Sorry, Mr. President: The Hurricane Maria death toll in Puerto Rico didn’t grow by “magic”

By Amy B Wang 15 September 2018 (The Washington Post) – “Like magic” and “NO WAY!” These are the latest phrases President Trump is using to express continuing disbelief that Hurricane Maria could have caused nearly 3,000 excess deaths in Puerto Rico. In his mind — or in his tweets, at least — the death […]

Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria: A year of disruption – “The next one will wipe Puerto Rico off the map”

By Samantha Schmidt and Arelis R. Hernández 12 September 2018 NAGUABO, Puerto Rico (The Washington Post) – As Damarys Cantero awakens her 6-year-old daughter in their damp, sweltering home, ocean waves crash up against the pile of rubble that was once their front porch. The single mother opens a bag of buns in the kitchen […]

Hong Kong braces for impact of Super Typhoon Mangkhut – Two nuclear power plants on projected path are “in combat readiness” – Mangkhut could be most intense storm on record to hit the city

15 September 2018 (SCMP) – Hong Kong today faces sea levels more than two metres higher than normal as officials brace for the worst under a possible No 10 typhoon warning signal with the most powerful storm the world has seen this year roaring towards the city. The No. 8 signal was raised at 1.10am […]

Strong heat wave predicted for much of Europe next week

14 September 2018 (Severe Weather Europe) – Mid-range model trends are confirming a new heat wave across Europe next week: temperatures will likely be 8-10°C higher than average for mid to late-September in central, western, eastern, and southeastern Europe. This means temperatures in the upper 20s and low 30s again! The heat wave comes as […]

Death toll in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria: the facts about excess mortality – “Thousands of our fellow American citizens lost their lives”

15 September 2018 (Desdemona Despair) – On Thursday, Trump took time from his busy schedule to tweet that the official death toll in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria “was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible”.It’s hard to decide where to start with such a cockamamie claim, so […]

Hurricane Florence’s 1-in-100-year storm surge breaks all-time records

Dr. Jeff Masters 14 September 2018             (Weather Underground) –  Hurricane Florence was only a Category 1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale when it struck, but the hurricane’s massive wind field brought a huge storm surge to the coast that broke all-time high-water records as much as 65 years old. Two of the three tide […]

This is how the world ends: Will we soon see Category 6 hurricanes?

By Jeff Nesbit 15 September 2018 (The Guardian) – There is no such thing as a category 6 hurricane or tropical storm – yet. The highest level – the top of the scale for the most powerful, most devastating hurricane or tropical storm capable of destroying entire cities like New Orleans or New York – […]

At least 14 dead as Typhoon Mangkhut hits the Philippines – Most powerful storm of 2018 so far targets Hong Kong and Hanoi

15 September 2018 (BBC News) – Some 14 people have been killed in a massive storm which brought destruction to the northern Philippines, a presidential adviser says. Typhoon Mangkhut ripped through the Philippines’ main island of Luzon, and is now moving west towards China. Almost all buildings in the city of Tuguegarao sustained some damage, […]

Scientists urge immediate, decisive action to tackle deoxygenation in world’s oceans – “The ocean is in a global crisis”

KIEL, 7 September 2018 (UNESCO) – This week, more than 300 scientists from 33 countries met in Kiel, Germany, at an international conference to discuss the decline of oxygen in the ocean, the causes and the consequences. At the conclusion of the conference, the scientists published a haunting appeal, the “Kiel Declaration”, in which they […]

“Shadow” of persistent inequality is growing, key UN human development report reveals

14 September 2018 (UN News) – While health, education, and income levels have improved overall across the globe, “wide inequalities” both among and within countries, are casting a shadow on sustained human development, a new United Nations report shows.Looking at the widening gap in real terms, a child born in Norway today – the country […]

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