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"Environmental Hazards Newsletter " 6th Nov 2018


Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Kingston University Environmental Hazards Newsletter. 

This release provides a synopsis of coverage from global media outlets from the second half of October and the first week of November 2018. Key stories featured during this period include reports of Hurricane Willa which has swept onto Mexico’s Pacific mainland with 120mph winds, analysis of the devastating bad weather that has affected Italy in recent weeks, links to videos of a spectacular eruption at Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia and coverage suggesting that Mount Etna in Sicily is slowing sliding into to then sea. In the Mapping and Analytics section, we highlighted how Esri Ireland, announced the launch of ArcGIS for Schools, and coverage discussing its implementation in the supply chain industry.


Hurricanes and Cyclones
Hurricane Willa makes landfall in Mexico with 120mph winds
The US National Hurricane Center said the category 3 storm hit near Isla del Bosque in Sinaloa state on Tuesday night, and federal officials said there were early reports of power blackouts and damage to tin-roofed structures. Damage assessments were ...
Hurricane Oscar weakens, still causing high surf in Bermuda
Hurricane Oscar is weakening but still producing high surf along Bermuda's beaches as it speeds north over the Atlantic Ocean.
Eastern Pacific records its most energetic hurricane season
As of October 22nd, the eastern Pacific recorded its most energetic cyclone season on record.
Death toll from Hurricane Michael rises to 36
At least 36 people have been confirmed dead as a result of Hurricane Michael, according to authorities.
Earthquakes
New Zealand earthquake: 6.2-magnitude shake halts parliament
Houses sway as strong quake under central New Zealand is felt in Wellington
Earthquake number 9: 4.0 quake strikes South East of Trinidad
Trinidad and Tobago has experienced its ninth earthquake in just under two weeks.
Micro-earthquakes preceding a 4.2 earthquake near Istanbul as early warning signs?
Researchers have observed foreshocks that, if analyzed accordingly and in real-time, may possibly increase the early-warning time before a large earthquake from just a few seconds up to several hours.
California's new earthquake warnings deliver critical seconds of notice
At the time, in 1994, Heaton was the lead scientist at the earthquake field office of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Pasadena. He drove to the office in darkness, imagining the fires, collapsed bridges, and crumbled buildings closer to the epicenter.
Number of earthquake and tsunami victims updated in Indonesia
Some 2,087 people died and 4,438 were injured as a result of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck the Indonesian island of Celebes on October 28th. According to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, head of the Information and Public Relations Center of the National Disaster Countermeasure Agency, the natural phenomena have displaced 206,494 people.
Earthquake felt from Lisbon to Braga
An earthquake measiring 5.2 Richter Scale was recorded on Thursday morning 480 kilometres west of Peniche along the Portuguese West Coast.
Zante earthquake: 5.7-magnitude quake hits off west coast of Greece
A cluster of several smaller tremors also hit off the Greek coastline on Tuesday, according to the US Geological Survey
Volcanic Activity
Rare display lightning Indonesian volcano Krakatoa captured stunning footage
Volcanic lightning, which has only been observed some 150 times in the past few centuries, has been spotted coming out of Krakatoa by vulcanologist Dr Richard Roscoe.
Volcano decides eruptions are boring, tries sliding into the sea instead
In a new study published in Science Advances, a team of German researchers illustrates how the southeastern flank of Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, is sliding into the Ionian Sea.
A Vault of Glass and the Deepest Volcanic Eruption Ever Detected
In 2015, an international team of researchers sent robotic submersibles beneath the waves north of Guam. They discovered a spectacular glassy labyrinth, nearly three miles below sea level. It was recently cooled lava, the product of the deepest underwater volcanic eruption ever recorded by scientists.
Huge underwater volcano chain discovered off the coast of Tasmania
The find offers a glimpse into a previously unknown marine ecosystem — and spotlights just how little we know about the seafloor.
Some mud volcano erupted in Azerbaijan
Excavation work carried out near mud volcanoes provoked their eruption, the head of the mud volcanism department of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan (ANAS), Professor Adil Aliyev told Trend on November 2.
What will Mexico do when its deadliest volcano erupts?
Popocatépetl, Mexico's largest active volcano, sits next to some major population hubs. With a major eruption forecasted within the next 100 years, will the public be ready?
Map: California volcanoes ‘very high threat’ on new list
Government scientists are classifying 18 U.S. volcanoes as a “very high threat” because of what’s been happening inside them and how close they are to people. Three are in California.
Öraefajökull volcano (Iceland): continuing seismic unrest cause worries about potential reawakening
The volcano is continuing to show signs of unrest. Over the past months, elevated numbers of small earthquakes have continued to occur beneath the glacier-covered volcano, suggesting that fresh magma has been accumulating at shallow depth around 5 km.
Eruption of the world’s deepest undersea volcano
A research team has documented a volcanic eruption in the western Pacific Ocean that’s deeper below the ocean surface than Mount Rainier’s height above sea level.
Volcanoes can kill thousands. We should pay closer attention to the moving earth beneath us
From 1500 to 2017, volcanoes have taken more than 200,000 lives, and yet most were not due to lava, a study determined last year. The updated volcanic fatality database, published in the Journal of Applied Volcanology, blames three other deadly forces: pyroclastic density currents; lahars; and particles. These hazards are more common in composite or stratovolcanoes, types with stickier and older lava sitting in magma chambers, waiting to explode. One such volcano featured recently in the news, too: Fuego in Guatemala.
Extreme Temperatures
Freak weather causes extreme hailstorm in Italy
After along spell of hot weather, temperatures plummeted with buildings in the Italian capital, Rome damaged from a major hailstorm and torrential rains.Widespreadn damage and fatalities were also reported in Sicily, Venice and the Alpine region.
How global warming caused mass extinctions twice in Earth's history
Mass extinction events spanning two global warming periods in Earth’s history wiped out huge amounts of ocean life and destroyed reef ecosystems, a new study warns.
15 Incredible Things Revealed by Extreme Weather
High waves, violent winds, and extreme droughts can wreak terrible destruction, but they can also uncover amazing treasures. Recently, Hurricane Michael's storm surge uncovered two ships grounded on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico during another hurricane 119 years ago
Fight against climate change losing steam
In unusually strong language, scientists have warned it is the "final call" to save the world from catastrophic global warming. The report, released after a meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in South Korea, lays out the impact of the world not limiting the rise in temperature to 1.5 C.
Rising temperatures and human activity are increasing storm runoff
Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that runoff extremes have been dramatically increasing in response to climate and human-induced changes.
Why media need to turn up the temperature on climate change
Examining the UN's newly released IPCC report and what it reveals about the challenges of climate change reporting.
Are Extreme Weather Events Linked to Climate Change?
Can we attribute a single extreme weather event, like a particular heat wave or wildfire or flood, to climate change?
Floods
Italy floods: Death toll climbs to 17, as 14 million trees destroyed
Heavy rain and gales lashing parts of Italy have killed at least 17 people and razed thousands of hectares of forest, destroying 14 million trees.
Research-into-Action brief: Post-disaster educational continuity in urban floods
This brief explores how the evidence shows that flood (and associated hazards) affected people are not helpless bystanders but active first-responders and change agents.
Melbourne weather: Flash flooding as massive deluge hits
Thousands of Victorians were left power after a slow-moving storm caused flash flooding in Melbourne, with half of the city's November rainfall arriving in just three hours.
Deadly Flash Floods Spark Emergency in Padang, Indonesia
The Indonesian city of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, declared a state of emergency after flash floods hit seven districts in the city on Friday, November 2, killing two children.
France weather: Red alert as flash floods kill 10 in south-west
At least 10 people have been killed by flash floods in the Aude region of southern France.
Search for missing after 15 killed in Europe floods
The search continues for missing people following flash flooding in parts of Spain, Italy, and France.
Landslides
Natonin landslide death toll now 18
The number of bodies recovered from the landslide-hit area in Natonin, Mountain Province in the Philippines, rose to 18 on Tuesday, the seventh day of search and retrieval operations.
At least 12 killed in landslides, flooding in Sicily
At least 12 people, including nine members of two families, have been killed in landslides and flooding on an island of Sicily, officials said Sunday.
Death toll in Uganda's landslide rises as more bodies recovered
At least 41 people killed in eastern Bududa district after heavy rains caused landslide, officials say.
Wildfires
Minorities Are Most Vulnerable When Wildfires Strike in U.S., Study Finds
The research illustrates how the kinds of disasters that are exacerbated by climate change often hit people of color and the poor the hardest.
Cape wildfires: 86000 hectares scorched
t's been 13 days of raging wildfires from George to Knysna and now threatening Plettenberg Bay. In the George area, the fire claimed the lives of eight people, all of them were members of the same family. So far, 86,000 hectares of vegetation has been destroyed, with that number set to increase.
Wildfires have memories - Wildfire Today (blog)
Researchers studying how wildfires have burned at a particular location found that subsequent fires have a “memory” that helped to self-regulate fire sizes and fire severity.
Two-minute explanation of how wildfires burn
The New York Times produced this quick explanation of how wildfires ignite, spread, and are suppressed.
Mapping and Analytics
GIS can improve supply chain and logistics
As more organizations realise how their processes in Supply Chain and Logistics are behind the curve, they are starting to focus their energy and resources into new and innovative technologies and solutions. One particular arena that has seen significant investment and attention is in the field of Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The volume of data at our fingertips from modern day reporting and operations has grown tremendously.
Colleges See GIS Playing A Larger Role in Business Education
From Pennsylvania State University to the University of Redlands in California, the academic world is beginning to recognize the need to develop GIS skills through undergraduate and MBA-level courses.
Esri Ireland makes digital mapping software available to every Longford classroom
Esri Ireland, the market leader in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), has announced the launch of ArcGIS for Schools, making €500 million worth of digital mapping software available to every primary and secondary school in the country.
DJI and Propeller Unite on Drone Mapping Solution
Drone analytics company Propeller has announced that they're partnering with drone company DJI to create a mapping system for clients in the civil, mining, aggregates, and waste management industries.
GIS Day showcases technologies that create 3-D maps of earth, identify hazards
Lidar is just one of the many tools that are increasingly being harnessed by Geographic Information System (GIS) professionals working in state, local and tribal governments in Washington. A coordinated, statewide lidar strategy will be among the many topics to be discussed during the 7th annual Joint Agency GIS Day event on Nov. 14 in Olympia.
Caliper introduces a new DACH Country Package for its Maptitude mapping software
Caliper announces the release of a new 2018 DACH Country Package for its Maptitude mapping software. Maptitude Country Packages bring the power and flexibility of Maptitude product suite to a global audience and enable customers to make geolocation-based decisions internationally.

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