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Temperature
Extremes
 
High
temperature for the week:
Ahwaz, Iran
117 degrees Fahrenheit |
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Low
temperature for the week:
Vostok (Russia), Antarctica
-89 degrees Fahrenheit
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(top)
Tornado
Swarms
 Another
string of deadly tornadoes tore across several parts of the American
Midwest from Colorado to Michigan.
A mile-wide
tornado in Cherokee County of eastern Oklahoma killed one person and
injured six others. One truck driver was killed and five others were
injured at a rest stop on Interstate 55 in central Illinois when their
big rigs were overturned by high winds associated with the severe storms.
(top)
Impending
Eruption
 Philippine
disaster officials ordered evacuations near the Mayon Volcano in the
eastern province of Albay after observing a glow at the crater’s edge
and an increased output of sulfur-dioxide.
Vulcanologists
issued the fresh warnings after increased activity from the 8,075-foot
volcano, located about 200 miles southeast of Manila. Residents have
been advised not to venture into the area due to the risk posed by landslides
and volcanic debris. Mayon last erupted six years ago, claiming 70 lives
and forcing the evacuation 50,000 residents.
(top)
Channel
Tempest
 One
British sailor was airlifted to a hospital and more than 150 others
were pulled from the sea after their yachts capsized in a sudden squall
that hit the coast near Weymouth, England.
A total
of 77 yachts were participating in a championship regatta when the storm
hit the southern English seacoast without warning.
(top)
Typhoon
Season
 Typhoon
Maggie formed over the Philippine Sea and strengthened rapidly
as it moved toward the coast of Asia.
The storm
was expected to threaten Taiwan or coastal China during the weekend
with maximum winds of approximately 120 mph.
(top)
Killer
Bee Attack
 Forty
children and their teacher were attacked by a swarm of killer bees that
invaded a schoolhouse in southeastern Mexico.
Mexican
Red Cross officials reported that five of the children and the teacher
sustained stings so severe that the victims had to be hospitalized in
the town of Centro in Tabasco State. First aid was administered to the
others who suffered pain and vomiting.
(top)
Earthquakes
 A
magnitude 5.1 temblor wrecked seven homes and damaged an additional
75 when it struck the central Colombian town of Guayabetal. No
fatalities were reported from the disaster.
Earth
movements were also felt along the California-Mexico border region
and in southeast Alaska, Japan’s Hokkaido Island, eastern
Tibet, near the Philippine capital of Manila and southern
Iran.
(top)
Wildfires
 Disaster
officials in Florida have brought firefighters from as far away as Alaska
to fight the blazes that have plagued parts of the Sunshine State.
Volunteer
firefighters from 30 other states have also joined in the battle to
contain the blazes. Conditions have been worsened by an extended period
of dry weather, while snakes are being driven into populated areas by
the fires. More than 53,000 acres of the Okefenokee Swamp have been
charred along the Florida-Georgia border.
(top)
Paris
Hailstorm
 Three
people were killed in Paris after a freak hailstorm pounded the
city and surrounding areas.
Strong
winds and a barrage of hail smashed windows and brought traffic in the
French capital to a standstill. One person was killed and another injured
when a construction crane was toppled by the powerful winds. A downtown
Metro station and numerous roadway tunnels were impassable due to flooding
associated with the storm.
(top)
Too
Few Weeds
 Germans
are so efficient at weeding their gardens that the nation’s free-flying
bee population is rapidly declining, according to a leading expert.
“Gardeners
and farmers should leave at least a strip of weeds and wildflowers along
the perimeter of their fields and properties to give bees a fighting
chance in our increasingly pruned and pristine world,” said Werner Muehlen
of the Westphalia-Lippe Agricultural Office. Bee populations have declined
23 per cent over the past decade across Germany and wild honeybees are
virtually extinct in Central Europe.
(top)
Additional
Sources: Japan Meteorological Agency, U.S. Climate Analysis Center,
U.S. Earthquake Information Center and the World Meteorological Organization.
Distributed
by the Los Angeles
Times Syndicate.
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