Earthquakes

RSOE EDIS

08.05.2012 23:45:37	2.2	North America	United States	California	Eric (historical)				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 22:15:43	3.7	North America	United States	Alaska	Anchor Point				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 23:10:30	3.8	North-America	United States		Anchor Point				EMSC
08.05.2012 22:10:31	3.8	North America	United States	Alaska	Anchor Point				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 22:50:47	4.9	Indonesian archipelago	Indonesia		Tutuala				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 23:10:50	4.9	Indonesian Archipelago	Indonesia		Tutuala				EMSC
08.05.2012 21:45:31	2.1	North America	United States	Washington	Darrington				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 22:05:41	2.3	Europe	Poland		Lagoszow Wielki				EMSC
08.05.2012 21:00:42	3.0	Asia	Turkey		Yagmurlar				EMSC
08.05.2012 21:01:03	2.5	Europe	Greece		Pragmatevtis				EMSC
09.05.2012 02:55:55	2.8	Caribbean	Puerto Rico		Stella				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 20:00:39	2.7	Europe	Greece		Lourdhata				EMSC
08.05.2012 20:01:00	2.3	Asia	Turkey		Rahimler				EMSC
08.05.2012 19:50:40	2.3	North America	Canada	British Columbia	Princeton				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 19:10:30	2.6	North America	United States	California	Enterprise				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 20:01:21	2.6	Asia	Turkey		Sazak				EMSC
08.05.2012 20:01:40	2.3	Europe	Greece		Ayia Trias				EMSC
08.05.2012 20:35:32	4.6	Asia	Russia	Sakhalinskaya Oblast’	Gubanovka				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 18:55:35	4.9	Europe	Russia		Gubanovka				EMSC
08.05.2012 18:55:55	2.5	Europe	Serbia		Burmazi				EMSC
08.05.2012 18:56:45	4.6	Asia	Japan	Iwate-ken	Tadakoshi				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 18:56:17	4.7	Asia	Japan		Tadakoshi				EMSC
08.05.2012 17:20:30	2.2	North America	United States	California	Mercuryville				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 16:55:41	2.2	North America	United States	Alaska	Sunshine				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 16:50:29	2.4	Asia	Turkey		Karabogurtlen				EMSC
08.05.2012 23:11:22	2.8	North America	United States	California	Castle Rock Springs				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 16:15:44	2.4	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	El Medanito				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 16:50:56	2.1	Asia	Turkey		Kazar				EMSC
08.05.2012 15:45:40	2.1	Asia	Turkey		Tuncbilek				EMSC
08.05.2012 15:45:59	2.2	Asia	Turkey		Ciftlikkoy				EMSC
08.05.2012 16:30:36	4.7	Pacific Ocean	Fiji		Tuvutha				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 16:51:16	4.7	Pacific Ocean – East	Fiji		Tuvutha				EMSC
08.05.2012 15:46:23	2.0	Asia	Turkey		Ericek				EMSC
08.05.2012 16:51:37	2.8	Europe	Romania		Terca				EMSC
08.05.2012 16:51:59	2.3	Europe	Greece		Katalakkon				EMSC
08.05.2012 14:35:46	2.1	North America	United States	Alaska	Iniskin				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 14:40:37	2.7	Asia	Turkey		Alacam				EMSC
08.05.2012 14:40:57	4.7	Pacific Ocean – East	Tonga		Haatua				EMSC
08.05.2012 14:41:49	4.7	Pacific Ocean	Tonga		Haatua				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 14:00:48	2.6	Caribbean	Puerto Rico		Hatillo Del Mar				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 13:35:31	2.0	Asia	Turkey		Rahimler				EMSC
08.05.2012 13:00:43	2.2	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	El Centinela				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 12:45:33	2.7	Middle America	Mexico	Estado de Baja California	Alvarado				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 13:35:52	2.3	Europe	Greece		Niokhori				EMSC
08.05.2012 14:01:39	3.0	Pacific Ocean	New Zealand	Woodville County	New Brighton				GEONET
08.05.2012 12:35:28	3.9	Europe	Greece		Evdhilos				EMSC
08.05.2012 12:36:37	2.1	Europe	Italy		Milazzo				EMSC
08.05.2012 11:35:29	2.7	Asia	Turkey		Tuncbilek				EMSC
08.05.2012 11:35:50	5.2	Asia	Japan		Niiyamahama				EMSC
08.05.2012 11:39:50	5.0	Asia	Japan	Miyagi-ken	Niiyamahama				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 11:36:12	2.7	Asia	Turkey		Cinarcik				EMSC
08.05.2012 11:36:33	2.8	Asia	Turkey		Timar				EMSC
08.05.2012 11:37:13	2.4	Asia	Turkey		Karakuyu				EMSC
08.05.2012 10:41:12	2.1	North America	United States	California	Iceland				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 11:37:32	2.0	Asia	Turkey		Saraycik				EMSC
08.05.2012 11:38:12	2.4	Asia	Turkey		Iskelekoy				EMSC
08.05.2012 11:38:32	2.2		Montenegro		Donje Dajbabe				EMSC
09.05.2012 00:12:16	2.1	North America	United States	California	Spoonbill				USGS-RSOE
08.05.2012 23:00:40	2.0	North America	United States	Idaho	Forney				USGS-RSOE

Moderate earthquake jolts northwest Azerbaijan, injuring 15

ZAQATALA, AZERBAIJAN (BNO NEWS) — A moderate earthquake shook northwestern Azerbaijan on late Monday morning, injuring more than a dozen people and seriously damaging a number of houses, officials said. Shaking was also felt in neighboring Russia and Georgia.

The 5.5-magnitude earthquake at 9:40 a.m. local time (0440 GMT) was centered about 17.5 kilometers (10.8 miles) south of Zaqatala, the capital of Zaqatala Rayon along the Tala River. It struck about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the Republican Seismic Survey Center of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS), which measured the strength of the earthquake at 5.6 on the body wave magnitude (Mb) scale, estimated some 450,000 people near the epicenter may have felt moderate to strong shaking. Another 6.6 million people may have felt weak to light shaking.

Officials at the country’s Ministry of Emergency Situations said around 20 residential buildings near the epicenter were ‘seriously damaged’ as a result of the earthquake, which also damaged a number of other buildings and partly destroyed the sports hall of a school. At least 15 people were believed to be injured, but none of them were serious or required hospitalization.

Residents on the other side of the border in Russia and Georgia also reported feeling the earthquake, but there were no reports of damage or casualties from those regions.

Azerbaijan sometimes experiences very small earthquakes, but they rarely exceed magnitude 5.0. Monday’s earthquake was the strongest to hit the Asian country since at least late 2008. The deadliest earthquake to ever hit Azerbaijan happened in November 1667 when a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Şamaxı, devastating entire districts and killing an estimated 80,000 people.

Lima, May 7 (Prensa Latina) The Civil Defense in Peru (Indeci) intensified today a prevention drive warning of a potential massive earthquake now preceded of two daily tremors average.Indeci called on every workplace and home to ready an emergency evacuation plan after a median quake and two replicas were recorded Sunday in Ica (south) and in Lima. Marco Tantalean, an expert from the institution, said planning must include safe routes and refuges, plus staples like your ID cards, drinkable water, first-aid material, flashlight, non perishable food and saving phone calls for emergencies to prevent the lines from collapsing. Other prevention measures include a May 31st tsunami simulation, marking the 1970 massive quake that killed some 70,000 people in Ancash, north Peru. Scientific evidence have proven that after “long periods of rest” big quakes may occur, like those that have especially razed Lima through history; plus, Peru is located in a seismic area, adds Hernando Tavera, director of Seismology at the Institute of Geophysics, reminding of the 66 tremors of 2012 through April, near one daily. The majority, 39, registered on the Pacific coast, again in Lima, Ica -devastated in 2007- and Arequipa, together occupy more than 1,000km. sgl/emw/lac/mrs

Modificado el ( lunes, 07 de mayo de 2012 )

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather

A man wraps himself up in the chilly weather yesterday

Icy winds will send temperatures plunging today before torrential rain returns next week.

This weekend looks set to be the coldest start to May for more than 70 years and the Met men say the miserable weather, more like winter than spring, could drag on until June.

It is a stark contrast to this time last year when crowds flocked to parks and beaches as the mercury soared to 77F (25C) and farmers with parched fields were praying for rain.

Yesterday’s forecast was very different – weeks of snow, harsh frosts and heavy rain. Temperatures could hit the lowest ever recorded for May with freezing gusts from the North Pole making it feel like a chilly -9C.

It is likely to be colder than the Arctic with Honningsvag, Norway, the most northerly village in Europe, falling to just 0C overnight.

The last time it was this cold here was on May 4, 1941, when the temperature fell to -8.9C in Braemar, Scotland.

Jonathan Powell, of Vantage Weather Services, said: “It is difficult to believe we are a few weeks away from midsummer. It is going to feel more akin to the end of November.

“We are looking at a bitterly cold weekend and Bank Holiday with temperatures woefully shy of where they should be for the time of year.

“Bracing Arctic winds are going to flood in from the North and this is going to continue throughout May.”

He said temperatures would plunge today, staying well below normal for the rest of the weekend.

“We are expecting frosts, mainly in the North, although it is going to feel cold everywhere. With the wind chill it is going to feel very cold indeed.” Temperatures in the South will touch freezing at night and struggle to get into double figures during the day.

The grim forecast comes exactly a year after Britain basked in glorious sunshine. The Met Office recorded highs of 77F in London and Norfolk and Britons were looking forward to weeks of warm, dry weather as the Daily Express reported the country was set to sizzle for a month.

In contrast, this May Bank Holiday will be cloudy, cold and miserable.

Met Office forecaster Charlie Powell said parts of Scotland could see snow settling on higher ground.

“Temperatures will be quite a bit below average for the time of year. We are going to wake up to frosty mornings on Saturday, Sunday and Monday and the days are going to feel very chilly.”

He added the outlook for the next 30 days was below-average temperatures and persistent rain. “Things will start to return to normal by the beginning of June.” Piers Corbyn, of WeatherAction, said Britain was in the grip of what could turn out to be the coldest May for 100 years.

The bitter cold will be followed by torrential rain which could bring a repeat of last week’s devastating floods, with the South expected to be worst hit again. Forecasters at Netweather said: “There is certainly a chance of the April monsoon returning, at least for a week or so.”

Despite the rain, parts of Britain are still in drought. The Environment Agency said some river levels had returned to normal but groundwater supplies were still low.

Drought and deluge in Brazil

While a swath of the Brazilian Amazon is under a state of emergency with one of the worst floods ever, the country’s northeastern region is suffering through its worst drought in the last 30 years.

Gale Warning

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

EUREKA CA

POINT ST GEORGE TO POINT ARENA

POINT ARENA TO POINT CONCEPTION

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

MEDFORD, OR

SEATTLE WA

KODIAK AK

ANCHORAGE ALASKA

Red Flag Warning

FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE

ANCHORAGE AK

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Storms, Flooding

08.05.2012

Flash Flood

Nepal

Pokhara

Flash Flood in Nepal on Tuesday, 08 May, 2012 at 16:12 (04:12 PM) UTC.

Flood Warning

CLEVELAND OH

SAN JUAN PR

CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL

MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI

TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN

LINCOLN IL

LITTLE ROCK AR

AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX

ANCHORAGE AK

SIOUX FALLS SD

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Radiation/Nuclear

Today

Nuclear Event

USA

State of California, [San Onofre nuclear plant]

Nuclear Event in USA on Wednesday, 09 May, 2012 at 05:04 (05:04 AM) UTC.

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Epidemic

08.05.2012

Epidemic

Philippines

Borongan City [Eastern Samar]

Epidemic in Philippines on Tuesday, 08 May, 2012 at 10:54 (10:54 AM) UTC.

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Solar Activity

SpaceWeather.com

TWO INCOMING CMEs: A pair of solar eruptions on May 7th hurled coronal masss ejections (CMEs) toward Earth. Forecast tracks prepared by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab suggests that clouds with arrive in succession on May 9th at 13:40 UT and May 10th at 07:54 UT (+/- 7 hours). The double impact could spark moderate geomagnetic storms. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras. Magnetic storm alerts: text, phone.

CORONAL HOLE: A dark hole in the sun’s atmosphere (a ‘coronal hole’) is spewing a stream of solar wind toward Earth. The impact of the stream, expected on May 9-11, could add to the effect of the incoming CMEs, boosting the chances of strong geomagnetic activity later this week. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory took this picture of the opening on May 8th:

Coronal holes are places where the sun’s global magnetic field opens up and allows some of the sun’s atmosphere to escape. The outflow of gas is the solar wind. NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of geomagnetic activity on May 9-10 when the stream arrives (along with the CMEs of May 7th).

BIG SUNSPOT: One of the largest sunspot groups in years rotated over the sun’s northeastern limb on May 6th. With a least four dark cores larger than Earth, AR1476 sprawls more than 100,000 km from end to end, and makes an easy target for backyard solar telescopes. Amateur astronomer Alan Friedman sends this picture of the behemoth from his backyard in Buffalo, NY:

“AR1476 is firecrackler,” says Friedman.

Indeed, the active region is crackling with impulsive M-class solar flares. Based on the sunspot’s complex ‘beta-gamma’ magnetic field, NOAA forecasters estimate a 75% chance of more M-flares during the next 24 hours. There is also a 10% chance of powerful X-flares.

“This one is going to be fun as it turns to face us!” predicts Friedman. He might be right. Solar flare alerts: text, phone.

more images: from John Chumack of Dayton, Ohio; from Dave Gradwell of Birr, Ireland; from Dave Gradwell of Birr, Ireland; from Robert Arnold of Isle of Skye, Scotland; from Howard Eskildsen of Ocala, Florida; from Peter Desypris of Athens, Greece; from Erika Rix of Liberty Hill, Texas

2MIN News May8: Earth-Directed CMEs

Published on May 8, 2012 by Suspicious0bservers

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Space

Earth approaching objects (objects that are known in the next 30 days)
Object Name	Apporach Date	Left	AU Distance	LD Distance	Estimated Diameter*	Relative Velocity
(1998 HE3)	10th May 2012	1 day(s)	0.0319	12.4	120 m – 270 m	11.93 km/s	42948 km/h
(2005 SQ9)	11th May 2012	2 day(s)	0.0852	33.2	68 m – 150 m	10.21 km/s	36756 km/h
141432 (2002 CQ11)	12th May 2012	3 day(s)	0.1022	39.8	280 m – 630 m	16.26 km/s	58536 km/h
(2010 SO16)	13th May 2012	4 day(s)	0.1423	55.4	200 m – 440 m	9.53 km/s	34308 km/h
(2008 CB6)	13th May 2012	4 day(s)	0.1103	42.9	10 m – 23 m	10.85 km/s	39060 km/h
(2011 KY15)	15th May 2012	6 day(s)	0.1586	61.7	41 m – 93 m	17.61 km/s	63396 km/h
(2001 BA16)	18th May 2012	9 day(s)	0.1157	45.0	18 m – 41 m	6.66 km/s	23976 km/h
(2010 KK37)	19th May 2012	10 day(s)	0.0058	2.3	19 m – 43 m	10.94 km/s	39384 km/h
4183 Cuno	20th May 2012	11 day(s)	0.1218	47.4	3.5 km – 7.8 km	14.40 km/s	51840 km/h
(2006 KY67)	23rd May 2012	14 day(s)	0.1499	58.3	68 m – 150 m	13.88 km/s	49968 km/h
(2011 KG4)	24th May 2012	15 day(s)	0.1216	47.3	67 m – 150 m	11.50 km/s	41400 km/h
1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers Source: NASA-NEO

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Wildlife

Dead Dolphins and Birds Are Causing Alarm in Peru

By DAVID JOLLY and ANDREA ZARATE

Late last year, fishermen began finding dead dolphins, hundreds of them, washed up on Peru’s northern coast. Now, seabirds have begun dying, too, and the government has yet to conclusively pinpoint a cause.

 

The New York Times

Dead animals have washed up along Peru’s northern coast.

But even three months after officials began testing the dolphins, the government has not released definitive results, and there is growing suspicion among the public and scientists that there might be more to the story. Some argue that offshore oil exploration could be disturbing wildlife, for example, and others fear that biotoxins or pesticides might be working their way up the food chain.

At least 877 dolphins and more than 1,500 birds, most of them brown pelicans and boobies, have died since the government began tracking the deaths in February, the Environment Ministry said last week. The dolphins, many of which appeared to have decomposed in the ocean before washing ashore, were found in the Piura and Lambayeque regions, not far from the border with Ecuador.

The seabirds, which seem mostly to have died onshore, have been found from Lambayeque to Lima. “Never in my 40 years as a fisherman have I seen anything like this,” said Francisco Ñiquen Rentería, the president of the Association of Artisanal Fishermen in Puerto Eten, in the Lambayeque region. “Sometimes in the past, you’d randomly see a dead dolphin or a pelican, but this, what’s happening now, is really alarming.”

Read Full Article Here

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Articles of Interest

Fears increase of big earthquake near Tokyo in the foreseeable future

PRI’s The World

A prominent Japanese seismologist rattled some nerves when he declared there was a 70 percent chance of a major earthquake in or around Tokyo — in the next four years. Government scientists had proclaimed a similar risk, but over a longer timeframe, 30 years.

In a quiet room at Tokyo University, seismologist Shinichi Sakai points to steady, color-coded lines on a digital monitor. The screen displays real-time readings from Japan’s extensive network of seismometers.

This is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, and the flat lines show that all is quiet across the region, at least for the moment.

Then, as if on cue, two of the lines start to jump violently, splashing the screen with red and yellow pixels. They’re tracking a very small earthquake, centered just outside of Tokyo.

Sakai says small quakes like this happen about ten thousand times a year in Japan, and for geologists like him, even the small earthquakes are worth paying attention to. He says there’s been a fivefold increase in small tremors around Tokyo since the huge quake off Japan’s northeast coast in March last year. And that adds up to a mathematical omen for scientists like him.

In January, Sakai and the University’s Earthquake Research Institute crunched the new numbers and came up with a shocking prediction: There’s a 70 percent chance a major earthquake will hit Tokyo within the next four years.

Sakai and his colleagues are among the country’s leading seismic authorities, so the prediction itself gave the country a jolt. The Japanese government has also predicted a similar chance of a major quake in the Tokyo area, but over a longer time period — sometime in the next 30 years.

Sakai’s new four-year timeframe has brought a huge backlash among both scientists and political leaders. Sakai hasn’t retracted his prediction, but he now refuses to quote specific timeframes.

“I cannot speak,” he said, with an ironic chuckle.

The last major earthquake to hit Tokyo was in 1923. It had an estimated magnitude of 7.9 and killed more than 140,000 people. Since then there’s been almost no significant seismic activity here, and Sakai says that means most people have forgotten the risk Japan’s capital city still faces.

But not everyone has forgotten.

Yasuji Kamiya, 97, remembers it like it was yesterday.

Kamiya is one of the few remaining survivors of what’s known as the Great Kanto quake. He was 7 in 1923, living with his family in what was then a farming area on the outskirts of Tokyo.

He was fishing in a river on a bright sunny day when the quake hit. He said it knocked him over and shook the ground so violently that it emptied the river onto its banks.

Kamiya said it wasn’t until nightfall that he realized how serious the situation really was. The sky in the direction of downtown Tokyo glowed red from the fires consuming the city. Evacuees began to stream past his home. Some without shoes, all with stunned, empty looks on their faces.

Of course today Tokyo is a radically different place, a sprawling metropolis of some 35 million people. Every day, millions pack into the city’s spotless train network on their way to its forests of glass and steel office towers.

Modern Japanese buildings are among the sturdiest in world. After the 1995 Kobe earthquake, the country spent billions developing the most advanced technology for protecting structures. Still, the government estimates that a powerful quake in Tokyo today would kill nearly 10,000 people, and leave more than half a million buildings in flames.

But Sakai said accurately predicting potential damage is extremely difficult. That’s because it’s not just a question of magnitude, which refers to the energy of the quake. The actual intensity on the ground can vary greatly, depending on whether the quake’s epicenter is deep or shallow.

New evidence suggests a major fault line under Tokyo is much closer to the surface than previously thought. That means a future earthquake here could cause more damage than the city has been planning for.

After last year’s massive quake caught the nation by surprise, the Tokyo government began scrambling to upgrade its disaster plans. So far that means providing more emergency shelter and urging citizens and companies to stockpile emergency supplies.

But these efforts offer little comfort for many people.

“We’re not ready for that yet,” said Toru Seno. Seno, 43, is an artist and electrician. Every day he navigates Tokyo’s labyrinth of elevated highways and corridors of glass towers in his small van.

“If I look up, there’s another highway above me, so if something happens, all I can do is just stay here and get crushed,” he said.

Seno says not a minute goes by that he’s not planning his escape. But with last year’s disaster still fresh in everyone’s minds, the psychological toll of a major earthquake in Tokyo would be the hardest to recover from, he said.

“Probably the economy or industry somehow can be recovered,” Seno said. “But the damage for people would be hard. We would be feeling really weak.”

The government’s slow response to last year’s quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster has left trust in government here at all-time lows. For Seno, that means he’s more inclined to believe Sakai’s controversial prediction of a major quake in the next four years over the government’s longer timeframe.

And after recently visiting the fallout zone around the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, Seno says the most important message to remember here is that people need to protect themselves from earthquake risks, rather than wait for the government to do it for them.

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“PRI’s “The World” is a one-hour, weekday radio news magazine offering a mix of news, features, interviews, and music from around the globe. “The World” is a co-production of the BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH Boston. More about The World.

Listen To Podcast Here

IAEA Inspector Dies in Iran

TEHRAN, Iran— A United Nations nuclear inspector from South Korea was killed Tuesday and a colleague was injured in a car crash near a reactor site in central Iran, news reports said. There were no immediate indications of foul play. But the crash is likely to undergo intense scrutiny. The official Islamic Republic News Agency said the International Atomic Energy Agency inspector died when the car overturned around a heavy-water reactor being built in Khondab, about 150 miles southwest of Tehran. Iran says the reactor, part of the Arak complex, will be used to produce isotopes for peaceful medical and industrial uses. But the U.S. and others fear that spent fuel from the reactors could be reprocessed into plutonium for a warhead. Iran denies it seeks nuclear weapons. IRNA identified the fatally injured inspector as Seo Ok-Seok. Another news agency, ISNA, said an inspector from Slovakia was injured in the crash and taken to a hospital. The Vienna-based IAEA had no immediate comment on the reports. The incident comes ahead of a new round of technical discussions between Tehran and the IAEA to be held in Vienna beginning Sunday. Higher-level negotiations also are planned later this month in Baghdad between envoys from Iran and six world powers including the U.S. Inspectors from the U.N nuclear watchdog regularly visit Iran’s nuclear facilities, which include a Russian-built energy reactor and uranium-enrichment laboratories. The stops often receive far less attention than the high-level IAEA teams sent to Iran to discuss access to other sites, such as the Parchin military base near Tehran, where the U.N. suspects nuclear-related work has taken place. Iran says Parchin is a conventional military base.

Crews launch soil nails to stabilize I-75 landslide in Campbell County

TDOT has shut down all but one northbound lane of Interstate 75 between mile markers 141 and 144 in Campbell County.  The earliest any southbound lanes will reopen is Thursday.

The shut down comes because the embankment that collapsed beneath I-75 South on March 8 has now grown to threaten the median and northbound lanes.

TDOT brought in the big gun to defend I-75 North by hiring an emergency repair contractor from Grand Junction, Colorado.

“Myself and my crew got a call yesterday [Monday] and we arrived late last night,” said Nate Beard, vice president and engineer with Soil Nail Launcher, Inc.

Beard’s crews will battle a beast of a mountainside with an over sized air gun originally built by the British military.

“It is a big compressed air launcher that would launch nerve gas canisters up to seven miles,” said Beard.  “It has been modified to launch soil nails, which is a 20 foot long, 1.5 inch diameter steel tube.  We build that compressed air up to 3000 PSI, pull the trigger, and then it accelerates into the ground at 250 miles per hour.”

In Campbell County, soil nail launcher crews are taking aim at a moving target.

“The big challenge here is it is an actively moving landslide. I walked across this road at midnight and at 2:00 in the morning all of that material had fallen down to the bottom of the slope,” said Beard.  “Our top priority is protecting the northbound lanes.  We’ll launch around 300 soil nails.  We’ll put them in a really tight spacing. It works with the soil particles to confine them and create a beam effect, which then supports the interstate. It takes a lot of those loading and driving forces off the landslide.”

Beard said crews should finish nailing the northbound lanes by Wednesday morning.  Then they will hammer away at the southbound lanes with even larger soil nails.

“The south lanes can use nails that are 50 to 60 feet long and two inches in diameter,” said Beard.  “You drive along these roads and they are perfect and they are flat, but they are on the edge of a cliff. A lot of people take that for granted, but the fact is there are frequently things like launched soil nails beneath the roads to keep them secure and stable.”

Watch Video Here

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