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Typhoon Koinu has moved on from Taiwan and is now lashing southeast China, packing severe winds of 115 mph and heavy rain. It made landfall on Thursday on the southeastern coast of Taiwan with winds of 125 mph and large storm surge as well, but thankfully, all of Taiwan's large cities are on its west coast. The large port city of Kaohsiung was affected, but not as severely as the small towns along the coast. Koinu has now moved on towards the southeast coast of China near the Fujian and Guangdong provinces, and it is currently mainly affecting the Hong Kong-Macau area. However, it is not over land, and is expected to weaken before making landfall on the Chinese island of Hainan and moving on towards Vietnam and Laos.
On another note, the death toll from the deadly Sikkim flooding has increased once again, and it has now risen to 42. Over 150 people remain missing as officials continue to discover more about the catastrophe and uncover bodies and survivors. At first, the report was that a severe cloudburst caused the Teesta River and Lhonak Lake to burst their banks, flooding multiple cities. Now, they have discovered that a dam collapse was also involved, and an avalanche caused by the rains may have also caused damage. Due to bad weather, rescue efforts have been hampered- helicopters cannot come to aid stranded tourists and other air support cannot deliver supplies to residents of the area. The main highway has been damaged and collapsed bridges have cut off Sikkim from the rest of the country, so the only form of rescue is from the air. Numerous pieces of military equipment also washed into the river, where it poses a threat to the surrounding community and wildlife. A mortar round was discovered in a West Bengal river downstream from the Sikkim disaster, where it later exploded and killed one person while injuring six others.
Fact of the Day: Bottled water has an expiration date. However, it is not for the water, but the bottle itself. The plastic eventually starts leaking into the water, which is when you need to throw it away. Also, make sure not to drink bottled water that has been sitting in the sun for a while- the heat speeds up the process and the plastic dissolves into the water faster.
Quote of the Day: Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself. (Jalaluddin Rumi)
Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Demarcate (verb)- To demarcate something is to fix or define its limits or edges.
In a Sentence: Treaty negotiations are underway, and both parties have agreed to accept whatever boundaries are demarcated in that document.
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