Hurricane watching was a big part of this week, as tropical storm Danielle grew into a hurricane, then got stronger, then weaker, then stronger, and then decided to float northwest into Canadian water, where it threatened a crew of people investigating the Titanic, and some dangerous riptides at a few beaches on the East coast, but otherwise looks to go quietly into the cold Atlantic waters to die.
Hurricane Earl, just a few days behind Danielle, has been much less of a flirt, prompting hurricane warnings for Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Barthelemy, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts and Nevis, as well as St. Martin. A hurricane watch has been issued for the British and U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Moving toward the US at steady 14 mph, Earl is expected on it's current trajectory to hit an area between the outer banks of North Carolina and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The NOAA reported that Earl is now at Category 4 size and intensity.
And…a new system is forming off the coast of Africa, which could be Hurricane Fiona, and what's even more unusual, the European Commission for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) expects Hurricane Fiona to be hitting Miami around September 7. That's right. They are predicting where a hurricane that doesn't exist yet is going to hit.
INTERNATIONAL
Around the world most eyes were turned on Pakistan, which continues to lag in fundraising efforts. Some say it's a product of "disaster fatigue" but others claim it is simply due to the association people around the world have with terrorism. Senator John Kerry, the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, addressed this in an op-ed in the Boston Globe this weekend.
Kerry explained in the piece that Pakistanis were not big fans of the US (only 17 percent view the US favorably) but that 64 percent wanted better relations. The senator explained that it was an important opportunity for the US to gain credibility in the country and displace the Taliban and other dangerous elements in Pakistan that would otherwise use the disaster to gain even more legitimacy with the people.
Indonesia's Mount Sinabung woke up Sunday with great fanfare. The volcano, which has been quiet for 400 years, suddenly erupted, spewing smoke, ash, and molten lava over the Karo Plateau. More than 12,000 people needed to be evacuated from 14 small towns in the area, where Indonesian authorities have set up temporary relief camps.
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EARTHQUAKES
Earthquake activity was mostly quiet this week, save for a 4.1 in the Mexcali area (the border between Californai and Mexico) on sunday where a 7.2 magnitude quake struck April 4. The sunday quake was itself one of many aftershocks that occurred since the April 4th quake, which caused more than $90 million in damage on the California side of the border.
The US Geological Survey reported another quake in southern Maine. The 2.3 quake went unnoticed by residents, with no reported calls to local police. I thought the quake sounded unusual, but after checking I found that Maine actually has a few small quakes a year.
FIRES
The largest active fires in the US are mostly concentrates in Alaska and the West, and surprisingly California is not in the top 10 this week.
Top 10 Most Active US Wildfires
Incident Unit State Acres
Long Butte Twin Falls District Idaho 306,113
Toklat 2 Alaska Fire Service Alaska 188,807
Turquoise Lake Southwest Area Forestry Alaska 91,885
White Lightning Warm Springs Agency Oregon 33,732
Delta Complex Delta Area Forestry Alaska 27,518
Chitanatala Alaska Fire Service Alaska 25,706
Swakane Washington Fire Service Washington 19,291
Eagle Trail Tok Area Forestry Alaska 17,934
Applegate Alaska Fire Service Alaska 17,446
South Fork Santa Fe National Forest New Mexico 17,086
TORNADOES
Minnesota was under a few tornado watches this week, and if anyone has been paying attention, Minnesota has been leading the nation in tornado sightings. So far in 2010, the state has 123 reports of tornadoes, beating out Texas (87), Kansas (80), and Oklahoma (70).
DISASTER OF THE WEEK
The disaster of the week is not really a disaster, it's a five year anniversary. Sunday marked five years since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, and the city commemorated in an unusual fashion: mock funerals.
Several mock funerals were reported across the city, according to CBS News, as a way for residents to literarily but the near death of their city to rest. Five years on, three quarters of the city's lower Ninth Ward homes have not been rebuilt after being destroyed, some 1,000 families still live in FEMA-supplied trailers, and some 100,000 people New Orleans have never returned since that fateful day.
Still, the mock funerals were described as being marked with gratitude and resilience. New Orleans as a city was nearly destroyed, and it took the work of many people, especially the residents of that city to come back and rebuild. With many problems still facing years until they are resolved, New Orleans is thankfully, still there, and the lessons learned from the tragedy are now cannon in public policy and emergency management.
