Contents:
Two people are dead after a hotel collapsed in the small German town of Kröv yesterday, located near the border with Luxembourg in the country's wine region of Mosel.
14 people were inside the Reichsschenke Zum Ritter Götz hotel when the second floor completely collapsed, crushing the first floor as well. Five people managed to escape before the second floor came down, while nine others were trapped underneath. Once recovery operations commenced, they rescued six survivors buried in the rubble and found the bodies of two others, while one other person remained trapped. The rescue operations have been hindered by the fact that the building is still slowly collapsing, as parts of the hotel are still undamaged and moving.
The building dates back to the 1700s, meaning that its age may have contributed to the failing structural integrity of the hotel. However, the upper floors were only added in the 1980s, though, meaning that it may also be due to another cause. The exact cause of the incident is still unknown, but officials are investigating.
On another note, Tropical Storm Debby has made a second landfall in South Carolina, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to a state that has already been hit hard by the storm.
Debby made its first landfall east of Apalachicola, Florida on the morning of August 5 as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 80 mph and storm surge of up to 10 feet, devastating the exact same area that was severely impacted by Hurricane Idalia last year. Four people died in Florida and another one person died in Georgia due to slick roads and falling trees. Heavy rain inundated entire towns and forced evacuations across Florida's Big Bend region, and Debby's slow speed made things worse. Debby crossed Florida at a speed of 7-10 mph before slowing down even more over Georgia. By the time it had reached the Atlantic Ocean, it was moving at 5 mph, and at one point in its track, its speed even reached a mere 3 mph.
The slow speed gives more time for rain to fall on specific areas-- almost 20 inches of rain fell in Lake City, Florida, over 13 inches of rain were recorded in Rincon, Georgia, and around 17 inches of rain drenched Summerville, South Carolina. Unfortunately, more rain is on the way, with around 3-9 inches expected for most of the Carolinas. According to the National Hurricane Center, this will bring final totals in parts of South Carolina to reach up to 25 inches and totals in North Carolina to reach 15 inches.
Then, last night, it made landfall with winds of around 65 mph east of Charleston, South Carolina, which has been one of the hardest-hit cities by the storm. Tropical storm warnings are still in place for much of the state, and flood watches are in place all the way up through Maryland. Serious flash flooding could occur across the Carolinas and Virginia in the next few days, the the northeastern United States, including New England, could also see heavy rainfall because of Debby's outer bands.
Lastly, a rare 5.2 magnitude earthquake struck Southern California yesterday with an epicenter 14 miles southwest of Lamont, California, at a depth of about 7.3 miles. Most of Southern California was affected, with residents across Los Angeles feeling the rumbling over 100 miles away. However, a primary sweep of the area showed no visible damage despite the numerous aftershocks that followed, ranging from 2.5 to 4.5 on the Richter scale, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
This comes amid rising fears of a dangerous earthquake hitting the Los Angeles area, as the San Andreas Fault passes very close to the city. According to the California Earthquake Authority, there is a 75% chance of one or more magnitude 7.0 or greater earthquakes striking Southern California in the next 20 years-- the San Andreas Fault is extremely ready for a big earthquake, based on previous trends.
Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Tim Berners-Lee, who created the main software of the World Wide Web, admitted he regrets one thing: Adding “//” after “https:” in a web address. It was standard for programming but didn’t serve any real purpose, and when looking back in 2009, he said leaving it out would have saved time and space.
Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): I’m self-made because I was learning, working, exploring, climbing, and moving forward. (Vladimer Botsvadze)
Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Reify (verb)- Reifying is about considering or representing something abstract as a material or concrete thing. If you reify a concept or idea you somehow give it definite content and form.
In a Sentence: The tense personal dynamic between the two musicians was reified by the dissonant yet captivating music they made together.ways seemed to impose deadlines at the last minute.
Comments