By
Steve Newman - March
26, 1999
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High
Temperature Extreme
 Tillaberi,
Niger: 112 degrees Fahrenheit
(top)
Low
Temperature Extreme
 Vostok
(Russia) , Antarctica: -98 degrees Fahrenheit
(top)
Dolphin Deaths
 At
least 34 white-sided dolphins died after becoming stranded in shallow
waters along the shores of Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
Marine
officials tried desperately to save the sea mammals that inexplicably
beached themselves in the popular tourist area. Officials believe the
deaths could be linked to recent high tides, strong winds and large
waves.
At least
five dolphins died when they became stranded on a beach in South
Australia. The dead were among of a group of 50 dolphins that beached
at Napean Bay on Kangaroo Island. More than 100 volunteers were able
to save 45 dolphins by keeping them wet and coaxing them back out to
sea.
(top)
Malay
Pig Slaughter
 A
virus linked to Malaysian pigs that has claimed 55 human lives
since last October prompted government officials to begin a mass slaughter
of the animals.
Military
personnel are expected to kill a total of 327,000 pigs before the end
of the month in attempts to eradicate the deadly virus. The contagion,
known as the Japanese encephalitis virus, first broke out in pig farms
in Perak State where it was reported to have killed 14 people before
spreading to Negeri Sembilan State. Health authorities blame unhygienic
pig farms with stagnant pools for allowing the Culex mosquito, which
transmits the virus, to breed unchecked.
(top)
Chinese
Whirlwind
 A
tornado ripped through a harbor in the southern Chinese province
of Guangdong, sinking 71 fishing vessels and damaging 164 others.
The disaster
wiped out nearly one-third of the harbor’s fishing boats, but only caused
a handful of injuries. Torrential rain from the storm inundated surrounding
areas.
(top)
Ongoing
Rumblings
 Mexico’s
Popocatepetl Volcano produced two minor explosions, sending plumes of
ash and steam three miles into the sky and showering the state of Puebla
with volcanic debris.
The 15,600-foot
volcano has been emitting volcanic material from its crater since December
1994. Military troops were recently stationed around the flanks of the
smoking mountain in the event a rapid evacuation becomes necessary.
(top)
Record
Cyclone
 Tropical
cyclone Vance raked a long stretch of Western Australia with
the highest winds ever recorded on the mainland from a cyclone.
Winds
of up to 166 mph devastated the town of Exmouth, site of a former U.S.
military installation. Nearly a third of the buildings in the town were
wrecked, and many of those still standing were left with no roofs.
(top)
Earthquakes
 The
remote Alaskan communities of Adak and Amchitka were soundly
rocked by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake, which struck the eastern Aleutian
Islands.
Earth
movements were also felt in Southern California, northern Colombia,
eastern Romania, Nepal, Russia’s Lake Baykal region,
the Tajikistan-Afghan border region and New Zealand’s
North Island.
(top)
Philippine
Spill
 A
oil tanker spilled nearly 85,000 gallons of crude oil and injured seven
crew members when it crashed and sank in Manila Bay.
The oil
slick covered about 80 acres of the Philippine bay and threatened a
popular tourist resort, the U.S. Embassy and a row of restaurants and
hotels nearby. Disaster officials laid boom lines to prevent the oil
from reaching Manila’s shoreline, located about one mile from the slick.
(top)
Tempting
Fate
 Lightning
killed a traditional Nigerian rainmaker last week as he climbed
atop a building where a funeral was being conducted.
A family
employed the man, known locally as Rasaq, in Abeokuta, southwestern
Nigeria, to hold off the rain threatening to douse a burial ceremony.
Rasaq had just begun appealing to Sango, the Yoruba god of thunder,
when lightning struck and threw him to the ground. The head of the local
Sango worshippers, Ibigbami Sangotola, said the victim had lost his
life because he had disregarded the power of the god by thinking he
could divert the storm with which Sango had decided to punish the town.
(top)
Additional
Sources: Japan Meteorological Agency, U.S. Climate Analysis Center,
U.S. Earthquake Information Center and the World Meteorological Organization.
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