A powerful earthquake struck near the southwest coast of New Zealand's South Island in the relatively remote and unpopulated Fiordland region at 09:22:32 UTC on 15 July (20:22:32 local time), causing minor damage and prompting a brief tsunami warning. The earthquake, measuring 7.6 Mw, was located around 150 kilometers (95 miles) west-northwest of Invercargill City and 175 ... Continue Reading »
CAT-i
Flooding in Central Europe
Heavy rainfall across the Central European region from June 22, 2009 to June 25, 2009 has caused severe flooding in several countries, including the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, and Germany. The heavy rainfall is also reported to have prompted flood alerts for the Danube in the Slovak Republic and Hungary and has caused some flooding in Romania. ... Continue Reading »
Tropical Storm Linfa
Tropical Storm Linfa is located approximately 860 miles (1,345 kilometers) southwest of Okinawa in Japan and has just started to track northeast, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). Linfa is currently a tropical storm and is moving at 6 mph (10 kmph) with sustained winds of around 58 mph (93 kmph). ... Continue Reading »
North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Season Forecast 2009
The Colorado State University tropical storm research team has further lowered its hurricane development forecast for the 2009 North Atlantic season, and now foresees "below-average activity." Researchers Philip Klotzbach and William Gray decreased their forecast from their April prediction and now expect 11 named tropical storms to develop in the North Atlantic basin between ... Continue Reading »
GC ForeCat May Update: 2009 U.S. Hurricane Landfall Rates
The fifth and final 2009 GC ForeCat update was released on May 26, 2009 and is unchanged from the last update. According to the May update, the Gulf region remains most vulnerable to tropical cyclones coming shore in the United States in 2009. The rate of 0.65 for the Gulf represents the mean number of landfalling tropical cyclones in that region for the forthcoming 2009 ... Continue Reading »
CAT-i Update: Severe Weather in Eastern Australia
Parts of eastern Australia have been declared disaster zones after severe storms forced at least 15,000 people to evacuate their homes. The states of Queensland and New South Wales were battered as powerful winds of up to 130 kmph (80 mph) tore roofs from houses and flood waters cut off entire towns, reports said. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said the powerful ... Continue Reading »
CAT-i Update: Wildfire in Santa Barbara, California
A wildfire fire fanned by record temperatures and strong winds has forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes in Southern California this week. According to California's Department of Forestry and Fire, the Jesusita Fire started on May 5, 2009 and has burned more than 2,700 acres (4 square miles) so far. The fire department reported that 75 homes in the affluent Santa ... Continue Reading »
Swine Flu Virus Outbreak, Part II
A deadly outbreak of a swine flu virus first detected in Mexico continues to cause global concern, as the number of cases detected worldwide rises. On April 29, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised its flu alert level from four to five, just one stage below a full-blown pandemic in which there is widespread human to human transmission. The WHO said the upgrade ... Continue Reading »
Swine Flu Virus Outbreak
A deadly outbreak of a swine flu virus first detected in Mexico has sparked global concern, as a rising number of cases have been detected worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday raised its flu pandemic alert level from three to four, two steps short of declaring a full pandemic. The WHO said the upgrade signalled a "significant increase in risk of a pandemic," ... Continue Reading »
Update: U.S. Landfall Rates for 2009 Hurricane Season
The Gulf of Mexico region remains the most vulnerable to tropical cyclones making landfall in the United States this year, according to the fourth 2009 GC ForeCatTM update. With a mean forecast landfall of 0.65, 2009 is only slightly below the 1951-to-2007 average of 0.66. Florida, the Southeast, and the Northeast have below-average forecasts for the 2009 hurricane season, as ... Continue Reading »
