August 10, 2018

Early on July 29 in southern Indonesia (July 28 in the United States), a 6.4-magnitude earthquake destroyed buildings and killed 17 people on the small island of Lombok. As bad as that was, it proved to be only a warning shot. A week later, on the evening of August 5, a second, stronger earthquake struck the island, and this one, a 6.9-magnitude temblor, proved to be much more destructive. The earthquake collapsed numerous buildings already weakened by the earlier quake, and thus far the dead bodies of 259 people have been pulled from the rubble. Thousands of people have been injured in the disaster, and tens of thousands more have been left homeless.

A man searches through the ruins of houses in Pemenang village in northern Lombok on Aug. 7, 2018, two days after a powerful earthquake devastated the area. Credit: © Sonny Tumbelaka, AFP/Getty Images

Lombok is a lovely tropical island popular with tourists. Only about 40 miles (60 kilometers) across, Lombok sits between the islands of Bali and Sumbawa among Indonesia’s Lesser Sunda Islands. More than 3 million people live on Lombok, and tens of thousands of tourists visit the island every year. Lombok has beautiful beaches, highland forests, and a mountainous interior dominated by Mount Rinjani, an active volcano. Lombok lies at the junction of tectonic plates, however, making it prone to earthquakes. Much of Indonesia sits on the infamous Ring of Fire, a turbulent zone of frequent seismic and volcanic activity along the islands and continents rimming the Pacific Ocean.

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Lombok lies just east of Bali in the Lesser Sunda Islands of southern Indonesia. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

On July 29, the 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Lombok’s northern coast near Mount Rinjani. The earth shook violently near the epicenter for more than 10 seconds, knocking buildings to the ground and causing landslides along the slopes of the volcano. Seventeen people died in the earthquake, and hundreds of hikers were briefly stranded in Mount Rinjani National Park. Some 1,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed.

On August 5, as people were still cleaning up from the earlier earthquake, the 6.9-magnitude temblor hit in almost the exact same location. Structures collapsed throughout the island, including in the provincial capital of Mataram near Lombok’s west coast. Terrified people fled to soundly built mosques as aftershocks continued, and a tsunami warning caused panic in low-lying coastal areas. No tsunami occurred, but damage from the earthquake was significant. More than 40,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed on Lombok (including several mosques), electric power and communications systems were knocked out, and three bridges collapsed. The death toll stands at 259, but many people remain missing, so that number will almost certainly rise.

Hundreds of aftershocks have since shaken Lombok, the strongest of which, a 5.9-magnitude temblor, hit early on August 9 (August 8 in the United States), causing still more damage and further frightening the population.

The more than 150,000 people left homeless by the earthquakes are now in need of shelter, food, clean water, and medical supplies, but aid is pouring in from elsewhere in Indonesia and from around the world. Several thousand tourists were forced to evacuate resorts and hotels and leave the island. The Lombok temblor was the deadliest to hit the Lesser Sunda Islands since December 1992, when an earthquake and tsunami killed more than 2,000 people on Flores island east of Sumbawa.

August 30, 2017

Late last Friday night, on August 25, the deluge of Hurricane Harvey began soaking the central coast of Texas in the southern United States. Since then, the storm has continued to dump record rains, causing unprecedented flooding that has displaced some 30,000 people. More than 4 feet (1.2 meters) of rain has saturated the Houston area, submerging low-lying areas and swelling reservoirs to near-breaking points. As Harvey hovers and continues to dump torrential rains, the U.S. National Weather Service warns of “catastrophic” and “life threatening” flooding in southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana. As of today, 30 people have died in storm-related incidents.

On Aug. 27, 2017, members of the Texas National Guard evacuate Houston residents stranded by Hurricane Harvey’s record flooding. Credit: Lt. Zachary West, Army National Guard

Harvey’s floodwaters have affected 50 counties in Texas, and some 4,000 troops from the Texas National Guard have been deployed—along with thousands of police, firefighters, and other emergency responders—to help the storm’s many victims. Many civilian volunteers are helping, too, using their own boats, food, and other supplies. Numerous people and pets have been rescued by boat, high-water vehicles, and helicopter from automobiles, trees, homes, and rooftops. Hundreds of roads are blocked by high water, and Houston’s airports, schools, and office buildings remain closed. Storm damage is expected to top $20 billion, and repairs and reconstruction after the storm could take years. Some 450,000 people are expected to seek federal disaster assistance. Harvey is the strongest storm to hit Texas since Hurricane Carla in 1961.

On Aug. 24, 2017, Hurricane Harvey strengthens over the Gulf of Mexico prior to hitting the Texas coast late on August 25. Credit: NOAA/NASA GOES Project

Harvey’s pockets of tornadolike winds have caused some damage, but the storm’s winds—which have lessened enough for Harvey to be downgraded to a tropical storm—have not been the problem. Harvey’s great destructive force has been its rain generation. Very slow moving, Harvey has lingered over the Texas coast and the Gulf of Mexico, turning out multiple thunderstorms from a bottomless water supply. Torrential rains have hit coastal areas for days on end, and flooding and storm surges have not reached their peak potential. The worst may be yet to come before the storm crawls northeast and weakens over land in the coming days.

Harvey formed as a cluster of thunderstorms over the Atlantic Ocean before hitting the island of Barbados as a tropical storm on August 18. The storm fragmented as it crossed Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, but it redeveloped and gained strength over the Bay of Campeche. Water temperatures there and in the entire Gulf of Mexico are well above average, and storms like Harvey feed off those warm waters. An expansion of the subtropical high pressure belt gave Harvey a clear and gentle upper atmosphere in which to grow, and the storm coiled and flexed into a hurricane as it neared the Texas coast. The warmer waters and expansion of high pressure areas—as well as a superabundance of moisture in the air—are ripe conditions for hurricane creation. They are also consistent with the effects of anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change. The United Nations World Meteorological Organization linked Harvey’s enormous rainfall with climate change.

April 3, 2017

In the early morning hours of Saturday, April 1, flooding and rocky mudslides engulfed parts of the city of Mocoa in mountainous southern Colombia. Mocoa is the capital of Putumayo, a department that runs along the border with Ecuador and Peru. Unusually heavy rains Friday night flooded the area’s Mocoa, Mulata, and Sangoyaco rivers. Steep ravines and gullies channeled the liquid mud and debris-filled water toward sleeping Mocoa. Entire homes disappeared and streets collapsed as boulders and fallen trees lodged against cars, washing machines, and shattered masonry wrenched away in the powerful torrent. The dead bodies of 301 people have been found, but more than 200 people remain missing.

Survivors contemplate the damage done by flooding and mudslides in the southern Colombian city of Mocoa on April 2, 2017. Credit: © Luis Robayo/AFP/Getty Images

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos declared a state of emergency as he arrived in Mocoa. “The entire capacity of the state is deployed to support the search and rescue,” he said. “The tragedy of Mocoa hurts me as president and as a human being. My heartfelt condolences to each family of the victims.” Santos blamed climate change for the disaster, saying Mocoa received one-third of its normal monthly rain the night before the disaster. Nevertheless, landslides and flooding occur fairly frequently in mountainous Putumayo. In Quechua, the language of the Inca and other people of the Andes Mountains, putumayo means gushing river. But this year’s rains have been particularly bad, in Colombia as well as in neighboring Ecuador and Peru, where flooding and landslides have killed more than 100 people in recent weeks.

More than 1,500 rescue workers, including police, soldiers, and volunteers, are in Mocoa to help clear debris, look for survivors, and try to keep order. Panic and distress have compounded the problems created by the lack of drinking water, food, medicine, and electric power. The Colombian Red Cross warned of poor sanitary conditions and the threat of disease. Many roads are blocked with debris, and bridges have been washed away, making transportation difficult at best. Getting supplies in–and dead bodies out–remains a top priority.