This has been a record-breaking week for global hurricanes as powerful storms struck both the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean basins, leaving scientists wondering whether they're harbingers of a more destructive climate-warmed future or are outliers that test the limits—but remain within—the realm of normal variability.
This has been a record-breaking week for global hurricanes as powerful storms struck both the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean basins, leaving scientists wondering whether they're harbingers of a more destructive climate-warmed future or are outliers that test the limits—but remain within—the realm of normal variability.
On Sunday, Super Typhoon Goni left a trail of destruction over several smaller Philippine islands, with winds estimated at 195 miles per hour. It was the strongest storm ever to hit land, according to measurements by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center and the Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Luckily, Gomi missed densely-populated Manila and its surroundings. It’s expected to hit Vietnam with heavy rains and lesser winds late Thursday.
And in the Caribbean, the Category 4 Hurricane Eta struck the coast of Nicaragua on Tuesday with 145-mph winds, resulting in “life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds, flash flooding, and landslides” across portions of Central America, according to a Tuesday morning advisory by NOAA’s hurricane center. Nicaraguan emergency officials issued an evacuation order for the entire coastline, and the region is expected to be doused with up to 35 inches of rain by Sunday.
Read more at Wired
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