Earth Report – Global Disaster Watch
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.6 earthquake hits Tonga.
5.4 earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
Two 5.2 earthquakes hit southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
Two 5.1 earthquakes hit southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
5.0 earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Southern Hemisphere: Tropical cyclone 19s (Fabian), located approximately 304 nm southwest of Diego Garcia, is tracking south-southwestward at 03 knots.
In the Northwest Pacific Ocean: Tropical Storm 02W (Mawar) is located approximately 5429 nm south-southeast of of Andersen AFB, is tracking north-northwestward at 09 knots.
NewsBytes:
DR Congo – Local authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo report that 5,000 people are still missing two weeks after torrential rains triggered floods and landslides in South Kivu province, destroying villages and farms, and killing more than 400 people.
Everest Becoming ‘Dry and Rocky’
Mount Everest is losing snow and turning “dry and rocky,” British climber Kenton Cool, who made his 17th ascent of the world’s highest peak this week, the most by a foreigner, said on Saturday. The 49-year-old Cool, who climbed the 8,849-meter (29,032 foot) peak for the first time in 2004, said the giant mountain appears to be drying now. “If you go back to early mid-2000s there used to be a lot of snow,” he told Reuters in an interview in Kathmandu after returning from his record-setting expedition which was confirmed by Nepali and hiking officials this week.
Also this week, a 53-year-old Nepali guide, Kami Rita Sherpa, improved his own record of most summits after scaling Everest for the 27th time.
Climate scientists say the earth’s temperature has increased by an average of 0.74 degrees Celsius over the past 100 years, but warming across the Himalayas has been greater than the global averages. Officials have said the average temperature in Nepal was rising by 0.06 degrees Celsius annually, due in part to its location between China and India, two of the world’s heaviest polluters.
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever – Iraq
The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported Thursday that the number of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) cases has risen to 119 across the country, with the most cases in Dhi Qar governorate (35) and Basra (18). A total of 18 CCHF deaths have been recorded.
Cholera
UNICEF reported earlier this month: Cholera doesn’t know borders. Despite being preventable and easily treatable, children continue to suffer from the potentially fatal disease. After years of steady decline, cholera has made a devastating comeback. More than 1.1 billion people in 43 countries are at risk, with children under 5 especially vulnerable.
Researchers conservatively estimate that every year, there are as many as 4 million cholera cases globally and as many as 143,000 deaths. Young children, especially those under the age of 5, bear the brunt of the disease. Furthermore, malnourished children are more vulnerable to experiencing severe symptoms. Cholera is a preventable and easily treatable disease.
In 2022, 30 countries faced cholera outbreaks – an alarming 145 per cent average increase from the previous five-year average. Countries like Lebanon and Syrian Arab Republic reported cholera for the first time in decades, while others like Haiti have experienced a resurgence after more than three years with no reported cholera cases. As of May 2023, at least 24 countries continue to report cholera cases, and outbreaks are spreading across borders.