Earth Report – Global Disaster Watch
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.6 earthquake hits the Pacific-Antarctic ridge.
5.2 earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.
5.1 earthquake hits Kepulauan Talaud, Indonesia.
5.1 earthquake hits New Ireland, Papua New Guinea.
5.0 earthquake hits New Ireland, Papua New Guinea.
5.0 earthquake hits south of Fiji.
5.0 earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
Tropical Storms – Roundup of Tropical Storms:
In the Northwest Pacific Ocean: Typhoon 02W (Mawar) is located approximately 13 nm west-northwest of Andersen AFB, is tracking west-northwestward at 05 knots.
NewsBytes:
Spain – Andalusia, Murcia and Valencia were all on alert on Tuesday as heavy rainfall across southern Spain caused flash flooding and forced many schools to close. Classes were cancelled in more than 30 municipalities due to heavy rains on Tuesday, mainly in the areas of Murcia, Almería and Alicante. The conditions also forced the interruption of train services between Cartagena and Murcia. A record rainfall figure for the month of May, which hasn’t been seen in a hundred years, was recorded in Ontinyent with 127.4 litres of rain per square metre falling in the last twelve hours.
Plastic Waste Creates Flood Risk
A devastating 2005 flood that killed 1,000 people in the Indian city of Mumbai was blamed on a tragically simple problem: plastic bags had blocked storm drains, stopping monsoon flood water from draining out of the city.
Now a new report, attempting to quantify this problem, estimates that 218 million of the world’s poorest people are at risk from more severe and frequent flooding caused by plastic waste. Researchers found that found that communities in Cameroon, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Bangladesh and Indonesia had experienced more severe flooding due to plastic waste blocking drainage systems in the last few years.
New York is Sinking
New York City is sinking—satellite data show that the metropolis is plunging 1 to 2 millimeters on average each year. Some of this is natural, such as residual effects of land settling after the last ice age, and some is caused by people withdrawing groundwater. But the immense weight of the Big Apple’s buildings is also playing a role, according to a study published this month in the journal Earth’s Future.
With the land slowly sinking, the threats already posed by rising sea levels and intense storms just get worse. The city’s 1,084,954 buildings weigh about 1.68 trillion pounds, the researchers estimated—almost double the weight of all of humanity combined. Depending on the underlying types of soil, bedrock and other factors, buildings have the potential to sink as much as 600 millimeters, or almost two feet.