The Stream, July 6, 2021: Tropical Storm Elsa Moves Through Caribbean

YOUR GLOBAL RUNDOWN

• Tropical Storm Elsa tears through parts of the Caribbean, including Cuba.
• A cold front is moving over parts of Australia after a weekend of heavy rain.
• A company cancels its plans to build an oil pipeline through parts of Tennessee and Mississippi, directly over a major aquifer.
• Heavy rains pummel parts of Japan, causing landslides.

A recent report finds that thousands of miles of offshore gas and oil pipelines lack proper oversight from a U.S. environmental agency.

“If these pipelines later pose safety or environmental risks, there’s no clear funding source for their removal.” — The U.S. Government Accountability Office. A new report from the federal government watchdog agency found that thousands of miles of offshore oil and gas pipelines lack ‘robust oversight,’ the Independent reports. The reports comes amid a catastrophic fire on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico following a ruptured gas pipeline. The report found that nearly 30,000 miles of active and abandoned pipelines and wells aren’t being properly managed by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

Heavy Rains Trigger Landslide in Japan

Heavy rain hit parts of Japan on Saturday, triggering landslides and killing at least two people. Al Jazeera reports many others were reported missing after the natural disaster in the central city of Atami. Japan’s meteorological agency forecasted rains to continue all weekend, nearly a year after 50 people were killed by heavy floods and landslides in the southern part of the country.

TODAY’S TOP WATER STORIES, TOLD IN NUMBERS

180,000 PEOPLE

Around 180,000 people in Cuba were evacuated on Sunday ahead of Tropical Storm Elsa’s arrival, the Associated Press reports. Over the weekend the storm system battered parts of the Caribbean, killing at least three people.

1 MILLION PEOPLE 

Amid pressure from conservation groups, Byhalia Connection said on Saturday it will cancel plans to construct a 49-mile (79-kilometer) oil pipeline that would have run directly over an aquifer providing one million people in Tennessee and Mississippi with drinking water. The Associated Press reports that environmentalists and activists are celebrating the pipeline’s demise, which the company is blaming on “lower U.S. oil production resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

ON THE RADAR

Large stretches of Australia are preparing for a massive cold front after heavy rainstorms poured 44 millimeters (1.7 inches) of rain on the city of Perth in 24 hours. ABC reports that the cold front could bring winds up to 115 kph (71 mph) across parts of Western Australia’s South West and Great Southern regions.

Jane Johnston

Jane is a Communications Associate for Circle of Blue. She writes The Stream and has covered domestic and international water issues for Circle of Blue. She is a recent graduate of Grand Valley State University, where she studied Multimedia Journalism and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. During her time at Grand Valley, she was the host of the Community Service Learning Center podcast Be the Change. Currently based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Jane enjoys listening to music, reading and spending time outdoors.