Alaska Bird Kill

The cause of the biggest bird kill in western Alaska history has been linked to the El Nino ocean warming phenomenon. Wildlife officials say the diving seabirds died of starvation this summer after unusally warm water in the Bering Sea forced their food supply of plankton and krill to go too deep for them to reach. As many as 500-short-tailed shearwaters, black-legged kittiwakes, murres and other species could be found along each mile of beach not only in western Alaska, but along the coast of Siberia as well. The disappearance of the plankton and krill may also be responsible for an unusally number of dead whales spotted in the area by fisherman.

Tropical Storms

Typhoon Ivan left at least two people dead as it cut a path of destruction from the northern Philippines to Taiwan and Japan’s southern islands. Thousands of farm animals were killed when the storm passed over the northern provinces of the Philippines, and thousands of acres of crops were destroyed.

Some of Japan’s southern islands were lashed by pounding surf 22 feet high as Typhoon Joan passed nearby.

Tropical Storm Grace formed briefly in the open waters of the central Atlantic.

Fatal Floods

Fierce storms and flash flooding struck a wide area of the Middle East, killing at least 10 people from Egypt to Israel and the Palestinian territories. Many of the victims were washed away when torrential rains caused rivers and streams to overflow their banks. Several main highways were blocked by high waters.

In Colombia, flash floods killed two people and left 2,000 others homeless when rivers burst their banks in the north of the country.

The worst flooding in recent memory along Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast resulted in the deaths of at least 16 people. Cloudbursts inundated the port of Mombasa.

Earthquakes

Scores of moderate earthquakes continued to rumble through Italy’s Umbria and Marches region Officials say that the stronger temblors, which started Sept. 26, have inflicted$1.3 billion in damage, and 38,000 people have been unable to return to theirwrecked homes.

Earth movements were also felt around Italy’s Mt. Etna, and in central Greece,northwest Turkey, eastern Romanania, southeast Iran, Inner Mongolia, the Kurile Islands and near Seattle.

Testing Victims

A French medical journal reported that at least 500, Kazakhs were contaminatedby nuclear tests carried out by the former Soviet Union on their territory between 1949and 1989. Univers Sante said that radiation leaks from the more than 470 explosionshave irradiated residents in nearby villages, and the long-term health

effects include leukemia and cancers. It is feared that nuclear waste left in boreholes and in cavities beneath the surface may contaminate ground water and

affect agriculture.

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