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China
Earthquake Kills 118
At least 118 people have been killed and hundreds injured after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit a remote region in northwestern China. The earthquake struck the Gansu province near the border with Qinghai, and the tremor was felt as far away as Xi’an in northern Shaanxi province, about 350 miles (560 km) from the epicenter. The earthquake wrecked roads and infrastructure, triggered landslides, and half buried a village in silt, making emergency response difficult. Subzero temperatures across China have also made rescue work challenging. The government said about 4,000 homes have collapsed entirely. Despite tensions between the two nations, Taiwan’s government has pledged to offer assistance in the disaster response effort.
This map depicts the intensity of the earthquake that struck the Gansu province in Northwestern China, also depicting populated areas in the region. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Al Jazeera
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Iceland
Reykjanes Volcano Erupts
After weeks of seismic activity, a volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula has erupted. The overnight eruption created a fissure in the ground 2.5 miles (4 km) long which is pumping out a river of lava towards surrounding towns, and at its most active, it shot lava 300 feet (91 m) into the air. Residents of Iceland’s capital Reykjavik, 26 miles (42 km) away, describe the city being bathed in red light at the initial eruption. Around 3,400 people had already been evacuated from the fishing town of Grindavik in November, as the earthquakes leading up to this event caused large cracks emitting steam to form in roadways. The Icelandic meteorological office has advised the eruption appears to be weakening, but more cracks in the earth could appear. This eruption does not appear to present the same danger to commercial aviation as the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in 2010.
This map depicts the location of a volcanic fissure that opened with an eruption on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula, not far from the village of Grindavik. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: BBC
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United States
East Coast Storm
Over 600,000 people throughout the US northeast were without electricity this morning following a powerful winter storm that killed four people as it travelled along the East Coast. The storm began impacting the Carolinas over the weekend, with one fatality. The storm continued to move north, inundating the I-95 corridor. Parts of northeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey recorded more than 5 inches (127 mm) of rain, while parts of South Carolina reported as high as 9 inches (228 mm). Wind speeds exceeded 70 miles per hour (113 km/h) along the coast of southern New England, while winds of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) in Maine caused the most widespread damage to trees and structures of all the areas affected by the storm, leaving 423,000 people there without power.
This map depicts power outages throughout the northeastern United States caused torrential rains and wind gusts from a storm which struck the East Coast this week. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: Known by its modern name, Poinsettia, coined by U.S. botanist Joel Roberts Poinsett, this popular Christmas flower was first cultivated for red dye and medicine by what Native tribe?
A: Aztec
Indigenous to Mexico and Guatemala, the poinsettia is known for its red and green foliage. It derives its common English name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States minister to Mexico, who is credited with introducing the flower to the US in the 1820s. Its range is about 1,200 mi (2,000 km) long, encompassing mid-elevation tropical dry forests. Most wild populations are on Pacific-facing slopes in steep canyons. A genetic study found that its roots trace back to Guerrero state in Mexico. In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, the plant is called cuetlaxochitl, meaning “flower that withers.” Aztec people were the first to cultivate it. They used the plant for ornamental purposes, to produce reddish-purple dye for textiles, and as a fever-reducing medication from the plant’s white sap and tea from its green leaves. Today in Spanish it is known as nochebuena, meaning “Christmas Eve flower,” because it blooms only in November and December and has been widely used to decorate churches since European colonization.
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Q: What location in the New World is named after a famous European port city because an explorer observed local houses on stilts over water on its northern coast?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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