Record flooding of the Congo River has resulted in a catastrophic situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), affecting 15 provinces, leading to over 300 deaths, and impacting at least 304 000 families.
The eye of Tropical Cyclone “Belal” passed over the northern part of Reunion Island (population 870 000), shortly after 06:00 UTC on January 15, 2024, with maximum sustained winds of 148 km/h (92 mph), and gusts to 213 km/h (132 mph).
Another eruption began south-southeast of Hagafell, Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland at 07:57 UTC on January 14, 2024. The latest images show the lava flowing toward the town of Grindavik. The perimeter was about 450 m (1 470 feet) from the northernmost houses in the town around 08:40 UTC.
Residents of Mauritius and La Reunion are bracing for a possible significant impact from a developing tropical cyclone — Tropical Cyclone 05S, expected to rapidly intensify and pass between the islands on January 15, 2024, as a Category 3 hurricane equivalent. When named (Belal), this will be the second named storm of the 2023/24 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season.
The United States is bracing for its first significant Arctic air outbreak of the winter, impacting the north-central region with bitterly cold wind chills and extending through the weekend. The northern Rockies and Plains are particularly at risk, with the Arctic surge also expected to bring record-breaking cold to the south-central U.S.
Eruptive activity at the Lewotobi volcanic complex further increased over the past 10 days, prompting the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) to raise the Alert Level to the highest (4 of 4) on January 9, 2024.
The Eastern and Midwest regions of the United States are bracing for heavy precipitation this week, as two low pressure systems and associated atmospheric rivers (AR) pose significant flood risks and severe weather threats.
A strengthening storm is set to impact the Central and Southern U.S., bringing a mix of heavy snow, strong winds, blizzard conditions in the Plains and Midwest, severe thunderstorms across the Gulf Coast, and widespread flooding this week. In addition, a major winter storm will bring several feet of snow to the Washington and Oregon Cascades through Tuesday, January 9, 2024.
A powerful M7.6 earthquake struck Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, at 07:10 UTC (16:10 local time) on January 1, 2024, leaving extensive damage, at least 126 fatalities, and prompting a massive rescue effort. The quake led to tsunami waves of more than 120 cm (3.9 feet) and significant crustal changes, with up to 3 m (10 feet) of displacement in some areas. The region faces ongoing aftershocks and difficult rescue conditions.
A major X5.0 solar flare erupted from Active Region 3536 at 21:55 UTC on December 31, 2023. The event started at 21:36 and ended at 22:08 UTC. This is now the strongest solar flare of the current solar cycle — Solar Cycle 25 — and the strongest flare since X9.3 on September 6, 2017.
