EruptionsMexico’s Popocatepetl volcano erupted, spewing clouds of...

Eruptions

Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano erupted, spewing clouds of hot ash five miles into the air, and forced the evacuation of thousands of people from around the mountain. Mexican army troops stood by to assist. The eruption, the largest since 1925, dropped ash, soot and sand on Mexico City, 33 miles away.

Monsterrat’s Soufriere Hills volcano erupted again after last week’s explosion flattened seven villages and killed nine people. A report from the Monsterrat Volcano Observatory said gas and hot-ash flows are not expected to end any time soon.

Indonesia issued an alert because of increased activity at the Mount Ijen volcano. Jakarta’s Kompas daily quoted a volcanologist as saying, “The situation at the moment is very dangerous for visitors. Everyone is strictly barred from climbing the volcano.”

World Floods

Rain, floods and landslides forced the closure of Hong Kong schools, government offices and businesses in what were described as the worst rainstorms in 50 years. Some festivities to mark the hand-over of the colony to China were canceled. Rescue workers reported more than 70 landslides. More than 12,000 people were forced to take ferries when landslides closed the main Tuen Mun Highway. During three days, more than 16 inches of rain fell on parts of the former British colony.

Taiwan’s southern counties were badly hit by torrential rains, which killed five people.

Lake Como overflowed its banks as northern Italy was lashed by torrential rains. The flooding killed at least two people. Brenner Pass, Europe’s major north-south Alpine link, was temporarily closed by the storms. Flooding also occurred in England and Scotland.

Alaska Fires

Major fires burned through parts of central Alaska, where summer temperatures neared 90 degrees Fahrenheit. In some areas near McGrath and Fairbanks, smoke cut visibility to one mile.Two major fires, one covering more than 167,000 acres and the other 40,000, burned in the Innoko National Wildlife Refuge. At least 39 other blazes burned throughout the state.

Quiet Quakes

World seismic activity was low this week. A magnitude 5.3 tremor was reported in Hawaii. Earth movements were also felt in Japan, the Strait of Gibraltar, Turkey, Baja California, the Azores, the Aleutian Island chain of Alaska, Chile, Bolivia and Samora.

Magnetic Death

A “magnetic front” is blamed for disorienting tens of thousands of racing pigeons that flew the English Channel to France to mark the British Racing Pigeon Society’s centenary. Laurent Toussaint, responsible for monitoring the race, told the Times of London, “There was a magnetic front south of the release point, over the Loire. . .which would certainly have disoriented them.” Dead pigeons were seen strewn along roadsides in France.

Additional Sources: U.S. Earthquake Information Center, Royal Hong Kong Observatory