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United States
Storm Causes Power Outage, 9 Dead
A historic winter storm swept across the eastern half of the United States from the Great Plains last week to the East Coast over the weekend, affecting 245 million residents with snowfall and ice causing power outages for over 800,000 and the death of nine people. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) said freezing rain and sleet caused power outages across both TVA-owned transmission lines and local distribution networks in northern Mississippi, northern Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Other areas affected by power outages included eastern Texas, Louisiana, the Carolinas, West Virginia, and further up the East Coast. Across the affected area, around 15,500 flights were cancelled between Sunday and today, and another 1,500 remain delayed – the highest daily totals since the COVID shutdowns. Temperatures following the storm have plummeted, in some areas, to record lows, and to well below average over most of the Midwest and eastern US.
This map depicts known power outages in the southeast US following a major winter storm that struck the eastern half of the country. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: FOX Weather
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Philippines
Eighteen Dead in Ferry Disaster
At least 18 people have been killed by the sinking of a ferry containing over 350 passengers near Basilan, a province on the southern Philippine coast. The vessel, named MV Trisha Kerstin 3, had been sailing south from the Zamboanga port to the nearby Sulu islands. Soon after midnight on Monday, the boat suddenly tilted and took on water, flinging many passengers into the sea. While rescuers have saved over 300 people, two dozen remain missing, in addition to the 18 passengers confirmed to be dead. Further rescue efforts are being aided by the Philippine Coast Guard and military aircraft. The cause is not yet clear to officials, who confirmed that the sinking occurred in good weather. However, maritime accidents are frequent throughout the archipelago due to storms and lack of safety regulations concerning vessel maintenance and overcrowding.
This map depicts the location of a ferry sinking near the southern Philippine province of Basilan. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Anadolu Ajansi
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Indonesia
World’s Oldest Cave Art
A series of handprints in a cave on Indonesia’s Muna Island, off the coast of Sulawesi, may be the oldest-known human-made cave artwork. The prints, which have been dated to 67,800 years ago, were created by blowing tan-colored pigment over a hand placed on the cave wall, leaving the outline. While the caves were known previously for ancient cave paintings to the Indonesian and Australian researchers who discovered the handprints, previous finds only dated to around 4,000 years ago. The newly-revealed handprints were dated by the decay rates of radioactive elements in layers of calcite which had formed over them. The research team behind the accompanying study published in Nature say they give a picture of the developed culture of humans migrating through the region at a time when Southeast Asia was connected by land to New Guinea and Australia.
This map depicts the location on Indonesia’s Muna Island where ancient handprints were discovered that may be the world’s oldest-known cave art. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: In which country can you find the only desert oasis in South America?
A: Peru
Huacachina is a village built in a small natural, but now artificially maintained, oasis and surrounded by sand dunes in southwestern Peru. It is about 3 miles (5 km) from the city of Ica. The name comes from Quechua: “wakachina,” meaning ‘guard, or ‘conceal,’ possibly shortened from “wakachina qucha,” for hidden lagoon. The lake was created by natural seepage from underground aquifers, but the increase in well-drilling started to threaten that supply in the early 2000s. To compensate for the loss, and to preserve the oasis, local business groups began pumping water into the lake in 2015.
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Q: What is the world’s largest country without a permanent natural river?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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