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Japan
Floods Inundate Chiba Prefecture
At least eight people have died in eastern Japan after “unprecedented” heavy rain that left nearly 7,000 stranded at Tokyo’s Narita airport and forced thousands to take refuge in government buildings. Evacuation orders were issued for more than 400,000 people in Chiba and other areas, and about 45,000 homes lost power, as 4.5 inches (115mm) of rain fell hourly, approximately the same amount usually recorded for the whole month of August. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a level-5 warning, the highest level in its alert system due to the weather event. Rail services were also suspended, stranding thousands of passengers. Rain has eased today but authorities are warning of the dangers of flooding in the area. Meteorologists in Japan say that ‘climate breakdown’ is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.
This map depicts areas affected by floods in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Synspective
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Afghanistan
Five Years Since Taliban Takeover
Saturday (August 15) marks the five-year anniversary of the takeover of Afghanistan by hardline Islamists, drawing renewed global attention to the ongoing crisis in the country. The humanitarian emergency in Afghanistan under the Taliban is ranked as one of the world’s worst alongside those in Yemen and Sudan, and the country is counted among the very worst for protection of human rights, particularly the rights of women and girls. Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls and women are barred from secondary and higher education, and restrictions on women’s employment have placed additional economic strain on families already grappling with poverty and hunger. UN agencies estimate 21.9 million people, almost half the population, including 11.6 million children, require humanitarian assistance, with 14 million Afghans, around one in three, said to be in need of urgent food assistance. Nearly 3.7 million children under five are at risk of acute malnutrition. Malnutrition is also affecting about 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women.
This map depicts the percentage of the population above IPC Phase 3 acute food insecurity in Afghanistan. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: The Economist
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Moldova
Caught at EU-Russia Crossroad
The August 9 explosion of a Russian drone over the village of Crocmaz has drawn attention to Moldova’s efforts to chart its future. The country has a complex geopolitical history, with opposing groups battling politically over the country’s future either as a member of the European Union (EU) or an ally of Russia since the country’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. In 1992, a pro-Russian faction seized control over a sliver of Moldova’s east and declared independence as the Republic of Transnistria, one of several ‘frozen conflicts’ in Russia’s periphery. Some pro-Western Moldovan politicians have proposed unification with culturally and linguistically-related Romania as a way to fast-track EU accession, while Russia’s unsuccessful efforts to manipulate last year’s elections were detailed in a recent report by the New York Times. Despite the loss by the pro-Russian parties, Moldovan officials maintain that Russia continues various efforts to undermine the country’s independence and growing alignment with the EU.
This map depicts the Republic of Moldova, which includes the autonomous region of Gagauzia and pro-Russian breakaway region of Transnistria. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: The highest active volcano above sea level is found on the border of which two countries?
A: Chile and Argentina
The world’s highest active volcano, Nevados Ojos del Salado, rises to 22,569 feet (6,879 m) along the Chile-Argentina border. The volcano lies about 12 miles (20 km) south of the road that crosses the international border at Paso de San Francisco. It is second only to Aconcagua as the highest mountain outside of the Himalayas and is one of the Volcanic Seven Summits, comprised of the highest volcanoes on each of the seven continents. The name Ojos del Salado comes from the enormous deposits of salt which appear in its snowfields in the form of lagoons or ‘eyes’. Conditions on the mountain tend to be very dry due to the influence of the nearby Atacama Desert, but despite this, snow can fall at any time and summer days can be quite windy and exposed.
Source
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Q: What archipelago is home to 332 volcanic islands spread out over one million square miles (2.6 million sq km) in the South Pacific Ocean?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in Monday’s DailyGeo.
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