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Madagascar
Tropical Cyclone Emnati Hits
The latest in a series of extreme weather events, Cyclone Emnati battered Madagascar overnight. The storm crashed into the southeastern coast with strong winds and gusts up to 85 mph (140 km/h) and heavy rains which forecasters warn will trigger flooding in the southern and southeastern districts. Over 30,000 people were evacuated prior to Emnati’s landfall and 250,000 people could be seriously impacted, according to the island’s National Office for Risk and Disaster Management. Cyclone Emnati has left extensive damage to homes and structures and is the fourth major tropical storm to hit Madagascar in the last month. The country has struggled with food insecurity brought on by last year’s severe drought, and shortages are expected to worsen as thousands remain displaced throughout the region.
This map depicts satellite imagery of Cyclone Emnati over Madagascar. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: AccuWeather
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Ethiopia
New Dam in Operation
The $4.2 billion dollar Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project culminated on Sunday when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed officially started electricity production at the mega-dam this past Sunday. The project has led to disputes between Ethiopia and the neighboring countries of Sudan and Egypt, who view the dam as a threat to their own Nile waters and have protested its construction since it began in 2011. Expected to produce more than 5,000 megawatts of electricity, the GERD is set to be the largest hydroelectric energy source in Africa. Ethiopia has the second biggest electricity deficit in the continent, with about two-thirds of the population living without electricity.
This map depicts the Nile River and location of the Grand Renaissance Dam in Northern Africa. Click on the map to learn more.
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Columbia
Abortion Decriminalized
Columbia’s Constitutional Court issued a ruling on Monday that expands access to abortion in the country, prompting celebrations amongst abortion-rights activists in the streets of Bogota. Now, abortions are legal up until the 24th week of pregnancy, with no justification needed. After 24 weeks, people can only legally get abortions in cases of rape, the fetus having malformations, or the if the pregnant person’s life is in danger. Before this ruling, these restrictions applied to the entire pregnancy term. An estimated 400,000 Colombian women get clandestine abortions each year, with people from low-income, rural areas being disproportionately harmed by or criminalized for these procedures. Abortion is still a controversial issue in Colombia, where most of the population identifies as Roman Catholic.
This map depicts the legal status of abortion in different countries, as of 2022. In Latin America, Argentina, Uruguay, and Cuba also allow abortion without restrictions until a certain stage of pregnancy. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: Which famous iceberg, known for being the largest in the world at 2,300 sq miles (6,000 sq km), melted away last year?
A: A68
A68 originally broke away from Antarctica in 2017 after calving from the Larson C Ice Shelf on the edge of the Antarctic Peninsula. Because of satellite imagery, A68 became a social media sensation as the world watched its every twist and turn. Before drifting northward, the iceberg barely moved for the first year after it broke off, but eventually made its way towards the small British territory of South Georgia in the Atlantic Ocean – a fork in the path for many icebergs as it’s difficult to survive the shallow warmer waters. A68 managed to last longer than most, and was ultimately fragmented into smaller parts by warm waves and air temperatures. By April of 2021, three years after its journey, the iceberg had dumped one trillion tons of fresh water into the ocean.
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Q: Known for their autonomous community, which of the Balearic Islands off the coast of Spain is the largest and relies mostly on an agriculture and tourist economy?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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