An exceptionally intense earthquake swarm lasting nearly two hours started at Þorbjörn in Iceland at 08:40 on October 31, 2023. The largest event registered an M3.7, and the activity signaled potential magma movement at depths between 1.5 km and 5 km (0.93 – 3.1 miles).
Tropical Storm “Otis” explosively intensified from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane in just 12 hours and continued intensifying on its way toward Mexico where it made landfall at 06:25 UTC on October 25, 2023, as a Category 5 hurricane. This is now one of the fastest-intensifying hurricanes in the world’s history.
Entire crops were lost and farmlands inundated as Storm Babet struck Scotland between October 19 and 22, 2023. The River Esk in Brechin overflowed its 3.8 m (12.5 feet) high flood walls, leading to unprecedented flooding in areas like Angus and Perthshire.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by India’s National Center for Seismology as M6.2 hit Nepal at 09:21 UTC (15:06 local time) on October 3, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 5 km (3.1 miles). USGS and EMSC are reporting M5.7 at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). The quake was preceded by M4.6 and followed by M3.6, M3.1, M3.5, M4.3, M3.9 and M3.0 by 14:00 UTC.
On September 19, 2023, the northeastern coastal province of Jiangsu in China was struck by a significant severe weather outbreak, with multiple tornadoes causing damage to more than 1 600 homes and tragically claiming the lives of at least 10 residents.
Medicane “Marquesa”, also known as Storm Daniel, made a devastating landfall in Libya on September 10, 2023, resulting in severe flash flooding, especially in the country’s northeast. The storm brought with it extremely heavy rainfall, leading to catastrophic flooding and a tragic death toll of over 4 500 people, with thousands still missing.
A powerful storm dubbed Daniel dropped exceptionally high amounts of rain over parts of central Greece on September 4 and 5, 2023, resulting in widespread flooding, destruction, and the tragic loss of at least 10 lives. Experts label this as the country’s worst storm since records began in 1930. The worst affected was the Thessaly Region, particularly its Magnesia prefecture.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.8 hit Morocco’s High Atlas mountains at 22:11 UTC on Friday, September 8, 2023. The quake hit at 23:11 local time at a depth of 18.6 km (11.5 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.9 at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).
Extremely heavy rains brought by the remnants of Typhoon “Haikui” caused severe floods across Hong Kong on September 8, 2023, causing widespread disruption, evacuations, and leading to at least two fatalities.
After sweeping over Taiwan, Typhoon “Haikui” hit China’s southeastern province of Fujian early September 5, 2023, dropping record-breaking rains. Haikui caused severe flash flooding and traffic chaos, damaged power and communication lines, and forced more than 30 000 people to evacuate. At least one person died.
