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Natural Disasters this Month

Wildfire burning in North America.

We know all too well that disaster can strike at any time, in any place in the world. Some disasters make headlines; others do not. Here at PaaClimate, we keep an eye on the status of disasters worldwide and compile a list of the ones we’re tracking weekly, along with relevant disaster-related media coverage

New or Emerging Disasters

Volcanic Eruption – Indonesia:

Mount Merapi on the island of Java erupted explosively at least seven times on Aug. 8, sending lava and smoke across the island, covering nearby towns and villages in a layer of ash. The volcano has seen increasing activity in recent weeks, and a lava dome at the peak collapsed on Aug. 8, sending lava and pyroclastic flows – a mix of superheated mud and rocks – flowing down the side of the mountain.

Flooding – Multiple Countries

North Korea:

Heavy rains hit the northeast of the notoriously reclusive country Aug. 1-3, according to the country’s state-owned broadcaster. More than 1,100 homes were damaged. Roads, bridges and farmlands were washed away, but there are no official reports of casualties.

Iran:

The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported flooding in 10 provinces that affected more than 800 people. The worst-hit area was the city of Avaj, which received 1.4 inches (36 millimeters) of rain in just 40 minutes. At least eight people died and another seven were injured as local news organizations reported that the country was experiencing a long-term drought and more flooding could be expected.

Wildfires – Multiple Countries

Bulgaria: A fast-moving wildfire near the village of Buchino in the southern district of Blagoevgrad burned through dry grass and bushes on Aug. 2. Firefighters managed to bring it under control with no damage or casualties, but in addition to threatening a nearby town, it also came very close to a local grain storage facility.

Albania:

Dozens of wildfires are burning throughout the country as firefighters struggle to bring them under control. At least one person died and three villages have been evacuated as fires continue to burn with unanticipated ferocity.

Previous/Ongoing Disasters

North American Wildfires:

Canada and the United States have reached preparedness level 5, indicating the lack of available resources within each country. While the countries share resources during most fire seasons, the extremely active fire season each is facing has prevented that from happening in 2021. Some international resources have already been deployed, but more will be required if fires continue to blaze out of control. Additionally, these resources are rapidly dwindling as fires burn around the world.

As of Aug. 8, the National Interagency Fire Center’s situation report listed a total of 39,267 wildfires in the U.S., which have burned more than 3.54 million acres. A total of 23,930 personnel – approximately the population of Paradise, California – are deployed on 110 active fires across the country; 93 are considered to be large uncontained fires. The Dixie Fire is the second-largest wildfire in California’s history after last year’s August Complex Fire (although it is the largest single wildfire as August was made up of several smaller fires). It has destroyed several hundred structures and thousands more are at-risk.

In Canada, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre reported 5,619 fires had burned more than 9.1 million acres (3.7 million hectares) as of Aug. 7, including 255 out-of-control fires. There are fires in every province from Ontario to British Columbia. Hundreds of personnel from Mexico have arrived in Ontario and British Columbia to support firefighters already deployed.

CDP regularly updates a North American Wildfires Season Disaster profile with information on the fires and advice on how funders can help address critical needs.

Wildfires – Multiple Countries

Russia:

Wildfires in Russia’s north continue to rage unabated, mostly in the Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia. According to the European Union’s Copernicus satellite monitoring unit, these fires “have already produced a record amount of carbon emissions,” with the season only partly complete. The immense size of Russia means the loss of land in a wildfire is often enormous, and this is certainly true in 2021. Most of the Russian fires are in Siberia, at least 155 as of Aug. 9, affecting nearly 3 million acres. Since the beginning of fire season in May, more than 11,000 fires have burned nearly 15 million acres. The smoke is so intense that for the first time ever, it reached the North Pole. Hundreds of people have been evacuated and dozens of homes have been destroyed.

Turkey:

Rain over the Aug. 7-8 weekend helped extinguish all but a couple of the forest fires that had been burning in Turkey since July 28. Nearly 225 fires in 47 provinces consumed the country, leading to mass evacuations and major destruction. More than 135,000 acres (55,000 hectares) were burned, destroying forests, homes, agricultural land and livestock. As of Aug. 9, only two fires continued to burn. Eight people were killed by the fires including, two firefighters.

Greece:

After a week, intense heat-impacted fires continue to burn. Thousands of homes have been destroyed along with nearly 140,000 acres of land (approximately the same loss as in Turkey). Most of the damage has been centered in Greece’s second-largest island of Evia. Thousands of people have been evacuated. At least two people have died, including one firefighter.

Italy:

Hundreds of people were evacuated from the seaside resort community of Campomarino Lodi in Molise. Since June 15, the fire season has brought 44,442 wildfires, compared to 26,158 at this time last year. At least two people have died.

Lebanon:

There have been several small fires across Lebanon throughout August, including some in the northern part of the country that spread to Syria. At least one firefighter has been killed. On July 14, the United Nations issued a warning that Lebanon was on the brink of a water crisis because of the economy. There are fears that this could impact the ability of communities and residents to respond to fires.

2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season:

Officials are monitoring three low-pressure systems that have the potential to become tropical depressions or stronger in the coming week. The first two are lined up back-to-back to the east of the Windward Islands in the Atlantic Ocean and are expected to move into the Caribbean Sea later this coming week. The third is located just west of the Cabo Verde Islands and is considered to have a low chance of strengthening in the coming days.

Western North America Drought:

The ongoing drought across western North America has done what the dam failure of 2017 couldn’t – left Lake Oroville empty and dry. The lake is at its lowest level since it was completed in 1967, and it no longer has enough water to power the hydro-electric plant inside the dam. The shutdown of the Oroville hydro-electric plant will force California to rely on carbon-fueled power sources to make up the difference, adding to the effects of climate change. In Western Canada, drought is forcing ranchers to make unthinkable decisions about whether to sell their animals before they’re ready for slaughter or to buy feed from other sources in the hopes of getting a higher price later in the year.

Flooding – Germany:

Winemakers whose crops and stockpiles were affected by last month’s flooding have received help from competitors across the border in Luxembourg. The vintners from Luxembourg have come to Germany to help clean casks, sort unlabelled bottles to be sold as fundraisers and help prevent their competitors from developing long-lasting diseases that could ruin their entire industry in addition to this year’s crop.

Haiti's Mystery

Just before 8:30 a.m. ET on Aug. 14, an M7.2 earthquake struck the southwest of Haiti in the mountains between the Nippes Department and Sud Department. This earthquake occurred at a depth of only 6.2 miles (10 km), which is critical because shallow earthquakes usually cause more damage.

For comparison, the catastrophic 2010 earthquake took place approximately 46.6 miles (75 km) west of this earthquake and was an M7.0 that occurred at a depth of 8.1 miles (13 km). As a result, the damage from this earthquake is likely to be similar to those seen in 2010. As of 12:15 p.m. ET on Aug. 14, there had been six aftershocks recorded, all between M4.1 and M5.2 according to the United States Geological Service.

Haiti is expecting an almost direct hit from Tropical Storm Grace within 48 hours of the earthquake. As of the morning of Aug. 14, Grace’s path is expected to hit the island of Hispaniola – shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti – by Sunday night and overtop of Haiti by Monday morning. This convergence of disasters has the potential to cause a significant increase in deaths. International humanitarian and response teams will be faced with the challenge of accessing the country because of the storm, and local responders will be faced with life-threatening conditions while trying to conduct rescues. Those who have lost homes and other shelters because of the earthquake will face significant misery as they will be left entirely exposed to the elements as Grace makes its way through.