Earthwatch: A Diary of the Planet

Killing Siberian Chill

Deadly cold and heavy snow have afflicted a wide swath of eastern Asia for several weeks and are now responsible for critical power shortages and lack of food supplies. In Russia’s Irkutsk region of Siberia, at least 40 people have had hands or feet amputated because of frostbite. The ITAR-Tass news agency reported that another 120 victims of frostbite were hospitalized around Lake Baikal, where temperatures have plunged to as low as -72 degrees Fahrenheit. Groups of angry residents in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok blockaded a major highway to protest electrical power shortages. Blackouts lasting several hours have left many without heat and unable to cook.

Earthquakes

More than 700 people in El Salvador perished as a result of a devastating magnitude 7.6 temblor on Jan. 13, but the final death toll may never be known. A massive international relief effort was launched to look for survivors and to help the tens of thousands who have had to leave their damaged or wrecked homes. Earth movements were also felt in southern and northwestern Turkey, Lebanon, Sumatra, Taiwan, southern and eastern Japan, Los Angeles and New York City.

Cholera Crisis

The World Health Organization criticized South Africa for failing to provide a “clear operational strategy for water and sanitation for the management of a cholera epidemic.” The WHO urged South Africa to distribute emergency water supplies to halt the epidemic of the waterborne disease. Health officials in KwaZulu-Natal, where polluted streams are often the only source of water, reported Jan. 17 that 675 new cases had been diagnosed the previous day.

Java Heat Clouds

Indonesia’s Mt. Merapi volcano began spewing deadly heat clouds and sending torrents of lava down its western flanks. Merapi dominates the southern plain of the country’s island of Java, one of the world’s most densely populated areas. An official at the volcano observation post on the southern slope of the mountain said that lava and pyroclastic clouds have burned everything within 10,000 feet of Merapi’s crater. He reported that the superheated clouds typically reach 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit as they rush down the flanks of the volcano. No evacuations have been ordered, but residents around the mountain were urged to be alert for increased violent eruptions.

African Cloudbursts

The African cities of Nairobi and Lagos were both hit by severe flooding during what is normally the dry season. At least 10 people in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi were feared dead in freak flooding triggered by hours of pounding rain. One of the victims was a 13-year-old girl who drowned as she tried to rescue her younger brother from the floodwaters. After months of drought, Kenya was deluged for two weeks by the unseasonable rains. Heavy rainfall also fell in Nigeria’s commercial center of Lagos. Officials reported that the city’s infrastructure had been seriously damaged by the storm.