Calamity
highWildfireCalamity Score: 66

Wildfire near Folweni

South AfricaNASA FIRMS (VIIRS)

Recorded by satellite 111 days ago.

A thermal anomaly is a snapshot of one satellite pass, not a record of a fire’s life: we cannot say whether it kept burning after that pass.

No stronger detection stands among the 13 recorded within 20 km of this point since 10 May 2026 — 2 others scored the same. Another comparable one was recorded here earlier the same day. 2 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.

What the source measured

NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 32 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 118 MW, at nominal confidence, 14 km from Folweni.

The 32 pixels cover about 4.5 km² — that is the footprint of the detection grid at 375 m resolution, not an estimate of how much land burned.

FIRMS does not report burned area, and neither do we.

An estimated 119,528 people live within 35 km of this point.

Nearby, since 10 May 2026

How we know

One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.

Our own score for this event is 66 out of 100, at 84 % confidence.

The score is ours, computed from intensity, exposed population and local history — not the source’s.

Event Data

TypeWildfire
Severityhigh
Calamity Score (ours)66 / 100
Our confidence84%
Coordinates-29.9805, 30.6704
Nearest CityFolweni (14 km)
Population Exposed119.5K within 35 km
Impact Tiersevere
Timestamp2026-05-10T23:12:00.000Z

Score Breakdown

60
intensity
70
population
64
cascading
80
historical

Technical Details

Brightness351.88
Frp117.85
PixelCount32
Confidencenominal

Cascade Risks

air quality emergency

Safety Information

If a wildfire is approaching: follow evacuation orders immediately. Do not wait to see the fire. Close all windows and doors, remove combustible materials from around your home, and have an emergency go-bag ready. Air quality can deteriorate rapidly even at distance from the fire front — monitor local air quality advisories.

Series begins 10 February 2026. Comparisons refer to that period only. Collection gap: 14-26 August 2026.

This data is aggregated algorithmically from scientific sources. Not a replacement for official emergency warnings.

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Calamity.live data shows a fire event with CalamityScore 66/100, near Folweni (South Africa), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 194 scientific monitoring sources.