanistan.
5.2 earthquake hits Yunnan, China.
5.2 earthquake hits Vanuatu.
5.2 earthquake hits Kepulauan Talaud, Indonesia.
5.0 earthquake hits Seram, Indonesia.
5.0 earthquake hits near the coast of Southern Peru.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
There are no current tropical storm systems.
NewsBytes:
Italy – Firefighters in Italy have carried out dozens of rescues and evacuations after flooding and landslides in areas of the Emilia Romagna region. On 03 May 2023, Vigili del Fuoco, the fire and rescue department in Italy, reported 400 interventions due to flooding and landslides in the Emilia Romagna region in the north of the country. News agency ANSA reported over 250 people have evacuated their homes in affected areas, including in Faenza in the province of Ravenna after an embankment along the Lamone River failed. Homes were also evacuated after flooding in the Monzuno and Castel San Pietro communes in the Metropolitan City of Bologna. Twelve residents of homes in the Dovadola comune in the Province of Forlì-Cesena were evacuated as a precaution due to a landslide.
Rwanda – Dozens of people have lost their lives after heavy rain, floods and landslides in the Western and Northern provinces of Rwanda over the last few days. As of 03 May 2023, 95 people have died in Western Province and 14 in Northern Province. Heavy rain triggered flash flooding and landslides from 02 to 03 May 2023. François Habitegeko, governor of the Western Province, told Reuters that the hardest-hit districts were Ngororero, Rubavu, Nyabihu, Rutsiro and Karongi. According to the governor, 14 people have died in Karongi, 26 in Rutsiro, 18 in Rubavu, 19 in Nyabihu and 18 in Ngororero. The governor reported several people have been injured and more are feared missing after houses collapsed.
Tahiti – A low pressure system off the south-west of Tahiti brought the worst rains in almost twenty years causing flash floods which washed cars into the Teahupoo surf. French Polynesia is also being battered by 8-9 metre swells which exacerbated the flooding. All marine and water related activities are forbidden for most of the territory including going to the beach.
Wildfires – Laos
Forest fires in northern Laos have burned up to half of forested land in some areas as wildfires spread in parched, hard-to-reach hilly areas due to a lack of modern firefighting equipment, authorities said. Fires fanned by drier-than-usual weather in Luang Prabang, Xayabury and Oudomxay provinces have been burning for weeks, causing respiratory problems and some of the region’s worst smog in years. Many of the fires began as controlled burns started by farmers using slash-and-burn agriculture techniques to clear land for the beginning of planting season in May.
Two resorts and a privately owned nature reserve in Luang Prabang in northern Laos suffered substantial damage from bushfires last week, illustrating the threat to life and property during the annual slash and burn season that decimates forests in the Mekong Region.
Dengue Fever – Brazil
The new epidemiological bulletin from the Paraná State Department of Health (Sesa) released today confirms 6,889 new cases and six deaths from dengue compared to the previous week’s report. To date, Paraná has registered a total of 35,433 confirmed cases and 21 deaths.
Diphtheria – Philippines
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a travel notice for the Philippines yesterday due to increased number of diphtheria cases reported in several regions of the country. During the first three months of 2023, Philippines health officials reported 32 diphtheria cases, a 700 percent increase compared to the four cases reported during the same period in 2022
Measles – Kyrgyzstan
Health officials now reports 265 cases through the end of April. The bulk of the cases come out of Osh and the Osh region with more than 200 cases. Dozens of measles cases are also reported in the Batken region, the Chui region and the Jalal-Abad region.