Natural Disasters

Most of the Middle East is desert, and what make it possible for large populations to live in many regions are desalination plants that convert sea water to drinkable water. This is true of the nation of Israel. However, Israel and Gaza have just faced a severe and telling crisis (Washington Post, September 4, 2026). Two weeks ago, five of Israel’s six desalination plants went offline due to algae clogging their intake pipes.

Sargassum seaweed gets its name from the Sargasso Sea—a region off the southeast coast of North America. However, the seaweed today moves across the Atlantic from the west coast of Africa to the Caribbean. The last couple years have seen a massive explosion in the amount of Sargassum seaweed impacting coasts of the Caribbean, Mexico, Florida, and Texas (AccuWeather.com, June 2, 2026).

Western Europe is suffering through its third heat wave in six weeks (CNBC, July 30, 2026), and more than 375,000 people in France and Spain have been forced to flee their homes, due to the spread of intense wildfires (The Guardian, July 28, 2026

Just over a week ago, twin earthquakes struck Venezuela, not far from its capital city of Caracas. According to an initial review of satellite data, more than 58,000 buildings may have been damaged or destroyed (The Guardian, June 30, 2026).

Last week, there was a major earthquake just outside Caracas, Venezuela. The initial 7.2 quake was followed seconds later by an even greater 7.5 quake—an event known as a “seismic doublet.” As of the time of this writing, casualties are still being counted, but more than 2,000 are already known to have died, more than 10,000 have been injured, and tens of thousands are still unaccounted for (NPR, July 1, 2026).