Wildfire, Tropical Storm, and Earthquakes in the Week of October 11-16, 2021

(Minghui.org) In one week between October 11 and October 16, 2021, natural disasters struck four countries, causing thousands to be evacuated and at least 22 dead.

Alisal Fire in California Grown to 15,000 Acres

The wildfire that broke out on October 11 about 20 miles northwest of Santa Barbara in southern California has burned nearly 17,000 acres within four days. Over 1,700 firefighters were dispatched to tackle the fire. It is the first major fire of the season in Southern California and threatened President Ronald Reagan’s former vacation property, the “White House of the West,” but an unusual northerly wind pushed the fire out of the way.

Local officials said that the wind and smoke were so strong that some fixed-wing firefighting aircraft were unable to fly and they had to quickly begin protection efforts with unarmed firefighting crews and helicopters. Thousands of local residents have been evacuated.

Cyclone Kompasu Strikes Philippines, Killing 19

Nine people have been killed in the Philippines and eleven were missing on October 12 due to floods and landslides caused by heavy rain from tropical cyclone Kompasu, the national disaster agency said. The number of deaths climbed to 19 on October 14.

The disaster agency said that its regional units reported four people killed in landslides in northern Benguet province and five killed in flash floods in Palawan, an island province in the southwest of the country. Another seven people were missing in Luzon. The floods affected eleven cities, major highways and bridges. The water receded by the morning of October 12.

Magnitude 6.9 Earthquake Strikes Off Alaska Coast

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck off the coast of Alaska early October 11, in what the Alaska Earthquake Center called an aftershock of a magnitude 8.2 quake from late July. The epicenter was about 114 kilometers (71 miles) east of the village of Chignik, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The depth was reported at 46.3 kilometers (29 miles) deep. The earthquake was felt throughout the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island. No significant damage was reported.

Magnitude 6.3 Earthquake Jolts Greek Island of Crete

On October 12, a strong earthquake jolted the Greek island of Crete. The Athens Geodynamic Institute said the undersea earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 and occurred at 12:24 p.m. local time (9:24 a.m. GMT) off the island’s eastern coast. It was felt as far as the coast of Turkey and on Cyprus, more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) to the east.

This is the second most powerful earthquake to shake Crete in about two weeks. On September 27, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck Crete, causing the collapse or damage of several buildings, killing at least one person and injuring many others.

Bali Hit by a Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake, at Least 3 Dead

A moderately strong earthquake hit Indonesia’s resort island of Bali early Saturday on October 16, killing at least 3 people (including a 3-year-old girl), injuring 7 people, and destroying dozens of homes.

According to the Bali Province Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), the earthquake damaged buildings in the Karangasen and Bangli regions on the east of the island, including nearly 60 percent of the houses in the village of Karangasem. Additionally, two people died in Bangli, where landslides caused by the earthquake blocked a road, hampering evacuation efforts.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 4.8 quake was centered 62 kilometers (38.5 miles) northeast of Singaraja, a Bali port town. Its shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) may have amplified the severity of damage. A magnitude 4.3 aftershock followed. That quake was relatively deep, at 282 kilometers (174 miles).