Early WinterThe worst blizzard to strike the...

Early Winter

The worst blizzard to strike the American Midwest in 15 years killed at least 16 people and paralyzd an area from Colorado to the Great Lakes. Wet snow caused tree limbs and power lines to snap, blackening out power for days. Many motorists became stranded when highways were blocked by drifting snow. Ranchers in southeastern Colorado lost thousands of cattle that froze or suffocated after being buried under snowdrifts up to 14 feet high.

Rising Tide

Some of the world’s most popular island paradises are at risk of vanishing underwater as sea level continues to rise during the current global warming. The dire prediction was made by climate experts attending a U.N.-sponsored conference in Bonn. Melting ice caps are predicted to push sea levels over the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Maldives during the next century if levels continue to rise at the current rate.

Inhabitants of French Polynesia and the Cook Islands may have to move to higher ground during the next few decades because of the rising water.

Orangutan Slaughter

Desperate villagers in Borneo are hacking to death orangutans fleeing the forest fires raging across Indonesia’s Kalimantan province. The World Wide Fund for Nature announced that “villagers, who are suffering from famine and serious respiratory ailments, are so desperate that they are killing the animals, which are foraging in their fields and gardens.” Orphaned babies are being sold into the illegal wildlife and pet trade. WWF operates a rescue center that is filled to capacity with 120 orangutans, some of which are being treated fo nearfatal wounds. At least 138 other injured animals are on a waiting list to be admitted.

Eruptions

Indonesia’s Mt. Merapi volcano belched smoke and sand over parts of western Sumatra, covering the town of Bukittinggi with a thin layer of debris. The mountain showedrenewed activity in April, and produced several minor eruptions during October.Popocatepetl volcano spewed a column of ash over the southeastern suburbs of Mexico City.

Earthquakes

Central Italy was rattled by several more moderate tremors, but none was strong enoughfuture damage to the already wrecked Umbria and Marches region

Earth movements were also felt in the Bay Area, northern, central and eastern parts of Japan, Taiwan, southern China’s Yunnan province, Peru’s Amazon region and southern Alabama.

Tropical Storms

Powerful Typhoon Keith lashed the Marshall and Caroline Islands of the western Pacificof nearly 110 mph. The storm threatened to strike Guam and the northern Mariana Islands late in the week. Typho lost force southeast of Joan lost force southeast of Japan.

Additional Sources: U.S. Climate Analysis Center, U.S. Earthquake Information Center andthe World Meteorological Organization