Disasters

DISASTERS 4 November 2025 - News on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, detailed the catastrophic and record-breaking retreat of the relatively small Hektoria Glacier, which lost nearly 50% of its ice mass in just two months due to its underlying flat bedrock plain. This unprecedented speed acts as a critical alarm for the much larger Thwaites Glacier—or the "Doomsday Glacier"—which is vulnerable to the same rapid disintegration mechanism. The immediate contribution of Hektoria's loss to sea level rise is minor, but its significance lies in its warning to Thwaites. If the entire Thwaites Glacier were to collapse, it could directly raise global sea levels by approximately 65 centimeters (25 inches). More critically, the loss of Thwaites could destabilize the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet, potentially raising sea levels by 3.3 to over 5 meters in the long term. See: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-025-01802-4

DISASTERS 5 November 2025 - Hurricane Melissa, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, made catastrophic landfall in the Caribbean as a Category 5 storm in Jamaica on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, before hitting Cuba as a Category 3 the following day and causing severe flooding in Haiti. 6 million people affected, the confirmed death toll stands at over 100 people, with Haiti most affected due to flooding. Cuba's massive evacuation of over 735,000 people helped prevent major loss of life. International effort is now underway, with the UN, WFP, IFRC, and national governments coordinating Search and Rescue (SAR) operations, emergency food and water distribution, and the provision of over $24 million in relief and humanitarian funding. See: https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/11/1166261

DISASTERS 31 July 2025 - More than 100 earthquakes of high magnitude (majority > 4), have hit Russia in the past 24 hours as of 3 am AEST, with tsunamis up to four metres and a volcanic eruption of Klyuchevskoy. Of the 568 earthquakes in the past 24 hours, 110 have been in Russia. Tsunami warnings, alerts and/or evacuations are being issued by Chile, Easter Island, Colombia, Peru, French Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Galapagos Islands, Mexico, Japan, USA, Hawaii, Alaska; lifted for Japan, Philippines, Russia, Canada, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Micronesia, Australia and New Zealand.

DISASTERS 30 June 2025 - Huge 8.8 earthquake struck near the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula at a shallow depth of under 20 kilometres. This prompted widespread tsunami warnings for Russia, Japan, the US coasts, Hawaii and multiple nations across the Pacific. 1-3 metre tsunami waves have already hit Russia, Japan and Hawaii, though warnings are still in place for more.  No fatalities reported as yet.