Earth Changes · Daily Report · November 1, 2026, 6:30 AM CST
GDACS, the UN-backed global disaster alert system, issued a Red alert: Red notification for tropical cyclone FOUR-26. Population affected by Category 1 (120 km/h) wind speeds or higher is 1.156 million .[1]
Meanwhile, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 165 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu at 11:47 a.m. UTC on Nov. 1, about 10 km (≈6 miles) below the surface, the U.S. Geological Survey reports[2]. The USGS PAGER system rates the expected impact GREEN. It was one of 17 quakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater in the past day.
Elsewhere, the National Weather Service has 47 severe or extreme alerts in effect, led by 18 flood watches across AZ, CA, CO, FL and more.[3]
Today at a Glance
- 17 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater, the largest M6.0
- 47 severe or extreme U.S. weather alerts
- 4 U.S. volcanoes above normal, including Great Sitkin
- 0 sinkhole reports in the news
Where It’s Happening
Numbered pins match the list under the map. Storm and quake pins are the agencies' reported centers; sinkhole pins mark the town named in the report. Map data: OpenStreetMap contributors.
1. Extreme Weather
The National Hurricane Center is tracking no active tropical storms.[4]
Across the United States, the National Weather Service has 47 alerts rated severe or extreme in effect.[3]
| Alert | Number | States |
|---|---|---|
| Flood Watch | 18 | AZ, CA, CO, FL, NM, NV and more |
| Flood Warning | 16 | AZ, CO, FL, LA, MS, UT |
| Winter Storm Warning | 4 | AK, CO, NV |
| Flash Flood Warning | 3 | FL, LA |
| Storm Warning | 3 | PK |
| High Wind Watch | 2 | NM, TX, WY |
| Winter Storm Watch | 1 | MT, WY |
The Storm Prediction Center says its highest risk level for severe thunderstorms today is slight, on a scale that runs marginal, slight, enhanced, moderate, high.[5]
Around the world, GDACS, the global disaster alert system run by the United Nations and the European Commission, lists these Orange or Red alerts from the past two days:
- Red: Red notification for tropical cyclone FOUR-26. Population affected by Category 1 (120 km/h) wind speeds or higher is 1.156 million .[1]
2. Earthquakes
The USGS recorded 17 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater in the past 24 hours.[6] The strongest:
| Mag. | Where | When | Depth | PAGER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.0 | 165 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu | Nov. 1, 11:47 a.m. UTC | 10 km | GREEN |
| 6.0 | 58 km SSE of Shima, Japan | Oct. 31, 10:15 p.m. UTC | 352 km | GREEN |
| 5.4 | 203 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu | Nov. 1, 6:26 a.m. UTC | 10 km | GREEN |
| 5.2 | 200 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu | Oct. 31, 10:42 p.m. UTC | 10 km | — |
| 5.2 | 4 km S of Bajo Corral, Panama | Oct. 31, 3:50 p.m. UTC | 10 km | — |
| 5.1 | 201 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu | Nov. 1, 7:00 a.m. UTC | 10 km | — |
| 5.0 | 115 km SE of Bushehr, Iran | Oct. 31, 9:20 p.m. UTC | 10 km | — |
| 4.8 | 203 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu | Nov. 1, 12:08 p.m. UTC | 10 km | — |
PAGER is the USGS estimate of likely deaths and damage: GREEN means little or none expected, RED means extensive. A dash means none was issued.
3. Volcanoes
In the United States, 4 volcanoes are above normal background activity, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s observatories:
| Volcano | Alert / aviation code | Latest word from scientists |
|---|---|---|
| Great Sitkin | Watch / Orange | Slow eruption of lava within the summit crater continues.[7] |
| Ahyi Seamount | Advisory / Yellow | No signs of unrest in satellite data; no significant geophysical signals.[8] |
| Kilauea | Advisory / Yellow | The Halema'uma'u eruption of Kīlauea remains paused following episode 55 on October 17. The forecast for episode 56 fountaining is now Nov. 3-10, 2026.[9] |
| Shishaldin | Advisory / Yellow | Low-level unrest continues.[7] |
Alert levels run Normal, Advisory, Watch, Warning. Aviation codes run Green, Yellow, Orange, Red.
4. Sinkholes
We found no new news reports of sinkholes opening in the past 24 hours.
Official Telegram video: Russia's Emergencies Ministry (MChS), official Telegram channel, October 31, 2026 — “Ледяной хищник Даже несколько шагов по непрочному льду могут обернуться трагедией. Оказавшись в ледяной воде, человек быстро теряет силы, а намокшая одежда затрудняет движения. В такой ситуации счет может идти на минуты.” Topic: sinkhole. Caption in Russian. Picked by hazard keywords in the channel’s own caption. Telegram only plays this file in its app: use the button above.
Also in the News
Other natural-hazard video from the past day, from news organizations:
Video: CBS News, November 1, 2026 — “Watch: Thousands flood streets in cost of living protests across Italy #shorts”. Also in the news. Picked because its title names a natural hazard; it may not be covered in the data above.
Video: AccuWeather, October 31, 2026 — “The most adorable tornado costume you'll ever see!”. Also in the news.
5. What the Experts Say
These are the words of the scientists and forecasters who watch these hazards for a living, quoted exactly.
“Thunderstorms associated with severe wind gusts and a tornado threat are expected this evening into tonight from parts of New Mexico northeastward into the southern High Plains. A more isolated severe threat will be possible in parts of the Desert Southwest this afternoon.”
— NOAA Storm Prediction Center[5]
“The eastern margin of the Australia plate is one of the most sesimically active areas of the world due to high rates of convergence between the Australia and Pacific plates. In the region of New Zealand, the 3000 km long Australia-Pacific plate boundary extends from south of Macquarie Island to the southern Kermadec Island chain. It includes an oceanic transform (the Macquarie Ridge), two oppositely verging subduction zones (Puysegur and Hikurangi), and a transpressive continental transform, the Alpine Fault through South Island, New Zealand.”
— U.S. Geological Survey, “Seismotectonics of the Eastern Margin of the Australia Plate,” on the region around the M6.0 quake[10]
“Lava continues to erupt slowly within the summit crater of Great Sitkin Volcano. No earthquakes were detected at the volcano over the last day. Clouds obscured both satellite and webcam views of the volcano.”
— Alaska Volcano Observatory, on Great Sitkin[7]
“Small plumes of discolored water were seen in the ocean above Ahyi on October 16 and 21 this past week. Discolored greenish water was visible drifting several hundred meters from the summit of Ahyi. These plumes are likely associated with degassing and hydrothermal activity at the summit of the underwater volcano.”
— Northern Mariana Islands, on Ahyi Seamount[8]
“Sinkholes are common where the rock below the land surface is limestone, carbonate rock, salt beds, or other rocks that can naturally be dissolved by groundwater circulating through them. As the rock dissolves, spaces and caverns develop underground. Sinkholes are dramatic because the land usually stays intact for a while until the underground spaces just get too big.”
— U.S. Geological Survey Water Science School, on why sinkholes form[11]
How to Prepare
- Keep a basic kit: water (one gallon per person per day for several days), food, a battery or hand-crank radio, a whistle, a dust mask and phone chargers.[12]
- Get alerts: Wireless Emergency Alerts need no sign-up; the FEMA app, NOAA Weather Radio, the USGS Earthquake Notification Service and the USGS Volcano Notification Service are free.
- Floods: Turn Around, Don’t Drown. Six inches of moving water can knock you down, and one foot can sweep a car away.[13]
- Earthquakes: Drop, Cover and Hold On.[14]
- Download the checklist: Be Ready: Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Extreme Weather and Sinkholes (PDF), with today’s active hazards first.
How to Verify This Yourself
- Earthquakes: USGS Latest Earthquakes map
- U.S. volcanoes: USGS Volcano Hazards Program; world: Smithsonian weekly report
- Weather alerts: weather.gov/alerts; tropics: nhc.noaa.gov
- Worldwide disasters: gdacs.org
References
- GDACS event page gdacs.org. ↩
- USGS, M6.0 165 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu event page earthquake.usgs.gov. ↩
- National Weather Service, active alerts API api.weather.gov. ↩
- National Hurricane Center, active storms data nhc.noaa.gov. ↩
- NOAA Storm Prediction Center, Day 1 Convective Outlook spc.noaa.gov. ↩
- USGS, M4.5+ earthquakes, past day (real-time feed) earthquake.usgs.gov. ↩
- Alaska Volcano Observatory, Great Sitkin notice volcanoes.usgs.gov. ↩
- Northern Mariana Islands, Ahyi Seamount notice volcanoes.usgs.gov. ↩
- Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Kilauea notice volcanoes.usgs.gov. ↩
- USGS Geoserve, tectonic summary earthquake.usgs.gov. ↩
- USGS Water Science School, Sinkholes usgs.gov. ↩
- Ready.gov (FEMA), Build a Kit ready.gov. ↩
- Ready.gov (FEMA), Floods ready.gov. ↩
- Ready.gov (FEMA), Earthquakes ready.gov. ↩
Methodology: this report is assembled automatically each morning from the live data feeds of the USGS, the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, the National Weather Service, the National Hurricane Center, the Storm Prediction Center and GDACS, plus same-day news reports for sinkholes. No AI writes it: the sentences are fixed templates filled with that data, and every quote is copied exactly from the source it is credited to. Data can change after publication; follow the links for the latest.
Kemetic Minds Editorial Desk
Verified NewsroomPrimary-sourced investigative intelligence on civil rights, voting rights, federal policy, and consumer protection. Sourced from primary legal filings, government statistics, and direct field reporting.