World Status Report

This report intends to give the UTD Community a snapshot of international risks, and other issues as reported by the linked media and official sources from the U.S. and other countries. 

More health and security information for each country can be found in the travel advisories issued by the governments of the United States, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, and Australia, and the CDC, ECDC, and WHO sites. Not all advise in these sites will apply to US travelers. 

Please note the publication date of this report and go to the direct sources linked for the most up-to-date information. The information in this report may change without prior notice. 

Security 

• Ukrainian drone attack triggers earthquake-sized blast at arsenal in Russia’s Tver region (Reuters) – A large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on Russia triggered an earthquake-sized blast at a major arsenal in the Tver region on Wednesday, forcing the evacuation of a nearby town, war bloggers and some media reported. 

Infrastructure 

• Amid deepening economic crisis, Cuba tightens rules on fledgling private sector (Reuters) – Cuba’s booming private businesses braced for impact on Wednesday as the island’s communist-run government implemented a raft of new laws aimed at more tightly regulating the private sector amid a deepening economic crisis. The fresh regulations come into effect as Cuba navigates its worst economic crisis in decades, with severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine and a record-breaking exodus of its citizens. 

Environment 

• Portugal – Wildfires, update (ERCC) – The wildfires affecting 25 municipalities (of which 15 are in the northern areas) across central and northern Portugal are still ongoing. The Lusa News Agency reports that over 5,500 operatives supported by 1,800 land resources are still battling 140 fires. According to media, as of 18 September, seven people have died, dozens have been injured and 62 people have been displaced due to the ongoing events. Following Portugal’s request for assistance, the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), France, Greece, Italy and Spain, offered 10 firefighting planes to help containing the fire. 
• Central-Eastern Europe – Severe weather and floods, update (ERCC) – Heavy rain and strong winds affected central and eastern Europe, particularly Romania, Poland, Austria, Czechia, and Slovakia, causing floods and river overflow, resulting in casualties and damage. As of 18 September, COGIC and media report 22 fatalities, including seven un Poland, seven in Romania, five in Austria and three in Czechia, and at least eight missing people in Czechia. Water levels of the Oder River in Poland and Czechia, and the Danube River in Slovakia and Hungary continue to rise. Slovakia and Moravia region in Czechia declared a state of emergency in several areas, Lower Austria declared a disaster zone. 
• 6 dead in a landslide caused by heavy rains in Mexico (AP News) – A landslide caused by heavy rains has killed six people near Mexico City, authorities said. The landslide on Monday night in Naucalpan, a community northwest of Mexico City, also affected a house and school, the State of Mexico government said in a statement. The victims were four men and two women. Another three people were injured and transported to a state hospital. 
• How Satellites and AI are offering hope for global Action to resolve climate crisis (UN News) – Amid renewed warnings from leading climate scientists that global warming could reach 3C above pre-industrial levels this century, the head of the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) insisted on Wednesday that new technology and AI offer the opportunity to implement the drastic action needed to resist the existential crisis.  

Health 

• Sanitary disaster in Gaza ‘worsening by the day’, warns UNRWA (UN News) – Overcrowded shelters in Gaza, a lack of running water and the constant threat of disease are making conditions worse by the day for people in the enclave, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA 
• Rising mpox cases in African kids (UN News) – The focus of UNICEF’s appeal are children in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and the Central African Republic, all of which are experiencing rising clade 1 mpox activity. UNICEF said 60% of the nearly 22,000 suspected and confirmed mpox cases in Africa this year are in children younger than 15 years old and that 80% of the more than 700 mpox deaths have involved kids. So far, the DRC is the only country to report fatal infections in children. 

Please note the publication date of this report and go to the direct sources linked for the most up-to-date information. The information in this report may change without prior notice. 

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