Latin Flood Disaster
Ongoing severe storms across parts of Venezuela and Colombia
unleashed devastating floods and mudslides that killed at least 90
people and washed away more than 25,000 homes.
Latin Flood Disaster
Ongoing severe storms across parts of Venezuela and Colombia unleashed devastating floods and mudslides that killed at least 90 people and washed away more than 25,000 homes. The majority of the victims, many of them children, perished in shanty towns built near rivers that swelled from mountain runoff. The worst hit areas were the Colombian provinces of Santander and Norte de Santander, and Venezuela’s state of Merida. A disaster zone stretched from Venezuela’s Caribbean coast southwestward to the mountain valleys of the Colombian Andes.
Bulgarian Wolf Hunt
Hunters in Bulgaria were preparing to kill as many wolves as they could find during a hunt due to begin on Feb. 19. The event coincides with bitterly cold weather over the Eastern European nation, which has increased the number of wolf attacks on sheep and cows. “There are about 2,000 wolves in Bulgaria, while 200 are sufficient to maintain the ecological balance,” said Plamen Kolev, an official at the country’s forestry department. In addition to the wolves, hunters will be allowed to kill the canine’s close relative — the golden jackal.
West African Swarms
Fresh swarms of desert locusts surrounded the Guinea-Bissau capital of Bissau for the second time in a month. The insects severely damaged some cashew plantations and other crops. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warns that a new generation of desert locusts may soon spread across western and northern Africa.
Eruptions
Plumes of volcanic ash, soaring for several days from Indonesia’s Mount Egon, prompted officials to place about 2,000 nearby residents on alert. Hundreds of villagers on the island of Flores were evacuated and will be housed in temporary shelters until the volcano subsides.
• Three volcanoes on Far East Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula roared to life with emissions of hot gas, steam and ash. Shiveluch, Klyuchevskaya Sopka and Bezymyanny are among several volcanoes that produce eruptions on the geologically active peninsula. Ash from Klyuchevskaya Sopka, the highest active volcano in Eurasia, rained on the town of Klyuchi, approximately 20 miles away.
South Asia Winter
A second week of heavy rain, high winds and blinding snow created further misery for Pakistan and areas of Kashmir as the death toll from severe weather soared to over 500. Many of the victims died in northwestern Pakistan following a series of avalanches and landslides during the previous week. Heavy runoff and dam bursts in the southwestern province of Baluchistan killed 250 others. Snow and heavy rains triggered landslides in Indian-administered Kashmir, blocking the main north-south highway and leaving many without power.
South Sea Cyclones
The Cook Islands, Samoa and American Samoa were threatened by two separate tropical cyclones that, at one point, appeared capable of merging into a pair of spinning vortexes. The eye of Super Typhoon Olav passed directly over Samoa’s Manu’a Islands, but precautions taken by islanders appeared to have prevented any casualties. Several ships in the area were reported missing in 45-foot seas after radio contact with them was lost.
• Cyclone Nancy skirted Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, then lost force over colder water to the south.
Earthquakes
Northwestern China’s Uygur region was rocked by a magnitude 6.2 temblor that damaged hundreds of buildings in Wushi County.
• A predawn earthquake awakened millions of people in metropolitan Tokyo and other parts of eastern Japan. At least 27 people sustained injuries due to the shaking.
• Earth movements were also felt in the Sumatra-Andaman Island aftershock zone, Indonesia’s North Sulawesi, northeastern India, far western Germany, south-central Alaska and northeastern Arkansas.
Hemp Feed Banned
Farmers in the tiny European principality of Liechtenstein will no longer be allowed to feed cannabis to their livestock. New rules against the practice will bring the country into compliance with the food standards of neighboring Switzerland, with which the country forms a customs union. The hemp plant contains a small amount of the mind-altering drug THC, which was found to be filtering into the milk of Liechtenstein’s dairy cows. Hemp will also be banned in the feeding of cattle, although there has not been any evidence that shows ingested THC can wind up in the meat of slaughtered animals.
– By Steve Newman
