Hurricane Walaka was the nineteenth named storm and second Category 5 hurricane of the 2018 Pacific hurricane season. As a tropical cyclone, it originated from an area of low pressure that formed around 1,600 mi (2,600 km) south-southeast of Hawaii on September 24, and became a tropical storm on September 29. The system tracked westward and peaked with winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) and a pressure of 921 mbar (27.20 inHg) on October 2, before accelerating northeastward and dissipating on October 7. The storm passed close to Johnston Atoll, where four scientists were evacuated from before the storm hit. East Island in the French Frigate Shoals suffered a direct hit and was destroyed. The storm damaged the nesting grounds for multiple endangered species, and coral reefs in the region suffered considerable damage, displacing the local fish population. Several dozen people were rescued off the southern shore of Oahu as the storm brought high surf to the main Hawaiian Islands.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Walaka

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1760:

The Williamsburg Bray School, the oldest-surviving school building in the U.S. dedicated to educating Black children, opened at Benjamin Franklin's suggestion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamsburg_Bray_School

1833:

The Spanish American wars of independence ended with the death of King Ferdinand VII, with what had once been the Spanish Empire disintegrating into independent Latin American states. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_American_wars_of_independence

1940:

During a Royal Australian Air Force training exercise over Brocklesby, two planes collided and interlocked in mid-air (pictured); the pilot of the upper plane was able to land safely using the lower plane's engines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940_Brocklesby_mid-air_collision

1954:

Twelve countries signed a convention to establish the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), which manages the world's largest particle physics laboratory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CERN

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

kinesics: 1. The study of non-verbal communication by means of gestures and/or other body movements. 2. Such non-verbal communication. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kinesics

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Democracy means rule of the people, not rule of monarchs, not rule of the money, not rule of the mighty. Regardless of party, that means respecting free and fair elections — accepting the outcome, win or lose. It means you can't love your country only when you win. Democracy means rejecting and repudiating political violence; regardless of party such violence is never, never, never acceptable in America. It's undemocratic and it must never be normalized to advance political power. And democracy means respecting the institutions that govern a free society. That means adhering to the timeless words of the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self evident" — a mission statement embodied in our constitution, our system of separation of powers and checks and balances. Our constitution — the bulwark to prevent the abuse of power — to ensure we the people move forward together under the law, rather than believing the only way is one way or no way at all. But our institutions in our democracy are not just of government, the institutions of democracy depend on the constitution and our character — our character — and the habits of our hearts and our minds.   --Joe Biden https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden