Daily Earthquakes, Storms, Fires & Floods Report: November 2, 2026

By Paul Harrison, Orbis Weather · Nov 2, 2026

At a glance

Flooding in the US Southwest and a cyclone nearing India led the 24 hours from 7:27 a.m. EST on November 1 to 7:27 a.m. EST on November 2 (12:27 UTC to 12:27 UTC).

• Floods: major river flooding in southwest Colorado and Arizona forced evacuations and helicopter rescues; no deaths reported.
• Storms: Cyclone Murasu is forecast to reach India’s south Andhra Pradesh coast late on November 2 local time; Typhoon In-Fa stays at sea.
• Earthquakes: a routine day, with 20 quakes of magnitude 4.5 or more and none above 5.1.
• Fires: US activity is light at preparedness level 1, with seven large fires uncontained.
• Volcanoes: Mayon in the Philippines remains at Alert Level 3.

National weather services and local authorities issue the official warnings. Follow them first.

Earthquakes

It was an ordinary day for earthquakes: 20 of magnitude 4.5 or larger, none above 5.1, and no USGS alerts or tsunami flags. The ten largest are below.

Two further magnitude 4.7 events, in the Kermadec Islands region and 78 km (48 mi) SSE of Yonakuni, Japan, tie with the last three rows.

What stands out

• Five of the 20 events were on the Mid-Indian Ridge, a remote spreading ridge far from land. Three came within 23 minutes on the evening of November 1.
• Two quakes struck the Luzon Strait off Basco, Philippines, a magnitude 4.6 and a 4.7, about 14 hours apart.
• A magnitude 6.0 struck 165 km (103 mi) NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu, at 11:47 UTC on November 1, 40 minutes before the window opened. USGS rated it green, meaning low expected losses.

The USGS catalog lists 204 earthquakes of all sizes worldwide in the window. Source: USGS earthquake catalog, searched at 12:28 UTC on November 2. Preliminary magnitudes can be revised.

Storms

Cyclone Murasu is the storm that matters today: India expects it to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast tonight local time. Typhoon In-Fa has weakened and remains over open water south of Japan. The Atlantic, Eastern Pacific and Central Pacific have no active storms.

JTWC winds are one-minute averages. India’s and Japan’s agencies use longer averages, so their figures run lower.

Cyclone Murasu, India

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its press release of 14:05 IST on November 1 that Murasu would “cross south Andhra Pradesh coast as a Severe Cyclonic Storm.” It gave the landfall zone as “between Nellore and Narsapur” and the timing as “2330 Hrs IST of 02nd to 0400 Hrs IST of 03rd November.” That is 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST on November 2.

• Wind: 100 to 110 km/h (62 to 68 mph), gusting 120 km/h (75 mph), along and off the Andhra Pradesh coast.
• Surge: about 1 meter (3 feet) above the astronomical tide, “very likely to inundate low lying areas.” The peak is expected over Bapatla, Krishna and Prakasam districts.
• Rain: heavy to very heavy over coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema and Telangana on November 2 and 3. Isolated extremely heavy falls are expected in coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, and in Telangana on November 3. Chhattisgarh and south Odisha follow on November 3 and 4.
• Latest position reported: India TV, citing an IMD bulletin, placed the storm at 13.6N 82.5E at 2:30 a.m. IST on November 2, about 290 km (180 mi) ESE of Nellore. It said schools and colleges in Chennai and Tiruvallur were closed on November 2.

No deaths have been reported. These figures date from November 1 and 2. IMD issues new bulletins through the day, and the newest bulletin replaces them.

Outlooks

The National Hurricane Center expects no Atlantic storm in the next seven days. It gives a broad low well southeast of Hawaii a 50 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression later this week, and near 0 percent within 48 hours.

Fires

US fire activity is light, but 2026 remains well above average for both fires and acres burned. The figures come from the National Interagency Fire Center report dated 07:30 MDT on November 1, the latest available.

Fires to know: the Sisi fire in Washington’s Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest covers 4,816 acres and is 40% contained. The Austin fire on Oregon’s Mt. Hood National Forest is 12,888 acres and 98% contained. Florida’s Bee Haven 2 fire is 2,060 acres and 85% contained.

Elsewhere: the GDACS disaster alert system issued many low-level (green) wildfire notices, mostly across Africa. One in China, posted on November 1, covered 5,726 hectares (14,149 acres).

Floods

The US Southwest had the most serious flooding of the day, with evacuations and helicopter rescues in Arizona and Colorado. AP reported that the National Weather Service expected up to 4 inches (10 cm) of rain across the region. A Tucson meteorologist told AP the area was “getting two or three months of rain in a span of a couple of days.”

In Pagosa Springs, Colorado, about 1,000 homes were in the county evacuation zone, according to Men’s Journal. The San Juan River reached a preliminary 16.81 feet at 8 p.m. MST Sunday, its highest since 1911, then began to fall. Forecasts had called for about 22 feet, above the 1911 record of 17.8 feet; officials had not confirmed the crest. In Sedona, Arizona, a couple and about nine guests waited about three hours for a helicopter rescue, WBKO reported. Men’s Journal counted 60 flood and flash flood warnings across four states early Monday, and reported no deaths.

Also today

Mayon in the Philippines remains the volcano to watch. PHIVOLCS raised it to Alert Level 3 on October 30, after a “moderately explosive” eruption sent ash 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) above the crater, according to coverage collected by Ground News. People are advised to stay out of the 6-km (4-mile) permanent danger zone.

The latest weekly volcano summary, for October 22 to 28, listed new activity or unrest at 5 volcanoes and ongoing activity at 23, as reported by The Watchers. No tsunami was flagged by USGS for any earthquake in the window.

What to watch in the next 24 hours

• Murasu landfall, 23:30 IST Nov 2 to 04:00 IST Nov 3 (1:00 to 5:30 p.m. EST Nov 2): IMD bulletins and Andhra Pradesh disaster authorities.
• San Juan River downstream, Monday afternoon crest forecast at Shiprock, New Mexico: NWS Albuquerque.
• Arizona flash flooding, expected through Monday: NWS Phoenix, Flagstaff and Tucson.
• Typhoon In-Fa, next warnings at 15:00 and 21:00 UTC: JTWC and the Japan Meteorological Agency.
• Low southeast of Hawaii, outlooks every six hours: National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center.

About this report

This report draws on agency data (USGS, NHC, JTWC, IMD, NIFC, GDACS, NOAA) and named news outlets, listed below. The 24 hours run back from the time of writing; earthquake times are in UTC. Tolls and river levels are preliminary and often change. The report summarizes; it does not replace official warnings.

Glossary

• Crest: the highest level a river reaches during a flood.
• Landfall: when the center of a storm crosses the coast.
• Storm surge: a rise in sea level pushed ashore by a storm’s winds, above the normal tide.
• Preparedness level: a 1-to-5 US scale of how stretched national firefighting resources are; 1 is lowest.
• Extratropical: a storm that has lost its tropical structure and become a regular low-pressure system.

Frequently asked questions

Did the San Juan River break its 1911 record? Not on the preliminary data. The Pagosa Springs gauge peaked Sunday evening just below the 1911 mark, though officials had not confirmed the crest.

Where will Cyclone Murasu come ashore? IMD expects it to cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur. The window runs from late on November 2 to early on November 3, local time.

Why is the Southwest flooding in November? NWS Pueblo described “a potent system” over the southwest mountains. It forecast rain rather than snow up to 12,500 feet in the San Juan Mountains, sending more runoff into rivers that flooded in late October.

Was there a large earthquake today? No. The largest in the window were four magnitude 5.1 events, all far from major cities. A magnitude 6.0 near Vanuatu came just before the window opened and caused no reported damage.

Sources

Earthquakes

• USGS catalog, magnitude 4.5+
• USGS count, all sizes
• USGS, magnitude 6+ before the window

Storms

• National Hurricane Center
• NHC Atlantic outlook
• NHC Eastern Pacific outlook
• CPHC Central Pacific outlook
• JTWC Typhoon In-Fa warning 40
• JTWC Western Pacific advisory
• JTWC Cyclone Murasu warning 5
• IMD press release, Nov 1
• India TV, Nov 2

Fires

• NIFC situation report, Nov 1
• GDACS alerts feed

Floods

• AP via WSLS, Nov 1
• Men’s Journal, Nov 2
• CBS Colorado, river forecast, Nov 1
• CBS Colorado, Pagosa Springs, Nov 1
• Pagosa Springs Sun, Nov 1
• AZFamily, Nov 1
• WBKO, Nov 2
• NWS Phoenix flood warning via DefconLevel
• NWS Pueblo briefing, Nov 1
• AHA Centre weekly update, Oct 26 to Nov 1
• NOAA CPC global hazards, Oct 22 to 28

Volcanoes

• Ground News, Mayon eruption Oct 30
• The Watchers, weekly volcanic activity Oct 22 to 28