SIO15/ERTH15: Natural Disasters

EARTH WATCH 2004

Earthwatches

November 24, 2004

November 17, 2004

November 10, 2004

November 03, 2004

October 27, 2004

October 20, 2004

October 13, 2004

October 06, 2004

September 29, 2004

November 05, 2003

November 24 (for week ending Nov. 19)

• Earthquakes:
  • A powerful magnitude 7.5 temblor and several aftershocks on the eastern Indonesian island of Alor killed 27 people and left most of the island's population of 160,000 too afraid to return home. Thousands of homes and several bridges were wrecked.
  • Four people in western Colombia were injured by a magnitude 6.7 quake that seriously damaged several buildings in Puerto Pizarro and surrounding villages.
  • Earth movements also were felt in Tehran (3.1) and western Iran (3.6), southern sumatra (4.8), Japan's Hollaido Island (5.4), parts of Southern California (4.2) and the Oregon-California border (3.6).
• Tropical cyclones:
  • The outer fringes of typhoon Muifa brought flash flooding and mudslides to the Philippine island of Catanduanes as the storm stalled for two days just offshore. Muifa was predicted to intensify and pass directly over the most densly populated areas of Luzon late in the week, including metropolitan Manila. The strom could eventually threaten Vietnam after passing over the South China Sea.
• ''Uninhabitable'' Australia: A leading Australian scientist predicted that parts of populated Australia will become uninhabitable during this century unless urgent action is taken to reduce the greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. ''I think we'll see people climate-proofing their homes. At least, that's what wealthy people will be able to do'', said Australia Institute executive director Clive Hamilton at a meeting of the International Climate Change Taskforce. New South Wales (NSW) state premier and taskforce member Bob Carr said a study by the NSW Greenhouse Office predicts that more frequent heat waves and drought could make staying in parts of his state akin to ''living in an oven''.
• Volcanoes:
  • The lava dome at Mount St. Helens grew by several yards as gas emissions from the Washington State volcano increase. Vulcanologists kept the mountain's alert level at two, meaning an eruption could occur without warning.
  • Japan's Mount Asama produced another in a series of eruptions that brought ash falling downwind of the mountain, which straddles Gunma and Nagano prefectures.
• Bolivian drought: United Nations humanitarian agencies made an urgent appeal for $1.8 million to bring emergency aid to 180,000 people in Bolivia's drought-stricken El Chaco region until the next potential harvest in May 2005. A recent assessment by U.N. agencies found that in some areas, 93% of the staple maize crop has been lost.
• Intercontinental storm: A violent autumn storm left a trail of death and damage across a wide area from North Africa to Eastern Europe. the storm's strong winds caused buildings to collapse and ships to sink in northern Algeria before they raked southern areas of Italy. Long stretches of Croatian roadway were blocked by heavy snow due to the storm encountering colder air from Russia. More than 100,000 people were left without power in Romania after the intensifying snowstorm hit that country.
• Extreme temperatures: -54 deg F in Vostok, Antarctica; 113 deg F in Dampier, Australia

November 17 (for week ending Nov. 12)
• Earthquakes:
  • A series of powerful aftershocks that rattled a central Japanese region still recovering from last month's earthquake slightly injured 13 people. The shaking sent frightenend children running out of their classroom on the day that class schedules had returned to normal following the initial quake disaster.
  • Earth movements were also felt in Japan's Izu Peninsula (5.4) and Hokkaido Island (5.9), Taiwan (6.7), southern Iran (4.2), south-central Alaska (4.9), western Alabama (4.2) and along the Colorado-Utah border (4.1).
• Tropical cyclones:
  • An area of disturbed weather off India's western coast formed briefly into Tropical Cyclone 04A. The storm dissipated over the Arabian Sea, but its remnants brought a few showers to Yemen and Oman.
  • Tropical Cyclone Arola passed over the open waters of the Indian Ocean and was a threat to shipping between the Maldives and Madagascar late in the week./li>
• Greenhouse warnings: Several scientific reports published on global warming during the week point to catastrophic environmental consequences within the next few decades as the Arctic ice shelf melts and life on Earth adjusts to a changing climate. The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, a four-year study by 300 scientists in eight Arctic-bordering nations, warned that increased temperatures due to the release of gases into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels will cause a substantial melting of the polar ice cap. Accelerated warming is also likely to cause forests to spread into the tundra regions and be followed by a northward migration of wildlife, possibly spreading disseases into the Arctic environment. Widespread extinctions of many delicate species, even in areas far to the south, also are likely, according to other reports. Some of the suggested economic benefits of the changing climate may be the opening of the northern oceans to shipping, and the discovery of new petroleum reserves in areas now far too remote to drill due to polar ice.
• Solar Storm: A massive distrubance on the sun hurled a stream of charged particles into Earth's atmosphere, producing a vivid display of the aurora borealis that was seen as far south as arizona and Oklahoma. Scientists were watching subsequent explosions on the sun, and the resulting "coronal mass ejections", to determine if they might cause further aurora displays late in the week. University of Washington professor John Sahr told The Seattle Times that the solar storm had an intensity expected to occur only once or twice a year at this point in the solar cycle.
• El Nino lingers: Meteorologists at the U.S. agency NOAA predict that a moderate El Nino ocean warming event is likely to linger into March across the tropical Pacific. Resulting atmospheric shifts are expected to bring arid conditions to Indonesia and parts of northern and northeastern Australia into February 2005. Drought conditions also may develop over the Amazon Basin. While strong El Nino-induced storms do not appear likely for California, winter outlooks point to above-normal temperatures in the western U.S. and cooler conditions in the Southeast. Texas may receive above-normal rainfall.
• Extreme temperatures: -75 deg F in Vostok, Antarctica; 107 deg F in Oodnadatta, Australia

November 10 (for week ending Nov. 05)
• Earthquakes:
  • Western Japan was rocked by strong magnitude 5.2 aftershocks of earthquakes that killed at least 39 people in Niigata prefecture late last month. No additional damage or fatalities were reported from the latest shakings.
  • Earth movements also were felt northern parts of Vancouver Island (6.7), southern Greece (5.6), northern Pakistan (4.9), the Russian Far East (5.6) and the Indonesian island of Sulawesi (5.3).
• Antarctic hunger : A researcher from the British Antarctic Survey warned in the journal Nature that global warming and the resulting disappearance of sea ice is causing a food shortage that could threaten whales, seals and penguins around the frozen continent. Marine biologist Angus Atkinson said analysis of data from the last 40 winters shows the number of antarctic krill, a shrimp-like creature that is a major maritime food source in the region, has declined to only one-fifth the level of 1975. Krill feed on algae under the ice sheets that have extended outward from the Antarctic continent. But a gradual warming that has seen a rise of more than 4.5 deg F over the last 50 years has also caused the ice sheets to diminish. "We are already seeing some effects in certain penguin species at several sites in this area where krill are declining so much", Atkinson warned.
• Heat and storms : Northern and central parts of Italy baked in a stretch of record hot temperatures, which were accompanied by severe storms that swamped the lagoon city of Venice for more than a week. Rome started the month of November with the hottest temperatures for the date since records began almost 150 years ago.
• Flood or records : More than 10 inches of rain falling within 24 hours near Hawaii's famed Waikiki Beach unleashed a wave of floodwater 8 feet deep that rushed through the University of Hawaii's main research library. Flash flooding destroyed irreplaceable documents and even forced some students to break a window to escape. Several cars were carried downstream when Manoa Stream overflowed its banks, and a school and church that were due to serve as polling stations for the U.s. election also were damaged.
• Volcanoes :
  • A volcano beneath Iceland's largest glacier erupted with plumes of black ash that disrupted aviation across the North Atlantic and northern Europe. Vulcanologists believe the eruption was caused by an expansion of a lake beneath the Vatnajokull glacier. "The water is under extreme pressure from the glacier. We believe it could open a part of the Grimsvotn Mountain, causing the release of some magma", said Oli Thor Arnasson at Iceland's Meteorological Office.
  • The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert level at Taal Volcano, calling on visitors to the volcanic island to be vigilant in the wake of a marked increase in tremors. Taal is located in the middle of a caldera lake about 35 miles south of Manila.
• Extreme temperatures: -76 deg F in Vostok, Antarctica; 111 deg F in Podor, Senegal

November 03 (for week ending Oct. 29)
• Earthquakes:
  • A swarm of powerful (mag 6.8) quakes in northwestern Japan's Niigata prefecture killed at least 35 people and injured more than 3400 others. More than 100,000 people were evacuated into overcrowded emergency shelters and tents after three of the strongest quakes destroyed homes, buildings and roads.
  • Earth movements were also felt in southern Sumatra (5.6), southwestern Tibet (5.2), the Kazakhsta-China border region (5.4), the Ethiopia-Eritrea border region (5.5), eastern Romania (5.8), northern Colombia (4.6), the central coast of California (3.3) and Southern California (3.8).
• Tropical cyclones:
  • Strong winds and torrential rains from Typhoon Nock-ten killed four people and disrupted transportation across much of Taiwan. Flying debris injured about 100 people. The Storm's eye passed just north of the capital, Taipei, before Nock-ten made a sharp turn toward the northeast and weakened.
  • Tropical Storm 02S formed northeast of Madagascar and was predicted to weaken before making landfall on the coast of Tanzania late in the week.
• Syrian blazes: A wildfire sparked in northwest Syria near the Turkish border blackened 5000 acres of forest and orchards, and destroyed several houses. The fires erupted north of the Mediterranean prot city of Latakia, then spread rapidly inland. One man was killed when his home was burned, and dozens of other people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation. Acting on a request from Syria, the Turkish army dispatched three planes to help douse the blazes.
• Eruptions:
  • An erupting volcano on one of Papua New Guinea's (PNG) northern islands has polluted fresh water supplies and destroyed crops around four villages, forcing thousands of people to flee to safety. Mount Iabu, on the island of Manam, threw up fountains of lava and plumes of ash, which rained down on gardens and destroyed banana plantations. A spokeswoman for PNG Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare said most people were in church on sunday morning when the volcano erupted, which may have saved them from falling fist-sized rocks and hot ash. The last eruption of iabu in 1996 killed 13 people.
  • The U.S. Geological Survey said magma, pushing to the surface of Mount St. Helens at the rate of about a dump truck load per second, has caused the volcano's dome to grow to the size of a 35-story building within the last two weeks.
• Extreme temperatures: -87 deg F in Vostok, Antarctica; 110 deg F in Lingnere, Senegal

October 27 (for week ending Oct. 22)
• Earthquakes:
  • Approximately 20,000 houses in China's southwestern province of Yunnan were wrecked and 12 people were injured by a magnitude 5.0 quake that struck near the densely populated city of Baoshan.
  • Several people were injured and some buildings were damaged in Taiwan's Tao-yuan county when a magnitude 6.7 tremblor rocked the island.
  • Earth movements were also felt in eastern Japan (5.6), western Iran (4.7), northern Germany (4.5), central Chile (4.5), south Peru (5.5) and around Anchorage, Alaska (4.4).
• Tropical cyclones:
  • Typhoon-weary Japan was struck by the deadliest storm in 25 years as Typhoon Tokage passed through almost the entire length of the country. At least 67 people were killed, and the storm produced widespread damage and transportation disruptions. Tokage, which means lizard in Japanese, was the 10th typhoon to hit Japan this year, breaking the 1990 record of six.
  • Typhoon Nock-Ten formed to the southeast of Guam and was taking aim at southern Japan late in the week./li>
• Andean glaciers shrink: Ecuador's mountain glaciers are melting at an alarming rate due to global warming, threatening the country's future water supplies, according to researchers. Ecuador's Meteorology Institute and France's scientific reserach institute IRD said that the towering Cotopaxi Volcano has lost 31% of its ice cover between 1976 and 1997, and others such as El Altar could lose all of their snow pack during the next 10 to 20 yeras. Ecuador's capital, Quito, depends on snow-covered mountains for 80% of its water supply.
• Eruptions: Far northern Indonesia's Soputan volcano spewed smoke and caused hot ash and lava to fall over North Sulawesi. A similar eruption last year on Aug. 18 also caused no injuries or significant damage.
• Deep oil: A report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says that vast untapped reserves of oil and methane may exist 20 miles or deeper below the Earth's surface, providing fuel reserves for the distant future if technology can be developed to find and extract them. U.S. scientists duplicated the conditions that exist far beneath the continents and found that a combination of pressure and temperature can cause chemical reactions that produce hydrocarbons. Dr. Russell Hemley, from the Carnegie Institution in Washington, said: "these experiments point to the possibility of an inorganic source of hydrocarbons at great depth in the Earth - that is, hydrocarbons that come from simple reactions between water and rock.
• Extreme temperatures: -88 deg F in Vostok, Antarctica; 112 deg F in Nullagine, W. Australia

October 20 (for week ending Oct. 15)
• Earthquakes:
  • A magnitude 6.4 tremblor knocked out power in parts of the Philippines' Luzon province but caused no significant damage.
  • Earth movements were also felt in northern Japan (mag 5.1), Bali (5.1), China's Xingiang region 5.1), northern and southern Iran (5.6, 5.2), Greece's Dodecanes Islands (5.6), Nicaragua's Pacific coast (7.1) and parts of Southern California (3.1).
• Tropical cyclones:
  • The most powerful typhoon to strike eastern japan in a decade left six people dead and the transportation networks in metropolitan Tokyo paralyzed for a day. Ma-On passed almost directly over the Japanese capital, causing widespread flooding and numerous mudslides.
  • Developing typhoon Tokage drenched Guam and Saipan before aiming toward eastern Japan late in the week.
  • Tropical storm Matthew swamped part of Louisiana with up to a foot of rainfall and a storm-surge tide. Bermuda was drenched with heavy rainfall from tropical storm Nicole, which later lost force off Nova Scotia.
  • Hurricane Lester formed off Mexico's Pacific coast.
• Bengal storm: A powerful cyclonic storm from the Bay of Bengal triggered tornadoes and flooding that killed at least 184 people and caused widespread destruction in northern Bangladesh and eastern India's Assam state. Twisters wrecked mire than 400 villages with powerful whirlwinds that left about 50,000 people homeless in Bangladesh. The storm also brought mudslides and flash flooding to an area of eastern India that has suffered massive devastation and misery from previous monsoon storms this season.
• Greenhouse gas surges: Climate experts are debating the significance of increased rises in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels during 2002 and 2003, which may mean that global warming has begun to accelerate. For the first time on record, CO2 levels rose by more than two parts per million for two years running. The data was recorded at the summit of Mauna Loa in Hawaii by U.S. researcher Charles Keeling, who has collected it since 1958. He feels the consecutive rises could be an anomaly, or a sign of increasing climate change. Peter Cox of Britain's hadley Center for Climate Prediction and Research told the BBC that the increase in carbon dioxide was not uniform across the globe, and he suspects something unusual happened in the Northern hemisphere. He suggested hot European summers and wildfires could have destroyed vegetation and increased the release of carbon from the soil.
• Heat and locusts: Metropolitan Sydney sweltered through its hottest October day on record as authorities battled early-season bushfires while stockpiling pesticides to fight a new generation of locusts hatched by the hot weather. Residents of Australia's largest city hit the beaches as the official temperature reached the record of 100.8 deg F. A ban on outdoor burning was imposed after 25 bushfires were sparked in several areas of new South Wales. State Primary Industries Minister Ian MacDonald said his department had received 2,000 reports of locust hatchings, and warned the insects would devastate crops if not killed before gathering into giant swarms.
• Fresh swarms:A new generation of desert locusts is on the move across northern and western Africa in what experts warn could be an even more destructive invasion than the one earlier this year. Swarms of the maturing insects invaded southwestern Libya near the Algerian border. Others gathered in southern Mauitania, the country worst hit by earlier swarms. Increased international aid has halped combat the worst locust plague in a decade. But chief United Nations humanitarian official Jan England warned: "If we lose the battle in the next five weeks, we will have a tenfold increase in the locust swarms, and they will go north."
• Extreme temperatures: -78 deg F in Vostok, Antarctica; 110 deg F in Dampier, W. Australia

October 13 (for week ending Oct. 08)
• Earthquakes:
  • A moderate magnitude 5.3 earthquake along Nicaragua's Pacific coast cracked a few walls and sent frightened residents into the streets. There were no reports of significant damage or injuries due to the shaking.
  • Earth movements were also felt in metropolitan Tokyo (mag 5.8), western Japan (4.8), New Zealand's North Island (4.7) and southern Iran (5.2).
• Tropical cyclones:
  • Minimal Tropical Cyclone 03A left 163 fishermen missing after it made landfall on the Arabian Sea coast near the India-Pakistan border. The storm uprooted trees and tore the roofs off some houses before it dissipated over Pakistan.
  • Typhoon Ma-On churned the western Pacific to the southeast of Japan, while Tropical Storm Kay formed brieffly off Mexico.
• Volcanoes:
  • Eruptions of steam and ash within Washington state's Mount St. Helens subsided, allowing seismologists to lower the alert status for the rumbling volcano. Rising lava inside the mountain;s dome was punctuated by an explosion, which sent ash soaring 15,000 feet into the sky. An eruption in 1980 destroyed more than 200 homes and devastated hundreds of square miles of surrounding forest. The mountain remained dormant from that catastrophic event until late September.
  • The collapse of a new lava dome at Volcan del Fuego (Volcano of Fire) sent columns of smoke and ash soaring over western Mexico. A light dusting of ash coated nearby communities as streams of lava poured down the mountain's slopes.
• Overfishing: A scientific gathering in Kuala Lumpur warned that overfishing and lack of sustainable fishing policies are threatening global marine resources, with two-thirds of the world's fish stocks already in serious decline. A report delivered by the World Resources Institute said the main perpetrators of overfishing are large industrial fleets that target cod, tuna, swordfish and salmon.
• Glacial catastrophe: China's leading glaciologist warned that an 'ecological catastrophe' is looming in Tibet due to global warming, which will cause most of the glaciers in the region to melt by 2100 if the trend is not halted. Yao Tangdong made the stark prediction as the results of several surveys performed by scientists from China and the United States over a 40-month period were announced. The Sino-U.S. team told the China Daily it had discovered numerous ice islands at high elevations on the Tibetan Plateau that used to be connected by glaciers. 'Tibet's glaciers have been receding over the past four decades due to global warming, but the alarming development has picked up rapidly especially since the early 1990s', the paper said.
• Ozone hole update: New Zealand scientists announced that the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica is about 20% smaller in coverage this season. Atmospheric scientist Stephen Woods at the country's Antarctic base said his measurements confirm data from a NASA satellite that show the depleted layer of ozone has shrunk from last year's record size. Wood advised that the levels of stratospheric ozone above the frozen continent were still much lower than before the hole began forming in the early 1980s due to fluorocarbon chemical pollution.
• Extreme temperatures: -89 deg F in Vostok, Antarctica; 115 deg F in Yenbo, Saudi Arabia

October 06 (for week ending Oct. 01)
• Earthquakes:
  • Residents from Los Angeles to san Francisco were rocked by a magnitude 6.0 quake centered near where a dense array of seismological equipment had been placed to measure such an event.
  • Earth movements were also felt in Montana (mag. 3.7), northwestern Mexico (mag. 5.8), central Greece (mag. 4.7), Istanbul (mag. 4.5), southeastern Turkey (mag. 4.0), Tehran (mag. 4.1), northern India (mag. 3.0), Moldova and eastern Romania (mag. 4.8).
• Tropical cyclones:
  • Hurricane Jeanne's high winds and torrential rains inflicted further misery on hurricane-weary Florida and other parts of the southeastern United States.
  • Hurricane Lisa remained a threat to shipping as it moved northward over the Atlantic.
  • Typhoon Meari unleashed mudslides that left nine people dead and 15 others missing after it became the fourth storm this season to drench the entire length of the Japanese archipelago.
• Volcanoes:
  • A swarm of rumblings from within Mount St. Helens raised frears that the volcano could be returning to life after wreaking havoc on the Pacific Northwest 24 years ago. Vulcanologists determined that lava moving beneath the volcano's crater has increased the chance of a new explosion.
  • Japan's Mount Asama continued to produce minor eruptions that blanketed a nearby area northwest of Tokyo with ash. Activity has been ongoing since a Sept. 1 explosion.
• Earth's hummm...: The source of a mysterious low-frequency 'hum' emitted by the Earth has ben pinpointed, according to seismologists writing in the journal Nature. It has been known for years that the persistent noise - between 2 and 7 milihertz and well below the range of human hearing - is cuased by large emissions of energy at or near the Earth's surface. But University of California Berkeley experts Junkee Rhie and Barbara Romanowicz have determined that the hum originates mainly in the northern Pacific Ocean during the northern winter, and in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica during the southern winter. The believe storm energy released in deep ocean waves during each winter interacts with the seabed, creating vibrations that cause the hum.
• Extreme temperatures: -94 deg F in Vostok, Antarctica; 115 deg F in Yenbo, Saudi Arabia

September 29 (for week ending Sep. 24)
• Earthquakes:
  • seismologists were baffled by a magnitude 5.0 tremblor that shook the Baltic coast from the Russian outpost of Kaliningrad to neighboring Poland and Lithuania. The quake occurred in an area not known to be seismically active.
  • Earth movements were also felt in northern Spain (mag. 4.2), southern Iran's Fars province (mag. 3.7), northern Japan (mag. 5.0) and southeaster parts of Kentucky (mag. 3.7).
• Tropical cyclones:
  • Hurricane Ivan's rampage across the eastern U.S. left at least 44 poeple dead and many communities still swamped days after it passed. In an unprecedented meteorological event, remnants of Ivan looped southward from off New England to cross Florida and regenerate into a tropical storm over the Gulf of Mexico.
  • Authorities in Haiti began digging mass graves for as many as 1700 victims of massive flooding that was unleashed by Tropical Storm Jeanne. Before strengthening into a hurricane, Jeanne also caused widespread flooding in Puerto Rico.
  • Hurricane Karl and Tropical Storm Lisa passed over the open waters of the mid-Atlantic.
  • Typhoon Meari was aiming for northern Taiwan and the Chinese mainland late in the week.
• Glacial Impact: Antarctica's glaciers, once contained by a floating ice shelf along the icy continent's coast, are now sliding into the sea at an alarming rate, causing concern that the trend could contribute to a rise in sea level. A joint NASA-University of Colorado team, writing in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, said their satellite observations indicate that glaciers once blocked by the massive Larsen B ice shelf began flowing into the sea up to eight times faster following its break-off. When the floating Larsen B shelf separated from Antarctica and broke into thousands of chunks in 2002, there was no discernable rise in the region's sea level. But the researchers noted immediate water level rises when ice from the continent's glaciers began entering the ocean.
• Warming decline: Britain's moth population is dwindling due to changing habitat caused by global warming, according to a report by England's Rothamsted agriculture research station. Each year since 1968, volunteers have systematically catalogued moths collected in light traps across the length and breadth of Britain. Analysis of the samples shows that two-thirds of the moth species have suffered noticeable declines over the past 35 years. "This is the third warning we've had this year. There have been other studies on butterflies and birds and grassland diversity as well, and they're all showing that something really serious is going on." said lead researcher Dr. Kelvin Conrad.
• Oceanic Din: The United Kingdom's Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) launched a campaign to tackle increasing noise pollution, which it says may be seriously harming marine life. The group warns that undersea noise from oil and gas exploration, and the use of low-frequency military sonars, is causing hearing loss in marine mammals - sometimes killing them. It also believes the man-made din is interfering with the creature's ability to communicate with each other. The International Whaling Commission warned in July that low-frequency marine noise levels had increased in the Northern Hemisphere by two orders of magnitude over the last 60 years. Mar Simmonds of the WDCS told BBC News: "It's a problem that doesn't have much noticeable effect on us, unlike chemical pollution, and we can't see it either."
• Extreme temperatures: -101 deg F in Vostok, Antarctica; 112 deg F in Dongola, Sudan

November 05 2003 (for week ending Oct. 31)
• Earthquakes:
  • Two powerful earthquakes in northwest China's Gansu province (magnitude 6.1) killed 9 people and injured 43 others, mainly inside collapsed buildings. The official Xinhua news agency said that more than 10,800 residential units had been destroyed by the shaking, and at least 3000 head of livestock were killed or injured.
  • Earth movements also were felt in Japam's Izu island chain (4.0), southern Sumatra (5.2), northern and central parts of the Philippines (5.0, 4.0), New Zealand's South Island (4.3), Papua New Guinea's New Britain Island (6.1) and the high desert area of Southern California (3.1).
• Tropical cyclones:
  • Tropical storm 23W produced heavy rain and storm-force winds as it moved ashore on India's Bay of Bengal coast near the Orissa-Andhra Pradesh border. There were no reports of significant damage before the storm lost force.
  • Typhoon Parma made a large loop over the open waters of the western Pacific. <\li>
  • High surf from passing typhoon Ketsana pounded Eastern Japan.
• Firestorms: The worst wildfires in California's history killed at least 20 people and destroyed thousands of homes from the Mexican border to the rough terrain north of Los Angeles. The early estimate of damage caused by the unprecedented firestorms was placed at $2 billion. More than 100,000 people fled their homes as the walls of fire advanced, but no accurate figures were available due to the rapid and erratic expansion of the fires. Some of the blazes were believed to have been intentionally set, and were made more destructive by drought and insect damage in the region's forests. Several wildfires also destroyed homes on Mexico's neighboring Baja California peninsula.
• Solar Storm: One of the most powerful geomagnetic storms ever observed on Earth disrupted communications, threatened power failures and forced Japanese technicians to deactivate a communications satellite when it became overloaded by the solar burst. Vivid aurora displays were seen in the nighttime skies from southern Australia to the southern United States. The geomagnetic storm was spawned by a spectacular eruption from a sunspot that sent a cloud of charged particles 13 times larger than Earth rushing toward the planet at more than 1 million mph. Due to the high level f radiation, the two crew members of the International Space Station were ordered to take shelter in the Zvezda service module, which offered a higher level of protection.
• Australian Tempest: severe spring storms lashing eastern Australia unleashed damaging hailstones around Sydney and produced a whirlwind that lifted a Queensland house, with its family still inside, then dropped it several yards away. Sydney residents raced to throw blankets over their cars in scenes reminiscent of the hailstorm that hit the city in 1999, causing an estimated $1 billion in damage. High winds in the wake of the severe thunderstorms carried dust from the outback to the east coast, where it grounded planes, knocked down power lines and fanned bushfires in southern Queensland.
• Sudanese Swarms: The fertile farmlands of central Sudan have been attacked by the worst invasion of grasshoppers in three decades, according to the Al-Rai Al-Amm newspaper in Kharoutm. The insects were said to be threatening crops of peanuts, sorghum, wheat and cotton throughout Gezira, which has the richest farmland in the country. The paper said that dust left in the wake of the swarms had triggered an asthma outbreak that killed 5 people and sickened 600 others. Gezira health Minister Sadek al-Wakeel told the paper that aerial and manual spraying of insecticide would take at least two weeks to contain the infestation.
• Mile-a-minute vine: A non-native vine is threatening several islands of the South Pacific, where a botanical battle is underway to halt its rapid advance. Mikania micrantha, or "mile-a-minute vine", has entrenched itself in the forest canopies of the region, killing native plants and animals. The vine is believed to have arrived in the Palau Islands from Central or South America about 10 years ago. Palau, a chain of Micronesian islands between papua New Guinea and the Philippines, is a group of mainly uninhabited limestone islands covered in jungle. A massive volunteer effort was launched to eradicate the plant from the famed tourist destination before it becomes so widespread that it will be impossible to remove. The eradication efforts were intensified because Mikania is about to bloom and experts wanted to prevent seeds from being spread by the wind.
• Extreme temperatures: -61 deg F at Saouth Pole, Antarctica; 108 deg F in Kununurra, W. Australia

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