June 23rd, 2016, is a day most West Virginians will remember. According to the National Weather Service severe thunderstorms and torrential rain caused detrimental flooding across the state. Greenbrier County was the hardest hit, with the Greenbrier River reaching heights of up to 23 feet over the flood stage in Ronceverte. There were 15 deaths in Greenbrier County alone, and multiple other deaths in Kanawha, Jackson, and Ohio counties. Many people lost their homes, loved ones, and businesses, and had to rebuild from the ground up.
On February 6th, 2023, parts of Turkey and Syria were struck by a massive 7.8 size earthquakes. According to AP News the earthquake was a XII on the Mercalli Intensity scale, which is the highest it can go. The Epicenter, or where the earthquake started, was the province of Antakya, in Turkey and was 37 km (about 22.99 mi) northwest of Gaziantep, a major city in south-central Turkey. This earthquake was the largest earthquake in Turkey since 1939. There were over 30,000 aftershocks around the area affected in the following three months. There were over 50,000 deaths reported in Turkey and Around 8,500 deaths in Syria. Another 120,000 injuries were reported across both countries.
Beginning on March 1st, 2023, Canada has been affected by a series of wildfires. All 13 provinces of Canada have been/ are being affected by these fires. In June, the wildfires grew intensely. You may recall when the air quality decreased back in late June/early July, the sky was hazy, and made it hard for some to breathe, all of this was caused by these fires. As of September 27th, there were over 900 active wildfires, around 480 of which are considered “Out of Control.” According to Reuters the wildfires have been caused by severe drought around the country. Over 17 million hectares (43 million acres) of land has been affected by these fires as of September 20th, 2023. There have only been 6 casualties reported from the fires so far.
On September 8th, 2023, a 6.8 Magnitude earthquake struck around 73 km (45 mi) southwest of Marrakech, a highly popular tourist destination in Morocco. It was a VIII on the Mercalli Scale. Many homes were destroyed. Tinmal Mosque, a historic mosque found near Marrakech was damaged in the earthquake, which left many in distress. According to AP News, Over 2,900 casualties occurred.
What do these events share? The answer is global warming/climate change. Global warming is causing icebergs in and around Antarctica to start melting. The water from the icebergs is causing flooding to happen more often. Global warming can cause more drought, which could increase the intensity of earthquakes when they hit. Drought also leads to increased chances and intensity of wildfires.
Shane Hanna • Dec 13, 2023 at 2:35 pm
Great article- thanks for sharing environmental topics!