• An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale struck the Enga Province in central PAPUA NEW GUINEA on Feb. 26, causing landslides that killed at least 20 people and injured more than 300 others. Search-and-rescue operations were ongoing as of press time, with the death toll expected to rise. 

The quake and aftershocks damaged buildings, roadways and power lines, isolating many small communities.

• An earthquake measuring 7.2 struck the state of Oaxaca in...

Mt. Sinabung, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, erupted on Feb. 19, spewing ash more than 3 miles into the air and causing a massive pyroclastic flow. No injuries were reported, but nearby towns were evacuated during the eruption. Worldwide, it was the largest volcanic eruption in the last five years.

Mt. Sinabung erupted in 2010, killing two people, after centuries of dormancy. It has erupted two other times since then, in 2014 and 2016, killing a total of 23 people. The area...

A state of emergency was declared in the island nation of the Maldives on Feb. 5 due to political upheaval. The crisis began when the nation’s Supreme Court ordered the release of nine members of Parliament who had been arrested on the orders of President Abdulla Yameen. The court also declared the trial of the former president, Mohamed Nasheed, to have been unconstitutional.

In response, President Yameen disbanded Parliament and the Supreme Court, gave the army broad powers to...