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India
Five Soldiers Killed by Rebels
Suspected rebels have shot dead five Indian soldiers, including one junior commissioned officer in the Indian-administered region of Kashmir. The shootings were near a mountain pass close to the Line of Control separating territory between India and Pakistan, who have jointly administered parts of the area since 1947. Tensions had already been high after a number of shootings last week that killed two civilians. For at least thirty years, rebels have been fighting with Indian soldiers to demand Kashmiri independence or to merge with Pakistan. Pressure has been mounting in the area since August 2019 after the Indian government ended Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status.
This map depicts the borders between Pakistan, India, and the both the Indian and Pakistan-administered regions of Kashmir. Click on the map to learn more.
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China
Floods Cause Devastation
More than 120,000 residents in China’s Shanxi Province have been evacuated after torrential rainfall hit the province over the weekend. The region received an average of 3.9 inches (10 cm) of precipitation, with some areas exceeding 7.8 inches (20 cm). Consequently, massive flooding and landslides have destroyed more than 17,000 homes and damaged 470,000 acres (190,000 hectares) of farmland. In neighboring Hebei province, flooding swept a passenger bus into a river, leaving three dead and eleven missing. Shanxi is China’s leading region for coal mining, and the flooding is causing multiple mines to be shut down and the price of coal to rise. The flooding in the Shanxi and Hebei provinces comes only a couple months after record-breaking rainstorms killed over 300 in Henan Province in July. More rain is anticipated this week.
This map depicts the location of Shanxi province and its multiple coal mines in China, where heavy rains and flooding are causing evacuations, property damage, and mine shutdowns. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Bloomberg News
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Russia
Plane Crash Kills 16
A plane carrying parachutists crashed right after take-off early Sunday morning in Russia’s Tatarstan region, killing sixteen passengers and injuring six others. The Czech-made L-410 was owned and operated by the Voluntary Society for Assistance to the Army, Aviation and Navy of Russia, which describes itself as a sports and defense organization. The group made no comment on the disaster, citing a criminal investigation of the accident for potential safety violations. Authorities said the pilots reported a failure in the left engine, and the plane struck a vehicle during an attempted emergency landing, causing the plane to overturn. The accident follows on the heels of Russian aircraft crashes in July and August, killing six and twenty-eight, respectively, spurring a tightening of safety standards and enforcement across the country.
This map depicts the Tatarstan region of Russia, where 16 parachutists died after their plane crashed on Sunday morning. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Daily Mail
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Q: Halloween is right around the corner! Which U.S. state is the largest producer of pumpkins?
A: Illinois
According to the USDA Economic Research Service, Illinois has maintained its leading position as the number one producer of pumpkins, harvesting 10,900 acres, nearly twice as many acres as any other top state producer. Almost 80 percent of pumpkin acres in Illinois are harvested solely for pie filling or other processing purposes, compared to about 3 percent in other top states. The type of pumpkin grown and growing conditions in Illinois helps explain such different outcomes in yields and price. While Illinois produces the most amount of pumpkins (about 40,000 pounds per acre) they sell the least whole pumpkins for general retail sale, compared to other top states such as California, Michigan, and Virginia.
Source
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Q: Located over 200 miles (322 km) north of the Arctic Circle, which European town receives both extreme light in the summer, known as the ‘Midnight Sun’ where the sun never sets, and extreme darkness in the winter, known as the ‘Polar Night’ where the sun doesn’t rise?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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