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EARTHWEEK: A DIARY OF THE PLANET
By Steve Newman
Floods
n Residents across a broad
stretch of Texas braced for
the second round of heavy
flooding in one week. Earlier rains
had caused several rivers to burst
their banks, killing at least 15 people
and causing millions of dollars in
damage. The hardest-hit areas were
from Dallas-Ft. Worth southward to
San Antonio.
Widespread flooding in central
Sumatra forced the evacuation of
100,000 people and submerged
more than 80 villages in two districts
of Riau province.
Avalanches
Heavy snowfall followed by
a rapid rise in tempera
tures set off avalanches
throughout the Alps, Europe's high
est mountains. Six people were killed
beneath the cascading snow, and
about7,000 hoi klaymakere stranded
while heading for the slopes were
forced to spend the night In trains
and automobiles.
Elephant Menace
Wild elephants trampled to
death four people when
villagers in India's central
stat e of Mad hya Pradesh beat drums
and hurfed objects in an attempt to
scare away the rampaging herd.
Meanwhile, in northeastern India,
rogue elephants have killed at least
31 people this year in Assam state,
sometimes after guzzling barrels of
homemade beer in the villages they
attack. During the raids, the ele
phants feast on stored grain and
gulp down laopani,' popular Assa
mese rice beer.
Clear Yellow
/"TN China's Yellow River has
( A ) turnedclearforthefirsttime
in 200 years. A spokesman
for the State Yellow River Water
Conservancy Commission said that
scant rainfall since last summer's
record flooding across China is re
sponsible for the rare phenomenon.
none Help
Earthquakes
H Japanese meteorologists
briefly posted a tidal wave
warning for Hokkaido after
the strongest in a two-week-long
swarm of earthquakes rocked the
Kuril Islands. Earth movements were
also fett in central California, along
the India-Bangladesh border, and
on the Alaskan Peninsula
Solar Threat
Rice crops, the staple of
more than a third of the
earth's population, are being
stunted by the ever-increasing ultra
violet radiation now reaching the
surface through the thinning ozone
layer. The International Rice Re
search Institute announced that the
tropics, where most of the crop is
grown, receive the highest doses of
ultravtolet-B radiation. The release
of man-made chlorofluorocarbons
into the atmosphere has caused a
drop of up to four percent in the
ozone layerduring the past 20 years.
Tropical Storm
Tropical cyckxie Alexandra,
the season's first in the
central Indian ocean, was
expect ed to pass south of the Chagos
Archipelago late in the week. Maxi
mum winds near the storm's centre
were estimated to be less than 80
Kilometres per hour.
Manatee Mortality
BMore endangered mana
tees, or sea cows, died in
Florida from human causes
in 1991 than during any previous
year. This was despite fewer boats,
more speed limits, and conservation
spending that amounted to about
$1,800 for each of the remaining
1,500 animals. Through last week,
168 of the slow-moving marine
mammals had been found dead.
Those included 52 which were killed
in collisions with boats, and 14 oth
ers that died from other human-re
lated causes such as being trapped
in floodgates.
Holiday Visitors
A group of playful raccoons
has invaded the northwest
Ohio town of Napoleon, and
even joinedinonsomeofthe holiday
cheer. "These are not well animals,"
remarked county health administra
tor Hans Schmalzried. The usually
nocturnal creatures have been stag
gering around town in the middle of
the day, turning somersaults, and
even darting into homes toplay under
the Christmas tree. All of the 55 rac
coons captured so far have tested
negative for rabies, but health au
thorities advise that residents and
their pets should still steer clear of
the playful animals. Their odd be
havior could mean that they are
suffering from distemper.
Additional Sources: French Meteorological
Station at Reunion, Japanese Meteorological
Agency, British Meteorological Office, U.S.
MUaryJoiri Typhoon WamngCantreMGuam.
U. S. Cimale Analysis Centre, U. & Earth
quake Information Canto, and the Worti Me
teorological Organization.
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