Earthwatch: A Diary of the PlanetFlood Aftermath

Crocodiles and hippopotamuses, in search of food after Mozambique’s recent flood crisis, have been attacking residents and devouring what little food remains as floodwaters recede. Vast tracts of Mozambique lowlands were inundated during recent weeks as rains forced officials in neighboring countries to open sluice gates on dams in order to relieve the pressure of water behind them. Many people have been existing on meager supplies of grain they were able to collect before the flooding.

Eruptions

Costa Rica’s Arenal volcano, a major tourist attraction in the Central American nation, produced a mild eruption of lava, ash and rock. Arenal was a dormant volcano until July 1968, when it roared back to life after 500 years of relative quiet. That eruption ejected massive lava flows that devastated the west flank of the mountain and killed 78 people.

Indonesia’s Mt. Lokon volcano exploded with a column of gas and ash that soared into the sky above North Sulawesi Island.

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Foot-and-Mouth Source British officials announced that they suspect that illegally imported meat was the cause of the country’s foot-and-mouth epidemic. The Times of London reported that infected meat had probably been smuggled from Asia or the Middle East, and had ended up in a Chinese restaurant in northeast England. Waste from the meat was used to make swill for pigs at Heddon-on-the-Wall, where the virus was first identified. The newspaper said that a container of illegal meat, which was labeled for the restaurant, had been discovered in a load of household goods immediately after the first cases of the disease were confirmed.

Early Fire Season

The hottest March weather in the northern Mediterranean in a century has been accompanied by fires that raged across two Greek islands. Large areas of both farmland and forest have been blackened by the blazes on Samos and Evia, where firefighters battled to contain the wind-driven flames.

Earthquakes

At least two people died and nearly 200 others were injured when a magnitude 6.4 temblor hit southwestern Japan’s state of Hiroshima. The quake damaged 6,000 homes, sparked fires and snapped power lines.

Earth movements were also felt in the Kuril Islands, interior Alaska, Sumatra, southern Iran and central Italy.

Foreign Invaders

Three potentially deadly redback spiders were found in cargo delivered to a freight company in New Zealand. The insects were the second non-native creatures to make it into the country within two weeks. Workers at the company in the city of Manukau made the spider discovery as they were unloading a shipping container of oil and grease drums from Australia. The insects were later killed by officials, who fumigated the area. The preceding week, a gardener at Auckland International Airport was bitten by an exotic red fire ant--one of thousands later discovered living in the lawns surrounding the airport. It is not known how the ants got into the country.