climate

The United States Geological Survey mistakenly issued an alert on Thursday morning warning of a magnitude 5.9 earthquake near Carson City, Nevada, which turned out to be completely false. The erroneous warning, generated by the USGS's automatic earthquake detection system, reached people as far as the San Francisco Bay Area and triggered automatic safety alerts telling residents to take cover. The agency quickly canceled the alert and removed it from their website within minutes, stating this appears to be the first time they have issued a completely fabricated earthquake notification. Law enforcement agencies near the supposed epicenter confirmed no seismic activity had occurred, and the USGS has launched an investigation to identify what caused the system malfunction.

Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica as a Category 5 storm with 185 mph winds on Tuesday, making it the most powerful hurricane to ever impact the island and causing extensive flooding and destruction across the region. The storm subsequently moved to eastern Cuba with reduced wind speeds and was projected to affect the Bahamas, while indirect effects caused fatal flooding in Haiti that killed at least 25 people. Howard University's Chapel organized a prayer vigil Tuesday evening to support affected community members, particularly students with family connections to the impacted Caribbean nations. Students from Jamaica expressed deep concern for their families and communities while appreciating the university's response, though many felt helpless being unable to provide direct assistance from campus. # Key Takeaways