Natural Disaster

A segment of Highway 1, California's major north-south state highway, has collapsed into the ocean after heavy rains caused a debris flow from the hillside above the road. The debris overwhelmed "drainage infrastructure, flowed across the highway, and eroded the road resulting in the complete loss of a segment of Highway 1" near Big Sur. No one was injured.

The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island has erupted late Sunday night following a magnitude-4.4 earthquake. The Kilauea Volcano observatory raised the alert level to "warning" and the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency (COH) has asked residents to stay indoors

Airbnb has launched Airbnb.org, a nonprofit platform designed to proved housing and shelter for people in emergency situations. After Airbnb hosts have opened up their homes for people in need for years, Airbnb.org will now formally "hosts on Airbnb to provide stays for people in times of need. "

"The program has evolved to focus on emergency response and to help provide stays to evacuees, relief workers, refugees, asylum seekers, and most recently, frontline workers fighting the spread of COVID-19," so Airbnb in a statement.

On Friday, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece and Turkey. The earthquake caused buildings to crash and triggered a mini tsunami.

At least 27 people were killed – 25 in Turkey, 2 in Greece – and at least 804 people were injured. 470 aftershocks have been recorded.

As the wildfires in Southern California spread rapidly, nearly 70,000 people have been ordered to evacuate. The Silverado Fire and Blue Ridge Fire, fueled by high winds and low humidity, have been increasing since Monday and have grown to nearly 30,000 acres combined in the past 48 hours.

Disasters related to weather, climate and water have increased fivefold over the past 50 years. In this time period, over 11000 disasters of these kinds have been recorded, connected to 2 million deaths and 3.6 trillion US-dollars in economic losses.

Over half a million people – or 10+% of the state's population – are fleeing Oregon to escape the wildfires that have been raging across the Pacific Northwest.

Governor Kate Brown (D) told reporters that this most likely wasn't a "one-time event" and that the current situation was a "bellwether for the future" of "acute impacts of climate change." Brown has reported that at least four people have died, including a 12-year-old boy and his grandmother.

Due to heavy rains, the Nile water levels have risen, threatening to damage Sudan's 2,300 year old pyramids. The Nile has reached record-breaking levels, already killed around 100 people and destroyed the homes of many. According to archaeologist Marc Maillot sandbag walls have been built and water is being pumped out to protect the pyramids.

Located on Sumatra Island, the Mount Sinabung volcano has erupted in Indonesia on Sunday with a second eruption on Monday.

Indian authorities have stated that the ashes from the volcano have reached multiple miles high and pose a risk of poisoning for the nearby population.

The volcano has erupted multiple times since last year before it had been inactive for 400 years. No injuries or fatalities caused by the last eruption have been reported.

Hurricane Hanna has made landfall in South Texas and Northeastern Mexico and left over 280,000 without power in Texas on Sunday morning. Flash flood emergencies have been declared in Mission and Hidalgo County.

Meteorologist Chris Birchfield warns that the hurricane is far from over and that they were "still expecting catastrophic flooding."

"Any hurricane is an enormous challenge," Texas Governor Abbott said on Saturday. "This challenge is complicated and made even more severe, seeing that it is sweeping through an area that is the most challenged area in the state for Covid-19."

An earthquake of the magnitude 6.5 struck near Tonopah, Nevada early Friday morning. The small town, three hours north of Las Vegas, recorded two additional aftershocks, both with a magnitude around 5.4. No injuries or damages have been reported so far. Today's earthquake has been the biggest in Nevada since 1954.

In a public letter, scientists warn of a potential tsunami in Alaska, triggered by a landslide in prince William Sound. As warming temperatures have caused a retreat of Barry Glacier in Barry Arm, an unstable, mile-long slope sitting above the glacier could slide into the ocean below. The landslide can be triggered by heavy rain, heat waves or an earthquake. If the slope should hit the water, it could lead to a 30-feet (approx. 9,5m) wave.