Residents of the Cook Islands, Samoa and American Samoa were warned Monday that they faced a "critically dangerous" situation as two major cyclones bore down on the south Pacific nations.
The Australian-Pacific Center for Emergency and Disaster Information said seven countries lay in the potential paths of major cyclones Nancy and Olaf, which were forecast to strike populated islands with damaging winds and high seas within the next 24 to 48 hours.
Cyclone Olaf was heading from the northwest towards Samoa and American Samoa and could have reached Category 5 "Super Cyclone" status by yesterday when it is forecast to hit the two neighboring countries, the center said. Cyclone Nancy was expected to be a strong Category 4 storm when it hits the southern Cook Islands, where residents are still cleaning up from another Category 4-plus cyclone, Meena, which struck on Feb. 6.
Nancy was predicted to strike the southern Cooks from the northeast yesterday and followed quickly by Olaf with category 4-to-5 gales.
Cyclones are rated on a scale from category 1 to 5 -- Category 5 being a "Super Cyclone" with sustained winds greater than 249kph.
"This is a critically dangerous situation for Samoa, American Samoa and the Southern Cooks," the center's officials said.
It said the small Cook Islands of Aitutaki and Palmerston and the main island of Raratonga were particularly at risk.
"Special attention should be taken along the coastal zone where much damage has already occurred from Cyclone Meena and seawalls and other structures may be damaged," it said.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
North Korea has detained another official over last week’s failed launch of a warship, which damaged the naval destroyer, state media reported yesterday. Pyongyang announced “a serious accident” at Wednesday last week’s launch ceremony, which crushed sections of the bottom of the new destroyer. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the mishap a “criminal act caused by absolute carelessness.” Ri Hyong-son, vice department director of the Munitions Industry Department of the Party Central Committee, was summoned and detained on Sunday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. He was “greatly responsible for the occurrence of the serious accident,” it said. Ri is the fourth person
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and