Disease

Zika virus infection – Panama

On 14 December 2015, the National IHR Focal Point (NFP) of Panama notified PAHO/WHO of one (1) additional laboratory-confirmed case of Zika virus infection.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.5 Earthquake hits offshore Coquimbo, Chile.

5.4 Earthquake hits North island, New Zealand.

5.4 Earthquake hits Coquimbo, Chile.

5.2 Earthquake hits the Owen fracture Zone.

5.1 Earthquake hits southern Qinghai, China.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Panama-Colombia border.

5.0 Earthquake hits offshore Coquimbo, Chile.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Kuril Islands.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.6 Earthquake hits south of the Kermedec Islands.

5.6 Earthquake hits south of Fiji.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Solomon Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits the State of Yap, Micronesia.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Panama-Colombia border.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Philippine Islands.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.6 Earthquake hits the Kermedec Islands.

5.3 Earthquake hits south of Panama.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Fox Islands in the Aleutian Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits Mindoro in the Philippines.

5.1 Earthquake hits the southern Mid-Atlantic ridge.

5.0 Earthquake hits the southern Mid-Atlantic ridge.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

6.5 Earthquake hits southern Alaska.

5.9 Earthquake hits the Panama-Colombia border.

5.4 Earthquake hits the Fox Islands in the Aleutian Islands.

5.2 Earthquake hits Libertador O’Higgins, Chile.

5.2 Earthquake hits the Celebes Sea.

5.2 Earthquake hits the Fox Islands in the Aleutian Islands.

5.1 Earthquake hits Guam.

5.1 Earthquake hits the Fox Islands in the Aleutian Islands.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes - Global

The swarm of Earthquakes off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula continues. No injuries have been reported. The closest town of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is about 120 miles from the epicentre of the earthquakes.

6.0 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

6.0 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

6.0 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.8 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.7 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.6 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.5 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.4 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.3 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.3 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.2 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.1 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.1 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.1 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.1 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.0 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.0 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.0 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.0 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

5.0 Earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia.

Other Quakes:

5.4 Earthquake hits south-western Ryukyu Islands off Japan.

5.4 Earthquake hits southern Peru

5.3 Earthquake hits off the coast of Aisen, Chile.

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

5.0 Earthquake hits south of Panama.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Mariana Islands region.

5.0 Earthquake hits Minahasa, Sulawesi, Indonesia.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Hindu Kush, Afghanistan.

Drought

Drought in Panama

Panama on Tuesday ordered government offices and private businesses to slash their power consumption and temporarily closed schools in response to a drought that has sapped the country's hydroelectric energy supply.

Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes - Global

5.2 Earthquake hits eastern Kazakhstan.

5.2 Earthquake hits the Maug Islands in the Mariana Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits south of Panama.

Storms and Floods

Tropical storm Bopha forms in the Pacific and is located approximately 295 nm southeast of Chuuk, Micronesia.

Britain looks set to experience its worst series of floods since the great floods of 2007 when areas that had never flooded in living memory experienced what would turn out to be their worst floods in over 150 years.

The latest of a series of heavy rainfall-induced flooding is being experienced by the south and south west areas of England and Wales, with over 500 flood warnings in place nationwide.

Flood and landslide in Panama

-5 people reported to be killed in landslide as floods hit Panama.

-Panama has declared Capira, Chorrera and Colon disaster areas.

-The worst flood hit areas were Colon province on the Caribbean coast and the Capira area 60km west of Panama City. Storms damaged 800 homes.

-A river burst its bank and flooded near by shops in Chorrera.

Environment

The Dead Sea is slowly dying as industrial and agricultural extraction of water causes the lake to shrink at record rate over the last year.

NASA satellite images illustrating the decline of the Dead Sea over the past 40 years:

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The week's hottest temperature was 121.1 degrees Fahrenheit (49.5 degrees Celsius) at Kaedi, Mauritania.

The week's coldest temperature was minus 79.6 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 62.0 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Vostok Antarctic research station.

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Every rainy season, the Guna people living on the Panamanian white sand archipelago of San Blas brace themselves for waves gushing into their tiny mud-floor huts.

Rising ocean levels caused by global warming and decades of coral reef destruction have combined with seasonal rains to submerge the Caribbean islands for days on end.

Once rare, flooding is now so menacing that the Guna have agreed to abandon ancestral lands for an area within their semi-autonomous territory on the east coast of the mainland.

Earthquakes

Two large earthquakes of 6.6 and 6.4 hit south of Panama.

5.9 Earthquake hits near Jakarta, West Java in Indonesia.

5.1 Earthquake hits northern Italy. Reports of falling masonry and the clock tower in the town of Novi collapsed. No casualties have been reported.

5.3 Earthquake hits the south Sandwich Islands region.

5.0 Earthquake hits southeast of the Loyalty islands.