Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.6 Earthquake hits Tarapaca, Chile.

5.3 Earthquake hits Tarapaca, Chile.

5.3 Earthquake hits the Komandorskiye Ostrova region, Russia.

5.3 Earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.

5.2 Earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.

5.1 Earthquake hits offshore Valparaiso, Chile.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Volcano Islands off Japan.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Pacific-Antarctic ridge.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Philippine Islands region.

5.0 Earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.

5.0 Earthquake hits Java, Indonesia.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits southern Sumatra, Indonesia.

5.0 Earthquake hits Mindamao in the Philippines.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Eastern Pacific:

Low pressure system Invest 93E forms off the coast of Baja California. This area of disturbed weather has the potential for tropical storm development.

Hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin officially commences on June 1. Forecasters suggest 8 - 12 named storms for 2014.

NewsBytes:

Philippines - Floods spawned by days of heavy rain have swamped the homes of at least 19,000 people in low-lying villages in North Catabato.

Environment

Ice Wall To Contain Fukushima Groundwater Contamination

Japanese authorities have approved the construction of an underground “ice wall” around the meltdown-plagued Fukushima nuclear power plant to keep groundwater from becoming contaminated before pouring into the Pacific.

The frozen barrier will be created by inserting a network of pipes to a depth of 100 feet, which will circulate a coolant that has a temperature of minus 40 degrees.

The designers say the resulting 1-mile frozen barricade of earth will help prevent a large volume of groundwater from flowing into the basements of the reactor buildings and mixing with highly radioactive water already accumulating inside.

About 300 tons of radioactive water from the plant are believed to be pouring into the adjacent Pacific each day.

Currently, a so-called groundwater bypass system pumps out some of the water before it reaches the reactor buildings.

The ice wall under construction will stretch for 1 mile and will surround reactors 1 to 4.

 

Disease

Ebola virus disease, West Africa – update

Cases and deaths attributable to Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak continue to be reported from new (Telimele and Boffa) and some affected districts (Conakry and Macenta) that did not report cases for more than 42 days. Since the last update of Disease Outbreak News of 28 May 2014, 10 new cases and 7 new deaths have been reported. The current evolving epidemiological situation could be partly explained by persistent community resistance in some communities in Gueckedou, Macenta, and Conakry.

Cholera outbreak, South Sudan

On 15 May 2014, the Ministry of Health of South Sudan declared a cholera outbreak in Juba. The index case was retrospectively identified with onset of illness on 23 April 2014. Four cases have been laboratory confirmed following tests conducted by the African Medical Research Foundation laboratory in Nairobi, Kenya.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Etna (Sicily, Italy): Although tremor dropped significantly yesterday evening, mild strombolian activity from the New SE crater continued throughout the night. This morning, new ash emissions from the Bocca Nuova occurred again. Whether this announces a new phase of (different) activity will have to be seen.

Sangeang Api (Indonesia): Eruptions continue at the volcano after yesterday's major explosion. Dense ash plumes rising from the summit crater can be seen on this morning's satellite images, and a MODIS hot spot is visible on the latest satellite data, suggesting fresh magma continues to arrive at the volcano's summit crater. In the meanwhile, the ash and SO2 plume has drifted and spread over more than 3000 km to the E and SE, covering a vast area that includes parts of northern and eastern Australia. All flights from Darwin airport have been cancelled because of the hazardous ash cloud.

San Miguel (El Salvador): Small ash emissions were reported at Chaparrastique volcano yesterday. Local observers heard rumblings and noticed ash fall in the area of Alpina Carreto. Apart from a possible eruption, a major hazard is posed by mud slides and mud flows at the slopes of the volcano. Civil protection ordered new evacuations. According to local press, school classes were suspended in 12 schools located within 5 kilometres radius of Chaparrastique due to landslides in the area generated by the rains.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.9 Earthquake hits the Myanmar-China border region.

5.2 Earthquake hits the Flores region, Indonesia.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Pacific-Antarctic ridge.

Wildlife

More Whales Bringing More Collisions With Ships

A bumper population of whales feeding off the coast of New England appears to be responsible for the unusually high incidence of ships striking the marine mammals during recent weeks.

Of the three strikes during May, one involved a cruise ship hitting a sei whale and inadvertently dragging it into the Hudson River.

The attached dead animal was not discovered until the ship reached port.

The U.S. agency NOAA said another sei was found dead and attached to a container ship that was docking near Philadelphia three days later.

NOAA believes the whales may be following food sources unusually close to shore when they haplessly swim into shipping lanes.

Operators of whale-watching excursions in coastal waters off Boston report 20 to 30 whales are being spotted on every cruise — 10 times the usual number.

Extinction Rates Soar to 1,000 Times Normal

Species on Earth are going extinct at least 1,000 times faster than they would be without human influence, new research finds. But there's still time to save the world from this biodiversity disaster.

Between 100 and 1,000 species per million go extinct every year, according to the new analysis. Before humans came on the scene, the typical extinction rate was likely one extinction per every 10 million each year, said study researcher Stuart Pimm, a Duke University biologist.

These numbers are a big increase from the previous estimates, which held that species were going extinct 100 times faster than usual, not 1,000 times faster or more. But despite the bad news, the research is "optimistic." New technology and citizen scientists are allowing conservationists to target their efforts better than ever before.

Pimm and his colleagues have long worked to understand the effect of humanity on the rest of the species that share the planet. In the history of life on Earth, five mass extinctions have wiped out more than half of life on the planet. Today, scientists debate whether humanity is causing the sixth mass extinction.

This question is trickier than it may seem. Certainly, humans have driven species from the dodo to the Tasmanian tiger to the passenger pigeon to extinction. There's no doubt that continuing deforestation and climate change will destroy even more species, including some humanity will never get the chance to discover. But researchers don't even know for sure how many species exist on the planet. About 1.9 million species have been described by science, but estimates as to how many are out there range from 5 million to 11 million.

"People often say that we are in the middle of the sixth mass extinction," Pimm said. "We're not in the middle of it — we're on the verge of it. And now we have to tools to prevent it."

Environment

Global Temperature Extremes

The week's hottest temperature was 120.2 degrees Fahrenheit (49.0 degrees Celsius) at Jacobabad, Pakistan.

The week's coldest temperature was minus 84.5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 64.7 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Vostok Antarctic research station.

Temperatures were tabulated from the more than 10,000 worldwide synoptic weather stations. The United Nations World Meteorological Organization sets the standards for weather observations, and provides a global telecommunications circuit for data distribution.

Disease

US Measles Cases Reach 20-Year High

The numbers of measles cases in the United States so far this year marks a 20-year high, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced.

Just in the first months of 2014, from January 1 through May 23, a total of 288 confirmed measles cases have been reported to the CDC, surpassing the highest number of reported cases happening in a full year since the disease was eliminated in the country almost 15 years ago.

The largest number of cases in previous years had occurred during 2011, with 220 cases. The number of cases so far in 2014 is the largest reported in the first five months of a year since 1994, CDC officials said.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Pagan (Mariana Islands): USGS reports that "low-level unrest continued at Pagan Volcano throughout the past week. Seismic activity remains above background. A vapor plume was visible in web camera and satellite images. Volcanic gas from Pagan may be noticed downwind of the volcano as a distinctive sulfurous odor." The Aviation Color Code remains at YELLOW.

Santa María / Santiaguito (Guatemala): Ongoing rainfall has been causing a number of mud flows (lahars) in the rivers draining from Santiaguito, including Samala, San Isidro and Tambor. A first large hot lahar descended the Nima I river bed yesterday. The sulfur-smelling mud flow was about 25 m wide and 3 m deep, carrying blocks of up to 50 cm in diameter and pieces of tree trunks and branches of up to 2 m. On its passage near the observatory, it made the ground vibrate. The lahar drained into the Samala river.

Fuego (Guatemala): Activity has decreased a bit. Strombolian explosions produced incandescent ejections to up to about 100 m and ash plumes rose to approx. 500 m.

San Miguel (El Salvador): The amplitude of internal vibration (tremor) at Chaparrastique volcano has suddenly dropped during the past 24 hours indicating that the volcanic system remains unstable, MARN informs in its latest special bulletin. Gas emissions remain elevated. The possibility of an eruption from a summit or flank vent remains high and monitoring continues at highest level.

Galeras (Colombia): Activity at the volcano is currently low. Seismic activity and gas emissions are at low to moderate levels. No recent ash emissions have occurred.

Cumbal (Colombia): Seismic unrest continues at the volcano, still on alert status Yellow, with little variation over the past months. The Pasto volcano observatory reported a 50% increase in earthquakes during the past week. Most earthquakes were associated with internal fluid movements. The other quakes, all very small, were due to rock fracturing at shallow depths. No other signs of unrest were observed at the volcano recently.

Sotará (Colombia): Seismic activity associated with rock fracturing processes under the volcano showed a slight increase during the past week. The earthquakes occurred mainly under the Paletará valley, approximately 12 km northeast of the volcano at depths between 6 and 10 km, and had local magnitudes between 0.3 and 2.2 on the Richter scale. Slight deformation has been detected at the volcano, but no changes or signs of activity are visible at the surface. The volcano remains at Yellow alert.

Cerro Negro de Mayasquer (Colombia): Unrest at the volcano continues in the form of earthquakes under the Chiles-Cerro Negro volcanic massif. During the past week, the monitoring network recorded around 6500 quakes, mostly located less than 4 km SW from the summit at depths ranging between 1 and 8 km and with magnitudes of up to 4.0 on the Richter scale. Most of the earthquakes are volcanic-tectonic, i.e. associated with the fracturing of rock due to fluid pressure underground. On May 21, 3 earthquakes at 02:53, 15:44 and 18:46 local time were felt felt by local inhabitants.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.9 Earthquake hits the Mona Passage in the Dominican Republic.

5.3 Earthquake hits Taiwan.

5.3 Earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands off New Zealand.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Molucca Sea.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Eastern Pacific:

Tropical Storm Amanda is located approximately 455 mi (735 km) SSW of the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and is moving east near 7 mph (11 kph).

The storm’s maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 35 mph (55 kph).

Hurricane Amanda unexpectedly regained strength briefly Tuesday, before resuming a predicted weakening far off Mexico's Pacific coast where it posed no threat to land. The hurricane's maximum sustained winds were about 105 mph (165 kph) Tuesday afternoon, after rising to 120 mph (195 kph) Tuesday morning. Weakening should continue and Amanda is likely to become a tropical storm by Thursday.

Tsunami Debris

Three years after the Japan tsunami, suspected bits of debris arrive on Washington shores. The disaster's aftermath is still being felt in ways large and small, far and wide. On a beach in southern Washington, approximately 4,500 miles across the Pacific Ocean, debris that may be from the tsunami is washing ashore. Experts have yet to confirm the debris, which includes small fishing boats, foam blocks, and water bottles are all a direct result of the tsunami. However, many of the water bottles and assorted items of trash appear to have originated in Japan.

There are portions of the beach that look like a dump truck just emptied a huge pile of trash. Washington state has been keeping track of the debris that is confirmed to be from the tsunami. Items include boats, portions of docks, and volleyballs have all washed ashore over the past three years. Alaska, California, and Oregon have also been monitoring their coasts.

The most recent series of debris began to arrive on beaches on Friday. Authorities are investigating to see if the boats and other items can be identified. They will also be checked for invasive species. In addition to the mass destruction and thousands of deaths, the earthquake that caused the tsunami altered the spin of the planet, according to reports.

Wildlife

Shark Sanctuary Established in British Virgin Islands

The British Virgin Islands recently became the third Caribbean territory to declare its waters a safe haven for sharks. The decision to establish a shark sanctuary bans shark fishing throughout the territory.

Five Alaska Wolf Pups Rescued by Firefighters

Firefighters rescued five wolf pups from an abandoned den as they battled the massive Funny River Fire in southern Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. The pups had not been hurt by the blaze. Medics with the fire crew fed the fuzzy brown puppies glucose (sugar water) and plucked porcupine quills from their skin.

Disease

Ebola virus disease, West Africa – update

From 23 May 2014 to 27 May 2014, 4 new districts reported 14 new clinical cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) and 5 deaths as follows: Boffa, 5 cases and 1 death; Telimele, 7 cases and 4 deaths; Boke, 1 case and 0 death; and Dubreka, 1 case and 1 death. Community and nosocomial transmission are still occurring in Gueckedou, Macenta, and Conakry.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update

On 25 May 2014, the National IHR Focal Point of Jordan reported to WHO an additional Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) case in Amman, Jordan.

Human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus – update

On 26 May 2014, the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) of China notified WHO of 3 additional laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Shiveluch (Kamchatka): The volcano produced a steam and ash plume during today that rose to estimated 20,000 ft (6 km) altitude and drifted east.

Dukono (Halmahera): Activity continues to be elevated at the volcano. An ash plume at estimated 10,000 ft (3 km) altitude extended 35 nautical miles to the west this morning.

Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): The number of steam-gas and sometimes ash emissions has increased a bit to approx 8 per hour. No other significant changes occurred at the volcano.

Santa María / Santiaguito (Guatemala): The new lava flow on the eastern flank of the Caliente dome continues to advance slowly and produce avalanches. Small explosions occurred, generating ash plumes up to 700 m high. Rainfalls caused a medium-sized lahar in the Nima I river yesterday at dawn.

Fuego (Guatemala): The lava flow has disappeared and explosive activity in turn increased. The observatory reported ash plumes up to 600 m high and drifting SW to 8 km distance. Shock waves accompanied the stronger explosions. Rainfalls triggered a lahar in the Las Lajas river canyon.

Reventador (Ecuador): Weak to moderate effusive and explosive activity continues at the volcano. Cloud cover prevents direct observations most of the time, but the seismic signal shows tremor and explosion signals. A thermal hot spot indicates that lava continues to build up at the summit lava dome.

Ubinas (Peru): Activity continues to show an overall decreasing trend. A small explosion occurred this morning at the volcano, producing a dark ash plume that rose several hundred meters.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.0 Earthquake hits the Flores region, Indonesia.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Eastern Pacific:

Tropical Storm Amanda is located approximately 595 mi (960 km) SSW of the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and is moving northeast near 2 mph (4 kph).

The hurricane's maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 70 mph (110 kph).

Wildlife

Endangered Polar Bears Mating With Brown Bears Because Of Global Warming?

Polar bears are mating with brown bears, producing a rare hybrid! With the climate change slowly melting the North Pole ice cap, polar bears are forced southwards where they are now beginning to live on brown grizzly bears' territories. Scientists in Canada have found these hybrids wandering in the polar circles and have named them pizzilies and grolar bears, fun portmanteaus of polar bear and grizzlies.

The first sighting, documented by Spiegel, was on Victoria Island, 313 miles from the grizzlies' normal habitat on the Canadian mainland. The scientists thought that they were looking at a polar bear, but upon closer examination, they saw that the bear had a dark stripe on its back, a shaded snout and a much larger head with a hump behind its shoulders, which is characteristic of brown bears. These bears also had longer claws, which are strange to see on polar bears. A DNA analysis reported by National Geographic confirmed that a bear in the Canadian Arctic is indeed a polar bear and grizzly hybrid. While these hybrids have happened in captivity, it is the first time that cross-breeding has happened in the wild.

These hybrids are believed to be a result of global warming and human activity. The melting polar ice cap is forcing polar bears onto dry land and road construction, mining and deforestation is pushing the brown bears north.

Pizzilies and grolar bears may look cool, but in fact hybridization is a serious matter. As these gene pools mix, the genetic diversity will decrease. Also, this may also decrease the production of actual grizzlies and polar bears as the bears waste the time and resources to produce infertile hybrids. In fact, the hybrids may pose threats to polar bears, which are known to be less aggressive.

Disease

Haiti Chikungunya Outbreak Spikes To Over 1,500 Cases

According to Haiti’s health ministry, at least 1,529 cases of the chikungunya virus have been confirmed. Of these, about 900 of them, were found in the west department, where the capital of Port-au-Prince is located. Another 300 cases were confirmed in northwestern Haiti, the Associated Press reports.

This is up dramatically from the 14 confirmed cases just less than a week ago.

Dar Es Salaam Dengue Outbreak Sickens 400

After first being reported in the Tanzanian capital in January, government officials now say the dengue fever outbreak in Dar es Salaam has sickened 400 people and is being attributed to the deaths of three.

According to a Press report, Health Ministry officials say the outbreak in the capital is unprecedented and caught them off-guard; however, they are doing everything they can to get it under control.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.2 Earthquake hits offshore Bio-Bio, Chile.

5.1 Earthquake hits southern Iran.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Mid-Indian ridge.

5.1 Earthquake hits the southern Mid-Atlantic ridge.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Molucca Sea.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Azores Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Solomon Islands.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Western Pacific:

Hurricane Amanda has unexpectedly regained some strength far off Mexico's Pacific coast but is not a threat to land.

The hurricane's maximum sustained winds early Tuesday had increased to near 125 mph (205 kph), making it a Category 3 storm. But the U.S. National Hurricane Centre says weakening is expected to resume and Amanda should become a tropical storm by late Wednesday.

The hurricane is centred about 620 miles (995 kilometres) south-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and is moving north-northwest near 5 mph (7 kph).

NewsBytes:

Colorado, USA - At least three people have been missing in a massive mudslide that struck near the small mountain town of Colbran, Colorado at around 6:15 p.m. local time Sunday. The mudslide is estimated to be 2 miles wide, 4 miles long and up to 250 feet deep in places.

North Dakota, USA - A tornado that injured nine people, including a 15-year-old girl who suffered critical injuries, and damaged or destroyed 15 trailers at a workers’ camp in the heart of the state’s booming oil patch hit south of Watford City, about 30 miles southeast of Williston on Monday evening.

Environment

Carbon pollution in northern hemisphere reaches record high

Carbon dioxide levels in the northern hemisphere reached a new milestone this April, the World Meteorological Organization announced Monday, with monthly atmospheric concentrations topping 400 parts per million for the first time in what’s believed to be millions of years.

The news itself will surprise few — without the significant mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, we all understand this to be the path we’re heading down — but symbolically, it packs a punch. “This should serve as yet another wakeup call about the constantly rising levels of greenhouse gases which are driving climate change. If we are to preserve our planet for future generations, we need urgent action to curb new emissions of these heat trapping gases,” WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said in a statement. “Time is running out.”

The WMO reiterated that CO2 remains in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, and in the ocean for even longer. From 2002 to 2012, the agency said, it was responsible for a full 85 percent of the increasing in “radiative forcing” — the warming effect on the climate.

CO2 levels tend to spike in April, before spring vegetation arrives to absorb some of it. Monitoring stations in the Arctic have been recording monthly averages this high since 2012, but as recently as April of last year, CO2 levels exceed 400 ppm on only several days; this year marked the first time that the monthly average for the northern hemisphere, where the majority of man-made emissions occur, was firmly set above that threshold. And things look like they’ll continue to head in that direction: the global annual average, the WMO warned, will likely surpass 400 ppm by 2015 or 2016.

Wildfires

Wildfires - USA

Alaska

The wildfire in Alaska's Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage has grown to cover more than 243 square miles. Officials have issued a mandatory evacuation order for more than 1 000 homes.

Crews were attacking the fire by air, with two Alaska Air National Guard helicopters and five other helicopters involved.

Siberian Forest Wildfires Triple Within Three Days

Officials in Russia say the severe wildfires that have been burning in Siberia have spread again.

The Federal Forestry Agency of Russia's Siberian Federal District says the wildfire zone has grown by three times since May 23

It said that as of May 26, there were 24 forest fires burning on some 2,500 hectares.

Another 41 forest fires have been extinguished on some 2,100 hectares in the Republic of Buryatia, the Altai Krai region, and Irkutsk Oblast during the last 24 hours.

Some 315 forest rangers and forest firefighters, 66 fire engines, and 11 aircraft are combatting the flames, diverting them from towns and villages.

In all, the Siberian Federal District has seen 4,687 forest fires on 710,300 hectares in the last several weeks.

Disease

Ebola virus disease, West Africa – update

Five people have died in Sierra Leone's first confirmed outbreak of Ebola virus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday, signalling a new expansion of the disease which regional officials said had been brought under control.

In a statement posted on its website, the WHO said the outbreak in Sierra Leone was located in an area along the country's border with Guinea's Guéckédou prefecture, where some of the earliest cases of the disease were recorded.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.6 Earthquake hits the north Pacific Ocean.

5.1 Earthquake hits Tonga.

5.1 Earthquake hits offshore Guatemala.

5.0 Earthquake hits Taiwan.

5.0 Earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Santa Cruz Islands.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Western Pacific:

Hurricane Amanda is located approximately 685 mile (1105 km) S of the southern tip of Baja California and is moving north-northwest at 7 mph. This general motion is expected to continue for the next few days. Maximum sustained wind speeds are are near 140 mph. Amanda is expected to weaken rapidly by this evening.

NewsBytes:

China - Heavy flooding in South China has claimed the lives of at least 19 people and left 7 others missing. Guangzhou, Zhaoqing and Qingyuan cities have been flooded, the provincial flood control and civil affairs authorities said. The flooding has affected more than 140,000 people and collapsed around 1,143 houses.

Pakistan - A lake that formed atop the roughly 20 kilometre-long Hussaini glacier in Gojal Valley burst its banks at three or four points on May 7 and the rushing waters damaged some agricultural land but spared the settlements down below. Such floodwaters bring down a lot of debris and boulders with them. Another glacial lake burst its banks in Bargot Valley the next week. Water gushed out for hours from the burst but the people of six villages down below, and their properties, remained safe, according to Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) in Islamabad.

Disease

Ebola virus disease, West Africa – update

Cases and deaths attributable to Ebola virus disease (EVD) continue to occur in Guinea. As of May 23, 2014, 8 new cases and 3 new deaths were reported from one newly affected district, Telimele (3 cases and 0 deaths) and two existing affected areas, Gueckedou (2 cases and 0 deaths) and Macenta (3 cases and 3 deaths).

Kenya - CBPP Outbreak

Thousands of livestock in Narok County might be wiped out following an outbreak of the Contagious Bovine Pleuropnemonia (CBPP).

Wildfires

Wildfires - USA

Alaska - Update

The wildfire in Alaska's Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage has grown to cover more than 193 square miles. 150 homes have been warned to prepare for evacuation.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.2 Earthquake hits the Sunda Strait, Indonesia.

5.2 Earthquake hits the central Mid-Atlantic ridge.

Wildfires

Wildfires - USA

Alaska

A rapidly growing Alaskan wildfire that has burned 151 square miles in the Kenai Peninsula was threatening about 150 cabins, vacation homes and year-round residents in three communities on Saturday, fire officials said.

Authorities couldn't estimate how many people have been told to be ready to leave their residences because many of the buildings in the area are vacation homes.

The Funny Ridge Fire burning in the 1.9-million-acre Kenai National Wildlife Refuge was 20 percent contained as of Saturday morning, Weston said. The fire grew by nearly 29 square miles between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. Friday.

About 409 firefighters are assigned to the fire, which was one of several large wildfires burning in Alaska. They are getting help from an Oregon fire crew and some water scoopers have been flown in from Alberta, Canada.

Arizona

A wildfire burning in rugged terrain in a northern Arizona canyon grew significantly because of fires intentionally set by crews to rob the blaze of its natural forest fuels, officials said Saturday.

Crews have mostly completed burnout operations on the key northern flank of the Slide Fire and are preparing to make similar protection efforts on the fire's western end. The burnout operations conducted Friday night by fire crews contributed to the heavy smoke over Sedona and Flagstaff.

Disease

An 'Ill Wind' Could Be Spreading Disease Across the Pacific

Scientists say wind currents blowing out of northeastern China could be the main carriers of a mysterious childhood disease that was first identified in 1961 and can eventually lead to a fatal heart condition.

Research at the Kawasaki Disease Research Centre at the University of California suggests an airborne toxin in seasonal winds could be infecting children in Japan and as far away as Hawaii and California.

Kawasaki disease cases have been found to peak only when winds originate from a vast cereal-farming region in northeastern China.

High-altitude air samples taken downwind around Japan found a fungus called Candida, a member of the yeast family, was in the wind. It’s known to cause a wide range of human fungal infections worldwide.

Researchers believe something that has changed in agriculture or culture since World War II could be behind the new disease.

Kawasaki disease causes a rash and uncontrollable fever in the very young, who usually fully recover. But in about 25 percent of the cases, it can also lead to a coronary aneurysm, a life-threatening ballooning of the arteries that supply the heart, decades later.

“We're looking for something new that happened (in northeast China) after World War II,” Dr. Jane Burns, who is the Director of Paediatrics at the centre, told San Diego’s XETV. “A lot of changes in the agriculture; a lot of cultural changes during that time.” She added that there is no other example of something traveling across an ocean and making people sick.

Kawasaki disease causes a rash and uncontrollable fever in the very young, who usually fully recover. Children with a genetic predisposition to the disease need only to inhale the pathogen once to manifest symptoms within 24 hours.

About 100 cases of Kawasaki disease are reported in San Diego alone each year, but the highest number of children infected is in Japan.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Kavachi (Solomon Islands): It is likely that some volcanic activity has continued intermittently at the undersea volcano after a discolored water plume was first spotted on 29 January this year. Although no further signs of activity were visible on clear days after the first sightings, satellite images from 21 March and 8 May, compiled by Culture Volcan, showed again significant plumes originating from the volcano. This suggests that activity (if any) has been occurring in short-lived pulses rather than continuously

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

6.9 Earthquake hits the Aegean Sea.

5.7 Earthquake hits the Maug Islands in the North Mariana Islands.

5.6 Earthquake hits Oaxaca, Mexico.

5.6 Earthquake hits the Myanmar-China border region.

5.5 Earthquake hits Buryatiya, Russia.

5.2 Earthquake hits the northern Mid-Atlantic ridge.

5.1 Earthquake hits southern Peru.

5.0 Earthquake hits western Turkey.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

In the Eastern Pacific:

Tropical Storm Amanda forms 630 miles southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico and is expected to strengthen to hurricane force later today. Amanda is moving west-northwest at 5 mph.

NewsBytes:

China - Landslide in south China's Guangdong Province has claimed the lives of at least six people. Heavy rainfall caused the landslide around 5 p.m. in Longshi Village.

Nepal - An avalanche on Mount Kanchenjunga in Nepal has claimed the lives of three people including one from India. According to the Nepalese officials, the three were swept away by the avalanche and were believed to be dead. They scaled Kanchenjunga on Sunday and were attempting to climb Yalung Kang, a sister peak.

Wildlife

Huge Swath of Amazon Preserved in Record-Setting Deal

On May 21, the Brazilian government, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and partners announced the creation of a $215 million fund to ensure long-term protection of the world's largest network of protected areas — 150 million acres of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest.

Thanks to an innovative long-term financing model, 150 million acres will be protected permanently, which amounts to fifteen percent of the Brazilian Amazon. That's equivalent to three times the size of all U.S. national parks combined.

Conservation groups been working on this with the government of Brazil and partners for more than a decade, and there already are almost 100 protected areas encompassing 128 million acres. These were selected based on the rich and unique diversity of habitats and species found there. Half of them are strict conservation areas, some appropriate for tourists, others only for biological research. The others are sustainable-use areas where local people can harvest natural resources, such as rubber or nuts.

The conservation value of that amount of protected areas is cause for celebration in and of itself. But what's truly groundbreaking is its funding mechanism.

An unprecedented number of partners created an extraordinary $215 million transition fund to help the Brazilian government manage the protected areas for the next 25 years. During that time, Brazil gradually will increase its own contributions with the intention of establishing permanent financing as the money in the transition fund draws down.

This deal comes at a critical time. When you think of the Amazon, you may imagine only a wild and remote region. But development is creeping in to this important wilderness, and it's already starting to change. These protected areas are vital to ensure that species, like those spider monkeys I studied, have plenty of forest habitat, and to safeguard natural resources.

Global Warming

Climate Change, in Real Time

It's been an extraordinary six weeks for climate scientists. Any lingering doubts about the immediacy of climate impacts on the lives of Americans are now permanently laid to rest, thanks to four extensive reports from thousands of scientists.

It began with a straight-talking, no-nonsense report called "What We Know" from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) — the world's largest general science organization — earlier this spring. The report laid out in clear detail why the entire scientific community no longer has any doubts whatsoever about the nature and extent of the climate risk to the U.S. economy and communities.

Weeks later, the second and third of successive reports from different arms of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued separate, detailed reports on the current science around climate change impacts in the world, and the potential costs to society and the economy right now if people don't change our energy patterns. [Michael Mann: Climate-Change Deniers Must Stop Distorting the Evidence (Op-Ed)]

And then this week, a report written by hundreds of American scientists culminated this six-week run of world-class, peer-reviewed science reports with the congressionally-mandated National Climate Assessment, which laid climate impacts literally at the doorsteps and window panes of most Americans.

Climate change isn't a computer model, a fuzzy prediction, a cute picture of polar bears on shrinking icebergs, or some far-off, distant threat that people who aren't born yet will have to deal with. It's here, now — and it's disrupting our lives.

It's affecting food prices through extended droughts and flooding basements in extreme rainfall events — the types of dry and wet extremes that scientists have been telling us for years would be part of a changing, warming world. Now we can see these things with our own eyes, out our own windows.

It's causing farmers to plant earlier. Bird lovers are watching habitats shrink and change. Lobstermen are seeing the corrosive effects of both warming waters and ocean acidification change their way of life. Fire chiefs are facing the stark reality of bigger, faster wildfires lasting year round instead of contained to seasons.

What is extraordinary is that nearly everyone can now sense that the artificially contrived science "debate" about whether climate change is real is ending for good — creating space for the more logical, rational discussion about America's proper role in dealing with a significant, growing and increasingly urgent problem.

Just as Americans finally came to realize that, yes, smoking cigarettes does cause lung cancer — despite years of effort to manufacture doubt about the science of smoking and cancer — the very same sorts of science answers have now emerged clearly for climate change amid a sea of deliberate and manufactured doubt.

Climate change is real — and it's starting to cause disruptions in all of the various ways that climate scientists have said it would.

There are now just a handful of outliers like Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., left for the media to go to for a science "debate" quote or cutesy sound bite about how global warming isn't real; that it's a "hoax;" or that climate scientists are part of some far-flung "conspiracy."

As CNN morning anchor Carol Costello wrote recently: "There is no debate. Climate change is real. And, yes, we [in the media] are, in part, to blame."

Yes, there are still uncertainties to be dealt with in the science — like whether the coming El Niño cycle will cause a record-setting spike in global temperatures this year or next the way it did in 1997; or just how much heat from greenhouse gas emissions are being absorbed in the oceans instead of the atmosphere.

But what is now apparent, to nearly all, is the simple fact that climate change has arrived, and is making itself known.

As part of the release of the National Climate Assessment at the White House on Tuesday, a local South Florida official — Kristin Jacobs, from Broward County — explained with great passion the ways in which climate change is now affecting cities and communities. Others on her panel of local leaders echoed her statements, as clearly as they could.

Climate change isn't theoretical, or imaginary, or hypothetical or even political. It's just real, here and now, and community officials have to deal with it, Jacobs said. Seawater is intruding everywhere where it shouldn't, and local Republican and Democratic politicians have putdown their snappy, sound bite political arguments in an effort to figure out how to make sure their cities can adapt to what is happening.

This same conversation, she said, is occurring in 60 percent of American cities where some level of climate impacts are starting to be felt. More than 25 states, and their governors, are now planning for ways in which they have to adapt to climate impacts here and now.

There is a sort of unspoken rule in national policy debates that plays out over and over. Think of it as the 75-25 rule: When 75 percent of the country is finally able to ignore a very loud, vocal minority (the 25 percent) that refuses to face facts, evidence or science on any given issue — from marriage equality and civil rights to regulating cigarettes and access to affordable health care — then space is created for national solutions.

We're just about there, finally, on climate change. What happens next — where both political parties in the U.S. pivot on the question of what to do about the wolf at the door — is what will rightly become the focus of attention now on this issue for the next few years.

Muir Glacier, Alaska. Left: August 13, 1941. Right: August 31, 2004:

Disease

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update

On 21 May 2014, the National IHR Focal Point of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reported 3 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Space Events

New Meteor Shower May Spark Meteor Storm

A new meteor shower from the Comet 209P/LINEAR could spark a potential meteor storm overnight tonight and Saturday (May 23 and 24), but scientists can only wait to see if it sizzles or fizzles.

The meteors are predicted to stream from the direction of the dim and almost formless constellation of Camelopardalis, the Giraffe for about three hours tonight around 3:10 a.m. Eastern Time (12:10 a.m. Pacific Time). That means that the United States and southern Canada will be in the best position to see whatever activity occurs, since it will be taking place in a dark sky between midnight and dawn.

Camelopardalis will be situated low in the north-northwest sky below and slightly to the left of Polaris (the North Star). So the meteors will appear to be streaming up from out of the northern part of the sky.

There will be no mistaking the meteors from this new shower if they show up. The meteors are likely to be bright and unusually slow-moving. They'll be bright because the simulations suggest that the debris should be skewed strongly toward relatively large particles, larger than 1 millimetre.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Dukono (Halmahera): A volcanic ash plume extending 60 km west and at estimated 11,000 ft (3.3 km) altitude was spotted by VAAC Darwin this morning.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.3 Earthquake hits the Solomon Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Solomon Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Samoa Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits southwest of Sumatra, Indonesia.\\

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

No current tropical storms.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has published the 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook on March 22 which predicts three to six hurricanes developing between June 1 and the end of November.

The Atlantic hurricane region includes the North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

NewsBytes:

France - Violent storms in France have claimed the lives of at least two people and left tens of thousands without electricity. Fatalities are from Aveyron and the town of Bozouls.

Wales - Torrential rain and storms hit South Wales. Storms and severe downpours hit the region early on Thursday afternoon, with residents in Penarth, Leckwith and Thornhill reporting flooding.

Environment

Global Temperature Extremes

The week's hottest temperature was 113.9 degrees Fahrenheit (45.5 degrees Celsius) at Hafr Al-Batin, Saudi Arabia.

The week's coldest temperature was minus 96.7 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 71.5 degrees Celsius) at the U.S. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.

Temperatures were tabulated from the more than 10,000 worldwide synoptic weather stations. The United Nations World Meteorological Organization sets the standards for weather observations, and provides a global telecommunications circuit for data distribution.

Environment

Antarctic Winds Strongest in at least 1,000 Years

Powerful winds blowing around Antarctica are the strongest in 1,000 years and are being made even speedier by climate change, scientists say.

They also point out that the Antarctic vortex is insulating the icy continent from the global warming that is affecting most other parts of the planet.

Earlier research indicated that the ozone hole above Antarctica was causing the circumpolar winds to get stronger.

However, Nerilie Abram and her colleagues from the Australian National University found that global warming has been a big factor in strengthening the winds since the 1940s.

She says the stronger winds are also dragging winter rains away from Western Australia, making the state drier.

Abrams says the surge in strength of the Antarctic vortex started in the 1940s, decades before manmade chemicals began eating away at the ozone hole.

The red bands indicate the path of the strongest winds of the Antarctic vortex, now the strongest in 1,000 years.

Disease

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update

On 2 May 2014, the National IHR Focal Point for the United States of America notified WHO about the first laboratory confirmed case of MERS-CoV infection in the United States.

Human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus – update

On 19 May 2014, the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) of China notified WHO of 4 additional laboratory confirmed cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus.

Chikungunya Virus Spreads in Caribbean Islands

Thousands of people in the Caribbean are becoming sick with a virus called chikungunya, which causes debilitating fever and severe joint pain, according to news reports.

The chikungunya virus was once confined to Africa and Asia, but was brought into the Americas likely by an infected traveler in December. Since then, more than 51,000 suspected and nearly 5,000 confirmed cases of infection have occurred throughout the Caribbean Islands, according to The Pan American Health Organization.

Public health officials say they expect the virus reach the United States this summer given the large number of people traveling between the U.S. and the Caribbean.

The virus is transmitted to people by mosquito bites, and can be prevented by covering the skin and using mosquito repellents. Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash. Most patients recover fully, but in some cases joint pain may persist for several months, or even years, according to the World Health Organization.

Wildfires

Wildfires - USA

Wildfires continue to scorch Southcentral, Interior Alaska.

Two wildfires still rage in Southcentral Alaska, charring thousands of acres and concerning residents and fire officials. A third wildfire also sprung up in the state’s Interior Tuesday evening that is within two miles of the Dalton Highway.

The Funny River wildfire has increased in size to nearly 44,000 acres — still with zero percent containment, according to authorities. The fire is currently spreading in the direction of refuge land, away from homes. Additional crews from around the state and the Lower 48, along with two Canadair CL-215 firefighting aircraft, are en route to assist in the firefighting efforts.

Meanwhile, the wildfire near Tyonek, which burned three structures overnight, now stretches about 1,500 acres and has changed course. Some Tyonek residents have returned home after a Monday evacuation as the fire now heads north toward Beluga.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Nishino-shima (Volcano Islands): The eruption on the remote island continues. The most recent overflight pictures by the Japanese Coast Guard show two active vents, one with a small lava-filled vent likely producing strombolian explosions, the other emitting a steam and gas plume. At least some lava flows remain active and reach the coast, continuing to enlarge the island (visible by steam generated at the fronts).

Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): Following a week with no recorded vulcanian explosions, two relatively strong ones occurred this morning, producing ash plumes that rose to 11-12,000 ft (3.3-3.6 km) altitude. Since then, the Showa crater has been constantly venting ash.

Sinabung (Sumatra, Indonesia): VAAC Darwin raised the Aviation Color Code to "Red" after a possible major ash plume was spotted on satellite imagery. According to the original report, a possible ash plume rose to estimated 50,000 ft (15 km) altitude 12:32 UTC on 22 May and drifted SW. The height was later reduced to 35,000 ft (12 km). It is unclear if the plume was a volcanic ash plume, in which case it would suggest a major explosion occurred at the volcano. However, VSI and local media did not report any usual activity at the volcano, suggesting that most likely the observed plume was from a storm cloud.

Merapi (Central Java, Indonesia): The Indonesian Volcanological Survey (VSI) lowered the alert level of Merapi back to "Normal" (1 out of 4). This decision came after signs of unrest had recently decreased again: - Earthquake activity decreased both in number and type during the past weeks.

San Miguel (El Salvador): An eruption of the Chaparrastique volcano in the near future is becoming more and more likely. Tremor continues to rise and pulsating gas emissions have become stronger and sometimes contain small amounts of volcanic ash. The increased tremor and gas emissions suggest movements of hot fluids (gasses, water, magma) into the volcano's shallow plumbing system. MARN expects an eruption either from the central crater or a flank vent on the northern side (where most microseismic activity has been focused).

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.8 Earthquake hits the Bay of Bengal.

5.5 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.

5.3 Earthquake hits the Ceram Sea.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Solomon Islands.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

No current tropical storms.

NewsBytes:

USA - Flash floods closed sections of interstates in Ohio as a system of thunderstorms deluged the Midwest on Wednesday afternoon and evening. Storm heads for the Southern Plains, but won’t end drought. A large, low-pressure system cut off from the jet stream has formed over the Southwest and looks to bring several inches of rain to the Southern Plains. It will slowly trundle across the region over the next few days, pulling up juicy, moisture-laden air from over the Gulf of Mexico. Included in the areas that could see rain are the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma, two areas that have been in a drought for several years and are currently in extreme and exceptional drought.

Balkans - The widespread catastrophic floods in the Balkans are receding, leaving billions in damages to be dealt with by the fragile Balkan economies.

Environment

Rare Sight: Colorado River Reaches Gulf

For the first time in 16 years, freshwater from the Colorado River has flowed into the salty waters of the Gulf of California.

On Thursday (May 15) a high tide surged past a stubborn sandbar and connected the river with the Sea of Cortez, said Francisco Zamora, director of the Colorado River Delta Legacy Program for the Sonoran Institute. Because of water use upstream, little flow from the 1,450-mile Colorado River [2,330 kilometres] has reached the sea in 50 years.

The reunion is the end of a 53-day journey for the long-planned Colorado River pulse flow, an artificial flood meant to restore the river's parched delta. The water comes from an international agreement called Minute 319. The plan allocates about 1 percent of the river's flow to a five-year experiment that will mimic spring floods in the delta. The goal is bring back the plants and animals that once thrived in the river's outlet.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Santa María / Santiaguito (Guatemala): Following the partial collapse of the upper part of the Caliente lava dome on 9 May, the activity of Santiaguito has remained relatively low. It consisted mainly in degassing, sometimes interrupted by weak to moderate explosions, and continuing rockfalls in the upper part of the dome.

Fuego (Guatemala): Activity has remained elevated but with a decreasing trend. INSIVUMEH reports weak to moderate strombolian explosions that eject incandescent material to up to 100 m above the crater and produces ash plumes of aup to 500 m height. The lava flow towards the Barranca Taniluyá was reduced to a length of 150 meters. Heavy rainfall generated lahars channeled into the river beds of Las Lajas and El Jute, carrying volcanic material and blocks of different sizes.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.8 Earthquake hits Oaxaca, Mexico.

5.6 Earthquake hits Taiwan.

5.5 Earthquake hits Coquimbo, Chile.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Balleny Islands region.

5.1 Earthquake hits southern Iran.

5.1 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits southern Iran (no 2).

5.0 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.

 

Earthquake Chart

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

The 2014 Atlantic tropical weather season kicked off a couple of weeks ago with the system named Invest 90-E, which brought mudslides to Mexico and beneficial rain to Texas. A new disturbance, predictiably named Invest 91-E, is located several hundred miles from the Mexican coast. This system will deteriorate, as conditions for development will become hostile by tomorrow and movement will be west over colder water.

The eastern Pacific hurricane season ‘officially’ began on May 15; the Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1. The tropical cyclone season runs all year in the western Pacific, and there have already been four tropical storms and a typhoon since January first.

Wildfires

Wildfires - USA

Arizona - Hundreds of firefighters are pouring into northern Arizona to battle a wind-whipped wildfire burning in scenic Oak Creek Canyon near Slide Rock State Park.

Coconino National Forest officials say 200 firefighters are already assigned to the fire, including five Hotshot crews.

An additional 15 Hotshot crews are on order, as well as 10 additional firefighting crews plus dozens of fire engines.

The Slide Fire has forced the evacuations of 100 threatened businesses and homes in a 2-mile stretch north of the state park, and 15 people stayed at a shelter in Flagstaff.

There are no reports so far of injuries or structures burned. Slide Rock State Park is a popular recreation area because of its natural rock water slides.

California - Conditions continue to improve for firefighters working to contain the remaining wildfires burning in Southern California, which have been reduced to three.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.4 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits Guerrero, Mexico.

5.0 Earthquake hits the western Indian-Antarctic ridge.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

No current tropical storms.

Balkans floods swallow up towns, trigger thousands of landslides

Flood- waters triggered more than 3,000 landslides across the Balkans on Sunday, laying waste to entire towns and villages and disturbing land mines left over from the region's 1990s war, along with warning signs that marked the unexploded weapons.

The Balkans' worst flooding since record keeping began forced tens of thousands of people from their homes and threatened to inundate Serbia's main power plant, which supplies electricity to a third of the country and most of the capital, Belgrade.

Authorities organized a frenzied helicopter airlift to get terrified families to safety before the water swallowed up their homes. Many were plucked from rooftops.

Floodwaters receded Sunday in some locations, laying bare the full scale of the damage. Elsewhere, emergency management officials warned that the water would keep rising into Sunday night.

"The situation is catastrophic," said Bosnia's refugee minister, Adil Osmanovic.

Three months' worth of rain fell on the region in three days, producing the worst floods since rainfall measurements began 120 years ago. At least two dozen people have died, with more casualties expected.

The rain caused an estimated 2,100 landslides that covered roads, homes and whole villages throughout hilly Bosnia. Another 1,000 landslides were reported in neighboring Serbia.

The cities of Orasje and Brcko in northeast Bosnia, where the Sava River forms the natural border with Croatia, were in danger of being overwhelmed. Officials in Brcko ordered six villages to be evacuated.

More than a million people have been affected by the floods.

Global Warming

Record Greenland Melt Got Boost from Forest Fires

Without a boost from forest fire ash, warm summer temperatures couldn't have melted nearly all of Greenland's surface ice in 2012, a new study finds.

Soot from raging forest fires in Siberia and North America fell on Greenland's bright white snow and ice in the summer of 2012. Combined with record-high temperatures, the ash kicked the ice sheet's annual summer melt into overdrive, researchers report.

Forest fire soot, also called black carbon, hastens melting, because it darkens Greenland's shimmery white surface, increasing the amount of heat absorbed by the island's surface. It's similar to the difference between wearing a black and white T-shirt on a hot summer day, said lead study author Kaitlin Keegan, a doctoral student at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

The massive melt in 2012 was the first time researchers saw stunning blue surface water ponds in the high altitudes of central and northern Greenland (up to 10,000 feet, or 3,100 meters, above sea level). Similar island-wide melting hit a handful of times in the past 1,000 years, ice layers show.

Wildlife

Fish Die-Off in Los Angeles - USA

Thousands of anchovies turned up dead in Southern California's Marina del Rey over the weekend after suffocating in the harbour, state officials said.

A fish die-off like this hasn't been seen in recent memory at Marina del Ray, a coastal community just north of Los Angeles International Airport.

The anchovies most likely became trapped in the harbor and died of oxygen depletion, investigators with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

Disease

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update

On 15 May 2014, the National IHR Focal Point for the Netherlands notified WHO about a second laboratory confirmed case of MERS-CoV infection in the Netherlands. The case was discovered during the national contact investigation, performed in relation to the first MERS-CoV case in the Netherlands reported on 14 May 2014.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Kilauea (Hawai'i): After a week of many changes here on Kilauea, summit tilemeters recorded slowing inflationary tilt. The summit tiltmeters recorded the start of inflationary tilt at 6:30pm on Saturday May 17th - this suggests that the unusual deflationary tilt recorded since May 10 may have been a DI tilt event that totaled almost 8 microradians before the tilt switched. Because of this deflationary tilt the lava lake dropped around 20m (65ft) is has stabilized at 58m (191ft) below the floor of Halema'uma'u crater. There were 3 days last week that over 100 earthquakes were recorded at the summit of Kilauea each day! Along the East Rift Zone at Pu'u 'O'o minimal activity was recorded. Most of the flows on the crater floor stopped or slowed, however over the past 48 hours the activity to the Northeast and South of the cinder cone gained momentum.

Disease

Cholera in Sudan

Three people are dead after a cholera outbreak in South Sudan's Jonglei state.

Gastroenteritis outbreak in Kashmir

More than 200 people have been affected by an outbreak of gastroenteritis in Qazegund, Kashmir. The locals in the village have been advised to consume boiled water and avoid unhygienic living conditions.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.6 Earthquake hits the North Pacific Ocean.

5.5 Earthquake hits the central east Pacific rise.

5.3 Earthquake hits Albania.

5.2 Earthquake hits the central east Pacific rise.

5.0 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits Fiji.

5.0 Earthquake hits eastern New Guinea, Papua New Guinea.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

No current tropical storms.

NewsBytes:

Serbia — Communities in Serbia and Bosnia battled to protect towns and power plants on Monday from rising flood waters and landslides that have devastated swathes of both countries and killed dozens of people.

Receding waters in some of the areas worst-hit by the heaviest rainfall in the Balkans since records began 120 years ago revealed scenes of devastation - twisted homes, fallen trees and rotting animals.

Authorities in Bosnia estimated some 500,000 people had been evacuated or left their homes, the kind of human displacement not seen since the country's 1992-95 war. The discovery of a body in the north of the country on Monday raised the regional death toll to at least 38.

At least 25,000 people have been evacuated in Serbia.

The River Sava, swollen by a new flood wave from Croatia a day after the rain finally stopped, continued to threaten parts of northern Bosnia and western Serbia, including Serbia's biggest power plant 30 km (18 miles) southwest of the capital, Belgrade.

Hundreds of landslides have caused havoc, particularly in mountainous Bosnia, where the Sava has devastated farmland that is a mainstay of the economy.

The river continued to overwhelm ad hoc flood defences both there and in Serbia.

Soldiers and energy workers worked through the night to build barriers of sandbags to keep the water back from the site and from a second complex, the Kostolac coal-fired plant, east of Belgrade.

Hundreds of volunteers in the capital filled sandbags and stacked them along the banks of Sava. Police issued an appeal for more bags.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

6.1 Earthquake hits off the coast of northern Sumatra.

5.5 Earthquake hits the Samoa Islands.

5.3 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.

5.3 Earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.

5.2 Earthquake hits the Samoa Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Kermedec islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits off the west coast of northern Sumatra.

Wildfires

Wildfires - USA

Eleven brush fires in the area have burned 19,826 acres since they first started on Tuesday, San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob said. The fires prompted thousands of evacuation orders, a massive firefighting response involving agencies from throughout Southern California and an emergency declaration by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Six of the fires, including the destructive Poinsettia fire in Carlsbad, have been fully contained, officials announced at an afternoon news conference.

About 1,000 firefighters, however, continue to battle the Cocos fire in San Marcos, which was just 10% contained and has so far destroyed three homes.

Meanwhile, the 8,000-acre Las Pulgas fire at Camp Pendleton continues to send out plumes of smoke visible from Los Angeles, but there is no indication the fire will move beyond the base or damage structures.

The 6,300-acre Tomahawk fire at at the adjacent Naval Weapons Station Fallbrook also continued to rage.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Batu Tara (Sunda Islands, Indonesia): The volcano has entered a phase of more vigorous explosions again. In the past days, it produced a series of ash plumes that were detected on satellite imagery. VAAC Darwin reported volcanic ash drifting at 8,000 ft (2.4 km) altitude for 50 km to the west.

Fuego (Guatemala): Activity increased at the volcano during Friday-Saturday. Near continuous mild to moderate strombolian explosions were observed and a new lava flow was erupted on the upper southern flank. Judging from the seismic signal, activity has decreased again today.

Ubinas (Peru): Ash emissions have become near continuous and produce a plume extending approx 100 km to the NE of the volcano. Seismic activity is elevated.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.9 Earthquake hits the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge.

5.6 Earthquake hits the southern Atlantic Ocean.

5.5 Earthquake hits Antofagasta, Chile.

5.5 Earthquake hits offshore Tarapaca, Chile.

5.3 Earthquake hits Salta, Argentina.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Ascension Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits Antigua and Barbuda.

5.0 Earthquake hits southern Sumatra, Indonesia.

5.0 Earthquake hits Antigua and Barbuda.

Disease

Ebola virus disease, West Africa – update

As of 18:00 on 12 May 2014, the Ministry of Health (MOH) of Guinea has reported a cumulative total of 248 clinical cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD), including 171 deaths. Since the last update of 9 May 2014, there have been five new cases confirmed by ebolavirus PCR and no new deaths among the confirmed cases.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update

The following cases of laboratory confirmed Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) have been reported from Jordan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

Human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus – update

On 12 May 2014, the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) of China notified WHO of five additional laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

No current tropical storms.

NewsBytes:

Serbia — Tens of thousands fled their homes Saturday in Bosnia and Serbia, evacuated by boat or helicopter as rising waters surged into villages and towns. Authorities said the record flooding killed at least 20 people and the death toll could rise further.

Meteorologists say the flooding is the worst since records began 120 years ago and is due to a three-month amount of rain that fell on the region in just three days. Goran Mihajlovic from Serbia's Weather Center told The Associated Press that such a rainfall happens once in 100 years.

In the eastern Bosnian town of Bijeljina, some 10,000 people were being evacuated Saturday after the rain-swollen Sava River pushed through flood defenses.

Volcanos

New Underwater Volcano Discovered in Hawaii

The sprawling chain of Hawaiian volcanoes just added another underwater branch.

The discovery means Oahu once towered above the ocean with three volcanic peaks, the researchers said. Until now, scientists thought Oahu was built by two volcanoes — Wai'anae on the west and Ko'olau on the east.

The new volcano, named Ka'ena, was born in the deep underwater channel south of Kauai about 5 million years ago, according to the study, published May 2 in the Geological Society of America Bulletin. Sometime later, Wai'anae rose on Ka'ena's flanks and therefore breached the sea first, breaking through the waves 3.9 million years ago. The researchers think Ko'olau surfaced after that, about 3 million years ago.

Ka'ena volcano is about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) high, but only reached about 3,000 feet above sea level, Sinton said. As Oahu's first-born, Ka'ena is the shortest of the three volcanoes because it had to grow farthest from the seafloor to the ocean surface. But the researchers know Ka'ena was once an island peak, because the underwater mountain is capped by lavas with textures that only form in air. With a remotely operated vehicle, the researchers also spied a sandy beach strewn with shark teeth.

Oahu's volcanoes died out about 2 million years ago, and like all of Hawaii's islands, their massive bulk is slowly sinking, hiding Ka'ena beneath the sea.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.8 Earthquake hits the Antigua and Barbuda Region.

5.4 Earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits near the coast of northern Peru.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Samoa Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits Pakistan.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

No current tropical storms.

NewsBytes:

Florida, Kentucky USA - The National Weather Service reported a tornado briefly touched ground Thursday at about 2:30 p.m. one mile west of Miami International Airport.

The National Weather Service says two tornadoes caused damage in Kentucky on Wednesday, but no injuries were reported. The stronger tornado hit about 5 miles north-northeast of Hopkinsville in Christian County at about 4:30 p.m. CDT, causing minor damage to buildings and trees. The weather service classified it as an EF2 with 125 mph winds. Earlier, another tornado hit 5 miles southeast of Shepherdsville in Bullitt County at about 2:30 p.m. EDT. That twister was classified as an EF0, the mildest.

Serbia - The heaviest rains and floods in 120 years hit Serbia and Bosnia this week, killing three people, cutting off electricity and leaving several towns and villages isolated. Serbian power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) said on Thursday high water levels on the Morava river have forced it to halt two hydro power plants with a combined capacity of 34 megawatts. The Serbian government has declared a state of emergency due to flash floods caused by the heavy rain throughout the country. 2 people were reported to have drowned in the floods.

Global Warming

Study: Global warming pushing hurricanes out of tropics

Tropical cyclones worldwide are moving out of the tropics and more toward the poles and generally larger populations, likely because of global warming, a surprising new study finds. Atlantic hurricanes, however, don't follow this trend.

While other studies have looked at the strength and frequency of the storms, which are called hurricanes in North America, this is the first study that looks at where they are geographically when they peak. It found in the last 30 years, tropical cyclones, regardless of their size, are peaking 33 miles farther north each decade in the Northern Hemisphere and 38 miles farther south each decade in the Southern Hemisphere.

That means about 100 miles toward the more populous mid-latitudes since 1982, the starting date for the study released Wednesday by the journal Nature.

The trend, however, is not statistically significant in the Atlantic basin, where storms threaten the U.S. East Coast. In the Atlantic region, the study has seen a northward drift of storms of only 4 miles a decade, which just could be random.

The scientists say the changes start with man-made global warming, which alters air circulation from the tropics to just farther north and south. In the tropics, those changes increase upper atmosphere wind shifts called shear that weaken cyclone development. At higher latitudes the changes decrease the storm-decapitating shear, making those areas more favourable for storm intensification.

Environment

Global Temperature Extremes

The week's hottest temperature was 116.6 degrees Fahrenheit (47.0 degrees Celsius) at Linguère, Senegal.

The week's coldest temperature was minus 92.7 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 69.3 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Vostok Antarctic research station.

Temperatures were tabulated from the more than 10,000 worldwide synoptic weather stations. The United Nations World Meteorological Organization sets the standards for weather observations, and provides a global telecommunications circuit for data distribution.

Wildfires

Wildfires - USA

The wildfires raging across Southern California have scorched more than 10,000 acres, with crews struggling to protect hundreds of homes from advancing flames.

At a news conference Thursday afternoon, officials said an 18-unit apartment complex in Carlsbad and at least seven houses had been destroyed in the more than half-dozen brush fires that have flared up in San Diego County since Wednesday.

Residents have been urged to heed evacuation orders as they come. Officials said evacuation notices covering 13,000 homes and businesses in San Marcos had been issued. Meanwhile, hundreds of people were checked into shelters, waiting for word on the status their homes.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

6.7 Earthquake hits the State of Yap, Micronesia.

6.5 Earthquake hits the State of Yap, Micronesia.

6.3 Earthquake hits Negros in the Philippines.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms

No current tropical storms.

NewsBytes:

Kenya - President Yoweri Museveni traveled to the western district of Kasese on Wednesday to assess the damage caused by the floods after River Nyamwamba burst its banks which left four people dead.

Disease

Philippines - Diarrhoea Outbreak

A diarrhea outbreak that hit remote villages in North Cotabato province has been contained, but the cause of the disease remained unknown, officials said Wednesday.

The number of patients at Alamada Community Hospital had been reduced after many of them have been rehydrated when health workers responded just in time to arrest the outbreak.

Health authorities said eight people were confirmed dead from the outbreak

According to hospital records, there were about 600 patients who suffered vomiting, diarrhoea, and stomach pain, while more than 70 percent of them have recovered and returned home.

American Samoa - Amoebic dysentery

Epidemiologists in American Samoa are investigating an outbreak of the protozoan parasite, Entamoeba histolytica, which according to report, has sickened more than two dozen.

Half of the 26 people stricken with amoebic dysentery have been hospitalized for their illness.

Amoebic dysentery especially attacks the intestines and kind of eats its way into the wall of the intestines; it causes abdominal pain, it causes bloody diarrhoea, fever.

Amebiasis is a disease caused by the parasite Entamoeba histolytica. It can affect anyone, although it is more common in people who live in tropical areas with poor sanitary conditions.

USA - Measles

A measles outbreak in Ohio has reached 68 cases, giving the state the dubious distinction of having the most cases reported in any state since 1996, health officials say.

The Ohio outbreak is part of a larger worrisome picture: As of Friday, the federal Centres for Disease Control and Prevention had logged 187 cases nationwide in 2014, closing in on last year's total of 189. CDC warned several weeks ago that the country could end up having the worst year for measles since home-grown outbreaks were eradicated in 2000.

Wildfires

Wildfires - USA

San Diego - Thousands of people fled their homes ahead of an aggressive wildfire that destroyed several houses in the city of Carlsbad as a heat wave gripped Southern California, sparking blazes in several spots in the region.

Mandatory evacuations were in progress, and more than 11,000 notices were sent to homes and businesses, city officials said.

The blaze was one of several wildfires that firefighters in San Diego County were battling amid hot, dry and windy conditions.

Two homes could be seen burning in TV broadcasts from Carlsbad. State fire Capt. Mike Moehler told KCAL-TV that structures were actively burning, but he didn't know how many.

A power outage also shut down the city's Legoland California amusement park.

Another wildfire further north forced the evacuation of residents in military housing at Camp Pendleton, and the closure of an elementary school on the Marine Corps base. A third fire spread from a burning vehicle on coastal Interstate 5 to roadside brush near the northwest corner of the Marine base.

State fire officials say triple digit temperatures and dry conditions from the drought were making for an unusually busy firefighting season.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Sinabung (Sumatra, Indonesia): Activity at the volcano remains weak. Slow lava extrusion continues along with occasional ash venting and small pyroclastic flows triggered by collapse of parts of the viscous lava lobe on the southern flank.

Merapi (Central Java, Indonesia): PVMBG reported that during 2-8 May white plumes rose as high as 650 m above Merapi. Thumping noises continued to be reported from multiple observation posts. Seismicity fluctuated but remained above background levels. The Alert Level remained at 2 (on a scale of 1-4) on 29 April.

Dukono (Halmahera): Activity at the volcano seems to be increasing - the sighting of ash plumes on satellite imagery has become a daily job of VAAC Darwin's watchful crew. This morning, a volcanic ash plume at estimated 10,000 ft (3 km) altitude extended 25 nautical miles from the volcano to the south.

Shishaldin (United States, Aleutian Islands): The Alaska Volcano Observatory believed that the activity at the volcano has a bit increased. Satellite data show persistent high temperatures in the summit crater which could be lava flows, or even a small lava lake, likely produced by episodes of lava fountains. The heat signals detected went along with increasing volcanic tremor detected. There is no visual confirmation of such activity so far; webcam images only show a weak degassing plume, but these images are too distant to allow detailed interpretations. The aviation alert level remained at Orange.

Santa María / Santiaguito (Guatemala): As expected, heavy rainfalls triggered a hot lahar (turbulent flow of mud, boulders and ash deposits mixed with water) that traveled down the Nima I river valley yesterday. The lahar carried lava blocks up to 2 m in diameter as well as many tree branches and trunks. Abundant steam and sulfur gasses were released from the flowing masses. The lahar passed near the volcano observatory like a mix of "cement", where it let the ground vibrate, increased water content and speed as it reached the Samala river. Similar rainfall could cause other lahars in the river San Isidro, the other important tributary of the Samala river. (INSIVUMEH)

San Miguel (El Salvador): During the past 2 days, seismic activity at the volcano has shown a sharp increase after it had been gradually decreasing since late February. The latest bulletins published by SNET suggest that the most likely expected eruption would be strombolian-type with associated lava flows, probably on the north side of the volcano

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.5 Earthquake off the coast of Tarapaca, Chile.

5.3 Earthquake hits south of Panama.

5.3 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.

5.2 Earthquake hits Juyjuy, Argentina.

5.1 Earthquake hits south of Panama.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Bougainville region, Papua New Guinea.

5.0 Earthquake hits the northern Mid-Atlantic ridge.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.

Disease

Chikungunya Disease Outbreak in Haiti

According to Ronald Singer, a spokesman for Haiti’s health ministry, at least 1,529 cases of the chikungunya virus have been confirmed. Of these, about 900 of them, were found in the west department, where the capital of Port-au-Prince is located. Another 300 cases were confirmed in northwestern Haiti.

This is up dramatically from the 14 confirmed cases just less than a week ago.

MERS emergency meeting held by World Health Organization

A panel of experts at the World Health Organization is debating whether the increase in MERS virus cases in the Arabian Peninsula and its global spread amount to a "public health emergency of international concern" that warrants greater awareness and precautions.

Worldwide, the MERS virus has sickened more than 530, including 145 deaths since September 2012, according to WHO. It was in late March that the 200-cases mark was crossed.

"It's pretty clear we're not seeing all of the cases, we're not hearing about all of the cases and also we're now seeing seeding from places like Saudi Arabia to other countries," said Dr. Michael Gardam, director of infection prevention and control at the University Health Network in Toronto.

Symptoms of Middle East respiratory syndrome include cough, fever and sometimes fatal pneumonia. It is caused by the MERS coronavirus, a cousin of the SARS or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus that killed around 800 people worldwide after first appearing in China in 2002. Coronaviruses are also a cause of the common cold.

Wildfires

Wildfires - USA

San Diego, USA - Wildfires pushed by gusty winds chewed through canyons parched by California's drought, prompting evacuation orders for more than 20 000 homes.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): After a series of powerful explosions on 10 May, which produced ash plumes up to 18,000 ft (5.5 km) altitude, the volcano has been quieter again over the past days.

Dukono (Halmahera): Explosive activity continues at the volcano. An ash plume was last seen at 8,000 ft (2.4 km) altitude extending 80 km to the SW yesterday.

Reventador (Ecuador): The lava flows on the slopes of the summit cone are no longer active, but intermittent explosions of small to medium size continue to occur.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

6.8 Earthquake hits south of Panama.

No tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage.

5.8 Earthquake hits the southern east Pacific rise.

5.3 Earthquake hits off the coast of Oregon.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Maug Islands in the North Mariana Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.

Environment

Catastrophic Collapse of West Antarctic Ice Sheet Begins

The catastrophic collapse of the massive West Antarctic Ice Sheet is underway.

The biggest glaciers in West Antarctica are haemorrhaging ice without any way to stem the loss, according to two independent studies. The unstoppable retreat is the likely start of a long-feared domino effect that could cause the entire ice sheet to melt, whether or not greenhouse gas emissions decline.

"These glaciers will keep retreating for decades and even centuries to come and we can't stop it," said lead study author Eric Rignot, a glaciologist at the University of California, Irvine, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "A large sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has passed the point of no return."

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet holds 10 percent of Antarctica's ice. Glaciers here sit in a giant bowl, with their base below sea level, making melting a concern since the 1970s. As the ice retreats into the bowl, it shrinks back into deeper water, making the glaciers unstable. Like frozen levees, the retreating glaciers pin back more stable parts of the Greenland-size ice sheet. Their collapse threatens the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Two papers published today in the journal Geophysical Research Letters and Science used different approaches to forecast the future of West Antarctica's shrinking glaciers. One study tracked the region's biggest glaciers for 40 years, and concluded from direct observations that the ice is unstoppable. The other relies on sophisticated computer models to predict the future melting of Thwaites Glacier, the biggest of West Antarctica's frozen ice rivers.

Both studies conclude that even dramatic changes in climate won't stop the retreat, because the glaciers are shrinking back into deep valleys with no ridges or mountains to halt their rapid pace. Any high topography can act like a speed bump and slow the galloping glaciers.

The good news is that sea-level rise will be relatively small in the coming centuries, according to the Thwaites Glacier model published today in the journal Science. "Over the next few centuries, the rate of sea level rise will be pretty moderate," said lead study author Ian Joughin, a glaciologist at the University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory.

But the rapid retreat seen in the past 40 years means that in the coming decades, sea-level rise will likely exceed this century's sea-level rise projections of 3 feet (90 centimeters) by 2100, issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

If all of West Antarctica melts, the collapse is predicted to raise sea level by 11 to 13 feet (3.3 to 4 meters).

The Antarctic Peninsula has been warming rapidly for at least a half-century, and continental West Antarctica has been getting steadily hotter for 30 years or more. But researchers suspect the ice is melting from below, not from above. Changing wind patterns are believed to be driving warm water up beneath West Antarctica's glaciers, "eating away at their feet".

From satellite observations such as radar interferometry, Rignot and his colleagues conclude a common cause underlies the retreat of West Antarctica's largest glaciers, including Pine Island Glacier, known for cleaving massive icebergs, and its neighbour, Thwaites Glacier. The others are Haynes, Smith and Kohler glaciers.

"One of the most striking features is they have been reacting almost simultaneously," Rignot said. "We do think this is related to climate warming."

Wildfires

Wildfires - USA

Texas Panhandle Wildfire Destroys 156 Buildings, Including 89 Homes, Near Fritch

A grass fire that swept through Hutchinson County in the Texas Panhandle on Sunday destroyed 156 structures, at least 89 of which were homes, authorities said late Monday.

Hutchinson County Emergency Management officials said no injures have been reported. But about 2,100 people remain evacuated from roughly 1,300 homes, said Troy Duchneaux, Texas A&M Forest Service spokesman.

The fire, which burned near Fritch, town of about 2,100 located 30 miles northeast of Amarillo, was about 65 percent contained as of late Monday night, and humidity and lower temperatures from area storms were helping, Duchneaux said.

New Mexico wildfire forces evacuations, threatens college town

A wind-fed wildfire in New Mexico raged out of control on Monday, sending heavy smoke wafting over the outskirts of a college town and forcing local authorities to warn residents of a nearby community to evacuate, the U.S. Forest Service said.

The so-called Signal Peak Fire has burned 3,000 acres since erupting on Sunday in the Gila National Forest, fed by tinder-dry conditions and high winds, with gusts exceeding 25 miles per hour, according to U.S. Forest Service spokesman Brian Martinez.

No injuries have been reported but the small mountain town of Pinos Altos, home to 198 year-round residents, is under voluntary evacuation conditions with an unknown number of structures in danger.

Thick smoke is spreading toward Silver City, a town of just over 10,000 people and home to Western New Mexico University, Martinez said. The edge of the fire was burning 11 miles outside the town.

Disease

Ebola virus disease, West Africa – update

As of 18:00 on 10 May 2014, the Ministry of Health (MOH) of Guinea has reported a cumulative total of 233 clinical cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), including 157 deaths. Since the last update of 9 May 2014, there have been no new cases confirmed by ebolavirus PCR and no new deaths bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 129, including 83 deaths.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update

On 3 and 6 May 2014, the IHR National Focal Point of Jordan notified WHO of two additional laboratory-confirmed cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) infections.

A second case of a relatively new and deadly virus known as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus has been reported in the United States, the CDC said.

Volcanos

Roundup of Global Volcanic Activity

Kilauea (Hawai'i): Some big changes in eruption activity here on Kilauea over the past few days. In the past 24 hours alone, 65 earthquakes were strong enough to be located beneath Kilauea Volcano! Gas emissions continued to be elevated at the summit over the past week as well.

Perhaps the biggest change in eruption activity was that the summit tiltmeters recorded almost 4 microradians of (possibly DI) deflationary tilt. The lava-lake level dropped slightly but is still at a measured 51m (167ft) below the floor of Halema'uma'u crater.

On the east rift zone at Pu'u 'O'o cinder cone, the USGS recorded about -2.3 microradians of deflationary tilt over the past 2 days. Via webcams glow is persistent from the north, south, and northeast spatter cones on the Pu'u 'O'o crater floor. From our observations, it looks as though the lava that spilled over the edge of the cinder cone last week to the south is forming a channel and, possibly a lava tube in turn, pointing towards the ocean. We are excited about this new activity on the east rift zone, which may allow us to safely and legally access surface flows once again here on Kilauea!

Currently erupting volcanos:

Ambrym (Vanuatu): active lava lakes in several craters

Bagana (Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea): ash explosions

Barren Island (Indian Ocean): intermittent activity, likely strombolian-type and/or lava flows

Batu Tara (Sunda Islands, Indonesia): strombolian explosions, ash plumes up to 500 m, extrusion of a small lava dome with rockfalls

Colima (Western Mexico): extrusion of lava flow from summit, intermittent explosions

Dukono (Halmahera): thermal anomaly, probably small explosive activity in summit crater

Erebus (Antarctica): active lava lake in summit crater

Erta Ale (Ethiopia): active lava lake in northern pit crater, active hornito with intermittent flow in southern crater

Fuego (Guatemala): frequent moderate to large strombolian explosions

Gamalama (Halmahera): ash eruptions since 17 Sep

Grozny (Iturup Island): fumarolic activity

Heard (Australia, Southern Indian Ocean): likely lava lake in summit crater

Ibu (Halmahera, Indonesia): growing lava dome, occasional ash emissions

Karkar (Northeast of New Guinea): possible ash eruption on 1 February

Karymsky (Kamchatka): occasional small explosions, thermal anomaly

Kavachi (Solomon Islands): no eruption since 2007

Kilauea (Hawai'i): lava lakes in Halemau'uma'u and Pu'u 'O'o, lava flows on coastal flat and weakly active ocean entries

Kizimen (Kamchatka): degassing

Lokon-Empung (North Sulawesi, Indonesia): small explosions, lava flow?

Manam (Papua New Guinea): degassing, occasional ash venting

Marapi (Western Sumatra, Indonesia): sporadic explosions

Nishino-shima (Volcano Islands): lava effusion enlarging the new island

Nyiragongo (DRCongo): active lava lake in summit crater

Ol Doinyo Lengai (Tanzania): effusion of natrocarbonatite lava inside the crater

Reventador (Ecuador): intermittent explosions, lava fountaining and lava flow emission on 23-24 April

Sakurajima (Kyushu, Japan): ash venting, intermittent explosions

Santa María / Santiaguito (Guatemala): Santiaguito volcano (Guatemala): lava flow on south flank of dome becomes more active

Semeru (East Java, Indonesia): growing lava dome, ash venting and small to moderate explosions

Shiveluch (Kamchatka): growing lava dome, incandescent avalanches, occasional explosions

Sinabung (Sumatra, Indonesia): effusion of viscous lava, steaming, ash emissions

Slamet (Central Java): strombolian explosions from central crater

Stromboli (Eolian Islands, Italy): continuing lava overflows

Suwanose-jima (Ryukyu Islands): strombolian activity in summit crater

Tinakula (Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands): increased activity at the volcano

Tungurahua (Ecuador): strombolian activity, effusion of lava flow on upper NW flank

Yasur (Tanna Island, Vanuatu): ash emissions, weak strombolian explosions