Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.5 Earthquake hits south of the Kermedec Islands.
5.3 Earthquake hits Tonga.
5.1 Earthquake hits near the coast of Ecuador.
5.1 Earthquake hits the Bonin Islands off Japan.
5.0 Earthquake hits offshore Chiapas, Mexico.
Nepal - A 4.0 magnitude earthquake on Sunday morning was the 437th aftershock of magnitude 4.0 or greater to hit Nepal after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake.
Wildfires - Nepal
Numerous small wildfires in Nepal have triggered dry landslides in many places on the Dipayal-Dadheldhura road section of KI Singh Highway, posing a threat to vehicles using the route.
Acting Forest Officer Laxmi Joshi deplored the local practice of setting fire to the forest and said, “While in many cases it’s the locals who do this to let new grass grow and the hunters, intent on poaching wildlife there, in other cases such wildfires are caused by the negligence of smokers.”
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.5 earthquake hits south of the Kermedec Islands.
5.1 Earthquake hits Tonga.
5.0 Earthquake hits offshore El Salvador.
5.0 Earthquake hits the southwestern Ryukyu Islands off Japan.
Nepal - Indian scientists claim that extensive groundwater extraction in the Indo-Gangetic Plain over the last five decades has "significantly" contributed to the killer April 25, 2015, Nepal temblor and "probably all earthquakes" in the region beneath the Himalayan arc.
Japan - Three former executives at a Japanese power giant have been formally charged with negligence over the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant. The trio, formerly of Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), will be the first to go to court over the incident. A citizen's panel ruled last year they should face trial, forcing prosecutors to pursue the case. The Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered a series of meltdowns following a massive earthquake and tsunami. Prosecutors in Tokyo had twice decided against pressing charges, citing insufficient evidence. But in a rare legal move, the panel's ruling forced a compulsory indictment of the three. The panel said the three men did not take sufficient measures despite being warned of a risk of a tsunami near the Fukushima plant. They plan to plead not guilty on the grounds they could not have anticipated the size of the tsunami.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
No current tropical storms.
NewsBytes:
Spain - Strong winds and snow storms across Spain have claimed the lives of at least two female hikers. The two women were found late Sunday in the Tinenca de Benifassa mountain area. The two women along with a man had gone missing on Saturday. A search helicopter rescued the man. The heavy storm left more than 10,000 homes without power in Aragón and Navarra.
Jakarta - Flash flooding in Greater Jakarta has claimed life of a toddler and caused evacuation of hundreds of residents.
Idaho, USA - Snow in eastern Idaho buried three children underneath, resulting in the death of a 2-year-old child Friday night. The disaster occurred in the Mack's Inn area.
Italy - Heavy storms have claimed lives of at least five people in the Italian peninsula. Italy's Civil Protection authority has issued further storm warnings across South Lombardy, Veneto, Friuli–Venezia Giulia, Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, Sardinia, Umbria, Lazio, Abruzzo and Molise.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.9 Earthquake hits offshore Coquimbo, Chile.
5.6 Earthquake hits the Volcano Islands off Japan.
5.5 Earthquake hits Nepal.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Strait of Gibraltar.
5.0 Earthquake hits the Xizang-Nepal border.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.1 Earthquake hits Taiwan.
The very strong earthquake in Taiwan today claimed the lives of at least 7 people and toppled several buildings in Tainan. 35 people are still trapped in the rubble. About 6,000 households in the Yungkang, Shanhua, Kueijen, and Yujing districts are suffering power outages, while some 400,000 households have no water supply. Taiwan's official Central News Agency reported that bullet trains would not run in southern Taiwan until at least 5 p.m.
5.5 Earthquake hits Fiji.
5.1 Earthquake hits the Xizang-Nepal border region.
5.1 Earthquake hits Fiji.
5.0 Earthquake hits Vanuatu.
5.0 Earthquake hits New Ireland, Papua New Guinea.
5.0 Earthquake hits New Guinea, Papua New Guinea.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.8 Earthquake hits Vanuatu.
5.6 Earthquake hits north Ascension Island.
5.4 Earthquake hits Nepal.
5.1 Earthquake hits Fiji.
5.0 Earthquake hits off the coast of Central America.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.8 Earthquake hits the Solomon Islands.
5.1 Earthquake hits Jujuy, Argentina.
5.1 Earthquake hits the Solomon Islands.
5.1 Earthquake hits south of the Kermedec Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits Nepal.
5.0 Earthquake hits Greece.
5.0 Earthquake hits southern Sumatra, Indonesia.
5.0 Earthquake hits southwest of Sumatra, Indonesia.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical Storm Nora is located about 595 mi...960 km se of Hilo Hawaii with maximum sustained winds...45 mph...75 km/h. Present movement...WNW or 295 degrees at 10 mph...17 km/h.
Tropical Depression Twenty-four is located approximately 303 nm west-northwest of Andersen AFB, Guam and is tracking westward at 29 knots.
Tropical Depression Twenty-five is located approximately 380 nm north-northeast of Pohnpei, FSM and is tracking west-northwestward at 11 knots.
Invest 96E is an area of disturbed weather in the East Pacific that has the potential for tropical development.
NewsBytes:
Nepal - A lightning strike in the Pyuthan district has claimed the lives of two people and injured 10 others.
Albania - Albanian authorities say flooding caused by heavy rains has damaged highways, forced power cuts and claimed the life of a man when his car was washed away.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical Storm Erika is located about 155 mi...250 km ESE of Santo Domingo Dominican Republic and about 430 mi...690 km ESE of Great Inagua Island with maximum sustained winds...50 mph...85 km/h. Present movement...WNW or 290 degrees at 17 mph...28 km/h.
Tropical Storm Erika lashed Puerto Rico early Friday with heavy rains and wind after killing four people and causing devastating floods in the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, where several people remained missing.
The storm was expected to dump up to 12 inches (31 centimetres) of rain across portions of the drought-stricken northern Caribbean as it carved a path toward the U.S. Forecasters said Erika might fall apart over Hispaniola or Puerto Rico or possibly strengthen into a hurricane as it nears South Florida early next week.
Hurricane Ignacio is located about 890 mi...1430 km ESE of Hilo Hawaii and about 1100 mi...1770 km ESE of Honolulu Hawaii with maximum sustained winds...90 mph...150 km/h. Present movement...WNW or 295 degrees at 12 mph...19 km/h.
Tropical Storm Kilo is located about 35 mi...55 km NW of Johnston Island and about 905 mi...1460 km se of Midway Island with maximum sustained winds...70 mph...110 km/h. Present movement...WSW or 255 degrees at 7 mph...11 km/h.
Hurricane Jimena is located about 1045 mi...1680 km SW of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds...80 mph...130 km/h, Present movement...W or 270 degrees at 14 mph...22 km/h
NewsBytes:
Nepal - A heavy downpour in Bhaktapur on Thursday inundated at least 60 houses. The flooding caused by the swollen Hanumante river has flooded temporary shelters for earthquake survivors in the district.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.2 Earthquake hits offshore El Salvador.
5.1 Earthquake hits Nepal.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
5.4 Earthquake hits eastern New Guinea, Papua New Guinea.
4.8 Earthquake hits Kahule in Nepal and triggers a landslide in Kushav Tamang which killed one person.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical Storm Hilda is located about 270 mi...435 km se of Hilo Hawaii and about 480 mi...770 km se of Honolulu Hawaii with maximum sustained winds...45 mph...75 km/h. Present movement...NW or 305 degrees at 5 mph...7 km/h.
Tropical Storm 15w (Molave), located approximately 435 nm east of Yokosuka, Japan, and is tracking east-northeastward at 13 knots.
Invest 93E remains an area of disturbed weather in the East Pacific that has the potential for tropical development.
NewsBytes:
China - At least 26 people remain missing after a landslide in China's northwest Shaanxi province. About 1 million cubic metres of mud buried dormitories and homes owned by the Shaanxi Wuzhou Mining Company in Shanyang county early on Wednesday. Officials said 14 people had been rescued, the operations had been greatly hampered by heavy rain. Fifteen dormitories and three residential buildings were buried, trapping at least 40 people initially.
Britain - Parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland have been having an unusually cool and wet summer so far. Some crops are failing and animals are being brought in from the fields early. There has even been snow on the mountains.
North Korea - Flooding in Democratic People's Republic of Korea has claimed the lives of at least 21 people and left nine others missing. Torrential rainfall between August 1 and 5 triggered flooding in South Hwanghae, South Hamgyong and North Hamgyong provinces. According to the State Committee for Disaster Management, more than 690 houses have been completely destroyed affecting about 3,400 people.
Nepal - At least nine people have died due to landslides in Doti and Gulmi districts, according to the Nepal Police.
Colorado, USA - Parts of Colorado are getting pounded with immense rain, including one city that had flood waters sweeping away vehicles.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical Storm Guillermo is located about 1475 mi...2370 km SW of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds...40 mph...65 km/h. Present movement...WNW or 285 degrees at 15 mph...24 km/h.
Tropical Cyclone 02b (Two), located approximately 12 nm north of Chittagong, Bangladesh, is tracking at 05 knots.
Tropical Depression Eight-E is located about 1110 mi...1790 km E of Hilo Hawaii with maximum sustained winds...30 mph...45 km/h. Present movement...W or 270 degrees at 15 mph...24 km/h.
Tropical Depression 13w (Thirteen), located approximately 414 nm north-northeast of Pohnpei, FSM, is tracking northwestward at 14 knots.
Invest 91E is an area of disturbed weather in the East Pacific that has the potential for tropical development.
Invest 94L is an area of disturbed weather in the North Atlantic that has the potential for tropical development.
NewsBytes:
Nepal - Landslides set off by heavy rain struck several villages in Kaski, a popular tourist area in western Nepal, killing at least 24 people. At least 17 other people were missing, and the death toll could rise. Many houses were buried.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical storm 09w (Chan-Hom), located approximately 274 nm southeast of Andersen AFB, is tracking northeastward at 07 knots.
Tropical cyclone 25p (Raquel), located approximately 1067 nm east-northeast of Cairns, Australia, is tracking southward at 02 knots.
Tropical storm 10w (Linfa), located approximately 292 nm east of Manila, Philippines, is tracking southwestward at 07 knots
NewsBytes:
China, Update - More than 20 million people in 20 provinces have been affected, with 108 dead and 21 missing. And more than one million people have been evacuated and roughly 44,000 houses have collapsed. Some of the worst-affected areas are in Hunan, Sichuan and Fujian. Torrential rain started to sweep across the Yangtze River, Huai River and Tai Lake regions last Friday, with a 210,000 sq km area recording 50mm of falls since then. The Tai Lake area has received an average of 112mm of rain and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River 110mm.
Nepal - Two people died and one went missing in floods triggered by heavy rains in Ilam and Morang districts on Wednesday. Floods and landslides also displaced hundreds of people, destroyed large areas of farmland and disrupted vehicular movement in several other districts.
Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global
6.3 Earthquake hits Tonga.
5.4 Earthquake hits the Galapagos Islands.
5.4 Earthquake hits Tonga.
5.3 Earthquake hits the Mariana Islands.
5.0 Earthquake hits Nepal.
5.0 Earthquake hitsTonga.
5.0 Earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical cyclone (tc) 01a (Ashobaa), located approximately 74 nm east-northeast of Masirah Island, Oman, is tracking westward at 04 knots
Tropical Storm Carlos is located about 165 mi...265 km SSW of Acapulco Mexico and about 215 mi...345 km SSE of Zihuatanejo Mexico with maximum sustained winds...60 mph...95 km/h. Present movement...stationary.
Hazards affecting land - wind: tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area by Saturday night. Rainfall: locally heavy rains could spread over portions of the
southern coast of Mexico, primarily in the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, during the next couple of days. Surf: swells associated with the depression are expected to increase near the coast of southern Mexico during the next few days. These swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
NewsBytes:
Nepal - The death toll in the Taplejung landslide has risen to 53, with at least 12 more injured. More than 25 houses were swept away. In a separate incident, flooding and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall in Sankhuwasabha, Nepal have claimed one life. The floods have washed away more than a dozen bridges in the district.
May Was America's Wettest Month on Record
Most residents in flood-ravaged parts of America’s southern Plains won’t argue with the finding that May turned out to be the wettest month since record-keeping began 121 years ago.
The average rainfall for the month across the contiguous United States was 4.36 inches, or 1.45 inches greater than average.
NOAA climate scientist Jake Crouch calculated that more than 200 trillion gallons of water fell from the American sky during May.
Despite the Texas and Oklahoma deluges during the month, the states of Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and South Carolina each recorded a top 10 driest May ever.
The cloudbursts in the Plains resulted from a stalled weather pattern that allowed storm after storm to pass over the same areas.
The weather shift ended a five-year drought in Texas and Oklahoma.
The record rainfall in the southern Great Plains was in contrast to the arid conditions experienced in the East and along the Pacific Coast of the United States.
Tropical Storms - Roundup of Tropical Storms:
Tropical cyclone (tc) 01a (Ashobaa), located approximately 104 nm east-northeast of Masirah Island, Oman, is tracking westward at 05 knots
Tropical depression Three-E is located about 265 mi...425 km S of Acapulco Mexico with maximum sustained winds...35 mph...55 km/h. Present movement...NW or 305 degrees at 8 mph...13 km/h. Hazards affecting land - rainfall: locally heavy rains could spread over portions of the southern coast of Mexico, primarily in the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, during the next couple of days. Surf: swells associated with the depression are expected to increase near the coast of southern Mexico during the next few days. These swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
NewsBytes:
Malaysia - A tornado in the Kinabatangan district of Sabah, Malaysia has flattened two buildings and blew off the roofs of several other structures at an oil palm plantation.
Nepal - A landslide triggered by heavy rainfall buried at least 21 people and left dozens missing as they were sleeping at night in six villages in Nepal's mountainous northeast. Rescuers dug out the bodies and searched the rubble for survivors in Taplejung district, about 310 miles east of the capital, Kathmandu. At least 24 people are missing but the number could be higher.
Louisiana, USA - A surging Red River that flooded northwest Louisiana this week, damaging hundreds of structures and displacing scores of people, slowly began to recede on Wednesday but was still expected to be above flood stage for several more days.
Floods in Norway
Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes in parts of Norway because of flooding caused by heavy rainfall aggravated by the spring melting of snow in the mountains, Norwegian media reported on Thursday.
Some 50 roads were also shut and two railway lines were closed because of the flooding and landslides.
Southeastern Norway has experienced several days of heavy rains.
Tornado in South Cotabato, Philippines
A Tornado in South Cotabato, in the Philippines has destroyed eight houses affecting 33 families.
Flooding in Nawalparasi, Nepal
Floods swept away a road at Lokaha of Nawalparasi district. The Mahendra Highway, the national highway has been closed in this section.
Avalanche in Nepal
At least five mountaineers have been killed in an avalanche while returning from the peak of Mt Kanchenjunga in Nepal. Rescue helicopters have failed to locate them due to bad weather. Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world located in Nepal.
China colliery flood kills 9
At least nine miners are dead and one reported missing in coal mine flooding in Zhangqiu in Shandong Province of China. The coal mine flood occurred on May 23, 2013 but local authorities confirmed the news today. Colliery owner and others involved in the accident have been taken in custody. Chinese coal mines are notoriously unsafe.
Other News:
Washington Bridge Collapses
An interstate highway bridge over the Skagit River in Washington State collapsed Thursday evening (May 23), injuring three.
The bridge, located about 60 miles (nearly 100 kilometers) north of Seattle on I-5, collapsed after being struck by an 18-wheel truck carrying a drill rig, various news sources reported.
The bridge, which was built in 1955, was rated as functionally obsolete — basically old — and fracture critical. That designation means there was no redundancy built into the structure of the bridge, so that if any structural component was damaged, the bridge could not support itself. About 18,000 bridges in the United States are designated as functionally obsolete.
