Earthweek: a diary of the planet
International alert
U.S. health officials have warned tourists from across the nation and from 39 other countries that they could have contracted a deadly rodent-borne disease while visiting California’s Yosemite National Park. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says an unprecedented outbreak of the hantavirus has killed two of the six people known to have been infected when they stayed in some of the park’s cabins between June 10 and Aug. 24. The disease is spread through the urine, droppings or saliva of infected rodents. Symptoms usually take between one and six weeks to emerge in humans. It’s feared that as many as 10,000 park visitors could be at risk of coming down with the disease. Yosemite officials say a design flaw appears to have allowed infected mice to get inside the walls of the cabins.
Volcano of fire
One of Central America’s most active volcanoes spewed lava and ash plumes near Guatemala’s colonial-era capital of Antigua. The country’s geophysics agency said the eruption of Fuego (Fire) volcano lasted 28 hours. Ash fell on nearby villages and towns, reducing visibility. Aviation authorities cautioned aircraft to steer well clear of the volcano and its ash plumes. Fuego had previously sent pyroclastic flows of searing debris cascading down its slopes in June and May.
Crow extermination
Tanzanian officials are using a new weapon to eradicate a troublesome species of crow that has plagued the East African country since being introduced as a gift to the sultan in 1897. The Indian house crow is notorious for stealing food directly from humans and carrying off valuables such as watches, earrings and even kitchen utensils. Thousands of the birds have been killed since late August from the use of the chemical DRC 1339, or the Ralston-Purina product Starlicide. It has been deployed in bait around the capital, Dar es Salaam. The eradication program is funded by Denmark, Finland and the United States. It will be expanded beyond the capital later this month. Residents are being told that while the poison is biodegradable, they must be careful not to touch the dead birds or the poison itself. The Indian house crow has been eradicated in Australia, where it was also imported by ship.
Earthquakes
A wide swath of Costa Rica was jolted by a magnitude 7.6 temblor that wrecked some homes and triggered landslides, blocking roads. The shaking lasted for about 30 seconds and was felt in neighboring Panama and Nicaragua.
• A massive temblor centered off the eastern coast of the Philippines killed one woman as it caused scattered damage in the region.
• Earth movements were also felt in the Indonesian resort of Bali, the southwestern Philippines, eastern Iran and Beverly Hills, Calif.
Humpbacks come back
The international moratorium on whale hunting, and other conservation efforts, have allowed the population of humpback whales that migrate off the coast of Brazil each year to triple over the past decade, according to a research organization. The marine mammals virtually disappeared due to harpoon hunts in the 19th and early 20th centuries, leaving only about 1,000 left by 1966. That was the year such hunts were banned. The Humpback Whale Institute announced that nearly 11,500 of the species were counted off Brazil this year, compared to 3,400 during the first scientific census conducted 10 years ago. Since 1987, Brazil has encouraged fishermen to steer clear of whale-breeding grounds and from areas where the aquatic giants could get caught in nets with their calves. Despite the rebound, experts say the total number of humpbacks is only about 27 percent of what roamed the world’s oceans before global whaling fleets nearly hunted them into extinction.
Tropical cyclones
Hurricane Leslie was bearing down on the Atlantic island of Bermuda late in the week.
• Tropical Storm Michael
passed over the open waters of the mid-Atlantic, while Tropical Storm John weakened off Mexico’s Pacific coast.
Watery trap
More than 70 Kenyan fishermen who became trapped by water hyacinth on Lake Victoria were forced to abandon their boats and be rescued by helicopter. The ordeal had begun to take its toll on the men’s health, prompting the extraordinary rescue by the Kenya Wildlife Service. Wind had blown masses of the waterweed into the boats’ paths, blocking their exit. The invasive plant, native to South America, is thought to have been brought to the East African lake by gardeners around 1980. It has since undergone explosive growth, expanding far from the shore and then retreating in irregular intervals. Hyacinth has caused severe impact to the lake’s fishing industry and even clogged water intakes for a major hydroelectric plant, blacking out entire cities.