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Ivan, which was declared a tropical storm yesterday, becamea hurricane today, making it the fastest developing southAtlantic hurricane ever recorded. Ivan is presently on atrack to strike south Florida, and is expected to become aCategory 5 hurricane tomorrow. This is the most powerfulhurricane category. A Category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpsonscale carries sustained winds in excess of 155 MPH.

With the warm waters of the vast south Atlantic to feed it,the storm could reach record intensity. At present, it hassustained winds of 135 mph.

Hurricane Gilbert, which struck the Yucatan in 1988 was,with winds of 200 MPH, the most powerful Atlantic hurricaneever recorded.
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As the south central Atlantic was lashed by fierce weather,torrential downpours killed nearly a hundred people inChina, caused large-scale evacuations and threatened massiveflooding. The fierce Chinese weather came during one of themost active typhoon seasons on record, with 17 of thesePacific hurricanes recorded so far this year, and the seasonstill with four to six weeks to go.

Typhoons have caused damage and death in China, Japan, thePhililipines and the Pacific island nations. Heavy rains andfloods have affected large areas of China since June, withhundreds dead and thousands injured.
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We have been following the saga of themysteriousfires that have broken out spontaneously in Sicily?amystery that has never been solved. Now it turns out thatthis has been happening in Africa as well.

Oswald Shivute writes in The Namibian that churches in thevillage of Oshoogolo in Namibia have been holding prayervigils to try to chase away the mysterious fires at the homeof an 85-year-old woman named kuku Kakaya. When she moved toher daughter’s house to get away from them, the fires brokeout there as well.

Some of the Italians who experienced the fires blameddemonic elements, despite the fact that the fires are beinginvestigated by scientists. The Africans are torn betweenthe advice given by the local church and by their nativeshaman.
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UCLA earthquake expert Vladimir Keilis-Borok predicted amajor quake in southern California last weekend?but itdidn’t come. And global warming is causing rapidly meltingglaciers in Alaska, paving the way for future quakes.

In January, Keilis-Borok predicted there was a 50-50 chanceof a 6.4 magnitude or larger earthquake hitting a 12,000square mile desert area east of Los Angeles by Sunday. Hepredicted this based on a mathematical formula which he’dalready used to successfully forecast a 6.5 earthquake incentral California in December 2003 and the 8.1 quake thathit the Japanese island of Hokkaido in September.
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