A very strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.9 hit southeastern Taiwan at 06:44 UTC on September 18, 2022. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting M7.0 at a depth of 17 km (10 miles).
Remnants of Typhoon “Merbok” will bring potentially historical coastal flooding, high surf, coastal erosion, high winds, high seas and heavy rain to western Alaska and the Bering Sea through the weekend, the National Weather Service (NWS) warns.
Violent storms hit central Italy’s Marche region late September 15, 2022, causing major floods in which at least 9 people lost their lives and 4, including two minors, went missing. Around 50 people were being treated for hypothermia and other injuries.
Nanmadol formed on September 13, 2022, as the 14th named storm of the 2022 Pacific typhoon season, strengthened to a typhoon on September 15, and reached super typhoon status on September 16. The system is still strengthening and is expected to reach Kyushu, Japan by September 18.
Typhoon “Muifa” made its first landfall in China on the coast of Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province at approximately 12:30 UTC on September 14, 2022, with maximum sustained winds of up to 151 km/h (94 mph), and the second in Shanghai’s Fengxian District at 16:30 UTC, with maximum sustained winds of up to 126 km/h (78 mph).
China’s national observatory issued a red alert, the most severe warning level, on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, as Typhoon Muifa is expected to make landfall twice later in the day-the first in coastal areas between Sanmen County and Zhoushan City in Zhejiang Province around nightfall, and the second in coastal areas between Jiaxing City in Zhejiang Province and Shanghai’s Pudong District on Wednesday evening, with maximum 1-minute sustained winds of 130 km/h (80 mph).
Home Reef submarine volcano in Tonga started erupting on September 9, 2022 and re-emerged above sea level. The activity at the volcano is fumarolic, releasing gas into the atmosphere up to 1 km (3 200 feet) above sea level. A Hazard Alert was issued to all marines to sail at least 5 km (3.1 miles) away from the volcano.
Typhoon “Muifa” has continued moving NW over the East China Sea, toward the coast of eastern China over the past 24 hours. The typhoon is expected to make landfall in Zhejiang Province, China on September 14, 2022, and pass over or very close to Shanghai – the most populated city in the world.
A catastrophic tailings dam failure occurred at the Jagersfontein diamond mine in South Africa early Sunday morning, September 11, 2022, causing loss of life and severe environmental damage.
A major earthquake registered by the USGS as M7.6 hit the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea at 23:46 UTC on September 10, 2022 (09:46 LT, September 11) at a depth of 90 km (56 miles).
