Let us consider planning our year-end travel in areas less prone to extreme weathers, natural disasters like earthquake and volcanic activities. At the same time, Let us consider preparing some emergency toolkit. Keep well all and stay safe.

Over the past week, severe weather and major natural disasters were heavily defined by an active Pacific basin and late-season Atlantic tropical activity. A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck near Panama's Azuero Peninsula at a shallow depth, injuring at least 27 people, damaging more than 400 structures, and triggering widespread power outages across six provinces.
In the tropics, Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida as a Category 2 storm with 105 mph sustained winds. It marked the latest first-hurricane formation of an Atlantic season since 1905, causing four fatalities and leaving nearly 700,000 customers without power across the U.S. Southeast. Meanwhile, the Pacific hosted a rare dual threat: Tropical Storm Rachel brought high surf, coastal flooding, and heavy desert rainfall to Baja California and Southern California, while Hurricane Simon rapidly intensified into a Category 4 storm off the Mexican coast near Jalisco. Out in the Western Pacific, Typhoon Nolo crossed the International Date Line before gradually dissipating over open water.
Severe localized weather and wildfires also caused disruptions across parts of Europe and the United States. A destructive tornado swept through western Sicily, injuring several individuals and damaging homes and schools in the Trapani region. In Southern California, the Bouquet Fire burned over 1,000 acres near Santa Clarita during a late heatwave before fire crews successfully contained the blaze. Earlier reports of major flash flooding in Southern France and North Texas, as well as tornadoes in Kansas, occurred prior to this past week's timeframe. Overall, the week highlighted an unusually hyperactive Pacific ocean pattern contrasted against late-developing Atlantic storm activity.