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India
Soldiers Missing After Floods
A sudden heavy rainfall triggered flash floods in the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim, killing five civilians and leaving 23 army soldiers missing on Wednesday. The flooding occurred along the Teesta River in the Lachen Valley, an army statement said, adding that some army camps and vehicles were submerged under mud and that search efforts were underway. A bridge over the Teesta River was also washed away in the floods. Water released from a nearby dam also caused water levels to rise. Five bodies of civilians were recovered from the Golitar and Singtam regions. Eighty residents have been safely evacuated.
This map depicts the floods of the Sikkim state in India. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: The Hindu
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Italy
Venice Bus Crash Kills 21
Italian authorities are investigating the cause of a tragic bus crash near Venice that killed at least 21 people, including two children. The bus was traveling from Venice to nearby Marghera and was full of people returning from work. The bus slowed to an almost complete stop and broke through a wall of the overpass of a road, falling between a warehouse and the tracks of the Mestre station below. The cause of the crash is yet to be known, but Italy’s fire services said they would consider whether the bus’s battery may have caused the fire to spread more quickly after it overheated. Videos are being examined by investigators to determine if any other vehicles were involved in the incident or if the driver, who was among the dead, suffered a health issue. The country’s president and prime minister expressed their condolences in the aftermath of the accident.
This map depicts the location of the bus crash near Venice. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: BBC News
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Canada-United States
Wildfire Smoke Drifts South
Smoke from a wildfire in Quebec drifted as far south as Florida on Tuesday. The air quality was ranked as unhealthy in areas across the state, and visibility was decreased. Smoke pollution from wildfires is extremely unusual for Florida, and areas like South Florida have generally avoided compromised air quality due to wildfires until now. The smoke is expected to hover over Florida into Wednesday morning before wind moves it towards the Gulf of Mexico. This year, Americans have been exposed to more wildfire smoke than ever before, and with close to 800 fires still burning in Canada, more smoke can be expected before the end of the year.
This map depicts air quality in Florida due to the presence of smoke from wildfires burning in Canada. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: The deepest known blue hole (marine sinkhole) in the world is known by local fishermen as the “Eye” of what sea?
A: South China Sea
Located in the South China Sea, the Dragon Hole is the deepest known underwater sinkhole in the world. It is believed to be 988 ft (301.19m) deep, beating Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas by almost 328 ft (100m). The Discovery Reef, known as “Xisha” in Chinese and “Hoàng Sa” in Vietnamese, is a group of almost 130 islands, reefs, and banks scattered over 5,800 sq mi (15,000 sq km). It is home to Dragon Hole, now officially known as the “Sansha Yongle Blue Hole (SYBH).” A 2017 survey revealed that SYBH is shaped like a ballet dancer’s shoe, with the widest part being 532.4 ft (162.3 m) and the narrowest being 85.9 ft (26.2 m). Blue holes, often described as underwater caves, formed when sea levels on Earth were as low as 393 ft (120 m) lower than now during previous ice ages, due to the same weathering and erosion that causes sinkholes on land. When glacial ice melted, they became flooded when sea levels rose.
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Q: Alfred Russel Wallace, known as the “Father of Biogeography,” invented the Wallace Line to divide the flora and fauna of what two continents?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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