At least 53 dead following Magnitude 7.7 Earthquake off the coast of Flores Island, Indonesia.

The Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency recorded a Magnitude 7.7 Earthquake at a depth of about 15 km, to the north of the Island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia slightly before 5.00 am on Saturday 15 August 2026, Eastern Indonesian Time (slightly before 10.00 pm on Friday 14 August, GMT). The Earthquake was felt as far away as Bali, and caused a tsunami as high as 1.6 m on some parts of the coast of Flores. The initial event has been followed by more than three hundred aftershocks.

The approximate location of the 15 August 2026 Flores Earthquake. USGS.

At least 53 people have died as a result of this event, the majority of them killed in their sleep as buildings collapsed onto them, making this the most deadly Earthquake to hit Indonesia since 2022. A further 135 people are known to have been injured, with more than 5000 people displaced and over 1900 homes damaged or destroyed. The Earthquake also caused damage to at least 93 educational facilities, 36 health facilities, 38 government offices, and five places of worship. A maritime passenger terminal collapsed in Maumere on the north coast of Flores.

Damaged and collapsed building in the city of Mbay on the north coast of Flores. Ignasius Kunda/EPA.

Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, which are located on the northern part of the Timor Microplate. This is trapped between the converging Eurasian and Australian Plates, both of which are being subducted beneath it. In the south the Australian Plate is passing under the island of Timor, while in the north the Eurasian Plate is being subducted in the same way. This is not a smooth process; the rocks of the various plates constantly stick together, only to break apart again as the pressure builds up, causing Earthquakes in the process.

The subduction zones beneath the Timor Microplate. Hamson (2004).

Earthquakes along subductive margins are particularly prone to causing tsunamis, since these often occur when the overlying plate has stuck to the underlying plate, being pulled out of shape by its movement. Eventually the pressure builds up too far and the overlying plate snaps back, causing an Earthquake and a tsunami. 

Simplified graphic showing tsunami generation along a convergent margin, and how this can be monitored using ground-based GPS systems to give early warnings of the arrival of tsunamis. NASA/JPL/CalTech.

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Total Solar Eclipse to be visible from Greenland and Spain.

 A total eclipse of the Sun will be visible from parts of Greenland and Spain, as well as intervening parts of the Atlantic Ocean, on Wednesday 12 August 2026, with a partial eclipse visible from the rest of western Europe, Canada, eastern parts of the United States, and parts of North and West Africa. The event will occur between 4.35 pm and 8.57 pm GMT, although local start and end times will vary within this window.

The Moon's shadow projected onto the Earth as the eclipse proceeds. The hemisphere of the Earth facing the Sun is shown. Contours show where various fractions of the Sun's disk is covered. In-The-Sky.

Eclipses are a product of the way the Earth, Moon and Sun move about one-another. The Moon orbits the Earth every 28 days, while the Earth orbits the Sun every 365 days, and because the two Sun and Moon appear roughly the same size when seen from Earth, it is quite possible for the Moon to block out the light of the Sun. At first sight this would seem likely to happen every month at the New Moon, when the Moon is on the same side of the Earth as the Sun, and therefore invisible (the Moon produced no light of its own, when we see the Moon, we are seeing reflected sunlight, but this can only happen when we can see parts of the Moon illuminated by the Sun).

The relative positions of the Sun, Moon and Earth during a Solar eclipse. Starry Night.

However, the Moon does not orbit in quite the same plane as the Earth orbits the Sun, so the Eclipses only occur when the two orbital planes cross one-another; this typically happens two or three times a year, and always at the New Moon. During Total Eclipses the Moon entirely blocks the light of the Sun, however most Eclipses are Partial, the Moon only partially blocks the light of the Sun.

How the differing inclinations of the Earth and Moon's orbits prevent us having an eclipse every 28 days. Starry Skies.

Although the light of the Sun is reduced during an Eclipse, it is still extremely dangerous to look directly at the Sun, and viewing eclipses should not be undertaken without appropriate equipment.

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Archaeologists uncover Bronze Age kitchen in western Azerbaijan.

A group of Italian and Azerbaijani archaeologists have uncovered what they believe to be a Bronze Age ceremonial kitchen at a site called Tava Tepe in western Azerbaijan, according to a press release issued by the University of Catania on 3 August 2026. The site, which was discovered in 2024 and which sits on top of an artificial earthen terrace, has since been excavated by archaeologists from the University of Catania, the Baku Academy of Sciences, and La Sapienza University in Rome, providing unique insights into life in the Caucasus during the late Bronze Age.

The location of the Tava Tepe archaeological site. Google Maps.

The site is thought to have been occupied between about 1300 and 1000 BC, and comprises a series of layers that suggest the site was rebuilt several times, whilst retaining its function and layout. At the centre of the site is a large circular brazier, which appears to have served as a location for a main cooking fire. Over time this appears to have been enhanced by the addition of a series of ovens, and spaces for food preparation. Many bowls and dishes, as well as remains of food, were found at the site, some of them stacked within the ovens. The whole are appears to have been covered by a roof of wooden branches, which would have made the location visible from a great distance.

The central brazier at the Tave Tepe site and associated pottery. University of Catania.

Surrounding this central area are traces of what have been interpreted as a series of wooden huts with beaten limestone floors, which appear to have been dedicated to the preparation of foods. Notable finds within these include a series of terracotta moulds, and items interpreted as pintaderas, stamps used to imprint a pattern upon bread.

A series of terracotta objects interpreted as pintaderas, stamps used to imprint a pattern upon bread, from the Tave Tepe site. University of Catania.

Examination of food remains from the site has revealed the nature of at least one meal eaten there, a dish of beef accompanied by a sort of polenta made from Millet, to which honey had been added. Professor Nicola Laneri of the University of Catania, the lead archaeologist at the site, believes that communities living along the Kura River in the late Bronze Age may have periodically met up at the Tave Tepe site for ceremonial meals, meetings which would also have helped to cement social cohesion among these groups.

An aerial view of the Tava Tepe site. University of Catania.

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Sixteen Elephants dead in series of poisoning incidents in Amboseli National Park, Kenya.

Sixteen Elephants have been found dead with apparent cyanide poisoning in the Amboseli National Park in Kenya since 24 June 2026. This has raised concerns about a potential new wave of Human-wildlife conflict in the park, where Elephants were once almost wiped out by poaching, but which is now home to a population of 36 000. All of the Elephants died outside of the Amboseli National Park itself, but within the greater Amoseli ecosystem, in the area around Kimana Sanctuary and Kuku Ranch, community-run wildlife projects linking Amboseli National Park to the Tsavo National Park to the east.

The body of an Elephant found close to the Amboseli National Park in Kenya earlier this year. BBC.

Initially, park authorities were concerned that the Elephants may have been poisoned by a cyanide-based insecticide sprayed on crops on one of the farms surrounding the park, as several of the dead Elephants had stomachs filled with tomatoes. Elephant raids on croplands close to Amboseli are a known problem, and while cyanide-based insecticides are illegal in Kenya (which maintains strict rules on the use of agricultural chemicals in order to gain access to lucrative European markets), they are legal in neighbouring Tanzania, with occasional incidents of smuggling and illegal use in Kenya being reported. 

Elephants in the Amboseli National Park. Kenya Wildlife Service.

However, local farmer's representatives have strongly denied this, claiming that despite the problems of crop raiding, most farmers love the region's Elephants and would not voluntarily harm them. Furthermore, they note that that it would take a considerable amount of cyanide to kill an Elephant, and farms are also impacted by crop raiding by other large Mammals, none of which seem to have been affected.

Farmers spraying pesticides on a farm close to the Amboseli National Park in Kenya. Peter Njoroge/BBC.

Another possibility is that the cyanide could have been used in an illegal gold mining operation either within, or close to the Amboseli National Park (while gold is not generally soluble, it can be dissolved in solutions of sodium cyanide, a method which can be used to leach gold from ore rock), although the Kenya Wildlife Service are confident that no such activities are taking place. This makes deliberate poisoning of the Elephants the most probable cause, and while the reason for this is unknown, the most likely explanation would be that it relates to the extensive farmland now surrounding Amboseli and the other parks of the region, which supply vegetables to cities such as Nairobi as well as overseas markets. While many Animals occasionally raid such farms, Elephants are uniquely destructive, with individual Elephants able to consume over a tonne of vegetables within a short period of time.

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