Tag Archive: Forest / Wild Fire in Canada


Earthquakes

USGS

MAG UTC DATE-TIME
y/m/d h:m:s
LAT
deg
LON
deg
DEPTH
km
 Region
MAP  4.6   2012/09/10 23:17:34   36.656   141.015 18.3  NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP  3.7 2012/09/10 23:15:16   19.660   -67.586 58.0  PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP  4.8   2012/09/10 23:14:31   0.522   98.457 52.7  NIAS REGION, INDONESIA
MAP  4.2 2012/09/10 22:03:31   19.509   -67.637 17.0  PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP  4.5   2012/09/10 22:00:01   51.178   157.428 60.5  NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
MAP  2.6 2012/09/10 19:51:24   51.944  -177.653 13.2  ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP  2.5 2012/09/10 19:33:40   18.162   -67.025 24.0  PUERTO RICO
MAP  4.9   2012/09/10 19:08:46   0.905   92.783 15.4  OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
MAP  2.7 2012/09/10 18:55:26   57.166  -157.577 4.9  ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP  2.6 2012/09/10 15:46:03   33.289  -115.706 3.5  SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP  2.6 2012/09/10 15:45:48   33.282  -115.714 2.8  SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP  3.3 2012/09/10 15:44:43   33.280  -115.713 3.4  SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP  5.2   2012/09/10 14:35:43   10.465   93.611 37.7  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
MAP  4.6   2012/09/10 14:03:18   39.263   74.211 45.3  SOUTHERN XINJIANG, CHINA
MAP  4.5   2012/09/10 13:16:25   10.488   93.546 62.3  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
MAP  4.8   2012/09/10 11:31:16   12.347   -88.630 25.0  OFFSHORE EL SALVADOR
MAP  5.1   2012/09/10 11:23:29   3.993   126.189 42.4  KEPULAUAN TALAUD, INDONESIA
MAP  4.6   2012/09/10 10:43:55   41.733   143.691 30.0  HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
MAP  4.1 2012/09/10 09:08:39   51.896  -171.046 48.7  FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP  4.7   2012/09/10 07:51:09   -6.561   129.720 143.5  BANDA SEA
MAP  3.2 2012/09/10 06:23:51  -33.487   151.950 0.0  NEAR THE SOUTHEAST COAST OF AUSTRALIA
MAP  4.9   2012/09/10 06:19:20   13.685   92.837 24.0  ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
MAP  4.7   2012/09/10 05:41:51   24.163   126.191 31.9  RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN
MAP  3.3 2012/09/10 05:09:00   19.684   -64.160 33.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  2.8 2012/09/10 05:03:24   17.937   -66.060 13.0  PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP  2.5 2012/09/10 04:54:14   35.375  -118.541 4.5  CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP  3.2 2012/09/10 04:33:39   19.672   -64.386 41.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  4.6   2012/09/10 04:32:40   2.952   128.440 178.4  HALMAHERA, INDONESIA
MAP  3.3 2012/09/10 03:28:03   19.654   -64.253 59.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  2.6 2012/09/10 02:23:17   32.181  -115.225 7.7  BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP  4.5   2012/09/10 02:14:05  -20.370   -68.968 122.9  TARAPACA, CHILE
MAP  4.8   2012/09/10 00:38:26  -10.690   114.006 10.0  SOUTH OF BALI, INDONESIA
MAP  4.8   2012/09/10 00:04:45  -20.370  -176.533 250.7  FIJI REGION

MAG UTC DATE-TIME
y/m/d h:m:s
LAT
deg
LON
deg
DEPTH
km
 Region
MAP  2.6 2012/09/09 23:40:17   61.364  -152.700 142.7  SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP  3.0 2012/09/09 22:35:06   19.009   -64.539 36.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  2.5 2012/09/09 22:13:33   40.577  -124.314 21.9  NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP  3.3 2012/09/09 21:57:19   19.674   -64.236 48.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  3.4 2012/09/09 21:41:11   56.591  -155.437 27.5  ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP  4.3 2012/09/09 21:37:36   9.795   -84.849 24.9  COSTA RICA
MAP  4.8   2012/09/09 21:29:51  -27.470   -67.282 166.6  CATAMARCA, ARGENTINA
MAP  4.5   2012/09/09 21:06:11   -7.328   128.600 150.8  KEPULAUAN BARAT DAYA, INDONESIA
MAP  4.2 2012/09/09 19:30:22   40.004   24.802 13.6  AEGEAN SEA
MAP  5.3   2012/09/09 19:23:51   52.819   174.936 120.6  NEAR ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP  4.7   2012/09/09 18:59:39   16.095   -98.097 15.2  OFFSHORE OAXACA, MEXICO
MAP  3.3 2012/09/09 18:56:23   19.454   -64.305 66.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  2.8 2012/09/09 18:36:22   59.917  -153.782 136.1  SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP  4.7   2012/09/09 16:49:21   -3.167   135.036 49.5  PAPUA, INDONESIA
MAP  2.8 2012/09/09 16:31:19   19.105   -66.785 31.0  PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP  4.3 2012/09/09 15:56:57  -21.004   -68.763 119.7  TARAPACA, CHILE
MAP  4.1 2012/09/09 15:21:23   36.197   70.611 109.9  HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
MAP  5.0   2012/09/09 14:36:37  -30.378  -177.959 56.9  KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
MAP  2.5 2012/09/09 13:27:30   36.628  -119.214 25.1  CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP  4.5   2012/09/09 11:27:28   -3.652   144.354 37.1  NEAR NORTH COAST OF NEW GUINEA, P.N.G.
MAP  4.5   2012/09/09 11:08:44   12.560   -88.868 35.0  OFFSHORE EL SALVADOR
MAP  4.3 2012/09/09 10:02:08   23.371   36.375 10.0  RED SEA
MAP  4.2 2012/09/09 09:50:03   12.652   -88.512 35.3  OFFSHORE EL SALVADOR
MAP  4.8   2012/09/09 09:39:15  -10.839   113.817 6.3  SOUTH OF JAVA, INDONESIA
MAP  5.1   2012/09/09 09:36:40   45.281   151.328 30.8  KURIL ISLANDS
MAP  3.1 2012/09/09 09:10:43   19.175   -64.251 26.0  VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP  4.3 2012/09/09 07:26:07   36.862   24.422 120.3  SOUTHERN GREECE
MAP  6.0   2012/09/09 05:39:21   49.429   155.537 58.7  KURIL ISLANDS
MAP  2.5 2012/09/09 05:33:23   60.625  -147.676 13.9  SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP  4.7   2012/09/09 05:14:53   16.230   -98.198 11.9  OAXACA, MEXICO
MAP  4.4 2012/09/09 03:30:27  -10.749   114.053 22.2  SOUTH OF BALI, INDONESIA
MAP  3.0 2012/09/09 02:09:00   18.629   -66.737 27.0  PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP  3.4 2012/09/09 01:58:53   35.379   -96.543 4.9  OKLAHOMA
MAP  4.9   2012/09/09 00:13:50  -28.087  -176.526 9.9  KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION

Scores Dead After Quakes Hit Southwest China

By Jack Phillips
Epoch Times Staff Created

A boulder lies on a road in Yiliang, in southwestern China's Yunnan Province, following two shallow quakes that struck the area. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

A boulder lies on a road in Yiliang, in southwestern China’s Yunnan Province, following two shallow quakes that struck the area. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

A series of earthquakes on Friday in southwestern China struck a heavily populated area that lacks sound infrastructure, killing at least 64 people and leaving hundreds more injured, with the death toll likely to increase, state-run media reported.

The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed that two 5.6-magnitude earthquakes hit within an hour of one another in the southwestern province of Yunnan, with both epicenters lying near the mountainous city of Zhaoyang. The agency said there were dozens of aftershocks.

Although only moderately powerful, the two quakes struck at a relatively shallow depth, which increases the likelihood of damage.

The quake was felt and did the most damage in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, state media said. Video footage from state-run CCTV showed piles of rubble, including bricks and pieces of concrete, strewn about streets.

Nearly all of the deaths were reported in Yunnan’s Yiliang County, a heavily populated area with what is said to have poor infrastructure and building construction. The region, considered one of the poorest in China, is mainly occupied by the Yi ethnic group.

“Many of the buildings there are built from bricks and beams, and they don’t have much load-bearing capacity,” Yunnan seismological chief Huang Fugang said, according to Radio Free Asia. “These structures basically aren’t earthquake-proof.”

State media reported that roads, telecommunications lines, medical facilities, schools, power plants, and other infrastructure were damaged in the quakes.

Four years ago, a quake that struck rural Sichuan Province, located north of Yunnan, left nearly 90,000 people dead. Many people blamed the devastation on badly built schools, bridges, and other buildings.

More than 100,000 people were evacuated in affected areas throughout Yunnan, state mouthpiece Xinhua said, adding that more than 6,000 houses were destroyed and 430,000 homes were said to be damaged. Around 200,000 people will likely have to be moved in Yiliang and the lives of 700,000 people were affected, the news agency reported.

Two buses make their way across a road full of fallen rocks after a series of earthquakes hit the area near Zhaotong municipality at the border of southwest China's Yunnan and Guizhou province on September 7, 2012. (STR/AFP/GettyImages)

Two buses make their way across a road full of fallen rocks after a series of earthquakes hit the area near Zhaotong municipality at the border of southwest China’s Yunnan and Guizhou province on September 7, 2012. (STR/AFP/GettyImages)

Mr. Zhu of Maoping village in Yilang County told The Epoch Times that around “a third of the houses have collapses and 90 percent are damaged so badly that people can’t live there.”

The death toll is likely to increase in the coming days due to landslides and mudslides triggered by the quakes.

“The hardest part of the rescue now is [the] traffic [situation],” Li Fuchun, the head of the Luozehe township, located near the epicenter of the quake, told Xinhua. “Roads are blocked and rescuers have to climb the mountains to reach hard-hit villages.”

A settlement located near a zinc mine in Luozehe was also seriously damaged with around two dozen families forced to evacuate due to falling boulders. “It is scary. My brother was killed by falling rocks. The aftershocks struck again and again. We are so afraid,” miner Peng Zhuwen was quoted as saying.

News of the quake reverberated throughout Chinese social media websites, including the Sina Weibo Twitter-like site, where numerous people posted their condolences, prayers, and pictures of candles for the victims in the disaster.

chinareports@epochtimes.com

южные курилы курильские острова остров Кунашир

Photo: RIA Novosti   i

On Sunday, two earthquakes hit Kuril Islands in the Russian Far East. The first quake of 5.6 point magnitude on the Richter scale was recorded near the island of Paramushir, says seismological station in the city of Severo-Kurilsk. Glass-ware ringed in cupboards for ten seconds, and ceiling lamps rocked.

The second earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 points in Richter scale took place in the deep-water Kurilo-Kamchatka trench. The epicenter was located 270 kilometers east of the city of Kurilsk on the island of Iturup.

There was no tsunami warning.

TASS

Four more tremors at Song Tranh hydro-power plant

 VietNamNet Bridge – In the morning of September 6, thousands of residents of Bac Tra My district, Quang Nam province, panicked because of four consecutive quakes up to 3.4 on the Richter scale. In the last four days, this region suffered from 12 quakes.

Quang Nam: Six earthquakes near hydro-power plant
Earthquakes in Quang Nam have no relation to volcanoes
Quang Nam: in powerful earthquakes, hydro-power plant will create a disaster


Song Tranh 2 dam.

While attending a ceremony to see recruits off, many officials of Bac Tra My district heard big explosions in the earth and fell tremors.

“After the explosion, the ground shook and my car was also shaken,” said Ms. Dung, a district official.

Mr. Tran Van Anh in Phuoc Hiep commune, Phuoc Son district, where is very close to Song Tranh 2 hydro-power plant, said: “At 7.20am, when I was drinking tea with my neighbors, an underground blast exploded. After that the ground shook strongly. We had to run out of the house immediately.”

In Hiep Duc and Nam Tra My districts, hundreds of people fled from their houses because of underground blasts and tremors in the early morning.

The Geo-physic Institute verified that four quakes occurred near the Song Tranh 2 plant in the morning of September 6. The strongest tremor is 3.4 Richter and its epicenter was in Phuoc Hiep commune, which is very close to Song Tranh 2.

According to the institute’s statistics, up to 58 tremors were recorded around Song Tranh 2 plant over the last year. From September 3-6, up to 12 quakes occurred. The strongest tremor was 4.2 Richter. Tremors may come from the Tra Bong or Hung Nhuong-Ta Vi faults, around 3km from Song Tranh 2 dam.

According to a research work by the Geophysics Institute, Song Tranh 2 hydro-power plant is built on the weak layer of the earth’s crust. If strong earthquakes occur, they will cause danger for both the plant and people in the downstream area.

According to the Institute of Science and Technology of Vietnam’s initial conclusion, underground explosions in the region were caused by reservoir induced earthquakes of 3-4 Richter scale from the fault on the left bank of Tranh River.

The capacity of Song Tranh hydro-power plant’s reservoir is over 730 million of cubic meters, which is located over 100m higher than the downstream area. Experts worry that if the dam is broken, it will cause disaster to the downstream region. It is predicted that the reservoir can cause maximal earthquake of up to 5.5 Richter scale.

Prof. Cao Dinh Trieu from the Geophysics Institute says it needs to set up five fixed quake observing stations around the Song Tranh hydro-power plant.

Compiled by Le Ha

LISS – Live Internet Seismic Server

GSN Stations

These data update automatically every 30 minutes. Last update: September 11, 2012 03:18:49 UTC

Seismograms may take several moments to load. Click on a plot to see larger image.

CU/ANWB, Willy Bob, Antigua and Barbuda

 ANWB 24hr plot

CU/BBGH, Gun Hill, Barbados

 BBGH 24hr plot

CU/BCIP, Isla Barro Colorado, Panama

 BCIP 24hr plot

CU/GRGR, Grenville, Grenada

 GRGR 24hr plot

CU/GRTK, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands

 GRTK 24hr plot

CU/GTBY, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

 GTBY 24hr plot

CU/MTDJ, Mount Denham, Jamaica

 MTDJ 24hr plot

CU/SDDR, Presa de Sabaneta, Dominican Republic

 SDDR 24hr plot

CU/TGUH, Tegucigalpa, Honduras

 TGUH 24hr plot

IC/BJT, Baijiatuan, Beijing, China

 BJT 24hr plot

IC/ENH, Enshi, China

 ENH 24hr plot

IC/HIA, Hailar, Neimenggu Province, China

 HIA 24hr plot

IC/LSA, Lhasa, China

 LSA 24hr plot

IC/MDJ, Mudanjiang, China

 MDJ 24hr plot

IC/QIZ, Qiongzhong, Guangduong Province, China

 QIZ 24hr plot

IU/ADK, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, USA

 ADK 24hr plot

IU/AFI, Afiamalu, Samoa

 AFI 24hr plot

IU/ANMO, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

 ANMO 24hr plot

IU/ANTO, Ankara, Turkey

 ANTO 24hr plot

IU/BBSR, Bermuda

 BBSR 24hr plot

IU/BILL, Bilibino, Russia

 BILL 24hr plot

IU/CASY, Casey, Antarctica

 CASY 24hr plot

IU/CCM, Cathedral Cave, Missouri, USA

 CCM 24hr plot

IU/CHTO, Chiang Mai, Thailand

 CHTO 24hr plot

IU/COLA, College Outpost, Alaska, USA

 COLA 24hr plot

IU/COR, Corvallis, Oregon, USA

 COR 24hr plot

IU/CTAO, Charters Towers, Australia

 CTAO 24hr plot

IU/DAV,Davao, Philippines

 DAV 24hr plot

IU/DWPF,Disney Wilderness Preserve, Florida, USA

 DWPF 24hr plot

IU/FUNA,Funafuti, Tuvalu

 FUNA 24hr plot

IU/FURI, Mt. Furi, Ethiopia

 FURI 24hr plot

IU/GNI, Garni, Armenia

 GNI 24hr plot

IU/GRFO, Grafenberg, Germany

 GRFO 24hr plot

IU/GUMO, Guam, Mariana Islands

 GUMO 24hr plot

IU/HKT, Hockley, Texas, USA

 HKT 24hr plot

IU/HNR, Honiara, Solomon Islands

 HNR 24hr plot

IU/HRV, Adam Dziewonski Observatory (Oak Ridge), Massachusetts, USA

 HRV 24hr plot

IU/INCN, Inchon, Republic of Korea

 INCN 24hr plot

IU/JOHN, Johnston Island, Pacific Ocean

 JOHN 24hr plot

IU/KBS, Ny-Alesund, Spitzbergen, Norway

 KBS 24hr plot

IU/KEV, Kevo, Finland

 KEV 24hr plot

IU/KIEV, Kiev, Ukraine

 KIEV 24hr plot

IU/KIP, Kipapa, Hawaii, USA

 KIP 24hr plot

IU/KMBO, Kilima Mbogo, Kenya

 KMBO 24hr plot

IU/KNTN, Kanton Island, Kiribati

 KNTN 24hr plot

IU/KONO, Kongsberg, Norway

 KONO 24hr plot

IU/KOWA, Kowa, Mali

 KOWA 24hr plot

IU/LCO, Las Campanas Astronomical Observatory, Chile

 LCO 24hr plot

IU/LSZ, Lusaka, Zambia

 LSZ 24hr plot

IU/LVC, Limon Verde, Chile

 LVC 24hr plot

IU/MA2, Magadan, Russia

 MA2 24hr plot

IU/MAJO, Matsushiro, Japan

 MAJO 24hr plot

IU/MAKZ,Makanchi, Kazakhstan

 MAKZ 24hr plot

IU/MBWA, Marble Bar, Western Australia

 MBWA 24hr plot

IU/MIDW, Midway Island, Pacific Ocean, USA

 MIDW 24hr plot

IU/MSKU, Masuku, Gabon

 MSKU 24hr plot

IU/NWAO, Narrogin, Australia

 NWAO 24hr plot

IU/OTAV, Otavalo, Equador

 OTAV 24hr plot

IU/PAB, San Pablo, Spain

 PAB 24hr plot

IU/PAYG Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands

 PAYG 24hr plot

IU/PET, Petropavlovsk, Russia

 PET 24hr plot

IU/PMG, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

 PMG 24hr plot

IU/PMSA, Palmer Station, Antarctica

 PMSA 24hr plot

IU/POHA, Pohakaloa, Hawaii

 POHA 24hr plot

IU/PTCN, Pitcairn Island, South Pacific

 PTCN 24hr plot

IU/PTGA, Pitinga, Brazil

 PTGA 24hr plot

IU/QSPA, South Pole, Antarctica

 QSPA 24hr plot

IU/RAO, Raoul, Kermandec Islands

 RAO 24hr plot

IU/RAR, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

 RAR 24hr plot

IU/RCBR, Riachuelo, Brazil

 RCBR 24hr plot

IU/RSSD, Black Hills, South Dakota, USA

 RSSD 24hr plot

IU/SAML, Samuel, Brazil

 SAML 24hr plot

IU/SBA, Scott Base, Antarctica

 SBA 24hr plot

IU/SDV, Santo Domingo, Venezuela

 SDV 24hr plot

IU/SFJD, Sondre Stromfjord, Greenland

 SFJD 24hr plot

IU/SJG, San Juan, Puerto Rico

 SJG 24hr plot

IU/SLBS, Sierra la Laguna Baja California Sur, Mexico

 SLBS 24hr plot

IU/SNZO, South Karori, New Zealand

 SNZO 24hr plot

IU/SSPA, Standing Stone, Pennsylvania USA

 SSPA 24hr plot

IU/TARA, Tarawa Island, Republic of Kiribati

 TARA 24hr plot

IU/TATO, Taipei, Taiwan

 TATO 24hr plot

IU/TEIG, Tepich, Yucatan, Mexico

 TEIG 24hr plot

IU/TIXI, Tiksi, Russia

 TIXI 24hr plot

IU/TRIS, Tristan da Cunha, Atlantic Ocean

 TRIS 24hr plot

IU/TRQA, Tornquist, Argentina

 TRQA 24hr plot

IU/TSUM, Tsumeb, Namibia

 TSUM 24hr plot

IU/TUC, Tucson, Arizona

 TUC 24hr plot

IU/ULN, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

 ULN 24hr plot

IU/WAKE, Wake Island, Pacific Ocean

 WAKE 24hr plot

IU/WCI, Wyandotte Cave, Indiana, USA

 WCI 24hr plot

IU/WVT, Waverly, Tennessee, USA

 WVT 24hr plot

IU/XMAS, Kiritimati Island, Republic of Kiribati

 XMAS 24hr plot

IU/YAK, Yakutsk, Russia

 YAK 24hr plot

IU/YSS, Yuzhno Sakhalinsk, Russia

 YSS 24hr plot

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Volcanic Activity

Giant ‘balloon of magma’ inflates under Santorini

Santorini

Volcanic craters at Santorini. Image Wikipedia. A new survey suggests that the chamber of molten rock beneath Santorini’s volcano expanded 10-20 million cubic metres – up to 15 times the size of London’s Olympic Stadium – between January 2011 and April 2012. Ads by Google $1249+ Austin Laser Lipo – Get a Free Liposuction Consult. Liposuction Financing is Available. – SonoBelloAustin.com/Liposuction The growth of this ‘balloon’ of magma has seen the surface of the island rise 8-14 centimetres during this period, a team led by Oxford University scientists has found. The results come from an expedition, funded by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council, which used satellite radar images and Global Positioning System receivers (GPS) that can detect movements of the Earth’s surface of just a few millimetres. The findings are helping scientists to understand more about the inner workings of the volcano which had its last major explosive eruption 3,600 years ago, burying the islands of Santorini under metres of pumice. However, it still does not provide an answer to the biggest question of all: ‘when will the volcano next erupt?’ A report of the research appears in this week’s Nature Geoscience. In January 2011, a series of small earthquakes began beneath the islands of Santorini. Most were so small they could only be detected with sensitive seismometers but it was the first sign of activity beneath the volcano to be detected for 25 years. Following the earthquakes Michelle Parks, an Oxford University DPhil student, spotted signs of movement of the Earth’s surface on Santorini in satellite radar images. Oxford University undergraduate students then helped researchers complete a new survey of the island. Michelle Parks of Oxford University’s Department of Earth Sciences, an author of the paper, said: ‘During my field visits to Santorini in 2011, it became apparent that many of the locals were aware of a change in the behaviour of their volcano. The tour guides, who visit the volcano several times a day, would update me on changes in the amount of strong smelling gas being released from the summit, or changes in the colour of the water in some of the bays around the islands. On one particular day in April 2011, two guides told me they had felt an earthquake while they were on the volcano and that the motion of the ground had actually made them jump. Locals working in restaurants on the main island of Thera became aware of the increase in earthquake activity due to the vibration and clinking of glasses in their bars.’ Ads by Google Ground Penetrating Radar – Nationwide Ground Penetrating Radar Service – http://www.nationalgpr.com Dr Juliet Biggs of Bristol University, also an author of the paper, said: ‘People were obviously aware that something was happening to the volcano, but it wasn’t until we saw the changes in the GPS, and the uplift on the radar images that we really knew that molten rock was being injected at such a shallow level beneath the volcano. Many volcanologists study the rocks produced by old eruptions to understand what happened in the past, so it’s exciting to use cutting-edge satellite technology to link that to what’s going on in the volcanic plumbing system right now.’ Professor David Pyle of Oxford University’s Department of Earth Sciences, an author of the paper, said: ‘For me, the challenge of this project is to understand how the information on how the volcano is behaving right now can be squared with what we thought we knew about the volcano, based on the studies of both recent and ancient eruptions. There are very few volcanoes where we have such detailed information about their past history.’ The team calculate that the amount of molten rock that has arrived beneath Santorini in the past year is the equivalent of about 10-20 years growth of the volcano. But this does not mean that an eruption is about to happen: in fact the rate of earthquake activity has dropped off in the past few months. More information: A report of this research, entitled ‘Evolution of Santorini Volcano dominated by episodic and rapid fluxes of melt from depth’, is published in the journal Nature Geosience on Sunday 09 September. DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1562 Journal reference: Nature Geoscience search and more info website Provided by Oxford University search and more info website

Dinosaur die-out may have been the second of two massive extinctions: Researchers believe huge underwater volcanoes ‘killed off all the sea-life first’

By Eddie Wrenn
Popular opinion holds that an asteroid struck the Earth 65million years ago, hustling out the Age of Dinosaurs and allowing the mammals – us – to rise.

But new research now paints another picture – with the University of Washington indicating that a separate extinction came shortly first, triggered by volcanic eruptions that warmed the planet and killed life on the ocean floor.

They suggest that by the time of the asteroid impact, life on the seafloor – mostly species of clams and snails – was already perishing, because of the effects of huge volcanic eruptions on the Deccan Plateau, in what is now India.

Round 1: An underwater volcano erupts near Tonga in 2009 - perhaps a reminder of an extinction more than 65million years agoRound 1: An underwater volcano erupts near Tonga in 2009 – perhaps a reminder of an extinction more than 65million years ago

Round 2: An artist’s impression of how the six-mile wide asteroid might have looked as it ploughed into our world, decimating life on the surface

The well-known dinosaur extinction event is believed to have been triggered by an asteroid at least six miles in diameter slamming into Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

Thomas Tobin, a UW doctoral student in Earth and space sciences, said: ‘The eruptions started 300,000 to 200,000 years before the impact, and they may have lasted 100,000 years.’

During the earlier extinction it was primarily life on the ocean floor that died, in contrast to the later extinction triggered by the asteroid impact, which appeared to kill many more free-swimming species.

The eruptions would have filled the atmosphere with fine particles, or aerosols, that initially cooled the planet.

But, more importantly, the eruptions also would have spewed carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to produce long-term warming that led to the first of the two mass extinctions.

Thomas Tobin clears sand from around the fossil of a giant ammonite he found in 2009 on James Ross Island in AntarcticaThomas Tobin clears sand from around the fossil of a giant ammonite he found in 2009 on James Ross Island in Antarctica

Thomas Tobin clears sand from around the fossil of a giant ammonite he found in 2009 on James Ross Island in Antarctica

Tobin said: ‘The aerosols are active on a year to 10-year time scale, while the carbon dioxide has effects on a scale of hundreds to tens of thousands of years.

‘The species in the first event are extinct but the groups are all recognisable things you could find around on a beach today,’ he said.

Tobin is the lead author of a paper in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology that documents results of research conducted in a fossil-rich area on Seymour Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula.

That particular area has very thick sediment deposits and, for a given interval of time, might contain 10 times more sediment as the well-known Hell Creek Formation in Montana. That means scientists have much greater detail as they try to determine what was happening at the time, Tobin said.

The researchers took small surface core samples from rocks and fossils in the Antarctic sediment and used a method called magnetostratigraphy, employing known changes over time in Earth’s magnetic field to determine when the fossils were deposited. The thicker sediment allowed dating to be done more precisely.

‘I think the evidence we have from this location is indicative of two separate events, and also indicates that warming took place,’ Tobin said.

There is no direct evidence yet that the first extinction event had any effect on the second, but Tobin believes it is possible that surviving species from the first event were compromised enough that they were unable to survive the long-term environmental effects of the asteroid impact.

‘It seems improbable to me that they are completely independent events,’ he added.

11.09.2012 Volcano Eruption Nicaragua Chinandega Department, [ San Cristobal volcano] Damage level Details

Volcano Eruption in Nicaragua on Saturday, 08 September, 2012 at 18:12 (06:12 PM) UTC.

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Updated: Sunday, 09 September, 2012 at 03:31 UTC
Description
The San Cristobal volcano in Nicaragua rumbled to life Saturday with three explosions, forcing the evacuation of 3,000 residents, authorities said. Television footage showed a column of smoke and ash rising from the cone of the volcano, Nicaragua’s tallest at 1,745 meters (5,725 feet), in the northeast. The civil defense agency said it readied 50 trucks and 350 troops to support the population in case of greater emergency, while the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies, or INETER, added they expect “more gas emissions and sporadic explosions.” There are some hamlets perched on the slopes of the volcano, and winds could push the fumes from the eruption there, said the director of the national disaster prevention and mitigation agency, William Gonzalez. He said authorities ordered some 3,000 people living in villages in that zone to evacuate. Ashes fell on the towns of El Viejo, El Chonco, Villa 15 de Julio and Rancheria, according to a statement by INETER, which monitors volcanic activity. San Cristobal, located 135 kilometers (83 miles) northwest of Managua, is one of the country’s most active volcanoes. Since Thursday, when an earthquake of 7.6-magnitude rocked neighboring Costa Rica and was also felt in Nicaragua, INETER began surveillance at several active volcanoes, fearing the powerful quake would have an “impact on the activation” on the volcanoes. Rosario Murillo, the first lady and government spokeswoman, said some US experts have noted that the ash plume reaches 5,000 meters, which could be an indicator of potential for greater activity.

Volcano Eruption in Nicaragua on Saturday, 08 September, 2012 at 18:12 (06:12 PM) UTC.

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Updated: Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 03:11 UTC
Description
Nicaragua has begun evacuating around 3,000 people after the country’s largest volcano, San Cristobal, which is located along its Pacific coast, started to erupt with vehemence. Authorities have so far pointed to no immediate reports of injuries or damage, but the government has issued a yellow alert in a sign that emergency plans had been activated following the eruption on Saturday of the volcano, located about 154 kilometers (95 miles) north of the capital Managua, Reuters reported. The volcano has let out an ash plume of up to five kilometers (three miles), which has formed a cloud extending 48 kilometers (30 miles). Firefighter Sergeant Fernando Quintero said, “At this stage, we try to evacuate the people, who are in the neighboring areas, but most resist being evacuated.” The Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies noted in a preliminary report that “more gas emissions and sporadic explosions” could be expected from San Cristobal, and said in its monthly bulletin that the volcano has emitted “abundant gases in a constant manner.”

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather / Drought

Kazakhstan falls prey to drought

Published on Sep 9, 2012 by

Kazakhstan’s wheat farmers have suffered from drought affecting grain production with a drop to more than half. An exceptionally dry summer has yielded a miserable harvest amounting to the loss of 600,000 hectares, according to figures. Al Jazeera’s Robin Forestier-Walker reports from the Kostanay region on Kazakhstan’s northern border with Russia.

Today Forest / Wild Fire Canada Province of Alberta, [Blood Reserve] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in Canada on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 03:41 (03:41 AM) UTC.

Description
More than 3,500 people have been evacuated, at least one building has been destroyed and local states of emergency have been declared in several southern Alberta communities Monday as two huge grass fires are being fueled by powerful winds. The first fire, which officials believe started on the Blood Reserve, near Lethbridge, about 220 kilometres southeast of Calgary, jumped the Oldman River. A second wildfire has now forced the evacuation of Milk River, which is southeast of Lethbridge. A sudden drastic change in winds has pushed about 800 residents to seek refuges in Raymond, to the north, after first being told by officials to flee south, to Coutts, at the U.S. border. That first blaze sparked the evacuation of the nearby town of Coalhurst, where about 500 homes are in the path of the swift-moving fire. Residents had been told to seek refuge to the north along Highway 25 at the Picture Butte Community Centre, but the roadway quickly became clogged with traffic making the escape route slow-going and then, it was closed when “people gawking” at the smoke caused a head-on collision, according to Lethbridge County Reeve Lorne Hickey.

Between 300 and 400 residents of Mountain Meadows and Sunsets Acres as well as Township 8-22 in his county have also been told to get out. Lethbridge Deputy Fire Chief Wayne Johnson said the city and county is throwing every emergency worker at the fire and has called in off-duty firefighters to help. Fire breaks are being dug to try to contain the blaze. While the city of Lethbridge is under a state of emergency, residents in the neighbourhoods of Indian Battle Heights, Heritage Heights and West Highlands are being told to prepare for possible evacuation. A mandatory evacuation ordered was order for the Westside Trailer Court. Affected residents are being told to go to the Fritz Sick Centre or the ENMAX Centre. City officials also told residents to stay off their cell phones to “keep lines clear for emergency services.” In some cases, residents had only minutes to get out. Others are now preparing to leave.

10.09.2012 Forest / Wild Fire USA State of Wyoming, [Casper Mountain] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 18:29 (06:29 PM) UTC.

Description
A rapidly spreading wildfire has burned at least six structures and forced some 400 people to be evacuated from Casper Mountain. Wyoming State Forester Bill Crapser says still more buildings may have been lost to the Sheep Herder Hill Fire about 10 miles southeast of the Casper city limits. The fire began Sunday afternoon and winds quickly fanned the blaze to more than seven square miles. About 150 homes and cabins remain evacuated Monday. Crapser estimates about three-quarters are year-round homes and the rest are seasonal cabins. Nine families that fled are staying at the Parkway Plaza Hotel in Casper. The Red Cross says it may open a shelter for evacuees. Dry, windy weather has prompted the National Weather Service to put all of Wyoming under a wildfire alert.
10.09.2012 Forest / Wild Fire Russia [Asia] Tomsk Oblast, [Districts of Verkhneketsky, Parabelsky, Barguzinsky ] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in Russia [Asia] on Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 10:29 (10:29 AM) UTC.

Description
Five forest fires had been raging in Siberia as of Monday morning, the Siberian Federal District Forestry Department said. The fires are 62 hectares in size; the largest of them (44 hectares) in the Verkhneketsky district of the Tomsk region has been confined. There are also fires in the Barguzinsky district of Buryatia, the Parabelsky district of the Tomsk region and the Krasnoyarsk territory. Fires were burning on nine hectares in Siberia on Friday. The fire zone grew 6.9 times by Monday morning. Forest guards had put out 12 forest fires on 22 hectares by Monday. One hundred and twenty-seven people, 39 fire trucks and two aircraft extinguished the fires. “There is no threat to residential areas or economic sites,” the department said.
11.09.2012 Forest / Wild Fire Canada Province of British Columbia, [Peachland region (Trepanier Forest Fire)] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in Canada on Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 06:47 (06:47 AM) UTC.

Description
More than 900 residents of Peachland, B.C., were forced to flee their homes and hundreds of others were on alert when a forest fire spread through the Okanagan town Sunday. A state of emergency was declared and an evacuation order and alert were put in place by Sunday evening after the Trepanier Forest Fire broke out about 3 p.m. Kari O’Rourke, public information officer with the Emergency Operations Centre, said 593 homes, equating to 950 people in Peachland and the Trepanier Bench area were put on evacuation order, and 375 houses, or 600 residents, south of the Trepanier area were put on alert, including the Ponderosa Golf Club. Under the evacuation alert, residents were told to prepare to leave their homes with little notice should the fire threat increase. Hwy. 97 was closed at Princeton Rd. in Peachland and at Glenrosa Rd. in West Kelowna. Residents affected by the fire were asked to report to the Emergency Support Services Reception Centre set up at the Westbank Lions Community Hall, 2466 Main St. in West Kelowna, B.C. A second reception centre was opened at the Summerland Arena and Curling Club, 8820 Jubilee Road East. Crews from B.C. Wildfire Management, Kelowna and West Kelowna, Peachland were still fighting the flames as of Sunday night but were unsure of what caused the massive blaze. O’Rourke said it was not known how large the fire was as of press time.
10.09.2012 Forest / Wild Fire USA State of Nevada, Dayton Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 06:46 (06:46 AM) UTC.

Description
A wildfire had burned at least 800 acres southeast of Dayton on Sunday as crews worked to keep the flames from threatening homes or structures. Containment is expected Tuesday, Sierra Front reports. The fire was in the Brunswick Canyon area east of Carson City on the boundary with Lyon County Crews were attacking the fire from the air and on the ground, dispatcher Charlie Peters of the Sierra Front fire responders said. Firefighters were called just after noon Sunday to Mount Como, after sagebrush, pinion and juniper were ablaze, Peters said. Officials were concerned that gusty winds could cause the flames to spread. Communication towers and power lines are in the area. NV Energy also was on the scene. The fire on federal land was being attacked by the U.S. Forest Service and Nevada Division of Forestry. Two helicopters, five air tankers, two water tenders, four hand crews and five fire engines are assigned to the fire.

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Storms / Flooding / Landslides

  Active tropical storm system(s)
Name of storm system Location Formed Last update Last category Course Wind Speed Gust Wave Source Details
Leslie (AL12) Atlantic Ocean 30.08.2012 10.09.2012 Tropical Depression 30 ° 93 km/h 111 km/h 4.57 m NOAA NHC Details

 Tropical Storm data

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Storm name: Leslie (AL12)
Area: Atlantic Ocean
Start up location: N 14° 6.000, W 43° 24.000
Start up: 30th August 2012
Status: Active
Track long: 2,140.00 km
Top category.:
Report by: NOAA NHC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
31st Aug 2012 04:48:01 N 14° 42.000, W 46° 48.000 30 83 102 Tropical Storm 280 12 1002 MB NOAA NHC
01st Sep 2012 05:02:48 N 17° 24.000, W 52° 48.000 33 102 120 Tropical Storm 295 19 999 MB NOAA NHC
02nd Sep 2012 05:34:37 N 20° 12.000, W 58° 24.000 30 102 120 Tropical Storm 305 11 998 MB NOAA NHC
03rd Sep 2012 04:53:21 N 23° 24.000, W 61° 42.000 17 93 111 Tropical Storm 325 19 998 MB NOAA NHC
04th Sep 2012 05:13:40 N 24° 0.000, W 63° 6.000 0 102 120 Tropical Storm 0 12 998 MB NOAA NHC
05th Sep 2012 05:20:37 N 25° 12.000, W 62° 48.000 4 102 120 Tropical Storm 345 9 994 MB NOAA NHC
06th Sep 2012 04:44:33 N 26° 12.000, W 62° 30.000 4 120 148 Hurricane I. 10 9 985 MB NOAA NHC
07th Sep 2012 05:21:34 N 26° 30.000, W 62° 12.000 0 120 148 Hurricane I. 0 19 985 MB NOAA NHC
08th Sep 2012 05:14:29 N 27° 36.000, W 62° 18.000 6 102 120 Tropical Storm 350 9 983 MB NOAA NHC
10th Sep 2012 05:41:20 N 34° 24.000, W 61° 48.000 26 93 111 Tropical Storm 15 14 988 MB NOAA NHC
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
11th Sep 2012 07:31:46 N 42° 42.000, W 57° 30.000 65 111 139 Hurricane I 25 ° 19 988 MB NOAA NHC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
12th Sep 2012 12:00:00 N 59° 48.000, W 38° 36.000 Hurricane I 111 139 NOAA NHC
12th Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 54° 12.000, W 47° 12.000 Hurricane I 111 139 NOAA NHC
13th Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 62° 30.000, W 29° 0.000 Hurricane I 102 120 NOAA NHC
14th Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 62° 30.000, W 10° 0.000 Tropical Depression 93 111 NOAA NHC
Michael (AL13) Atlantic Ocean 04.09.2012 10.09.2012 Hurricane II 275 ° 130 km/h 157 km/h 4.27 m NOAA NHC Details

 Tropical Storm data

Share:
Storm name: Michael (AL13)
Area: Atlantic Ocean
Start up location: N 25° 54.000, W 42° 48.000
Start up: 04th September 2012
Status: Active
Track long: 718.61 km
Top category.:
Report by: NOAA NHC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
04th Sep 2012 05:09:18 N 25° 54.000, W 42° 48.000 7 56 74 Tropical Depression 305 8 1012 MB NOAA NHC
05th Sep 2012 05:21:26 N 27° 24.000, W 43° 42.000 0 83 102 Tropical Storm 0 11 1005 MB NOAA NHC
06th Sep 2012 04:47:08 N 29° 18.000, W 42° 12.000 11 120 148 Hurricane I. 50 16 990 MB NOAA NHC
07th Sep 2012 05:20:37 N 30° 48.000, W 40° 48.000 7 167 204 Hurricane II. 25 9 970 MB NOAA NHC
08th Sep 2012 05:11:40 N 31° 48.000, W 41° 48.000 9 157 194 Hurricane II. 320 10 974 MB NOAA NHC
10th Sep 2012 05:44:13 N 33° 36.000, W 44° 24.000 9 139 167 Hurricane I. 265 10 983 MB NOAA NHC
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
11th Sep 2012 07:34:11 N 35° 18.000, W 48° 0.000 20 120 148 Hurricane I 345 ° 19 989 MB NOAA NHC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
12th Sep 2012 12:00:00 N 47° 12.000, W 41° 36.000 Tropical Depression 74 93 NOAA NHC
12th Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 42° 0.000, W 46° 0.000 Tropical Depression 83 102 NOAA NHC
13th Sep 2012 00:00:00 N 52° 12.000, W 34° 30.000 Tropical Depression 65 83 NOAA NHC

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Beijing Floods- Worst in Six Decades- Displace Thousands- Kill at Least 37

Internet users say authorities’ incompetence to blame, at least in part

By Jack Phillips
Epoch Times Staff Created

Flooding leaves many vehicles submerged in water in a residential community in Beijing on July 21. (The Epoch Times Photo Archive)

Flooding leaves many vehicles submerged in water in a residential community in Beijing on July 21. (The Epoch Times Photo Archive)

Some of the worst flooding to hit Beijing in decades left at least 37 people dead and forced more than 30,000 residents to flee, state-run media reported, citing local authorities on Sunday. The number of deaths officially sits at 37, but numbers in China are often political and are likely to not reflect the full toll.

The floods, which state media said were the worst in six decades, came on Saturday afternoon and lasted into the night, leaving 80,000 people stranded as over 500 flights were canceled.

Around 6.7 inches of rain on average fell on Beijing by 6 a.m., but some areas fared worse than others. In suburban Hebei township, 18.1 inches fell. In six townships, Internet access and mobile communication was cut, while train services between Beijing and Guangzhou were shut down because railway sections were inundated.

A lightning strike killed a person, and the head of the police bureau in Fangshan district was shocked by a downed electric wire.

Four people were killed in Shuozhou city in northern Shanxi Province when floods carried their truck into the middle of a river while attempting to cross it. Six people were left dead in southwestern Sichuan Province in rain-caused landslides. Seven counties said they received more than 3.9 inches of rain.

Photos uploaded to the popular Sina Weibo microblogging website showed numerous instances of flooding in Beijing. One showed several dozen men pulling a rope in a tug-of-war fashion, in an attempt to drag out five cars and trying to help one man who was drowning.

One user on Weibo said that some of the figures released by state media, which said that 10 people were killed, may not be correct. The user said that “certainly far more than 10 people” were killed in the floods.

Other posts on the microblogging site blamed local officials for not doing enough to mitigate the disaster and said the city’s draining systems and roads have a problem.

“Lang,” a Weibo user, said that the roads were poorly designed because they could only hold “50 millimeters (1.9 inches) of rainfall,” while Beijing authorities only blame the disaster on “acts of God” rather than admitting that the roads and the city’s infrastructure have problems.

“Bad engineering, corruption, and incompetence forced people to suffer” during the floods, said user “Not to V.”

Another user sarcastically said, “We hoped [authorities] could have established a drainage system that is as effective as deleting the words they dislike,” referring to China’s censorship policy on the Internet.

One user, “Han Zhiguo” said the floods showed that there were “two totally different sides of Beijing,” saying that kind-hearted people spontaneously rescued thousands of people and even provided shelter locations, but the local government provided no shelter locations including hotels or officials buildings.

Even worse, the user said, “toll stations still paid close attention and collected the charges and traffic cops posted tickets on flooded vehicles,” accusing the city’s management of being “inhumane.”

Today Flash Flood Canada Province of Nova Scotia, [NS-wide] Damage level Details

Flash Flood in Canada on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 03:38 (03:38 AM) UTC.

Description
Nova Scotia was pummelled with rain Monday, with upwards of 75 millimetres falling in the central part of the province washing out roads, stranding residents and causing dozens of families to leave their homes. While the rain was letting up Monday evening in the Truro area, it’s just beginning in Cape Breton, according to Peter Coade, CBC’s meteorologist. Upwards of 125 millimetres is expected in Cape Breton overnight. While water levels were receding in central Nova Scotia later Monday evening, officials are watching high tide closely, which began around 9 p.m. AT. In the Indian Brook First Nation, near Shubenacadie, 135 people are stranded as Monday’s heavy rain washed out the two access roads to their community. Forecasters with the Canadian Hurricane Centre said Monday’s rainstorm was not due to tropical storm Leslie — the current storm is blocking Leslie’s progression. Leslie is expected to head for Newfoundland Tuesday morning. Chris Fogarty said the weather would likely get worse overnight as the two systems converge, with Cape Breton getting the highest winds and heaviest rain. Donna Munro, who lives in North River near Truro, was paddled to safety by a neighbour in a canoe as the area around her home flooded with about 1.5 metres of water. Munro said she and her son stepped onto the doorstep and the doorstep started separating from the front of the house. Her son got to safety and she was rescued a short time later by a neighbour with a canoe. “The force of the water, when the tide came in, is what I think really elevated everything on top of all the rain we had too. It just all added to it like a snowball effect,” she said. “It was the force and the viciousness of it, I think, that just sped it along that much quicker.”

Roads and bridges will be inspected by engineers from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal as quickly as possible, he said. Motorists should continue to use caution and watch for closed roads and water on roads, according to the provincial release. The Canadian Red Cross has set up two reception centres for area residents who have been displaced by the storm: at the Bible Hill Village Fire Hall at 69 Pictou Rd. and the Immanuel Baptist Church at 295 Young St. However, the reception centres are not serving as shelters at the moment, according to Mona O’Brien, district community supervisor for the Canadian Red Cross in Truro. The flooding in central Nova Scotia Monday posed some concern in the Salmon River area, according to the Emergency Management Office. Water levels are on the decline in some areas, but the area isn’t in the clear yet. “The water has subsided quite a bit in the North River and the Salmon River,” according to Bob Taylor, mayor of the municipality of Colchester. “Having said that, there’s still a lot of water from the uplands, also we don’t know how much the tide is going to affect us.” People are being asked to stay away from flooding areas because of the high tide.

Today Flash Flood China Province of Sichuan, [Guangyuan and Suining] Damage level Details

Flash Flood in China on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 03:34 (03:34 AM) UTC.

Description
A new round of torrential rains that started Sunday night inundated parts of Southwest China’s Sichuan province, leaving six people dead and four missing, local authorities said Monday. The victims were reported in the cities of Guangyuan and Suining, the Sichuan provincial flood control office said in a statement. Rainstorms continued into Monday night and a township in Shehong county of Suining reported the largest precipitation of 257.3 mm in just six hours Monday, it said. The rains also left parts of the county seats of Daying and Shehong in Suining submerged under waters of up to two meters deep. The rains are forecast to last till 8 am Wednesday, according to the provincial meteorological center.
10.09.2012 Flash Flood Pakistan MultiStates, [States of Punjab and North West Frontier] Damage level Details

Flash Flood in Pakistan on Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 10:07 (10:07 AM) UTC.

Description
At least 78 people died and dozens were injured as torrential rains and flash floods wreaked havoc in Pakistan over the past three days, a government spokesman said Monday. Heavy monsoon rains which began falling last week destroyed more than 1,600 houses while damaging a further 5,000, Irshad Bhatti, a spokesman for the country’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported. “A total of 78 people have died and 68 injured in rains and flash floods in the country so far,” he said, adding that the casualties were caused mostly by houses collapsing and people being caught in floods. The worst-hit region was Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where 32 people have died and 26 were injured in several districts, he said, adding that 83 houses were totally destroyed and another 4,200 were partially damaged, he said. In the northwestern district of Swabi eight Afghan refugees were killed when the roof of their mud house collapsed overnight, police official Mohammad Ali said. The dead, who were members of the same family, included two women and six children aged between one and 12 years he said. In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, flash flood killed at least 31 people, Bhatti said. Rains killed at least 26 people in that region last month. A state of emergency, meanwhile has been declared in the Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts of the Punjab province, where army troops have been called to join rescue work, local administration officials aid. Weather officials predict heavy rain in the next two days in southern Sindh and Baluchistan provinces. Rescue teams are closely monitoring the situation, Bhatti said. Floods in Pakistan in the summer of 2011 affected 5.8 million people, with flood waters killing livestock, destroying crops, homes and infrastructure as the nation struggled to recover from record inundations the previous year.
10.09.2012 Flash Flood USA State of Arizona, [Great Phoenix region] Damage level Details

Flash Flood in USA on Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 05:46 (05:46 AM) UTC.

Description
Thunderstorms struck parts of the north and west Valley Sunday evening, and forecasters at the National Weather Service said there was a chance of more rain overnight. Charlotte Dewey, a meteorologist at the Weather Service’s Phoenix office, said two storm systems — one starting near Circle City, northwest of Phoenix, and the other near North Mountain Park — moved on a northwest trajectory. Those storms began diminishing at about 8 p.m., but forecasters called for a 30 percent chance of measurable rain in the metro area overnight. The temperature on Sunday hit a high of 93 degrees at about 3:50 p.m. The chance of thunderstorms on Monday was 50 percent, according to the Weather Service’s website. Those odds grow to 60 percent going into Monday night and on Tuesday. Weather experts predicted Monday’s high to hit 94 degrees, and Tuesday’s predicted high is 92 degrees. Rain chances decrease later in the week and Thursday is expected to be sunny with a high of 95 degrees, according to the Weather Service’s website. The Weather Service reported flash floods in the northwest and southwest ends of the state Sunday. Mike Bruce, a meteorologist, said blowing dust and wind, downed power lines and street flooding was reported in the Yuma area.

The strongest wind gust was reported to be 65 miles an hour at the Yuma International Airport, Bruce said. Jose Guerrero, a Yuma resident living near Interstate 8 and 16th Street, said he did not see much rain but the gusting wind knocked down some neighbors’ patio furniture. Clay Morgan, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Las Vegas, said his office got reports of several flooded and impassible roads in Golden Valley, a town just west of Kingman. The water was reported to be as high as 2 feet in some areas. The agency had issued a flash flood watch at about 3:45 p.m. Sunday. Santana Madrid, an employe at a Subway restaurant at Marana Road and State Route 68 in Golden Valley, said his tires were nearly submerged driving into work Sunday evening. Madrid said some the dirt roads in the town got it the worst. Morgan said the reason for the flooding was due to washes that flow northeast-southwest through the town. Morgan said flash-flood watches remained in effect for the area Monday and Monday night as the storm system currently buffeting Yuma makes its way north.

……………………..

10.09.2012 Complex Emergency Vietnam Province of Yen Bai, [Yen Bai-wide] Damage level Details

Complex Emergency in Vietnam on Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 05:57 (05:57 AM) UTC.

Description
Officials say landslides and flooding caused by heavy rains have killed 29 people and left four missing in northern and central Vietnam. Disaster official Ngo Van Hung of northern Yen Bai province said Monday that 16 villagers from the mostly poor Hmong ethnic minority group died in a landslide while they were illegally collecting tin ore from a mine operated by a private company. Authorities are searching for two other people missing from Friday’s incident, he added. The government disaster agency says flooding killed another 13 people and left two missing in central Vietnam over the past week. The agency says on its website that flooding caused by heavy rains has caused an estimated $22 million in damage to rice crops and infrastructure.

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Radiation

26.33 microSv/h- Tomioka-Naraha- Border- R6 Barricade for Fukushima Daiichi- Sep 2012

Published on Sep 9, 2012 by

On 9 Sep 2012, I measured radiation at Tomioka-Naraha, Border, of Fukushima prefecture Japan.
I monitored 0.86 micro Sievert per hour in air at chest hight, 26.33 on road side dust.
The monitorinig place is 16km (10 miles) from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant.
Along the national road route 6, No Entory barricade for Fukushima Daiich nuclear power plant.
Young policemen sent from a west region of Japan are guarding this place standing outside for long hours, only wearing “family use” masks.
This Route-6 barricade has been moved 6km (4 miles) closer to Fukushima Daiich since Aug of 2012. They, the young policemen also have been faced to higher risk of internal exposure.
The map shown in the video is from “Radiation counter map of the Fukushima Daiich accident, the 7th edition” by Prof. Yukio HAYAKAWA of Gunma university, Japan.
Measuring instrument is made of Ukraine, ECOTEST MKS-05.
26.33μSv/h 富岡-楢葉町境 国道6号通行止地点 路上砂 2012.9.9

 

 

 

 

 

#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Pipe Shavings Causing the Decrease in Water Flow- TEPCO Thinks

Incurious TEPCO’s conclusion for now is that the white pieces floating in the buffer tank and caught by the strainer are the shavings of plastic pipes and they are the cause of the decreased water flow into the reactors.

From Yomiuri Shinbun (9/6/2012):

福島第一の注水量低下、配管の削りかすが原因か

Decrease in the amount of water injected [into the reactor] caused by shavings from the pipes?

福島第一原子力発電所1~3号機の原子炉を冷やす注水量が必要量を下回った問題で、東京電力は6日、ポリエチレン製配管の削りかすが弁や配管などに詰まった可能性が高いと発表した。

TEPCO announced on September 6 that it was likely that the shavings from the polyethylene pipes were clogging up the valves and pipes and causing the amounts of water injected into the reactors at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant to fall below the necessary amounts for cooling.

東電はこれまで、鉄さびが配管につまった可能性を示唆していたが、注水量の低下は、処理した汚染水を冷却用タンクに移す全長2・7キロ・メートルの配管 を8月30日にポリ塩化ビニール製からポリエチレン製(直径15センチ・メートル)に切り替えた後に起こったことを重視。削りかすは配管の切断作業などで 出たとみられる。タンク内や、冷却装置のフィルター部分からは、削りかすとみられる白い物質が見つかっている。

TEPCO had hinted at the possibility of metal rust clogging the pipes. However, the company thought it important that the problem started to happen after August 30, when the 2.7-kilometer pipes that transport the treated water to the cooling tanks were switched from polyvinyl chloride pipes [probably Kanaflex] to polyethylene pipes (15 centimeter in diameter). The shavings are considered to have been generated when the pipes were being cut. White substances that looks like the shavings have been found inside the [buffer] tank and on the filter of the cooling equipment.

If it is true, I don’t know what to say, other than that TEPCO is fast running out of money and quality subcontractors. This is decidedly not the “nuclear plant” spec.

Posted by arevamirpal::laprimavera

 

 

 

#Radioactive Japan: Radiation Exposure Offers Many “Educational” Opportunities for Children

Exactly one and a half year since the start of the nuclear accident on March 11, 2011, this is where Japan stands. All the lip service to “protecting children” or “children are our future” is, well, lip service.

The mayor of a big city in Kanagawa Prefecture declares eating food containing radioactive cesium in the school lunches is part of children’s education. A large city in Fukushima Prefecture in the highly contaminated Nakadori (middle third) refuses to install air conditioning systems in the city’s public schools because children should not miss the opportunity to learn about global warming. A city in Tokyo has just started feeding children with milk from Fukushima for their school lunch program. A professor in a college in Shizuoka Prefecture with the PhD in tourism sends her students to Fukushima to buy Fukushima produce and goods to dispel “baseless rumors”.

It is worse than the worst that Professor Kunihiko Takeda of Chubu University feared exactly a year ago, with his short poetic prose titled “A girl doesn’t talk“; he pleaded with teachers and educators to do all they could to protect children. His plea has fallen on totally deaf ears, and here we are. This has got to be the end.

First, for Takao Abe, Mayor of Kawasaki City in Kanagawa Prefecture, making children eat food that has been proven to contain radioactive cesium of Fukushima origin is nothing but highly educational, and the parents should just shut up (Tokyo Shinbun 9/5/2012):

Mayor Takao Abe said during the regular press conference on September 4 that it was important for children to learn that they were living in dangers, and that he would continue to use the frozen oranges from Kanagawa and canned apples from Yamagata that were found with radioactive cesium in the school lunches in the elementary schools in Kawasaki City, emphasizing the educational aspect of using food [known to be contaminated with radioactive cesium].

According to the city’s inspection, 9.1 Bq/kg of radioactive cesium was found in the frozen oranges [from Kanagawa], and 1.6 Bq/kg in the canned apple [from Aomori]. However, since the levels are below the national safety limit (100 Bq/kg) the city has been serving the frozen oranges in the school lunches since April this year. The city will start using the canned apple in September.

When asked about Yokohama City and Kamakura City not using the frozen oranges, Mayor Abe responded, “It is a mistake to teach children to be afraid of such a trivial level [of radioactive cesium].” He further commented, “On the road, there is a danger of being hit by a car. A total stranger may stab you. Do you teach children not to walk past a stranger?”

There are parents who are not convinced, but to them, the mayor said, “Don’t be a chicken.”

Mayor Abe was born and raised in Fukushima, by the way. But that has nothing to do with anything, right?

Koriyama City in high-radiation Nakadori of Fukushima Prefecture refused to install air conditioning systems in the city’s schools because it was important for children to suffer to learn about “ecology” (tweet from one of my followers, about an NHK program on the topic):

郡山の学校、エアコン設置が認められないと、6月東電説明会でもあった。教育委員会からも「こどもにエコを学ばせたい」と言われたとのこと。先の動画から。放射能汚染と猛暑の中の児童を心配する親からの嘆願を、市議会も東電も教育委員会も却下。

They don’t allow installation of air conditioning systems in schools in Koriyama City. It was talked about in the meeting with TEPCO in June. The city’s Board of Education also said [to the parents], “We want children to learn ecology.” From the video. The Koriyama City Assembly, TEPCO, and Board of Education all turned down the petition from the parents who worried about their children in the radiation contamination and the severe heat of the summer.

When the Japanese say “ecology“, all they mean is “energy-saving to prevent global warming“. Global warming.

Then, it is more important for Fuchu City in western Tokyo to help Fukushima recover from the “baseless rumors” than protecting children from potentially contaminated food; or good deal with a major milk supplier (Snow Brand Megmilk) cannot be ditched (the link goes to a page with the handout from the Board of Education). The latter, more likely. So, starting September 10, Fuchu City’s milk from Snow Brand Megmilk will contain milk from Fukushima, in addition to Kanagawa, Chiba, Tochigi, Gunma, Iwate, Miyagi, Yamagata, Aomori. In for a penny, in for a pound, or literally, “Eat poison, lick the platter that serves the poison”.

And lastly, Professor Akane Okubo got her PhD in tourism (I never heard of such a thing until I checked her bio), and teaches at Fuji Tokoha University in Shizuoka Prefecture while she continue to work for the research institute of Japan Travel Bureau (JTB), one of the largest tour operators in Japan. In the past, she worked for another tourism outfit (Jalan). How does she educate her students? By sending them off to Fukushima to buy up produce and goods in Fukushima to counter “baseless rumors”. She must have gotten a lucrative grant from the national government for her “research”. From Yomiuri Shinbun (9/10/2012):

大久保教授は「地元の人に話を聞いて、自分で何ができるか考えることが重要。風評被害の払拭に少しでも役に立てれば」と話した。

Professor Okubo said, “It is important for the student to listen to the local people and to think about what they can do. We would like to do any small thing to help dispel baseless rumors.”

Now that’s unintentionally funny. “Japanese university students” and “think” clearly don’t go together.

The pace of descending into deeper and deeper lunacy seems to be accelerating in Japan. Maybe this is what people must have felt like in the 1930s, right before the last world war.

Posted by arevamirpal::laprimavera

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Epidemic Hazards  /  Diseases

Vietnam hit by new ‘highly-toxic’ bird flu

HANOI: A new highly-toxic strain of the potentially deadly bird flu virus has appeared in Vietnam and is spreading fast, according to state media reports.

The strain appeared to be a mutation of the H5N1 virus which swept through the country’s poultry flocks last year, forcing mass culls of birds in affected areas, according to agriculture officials.

The new virus “is quickly spreading and this is the big concern of the government”, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Diep Kinh Tan said, according to a Thursday report in the VietnamNet online newspaper.

Experts cited in the report said the new virus appeared in July and had spread through Vietnam’s northern and central regions in August.

Outbreaks have been detected in six provinces so far and some 180,000 birds have been culled, the Animal Health department said.

The Central Veterinary Diagnosis Center said the virus appeared similar to the standard strains of bird flu but was more toxic.The center will test how much protection existing vaccines for humans offer, the report said.

Some experts suggested that the new strain resulted from widespread smuggling of poultry from China into the northern parts of Vietnam.

According to the World Health Organization, Vietnam has recorded one of the highest numbers of fatalities from bird flu in southeast Asia, with at least 59 deaths since 2003.

The avian influenza virus has killed more than 330 people around the world, and scientists fear it could mutate into a form readily transmissible between humans, with the potential to cause millions of deaths. — AFP

Today Epidemic Hazard China Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong [Chai Wan District] Damage level Details

Epidemic Hazard in China on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 03:22 (03:22 AM) UTC.

Description
A rare superbug first linked to travel to India has been found in a 78-year-old Burmese man who died of pneumonia, the Centre for Health Protection revealed yesterday. The man, a Hong Kong resident who lived in Eastern District, died on Friday 10 days after being admitted to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Chai Wan, with fever, shortness of breath and a cough. His urine specimen tested positive for NDM-1, in reference to New Delhi. The man visited Burma from March 21 to June 24 and was treated there for an infection. A center spokesman said NDM is an enzyme, which can inactivate antibiotics carbapenems and other beta-lactams such as penicillin. The case was the 11th detected here since a worldwide health alert was sounded in 2008. The first fatality was recorded two years later. The spokesman said proper use of antibiotics and personal hygiene, especially hand cleansing, are required to prevent contagion. Meanwhile, the center has warned travelers to Sichuan province of a bubonic plague outbreak. It received notification from the Ministry of Health yesterday that three villagers in Ganzizhou ate a dead marmot on September 2. One of them suffered painful swelling to the lymph nodes two days later and died on Friday. The provincial health authority confirmed the case as bubonic plague and has traced 59 close contacts. None, including the other two villagers who ate the animal, has shown symptoms. Plague is transmitted from infected animals, mainly rodents, to man through the bite of a flea from an infected animal. Humans may also contract plague when cuts or other breaks in their skin come into contact with the body fluid or tissue of infected animals. The center spokesman reminded travelers to avoid visiting plague- endemic areas. Those who need to visit such areas should be vigilant, wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers to avoid being bitten by fleas and apply insect repellent.
Biohazard name: Metallo-beta-lactamase-1 (NDM-1)
Biohazard level: 3/4 Hight
Biohazard desc.: Bacteria and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans, but for which vaccines or other treatments exist, such as anthrax, West Nile virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, SARS virus, variola virus (smallpox), tuberculosis, typhus, Rift Valley fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, yellow fever, and malaria. Among parasites Plasmodium falciparum, which causes Malaria, and Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes trypanosomiasis, also come under this level.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed
Today Epidemic Hazard China Municipality of Shanghai, Shanghai [Changqiao area in Xuhui District] Damage level Details

Epidemic Hazard in China on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 03:12 (03:12 AM) UTC.

Description
Over 400 residents in the Changqiao area in Xuhui District received emergency measles shots after a migrant woman from Anhui Province living in the neighborhood was detected with the infectious disease on Monday last week, local news portal eastday.com said yesterday. More than 400 nearby residents received measles shots within four hours. The woman is the first measles case detected in the community this year.
Biohazard name: Measles
Biohazard level: 2/4 Medium
Biohazard desc.: Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV. “Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3) facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures”, see Recommended Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed
Today Epidemic Hazard Tanzania Mwanza Region, [District of Mwanza] Damage level Details

Epidemic Hazard in Tanzania on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 03:02 (03:02 AM) UTC.

Description
With summer season at its prime, one of Malawi’s border districts, Mwanza, has been hit by chickenpox outbreak which according to health officials has already attacked 100 people. Chickenpox, according to various health journals Nyasa Times accessed, is a contagious viral infection in which a person develops extremely itchy blisters all over the body. It used to be one of the classic childhood diseases before the introduction of the chickenpox vaccine. Mwanza district health office spokesperson Taonga Kasomekera told private owned radio Zodiak that the situation is serious as over 100 people have already been given treatment. The situation is under control and as we are speaking our medical team is on the ground administering medical treatment,” said Kasomekera. Meanwhile, the development according to Kasomekera has affected the official opening of some schools in the district. Malawi school calendar got underway on September 3. He added that this is the case because the disease is spread easily to others through coughing or sneezing as well as touching fluids from the blisters. Moses Jumbe a teachers at Matope primary school said that District Education Manager for Neno Reuben Menyere has since advised the Primary Education Advisors for the area not to open the schools for the new term for new term following the out break. “Chickenpox can be spread very easily to others. You may get chickenpox from touching the fluids from a chickenpox blister, or if someone with the disease coughs or sneezes near you. Even those with mild illness may be contagious,” said Kasomekera. Added he: “A person with chickenpox becomes contagious 1 to 2 days before their blisters appear. They remain contagious until all the blisters have crusted over. So I guess that is the reason why some schools especially in most affected areas have not commenced classes.” The disease, according to information Nyasa Times sourced on World Health Organization (WHO) website, mostly occurs in children younger than 10. However, it becomes more deadly when it attacks older children as they get sicker than kids.
Biohazard name: Chickenpox
Biohazard level: 2/4 Medium
Biohazard desc.: Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV. “Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3) facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures”, see Recommended Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed

 

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Solar Activity

2MIN News Sept 9. 2012

Published on Sep 9, 2012 by

TODAY’S LINKS
NYC Tornados: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/08/us/northeast-severe-weather/index.html
Nicaragua Volcano: http://youtu.be/xoIXBaevn8k

REPEAT LINKS
Spaceweather: http://spaceweather.com/ [Look on the left at the X-ray Flux and Solar Wind Speed/Density]

HAARP: http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/data.html [Click online data, and have a little fun]

SDO: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/ [Place to find Solar Images and Videos - as seen from earth]

SOHO: http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/soho_movie_theater [SOHO; Lasco and EIT - as seen from earth]

Stereo: http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/images [Stereo; Cor, EUVI, HI - as seen from the side]

SunAEON:http://www.sunaeon.com/#/solarsystem/ [Just click it... trust me]

SOLARIMG: http://solarimg.org/artis/ [All purpose data viewing site]

iSWA: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/iswa/iSWA.html [Free Application; for advanced sun watchers]

NASA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080/IswaSystemWebApp/iSWACygnetStreamer?timestamp=…
NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/

NOAA Bouys: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/

NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory: http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/Default.php

RSOE: http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php [That cool alert map I use]

GOES Xray: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/sxi/goes15/index.html

JAPAN Radiation Map: http://jciv.iidj.net/map/

LISS: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/monitoring/operations/heliplots_gsn.php

Gamma Ray Bursts: http://grb.sonoma.edu/ [Really? You can't figure out what this one is for?]

BARTOL Cosmic Rays: http://neutronm.bartol.udel.edu//spaceweather/welcome.html [Top left box, look for BIG blue circles]

TORCON: http://www.weather.com/news/tornado-torcon-index [Tornado Forecast for the day]

GOES Weather: http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ [Clouds over America]

RAIN RECORDS: http://www.cocorahs.org/ViewData/ListIntensePrecipReports.aspx

EL DORADO WORLD WEATHER MAP: http://www.eldoradocountyweather.com/satellite/ssec/world/world-composite-ir-…

PRESSURE MAP: http://www.woweather.com/cgi-bin/expertcharts?LANG=us&MENU=0000000000&…

HURRICANE TRACKER: http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricanecentral/tracker

INTELLICAST: http://www.intellicast.com/ [Weather site used by many youtubers]

NASA News: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/

PHYSORG: http://phys.org/ [GREAT News Site!]

QUAKES LIST FULL: http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/seismologist.php

 

 

 

 

2MIN News Sept 10. 2012: Global Update, Spaceweather

Published on Sep 10, 2012 by

US Wind Map: http://hint.fm/wind/

TODAY’S LINKS
Santorini Volcano: http://phys.org/news/2012-09-giant-balloon-magma-inflates-santorini.html
US Economy: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/10/us-usa-fed-idUSBRE88807C20120910
EU Economy: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/10/us-eurozone-idUSBRE88805520120910
China Economy: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/09/us-china-economy-output-idUSBRE8880…

REPEAT LINKS
Spaceweather: http://spaceweather.com/ [Look on the left at the X-ray Flux and Solar Wind Speed/Density]

HAARP: http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/data.html [Click online data, and have a little fun]

SDO: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/ [Place to find Solar Images and Videos - as seen from earth]

SOHO: http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/soho_movie_theater [SOHO; Lasco and EIT - as seen from earth]

Stereo: http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/images [Stereo; Cor, EUVI, HI - as seen from the side]

SunAEON:http://www.sunaeon.com/#/solarsystem/ [Just click it... trust me]

SOLARIMG: http://solarimg.org/artis/ [All purpose data viewing site]

iSWA: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/iswa/iSWA.html [Free Application; for advanced sun watchers]

NASA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080/IswaSystemWebApp/iSWACygnetStreamer?timestamp=…
NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/

NOAA Bouys: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/

NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory: http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/Default.php

RSOE: http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php [That cool alert map I use]

GOES Xray: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/sxi/goes15/index.html

JAPAN Radiation Map: http://jciv.iidj.net/map/

LISS: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/monitoring/operations/heliplots_gsn.php

Gamma Ray Bursts: http://grb.sonoma.edu/ [Really? You can't figure out what this one is for?]

BARTOL Cosmic Rays: http://neutronm.bartol.udel.edu//spaceweather/welcome.html [Top left box, look for BIG blue circles]

TORCON: http://www.weather.com/news/tornado-torcon-index [Tornado Forecast for the day]

GOES Weather: http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ [Clouds over America]

RAIN RECORDS: http://www.cocorahs.org/ViewData/ListIntensePrecipReports.aspx

EL DORADO WORLD WEATHER MAP: http://www.eldoradocountyweather.com/satellite/ssec/world/world-composite-ir-…

PRESSURE MAP: http://www.woweather.com/cgi-bin/expertcharts?LANG=us&MENU=0000000000&…

HURRICANE TRACKER: http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricanecentral/tracker

INTELLICAST: http://www.intellicast.com/ [Weather site used by many youtubers]

NASA News: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/

PHYSORG: http://phys.org/ [GREAT News Site!]

QUAKES LIST FULL: http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/seismologist.php

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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
(2008 CO) 11th September 2012 0 day(s) 0.1847 71.9 74 m – 160 m 4.10 km/s 14760 km/h
(2007 PB8) 14th September 2012 3 day(s) 0.1682 65.5 150 m – 340 m 14.51 km/s 52236 km/h
226514 (2003 UX34) 14th September 2012 3 day(s) 0.1882 73.2 260 m – 590 m 25.74 km/s 92664 km/h
(1998 QC1) 14th September 2012 3 day(s) 0.1642 63.9 310 m – 700 m 17.11 km/s 61596 km/h
(2002 EM6) 15th September 2012 4 day(s) 0.1833 71.3 270 m – 590 m 18.56 km/s 66816 km/h
(2002 RP137) 16th September 2012 5 day(s) 0.1624 63.2 67 m – 150 m 7.31 km/s 26316 km/h
(2009 RX4) 16th September 2012 5 day(s) 0.1701 66.2 15 m – 35 m 8.35 km/s 30060 km/h
(2005 UC) 17th September 2012 6 day(s) 0.1992 77.5 280 m – 640 m 7.55 km/s 27180 km/h
(2012 FC71) 18th September 2012 7 day(s) 0.1074 41.8 24 m – 53 m 3.51 km/s 12636 km/h
(1998 FF14) 19th September 2012 8 day(s) 0.0928 36.1 210 m – 480 m 21.40 km/s 77040 km/h
331990 (2005 FD) 19th September 2012 8 day(s) 0.1914 74.5 320 m – 710 m 15.92 km/s 57312 km/h
(2009 SH2) 24th September 2012 13 day(s) 0.1462 56.9 28 m – 62 m 7.52 km/s 27072 km/h
333578 (2006 KM103) 25th September 2012 14 day(s) 0.0626 24.4 250 m – 560 m 8.54 km/s 30744 km/h
(2002 EZ2) 26th September 2012 15 day(s) 0.1922 74.8 270 m – 610 m 6.76 km/s 24336 km/h
(2009 SB170) 29th September 2012 18 day(s) 0.1789 69.6 200 m – 440 m 32.39 km/s 116604 km/h
(2011 OJ45) 29th September 2012 18 day(s) 0.1339 52.1 18 m – 39 m 4.24 km/s 15264 km/h
(2012 JS11) 30th September 2012 19 day(s) 0.0712 27.7 270 m – 600 m 12.60 km/s 45360 km/h
137032 (1998 UO1) 04th October 2012 23 day(s) 0.1545 60.1 1.3 km – 2.9 km 32.90 km/s 118440 km/h
(2012 GV11) 05th October 2012 24 day(s) 0.1830 71.2 100 m – 230 m 6.96 km/s 25056 km/h
(2009 XZ1) 05th October 2012 24 day(s) 0.1382 53.8 120 m – 280 m 16.87 km/s 60732 km/h
(2006 TD) 06th October 2012 25 day(s) 0.1746 68.0 88 m – 200 m 13.03 km/s 46908 km/h
(2009 TK) 06th October 2012 25 day(s) 0.0450 17.5 100 m – 230 m 11.10 km/s 39960 km/h
(2004 UB) 08th October 2012 27 day(s) 0.1995 77.6 240 m – 530 m 14.65 km/s 52740 km/h
1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers Source: NASA-NEO

 

 

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Mysterious  Rumblings / Noises

PTI
Thane,

Heavy rains washed away a culvert at Takav in Chelavali region of Palghar taluka as people residing near rivers and creeks here shifted to safer locations, the district control room said.

Meanwhile, geological experts visited Jawhar on Monday to study so called ‘tremors’ in the

area and submit their report to the collector directly.The Thane district additional collector Ashok Shingare told PTI that told this correspondent that the intensity of loud sounds were on the rise causing concern among citizens.

Seismologists from IMB Mumbai and Pune as well other experts will also be visiting Jawhar on Tuesday to study the situation, he said.

For the past ten days, Jawhar town’s residents have been running out of their houses after hearing mysterious loud sounds like ‘tremors’ throughout the day on Monday.

The Jawhar municipal council also announced that there was no cause for fear and people should not panic, after they complained of their cots, vessels and even the walls, windows, tables and chairs shaking badly due to ‘tremors’, though walls have not developed any cracks.

The Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) state unit secretary Advocate Rajaram Mukne told PTI that there were at least seven ‘tremors’ accompanies by loud sounds.

Jawhar MLA Chintaman Wanga who represents the area also told PTI that locals are of the opinion that these were ‘tremors’.

related stories

6 killed in Maharashtra downpour; heavy rains likely for next 2 days

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Biological Hazards /Wildlife / Environmental Pollution / Hazmat

Today Biological Hazard Canada Province of Ontario, [Goose Islands, West Nipissing] Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in Canada on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 03:18 (03:18 AM) UTC.

Description
The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit is advising all cottagers and visitors at the Goose Islands in Lake Nipissing that a bloom of blue-green algae has been detected at latitude 46.1539 N, longitude 79.4350 W. Sample results indicate that this bloom is toxin producing, and the bacteria toxin concentration is above the limit for drinking water.
Biohazard name: Blue-Green (cyanobacteria) Algae bloom
Biohazard level: 0/4 —
Biohazard desc.: This does not included biological hazard category.
Symptoms:
Status:

………………………………..

Today Environment Pollution USA State of Washington, Richland [Hanford Nuclear Reservation] Damage level Details

Environment Pollution in USA on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 03:17 (03:17 AM) UTC.

Description
The Department of Energy has found evidence that a tank at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation maybe leaking radioactive material. More unknown material has been found in a third place between the two shells of Tank AY-102, which went into use in 1971. A photo taken of the same spot in 2006 shows that the area was clean then. The finding this week of a third spot increases concerns that the tank, one of Hanford’s 28 double shell tanks, has a leak from its inner shell. The tanks are needed to hold high level radioactive waste for up to 40 more years until the last of the waste can be treated for disposal. Tank AY-102 has a capacity of about 1 million gallons but currently stores about 707,000 gallons of liquid waste and 151,00 gallons of waste sludge.
Today HAZMAT India State of Karnataka, Belgaum Damage level Details

HAZMAT in India on Tuesday, 11 September, 2012 at 02:56 (02:56 AM) UTC.

Description
As many as 42 persons, including 38 children of Government High School at Benkatti in Saundatti taluk of Belgaum district were hospitalized due to suspected water poisoning on Monday. The affected included a teacher, a peon and two workers. The condition of all the affected persons is stable and out of danger, Deputy Director of Public Instruction Diwakar Shetty said. Mr. Diwakar Shetty said that children and staff of the school complained of stomach ache and vomiting after consuming water. He suspected that someone had poured about 2 litres of endosulfan into the overhead water tank, thus poisoning the water. Of the victims, 14 were shifted to the government hospital in Saundatti town and 28 were shifted to the district government hospital in Belgaum city. Block Education Officer Srishail Karikatti rushed to the spot and collected water samples to send it for testing. He lodged a complaint with the local police station. The police are investigating. To a question, Mr. Shetty said there was no immediate history of the school staff or members of the School Development and Monitoring Committee having any dispute with anybody.

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Articles of Interest

10.09.2012 Power Outage Cuba Capital City, Havanna Damage level Details

Power Outage in Cuba on Monday, 10 September, 2012 at 03:08 (03:08 AM) UTC.

Description
Power failed across a large swath of western Cuba on Sunday night, plunging millions of people into darkness including those in the capital of Havana and at the popular bearch resort of Varadero. The outage knocked out air-conditioning units and electric fans on a sweltering late-summer Caribbean night. Other cities in central and eastern Cuba also had outages, but for only brief spans. “We were on our balcony waiting for our TV program,” said Richard Laredo, a 47-year-old Havana resident who quickly transferred food from the refrigerator to the freezer. “Nobody knows what happened, but people are worried about what they have in their refrigerators.” There was no immediate word on what caused the blackout, which struck a little after 8 p.m. in the middle of the nightly news on state television and was still out more than two hours later. The lights were back on in at least one eastern Havana suburb after about 2 and half hours. State radio said power was gradually being restored but urged people not to use power-hungry appliances. Calls to the electrical system’s headquarters met busy signals.

Officials in the national government were not immediately able to offer an explanation. In the capital, home to about 2 million people, the lights went out in a 24-mile-wide (40-kilometer) stretch from Havana’s western residential neighborhoods across the city’s center and Old Havana district and on to suburbs on the other side of the bay. In the Vedado entertainment and business district, the only buildings with visible light were tourist hotels and upscale apartment towers, which have backup generators. Problems extended well beyond Havana’s city limits, including in the popular tourist resort of Varadero. “We are on our generators, but our guests are not having any problems,” said a receptionist who answered the phone at the Arenas Doradas hotel in Varadero but would not give her full name. Outages that began at the same time as Havana’s were reported as far away as Santiago, the nation’s second-largest metropolis about 475 miles (740 kilometers) away at the other end of the island. The power in Santiago returned after only a few minutes, however. Electricity was out for about 20 minutes in the central cities of Ciego de Avila and Santa Clara. The western city of Pinar del Rio was also without power.

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Earthquakes

RSOE EDIS

Date/Time (UTC) Magnitude Area Country State/Prov./Gov. Location Risk Source Details
16.08.2012 20:25:34 2.4 North America United States Alaska Pedro Bay There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
16.08.2012 20:10:24 2.5 North America United States Alaska Pedro Bay There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
16.08.2012 20:10:44 2.6 North America United States Alaska Pedro Bay There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
16.08.2012 20:15:19 2.5 Asia Georgia Bakurianis Andeziti There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 19:56:29 2.0 North America United States California Cobb There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
16.08.2012 20:15:41 4.4 Asia Taiwan Taiwan Buli There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 20:16:02 2.6 Europe Greece West Greece Aitoliko VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 20:16:21 2.5 Europe Greece Central Greece Kamena Vourla VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 20:16:40 4.5 Middle-East Iran East Azarbaijan Ahar There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 19:11:36 2.0 North America United States Washington Ashford There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
16.08.2012 19:10:25 2.4 Asia Turkey Sakarya Ferizli VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 18:35:55 2.0 North America United States Alaska Nanwalek There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
16.08.2012 19:10:50 2.2 Asia Turkey I?d?r Karakoyunlu There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 18:10:20 3.7 Middle-East Iran East Azarbaijan Ahar VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 18:10:48 2.6 Europe Italy Sicily Acque Dolci There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 18:11:07 4.0 Indonesian Archipelago East Timor Gunung Dilarini VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 17:10:21 2.6 Europe Greece Peloponnese Khora VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 17:10:50 5.2 Africa Sierra Leone Southern Province Bonthe VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 16:35:31 5.3 Africa Sierra Leone Southern Province Bonthe VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
16.08.2012 16:10:23 2.2 Asia Turkey Sivas Nasir VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 16:10:46 4.9 South-America Chile Ostrov Paskhi VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 15:55:34 4.9 South America Chile Ostrov Paskhi VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
16.08.2012 15:05:20 2.3 Europe Italy Sicily Acque Dolci There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 15:05:47 4.9 South-America Brazil Ceará Acarau VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 15:08:28 4.9 South America Brazil Ceará Acarau VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
16.08.2012 15:06:06 4.4 Pacific Ocean – East Fiji Northern Lambasa VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 15:00:57 4.4 Pacific Ocean Fiji Northern Lambasa VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
16.08.2012 15:06:26 3.5 Asia Turkey Kahramanmara? Pazarcik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 15:06:48 3.4 Asia Turkey Kahramanmara? Pazarcik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 14:30:31 4.9 South America Brazil Ceará Acarau VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
16.08.2012 15:07:09 4.9 South-America Brazil Ceará Acarau VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 14:00:22 2.2 Europe Croatia Istarska Banjole VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 13:05:37 3.0 North America United States Alaska Karluk There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
16.08.2012 12:56:52 2.0 North America United States Alaska Anchor Point There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
16.08.2012 12:55:25 2.8 Europe Greece Peloponnese Elafonisos VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 12:55:49 4.8 Asia Japan Akita Kakudate There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 12:20:32 4.3 Asia Japan Akita Takanosu There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
16.08.2012 11:50:28 2.1 Asia Turkey Mu?la Yatagan VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 11:50:48 3.0 Asia Turkey Van Toyga There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 11:51:09 2.0 Asia Turkey Bingöl Yayladere VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 10:47:37 3.7 North America United States Hawaii Volcano There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
16.08.2012 10:45:29 2.8 Europe Greece Peloponnese Methoni VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 10:45:55 2.1 Asia Turkey Adana Kadirli VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 10:46:26 3.0 Asia Turkey Gaziantep Yalnizbag There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 10:46:49 2.2 Asia Turkey ?zmir Karaburun VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 10:47:11 2.2 Europe Greece North Aegean Agios Ilias VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 09:45:24 2.4 Europe Italy Sicily Rodi There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 09:10:36 2.3 North America United States California Lake Elsinore VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. There are nuclear facilities nearby the epicenter. USGS-RSOE Details
16.08.2012 09:45:53 2.2 Europe Italy Sicily Acque Dolci There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
16.08.2012 08:50:32 5.0 Pacific Ocean Fiji Northern Lambasa VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details

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Volcanic Activity

Popocatépetl volcano

Volcano Discovery

Stratovolcano 5426 m / 17,802 ft
Central Mexico, 19.02°N / -98.62°W
Current status: erupting (4 out of 5)
Popocatépetl webcams / live data
Last update: 14 Aug 2012 (1-2 weak explosions per hour)
Typical eruption style: Dominantly explosive, construction of lava domes. Plinian eruptions at intervals of several centuries or few thousands of years, vulcanian and strombolian activity in intermittent phases.
Popocatépetl volcano eruptions: 1345-47, 1354, 1363(?), 1488, 1504, 1509(?), 1512, 1518, 1519-23(?), 1528, 1530, 1539-40, 1542, 1548, 1571, 1580, 1590, 1592-94, 1642, 1663-65, 1666-67, 1697, 1720, 1802-04, 1827(?), 1834(?), 1852(?), 1919-22, 1923-24, 1925-27(?), 1933, 1942-43, 1947, 1994-95, 1996-2003, 2004-ongoing
Last earthquakes nearby: No recent earthquakes

Popocatepetl is one of Mexico’s most active volcanoes. After almost 50 years of dormancy, “Popo” came back to life in 1994 and has since then been producing powerful explosions at irregular intervals.
In the past centuries befor European invasions, large eruptions produced giant mud flows that have buried Atzteque settlements, even entire pyramids.

Background:

Volcán Popocatépetl, whose name is the Aztec word for smoking mountain, towers to 5426 m 70 km SE of Mexico City to form North America’s 2nd-highest volcano. The glacier-clad stratovolcano contains a steep-walled, 250-450 m deep crater. The generally symmetrical volcano is modified by the sharp-peaked Ventorrillo on the NW, a remnant of an earlier volcano.
At least three previous major cones were destroyed by gravitational failure during the Pleistocene, producing massive debris-avalanche deposits covering broad areas south of the volcano. The modern volcano was constructed to the south of the late-Pleistocene to Holocene El Fraile cone. Three major plinian eruptions, the most recent of which took place about 800 AD, have occurred from Popocatépetl since the mid Holocene, accompanied by pyroclastic flows and voluminous lahars that swept basins below the volcano. Frequent historical eruptions, first recorded in Aztec codices, have occurred since precolumbian time.

Source: GVP, Smithsonian Institution – Popocatepetl information

Today Volcano Eruption Russia [Asia] Kuril Islands, [Complex volcanoes of Ivan Grozny] Damage level Details
16.08.2012 01:58 PM Kuril Islands, Russia [Asia] Complex volcanoes of Ivan Grozny Volcano Eruption 0900-07= Complex volcanoes No. 0 Details

Volcano Eruption in Russia [Asia] on Thursday, 16 August, 2012 at 13:58 (01:58 PM) UTC.

Description
A volcano erupted on one of Russia’s far eastern Kuril Islands, releasing a cloud of noxious fumes and raising temperatures in the surrounding area. Emergency officials said in a statement on their website that the volcano, called Ivan the Terrible and located on the sparsely populated island of Iturup to the south of the Kuril archipelago, erupted Wednesday due to increased water flows rushing into the volcano after heavy downpours. Officials stressed that the volcano had released no lava and that it erupts regularly, adding that the last major eruption was in 1989. According to the statement, Iturup residents were exposed to a slight smell of hydrogen peroxide and noticed ash falling as a result of the eruption. By Thursday, the hydrogen peroxide fumes and ash were no longer noticeable. Emergency officials advised citizens to steer clear of Ivan the Terrible and said they were monitoring the volcano’s activity.

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather

The Mississippi River Is Drying Up As Food Prices Continue To Surge (MOO, DBA, UNG, USO, JJG)

EFT Daily News

Michael Snyder: The worst drought in more than 50 years is having a devastating impact on the Mississippi River.  The Mississippi has become very thin and very narrow, and if it keeps on dropping there is a very real possibility that all river traffic could get shut down.  And considering the fact that approximately 60 percent of our grain (NYSEARCA:JJG), 22 percent of our oil (NYSEARCA:USO) and natural gas (NYSEARCA:UNG), and and one-fifth of our coal travel down the Mississippi River, that would be absolutely crippling for our economy.  It has been estimated that if all Mississippi River traffic was stopped that it would cost the U.S. economy 300 million dollars a day.  So far most of the media coverage of this historic drought has focused on the impact that it is having on farmers and ranchers, but the health of the Mississippi River is also absolutely crucial to the economic success of this nation, and right now the Mississippi is in incredibly bad shape.  In some areas the river is already 20 feet below normal and the water is expected to continue to drop.  If we have another 12 months of weather ahead of us similar to what we have seen over the last 12 months then the mighty Mississippi is going to be a complete and total disaster zone by this time next year.

Most Americans simply do not understand how vitally important the Mississippi River is to all of us.  If the Mississippi River continues drying up to the point where commercial travel is no longer possible, it would be an absolutely devastating blow to the U.S. economy.

Unfortunately, vast stretches of the Mississippi are already dangerously low.  The following is an excerpt from a transcript of a CNN report that aired on August 14th….

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You might think this is some kind of desert just outside of Memphis. It’s not. I’m actually standing on the exposed bottom of the Mississippi River. That’s how dramatic the drought impact is being felt here. Hard to believe, a year ago we were talking about record flooding. Now, they are worried about a new kind of record: a record low. The river was three miles wide here, it’s now down to three tenths of a mile. And that’s causing all kinds of problems. There are some benefits, I mean, take a look over here: new beach front. In fact, some quip that now the Mississippi River has more beaches than the entire state of Florida, which would be funny if it didn’t have an impact on trade.

A lot of stuff we use goes up and down the Mississippi River. We are talking steel, coal, ore, grain. The problem is now a lot of those barges have had to lighten their loads, and even doing that, they are still running aground. There is a real fear that there could be a possibility of closing the Mississippi River. If that happens, well, all that product that used to be carried cheaply by barge is now going to be carried more expensively by truck or train. And guess who is going to pay for all of that.

You can see video footage of what is happening along the Mississippi right here.

It really is amazing that last year we were talking about historic flooding along the Mississippi and this year we are talking about the Mississippi possibly drying up.

As I mentioned earlier, there are some areas along the river that are already 20 feet below normal levels.  The following is from a recent article posted on inquisitr.com….

Just outside of Memphis the river is 13 feet below normal depth while the National Weather Service says Vicksburg, Mississippi is 20 feet below normal levels. Overall the Mississippi is 13 feet below normal averages for this time of year.

The drying up river is forcing barge, tugboat and towboat operators to navigate narrower and more shallow spots in the river, slowing their speeds as they pass dangerously close to one another. In some parts of the Mississippi the river is so narrow that one-way traffic is being utilized.

A lot of barges have been forced to go with greatly reduced loads so that they will sit higher in the river, and other commercial craft have been forced to stop operating completely.

For example, the Mississippi has dropped so low at this point that the famous American Queen Steamboat can no longer safely navigate the river.

Down south, the Mississippi River has gotten so low that saltwater is actually starting to move upriver.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is fighting hard to keep that contained.

Other waterways in the middle part of the country are in even worse shape.

For example, a 100 mile stretch of the Platte River has already dried up.  Millions of fish are dying as rivers and streams all over the country continue to get shallower and warmer as a result of the ongoing drought.

The last time the condition of the Mississippi River was this bad was back in 1988.  At that time, a lot of barge traffic was stopped completely and the shipping industry lost approximately a billion dollars.

If a similar thing were to happen now, the consequences could potentially be far worse.

As I wrote about recently, a standstill along the Mississippi would cost the U.S. economy about 300 million dollars a day.

In fact, one towing company that works on the Mississippi says that it has already been losing about $500,000 a month since May.

In the end, who is going to pay for all of this?

You and I will. GET A FREE TREND ANALYSIS FOR ANY STOCK HERE!

In fact, this crisis could end up costing American consumers a whole lot of money….

So here’s the math. If you want to raise the average barge one inch above the water, you’ve got to take off 17-tons of cargo. To raise it a foot, you’re talking 200 tons.

And since, according to the American Waterways Operators, moving cargo by river is $11 a ton cheaper than by train or truck. The more that now has to be moved on land, well, the more the costs go up. Steven Barry says, “And, eventually, the consumer’s gonna pay that price somewhere along the line.”

And considering the fact that we are already facing a potential food crisis due to the drought, the last thing we need is for the Mississippi River to dry up.

So is there any hope on the horizon for the Mississippi?

Unfortunately, things do not look promising.

The fall and the winter are typically drier than the summer is along the Mississippi River.  That means that conditions along the river could actually get even worse in the months ahead.  The following is from a recent Time Magazine article….

But without significant rainfall, which isn’t in any long-range forecasts, things are likely to get worse. As summer turns to fall, the weather tends to get drier. Lower temperatures generally mean fewer thunderstorms and less rainfall.

“Take away the thunderstorm mechanism and you run into more serious problems,” says Alex Sosnowski, expert senior meteorologist for AccuWeather.com. And while droughts tend to be a temporary setback, longer-range forecasts are troublesome. Sosnowski says he is anticipating an El Niño weather pattern next year, which would mean below-normal snowfall and above-average temperatures.

Let us hope and pray that we don’t see another 12 months similar to the 12 months that we have just been through.

The U.S. economy is already in bad enough shape.

We don’t need any more major problems on top of what we are already dealing with.

So what do you think about this?  Please feel free to post a comment with your thoughts below….

Related: PowerShares DB Agriculture (NYSEARCA:DBA), Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSEARCA:MOO).

Written By Michael Snyder From The Economic Collapse

Michael has an undergraduate degree in Commerce from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the University of Florida law school.   He also has an LLM from the University of Florida law school. Michael has worked for some of the largest law firms in Washington D.C., but now is mostly focus on trying to make a difference in the world.

Today Extreme Weather Artic [Arctic Ocean] Damage level Photo available! Details

Extreme Weather in Artic on Thursday, 16 August, 2012 at 04:53 (04:53 AM) UTC.

Description
An unusually strong storm formed off the coast of Alaska on August 5 and tracked into the center of the Arctic Ocean, where it slowly dissipated over the next several days. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color mosaic image on Aug. 6, 2012. The center of the storm at that date was located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. The storm had an unusually low central pressure area. Paul A. Newman, chief scientist for Atmospheric Sciences at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., estimates that there have only been about eight storms of similar strength during the month of August in the last 34 years of satellite records. “It’s an uncommon event, especially because it’s occurring in the summer. Polar lows are more usual in the winter,” Newman said. Arctic storms such as this one can have a large impact on the sea ice, causing it to melt rapidly through many mechanisms, such as tearing off large swaths of ice and pushing them to warmer sites, churning the ice and making it slushier, or lifting warmer waters from the depths of the Arctic Ocean. “It seems that this storm has detached a large chunk of ice from the main sea ice pack. This could lead to a more serious decay of the summertime ice cover than would have been the case otherwise, even perhaps leading to a new Arctic sea ice minimum,” said Claire Parkinson, a climate scientist with NASA Goddard. “Decades ago, a storm of the same magnitude would have been less likely to have as large an impact on the sea ice, because at that time the ice cover was thicker and more expansive.” Aqua passes over the poles many times a day, and the MODIS Rapid Response System stitches together images from throughout each day to generate a daily mosaic view of the Arctic. This technique creates the diagonal lines that give the image its “pie slice” appearance.

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Today Forest / Wild Fire Canada Province of British Columbia, [About 15 kilometres northeast of Squamish] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in Canada on Thursday, 16 August, 2012 at 08:26 (08:26 AM) UTC.

Description
A small forest fire ignited on a cliff face about 15 kilometres northeast of Squamish on Wednesday afternoon, engulfing a five-hectare stretch of trees but posing no threat to people or buildings. Shortly after 4 p.m., the Wildfire Management Branch sent in a repel crew – a three-person initial attack team – to climb down to the blaze from helicopter ropes. With a steep cliff face and no roads, the mountain allows no access except via helicopter, said Coastal Fire Centre spokeswoman Donna MacPherson. A shallow fissure running along the cliff face accelerated the flames – reported by Squamish residents – and funnelled them upward, she said. “If you look closely it looks like there’s an indentation on the cliff.We call it a chimney. And it acts just like a chimney, so that hot air has a tendency to rise up those chimneys that are on the sunny slope,” she said. “It created quite a plume, I guess the people in Squamish could see it.” The repel team later called in an air crew to establish a retardant line at the “head” of the blaze, which had nearly spread into the alpine, by dropping hundreds of gallons of retardant. “They put a retardant line on the top because the fire was going uphill – fire has a tendency to burn uphill,” MacPherson said. As night fell, the repel crew was constructing a makeshift helicopter pad by clearing a small area of forest and building a deck using logs like stilts to prop up the structure on the steeply sloped mountain side, she said. “They’ll feel the trees and cut the logs and then build a little log structure,” MacPherson said, adding the battle will likely continue for several days. “It’s going to be hard work for the crews. It’s incredibly hot up there and we’re going into a hot weekend. Also, we won’t be able to get any machinery in there at all, it’s going to be done all by hand I think the crews are going to have a rough time on this one,” she said. Where terrain allows, crews will typically employ bulldozers, excavators and “feller bunchers” – claw-like industrial arms atop a pair treads – to make no-cross fire trenches more quickly.MacPherson said Coastal Fire Centre members were figuring out a plan Wednesday night for how to battle the blaze Thursday. A lightning storm moved through the Squamish area over a week ago, making a tinderbox of the mountainous region by sparking embers that didn’t ignite immediately into a full-blown wildfire. “When that kind of thing happens, the fire will be retarded. It will smoulder underground or inside of a tree, and it will wait until things are dry enough that it pops to the surface,” MacPherson said. Crews normally stationed in the Interior recently came to the coast in anticipation of area fires.
Today Forest / Wild Fire Bulgaria Burgas Region, [Nesebar and Pomorie] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in Bulgaria on Thursday, 16 August, 2012 at 17:08 (05:08 PM) UTC.

Description
An emergency situation has been called in southern Bulgarian Black Sea resorts of Nesebar and Pomorie just south of Sunny Beach over a sizeable wildfire blazing for a second day. Some 2,500 acres of of pine and deciduous forests and dry grass and bushes along the road in the Dyulinski Pass. Over 150 firefighters and military servicemen have taken part in extinguishing the fire, aided by two helicopters. However, the situation has been complicated by the arid weather and especially by the hard terrain, leading Burgas Region vice-governor Atanas Terziev to declare an emergency situation in the two municipalities. Work for managing the fire is continuing Thursday evening. There is no danger for nearby settlements and resorts, report authorities.
Today Forest / Wild Fire USA State of Idaho, [Trinity Ridge] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Thursday, 16 August, 2012 at 08:16 (08:16 AM) UTC.

Description
Hundreds of residents of two small Idaho towns were packing their belongings and clearing out of the way of a massive wildfire burning in a gulch a few miles away and expected to hit the towns later this week. Not only are more of the nation’s wildfires occurring in the West this year than last, but the fires have gotten bigger, said Jennifer Smith of the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. As of Wednesday, 42,933 wildfires have been reported in the nation this season, burning 6.4 million acres. The 10-year average for this period is 52,535 fires, but covering only 5 million acres, she said. “Nevada has been hammered, and Idaho has some big ones that are going to burn until the snow falls,” Smith said. Idaho’s Trinity Ridge fire has burned more than 100 square miles in the past two weeks. It’s bearing down on Pine and Featherville, recreation getaways in the mountains two hours northeast of Boise. On Wednesday, there was a steady stream of traffic, with people leaving Featherville and Pine. The area has 450 homes. About half are inhabited year-round, while the others are summer homes and weekend retreats. Fire crews are battling a total of nine big fires in Idaho, including one in the Salmon-Challis National Forest that stranded 250 rafters floating the Middle Fork of the Salmon River.
Today Forest / Wild Fire USA State of California, [East County] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Thursday, 16 August, 2012 at 05:20 (05:20 AM) UTC.

Description
Lightning-sparked wildfires in rural East County spread to over 15,000 acres Wednesday and hundreds of residents were still evacuated from their homes. The evacuees, residents of the small towns of Ranchita and San Felipe, got phone calls late Tuesday afternoon by the county’s “reverse 911” emergency system, directing them to clear out of their homes and advising them to the availability of a makeshift shelter at Warner Springs High School. The evacuation orders remained in effect Wednesday evening. Road and highway closures between Borrego Springs, Julian and Ranchita also were in effect through the day. By early evening, the following routes remained off-limits to the public: San Felipe Road from State Route 79 to SR-78; Montezuma Valley Road from San Felipe Road to Palm Canyon; Yaqui Pass Road from Rams Hill Road to SR- 78; and SR-78 between Scissors Crossing and Borrego Springs. No structural damages had been reported by 6 p.m., but two firefighters have suffered minor injuries, including heat exhaustion, Cal Fire Capt. Mike Mohler said. Firefighters were concerned about 69-kilovolt electrical distribution lines that run through Grapevine Canyon and serve Borrego Springs, Ranchita and Warner Springs, but they remained intact Wednesday night, according to Cal Fire. The fires — collectively known as the Vallecito Lightning Complex — had scorched 15,525 acres as of Wednesday evening and was 35 percent contained, according to the agency. The first of the blazes to begin spreading through the remote northeastern reaches of San Diego County was the Vallecito Fire, which charred roughly 520 acres since about 8 p.m. Sunday and was 100 percent contained as of Tuesday night, Cal Fire reported.
Today Forest / Wild Fire USA State of California, [Calaveras County] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Thursday, 16 August, 2012 at 03:01 (03:01 AM) UTC.

Description
A forest fire near Highway 4 in eastern Calaveras County grew to more than 1,000 acres overnight. Fire crews have just 15 percent containment starting the day, though no structures have been destroyed. An out-of-control campfire near the North Fork of the Stanislaus River started the blaze Saturday. Most of the burned area is south of Highway 4, near Dorrington, though there have been embers blown to the north side of the road. Fire crews have quickly put out those flames. People traveling on Highway 4 should expect extended delays and partial closures due the fire crews, fire and heavy smoke across the road. The fire is burning slowly to the east. More than 300 fire personnel are on scene; they are using helicopters, air tankers and bulldozers to try and contain the flames. There have been three minor injuries fighting the fire.
16.08.2012 Forest / Wild Fire USA State of California, Aguanga [Riverside County (San Jacinto foothills)] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Wednesday, 15 August, 2012 at 07:24 (07:24 AM) UTC.

Description
A fast-moving wildfire stoked by triple-digit temperatures burned 3,000 acres Tuesday in the foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains, creeping perilously close to tinder-dry areas of the San Bernardino National Forest, officials said. At least four structures, including one home, were destroyed by the blaze, which spread rapidly through dry brush and grasslands in a sparsely populated area south of Hemet and east of Temecula. The fire, just 5% contained as of Tuesday evening, was spreading rapidly through the rocky hills and desert scrub, and was within a mile of forest lands west of Anza, where drought has heightened fire danger all summer. “Of course we’re concerned,” said John Miller, spokesman for the San Bernardino National Forest. “This year our big concern is the fact that rainfall and that includes snow for our forest was somewhere between 50% to 70% of normal.” Mandatory evacuations were ordered in the sparsely populated area near Aguanga, and more than 30 homes have been evacuated, according to Jody Hagemann of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries and were taken to a hospital, according to radio dispatch reports. One man who lived in a trailer was seriously burned and taken by helicopter to a local hospital. Authorities said the man, whose home was in a remote area, apparently had not received a notice to evacuate.South of the Riverside County fire, fast-moving blazes, some started by lightning strikes from heat-born thunderstorms, have burned more than 2,300 acres in northeast San Diego County, leading to evacuations in the rural communities of Ranchita and the San Felipe area off California 78. The four San Diego County fires are being fought by more than 500 firefighters, along with air tankers and water-dropping helicopters. No structures have yet been reported damaged. “We have very dry vegetation, brush and grass and things like that. Now we have multiple days of very high temperatures,” said Chief Julie Hutchinson, spokeswoman for the state fire agency. “It’s like lighting your fireplace with a blowtorch.” The fire in Riverside County was reported just before 1 p.m. in the community of Aguanga. More than 210 firefighters were working to extinguish the blaze, and six water-carrying helicopters and six water-tender aircraft as well as a DC-10 were assisting, state fire officials said. Crews from the Sierra Nevada mountains areas are being dispatched to assist firefighters. “That’s one thing that’s unique about California. We have a state fire agency, and we’re able to move resources up and down the state,” said Hutchinson, adding that crews from the U.S. Forest Service, local departments and the California National Guard are playing a role in the statewide firefighting efforts. Although flames are more than 14 miles away from Idyllwild, residents and fire officials in the artsy mountain community have been nervously watching television news reports.

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Storms, Flooding

 Active tropical storm system(s)
Name of storm system Location Formed Last update Last category Course Wind Speed Gust Wave Source Details
Hector (EP08) Pacific Ocean – East 11.08.2012 16.08.2012 Tropical Depression 335 ° 46 km/h 65 km/h 2.74 m NOAA NHC Details

Tropical Storm data

Share:
Storm name: Hector (EP08)
Area: Pacific Ocean – East
Start up location: N 17° 30.000, W 106° 0.000
Start up: 11th August 2012
Status: 12th August 2012
Track long: 665.62 km
Top category.:
Report by: NOAA NHC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
11th Aug 2012 19:00:40 N 17° 30.000, W 106° 0.000 11 56 74 Tropical Depression 270 10 1002 MB NOAA NHC
12th Aug 2012 05:40:34 N 18° 30.000, W 108° 6.000 20 65 83 Tropical Storm 290 11 999 MB NOAA NHC
12th Aug 2012 16:49:25 N 18° 18.000, W 110° 0.000 17 74 93 Tropical Storm 270 15 997 MB NOAA NHC
13th Aug 2012 04:46:16 N 18° 6.000, W 110° 42.000 9 74 93 Tropical Storm 270 10 993 MB NOAA NHC
13th Aug 2012 10:38:02 N 18° 6.000, W 111° 24.000 11 65 83 Tropical Storm 270 16 994 MB NOAA NHC
13th Aug 2012 16:43:16 N 18° 6.000, W 112° 12.000 11 65 83 Tropical Storm 270 16 994 MB NOAA NHC
14th Aug 2012 04:58:09 N 18° 0.000, W 113° 12.000 9 74 93 Tropical Storm 270 10 993 MB NOAA NHC
14th Aug 2012 10:50:22 N 17° 54.000, W 114° 0.000 9 74 93 Tropical Storm 265 10 997 MB NOAA NHC
14th Aug 2012 16:39:58 N 18° 6.000, W 114° 24.000 9 74 93 Tropical Storm 280 10 997 MB NOAA NHC
15th Aug 2012 05:01:39 N 17° 12.000, W 115° 6.000 4 65 83 Tropical Storm 260 10 999 MB NOAA NHC
15th Aug 2012 11:18:06 N 17° 12.000, W 115° 12.000 4 65 83 Tropical Storm 20 9 1002 MB NOAA NHC
15th Aug 2012 16:40:23 N 17° 48.000, W 115° 12.000 7 65 83 Tropical Storm 360 9 1002 MB NOAA NHC
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
16th Aug 2012 16:46:49 N 19° 42.000, W 115° 54.000 7 46 65 Tropical Depression 335 ° 9 1004 MB NOAA NHC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
17th Aug 2012 18:00:00 N 21° 42.000, W 116° 54.000 Tropical Depression 37 56 NOAA NHC
17th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 20° 48.000, W 116° 30.000 Tropical Depression 37 56 NOAA NHC
18th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 22° 24.000, W 117° 12.000 Tropical Depression 28 37 NOAA NHC
19th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 23° 0.000, W 117° 30.000 Tropical Depression 28 37 NOAA NHC
Kai-tak (14W) Pacific Ocean 12.08.2012 16.08.2012 Typhoon I 285 ° 120 km/h 148 km/h 4.27 m JTWC Details

Tropical Storm data

Share:
Storm name: Kai-tak (14W)
Area: Pacific Ocean
Start up location: N 16° 36.000, E 128° 30.000
Start up: 12th August 2012
Status: Active
Track long: 949.65 km
Top category.:
Report by: JTWC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
12th Aug 2012 16:47:05 N 16° 36.000, E 128° 30.000 30 46 65 Tropical Depression 270 12 JTWC
13th Aug 2012 04:30:32 N 16° 30.000, E 127° 48.000 19 56 74 Tropical Depression 265 15 JTWC
13th Aug 2012 10:04:19 N 16° 36.000, E 126° 36.000 24 65 83 Tropical Storm 275 17 JTWC
13th Aug 2012 16:29:46 N 16° 24.000, E 125° 42.000 20 74 93 Tropical Storm 255 18 JTWC
14th Aug 2012 04:58:47 N 17° 30.000, E 125° 36.000 20 83 102 Tropical Storm 275 11 JTWC
14th Aug 2012 10:49:50 N 18° 0.000, E 124° 18.000 22 83 102 Tropical Storm 265 15 JTWC
14th Aug 2012 15:54:55 N 17° 12.000, E 123° 36.000 19 93 120 Tropical Storm 230 10 JTWC
15th Aug 2012 05:22:45 N 18° 6.000, E 122° 0.000 24 130 0 Typhoon I. 55 20 JTWC
15th Aug 2012 11:18:34 N 18° 54.000, E 120° 42.000 28 102 130 Tropical Storm 305 17 JTWC
15th Aug 2012 15:17:15 N 19° 30.000, E 119° 0.000 31 102 130 Tropical Storm 290 17 JTWC
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
16th Aug 2012 16:07:31 N 19° 42.000, E 114° 24.000 26 120 148 Typhoon I 285 ° 14 JTWC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
17th Aug 2012 18:00:00 N 21° 36.000, E 107° 6.000 Tropical Depression 83 102 JTWC
17th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 21° 0.000, E 110° 0.000 Typhoon I 111 139 JTWC
18th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 22° 0.000, E 104° 12.000 Tropical Depression 37 56 JTWC
Gordon (AL08) Atlantic Ocean 16.08.2012 16.08.2012 Tropical Depression 45 ° 83 km/h 102 km/h 5.18 m NOAA NHC Details

 Tropical Storm data

Share:
Storm name: Gordon (AL08)
Area: Atlantic Ocean
Start up location: N 29° 54.000, W 55° 6.000
Start up: 16th August 2012
Status: Active
Track long: 0.00 km
Top category.:
Report by: NOAA NHC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
16th Aug 2012 16:45:48 N 33° 18.000, W 53° 48.000 26 83 102 Tropical Depression 45 ° 17 1005 MB NOAA NHC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
17th Aug 2012 18:00:00 N 34° 30.000, W 46° 18.000 Hurricane I 102 120 NOAA NHC
17th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 34° 36.000, W 50° 12.000 Tropical Depression 93 111 NOAA NHC
18th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 34° 24.000, W 42° 30.000 Hurricane I 120 148 NOAA NHC
19th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 35° 0.000, W 34° 30.000 Hurricane I 120 148 NOAA NHC
20th Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 36° 48.000, W 27° 0.000 Hurricane I 102 120 NOAA NHC
21st Aug 2012 06:00:00 N 39° 30.000, W 20° 30.000 Tropical Depression 83 102 NOAA NHC

Tropical Storm Gordon Forms in Atlantic

Andrea Thompson, OurAmazingPlanet Managing Editor – Aug 16, 2012 09:56 AM ET
Follow Us
Tropical Storm Gordon before it fully developed
NASA’s Aqua satellite captured infrared data on Tropical Storm Gordon on Aug. 15, 2012, when it was still a low pressure system. The purple areas indicate the coldest, strongest thunderstorms and are areas where heavy rain is likely falling. It appears that there was a band of strong thunderstorms northwest of the center.
CREDIT: NASA/JPL, Ed Olsen

A low pressure system out over the Atlantic Ocean that has been watched closely by hurricane forecasters has now developed into Tropical Storm Gordon as expected. It is the seventh named storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season.

As of yesterday (Aug. 15), the low pressure system was given a 90 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone, the blanket term for tropical storms, hurricanes and typhoons. Sure enough, the 5 a.m. Atlantic Standard Time update from the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced that the system had intensified and was now classified as a tropical storm.

Gordon was the next name on the 2012 Atlantic season name list, which is set by the World Meteorological Organization. Lists are drawn up for seven seasons out and the lists rotate. Names alternate between male and female names.

Discover What Federal Agents & The Army Don’t Want You To Know
Tides, Currents, Tsunami, Oceans NOS-Approved, GOES Satellite

As of the 5 a.m. update, Gordon had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was located about 580 miles (940 kilometers) east of Bermuda and 1,600 miles (2,600 km) west of the Azores.

The storm is not currently a threat to any land areas, but it is moving toward the north-northeast and could threaten the Azores early next week.

Gordon is expected to strengthen over the next 48 hours as it moves over warmer ocean waters, according to the NHC, and could become a hurricane over the weekend. Current projections though have it weakening into an extratropical storm (meaning it lacks tropical characteristics) before it reaches the Azores, though intensity forecasts that far out are highly subject to change.

The NHC update noted that Gordon is a small storm, with tropical-storm force winds extending out for only 25 miles (35 km).

If Gordon doe become a hurricane, it will be the third one of the 2012 Atlantic season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which runs the NHC, updated their forecast for the season last week, upping the number of storms expected. The forecast now estimates that there will be between 12 and 17 named storms, of which five to eight are expected to become hurricanes.

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Today Hailstorm Russia [Asia] Kemerovskaya Oblast, [Siberia] Damage level Details

Hailstorm in Russia [Asia] on Thursday, 16 August, 2012 at 08:42 (08:42 AM) UTC.

Description
[This event happened on 14th Aug.] At least 20 people were injured and more than 100 cars damaged in a sudden mid-summer hailstorm in a Russian Siberian town on Tuesday (August 14). The weather suddenly changed in the evening with wind bringing a torrential downpour of huge hailstones, some larger than chicken eggs. Witnesses said some hailstones reached seven centimeters in diameter. Town residents had literally to save themselves and run to nearby buildings to find cover. Big hailstones pierced holes in car windows, sometimes smashing the glass altogether. Meteorologists said they believed the sudden summer storm was caused by a sharp temperature drop from 32 degrees Celsius at lunchtime to just 16 degrees Celsius by the evening. The town is located in the Kemerovo region in Central Siberia some 3,800 km east of Moscow.
Today Flash Flood USA State of Kentucky, [Floyd County] Damage level Details

Flash Flood in USA on Thursday, 16 August, 2012 at 08:31 (08:31 AM) UTC.

Description
Folks in Floyd County it came out of nowhere. “A downpour just opened up from the sky. I was traveling up the hollow, noticed that the water was coming down the hollow,” said Roger Varney. Varney says he was driving up Alum Lick Road and before he knew it he was trapped by rising water. “I noticed that I couldn’t travel any further up through there. I looked in my rear view mirror to back up, and I couldn’t get out. The water was up on the door,” he said. Melinda Hager and her dog came to his rescue. “The dog she was throwing a fit so I got up to check and see what was going on and a guy was sitting in my driveway and the flood waters were coming up. I knew he was in trouble if I didn’t get down there and open up the gate to give him room to come up in,” she said. “I was able to pull up into the driveway over here and save the car, keep from having to bail out of it. By the time it was over with the water was probably four or five feet deep in the road,” said Varner. People who live here on Alum Lick Road say this is the forth time since the spring the roads have flooded like this, and they say with just a little more rain they fear it could cause some major home damage. “There’s no creek bank. The creek is full. There’s just nowhere for it to go except out into the road and then into our yard. All you can do is stand and watch and pray that it doesn’t keep coming up,” said Hager. They say they are thankful this time the water receded before it caused any damage.
Today Flash Flood USA State of New York, [Brooklyn and Queens] Damage level Details

Flash Flood in USA on Thursday, 16 August, 2012 at 03:00 (03:00 AM) UTC.

Description
Flash flood warnings have been issued until 5:30pm today for Brooklyn and Queens amid severe thunderstorms. And they weren’t kidding! Multiple reports from Twitter show that some pretty impressive flooding has hit Brooklyn. The photo above was posted to Twitter by Jezerfic and was taken on Woodbine street in Bushwick, Brooklyn. I’ve also seen pictures from Williamsburg Gowanus and Park Slope.
16.08.2012 Flood Canada Province of Saskatchewan, [James Smith First Nation] Damage level Details

Flood in Canada on Wednesday, 15 August, 2012 at 07:22 (07:22 AM) UTC.

Description
A state of emergency has been declared by the James Smith Cree Nation following continued high rainfall and flooding. Local officials are calling for increased assistance from the federal and provincial governments. The drinking water of nine homes has been contaminated due to the high water levels and some roads have flooded over, says a news release issued Tuesday by James Smith. The continued rainfall is adding to the problems caused by last year’s flooding, said the release. “The high rains are destroying what’s left of our roads and water systems, and this is creating dangerous health conditions for our people, especially very young children and our elders,” said James Smith Chief Wally Burns. “We’ve been trying to get assistance since the 2011 flood, but have so far received minimal support.” Last month officials with the provincial disaster assistance program met with band leadership. The program provided $110,000 to repair damage from previous years of flooding, but the band estimates $3.2 million is needed. James Smith is located about 180 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

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Flooding in central Nigeria kills at least 28 people

by Staff Writers
Jos, Nigeria (AFP)


Make-shift homes of cattle dealers are submerged in floods at the Kara slum on Lagos -Ibadan highway, October 23, 2011. Many homes were submerged in floods and valuable properties were destroyed in Lagos following a torrential downpur that lasted for hours during the weekend. The floods that cut across some parts of the city was further aggravated by the overflow of the Odo Ogun River Basin, which has rendered families homeless and ignited traffic log jam in the affected areas. Photo courtesy AFP.

Flooding caused by heavy rains in central Nigeria has killed at least 28 people, with many others still missing, while also destroying homes, bridges and farmland, officials said Tuesday.

“I have counted 28 bodies and many people are still missing after the flood,” said Kemi Nshe, local government chairman for the Shendam district in central Nigeria’s Plateau state.

He said some 1,500 people were displaced from the rains, the worst of which occurred Sunday.

A Red Cross official in the area said relief workers were having difficulties accessing flooded areas, which he said included around five communities. He said heavy rain began Saturday night and continued into Sunday.

“Flooding has affected close to five (districts), and a lot of bridges have been broken, a lot of people have lost their houses,” said Manasseh Panpe.

He said a Red Cross team was able to visit one displaced camp so far where more than 200 people had relocated to.

“They need blankets,” said Panpe. “They need food, water.”

Last month in another area of Plateau state, heavy rainfall forced a dam to overflow, causing flooding that left at least 35 people dead and destroyed or damaged some 200 homes.

Much of Africa’s most populous nation has been affected by heavy seasonal rainfall, and officials have warned more flooding is likely to occur in a number of areas in the coming days.

The rainy season typically runs from March to September.

Also in July, at least three people were killed by flood waters some 150 kilometres (90 miles) north of the economic capital Lagos in Ibadan, an area of southwestern Nigeria where 102 died following torrential rains last year.

At least 20 people died from flooding in Lagos last year, while 24 were killed after rains inundated a neighbourhood in Nigeria’s largest northern city of Kano.

Nigerian officials have faced criticism for failing to put in place measures to mitigate the impact of the annual, often severe floods.

The largest cities in Nigeria are overcrowded, with many residents living in haphazardly constructed slums. Drainage systems are also often poorly maintained and contribute to the problem.

In 2010, flooding affected roughly half a million people in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states.

Seasonal flooding also affects the west African region, with 2010 having been a particularly harsh year.

More than 300 people were killed in the 2010 rainy season in western and central Africa and at least 680,000 people were affected by the floods in neighbouring Benin, a country of some nine million.

The flooding also raises the risk of the spread of diseases such as cholera.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

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Radiation /  Nuclear

Today HAZMAT Japan Prefecture of Fukushima, [Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant] Damage level Details

HAZMAT in Japan on Thursday, 16 August, 2012 at 03:05 (03:05 AM) UTC.

Description
Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Tuesday morning discovered possibly highly radioactive water on the first floor of the No. 4 reactor turbine building at its disaster-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The company believes the water leaked from a pipe that is transferring highly radioactive water from the basement of the No. 3 reactor’s turbine building. A TEPCO worker found the water on the floor of a power control room in the No. 4 reactor turbine building at 11:15 a.m. The company confirmed that the leak had stopped by about 1 p.m. after the radioactive water transfer was suspended at 12:20 p.m. According to TEPCO, a puddle of water about one centimeter deep had collected on the floor of the 350-square-meter power control room. There was no water leak outside the room, the company added. The water is estimated to contain tens of thousands of becquerels of radioactive cesium per cubic centimeter, according to the firm.

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Epidemic Hazards / Diseases

Dallas Approves Aerial Spraying to Fight West Nile

By By SARAH KUTA
DALLAS

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings on Wednesday declared the city’s recent West Nile virus outbreak to be a state of emergency and authorized the first aerial spraying of insecticide in the city in more than 45 years.

Dallas and other North Texas cities have agreed to the rare use of aerial spraying from planes to combat the nation’s worst outbreak of West Nile virus so far this year. Dallas last had aerial spraying in 1966, when more than a dozen deaths were blamed on encephalitis.

More than 200 cases of West Nile and 10 deaths linked to the virus have been reported across Dallas County, where officials authorized aerial spraying last week. State health department statistics show 381 cases and 16 deaths related to West Nile statewide.

“The number of cases, the number of deaths are remarkable, and we need to sit up and take notice,” Rawlings said during a city council briefing. “We do have a serious problem right now.”

Aerial spraying for mosquitoes could begin Thursday evening, depending on weather conditions. The state health department, which will pay for the $500,000 aerial spraying with emergency funds, has a contract with national spraying company Clarke. Clarke officials have said two to five planes will be used in Dallas County.

Dallas City Council members voiced concerns about aerial spraying’s health effects on humans and animals. Rawlings said the aerial dosage will be much lower than the dosage used so far during ground spraying. He also said aerial spraying recently has been safely used in California, Massachusetts and New York.

The city charter allows Rawlings to declare a state of emergency and request aerial spraying, but the City Council would have to approve additional action beyond seven days.

State health commissioner Dr. David Lakey, who participated in the briefing via telephone, reiterated the seriousness of the situation in Dallas, saying half of all West Nile cases in the United States so far this year are in Texas.

“There is a public health emergency related to West Nile right now,” Lakey said. “The risk of air-based spraying is minimal versus the ongoing spread of West Nile.”

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Climate Change

Forecast: Big snow in Eastern U.S. cities

by Staff Writers
State College, Pa. (UPI)


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

After a 2011-2012 winter that saw little snow, the mid-Atlantic and southern New England states will get a snow dump this winter, forecasters say.

Above-normal snowfall during winter 2012-2013 is forecast for the major I-95 cities including New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, AccuWeather.com reported Wednesday.

“The I-95 cities could get hit pretty good,” forecaster Paul Pastelok said. “It’s a matter of getting the cold to phase in with the huge systems that we are going to see coming out of the southern branch of the jet stream this year.”

The presence — and strength — of El Nino conditions in the Pacific Ocean are used to project how active the winter season will be, forecasters said.

El Nino warming of ocean water and the air above it causes weather patterns to change globally, and El Nino winters feature a strong southern branch of the jet stream across the United States, AccuWeather.com said.

When the strong southern jet stream phases with the northern branch of the jet stream, meteorologists said, big storms can hit the east coast.

Related Links
It’s A White Out at TerraDaily.com

Greenland ice more resistant to climate change than feared, study shows

by: J. D. Heyes
ice

(NaturalNews) The ice in Greenland appears to be less vulnerable than earlier believed to uncontrolled melting that some scientists and climatologists said would drive up sea levels and lead to a host of environmental issues, according to a new study that found a spike in loss of ice had declined.

Kurt Kjaer of the University of Copenhagen, lead author of the new study, said in a statement of findings recently in the journal Science that “it is too early to proclaim that the ‘ice sheet’s future doom’” due to climate change being imminent.

Researchers from the Netherlands, Britain and Denmark wrote that they examined aerial photos taken from aircraft which showed stark glacial thinning in northwest Greenland between 1985 and 1993. They also said another spike in loss of ice took place between 2005 and 2010.

A wash of warm air

From that data some scientists, environmentalists and climatologists had concluded that Greenland could be headed towards a perpetual, endless meltdown of its glacial ice – a phenomenon many experts have attributed to man-made global warming.

In fact, in the latter part of July, scientists at NASA recorded an unprecedented warming event in Greenland, where – over the span of just a few days – nearly the country’s entire massive ice sheet began melting.

“You literally had this wave of warm air wash over the Greenland ice sheet and melt it,” NASA ice scientist Tom Wagner told reporters in describing the phenomenon.

The ice melt area expanded from 40 percent to nearly 97 percent over the span of four days, said NASA scientists, adding that three separate satellites recorded the occurrence that they have yet to be able to explain.

“When we see melting in places that we haven’t seen before, at least in a long period of time, it makes you sit up and ask what’s happening?” said NASA chief scientist Waleed Abdalati.

Until then, scientists had only witnessed a 55 percent melt. Even Greenland’s coldest region, which is also its highest, experienced melting; according to ice core readings, that hasn’t happened since 1889 and only occurs about once every 150 years, The Associated Press reported.

Many scientists and environmentalists have, for years, believed that man-caused activities have contributed to global warming, a debate that has been given new life this summer as record heat blanketed – and continues to blanket – much of the nation.

NASA scientist James Hansen said earlier this month that the likelihood of such temperatures occurring from the 1950s through the 1980s was about 1 in 300, but that likelihood has increased to 1 in 10 today.

“This is not some scientific theory. We are now experiencing scientific fact,” he told AP.

Still, the results of the recent study by Kjaer and his team appears to have at least muddled the debate, for they do not jibe with earlier projections that Greenland’s ice caps – which would raise global sea levels by seven meters if all of it did melt – are on an unstoppable, man-caused course to extinction.

More droughts, heat waves coming?

“It starts and then it stops,” Kjaer told Reuters in reference to the periods of ice loss. “This is a break from thinking that it is something that starts, accelerates and will consume Greenland all at once.”

And, since the sudden melting phenomenon NASA witnessed last month, Greenland’s ice seems to be freezing again.

That said, Kjaer noted in the study that the polar nation’s ice sheet did not get bigger in the pause between the spurts of ice loss.

A panel of United Nations climate scientists still maintains that man-caused activities are creating warming conditions around the world. They say that’s being caused mainly by the burning of fossil fuels, and that the activity will eventually lead to more flooding, rising seas, droughts and heat waves.

Sources:

http://www.reuters.com

http://www.usatoday.com

http://www.chicagotribune.com

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Solar Activity

3MIN News August 15, 2012: Sprites, Floods, Sunspot Analysis

Published on Aug 15, 2012 by

Earthquake/Solar Flare Watch: http://youtu.be/zd7Z6dmABf8 [August 12-18, 2012]
[EXPLANATION Video For Earthquake Watches] Last Quake Watch: http://youtu.be/SMiHsOYwdCs

TODAY’S LINKS
Sprites: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/seeing-sprites.html
STANFORD VLF GROUP: http://vlf.stanford.edu/
Reuters – Japan Flooding: http://youtu.be/Y-m8uh4Jbl4
Nigeria Flood: http://allafrica.com/stories/201208140218.html
Fukushima Butterflies: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/fukushima-caused-mutant-butterflies-scientists-07134…
Heat Bloom: http://weather.unisys.com/surface/sfc_con_heat.gif

REPEAT LINKS
Spaceweather: http://spaceweather.com/ [Look on the left at the X-ray Flux and Solar Wind Speed/Density]

HAARP: http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/data.html [Click online data, and have a little fun]

SDO: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/ [Place to find Solar Images and Videos - as seen from earth]

SOHO: http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/soho_movie_theater [SOHO; Lasco and EIT - as seen from earth]

Stereo: http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/images [Stereo; Cor, EUVI, HI - as seen from the side]

SunAEON:http://www.sunaeon.com/#/solarsystem/ [Just click it... trust me]

SOLARIMG: http://solarimg.org/artis/ [All purpose data viewing site]

iSWA: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/iswa/iSWA.html [Free Application; for advanced sun watchers]

NASA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080/IswaSystemWebApp/iSWACygnetStreamer?timestamp=…
NOAA ENLIL SPiral: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/

NOAA Bouys: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/

RSOE: http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php [That cool alert map I use]

JAPAN Radiation Map: http://jciv.iidj.net/map/

LISS: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/monitoring/operations/heliplots_gsn.php

Gamma Ray Bursts: http://grb.sonoma.edu/ [Really? You can't figure out what this one is for?]

BARTOL Cosmic Rays: http://neutronm.bartol.udel.edu//spaceweather/welcome.html [Top left box, look for BIG blue circles]

TORCON: http://www.weather.com/news/tornado-torcon-index [Tornado Forecast for the day]

GOES Weather: http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ [Clouds over America]

EL DORADO WORLD WEATHER MAP: http://www.eldoradocountyweather.com/satellite/ssec/world/world-composite-ir-…

PRESSURE MAP: http://www.woweather.com/cgi-bin/expertcharts?LANG=us&MENU=0000000000&…

HURRICANE TRACKER: http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricanecentral/tracker

INTELLICAST: http://www.intellicast.com/ [Weather site used by many youtubers]

NASA News: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/

PHYSORG: http://phys.org/ [GREAT News Site!]

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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
4581 Asclepius 16th August 2012 0 day(s) 0.1079 42.0 220 m – 490 m 13.48 km/s 48528 km/h
(2008 TC4) 18th August 2012 2 day(s) 0.1937 75.4 140 m – 300 m 17.34 km/s 62424 km/h
(2012 OP4) 18th August 2012 2 day(s) 0.1039 40.4 300 m – 670 m 22.54 km/s 81144 km/h
(2012 EC) 20th August 2012 4 day(s) 0.0815 31.7 56 m – 130 m 5.57 km/s 20052 km/h
(2006 CV) 20th August 2012 4 day(s) 0.1744 67.9 290 m – 640 m 13.24 km/s 47664 km/h
162421 (2000 ET70) 21st August 2012 5 day(s) 0.1503 58.5 670 m – 1.5 km 12.92 km/s 46512 km/h
(2007 WU3) 21st August 2012 5 day(s) 0.1954 76.0 56 m – 120 m 5.25 km/s 18900 km/h
(2012 BB14) 24th August 2012 8 day(s) 0.1234 48.0 27 m – 60 m 2.58 km/s 9288 km/h
(2012 FM52) 25th August 2012 9 day(s) 0.0599 23.3 510 m – 1.1 km 17.17 km/s 61812 km/h
66146 (1998 TU3) 25th August 2012 9 day(s) 0.1265 49.2 3.0 km – 6.8 km 16.03 km/s 57708 km/h
(2009 AV) 26th August 2012 10 day(s) 0.1615 62.8 670 m – 1.5 km 22.51 km/s 81036 km/h
331769 (2003 BQ35) 28th August 2012 12 day(s) 0.1585 61.7 240 m – 530 m 4.64 km/s 16704 km/h
(2010 SC) 28th August 2012 12 day(s) 0.1679 65.3 16 m – 36 m 9.56 km/s 34416 km/h
4769 Castalia 28th August 2012 12 day(s) 0.1135 44.2 1.4 km 12.06 km/s 43416 km/h
(2012 LU7) 02nd September 2012 17 day(s) 0.1200 46.7 440 m – 990 m 8.16 km/s 29376 km/h
(2012 FS35) 02nd September 2012 17 day(s) 0.1545 60.1 2.3 m – 5.2 m 2.87 km/s 10332 km/h
(2012 HG31) 03rd September 2012 18 day(s) 0.0716 27.9 440 m – 990 m 10.33 km/s 37188 km/h
(2012 PX) 04th September 2012 19 day(s) 0.0452 17.6 61 m – 140 m 9.94 km/s 35784 km/h
(2012 EH5) 05th September 2012 20 day(s) 0.1613 62.8 38 m – 84 m 9.75 km/s 35100 km/h
(2011 EO11) 05th September 2012 20 day(s) 0.1034 40.2 9.0 m – 20 m 8.81 km/s 31716 km/h
(2007 PS25) 06th September 2012 21 day(s) 0.0497 19.3 23 m – 52 m 8.50 km/s 30600 km/h
329520 (2002 SV) 08th September 2012 23 day(s) 0.1076 41.9 300 m – 670 m 9.17 km/s 33012 km/h
(2011 ES4) 10th September 2012 25 day(s) 0.1792 69.8 20 m – 44 m 12.96 km/s 46656 km/h
(2008 CO) 11th September 2012 26 day(s) 0.1847 71.9 74 m – 160 m 4.10 km/s 14760 km/h
(2007 PB8) 14th September 2012 29 day(s) 0.1682 65.5 150 m – 340 m 14.51 km/s 52236 km/h
226514 (2003 UX34) 14th September 2012 29 day(s) 0.1882 73.2 260 m – 590 m 25.74 km/s 92664 km/h
(1998 QC1) 14th September 2012 29 day(s) 0.1642 63.9 310 m – 700 m 17.11 km/s 61596 km/h
1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers Source: NASA-NEO

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Technological Disasters

Today Technological Disaster USA State of New York, Brentwood [Prospect Drive] Damage level Details

Technological Disaster in USA on Thursday, 16 August, 2012 at 08:18 (08:18 AM) UTC.

Description
Authorities are now investigating the reason behind the explosion and the ensuing collapse of the house, but so far, they have not found any. The house was a two-story building that was located on Prospect Drive in Brentwood and it was razed to the ground due to the explosion. The collapse took place before noon on Tuesday and at that time several people were around the house, due to which the number of people injured was quite high. An 18-month-old toddler by the name of Rah-quan Palmer died in the collapse, while his parents, Christina Morgan, 23, and Rashamel Palmer, 28, were badly injured. Both Palmer and Morgan are still hospitalized along with their tenants, Calvin Harris, 23 and Irving Justiniano, 63.In addition to the occupants of the house, a State Farm Insurance agent and a plumber were also injured in the collapse because they were present at the house at that time to assess a recent claim submitted for flooding of the house. These two people are identified as 46-year-old Patricia Salegna-Maqueda and 48-year-old Michael Ray. A total of 11 people were injured outside the house. They include seven police officers, two firefighters and two neighbors. The injuries of the people outside the house were minor and they were released after getting treated from the hospital. One of the neighbors described a very tragic and chaotic scene when the house collapsed. “One of them came out, and his clothes were all ripped, his face was all bloody,” said Anthony Acevedo, according to a report by nbcnews.com. “The mother of the baby that came out, she was bloody and crying, and she kept screaming, ‘My baby’s in there, my baby’s in there.’”The firefighters promptly arrived at the scene to extricate people from under the rubble, but sadly, the toddler had already died when they got to him. The cause behind this house collapse is still being investigated, but it has been reported that the house was in a very bad condition and the owner had already been summoned for quite a few times for code violations.
Today Technological Disaster Democratic Republic of the Congo Province of Orientale , [AngloGold Ashanti and Randgold Gold Mine, Mambasa territory] Damage level Details

Technological Disaster in Democratic Republic of the Congo on Thursday, 16 August, 2012 at 05:23 (05:23 AM) UTC.

Description
About 60 miners died when a shaft in which they were working collapsed in a remote part of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a UN-backed radio station said on Wednesday. The miners were 100 meters underground when the accident occurred on Monday in Mambasa territory in Orientale Province. Authorities in the Central African nation were not immediately available to comment. Mining companies AngloGold Ashanti and Randgold operate in the region, which is known to be rich in tin and gold. Hundreds of thousands of people in eastern Congo make a living in artisanal mines, where safety precautions are almost nonexistent and accidents are common.

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Biological Hazards / Wildlife

Today Biological Hazard South Korea Multiple region, [All coastal areas] Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in South Korea on Thursday, 16 August, 2012 at 14:38 (02:38 PM) UTC.

Description
Holidaymakers and fishermen are worried about giant toxic jellyfish showing up in Korea’s coastal areas in record numbers this summer. A girl was killed earlier this month and more than 500 people have been stung by jellyfish in the seas around Busan this season. The southern resort island of Jeju saw more than 130 people stung. Although there have been reports in China and Southeast Asia of deaths caused by poisonous jellyfish, Korea was considered relatively safe from them. However, the scare is spreading following the recent surge in accidents, including the first death associated with jellyfish. “The number of jellyfish species that can be found in Korea is 124, and among them 100 are poisonous. Thus Korea is no longer a safe zone. Furthermore, the most frequently seen are Nomura’s jellyfish and moon jellyfish,” said Yoon Won-duk, a researcher at National Fisheries Research and Development Institute. According to Yoon, the one that killed the girl is most likely Nomura’s jellyfish. Last year, nuclear power plants in Scotland, Japan, Israel and Florida were forced to shut down because the free-moving animals were clogging the water inlets.The swarming of jellyfish has been predicted by many experts since early 2000. In 2002, Japan saw blooms of jellyfish in its coastal waters, and in 2009 Australian marine scientist Anthony Richard foresaw a near future in which marine biodiversity would be dominated by jellyfish. Experts give several causes to the somewhat sudden global increase of jellyfish, all of which have to do with the changing oceanic environment. Warmer temperatures caused by global warming, salinity changes, ocean acidification and pollution all help jellyfish thrive. “Not only higher ocean temperature but also overfishing and pollution have increased the jellyfish population. As the temperature rises even further, more jellyfish will be moving northward,” said Yoon. There are still some weeks left until the summer heat wanes, and in the meantime, beaches will still be the favorite destinations of people on vacation. If one is stung by jellyfish, a few measures can be taken to alleviate the situation. First, get the person out of the water and wash the spot immediately with seawater or running water. Do not rinse with vinegar unless stung by Jimble; it can reactivate stinging cells. Apply tetracycline cream to relieve itching and swelling and use ice packs to relieve sever pain or welts. Call 119 if the person displays signs of a severe allergic reaction.
Biohazard name: Nomura s Jellyfish invasion (strongly toxic)
Biohazard level: 0/4 —
Biohazard desc.: This does not included biological hazard category.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed

16.08.2012 Biological Hazard USA State of Texas, [Dallas County] Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in USA on Wednesday, 15 August, 2012 at 03:14 (03:14 AM) UTC.

Description
Nine people have died from a West Nile virus outbreak that infected 175 people in Dallas County, Texas, prompting officials to declare a state of emergency. The emergency was declared on Friday by Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, the county’s director of homeland security and emergency management. “This declaration will expand our avenues DisasterNew assistance in our ongoing battle with West Nile virus,” Jenkins said. “While we are busy doing everything we can to keep residents well informed and as protected as possible, we need your help.” Jenkins also said that planes would be spraying insecticide over areas most effected by the virus, which is spread by mosquitoes. He assured citizens that the insecticide is safe and that the planes will be precise in their spraying. Tarrant County has also received 146 reported cases of West Nile in the last few weeks. The county has not declared a state of emergency, though. Houston officials are warning residents of an increased threat of the virus. “Houston can definitely expect an increase in West Nile disease,” said Kristy Murray, an infectious disease specialist at the Baylor College of Medicine’s National School of Tropical Medicine, DisasterNews reports. “From mid-August through September is the big season here.”
Biohazard name: West Nile virus outbreak
Biohazard level: 2/4 Medium
Biohazard desc.: Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV. “Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3) facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures”, see Recommended Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed

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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes 'FAIR USE' of any such copyrighted material.]

Earthquakes

RSOE EDIS

Date/Time (UTC) Magnitude Area Country State/Prov./Gov. Location Risk Source Details
31.07.2012 01:40:27 3.0 South-America Chile Valparaíso La Ligua VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
31.07.2012 01:40:51 3.6 South-America Chile Maule Constitucion VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
31.07.2012 01:41:09 2.2 Europe Italy Emilia-Romagna San Prospero VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
31.07.2012 00:45:33 5.0 Asia Russia Altay Ust’-Ulagan VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
31.07.2012 01:41:29 5.0 Europe Russia Altay Ust’-Ulagan VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
31.07.2012 01:41:48 2.1 Europe Italy Emilia-Romagna San Prospero VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
31.07.2012 00:20:29 2.5 North America United States California Olancha There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
31.07.2012 00:45:51 4.7 Indonesian archipelago Papua New Guinea Sandaun Aitape VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
31.07.2012 01:42:08 4.7 Indonesian Archipelago Papua New Guinea Sandaun Aitape VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
31.07.2012 00:40:21 3.9 South-America Bolivia Potosí Villa Alota There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 23:20:37 2.2 North America United States Alaska Healy There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
31.07.2012 00:40:49 2.0 Asia Turkey Van Yuvacik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
31.07.2012 00:41:08 2.7 Europe Greece North Aegean Agios Dimitrios VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
31.07.2012 00:15:33 2.8 Caribbean Puerto Rico Vieques Esperanza VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
30.07.2012 23:05:28 2.9 North America United States Washington Winthrop There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
31.07.2012 00:41:28 2.1 Asia Turkey Malatya Arguvan VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 23:40:20 2.8 Europe Spain Canary Islands La Restinga There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 23:40:51 2.1 Asia Turkey Van Yuvacik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 22:40:21 3.0 Asia Turkey Van Yuvacik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
31.07.2012 00:41:49 2.4 Asia Turkey Kütahya Saphane VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 22:40:40 3.0 Europe Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Kakanj VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 21:41:49 2.0 North America United States Hawaii Volcano There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
30.07.2012 22:50:31 3.1 North America United States Oklahoma Meeker VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
31.07.2012 01:42:29 2.1 Asia Turkey Adana Kadirli There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 21:40:27 4.2 South-America Chile Bío-Bío Talcahuano VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 20:40:30 2.8 North America United States Alaska Adak There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
30.07.2012 19:50:35 2.0 North America United States Alaska Point MacKenzie VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
30.07.2012 19:51:03 2.2 North America United States Alaska Salamatof There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
30.07.2012 20:35:26 3.7 South-America Chile Coquimbo Coquimbo VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 20:35:52 3.7 South-America Chile Antofagasta San Pedro de Atacama There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 21:41:21 4.6 Asia Japan Miyagi Ishinomaki VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 There are nuclear facilities nearby the epicenter. EMSC Details
30.07.2012 19:35:21 2.9 Asia Turkey Van Yuvacik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 19:35:51 2.0 Asia Turkey Ardahan Merdinik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 18:50:49 2.9 North America United States Alaska Anderson VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
30.07.2012 18:45:48 2.0 North America United States California Newport Beach VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. There are nuclear facilities nearby the epicenter. USGS-RSOE Details
30.07.2012 19:36:11 2.9 South-America Chile Antofagasta Tocopilla VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 19:36:31 2.3 Europe Greece North Aegean Agios Dimitrios VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 18:10:36 2.7 North America United States Hawaii Volcano There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
30.07.2012 19:25:42 4.4 Pacific Ocean – West Philippines Cordillera Administrative Region Calaba There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
30.07.2012 19:36:50 4.6 Pacific Ocean – West Philippines Ilocos Padong There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 17:45:22 2.3 North America United States California Pearsonville There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
30.07.2012 16:56:01 2.3 North America United States Alaska False Pass There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
30.07.2012 17:30:21 2.1 Asia Turkey Gaziantep Kayakent There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 16:25:26 3.6 South-America Bolivia Potosí Villa Alota There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 16:25:54 2.4 Europe Greece North Aegean Agios Dimitrios VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 16:26:18 3.5 South-America Chile Antofagasta San Pedro de Atacama There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 15:20:33 3.2 Europe Greece North Aegean Agios Dimitrios VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
30.07.2012 23:41:44 3.6 Pacific Ocean New Zealand Manawatu-Wanganui Wanganui VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 GEONET Details
30.07.2012 17:05:37 3.0 Caribbean Puerto Rico Corozal Corozal VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
30.07.2012 15:20:57 2.4 Europe Italy Lombardy Ospitaletto VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details

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Volcanic Activity

Kirishima volcano in Kyushu, Japan on high alert level

BY: T

As our colleague Marc Szlegat reported on Vulkane.Net, the alert level of the Japanese Kirishima volcano (Kirishimayama) was raised last month”orange”. This is the third out of 4 warning levels and means that an eruption could occur any time.
Last year in March, the Shinmoedake crater of the complex volcano Kirishima had a violent eruption that make the headlines. The volcano is located close to the other volcano currently on orange alert in Kyushu, Sakura-jima, which last week had a stronger explosion that caused ashfall in the nearby city of Kagoshima.


Links / Sources:

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather / Drought

Excessive Heat Warning

TULSA OK
JACKSON MS
SHREVEPORT LA
JACKSON MS
NORMAN OK
MEMPHIS TN
SHREVEPORT LA
SPRINGFIELD MO
WICHITA KS
AMARILLO TX
ST LOUIS MO
FORT WORTH TX
LITTLE ROCK AR

Record high of 111 degrees for Little Rock

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Triple-digit heat intensified across Arkansas on Monday, setting records in at least two cities and increasing the danger for wildfires.

Temperatures exceeded 100 in some areas, and are expected to stick around for much of the week. Low humidity also is settling in, increasing the threat for wildfires.

The daytime high reached 111 degrees in Little Rock, which not only broke the date’s record but marked the third-highest temperature ever recorded in the state’s capital city. The previous record for July 30 was 108 degrees in 1986.

Little Rock reached 114 degrees last year on Aug. 3, the city’s hottest day in 132 years of records. The city’s second-highest temperature on record occurred July 31, 1986, when it hit 112 degrees.

Also Monday, a record was set in Jonesboro, where the mercury peaked at 104, a degree higher than the record set in 1986.

National Weather Service senior forecaster Joe Goudsward warned that little relief from the high temperatures is expected soon.

“There will be some scattered thunderstorms pop up in the heat of the day but as far as anything organized or widespread, it’s not expected,” Goudsward said.

An upper-level ridge of high pressure is parked over the region. It’s expected to shift a bit to the west, but it may only shave five or six degrees off daytime highs, Goudsward said. After a brief cool-down, the ridge is forecast to rebuild, he said.

Arkansas’ all-time high is 120 degrees, set in Ozark on Aug. 10, 1936.

(Story distributed by The Associated Press)


 

Heat record broken Monday

 

The mercury rose to over 30 degrees Celsius for the first time this summer in eastern Finland as meteorologists warned of severe thunderstorms later in the day.

 
Tyyntä myrskyn edellä.
Calm before the storm. Image: Eelis Pulkkinen

The temperature exceeded the 30-degree mark in Tohmajärvi, Lieksa and Juuka in North Karelia, close to the Russian border.  But the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) says that a cooler weather front has already arrived in western Finland and will start moving eastwards soon, making the current heatwave quite short-lived. More storms thunder in Severe thunderstorms are expected to whip up very strong wind gusts on Monday, warns the FMI. Winds may reach speeds of 25 metres per second in North Ostrobothnia and western Finland, and elsewhere in the country gusts of some 15 m/s are expected. Additionally, heavy rainfall is forecast for various parts of Finland on Monday. Thunderstorms left thousands without electricity in different parts of Finland on Sunday. Most of them had been fixed by Monday afternoon. At 1pm, some 200 Fortum customers were still without power. Elenia (formerly known as Vattenfall) had about 1,200 customers without service at that time.

Sources    Yle

Related items

  Record lightning strikes on Sunday 30.7.

Italian dairy cattle are producing 10 percent less milk because of a heat wave, even as farmers take steps to cool the animals including showers and fans, Coldiretti said. Corn, tomato, beet and sunflower crops have been damaged across the country and some areas have received no rain for months, the Rome-based agricultural union said in an e-mailed statement today. To contact the reporter on this story: Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris at rruitenberg@bloomberg.ne
The National Weather Forecaster has extended a Code Yellow warning of heat till Monday for southern and
eastern Romania, Bucharest included, while downpours and thunderstorms are expected in the country's
West, Center and North starting Sunday night.According to a weather warning issued by the Forecaster
on Sunday, the high temperatures at between 35 and 37 degrees Celsius will keep on in southern and
eastern Romania and will even hit 38 C in some cities.

20.06.2011 лесные пожары лесной пожар

Photo: RIA Novosti

Russia is currently in the grips of an extremely strong heat wave. City and town residents are suffocating from the sweltering heat. For example, it is about 30 degrees in Moscow with prospects of the thermometer going up in the next few days. The heat wave situation is aggravated by wild fires producing clods of poisonous smoke. The wood rich Siberian taiga near Krasnoyarsk is fighting 83 fires on the territory of 12.130 hectares. As for rural Russia, that only last year was the world’s third-biggest grain producer, it suffers colossal damages. It threats to destroy a significant part of the crops. If last year’s harvest amounted to 94 million tons, this year it is a predicted at 80 to 85 million. Given the situation, earlier in July the Agriculture Ministry had to revise its harvest predictions.

As Rossiyskaya Gazeta writes, the hardest hit are the important grain-producing areas including Kuban, Stavropol, Volgograd, Volga, Rostov-on-Don, Lipetsk, Penza, Ulyanovsk, Kurgan and Altai. Nevertheless, Arkady Zlochevsky, president of the Russian Grain Union thinks that “The risks are there, but then there is a chance to avoid them.” Zlochevksy added that there will be 85 million tons of crops and the size of the harvest would depend on the weather. With the leftover stocks from previous harvests, the export potential will then be about 18-20 million tons. Although this is less than last year, when the country exported more than 26 million tons, it is still better than 2010, when the droughts and wild fires in Russia ruined about a third of all the grain harvested and the country had to impose an embargo on grain exports. The area of Russia’s irrigated fields is about 2.5 million hectares, and Russia has 44 million hectares of land under spring crops this year. “The biggest losses are not caused by the weather, it is rather the failure to comply with production rules in bad weather,” said Zlochevsky.

On the other hand Oleg Sukhanov, head of the market analysis unit at the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies, thinks that Russia may gather in only 77 million tons of grain. And, Sukhanov said, “that is not the worst-case scenario.”

His forecast is worrisome as Russia’s annual domestic consumption amounts to 67 million to 72 million tons. As is expected this year Russia may consume up to 68.5 million tons of grain and so, considering the remaining stocks from previous years, Sukhanov’s institute colleagues are putting the Russian grain export potential this year at a mere 13.5 million tons.

If so, that would be all we will be able to sell to our traditional buyers of grain in the Middle East and North Africa, and some Southeast Asian countries that joined them last year. “But this is not a long-term trend. Next season, Russia might have a good crop and again become a leader among world grain exporters,” Sukhanov said.

Despite the poor forecast for this year, Russia has ambitious plans for increasing its grain exports. The new edition of the national program for development of agriculture for 2013-2020, adopted in early July, set a target of a 115-million-ton grain harvest by 2020, which should bring Russia within reach of the United States, the traditional leader on the global grain market.

The current Russian predicament begins to tell on the world prices. Although there is no acute grain shortage in the world, other major grain producers, including the United States, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and China, are experiencing some problems. Forecasts in these countries account for the current high grain prices, about $330 per ton of food wheat. Sukhanov believes global grain prices could rise by another 10 percent before the year is out.

However, our experts do not believe that this will make a big difference in the prices of bread, meat and other staples because the share of grain in the end product is small. For example, in Russia, grain accounts for only 23 percent of a loaf of white bread.

So, as the saying in Russia went some 20 years ago, “the fight for the harvest is going on.”

30.07.2012 Forest / Wild Fire USA State of Idaho, [Salmon/Challis Forest] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Monday, 30 July, 2012 at 18:42 (06:42 PM) UTC.

Description
A fire north of Stanley in the Salmon/Challis Forest on the border of the Frank Church Wilderness of No Return continues to grow after it sparked Friday. U.S. Forest Service officials say the Halstead Fire is now threatening several campgrounds, as well as a local boy scout camp. The exact location of the fire is about 15 miles north of Stanley, between Beaver Creek and Marsh Creek near Seafoam Lake. Officials say lightning started the fire on Friday, and it has now grown to at least 60 acres. Several nearby campgrounds have been evacuated. The Bradley Boy Scout Camp is also in the area. Two-hundred scouts have been evacuated and the camp has been shut down for around 200 more scouts who were set to go to the camp this week. Officials from the U.S. Forest Service Regional Office in Salmon, Idaho, say one heavy-attack firefighting helicopter is currently battling the flames. Several fire crews, including two USFS hotshot crews, two USFS hand crews, and several smoke jumpers are standing-by to protect nearby camp-grounds and homes.
30.07.2012 Forest / Wild Fire Canada Province of British Columbia, [Wilson's Landing] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in Canada on Monday, 30 July, 2012 at 16:53 (04:53 PM) UTC.

Description
An evacuation alert has been issued for approximately 50 properties in the Wilson’s Landing area of West Kelowna, B.C., after a wildfire jumped a fireguard late Sunday night. The fire was sparked by lightning on Friday and was declared contained by noon on Sunday. However, on Sunday night winds in the area picked up and fanned the flames and on Monday morning officials said what was a fire of 4.4 hectares had grown to 30 hectares, and was only 20 per cent contained. “Crews have been on site overnight working hard to re-establish containment lines where it was safe to do so. The fire spread is southward and towards Westside Road. At this time Westside Road is closed for the safety of the public,” said a statement issued by the Forest Service. Early Monday morning, officials with the Regional District of Central Okanagan issued an evacuation alert for 40 to 50 homes in the Jenny Creek subdivision — and those along Blue Grouse Road, Browse Road and parts of Westside Road, all in the Wilson’s Landing area of West Kelowna. Residents are being urged to be ready to leave their homes on short notice. The fire has also closed a 14-kilometre section of Westside Road from Bear Creek Road to Browse Road, as fire crews carry out a controlled burn. “It’s right adjacent the road right now. Our crews are currently actively burning the fuels between the road and that fire, and they’re using Westside Road as a natural fire guard,” said fire information officer Michaela Swan. There’s no word when Westside Road will re-open. Residents are being asked to detour north through Vernon to get to Kelowna. About 25 firefighters, two helicopters and two air tankers are fighting the flames.
30.07.2012 Forest / Wild Fire USA State of Oklahoma, [Pottawatomie County] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Monday, 30 July, 2012 at 04:58 (04:58 AM) UTC.

Description
Wildfires burned across the state Sunday, with one blaze threatening about100 homes in Pottawatomie County. The fire, which started Sunday afternoon about two miles northwest of Earlsboro, was encroaching upon structures, and a mandatory evacuation order was put into effect, state emergency management spokeswoman Keli Cain said. The Pottawatomie County sheriff’s office said about 30 homes were evacuated in the town about 50 miles east of Oklahoma City. By 9:30 p.m., people were allowed to return to their homes and some firefighters were being allowed to leave the scene, Pottawatomie County Sheriff Mike Booth said. “The fire is contained, but not out,” Booth said. There were no reports of injuries or homes lost to the fire on Sunday. The fire had scorched across about 1,300 acres before being contained, Cain said. Firefighting resources were brought in from Cleveland County, and an Oklahoma National Guard helicopter made water drops, she said.

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Worsening Illinois drought points to increasingly ominous signs for crops

Dry spell, which could becomes state’s worst on record, may lead to higher food prices

View Video Here

By Michelle Manchir, Chicago Tribune reporterJuly 27, 2012

More than 95 percent of Illinois is in a severe drought or worse, according to a national report Thursday that increased concerns about how the hot, dry summer is affecting farming.Most of Cook County is in a moderate drought, and other parts of the Chicago area are suffering through severe drought. But the central and southern portions of Illinois are experiencing even worse conditions that are classified as extreme or exceptional, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center.Surrounding states, especially Missouri and Indiana, have also been hit hard, with 55.5 percent of the Midwest experiencing at least a severe drought, compared with 45.6 percent of the country.The drought center’s new report doesn’t take into account the bit of rain the Chicago area received this week — about 0.55 inch fell at O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday and Wednesday — but it would take 3 inches or more to have made any significant improvement, said drought center climatologist Brian Fuchs.”In a lot of places in Illinois, this is the worst they remember,” said Emerson Nafziger, a professor of crop sciences at the University of Illinois.

About 66 percent of the state’s corn crop is in poor to very poor condition, according to a report his week from the Illinois Department of Agriculture. In states that are major producers of corn nationwide, about 45 percent of the corn is poor or worse, though the total produced this year won’t be known until after September, when harvesting begins, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. During the same time last year, only 14 percent of corn crops nationwide were considered poor.

“We’re sitting here, watching the sky; it looks like it could rain,” Nafziger said in by telephone from near Vandalia. “People are kind of pessimistic.”

Nationally, almost 40 percent of agricultural land is experiencing at least a severe drought, which makes the 2012 drought more extensive than any other since the 1950s, according to the USDA.

Illinois Climatologist Jim Angel said July’s heat and lack of rain could make this drought its worst on record, especially because all across the state, farmers’ soil is showing signs of having very little moisture, something essential for plant health.

“In a normal season we rely on soil moisture to get you through August, but we don’t have that,” Angel said.

Less corn production usually means higher food prices, according to the USDA, though the full effect of a sparse corn harvest wouldn’t move through to grocery stores until at least 10 months from now. But grocery shoppers could see the price of chicken or eggs and other meats increase sooner than that, since farmers often scale back on their livestock when the cost of corn feed is high, which can happen when corn production is low, Nafziger said.

Still, some say there’s room for optimism. Angel said long-term forecasts show an increased chance of above-normal precipitation and more normal temperatures over the next two weeks. The heat and dry weather looks to be shifting to the west, maybe making the Midwest a little wetter and milder, Angel said.

“That’s good news if it pans out,” Angel said.

mmanchir@tribune.com

Western North America Faces 2st Century ‘Mega-drought’

CORVALLIS, Oregon, July 30, 2012 (ENS) – The climate’s “new normal” for most of the coming century will parallel the long-term drought that hit western North America from 2000 to 2004 – the most severe drought in 800 years – scientists report in a study published Sunday.

“The severity and incidence of climatic extremes, including drought, have increased as a result of climate warming,” the researchers said, adding that these long-term trends are consistent with a 21st century “megadrought.”

Crops and forests died and river basins dried, but as bad as conditions were during the 2000-04 drought, in the future they may be seen as the good old days, a group of 10 researchers warned Sunday in the journal “Nature Geoscience.”

Pinyon pine forests near Los Alamos, New Mexico, had begun to turn brown from drought stress in 2002, left. Another photo taken in 2004 from the same vantage point, right, show them grey and dead. (Photo by Craig Allen, U.S. Geological Survey)

Climate models and precipitation projections indicate this period will be closer to the “wet end” of a drier hydroclimate during the last half of the 21st century, the scientists said.

“Climatic extremes such as this will cause more large-scale droughts and forest mortality, and the ability of vegetation to sequester carbon is going to decline,” said Beverly Law, a co-author of the study, professor of global change biology and terrestrial systems science at Oregon State University, and former science director of AmeriFlux, an ecosystem observation network.

The 2000-04 drought had the effect of amplifying climate change as vegetation withered and could no longer take up the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

This drought cut carbon sequestration by an average of 51 percent in the western United States, Canada and Mexico, the scientists calculate, although some areas were hit much harder than others. As the plants died, they released more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, with the effect of amplifying global warming.

“During this drought, carbon sequestration from this region was reduced by half,” Law said. “That’s a huge drop. And if global carbon emissions don’t come down, the future will be even worse.”

The effects are driven by human-caused increases in temperature, with associated lower soil moisture and decreased runoff in all major water basins of the western United States, researchers said in the study.

Drought has affected Colorado farm lands near Strasburg, Colorado, July 21, 2012. (Photo by Lance Cheung, USDA)

It is not clear whether or not the current drought in the West and Midwest, now being called one of the worst since the Dust Bowl, is related to these same forces, Law said. This study did not address that, and there are some climate mechanisms in western North America that affect that region more than other parts of the country.

But in the West, this multi-year drought was unlike anything seen in many centuries, based on tree ring data. The last two periods with drought events of similar severity were in the Middle Ages, from 977-981 and 1146-1151. The 2000-04 drought affected precipitation, soil moisture, river levels, crops, forests and grasslands.

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Storms, Flooding

Severe Thunderstorm Warning

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Flash Flood Watch

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Flood Advisory

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Coastal Flood Advisory

BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
 Active tropical storm system(s)
Name of storm system Location Formed Last update Last category Course Wind Speed Gust Wave Source Details
Saola (10W) Pacific Ocean 28.07.2012 30.07.2012 Typhoon I. 340 ° 120 km/h 148 km/h 3.35 m JTWC Details

Tropical Storm data

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Storm name: Saola (10W)
Area: Pacific Ocean
Start up location: N 14° 24.000, E 127° 6.000
Start up: 28th July 2012
Status: 01st January 1970
Track long: 415.49 km
Top category.:
Report by: JTWC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
30th Jul 2012 15:07:32 N 20° 36.000, E 124° 36.000 9 120 148 Typhoon I. 340 ° 11 JTWC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
01st Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 23° 18.000, E 123° 42.000 Typhoon II. 167 204 JTWC
02nd Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 25° 30.000, E 122° 42.000 Typhoon III. 185 232 JTWC
03rd Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 27° 54.000, E 120° 36.000 Typhoon II. 157 194 JTWC
04th Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 29° 36.000, E 117° 18.000 Tropical Storm 83 102 JTWC
Damrey (11W) Pacific Ocean 29.07.2012 30.07.2012 Tropical Storm 295 ° 83 km/h 102 km/h 3.05 m JTWC Details

Tropical Storm data

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Storm name: Damrey (11W)
Area: Pacific Ocean
Start up location: N 26° 0.000, E 145° 18.000
Start up: 29th July 2012
Status: 01st January 1970
Track long: 36.71 km
Top category.:
Report by: JTWC
Useful links:

Past track
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave Pressure Source
Current position
Date Time Position Speed
km/h
Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Category Course Wave
feet
Pressure Source
30th Jul 2012 15:07:05 N 26° 6.000, E 144° 12.000 9 83 102 Tropical Storm 295 ° 10 JTWC
Forecast track
Date Time Position Category Wind
km/h
Gust
km/h
Source
01st Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 29° 6.000, E 134° 18.000 Tropical Storm 102 130 JTWC
02nd Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 31° 24.000, E 126° 12.000 Tropical Storm 74 93 JTWC
03rd Aug 2012 00:00:00 N 31° 54.000, E 117° 48.000 Tropical Depression 37 56 JTWC

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30.07.2012 Tropical Storm Philippines Multiple Regions, [Northern and central provinces] Damage level Details

Tropical Storm in Philippines on Monday, 30 July, 2012 at 04:57 (04:57 AM) UTC.

Description
One person has died in flooding caused by tropical storm Saola in the central Philippines. Torrential rain brought on by the storm and the south-west monsoon have caused more flooding and landslides in the central and northern Philippines. Landslides have been reported in the mountainous Cordillera region while flood waters have swamped communities in the capital Manila and several nearby provinces. Hundreds of families have been evacuated, with rain on Sunday night causing three major dams to spill over. In the country’s northern and central provinces, five ships have run aground with rescue operations ongoing to bring passengers ashore. Over the weekend, rain blanketed most of the Philippines, forcing the cancellation of at least 13 domestic flights. Tropical storm Saola is now moving northwest towards China.

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Haboob in Phoenix, Arizona July 2012 at Mission Community Church

Phoenix covered in blanket of dust for second time in a week as massive cloud rolls in from desert

By James Nye and Snejana Farberov

A second cloud of yellow in less than a week overwhelmed suburban Phoenix on Sunday, mixing with torrential rains and gusty winds that wreaked havoc on midday traffic in the area.

The thick wall of dust, known as a haboob, which is Arabic for ‘strong wind,’ was seen making its way through the town of Laveen about eight miles southwest of downtown Phoenix.

The greater Phoenix area and northwest and north central Pinal County were under a dust storm warning that expired at 7pm on Sunday.

Second coming: A large dust cloud was seen making its way through the Phoenix suburb of Laveen on Sunday Second coming: A large dust cloud was seen making its way through the Phoenix suburb of Laveen on Sunday

This comes just days after an enormous dust cloud measuring around 2,000 feet tall and almost 100km wide swept over the city, traveling at 35mph. The dust cut power to some 9,000 homes and caused disruptions at the local airport.

Caused by Arizona’s monsoon season which begins in early June and runs through till the end of September, haboob’s only occur in Africa, the Middle East, Australia and Phoenix, Arizona.

Known as the granddaddy of dust storms, the haboob is a rare event and is caused by loose dust being blown upwards in the absence of rain and collecting skywards where it is then propelled by another more distant thunderstorm brewing behind it.

Despite some of the 1.5 million residents of Phoenix objecting to the term haboob being used, meteorologists in the city confirmed that they have been using the Arabic word to describe the massive dust storms for over 30 years.

‘I think what’s going on is that we’ve had a higher frequency of stronger dust storms over the last couple of years and the term has been in play much more because of that,’ said Ken Waters of the Phoenix National Weather Service office to KPHO.

Blowing gusts of up to 50 mph at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, the haboob is destructive because of the fine dust particles that manage to permeate everywhere during the storm.

The 2,000 foot tall haboob cloud covers the city of Phoenix, Arizona cutting power to 9,000 homesThe 2,000 foot tall haboob cloud covers the city of Phoenix, Arizona cutting power to 9,000 homes
The haboob phenomenon affects Phoenix during the months of June through September which is Arizona's monsoon seasonThe haboob phenomenon affects Phoenix during the months of June through September which is Arizona’s monsoon season
30.07.2012 Flash Flood USA State of Arizona, Fountain Hills Damage level Details

Flash Flood in USA on Monday, 30 July, 2012 at 10:45 (10:45 AM) UTC.

Description
The monsoon is here as the weather caused damage and traffic delays due to flooding all over the Valley. Washes in Queen Creek were raging Sunday while deputies tried to manage all the road closures. Part of Hunt Highway was shut down between Gary and Ellsworth roads as the water washed out debris from an abandoned storehouse. Crews cleaned up layers of mud off of Elliot near Ellsworth Sunday night. That road opened up just before 10 p.m. Even the little kids had it all figured out in Fountain Hills, as one 4-year-old told us, “They are cutting the tree so cars can move.” Near Calaveras and Yerba Buena roads, crews worked to clean up a tree that just barely missed hitting cars or houses. “All of a sudden we looked out the front and the tree just went crashing,” said Katherine Gratz. “It is kind of sad. It’s probably been here 70 years, the neighbors say,” said another neighbor, Hayden Bronte. We’re told four other households had to evacuate just around the corner from where the tree fell after the winds toppled some power poles. “It was as if the storm moved over the top of like this street and sat and it was like almost tornado force winds. It was insane,” said Ruth Woody, who evacuated her home Sunday afternoon. Another pine tree in the same area completely uprooted. Two palm trees were holding up the top of the pine while its roots stood more than five feet out of the ground.
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30.07.2012 Flood Costa Rica Multiple areas, [Central and eastern regions] Damage level Details

Flood in Costa Rica on Monday, 30 July, 2012 at 03:00 (03:00 AM) UTC.

Description
Heavy rains in central and eastern Costa Rica have triggered floods that have forced evacuations and may be responsible for at least one death, relief workers said Sunday. Four people are missing, down from eight earlier, according to Freddy Roman, a spokesman for the local Red Cross. The government has declared a “yellow alert” in various parts of Cartago, a central province where one person was reported dead, said Roman. The person was rescued after a landslide, but died on the way to the hospital from injuries and heart failure, he said. A yellow alert is also in effect for parts of Limon, an eastern province. More than 1,500 people have taken refuge at shelters and others are waiting to be rescued, according to the Red Cross. “We have reports of people trapped in their houses that have been flooded by overflow from the Chirripo River, also of several communities that are isolated in other parts of Limon,” said Guillermo Arroyo, director of operations of the Costa Rican Red Cross. Heavy rain is typical this time of year in Costa Rica, where the rainy season runs roughly from May-November.

Floods force evacuations in Costa Rica

From Djenane Villanueva, for CNN

(CNN) — Heavy rains in central and eastern Costa Rica have triggered floods that have forced evacuations and may be responsible for at least one death, relief workers said Sunday.

Four people are missing, down from eight earlier, according to Freddy Roman, a spokesman for the local Red Cross.

The government has declared a “yellow alert” in various parts of Cartago, a central province where one person was reported dead, said Roman. The person was rescued after a landslide, but died on the way to the hospital from injuries and heart failure, he said.

A yellow alert is also in effect for parts of Limon, an eastern province.

More than 1,500 people have taken refuge at shelters and others are waiting to be rescued, according to the Red Cross.

“We have reports of people trapped in their houses that have been flooded by overflow from the Chirripo River, also of several communities that are isolated in other parts of Limon,” said Guillermo Arroyo, director of operations of the Costa Rican Red Cross.

Heavy rain is typical this time of year in Costa Rica, where the rainy season runs roughly from May-November.

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Radiation /  Nuclear

30.07.2012 Nuclear Event South Korea Province of Jeollanam-do, [Yeonggwang Nuclear Power Plant] Damage level Details

Nuclear Event in South Korea on Monday, 30 July, 2012 at 13:14 (01:14 PM) UTC.

Description
A South Korean nuclear reactor went into automatic shutdown on Monday apparently after a malfunction, plant operators said, while ruling out a possible radiation leak. The 1,000-megawatt reactor at Yeonggwang some 260 kilometres (156 miles) south of Seoul halted operations after warning signals around 3:00 pm (0600 GMT), the state-run Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power said. An investigation was under way to determine the cause of the shutdown, it said, adding there was no danger of a radiation leak. A warning signal and automatic shutdown can be triggered by a number of factors including malfunctions in the cooling pump, Yonhap news agency said. South Korea operates 22 reactors, which meet about 35 percent of its electricity needs. In February the country’s oldest nuclear plant at Gori, built in 1978 near the southern city of Busan, briefly lost mains power and the emergency generator failed to kick in. The incident resulted in no radioactive leaks but sparked an extensive probe amid concerns over nuclear safety following last year’s atomic crisis in Japan. In May, five engineers at Gori were charged with trying to cover up the potentially dangerous power failure and in July 32 people were charged with corruption involving the state nuclear power agency and its contracts with suppliers. A nuclear safety agency approved the restart of the Gori plant this month, but it has yet to resume operations due to protests by civic groups.

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Epidemic / Diseases

Patients flee hospital over Ebola outbreak

CLAR Ní CHONGHAILE in Nairobi

TERRIFIED PATIENTS fled from a hospital in western Uganda as soon as news broke that a mysterious illness that killed at least 14 people in the region was Ebola, one of the world’s most virulent diseases.

Ignatius Besisira, a member of parliament for Buyaga East County in the Kibaale district, said people had at first believed the unexplained deaths were related to witchcraft.

“Immediately, when there was confirmation that it was Ebola . . . patients ran out of Kagadi hospital [where some of the victims had died],” he said. “Even the medical officers are very, very frightened.”

Government officials and a World Health Organisation representative confirmed the Ebola outbreak at a news conference in Kampala on Saturday.

“Laboratory investigations done at the Uganda Virus Research Institute . . . have confirmed that the strange disease reported in Kibaale is indeed Ebola haemorrhagic fever,” they said in a joint statement.

Health officials said at least 20 people had been infected and of those 14 had died.

There is no treatment or vaccine against Ebola, which is transmitted by close personal contact and, depending on the strain, can kill up to 90 per cent of those who contract the virus.

It has a devastating history in Uganda, where in 2000 at least 425 people were infected, of whom more than half died. Ebola was previously reported in the country in May last year, when it killed a 12-year-old girl.

During an outbreak in 2007, which claimed at least 37 lives, Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni advised people not to shake hands and public gatherings were also discouraged.

One of those who succumbed to the outbreak in Kibaale was a clinical officer, Mr Besisira said. The other fatalities came from a single household in Nyamarunda subdistrict, he added.

Joaquim Saweka, WHO’s representative in Uganda, said the suspected infections emerged in the region in early July but the confirmation came only on Friday.

The Ugandan government said a national emergency taskforce had been set up and urged the population to remain calm. The government, WHO and the US Centres for Disease Control have sent experts to Kibaale to tackle the outbreak.

Mr Besisira had not heard of people moving out of the region, but the Daily Nation newspaper in neighbouring Kenya said yesterday that people were leaving the area around Kagadi town, where the disease first appeared. – (Guardian service)

30.07.2012 Epidemic Hazard Uganda Western Uganda, [Kibaale District] Damage level Details

Epidemic Hazard in Uganda on Thursday, 26 July, 2012 at 15:57 (03:57 PM) UTC.

Back

Updated: Monday, 30 July, 2012 at 18:37 UTC
Description
Ebola, one of the world’s deadliest viruses, has been confirmed in Uganda, where 14 people have already died from what health officials were calling a mysterious illness. The illness was not immediately described as Ebola because patients were not showing the typical signs of the lethal disease, the nation’s health minister told CNN on Sunday. After news of the virus broke, a team of health experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ugandan government were deployed to the area to begin emergency response measures, according to a government statement. The experts discovered the strain was Ebola Sudan, one of the most common strains of the virus. This particular strain has been associated with a 70 percent mortality rate in recent years. The virus manifests as a hemorrhagic fever. The last severe outbreak occurred in 2000, killing 224 people in Uganda. It was first reported in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the CDC. The strange disease was first reported in the area several weeks ago, according to a government statement.Ignatius Besisira, an MP for Buyaga East County in the Kibaale district, said people first believed the unexplained deaths were from witchcraft. “Immediately, when there was confirmation that it was Ebola … patients ran out of Kagadi hospital (where some of the victims had died),” Besisira told the Guardian. “Even the medical officers are very, very frightened.” Lab tests confirmed the illness was Ebola hemorrhagic fever. A baby from the village of Nyanswiga was the first confirmed death and so far 14 of some 20 that are known to have been infected have died. A clinical officer who treated the original case also fell ill and died soon afterward. Her four-month-old baby, admitted for treatment last Monday, died four days later. The clinical officer’s sister, who took care of the baby when she became ill, has been admitted for treatment with similar symptoms, but is currently in stable condition, the government statement said. There is no treatment or vaccine against Ebola, which is transmitted through close contact and, depending on the strain, can kill up to 90 percent of those who contract the virus. While Ebola outbreaks occur every few years, the virus’s delicate composition has so far impeded a significant, long-duration attack. But much about the disease remains a mystery.The CDC has a team of scientists stationed at a Ugandan laboratory who study Ebola and other deadly viruses that are often found in equatorial Africa. Ebola is among a list of viruses highlighted by the US as a potential biological-weapons threat. Officials are currently trying to determine the extent of the outbreak, CDC spokesman Tom Skinner told CNN.com on Sunday. “These outbreaks have a tendency to stamp themselves out, if you will, if we can get in and … stop the chain of transmission,” he explained. Health officials are urging area residents to report any suspected cases and avoid contact with anyone who has contracted the virus and to disinfect bedding and clothing of an infected person by using protective gloves and masks. They also advise against eating dead animals, especially monkeys, and to avoid public gatherings if at all possible. Despite the ongoing threat, the WHO said in its statement that it does not recommend travel restrictions to Uganda because of the outbreak. Besisira said officials in Kibaale had released radio broadcasts outlining the precautionary measures on Saturday. “We have assured (the people) that we have a very strong team … who are making sure the disease is controlled … I am very confident we can contain it,” he added. While there are no reports of people moving out of the region, the Daily Nation newspaper in Kenya said on Sunday that people were leaving the area around Kagadi town, where the disease first appeared. “We have to move to safer places because we can easily get infected by this disease here,” the paper quoted a resident, Omuhereza Kugonza, as saying. Ebola is transmitted by direct contact with the body fluids and tissues of infected persons. It can also be transmitted by handling sick or dead infected wild animals, such as chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, forest antelope and fruit bats. Symptoms include sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rashes, impaired kidney and liver function and bleeding.
30.07.2012 Epidemic Hazard India State of Punjab, Dasuya Damage level Details

Epidemic Hazard in India on Monday, 30 July, 2012 at 02:56 (02:56 AM) UTC.

Description
The number of gastro entritis cases has gone up to 132 at Dasuya in Punjab where spread of cholera and gastro enteritis cases was reported in some districts. Out of these, 86 have been discharged after treatment, a senior medical officer said today. Yesterday, the number of gastro patients admitted to the civil hospital at Dasuya was 117. Meanwhile, three serious patients were referred to Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences, Jalandhar, Dr Naresh Kansra, senior medical officer (SMO) of the Dasuya Civil Hospital said today. An increase in the number of gastro patients has been witnessed at Dasuya in the past few days. Director family welfare Punjab Karnjit Singh and state surveillance officer Deepak Bhatia inspected the areas of Dasuya town affected by gastroenteritis and also went to the hospital to meet the patients. Over 4000 chlorine tablets were distributed among the people of the area.
Biohazard name: Cholera and gastroenteritis diseases
Biohazard level: 2/4 Medium
Biohazard desc.: Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV. “Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3) facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures”, see Recommended Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed

 

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Solar Activity

2MIN News July 31, 2012: Data Error? Maybe not.

Published on Jul 31, 2012 by

EARTHQUAKE WATCH: http://youtu.be/SMiHsOYwdCs

TODAY’S LINKS
North Korea Flood: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/photo/2012-07/31/c_131749361.htm
Euro Crisis: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/31/us-eurozone-crisis-idUSBRE86S05J201…
Corn Prices: http://buzz.money.cnn.com/2012/07/30/corn-soybean-prices/
Climate Chnge: http://www.weather.com/news/noaa-state-of-climate-2011-report-20120710

REPEAT LINKS
Spaceweather: http://spaceweather.com/ [Look on the left at the X-ray Flux and Solar Wind Speed/Density]

HAARP: http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/data.html [Click online data, and have a little fun]

SDO: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/ [Place to find Solar Images and Videos - as seen from earth]

SOHO: http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/soho_movie_theater [SOHO; Lasco and EIT - as seen from earth]

Stereo: http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/images [Stereo; Cor, EUVI, HI - as seen from the side]

SunAEON:http://www.sunaeon.com/#/solarsystem/ [Just click it... trust me]

SOLARIMG: http://solarimg.org/artis/ [All purpose data viewing site]

iSWA: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/iswa/iSWA.html [Free Application; for advanced sun watchers]

NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/cme-based/ [CME Evolution]

NOAA Bouys: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/

RSOE: http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php [That cool alert map I use]

JAPAN Radiation Map: http://jciv.iidj.net/map/

LISS: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/monitoring/operations/heliplots_gsn.php

Gamma Ray Bursts: http://grb.sonoma.edu/ [Really? You can't figure out what this one is for?]

BARTOL Cosmic Rays: http://neutronm.bartol.udel.edu//spaceweather/welcome.html [Top left box, look for BIG blue circles]

TORCON: http://www.weather.com/news/tornado-torcon-index [Tornado Forecast for the day]

GOES Weather: http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ [Clouds over America]

INTELLICAST: http://www.intellicast.com/ [Weather site used by many youtubers]

NASA News: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/

PHYSORG: http://phys.org/ [GREAT News Site!]

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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
217013 (2001 AA50) 31st July 2012 0 day(s) 0.1355 52.7 580 m – 1.3 km 22.15 km/s 79740 km/h
(2012 DS30) 02nd August 2012 2 day(s) 0.1224 47.6 18 m – 39 m 5.39 km/s 19404 km/h
(2000 RN77) 03rd August 2012 3 day(s) 0.1955 76.1 410 m – 920 m 9.87 km/s 35532 km/h
(2004 SB56) 04th August 2012 4 day(s) 0.1393 54.2 380 m – 840 m 13.72 km/s 49392 km/h
(2000 SD8) 04th August 2012 4 day(s) 0.1675 65.2 180 m – 400 m 5.82 km/s 20952 km/h
(2006 EC) 06th August 2012 6 day(s) 0.0932 36.3 13 m – 28 m 6.13 km/s 22068 km/h
(2006 MV1) 07th August 2012 7 day(s) 0.0612 23.8 12 m – 28 m 4.79 km/s 17244 km/h
(2005 RK3) 08th August 2012 8 day(s) 0.1843 71.7 52 m – 120 m 8.27 km/s 29772 km/h
(2009 BW2) 09th August 2012 9 day(s) 0.0337 13.1 25 m – 56 m 5.27 km/s 18972 km/h
277475 (2005 WK4) 09th August 2012 9 day(s) 0.1283 49.9 260 m – 580 m 6.18 km/s 22248 km/h
(2004 SC56) 09th August 2012 9 day(s) 0.0811 31.6 74 m – 170 m 10.57 km/s 38052 km/h
(2008 AF4) 10th August 2012 10 day(s) 0.1936 75.3 310 m – 690 m 16.05 km/s 57780 km/h
37655 Illapa 12th August 2012 12 day(s) 0.0951 37.0 770 m – 1.7 km 28.73 km/s 103428 km/h
(2012 HS15) 14th August 2012 14 day(s) 0.1803 70.2 220 m – 490 m 11.54 km/s 41544 km/h
4581 Asclepius 16th August 2012 16 day(s) 0.1079 42.0 220 m – 490 m 13.48 km/s 48528 km/h
(2008 TC4) 18th August 2012 18 day(s) 0.1937 75.4 140 m – 300 m 17.34 km/s 62424 km/h
(2006 CV) 20th August 2012 20 day(s) 0.1744 67.9 290 m – 640 m 13.24 km/s 47664 km/h
(2012 EC) 20th August 2012 20 day(s) 0.0815 31.7 56 m – 130 m 5.57 km/s 20052 km/h
162421 (2000 ET70) 21st August 2012 21 day(s) 0.1503 58.5 640 m – 1.4 km 12.92 km/s 46512 km/h
(2007 WU3) 21st August 2012 21 day(s) 0.1954 76.0 56 m – 120 m 5.25 km/s 18900 km/h
(2012 BB14) 24th August 2012 24 day(s) 0.1234 48.0 27 m – 60 m 2.58 km/s 9288 km/h
1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers Source: NASA-NEO

 

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Biological / Wildlife / Environmental Pollution

30.07.2012 Biological Hazard Philippines Davao Region (Region XI), Davao City [Ateneo de Davao University] Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in Philippines on Monday, 30 July, 2012 at 04:51 (04:51 AM) UTC.

Description
Lunchtime Sunday at the Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU) turned bad after at least 100 students had to be rushed to area hospitals after suffering a nasty bout of food poisoning. According to an Ateneo de Davao University press statement Sunday: “A number of students, staff and administrators were rushed to the hospital a few hours after lunch after they complained of upset stomach with bouts of vomiting. Administrators and staff were dispatched to assist students in the hospitals. Some of the students were confined, majority were sent home after they were checked by doctors and administered the appropriate medications.” The Philippine news source, Interaksyon reports Sunday, the students were attending the student leaders gathering – called Sui Generis – with ADDU President Fr. Joel Tabora. The gathering of students ate lunch at the school around 12:30 pm. The menu included chicken adobo, pancit, fish , rice and buco salad. A couple of hours later, students starting getting sick, showing food poisoning symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. Chair of the student council Samahan, Mureene Ann Villamor told Interaksyon reporters that the chicken adobo “smelled terrible.” On the Facebook page of the student paper, Atenews, there are several posts about the outbreak including a photo of the implicated food, chicken adobo (or adobong manok ) by photographer Caycee Coronel. Students were taken to Davao Doctors Hospital and San Pedro Hospital or treatment. The etiologic agent of the outbreak has yet to be determined.
Biohazard name: Mass. Food Poisoning
Biohazard level: 2/4 Medium
Biohazard desc.: Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV. “Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3) facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures”, see Recommended Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed
30.07.2012 Biological Hazard Pakistan [Thar Desert] Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in Pakistan on Monday, 30 July, 2012 at 18:40 (06:40 PM) UTC.

Description
Wildlife experts are shocked at the recent mass-death of wild peacocks fearing it may be an outbreak of the highly contagious Newcastle disease. At least 60 peacocks were found perished in the Thar desert in southern Pakistan, officials have confirmed, but local media reports say hundreds of the exotic birds have died. Newcastle disease, which has nothing to do with Cheryl Cole or Brown Ale, is the deadliest of all viruses spread among birds. The Pakistani wildlife ministry said tests were being done to determine cause of death, but experts are suspecting they may have been afflicted with Newcastle disease, known locally as ‘ranikhet’. A spokesperson said the wild peacocks had been weakened by starvation, deforestation and a lack of safe drinking water blamed on delays to the annual monsoon rains. Lajpat Sharma, an official in the provincial wildlife ministry said: ‘Wild peacocks have become susceptible to bacterial and fungal attack, which further suppressed the immunity of the birds that paved the room for viral attack.
Biohazard name: Newcastle disease
Biohazard level: 2/4 Medium
Biohazard desc.: Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV. “Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3) facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures”, see Recommended Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed
30.07.2012 Environment Pollution USA State of Wisconsin, [Wisconsin Dells, Adams County] Damage level Details

Environment Pollution in USA on Monday, 30 July, 2012 at 16:14 (04:14 PM) UTC.

Description
Crews will begin Monday, July 30, to replace part of a crude oil pipeline that leaked 1,200 barrels of oil in a field north of Wisconsin Dells in Adams County. Enbridge Energy could not say what caused the spill or when the line from Superior to Chicago will start operating again. The leak happened on Friday in the town of Grand Marsh. Enbridge officials said it was discovered very quickly. They said most of it was contained to the company’s right of way. The pipeline sends about 318,000 gallons per day of light crude oil from Superior to refineries in the Chicago area. Two similar pipelines along that route resumed operations on Saturday, once it was learned that they were not affected by the spill. A third line was expected to re-open right after that. Meanwhile, repairs began Saturday on the broken pipeline. Enbridge said two Grand Marsh landowners were affected, and one family was relocated for its safety. Oil was found on two small farm ponds, but drinking water wells were not affected. Federal officials said all of the pooled oil had been cleaned up. Reuters said the impact on Chicago’s oil refiners would depend on how long the pipeline’s out and how much oil the refineries have in reserve. The spill came at a poor time for Enbridge, which had another pipeline leak in Alberta, Canada, last month. The firm was the subject of a critical government report on its handling of a ruptured pipeline in Michigan in 2010 that was not noticed for 17 hours.

Dozens of wild peacocks die in Pakistan desert

WEATHER REPORT

by Staff Writers
Karachi (AFP)

Dozens of wild peacocks have died suddenly in Pakistan, prompting experts to fear an outbreak of the highly contagious Newcastle disease.

Officials on Monday confirmed the deaths of at least 60 peacocks in Thar desert, part of southern Sindh province, over the last week. Local media reports say more than 100 of the exotic birds have died.

The wildlife ministry said tests were being done to diagnose the cause of death, but said the wild peacocks had been weakened by starvation, deforestation and a lack of safe drinking water blamed on delays to the annual monsoon rains.

“Wild peacocks have become susceptible to bacterial and fungal attack, which further suppressed the immunity of the birds that paved the room for viral attack,” it said.

Experts are alarmed by the number of deaths, suspecting they may have been afflicted with Newcastle disease, known locally as ranikhet.

“We are vaccinating wild peacocks protectively for suspected viral disease, as in 2003 when a few peacocks died from the same symptoms that later proved to be ranikhet,” said Lajpat Sharma, an official in the provincial wildlife ministry.

Tahir Qureshi of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) also told AFP that he suspected ranikhet was to blame.

Newcastle disease is a worldwide problem among birds and sporadic outbreaks can occur frequently. Affected birds suffer from loss of appetite, coughing, sneezing, diarrhoea, and in severe outbreaks a high proportion die.

The wildlife ministry said it was supplying fresh water to peacocks in affected areas.

Sharma said there are at least 30,000 wild peacocks in the Thar desert, but Qureshi said the numbers were declining, because of poaching and lack of effective conservation.

Related Links
Weather News at TerraDaily.com

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Articles of Interest

30.07.2012 Power Outage India Multiple areas, [Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir] Damage level Details

Power Outage in India on Monday, 30 July, 2012 at 03:26 (03:26 AM) UTC.

Description
Seven states in North India have been facing a long power cut since late Sunday night. Due to a massive breakdown in the northern grid, the main power source for the affected states, there has been a massive power outage. The affected states are Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. There is no power in Delhi and its neighbouring states since 2 am reports IBN-Live. According to the report, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that it’ll take another one and a half hour’s time to restore power. “My officers are on the spot. The fault is found near Agra. It will be corrected in one and a half hour time,” he said. Thousands of commuters in the Delhi Metro will face a harrowing time on Monday morning as services of all the lines of the Metro have been disrupted due to tripping of power supply. Train services on the 190-km Metro network connecting length and breath of the national capital were affected due to The Northern Grid failure also caused power cuts in large parts of Delhi. “Metro service will not be available today (Monday) till the supply is restored as it is a major Northern Grid power failure,” a Delhi Metro official said. The Delhi Metro normally operates over 2,700 trips a day, covering about 70,000 km and carrying around 1.8 million passengers on week days.

……………………………..

Power cut causes major disruption in northern India

An Indian passenger looks out from the compartment of a stationary train following the power outage that struck in the early hours of Monday, July 30, 2012 at a train station in New Delhi, India Trains were stranded after the power failure

A massive power cut has caused disruption across northern India, including in the capital, Delhi.

It hit a swathe of the country affecting more than 300 million people in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan states.

Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said most of the supply had been restored and the rest would be reinstated soon.

It is unclear why the supply collapsed but reports say some states may have been using more power than authorised.

Mr Shinde said he had appointed a committee to inquire into the causes of the blackout, one of the worst to hit the country in more than a decade. The committee will submit its report within 15 days, he said.

The power cut happened at 02:30 local time on Monday (2100 GMT Sunday) after India’s Northern Grid network collapsed.

Mr Shinde told the BBC that he had been informed about the problem at 05:30.

Monday’s massive power cut is reportedly the first of its kind in more than a decade, affecting nearly 30% of India’s population in nine northern states. At the root of this is the severe energy crisis facing India today.

The country is facing a huge supply shortfall this summer. A shortage of coal (most of India’s energy is thermal), loss-making state electricity boards, the theft of power, a lack of transparency in fixing electricity charges and underperforming private distribution agencies mean that vast swathes of India live without electricity for several hours a day.

PM Manmohan Singh pushed through the civilian nuclear deal with the US to help meet India’s soaring energy but plans to set up new reactors have been embroiled in controversies about safety and the acquisition of land.

“Within two hours we tried to restore the railways, airport and Delhi Metro services and power supply to essential services, including the railways and hospitals, was restored by 08:00.”

The minister said the exact reason for the collapse had not yet been pinpointed but, in the summer, “states try to take more power from the grid” and at the time of the collapse, the grid frequency was “above normal”.

“That is one of the reasons why the grid failed,” he said.

By early afternoon, 80% of the supply had been restored, Mr Shinde said.

‘Worried’

Monday morning saw travel chaos engulf the region, with thousands of passengers stranded when train services were disrupted in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

The Rajdhani train from Jammu to Delhi was more than five hours late.

“The train stopped near Panipat station [in Haryana] at about 02:30. For a long time we had no idea what was holding us up,” passenger DK Rajdan said.

“Rajdhani is air-conditioned so it was not uncomfortable. But for six or seven hours we couldn’t get anything to eat or drink and people were beginning to get worried,” he said.

Delhi Metro railway services were stalled for three hours, although the network later resumed when it received back-up power from Bhutan, one official said.

Traffic lights on the streets of the capital were not functioning as early morning commuters made their way into work, leading to gridlock.

Water treatment plants in the city also had to be shut for a few hours.

Officials said restoring services to hospitals and transport systems were a priority.

Power cuts are a common occurrence in Indian cities because of a fundamental shortage of power and an ageing grid. The chaos caused by such cuts has led to protests and unrest on the streets.

Earlier in July, crowds in the Delhi suburb of Gurgaon blocked traffic and clashed with police after blackouts there.

Correspondents say that India urgently needs a huge increase in power production, as hundreds of millions of its people are not even connected to the national grid.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has long said that India must look to nuclear energy to supply power to the people.

Estimates say that nuclear energy contributes only 3% to the country’s current power supply. But the construction of some proposed nuclear power stations have been stalled by intense local opposition.

Related Stories

AP News

 

 

Indian power failure puts 370M in dark for hours

By Ravi Nessman

NEW DELHI (AP) — A power grid failure blacked out northern India for hours Monday, halting trains, forcing hospitals and airports onto backup power and providing a dark, sweltering reminder of the nation’s inability to meet its energy needs as it strives to be an economic power.

While the midsummer outage was unique in its reach — it hit 370 million people, more than the population of the United States and Canada combined — its impact was softened by Indians’ familiarity with almost daily blackouts of varying duration. Hospitals and major businesses have backup generators that seamlessly kick in during power cuts, and upscale homes are hooked to backup systems powered by truck batteries.

Nonetheless, some small businesses were forced to shut for the day. Buildings were without water because the pumps weren’t working, and the vaunted New Delhi Metro, with 1.8 million daily riders, was paralyzed during the morning commute.

“This will obviously get worse,” said Subhash Chawla, a 65-year-old retiree who took the Metro once power was restored. “Unless the Metro has a separate power supply, it will be chaos in the future.”

The grid that failed feeds the nation’s breadbasket in Punjab, the war-wracked region of Kashmir, the burgeoning capital of New Delhi, the Dalai Lama’s Himalayan headquarters in Dharmsala, and the world’s most populous state, poverty-stricken Uttar Pradesh.

Most affected areas had power back by late morning, less than nine hours after the outage started. By evening, 15 hours after the outage began, officials said full power had been restored.

Many chafed at the inconvenience.

Amit Naik, a toy maker in New Delhi, was forced to close his workshop for the day.

“There was no water, so my machine couldn’t run. Other people had the same difficulties,” he said.

The Confederation of Indian Industry said the outage was a reminder of the urgent need for the government to fix the power sector, ensure a steady supply of coal for power plants and reform the electricity utilities.

Transmission and distribution losses in some states are as much as 50 percent because of theft and corruption by employees in the power industry. India’s Central Electricity Authority reported power deficits of about 8 percent in recent months.

Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde deflected criticism, pointing out that the United States and Brazil also had huge power failures in recent years.

“I ask you to look at the power situation in other countries as well,” he said.

The blackout, the worst to hit India in a decade, began about 2:30 a.m. when the grid covering eight northern states crashed. Officials in Uttar Pradesh, where the problem was believed to have begun, said the grid could not keep up with the huge demand for power in the hot summer.

But Shinde said he was not sure exactly what caused the collapse and had formed a committee to investigate.

The outage left millions sweltering in the summer heat. Muslim families were forced to eat their pre-dawn meals by candlelight before beginning their daytime Ramadan fast. “It was really difficult,” said farmer Mohammed Zaman.

As officials struggled to get the grid back on line, they drew power from the neighboring eastern and western grids as well as hydroelectric power from the small neighboring mountain kingdom of Bhutan.

New Delhi residents were roused from sleep when their fans and air conditioners stopped, and came out of their homes in the heat as the entire city turned dark. Temperatures in the city were in the mid-30s C (90s F) with 89 percent humidity.

Some trains across the northern region were stranded when their electric engines failed. Others were delayed by hours as they were hooked to diesel engines.

The failure was the first time since 2001 that the northern grid had collapsed. But India’s demand for electricity has soared since then as its population and economy have grown sharply.

But any connection to the grid remains a luxury for many. One-third of India’s households do not even have electricity to power a light bulb, according to last year’s census.

The power deficit was worsened by a weak monsoon that lowered hydroelectric generation and kept temperatures higher, further increasing electricity usage as people seek to cool off. Shivpal Singh Yadav, the power minister in Uttar Pradesh, home to 200 million people, said that while demand during peak hours hits 11,000 megawatts, the state can only provide 9,000 megawatts.

Uttar Pradesh Power Corp. chief Avnish Awasthi blamed the grid collapse on states drawing more than their allotted power to meet the summer demand.

____

Associated Press writer Biswajeet Banerjee in Lucknow and Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar contributed to this report.

 

 

 

Storms knock out power to tens of thousands from Plains to Northeast

By Khara Lewin, CNN
Lightning flashes across the sky Thursday, July 26, in Nyack, New York, in this dramatic photo from CNN iReporter Eric Girard. Storms ripped through the Northeast on Thursday night, unleashing strong winds and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of customers. Lightning flashes across the sky Thursday, July 26, in Nyack, New York, in this dramatic photo from CNN iReporter Eric Girard. Storms ripped through the Northeast on Thursday night, unleashing strong winds and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of customers.

(CNN) — Hundreds of thousands lost power due to a potent storm system that extended eastward from the Plains toward the Northeast on Thursday, bringing with it high winds and destructive lightning.

Severe thunderstorm watches were in effect at one point Thursday evening for a continuous stretch from Oklahoma through New Jersey. The danger could lurk for several hours longer, with the National Weather Service issuing such warnings in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Kentucky, Virginia, Arkansas and other points in between.

Well before then, the system had already packed a punch.

In Pennsylvania, a tree crushed a woman in her car as she sought shelter at a campsite, killing her, said Glenn Dunn, the emergency management coordinator for Potter County.

A 61-year-old man in Brooklyn, New York, died after lightning struck a church sending a scaffold crashing down on him, authorities said.

Share your images of the storm with iReport.

Witnesses reported trees in the region buckling under the impact.

“The trees were bending sideways, (and) the sky just went really dark and green,” said Mark Ventrini, a photographer, of the scene around 7:30 p.m. as he headed toward Belmar, New Jersey. “Some of the storms were pretty intense.”

The weather service had received reports of possible tornadoes touching down in Elmira, New York, and Brookville, Pennsylvania.

Emergency managers in Broome County, New York, reported people trapped inside a home because of downed trees in the town of Vestal.

Strong storms also caused damage in Binghamton, New York, but the weather service said no injuries or fatalities have been reported.

Stunning pictures arise from New York storm

The residual and more widespread damage came in the form of extensive power outages. More than 100,000 First Energy customers in Pennsylvania, for instance, didn’t have electricity as of 10 p.m. ET, with other utilities like PECO and PPL reporting tens of thousands of others similarly in the dark.

An hour earlier, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a press release stating there were nearly 95,000 customers without power in that state, mostly NYSEG and Central Hudson customers.

Cuomo also declared a state of emergency for hard-hit Chemung County in the southwestern part of the state.

Many more people took in the impressive lightning storms, with daunting bolts preceding booming claps of thunder in small towns and big cities.

“The brunt of the storm itself was intense but short — there was very strong rain and wind for about 15 minutes, at which point the rain cleared and the lightning show began,” said Matthew Burke, a CNN iReporter who photographed lightning sprawling across the New York City skyline.

Several states away, tens of thousands also were in the dark, though power was being restored at a fairly fast rate. AEP Ohio, for instance, reported just over 51,000 customers lacking electricity at 6:15 p.m., yet more than 20,000 of those had the lights back on by 10 p.m.

CNN’s Greg Botelho, Lila King, Julie Cannold and Dominique Dodley contributed to this report.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: Storms kill one in New York and one in Pennsylvania
  • More than 200,000 in Ohio, New Jersey and other states lose power
  • “Trees were bending sideways,” a man in New Jersey says
  • National Weather Service reports possible tornado touchdowns in the Northeast

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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes 'FAIR USE' of any such copyrighted material.]

Earthquakes

RSOE EDIS

Date/Time (UTC) Magnitude Area Country State/Prov./Gov. Location Risk Source Details
26.07.2012 09:35:33 2.3 North America United States Alaska Cordova VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 09:15:27 4.9 Pacific Ocean New Zealand Wellington Castlepoint VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 08:30:32 5.2 Pacific Ocean Tonga Tongatapu Vaini VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 07:50:29 2.2 North America United States Alaska Willow VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 08:00:27 5.8 Indian Ocean Mauritius Cargados Carajos VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 07:20:53 2.5 Caribbean British Virgin Islands Road Town VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 07:25:25 3.4 Caribbean British Virgin Islands Road Town VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 06:05:27 2.8 Caribbean Puerto Rico Maunabo Emajagua VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 06:25:29 2.8 Europe Spain Andalusia Sotogrande VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
26.07.2012 05:11:41 2.2 North America United States Nevada Mina There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 05:25:29 4.9 Australia & New-Zealand New Zealand Gisborne Ruatoria VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
26.07.2012 04:55:29 4.9 Pacific Ocean New Zealand Gisborne Ruatoria VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 05:25:58 2.7 Asia Turkey ?zmir Aliaga VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
26.07.2012 04:25:19 2.4 Asia Turkey Bal?kesir Dursunbey VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
26.07.2012 03:30:25 2.6 North America United States Alaska Ninilchik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 03:20:28 5.3 Asia Tajikistan Gorno-Badakhshan Murghob VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
26.07.2012 03:22:09 5.3 Asia Tajikistan Gorno-Badakhshan Murghob VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 03:05:27 2.4 North America Canada British Columbia Colwood VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 02:45:29 2.4 North America United States California Cobb There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 03:20:48 2.2 Asia Turkey Mu?la Ula VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
26.07.2012 03:21:07 2.3 Asia Turkey Bal?kesir Dursunbey VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
26.07.2012 03:21:25 2.5 Europe Albania Durrës Metaj VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
26.07.2012 03:15:28 2.1 North America Canada British Columbia Princeton VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 01:15:20 3.5 South-America Peru Tacna Sobraya There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
26.07.2012 00:35:30 4.7 North America United States Oregon Barview VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 01:16:41 4.3 North America United States Oregon Barview VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 01:15:45 4.3 North-America United States Oregon Barview VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
26.07.2012 00:15:25 3.1 South-America Chile Valparaíso Vina del Mar VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
26.07.2012 00:15:47 5.2 Pacific Ocean – Middle Solomon Islands Guadalcanal Honiara There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
26.07.2012 00:05:27 5.1 Solomon Islands Guadalcanal Honiara There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 00:30:40 2.9 Pacific Ocean New Zealand Canterbury Methven VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 GEONET Details
26.07.2012 00:31:06 2.2 Pacific Ocean New Zealand Canterbury Methven VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 GEONET Details
26.07.2012 00:16:10 4.6 Asia Turkey Edirne Enez VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
26.07.2012 02:15:20 2.7 South-America Chile Antofagasta Calama There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 23:55:28 2.1 North America Canada British Columbia Princeton VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 00:05:52 2.7 North America United States Nevada Golconda VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 23:10:31 2.2 North America United States Alaska Cantwell VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
26.07.2012 00:16:33 3.6 South-America Bolivia Potosí Villa Alota There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 23:16:43 2.5 Caribbean Puerto Rico Humacao Punta Santiago VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 23:30:29 4.7 Asia Japan Fukushima Iwaki VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 23:15:44 4.7 Asia Japan Fukushima Iwaki VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 22:15:26 3.3 South-America Chile Libertador General Bernardo O?Higgins Santa Cruz VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 21:35:31 2.2 North America United States Alaska Happy Valley There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 23:16:06 2.4 Asia Turkey Afyonkarahisar Sultandagi VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 22:15:46 4.9 Indonesian Archipelago Indonesia North Sulawesi Tondano VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 21:35:56 5.0 Pacific Ocean – West New Caledonia Fayaoue VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 22:16:05 5.0 Pacific Ocean – West Vanuatu Shefa Port-Vila VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 20:35:32 2.1 North America United States California Mojave VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 21:10:21 4.5 Asia Uzbekistan Fergana Shohimardon VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 22:16:55 2.5 North America United States Montana Whitefish VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details

Today Earthquake Solomon Islands Capital City, [About 39 kilometres of Honiara ] Damage level Details

Earthquake in Solomon Islands on Thursday, 26 July, 2012 at 05:02 (05:02 AM) UTC.

Description
A strong earthquake struck the main island of the Solomon Islands on late Wednesday evening, destroying an unknown number of houses and causing injuries, seismologists and local officials said on Thursday. No tsunami warning was issued. The 6.5-magnitude earthquake at 10:20 p.m. local time (1120 GMT) was centered about 39 kilometers (24 miles) southwest of Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands. It struck about 22.9 kilometers (14.2 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Emergency management officials in Honiara said they have received reports that a number of houses in settlements near the epicenter were destroyed and damaged, injuring at least one person. But the extent of the damage in the remote area was not immediately clear, and officials were still working to determine if there were other victims. The USGS estimated that some 137,000 people on Guadalcanal island may have felt moderate to strong shaking, while 348,000 others may have felt light shaking. The tremors caused scores of people to run out of their homes and flee inland or to higher ground in fear of a tsunami, which was not generated. Both the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) and the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Center (JATWC) said there was no threat of a tsunami and did not issue a warning. “A destructive tsunami was not generated based on earthquake and historical tsunami data,” PTWC said in a bulletin.

6.5-magnitude quake hits Solomon Islands

SYDNEY : A strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean late Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said.

The tremor, which was just 22 kilometres (14 miles) deep, had its epicentre on the south coast of the island of Guadalcanal, 39 kilometres southwest of the capital Honiara.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a statement saying: “Based on all available data, a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected.”

The Solomons National Disaster Management Office could not be reached but Australia said that the quake was unlikely to pose a risk of a tsunami.

“It’s just the usual Pacific kind of event, they get earthquakes of this size regularly,” duty seismologist Mark Leonard told AFP.

“It’s unlikely that it’s going to cause any grief at all.”

The Solomon Islands form part of the Ring of Fire, a zone of tectonic activity around the Pacific Ocean that is subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

In 2007, a tsunami following an 8.1-magnitude earthquake killed at least 52 people in the Solomons and left thousands homeless.

Leonard said an earthquake of the magnitude experienced Wednesday would need to be much more shallow to cause that kind of impact.

- AFP/ms

Mild quake rattles Los Angeles area; no damage

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Seismologists say a mild earthquake widely felt throughout Southern California was centered along the coast west of downtown Los Angeles.

No injuries were reported.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude-3.7 quake struck at 3:18 a.m. Wednesday. The quake initially was reported as a magnitude-3.8, but seismologist Kate Hutton says it was later found to be a 3.74 so it was downgraded.

The epicenter was 2 miles east-southeast of Marina del Rey near Culver City and Inglewood. A Sheriff’s Department dispatcher says it “wasn’t much of a quake” and no one called about it.

Dozens of people from as far away as Riverside and the San Fernando Valley logged onto the USGS website to report feeling the jolt.

Fire Department spokesman Matt Spence says firefighters rolled out of stations citywide and surveyed 470 square miles. No infrastructure or other damage was found.

Pacific Ocean Region
Date/Time (UTC) Message Location Magnitude Depth Status Details
25.07.2012 11:28 AM Tsunami Information Bulletin Solomon Islands 6.6 114 km Details

Tsunami Information Bulletin in Solomon Islands, Pacific Ocean

000
WEPA42 PHEB 251128
TIBPAC

TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 001
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1128Z 25 JUL 2012

THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC
OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...
WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.

... TSUNAMI INFORMATION BULLETIN ...

THIS BULLETIN IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY.

THIS BULLETIN IS ISSUED AS ADVICE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.  ONLY
NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE
DECISIONS REGARDING THE OFFICIAL STATE OF ALERT IN THEIR AREA AND
ANY ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN RESPONSE.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

 ORIGIN TIME -  1121Z 25 JUL 2012
 COORDINATES -   9.8 SOUTH  160.2 EAST
 DEPTH       -  114 KM
 LOCATION    -  SOLOMON ISLANDS
 MAGNITUDE   -  6.6

EVALUATION

 A DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI WAS NOT GENERATED BASED ON EARTHQUAKE AND
 HISTORICAL TSUNAMI DATA.

THIS WILL BE THE ONLY BULLETIN ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE.

THE JAPAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY MAY ALSO ISSUE TSUNAMI MESSAGES
FOR THIS EVENT TO COUNTRIES IN THE NORTHWEST PACIFIC AND SOUTH
CHINA SEA REGION.  IN CASE OF CONFLICTING INFORMATION... THE
MORE CONSERVATIVE INFORMATION SHOULD BE USED FOR SAFETY.

THE WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER WILL ISSUE PRODUCTS
FOR ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA...WASHINGTON...OREGON...CALIFORNIA.
Indian Ocean Region
Date/Time (UTC) Message Location Magnitude Depth Status Details
25.07.2012 00:34 AM Tsunami Information Bulletin Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra 6.6 0 km Details

Tsunami Information Bulletin in Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra, Indian Ocean

000
WEIO23 PHEB 250034
TIBIOX

TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 001
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 0034Z 25 JUL 2012

THIS BULLETIN IS FOR ALL AREAS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN.

... TSUNAMI INFORMATION BULLETIN ...

THIS MESSAGE IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY.

THIS BULLETIN IS ISSUED AS ADVICE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.  ONLY
NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE
DECISIONS REGARDING THE OFFICIAL STATE OF ALERT IN THEIR AREA AND
ANY ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN RESPONSE.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

 ORIGIN TIME -  0028Z 25 JUL 2012
 COORDINATES -   2.5 NORTH   95.8 EAST
 LOCATION    -  OFF W COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
 MAGNITUDE   -  6.6

EVALUATION

 A DESTRUCTIVE WIDESPREAD TSUNAMI THREAT DOES NOT EXIST BASED ON
 HISTORICAL EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI DATA.

 HOWEVER - THERE IS A VERY SMALL POSSIBILITY OF A LOCAL TSUNAMI
 THAT COULD AFFECT COASTS LOCATED USUALLY NO MORE THAN A HUNDRED
 KILOMETERS FROM THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER. AUTHORITIES IN THE
 REGION NEAR THE EPICENTER SHOULD BE MADE AWARE OF THIS
 POSSIBILITY.

THIS WILL BE THE ONLY BULLETIN ISSUED BY THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI
WARNING CENTER FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
BECOMES AVAILABLE.

THE JAPAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY MAY ISSUE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
FOR THIS EVENT. IN THE CASE OF CONFLICTING INFORMATION...THE
MORE CONSERVATIVE INFORMATION SHOULD BE USED FOR SAFETY.

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Volcanic Activity

Volcano blast showers ash on Japanese city

  • News Limited Network

Volcano explodes in Japan

A volcano erupts in southern Japan spewing ash onto Kagoshima City. Rough cut (no reporter narration).

japan volcano Sakaurajima eruption July 25 2012

Video still of Sakurajima in southern Japan erupting on July 25, 2012. Source: Supplied

THE Sakurajima volcano in southern Japan has erupted, spewing volcanic ash onto Kagoshima City.

The eruption at one of Japan’s most active volcanoes showered ash on the streets of Kagoshima, which lies just 2km across a bay from the volcano.

Residents of Kagoshima donned face masks to protect themselves while sweeping away the ash.

The volcano has erupted more than 600 times this year and is expected to continue its intermittent eruptions.

Currently, the volcano warning there is at level three out of a possible five levels.

A level five would mean that the residents living near the crater would have to be evacuated, while level three warns people not to approach the volcano.

Today Volcano Eruption Japan Prefecture of Kagoshima, [Volcano Sakura-jima] Damage level Details

Volcano Eruption in Japan on Thursday, 26 July, 2012 at 02:59 (02:59 AM) UTC.

Description
A volcano in Sakurajima in southern Japan has erupted, spewing volcanic ash onto Kagoshima City. The eruption at one of Japan’s most active volcanoes caused ash to cover roads. Residents of Kagoshima donned face masks to protect themselves while sweeping away the ash. The volcano has erupted over 600 times this year and is expected to continue its intermittent eruptions. Currently, the volcano warning there is at level three out of a possible five levels. A level five would mean that the residents living near the crater would have to be evacuated, while level three warns people not to approach the volcano.

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather / Drought

Excessive Heat Warning

ST LOUIS MO
MOUNT HOLLY NJ
WILMINGTON OH
PADUCAH KY

Heat Advisory

MEMPHIS TN
ST LOUIS MO
LINCOLN IL
PEACHTREE CITY GA
SPRINGFIELD MO
TULSA OK
WAKEFIELD VA
MOUNT HOLLY NJ
LITTLE ROCK AR
WILMINGTON OH
LOUISVILLE KY
NASHVILLE TN
CHARLESTON WV
GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
CLEVELAND OH
NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY NC
CHARLESTON SC
JACKSONVILLE FL
INDIANAPOLIS IN
BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
STATE COLLEGE PA
PITTSBURGH PA
WILMINGTON NC
RALEIGH NC

Red Flag Warning

FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE

HANFORD CA
HANFORD CA
25.07.2012 Forest / Wild Fire Canada Province of Manitoba, [Red Sucker Lake First Nation, Wasagamack First Nation, St. Theresa Point First Nation and Garden Hill First Nation] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in Canada on Tuesday, 24 July, 2012 at 17:09 (05:09 PM) UTC.

Description
More than 800 people from four northern Manitoba First Nations have been flown to Winnipeg and Brandon due to forest fires near their home communities. Officials said people deemed the most vulnerable, such as those with asthma and other breathing conditions, were flown out first, while others may follow if the fire situation gets worse. “We didn’t have anybody who was acutely distressed from smoke inhalation but we did have folks with runny eyes, coughing, sore throats, which is a normal effect from being involved with the forest fires,” said Janice Lowe from the Brandon Regional Health Authority. The Manitoba Association of Native Firefighters is looking after the evacuations and asked both Brandon and Winnipeg to host the evacuees, due to the large number. “This is the largest evacuation that we’ve handled in recent times,” said Brian Kayes from the City of Brandon. On Monday, the province said 77 forest fires are burning in Manitoba. As of July 20, more than 360 firefighters were battling the blazes, with 12 water bombers and 31 helicopters being used. Fires are currently burning in northeastern and western, central and eastern parts of Manitoba, said officials. The largest numbers of fires are currently burning in the northeastern part of Manitoba. Officials from the Manitoba Association of Native Firefighters said people had to leave Red Sucker Lake First Nation, Wasagamack First Nation, St. Theresa Point First Nation and Garden Hill First Nation. They said it’s tough to determine how long people could be out of their homes, due to the unpredictable nature of forest fires. They said, however, people should be prepared to be out of their homes for approximately three to seven days. Community members said homes are not currently at risk of burning. Some evacuees, however, said leaving was still difficult. “Some people don’t want to go because they don’t want to leave their homes,” said Eric Wood from Garden Hill Public Health.
Today Forest / Wild Fire USA State of Nebraska, [Fairfield Creek] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Thursday, 26 July, 2012 at 03:10 (03:10 AM) UTC.

Description
More federal firefighters were being deployed to bone-dry Nebraska, where a huge wildfire is threatening more structures and two smaller fires are still out of control. The handful of people living in Sparks, a gateway to canoeing and tubing on the Niobrara River, were on alert for possible evacuation. A 14-mile stretch of the valley already has been evacuated. While a cold front is expected to provide some relief, highs Wednesday will still be in the mid-90s. The front may also bring some rain, but major storms aren’t likely to develop near the fire. Plus, storms could also bring lightning and spark new fires. Hot, windy weather on Monday helped the main Fairfield Creek Fire expand to 58,000 acres, or nearly 92 square miles. Two other smaller fires about 20 miles east of the main fire had burned more than six square miles. And Tuesday’s high temperature again topped Officials estimate the fires, which have already destroyed at least 10 homes, are about 25 percent contained. Some 200 federal firefighters were being sent to join the more than 300 crews already on the front lines. Four helicopters are also fighting the fires, and three firefighters have been injured. Much of the fire-swept land near the river is rugged, forested and populated with cabins, so only 17 residences had been evacuated as of Tuesday morning.
25.07.2012 Forest / Wild Fire Macedonia Municipality of Strumica, [Near to Strumica] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in Macedonia on Wednesday, 25 July, 2012 at 09:52 (09:52 AM) UTC.

Description
Reports from Macedonia say two foresters died and one was critically injured on July 24 while trying to put out a forest fire. Four other people — including a teenage boy — were hospitalized after strong winds fanned the flames of the forest fire near Strumica, about 100 kilometers southeast of Skopje. About 50 acres of pine forest was burned before the fire eventually was extinguished by rain. Agriculture Minister Ivo Kotevski said, arson is suspected. The fire appeared to have been started as a result of “carelessness.”

Five Dies as Vacationers Flee Fires in Spain, Croatia

BARCELONA, Spain, (ENS) – Four people have died in two giant wildfires now devastating northeastern Spain’s Catalonia region. Since they blazed up on the weekend, the fires have injured at least 100 people and scorched about 10,000 hectares (38 square miles). Authorities have ordered 150,000 residents to shelter in their homes.

One fire has charred the forests of Costa Brava, one of Spain’s most popular beach and resort destinations.

Inland, the town of La Junquera, in the border area between France and Spain, is at the center of a second huge fire, that police believe was started by a discarded cigarette.

Smoke billows over the Catalonian town of Terrades, July 23, 2012 (Photo by Celia Santacreu)

All four of those who died were French. One man died of a heart attack while trying to protect his home in the Catalonian town of Llers, and another died from burns.

A father and his 15-year-old daughter lost their lives while trying to escape the flames by jumping down a cliff in the Costa Brava town of Port Bou.

Flames forced the father and daughter, as well as three of their family members and some 150 other visitors, out of their cars as they were returning to France from the Spanish coast.

As ash from the Costa Brava fire reaches Barcelona this morning, Spanish firefighters say they are starting to gain control because strong winds that initially fanned the flames have now abated.

Temperatures have soared to over 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees F.) in the stricken area, and water levels in reservoirs are low there and across the country, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Planes are dropping water in an effort to douse the raging fire in the border area between France and northern Catalonia, but until the fires are under control several cross-border roads connecting Barcelona with France have been closed.

Other fires are taking their toll across southern Europe.

In Croatia, hundreds of firefighters have been called up to battle fires all along the Adriatic coast.

Fire threatens the Croatian town of Crikvenica (Photo by Nika G.)

A firefighter died Monday while putting out a fire near Moscenicka Draga on the Istria peninsula, while other fires blaze near Pula at the southern tip of the peninsula.

At least 350 firefighters battled a large fire near the coastal town of Crikvenica, a favorite vacation spot for residents of the nearby Croatian capital of Zagreb.

Homes in Crikvenica were in danger Monday but the firefighters defended them. Residents fled and gathered to watch the situation from a safe distance.

One of the most serious fires has caused locals and tourists to flee the Croatian coastal towns of Selce and Novi Vinodolski.

In the popular resort town of Selce on a long, sandy beach, more than 1,500 visitors were forced to evacuate the Selce autocamp and nearby Club Adriatica.

“The situation is very serious, everyone is trying their best. Houses are in danger, and some have already been victim to the fires,” Slavko Gaus from the county fire department, told the “Croatian Times.”

Thick smoke has forced authorities to close the D8 road, and also the Adriactic highway, reported daily newspaper “24sata.”

More fires are burning on the islands of Rab and Mljet and near the town of Sibenik, located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea.

Over 1,500 tourists evacuated as fires rage in Croatia

by Staff Writers
Zagreb (AFP)

A firefighter died and 1,500 tourists were evacuated after forest fires fanned by strong winds broke out on Croatia’s Adriatic coast Monday, with the interior minister warning of a “very difficult” scenario.

“The situation is very difficult … we are doing everything possible to protect people’s lives and property,” Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic told commercial Nova television, as the fires continued to blaze out of control in the increasingly popular tourist area.

“Everything is ready for (further) evacuations,” said the minister, who visited the coastal resort of Selce, close to the northern port of Rijeka, where some 150 firefighters were battling the blaze.

A 45-year firefighter died while battling another blaze that broke out near Moscenicka Draga on the Istria peninsula, fire service official Slavko Gaus told national HRT television.

That fire was brought under control later in the day.

The inferno broke out in the morning in the hinterland of Rijeka, some 180 kilometres (110 miles) southwest of Zagreb, and spread towards Selce.

Strong winds of more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) an hour made tackling the fires very difficult as water-bombing planes could not be used, the authorities said.

In Selce some 1,500 tourists from two campsites, mostly Slovenians and Austrians, were evacuated while a number of other tourists left a nearby hotel, officials said.

Part of the Adriatic coastal highway was closed, police said.

The resort was cut off from electricity and phone lines were down, Nova television reported, showing footage of people in Selce covering their faces with scarves to protect themselves from the thick smoke and ashes.

The roofs of several houses also caught fire.

In fellow former Yugoslav republic Macedonia, 14 people were injured, five of them seriously, in a forest fire at Strumica, 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of Skopje, the country’s farm minister said.

The minister, Lupco Dimovski, said there was information suggesting that this fire may heave been started deliberately

The Macedonia fire was still raging late Monday.

Related Links
Forest and Wild Fires – News, Science and Technology

Drought, culling hits Australia’s feral camels

by Staff Writers
Sydney (AFP)

Australia’s feral camel population has dropped by an estimated 250,000 in recent years, but the arid outback is still home to the world’s largest wild herd, officials said Tuesday.

The Australian Feral Camel Management Project said about 750,000 camels were thought to roam the country’s desert heartland.

“Between 2001 and 2008, it was estimated that there could have been as many as a million feral camels in the outback,” said Jan Ferguson, the managing director of Ninti One, which manages the project.

“Since then, however, there has been a major drought, the feral camel management programme has come into effect and population survey techniques have been improved.”

Camels, first introduced as pack animals to help early settlers in the 19th century, roam wild in the states of Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland in the east, as well as the Northern Territory.

About 85,000 were culled under a plan to reduce their impact on sensitive areas and native animals but Ferguson said some populations were still too dense.

Wildlife scientist Glenn Edwards said the latest monitoring, under which about 50 camels fitted with special collars were tracked using satellites, provided a clearer picture of the extensive damage they caused.

“Feral camels can travel 70 kilometres (43 miles) in one day, and hundreds of kilometres within a week, over incredibly harsh terrain,” he said.

“We know that when they herd, they can converge on a natural waterhole used by native animals, and drink it dry within days.

“This has a devastating effect on the local flora and fauna and shows exactly why we need to control the population density of these animals.”

With few natural predators and vast sparsely-populated areas in which to roam, feral camels have put pressure on native Australian species by reducing food sources, destroying habitat and spreading disease.

During some of the worst months of drought, thousands of thirsty camels even besieged a remote town in search of water, leaving residents scared to leave their homes.

Related Links
Farming Today – Suppliers and Technology

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Storms / Flooding

 

 

Severe Thunderstorm Warning

GRAND RAPIDS MI
26.07.2012 Tropical Storm North Korea MultiProvinces, [Provinces of Kangwon, North Gyeongsang and South Hwanghae] Damage level Details

Tropical Storm in North Korea on Saturday, 21 July, 2012 at 03:31 (03:31 AM) UTC.

Description
Tropical storm Khanun destroyed scores of houses, buildings and transportation infrastructure in southern parts of North Korea this week, killing at least seven people in the reclusive state, state-run media reported on Friday. It weakened quickly over North Korea before Khanun’s remnants dissipated over China. The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday that flooding triggered by Khanun caused significant damage and casualties in the southern regions of North Korea. It said at least seven people were killed in Kangwon Province, but few other details about casualties were released. “Many hectares of farmland were inundated in Kangwon province and some dwelling houses, public buildings, railways, roads, bridges, breakwaters, electric supply and communication networks were destroyed,” KCNA said in its report, adding that some areas saw up to 200 millimeters (7.8 inches) of rain. “The water supply system was paralyzed in Wonsan and Munchon cities, suspending the provision of drinking water to citizens.” In South Hwanghae province, several houses were destroyed in Haeju City and Jaeryong County while large areas of cropland were submerged in Unchon County. The report did not say whether there were casualties in South Hwanghae province, or in any other regions of North Korea. In South Korea, Khanun also caused flooding, power outages, and affected major transportation systems. One fatality was reported in North Gyeongsang province when the wall of a home collapsed, officials said.

…………………………….

By Brian K. Sullivan

A derecho, the kind of storm that knocked out power to millions in Washington last month, may accompany bad weather forecast for New York City and the rest of the Northeast tomorrow, the U.S. Storm Prediction Center said.

There’s a moderate chance the rare windstorm will develop in an area from Indiana to Massachusetts, the center said on its website. The region is also at risk for severe thunderstorms, hail and possible tornadoes after noon, according to John Hart, a meteorologist at the agency’s Norman, Oklahoma, offices.

“The environment is going to be favorable for considerably severe weather right across the area even if we don’t get a derecho,” Hart said by telephone.

Last month, a derecho knocked out power to at least 4.3 million people from New Jersey to North Carolina as it unleashed winds of as much as 91 miles (146 kilometers) per hour, as powerful as a Category 1 hurricane. Twenty-four deaths were linked to the storm and its aftermath, according to the Associated Press.

A derecho is defined as an event that has wind gusts of at least 58 mph and leaves a swath of damage for 240 miles, according to the storm center’s website.

A storm that swept from Chicago to Kentucky yesterday also seems to have met the definition of a derecho, Hart said. Yesterday’s storm wasn’t as intense as the one that struck the mid-Atlantic, including Washington, on June 29, he said.

Predictions Difficult

Hart said derechos are hard to predict because they require that a number of atmospheric elements come together.

“There is no way to have high confidence in such a forecast,” Hart said. “We decided the risk of that scenario happening was high enough that we would highlight it.”

The area from western Ohio to southern New England will probably be in the path of severe storms tomorrow afternoon, Hart said. New York, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Cincinnati all have a 45 percent chance of severe thunderstorms, high winds and hail.

Severe storms between the large airline hub cities of Chicago, New York and Atlanta often disrupt air travel throughout the U.S. Such fast-moving storms, which may include tornadoes, accounted for about $8.8 billion in insured losses in the U.S. in the first six months of 2012, according to the Insurance Information Institute in New York.

 

 

Flash Flood Warning

GRAND RAPIDS MI

Flood Warning

TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL

Flood Advisory

FAIRBANKS AK
LUBBOCK TX
Today Complex Emergency China Capital City, Beijing Damage level Details

Complex Emergency in China on Thursday, 26 July, 2012 at 08:01 (08:01 AM) UTC.

Description
A much expected downpour bypassed Beijing Wednesday but battered the neighboring city of Tianjin, flooding many downtown streets and vehicles. As of 11 a.m. Thursday, the maximum precipitation had exceeded 300 millimeters, Tianjin’s meteorological center said in a press release. It said the city proper received an average rainfall of 147 mm, while the outer Xiqing district, one of the worst-battered areas, received 309.8 mm. The local fire prevention bureau sent 190 fire engines and 1,140 rescuers to help rescue flood stranded vehicles and pedestrians. The rain had largely stopped by midday, but the center issued another orange alarm at 11:10 a.m., warning residents of a further rainstorm. The downpour has paralyzed traffic in downtown Tianjin, drowning many roads. Dozens of vehicles were stranded on Baidi road in Nankai district after their engines died in the flood. Many pedestrians complained they had to trek in knee-deep water. In some sections of Xianyang Street, flood water was waist deep. On the badly flooded Friendship Road in Hexi district, five workers kept watch next to sewage wells whose manholes had been removed for faster drainage.

The rain disrupted air traffic at Tianjin’s airport, where 20 flights were canceled and 34 delayed.8 The first flight, an incoming flight from Shanghai, landed in Tianjin after the rain subsided at 11:32 a.m., and the first departing flight took off at 12:08 p.m., according to the airport’s official website. Railway transportation, however, was largely unaffected, including the express rail link to Beijing, the city’s railway authorities confirmed. Vegetable prices were up at the city’s major wholesale markets Thursday. “Each kilo is at least 0.4 yuan — about 30 percent — more expensive than yesterday,” said Cui Hongqing, a wholesaler at Hongqi Market. Cui predicted further price hikes Friday as the rain devastated crops and increased transportation costs. China’s capital Beijing was on guard against heavy rain Wednesday, fearing a repeat of Saturday’s mayhem. Saturday’s downpour, which the local weather bureau described as the “heaviest in 61 years,” killed at least 37 people — some were drowned in private cars. Many office workers were allowed to go home early Wednesday for safety considerations, and city authorities bombarded mobile phone subscribers with text message warnings of an imminent downpour. The much expected rain, however, did not fall in Beijing. The capital was still overcast Thursday, as the central weather bureau has forecast rain in seven northern China provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, over the coming three days.

Scores injured as typhoon lashes Hong Kong

by Staff Writers
Hong Kong (AFP)

Scores of people were injured and trees were ripped from the ground as a typhoon lashed Hong Kong packing winds in excess of 140 kilometres (87 miles) an hour, officials said Tuesday.

Authorities issued a hurricane warning for the first time since 1999 as Typhoon Vicente roared to within 100 kilometres of Hong Kong shortly after midnight, disrupting dozens of flights to the regional hub.

The alarm was downgraded to a strong wind warning by mid-morning as the cyclone passed to the west and weakened over the southern Chinese coast.

The storm brought down hundreds of trees and sent debris crashing into downtown streets as commuters made their way home from work on Monday evening, when people were told to seek shelter.

Ferry, bus and train services were suspended or ran at reduced capacity, the port and schools were closed, and 44 passenger flights were cancelled. More than 270 flights were delayed.

The stock exchange was also closed for the morning but reopened in the afternoon after authorities gave the all clear to go back to work.

“We haven’t experienced this for 10 years. I could hardly walk, the wind kept pushing me,” marketing research manager Alpha Yung, 28, told AFP as she went to work in the almost deserted streets.

Mignon Chan, a 21-year-old marketing assistant, said the storm was “crazy”.

“Last time I suffered this kind of weather I was small. It’s chaotic here, trees fell down, people fell down, but I still have to work. That’s the worst part,” she said.

Almost 140 people sought medical treatment and 268 people took refuge in storm shelters, officials said. Seventy-one people remained in hospital including one who was in a serious condition.

Local media reported that more than 100 commuters stayed in the Tai Wai train station overnight, unable to get home after services were suspended.

A landslide occurred in the upscale Peak neighbourhood but there were no casualties as a result, officials said.

“The wind and rain were pounding on my windows at home last night — bam, bam, bam — they were so strong that I couldn’t sleep,” security guard Tony Chan said as he cleared shattered glass on the street outside an office tower.

Ocean Park tourist attraction said it would remain closed for the day to carry out a “thorough inspection” of the property for possible storm damage.

In the nearby territory of Macau, three major bridges over the city’s harbour were closed overnight as the typhoon approached, the government said.

Mainland offcials said the typhoon hit Taishan city in Guangdong province at 4:00 am (2000 GMT Monday). There were no immediate reports of casualties but officials said damage was still being assessed.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Today Flash Flood Indonesia Province of West Sumatra, [Padang area] Damage level Details

Flash Flood in Indonesia on Thursday, 26 July, 2012 at 07:57 (07:57 AM) UTC.

Description
Flash floods in West Sumatra of Indonesia on Tuesday evening have killed eight people and caused massive infrastructure damage, local officials said on Thursday. Heavy rains caused the river in Padang city overflowed its banks at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when people were breaking their fasting, Ade Edward senior official at the local disaster management and mitigation agency said. “Eight people are dead in the floods and scores of buildings and bridges have collapsed,” he reported from Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province. Edward said that the floods had seriously damaged over 90 houses, 11 mosques, five bridges and one health clinic. Some rescuers are still trapped in the flooded areas, he added. The rescuers had difficulty in reaching some areas where water level was chest-deep, said Edward. The local authorities had delcared a state of emergency and warned residents who live near the rivers to be on alert. More than 250 people are taking shelter in their relative houses or mosques, said Edward.

China censors coverage of deadly Beijing floods

by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP)

Beijing authorities have reportedly ordered Chinese media to stick to positive news about record weekend floods, after the death of at least 37 people sparked fierce criticism of the government.

Censors also deleted microblog posts criticising the official response to the disaster in China’s rapidly modernising capital, which came at a time of heightened political sensitivity ahead of a 10-yearly handover of power.

City propaganda chief Lu Wei told media outlets to stick to stories of “achievements worthy of praise and tears”, the Beijing Times daily reported, as authorities tried to stem a tide of accusations that they failed to do enough.

Many Beijing residents took to the country’s popular microblogs, or weibos, to complain that some of the deaths could have been prevented if better warnings had been issued and the city’s ancient drainage systems modernised.

A call by the Beijing government for donations to an emergency flood relief fund was also criticised by microbloggers, with many ridiculing the authorities for asking ordinary people to pay for the damage.

On Tuesday, over 72,000 postings on a microblog thread focused on the call for donations were deleted.

David Bandurski, who monitors China’s Internet censorship at the Hong Kong-based China Media Project, said most of the microblog postings censored in China over the last two days related to the Beijing floods.

“There could be a number of reasons for this, but the overarching reason could be the upcoming change of leadership at the (Communist Party’s) 18th Party Congress,” Bandurski told AFP.

“This is an important political meeting, so when people are pointing responsibility at local government incompetence, everyone goes into sensitive mode… no one wants to take responsibility for anything.”

This year’s Congress will see President Hu Jintao step down from his position as head of China’s ruling Communist party in a leadership change that will usher in a new generation of leaders expected to be led by Vice President Xi Jinping.

Authorities were still clearing up the damage from Saturday’s disaster as the country’s top leaders gathered in Beijing on Monday for a meeting addressed by Hu that was given front-page coverage in state newspapers.

The China Daily, a state-run English-language newspaper with a predominantly foreign readership, ran an editorial on Tuesday urging Beijing authorities to improve the drainage system, which it said “leaves much to be desired”.

But much of China’s state-run media steered away from critical stories, focusing on human interest angles of residents helping each other out.

Senior Beijing leaders at an emergency meeting late Monday urged greater efforts to find those still missing, identify the bodies and repair flood-damaged roads.

But residents in the worst hit district of Fangshan on the mountainous southwestern outskirts of China’s sprawling capital told AFP the government was doing little to help find their missing loved-ones.

“The government doesn’t help at all, every family is responsible for searching for their own family members,” said Wang Baoxiang, whose 30-year-old nephew had been missing since going out in Saturday’s rains.

According to official assessments released Monday, seven people remained missing, but in the badly hit Fangshan district, locals told AFP reporters that at least 10 people were missing in one small village.

Tuesday’s Beijing Daily quoted mayor Guo Jinlong as saying any increases in the death toll should be reported immediately, amid suspicion that the authorities may be underplaying the impact of the floods.

Guo also urged journalists to “correctly guide public opinion”, code words in China that which mean to only portray the government in a positive light.

“The news media has played a very good role in timely reporting the developments in emergency response operations, correctly leading the public opinion… and playing a role in boosting morale,” Guo said.

“The focus of our rescue work and news propaganda must now be moved toward the suburban areas, especially those areas severely hit by the disaster like Fangshan.”

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

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Epidemic Hazards / Diseases

IDF Quarantines Yoav Base Amid ‘Outbreak’

The IDF’s top physician has ordered a base in the Golan sealed and cleansed, and its soldiers screened, amid a spreading bacterial infection

By Gabe Kahn

IDF checkpoint  

IDF checkpoint
Israel news photo: Flash 90

IDF chief medical officer Gen. Itzik Kreis on Tuesday ordered the Yoav base in the Golan Heights quarantined after several soldiers fell ill with a bacterial infection.

Arutz Sheva has learned many soldiers at the base, including soldiers working in the kitchens, complained of itching all over their bodies.

As a result, the base has been sealed and a full sanitization effort is underway. All equipment, personal belongings, textile goods, and even personnel files are being removed in order to be cleansed.

Arutz Sheva further learned that all mattresses on the base were removed and will be replaced. Hazmat teams are spraying and disenfecting structures, vehicles, and grounds, as well.

Meanwhile, IDF medical personnel are screening soldiers and isolating those affected to ensure the infection does not spread.

The IDF spokesperson’s office has thus far declined to comment on the exact nature and full extent of the infection.

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Radiation / Nuclear

25.07.2012 Nuclear Event India State of Rajasthan, Rawatbhata [Rajasthan Atomic Power Station, District of Chittorgarh] Damage level Details

Nuclear Event in India on Tuesday, 24 July, 2012 at 10:49 (10:49 AM) UTC.

Description
More than 40 workers at a nuclear power station in northern India have been exposed to tritium radiation in two separate leaks in the past five weeks. The first accident occurred on June 23 when 38 people were exposed during maintenance work on a coolant channel at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station in Rawatbhata, senior plant manager Vinod Kumar said. Two of them received radiation doses equivalent to the annual permissible limit, he said, but all those involved have returned to work. In a second incident last Thursday, another four maintenance workers at the plant were exposed to tritium radiation while they were repairing a faulty seal on a pipe. India is on a nuclear power drive, with a host of plants based on Russian, Japanese, American and French technology under consideration or construction.

The country’s growing economy is currently heavily dependent on coal, getting less than 3% of its energy from its existing atomic plants, and the government hopes to raise the figure to 25% by 2050. But environmental watchdogs have expressed concerns about safety in India, where small-scale industrial accidents due to negligence or poor maintenance are commonplace and regulatory bodies are often under-staffed and under-funded. The director of the Rajasthan power station, C.P. Jamb, confirmed the second accident to AFP but said the radiation was within permissible limits and posed no health threat. “The workers were exposed to radiation from 10 to 25 per cent of the annual limit,” Jamb said. “Such minor leakages keep on happening but they cause no harm.” C.D. Rajput, director of the unit where the leak happened, also said the radiation exposure “was well under the limits and all the workers are working normally”. No explanation was immediately available as to why the first incident at the plant took a month to emerge.

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Climate Change

Today Climate Change Greenland [Continent-wide] Damage level Photo available! Details

Climate Change in Greenland on Thursday, 26 July, 2012 at 04:42 (04:42 AM) UTC.

Description
For several days this month, Greenland’s surface ice cover melted over a larger area than at any time in more than 30 years of satellite observations. Nearly the entire ice cover of Greenland, from its thin, low-lying coastal edges to its two-mile-thick center, experienced some degree of melting at its surface, according to measurements from three independent satellites analyzed by NASA and university scientists. On average in the summer, about half of the surface of Greenland’s ice sheet naturally melts. At high elevations, most of that melt water quickly refreezes in place. Near the coast, some of the melt water is retained by the ice sheet and the rest is lost to the ocean. But this year the extent of ice melting at or near the surface jumped dramatically. According to satellite data, an estimated 97 percent of the ice sheet surface thawed at some point in mid-July. Researchers have not yet determined whether this extensive melt event will affect the overall volume of ice loss this summer and contribute to sea level rise. “The Greenland ice sheet is a vast area with a varied history of change. This event, combined with other natural but uncommon phenomena, such as the large calving event last week on Petermann Glacier, are part of a complex story,” said Tom Wagner, NASA’s cryosphere program manager in Washington. “Satellite observations are helping us understand how events like these may relate to one another as well as to the broader climate system.”

Son Nghiem of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., was analyzing radar data from the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Oceansat-2 satellite last week when he noticed that most of Greenland appeared to have undergone surface melting on July 12. Nghiem said, “This was so extraordinary that at first I questioned the result: was this real or was it due to a data error?” Nghiem consulted with Dorothy Hall at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Hall studies the surface temperature of Greenland using the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites. She confirmed that MODIS showed unusually high temperatures and that melt was extensive over the ice sheet surface. Thomas Mote, a climatologist at the University of Georgia, Athens, Ga; and Marco Tedesco of City University of New York also confirmed the melt seen by Oceansat-2 and MODIS with passive-microwave satellite data from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder on a U.S. Air Force meteorological satellite. The melting spread quickly. Melt maps derived from the three satellites showed that on July 8, about 40 percent of the ice sheet’s surface had melted. By July 12, 97 percent had melted.

This extreme melt event coincided with an unusually strong ridge of warm air, or a heat dome, over Greenland. The ridge was one of a series that has dominated Greenland’s weather since the end of May. “Each successive ridge has been stronger than the previous one,” said Mote. This latest heat dome started to move over Greenland on July 8, and then parked itself over the ice sheet about three days later. By July 16, it had begun to dissipate. Even the area around Summit Station in central Greenland, which at 2 miles above sea level is near the highest point of the ice sheet, showed signs of melting. Such pronounced melting at Summit and across the ice sheet has not occurred since 1889, according to ice cores analyzed by Kaitlin Keegan at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather station at Summit confirmed air temperatures hovered above or within a degree of freezing for several hours July 11-12. “Ice cores from Summit show that melting events of this type occur about once every 150 years on average. With the last one happening in 1889, this event is right on time,” says Lora Koenig, a Goddard glaciologist and a member of the research team analyzing the satellite data. “But if we continue to observe melting events like this in upcoming years, it will be worrisome.” Nghiem’s finding while analyzing Oceansat-2 data was the kind of benefit that NASA and ISRO had hoped to stimulate when they signed an agreement in March 2012 to cooperate on Oceansat-2 by sharing data.

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Solar Activity

2MIN News July 25, 2012

Published on Jul 25, 2012 by

EARTHQUAKE WATCH: http://youtu.be/SMiHsOYwdCs

TODAY’S LINKS
Greenland Ice Melt: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/jpl/news/earth20120724.html
Ecuador Landslide: http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blogs/ecuador-earth-movement-is-rampant-in…

REPEAT LINKS
Spaceweather: http://spaceweather.com/ [Look on the left at the X-ray Flux and Solar Wind Speed/Density]

HAARP: http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/data.html [Click online data, and have a little fun]

SDO: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/ [Place to find Solar Images and Videos - as seen from earth]

SOHO: http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/soho_movie_theater [SOHO; Lasco and EIT - as seen from earth]

Stereo: http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/images [Stereo; Cor, EUVI, HI - as seen from the side]

SunAEON:http://www.sunaeon.com/#/solarsystem/ [Just click it... trust me]

SOLARIMG: http://solarimg.org/artis/ [All purpose data viewing site]

iSWA: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/iswa/iSWA.html [Free Application; for advanced sun watchers]

NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/cme-based/ [CME Evolution]

NOAA Bouys: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/

RSOE: http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php [That cool alert map I use]

JAPAN Radiation Map: http://jciv.iidj.net/map/

LISS: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/monitoring/operations/heliplots_gsn.php

Gamma Ray Bursts: http://grb.sonoma.edu/ [Really? You can't figure out what this one is for?]

BARTOL Cosmic Rays: http://neutronm.bartol.udel.edu//spaceweather/welcome.html [Top left box, look for BIG blue circles]

TORCON: http://www.weather.com/news/tornado-torcon-index [Tornado Forecast for the day]

GOES Weather: http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ [Clouds over America]

INTELLICAST: http://www.intellicast.com/ [Weather site used by many youtubers]

NASA News: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/

PHYSORG: http://phys.org/ [GREAT News Site!]

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Space

25.07.2012 Event into space Saudi Arabia Province of Al Jawf, [Al-Shifa Mountain] Damage level Photo available! Details

Event into space in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, 25 July, 2012 at 09:06 (09:06 AM) UTC.

Description
The deputy chairman of the Astronomy Society in Jeddah and member of the Arab Federation for Space Science and Astrophysics, astrophysicist. Sharaf al-Sufiyani revealed that meteorite debris fell on Al-Shifa mountain last Sunday near the village of Al-Ajbel. He pointed out in his statement to the daily Medina newspaper today that the meteorite debris comprises large rocky pieces which before landing disintegrated into smaller pieces and landed on various locations. One of the dwellers told him that there are two other locations similar debris has fallen. Regarding the timing of the meteorite’s falling, Al-Sufiyani said that it would be too difficult to determine the exact timing which requires specialized laboratories, but it looks not too old because parts of the debris are still scattered on the surface and if it is old then it would have been buried under the ground and would have been too difficult to find. He also said that should this meteorite have fallen on a house or heavily populated region it would have inflicted gross damage. However, thanks to divine providence , our planet earth is surrounded by an atmospheric layer which prevents the landing of lots of meteorite debris onto mother earth otherwise it would have caused a great disaster that is many folds of its weight. Meteorites are universal rocky formations orbiting outer space and whenever these pass through the stratosphere the earth attracts them and so they fall onto earth. Such meteorites burnout as a result of friction against air and if burned before arrival onto earth, scientists call them meteorites however should they land on earth they are called universal debris.

  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
(2009 PC) 28th July 2012 2 day(s) 0.1772 68.9 61 m – 140 m 7.34 km/s 26424 km/h
217013 (2001 AA50) 31st July 2012 5 day(s) 0.1355 52.7 580 m – 1.3 km 22.15 km/s 79740 km/h
(2012 DS30) 02nd August 2012 7 day(s) 0.1224 47.6 18 m – 39 m 5.39 km/s 19404 km/h
(2000 RN77) 03rd August 2012 8 day(s) 0.1955 76.1 410 m – 920 m 9.87 km/s 35532 km/h
(2004 SB56) 04th August 2012 9 day(s) 0.1393 54.2 380 m – 840 m 13.72 km/s 49392 km/h
(2000 SD8) 04th August 2012 9 day(s) 0.1675 65.2 180 m – 400 m 5.82 km/s 20952 km/h
(2006 EC) 06th August 2012 11 day(s) 0.0932 36.3 13 m – 28 m 6.13 km/s 22068 km/h
(2006 MV1) 07th August 2012 12 day(s) 0.0612 23.8 12 m – 28 m 4.79 km/s 17244 km/h
(2005 RK3) 08th August 2012 13 day(s) 0.1843 71.7 52 m – 120 m 8.27 km/s 29772 km/h
(2009 BW2) 09th August 2012 14 day(s) 0.0337 13.1 25 m – 56 m 5.27 km/s 18972 km/h
277475 (2005 WK4) 09th August 2012 14 day(s) 0.1283 49.9 260 m – 580 m 6.18 km/s 22248 km/h
(2004 SC56) 09th August 2012 14 day(s) 0.0811 31.6 74 m – 170 m 10.57 km/s 38052 km/h
(2008 AF4) 10th August 2012 15 day(s) 0.1936 75.3 310 m – 690 m 16.05 km/s 57780 km/h
37655 Illapa 12th August 2012 17 day(s) 0.0951 37.0 770 m – 1.7 km 28.73 km/s 103428 km/h
(2012 HS15) 14th August 2012 19 day(s) 0.1803 70.2 220 m – 490 m 11.54 km/s 41544 km/h
4581 Asclepius 16th August 2012 21 day(s) 0.1079 42.0 220 m – 490 m 13.48 km/s 48528 km/h
(2008 TC4) 18th August 2012 23 day(s) 0.1937 75.4 140 m – 300 m 17.34 km/s 62424 km/h
(2006 CV) 20th August 2012 25 day(s) 0.1744 67.9 290 m – 640 m 13.24 km/s 47664 km/h
(2012 EC) 20th August 2012 25 day(s) 0.0815 31.7 56 m – 130 m 5.57 km/s 20052 km/h
162421 (2000 ET70) 21st August 2012 26 day(s) 0.1503 58.5 640 m – 1.4 km 12.92 km/s 46512 km/h
(2007 WU3) 21st August 2012 26 day(s) 0.1954 76.0 56 m – 120 m 5.25 km/s 18900 km/h
(2012 BB14) 24th August 2012 29 day(s) 0.1234 48.0 27 m – 60 m 2.58 km/s 9288 km/h
1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers Source: NASA-NEO

 

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Biological Hazards / Wildlife /  Hazmat

Today Biological Hazard United Kingdom Scotland, [Lanarkshire] Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in United Kingdom on Thursday, 26 July, 2012 at 04:54 (04:54 AM) UTC.

Description
A case of anthrax has been confirmed in an injecting drug user in Lanarkshire. The area’s health authority said the patient was being treated at one of its hospitals and was in a critical but stable condition. NHS Lanarkshire believes the patient could have contracted the anthrax bacteria from a contaminated batch of heroin circulating in the area. Anthrax is an acute bacterial infection most commonly found in hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep and goats. It normally infects humans when they inhale or ingest anthrax spores, but cannot be passed from person to person. Symptoms can include a raised, itchy, inflamed pimple which turns into a blister with extensive swelling. The lesion is usually painless, and will later turn into a black eschar. f left untreated the infection can spread to cause blood poisoning. It can take up to a week for symptoms to develop after a person comes into contact with anthrax. Dr David Cromie, consultant in public health medicine at NHS Lanarkshire, said: “It is possible that heroin contaminated with anthrax may be circulating in Lanarkshire and potentially other parts of Scotland.

“There have been recent reports of anthrax from contaminated heroin in other western European countries, the most recent reported outbreak being in Germany. “It is important that drug users are aware of the particular dangers involved when they are injecting heroin.” Dr Cromie said injecting drug users known to Lanarkshire addiction services were being contacted to alert them to the problem. “The advice to drug users is to avoid all heroin use, which we recognise may be very difficult for drug users to follow,” he said. “Muscle-popping, skin-popping, and injecting when a vein has been missed are particularly dangerous. “Smoking heroin carries much less risk than injecting it. If there is any pain or swelling around an injection site drug users should seek urgent medical attention.” The worst outbreak of anthrax in the UK for 50 years occurred among drug users in Scotland between 2009 and 2010. A total of 119 cases were recorded with a total of 14 deaths during the outbreak.

Biohazard name: Heroin containing anthrax
Biohazard level: 4/4 Hazardous
Biohazard desc.: Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, H5N1(bird flu), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic or unidentified diseases. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed
Today Biological Hazard Canada Province of Prince Edward Island, [Watershed region] Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in Canada on Thursday, 26 July, 2012 at 03:13 (03:13 AM) UTC.

Description
Watershed groups on P.E.I .are wading through rivers and streams Wednesday, checking to see if there are any dead fish. Parts of the Island got heavy rain Tuesday night and there’s concern about sediment that could have run into streams. Fred Cheverie, head of the Souris Watershed group, said about 75 millimetres of rain fell in that area. “So we’re just out checking the streams … the water’s pretty high in most of all the streams,” Cheverie said. “Everything looks good so far, we haven’t encountered anything. We hit some crucial zones so things are looking pretty good. We definitely have some red water. Some siltation in the water all right but everything’s no problem so far.” Other watershed groups and environment officials are also checking streams.
Biohazard name: Mass. Die-off (fishes)
Biohazard level: 0/4 —
Biohazard desc.: This does not included biological hazard category.
Symptoms:
Status:
25.07.2012 HAZMAT United Kingdom England, Gravesend [Cascades Leisure Centre, Thong Lane] Damage level Details

HAZMAT in United Kingdom on Wednesday, 25 July, 2012 at 12:47 (12:47 PM) UTC.

Description
A swimming pool had to close after a chlorine leak – just as the school holidays got under way. Fire crews were called to Cascades Leisure Centre, Thong Lane, Gravesend, at 10.30pm yesterday. The pool remained closed today on what was expected to be one of the hottest days of the year so far, but was expected to re-open as soon as it had been given the all-clear by plant engineers. Ambulance crews were put on standby today, but did not attend. A Kent Fire and Rescue spokesman said: “We were called out to a chemical drum that had a spillage in the swimming pool plant room. The building was evacuated as a precaution. “Crews in chemical suits removed the chemical and handed back to building management at about 1am.” A Gravesham council spokesman said: “There was a chemical incident at Cascades Leisure Centre about 10pm last night. “The incident was in the pool plant room and involved a chemical reaction in the system. The fire and rescue service was called. The pool was empty at the time. “The pool remains closed this morning as a precautionary measure. The water has been replaced and the chemicals changed. Suppliers are coming to site to investigate the incident.”
25.07.2012 HAZMAT USA State of Minnesota, Willmar [Rice Park (wading pool)] Damage level Details

HAZMAT in USA on Wednesday, 25 July, 2012 at 10:04 (10:04 AM) UTC.

Description
A Willmar city worker was treated at Rice Memorial Hospital for a chemical reaction experienced while performing maintenance work Tuesday on the Rice Park wading pool. The man’s identity and condition were not released. The pool had been closed for the maintenance work, and no children were endangered, reported Willmar Police Capt. James Felt. Emergency responders were waiting to meet with the worker to learn what chemical or chemicals he was using and apparently spilled in the small maintenance building at the pool site. A Willmar EMS team transported the worker by ambulance to the hospital while Willmar police, fire and the Kandiyohi County Rescue and the Hazardous Materials Emergency Assistance Team, or HEAT responded shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday. Police cordoned off the area around Rice Park, located between Second and Third Streets and Rice and Kandiyohi Avenues. Police evacuated residents in several homes on Third Street located downwind of the pool for about 1½ hours. Officers also diverted traffic.

About 10 or 11 people were in their homes at the time and very cooperative with the need to evacuate, according to Willmar Police Sgt. Michael Markkanen. “If it had to happen, it was not a bad time to do it,’’ he said. Few people were at home, and most homes were sealed with their air conditioning units running. Also, a steady, southeast breeze of about 8.5 miles per hour kept any possible fumes from the heavy-traffic area of First Street South, only a block from the park. The decision to evacuate the area was based on the initial concern that chlorine or another hazardous material could be leaking. Two Willmar firefighters, also members of the Kandiyohi County Hazardous Material Emergency Assist Team, donned hazardous material suits to enter the pool building. They isolated the chemicals used by the worker, and placed them in a sealed container for safe transportation and handling. As they worked, two other members of the hazardous materials team waited in standby, and two Willmar firefighters using self-contained breathing apparatus also were in standby. City Administrator Charlene Stevens said the name of the employee will not be released due to privacy concerns. Steve Brisendine, director of Willmar Community Education and Recreation, said information to him was not complete as of Tuesday afternoon. His department oversees the operations of the wading pool.

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Articles of Interest

Tropical plankton invade Arctic waters

by Staff Writers
New York NY (SPX)

Terra Daily


Researchers lower plankton nets over the side during a scientific expedition in northern waters. Credit: Beth Stauffer/Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

For the first time, scientists have identified tropical and subtropical species of marine protozoa living in the Arctic Ocean. Apparently, they traveled thousands of miles on Atlantic currents and ended up above Norway with an unusual-but naturally cyclic-pulse of warm water, not as a direct result of overall warming climate, say the researchers.

On the other hand: arctic waters are warming rapidly, and such pulses are predicted to grow as global climate change causes shifts in long-distance currents.

Thus, colleagues wonder if the exotic creatures offers a preview of climate-induced changes already overtaking the oceans and land, causing redistributions of species and shifts in ecology. The study, by a team from the United States, Norway and Russia, was just published in the British Journal of Micropalaeontology.

The creatures in question are radiolaria-microscopic one-celled plankton that envelop themselves in ornate glassy shells and graze on marine algae, bacteria and other tiny prey.

Different species inhabit characteristic temperature ranges, and their shells coat much of the world’s ocean bottoms in a deep ooze going back millions of years; thus climate scientists routinely analyze layers of them to plot swings in ocean temperatures in the past. The new study looks at where radiolarians are living now.

In 2010, a ship operated by the Norwegian Polar Institute netted plankton samples northwest of the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, about midway between the European mainland and the North Pole. When the coauthors analyzed the samples, they were startled to find that of the 145 taxa they spotted, 98 had come from much farther south-some as far as the tropics.

Furthermore, the southern radiolaria were in different sizes and apparently different stages of growth for each species, indicating they were reproducing, despite the harsh conditions.

It was the first time since modern arctic oceanographic research began in the early 20th century that researchers had spotted a living population of such creatures in the northern ocean.

Coauthor O. Roger Anderson, a specialist in one-celled organisms at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, said, “When we suddenly find tropical plankton in the arctic, the issue of global warming comes right up, and possible inferences about it can become very charged. So, it’s important to examine critically the evidence to account for the observations.”

He said the invaders were apparently swept up in the warm Gulf Stream, which travels from the Caribbean into the north Atlantic, but usually peters out somewhere between Greenland and Europe. Oceanographers have previously shown that sometimes pulses of warm water penetrate along the Norwegian coast and into the arctic basin; such pulses have occurred in the 1920s, 1930s and 1950s.

Further, the authors say that well-dated fossils of foraminifera-protozoans closely related to radiolaria-found on the arctic seafloor suggest that warm-water plankton may have temporarily established themselves at least several times before-around 4200 and 4100 BC, and again around 220, 370 and 1100 AD.

“All the evidence is that this isn’t necessarily immediate evidence of global warming of the ocean,” said Anderson. Lead author Kjell Bjorklund, of the University of Oslo Natural History Museum said of the invaders, “This doesn’t happen continuously-but it happens.”

That said, oceanographers have noted that such pulses seem to be coming more often and penetrating further-”exactly what one would expect from global warming,” said Rainer Froese, an oceanographer at the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research who tracks fish global populations. Could this be the start of a switch in currents predicted by climate models?

The most recent pulse began in the early 1980s, and has lasted more or less to the present. Even without that, the arctic ocean itself is warming rapidly; with progressive loss of summer sea ice over past decades, average surface temperature has gone up as much as 5 degrees centigrade (9 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1950 in some patches.

Physical oceanographers have different ideas on the mechanics of how more southerly water–and the things living in it–may arrive in the arctic. However, most agree that it will happen if climate keeps warming, said Arnold Gordon, head of Lamont’s division of ocean and climate physics, who was not involved in the research.

For one, a countercurrent running near Greenland, the North Atlantic Polar Gyre, normally wards off the Gulf Stream; but that gyre is predicted to slow with warming. Atlantic currents might also respond to changing wind patterns, or to the increasing fresh water now pouring into the northern ocean from melting sea ice and glaciers. Either way, this could draw more southerly water into the north, said Gordon.

Louis Fortier, an arctic oceanographer at Laval University in Quebec, said of the recent injections of southerly waters, “Whether or not [such] intrusions are signs of this predicted increased advection in response to climate change, nobody can tell yet, I believe. But for me, the observations so far certainly support the models.”

Paul Snelgrove, a specialist in cold-ocean studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland, agreed. “The question is, are these kinds of incursions becoming more frequent and stronger? If it continues, the case would become more persuasive. Right now, this study is not a definitive test, but it seems like an intriguing teaser as to what might happen.”

Whatever the answer, this is the first time a living population of southern radiolaria has been found so far north. Radiolaria live only about a month, so it must have taken 80-some generations for some species to make the five- to seven-year trip, say the authors. On the way, successive generations could have adapted to colder waters.

In 2009, the surface water in the sample area measured an extraordinary 7.5 degrees C (about 45.5F). A year later, when the samples were taken, it was down to a more normal level of 3.5C (38F), and yet the radiolarians were still there.

However, the fast-changing nature of the ocean makes their presence in the arctic hard to interpret, said Paul Wassman, an arctic biologist at the University of Tromso in Norway. Marine creatures routinely travel vast distances on currents.

Water temperatures may vary widely in the same latitude. Populations of some creatures may live for a while in a narrow tongue of temperate water, then wink out once that gets too diluted, he said.

Bjorklund, Anderson and their coauthor Svetlana Kruglikova of the P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanography in Moscow note that it is uncertain whether the southern invaders are still there; they have not gotten any new samples since 2010.

In any case, changes in global ocean ecology are already being detected in many places. Warmer-water species are marching poleward, much as creatures are on land, where butterflies have been shifting ranges northward about 6 kilometers per decade, and amphibians and migratory birds are breeding an average of two days earlier.

A 2011 global study on the impact of climate change on fisheries says that many marine species are moving poleward or into deeper, cooler waters in response to warming–among other places, along the U.S. east coast, the Bering Sea, and off Australia.

The North Sea, off Scandinavia and the United Kingdom, has warmed about 2 degrees F in the last 50 to 100 years; there, 15 of 36 fish species studied have moved northward; fish more common nearer the Mediterranean-anchovy, red mullet, sea bass-are being caught by commercial fishermen, while cod, which prefer colder waters, are moving out.

There is also evidence that zooplankton similar to the radiolaria are shifting northward in the North Atlantic. In the Pacific, poisonous algal blooms harmful to the shellfish industry are being detected farther north, into Alaskan waters.

In the arctic itself, earlier and faster melting of sea ice in the summer appears to be shifting plankton species assemblages toward smaller types. This could ultimately damage the food web that feeds much larger creatures, including seals, walruses and whales, said Jody Deming, a biologist at the University of Washington who studies arctic microbes.

In an email, Deming said the new paper “presents an intriguing observation (warmer species making it into Arctic waters and surviving at least on the short term), but without more knowledge of how living radiolarians fit into the larger ecosystem, as both prey and predator, potential impacts on the whole ecosystem cannot be predicted reliably or at all really.”

The big question, said Bjorklund, is what happens next. In the future, radiolaria may serve as useful indicators of how currents, and ecology, are changing. There are at least 60-some radiolaria species peculiar to the arctic; they may be quite different from the new arrivals, but too little is known about the life cycles of either group to say how either will react if they meet on a long-term basis, and how this might affect arctic ecosystems.

Of the southerly radiolaria, Bjorklund said, “Will they adapt? Will they perish? Will they mix with the native fauna?” He said that he and his colleagues are anxious to receive new samples to find out.

Copies of the paper, “Modern incursions of tropical Radiolaria in the Arctic Ocean” are available from the authors or the Earth Institute press office.

Related Links
The Earth Institute at Columbia University
Beyond the Ice Age

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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes 'FAIR USE' of any such copyrighted material.]

Earthquakes

 

 

RSOE EDIS

 

 

Date/Time (UTC) Magnitude Area Country State/Prov./Gov. Location Risk Source Details
25.07.2012 06:30:35 2.1 North America United States Washington May Creek There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 06:30:58 2.3 North America United States Alaska Y VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 06:15:37 3.0 North America United States California Cobb There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 06:20:21 3.0 South-America Chile Valparaíso Los Andes VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 05:16:25 2.0 North America United States California Cobb There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 06:20:45 3.1 Asia Turkey Siirt Uzyum VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 04:55:53 2.8 North America United States Alaska Sunrise VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 05:15:19 3.0 Europe Czech Republic Kanovice VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 06:21:06 3.1 Asia Turkey Van Yuvacik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 05:15:55 2.4 South-America Chile Valparaíso La Ligua VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 04:15:25 2.2 Europe Poland Lower Silesian Voivodeship Patnow VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 04:10:30 2.3 North America United States Alaska Nanwalek There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 04:15:48 3.5 Asia Turkey Van Yuvacik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 04:16:09 2.9 South-America Bolivia Potosí Villa Alota There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 04:16:33 2.2 Asia Turkey ?zmir Urla VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 06:21:25 2.7 Asia Turkey Van Toyga There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 04:16:54 2.3 Asia Turkey Van Toyga There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 03:10:21 2.7 Europe Greece Central Greece Neon Monastirion VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 02:45:27 2.0 North America United States Nevada Black Rock City VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 04:17:15 2.0 Asia Turkey Kütahya Saphane VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 02:40:49 6.6 Indonesian archipelago Indonesia Aceh Sinabang VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 03:10:47 5.9 Indonesian Archipelago Indonesia Aceh Sinabang VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 03:11:08 2.1 Europe France Centre Levroux VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 04:40:35 2.3 Caribbean Puerto Rico Juana Diaz Potala Pastillo VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 04:17:36 2.4 Asia Turkey Van Yuvacik VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 03:11:28 2.1 Asia Turkey Bal?kesir Susurluk VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 03:11:49 2.5 Asia Turkey Van Toyga There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 01:55:24 2.0 North America United States Alaska Happy Valley There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 01:40:39 2.0 North America United States Alaska Four Mile Road There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 02:05:25 2.2 Asia Turkey Van Toyga There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 02:05:46 2.4 Asia Turkey Mu?la Ula VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 02:06:07 4.0 South-America Chile Antofagasta San Pedro de Atacama There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 02:06:29 2.6 Asia Turkey Van Toyga There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 02:06:55 4.4 Asia Turkey Van Yuvacik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 01:25:27 4.5 Asia Turkey Van Yuvacik There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 00:55:28 2.8 North America United States California Ferndale VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 00:55:58 2.1 North America United States California Cobb There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 01:00:27 2.9 Europe Greece South Aegean Adamas There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 02:07:15 2.2 Asia Turkey Mu?la Datca There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 00:45:29 2.0 North America United States Alaska Lake Minchumina VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 00:35:44 2.7 North America United States Alaska Valdez VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 02:07:36 2.4 Asia Turkey Mu?la Sarigerme VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 01:00:47 3.9 South-America Chile Antofagasta San Pedro de Atacama There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 02:07:58 3.5 South-America Chile Antofagasta San Pedro de Atacama There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 00:00:26 2.3 Europe Poland Silesian Voivodeship Zbytkow VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 02:08:20 2.4 Asia Turkey Amasya Dedekoy VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
24.07.2012 23:35:27 2.0 North America United States Alaska Point MacKenzie VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 00:00:46 4.7 Europe Russia Kamtsjatka Kamenskoye VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
25.07.2012 00:50:59 4.8 Asia Russia Kamtsjatka Tilichiki VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
25.07.2012 00:01:06 3.1 Europe Greece Central Greece Zarakes VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
Date/Time (UTC) Message Location Magnitude Depth Status Details
25.07.2012 00:34 AM Tsunami Information Bulletin Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra 6.6 0 km Details

Original Bulletin

Tsunami Information Bulletin in Off W Coast Of Northern Sumatra, Indian Ocean

000
WEIO23 PHEB 250034
TIBIOX

TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 001
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 0034Z 25 JUL 2012

THIS BULLETIN IS FOR ALL AREAS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN.

... TSUNAMI INFORMATION BULLETIN ...

THIS MESSAGE IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY.

THIS BULLETIN IS ISSUED AS ADVICE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.  ONLY
NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE
DECISIONS REGARDING THE OFFICIAL STATE OF ALERT IN THEIR AREA AND
ANY ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN RESPONSE.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

 ORIGIN TIME -  0028Z 25 JUL 2012
 COORDINATES -   2.5 NORTH   95.8 EAST
 LOCATION    -  OFF W COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
 MAGNITUDE   -  6.6

EVALUATION

 A DESTRUCTIVE WIDESPREAD TSUNAMI THREAT DOES NOT EXIST BASED ON
 HISTORICAL EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI DATA.

 HOWEVER - THERE IS A VERY SMALL POSSIBILITY OF A LOCAL TSUNAMI
 THAT COULD AFFECT COASTS LOCATED USUALLY NO MORE THAN A HUNDRED
 KILOMETERS FROM THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER. AUTHORITIES IN THE
 REGION NEAR THE EPICENTER SHOULD BE MADE AWARE OF THIS
 POSSIBILITY.

THIS WILL BE THE ONLY BULLETIN ISSUED BY THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI
WARNING CENTER FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
BECOMES AVAILABLE.

THE JAPAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY MAY ISSUE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
FOR THIS EVENT. IN THE CASE OF CONFLICTING INFORMATION...THE
MORE CONSERVATIVE INFORMATION SHOULD BE USED FOR SAFETY.

No damage, tsunami after 6.6 quake hits off Indonesia’s Sumatra

JAKARTA

(Reuters) – A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 struck off northern Sumatra in Indonesia on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, but authorities said there was little chance of a tsunami.

The quake was felt by residents on the island of Simeulue off Sumatra’s northwest coast but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

“The quake has no tsunami potential,” said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency. “Some people ran away from their houses. We don’t have any house damage.”

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a widespread, destructive tsunami after the quake, about 330 km (205 miles) southeast of Indonesia’s Banda Aceh. It said there was a “very small possibility” of a local tsunami. (Reporting by Olivia Rondonuwu; Writing by Paul Tait; Editing by Michael Perry)

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Volcanic Activity

Tongariro volcano (New Zealand): seismic swarm, a possible precursor to new activity

BY: T

Tongariro volcano is showing signs of a possible awakening. On 13 July 2012, an increase in small (<M2.5) earthquakes was detected. The quakes were clustered at depths of 2-7 km under the area between Emerald crater and Te Mari crater. More than 20 earthquakes were recorded until 20 July, when the seismic activity peaked and prompted GeoNet to raise the alert level from 0 to 1. Compared to a background average of 2 quakes per year, the swarm is significant and could indicate magma movements. Seismic activity dropped on 21 July with only 1 quake since then, but preliminary measurements show an increase in volcanic gas emission. NZ Scientist started to increase their monitoring at the volcano.

 

 

New Mechanism Observes Activity of Caldera in Santorini

By The new seismic-detecting mechanism that observes the activity of the volcano in Santorini, Caldera, was finally placed at the bottom of the sea. The scientific community now says it will be ready to warn authorities in case there is any alarming activity. The new mechanism is the cutting edge of technology of its kind.

The procedure to place the mechanism at the bottom of the sea took ten days and the team of scientists of the project hailed from Greece, France and Spain. The mechanism is placed in the north part of Caldera, where the deepest spot is 389m. The mechanism was set up with the use of two special ships owned by the Greek Center of Sea Research. The mechanism is equipped with instruments that can assess the structure of the bottom of the sea and measure its temperature. That way scientists can have a better look at the volcano’s activity.

Dimitris Sakellariou, the head of the program, said that the first signs show that the volcano has very limited activity. He also pointed out that although the program should have started a long time ago, there is a high risk that due to the economic crisis its survival will be an issue.

Source: (in.gr)

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather /Drought

Today Heat Wave Japan [Statewide] Damage level Details

Heat Wave in Japan on Wednesday, 25 July, 2012 at 03:36 (03:36 AM) UTC.

Description
The number of people taken to hospitals by ambulance due to heatstroke in the week through Sunday more than doubled from the preceding week to 5,467, preliminary data showed Tuesday. The figure, up from 2,622 in the week to July 15, hit the highest for a single week this summer, according to the data released by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Deaths caused by heatstroke increased to 13 from five in the preceding week. Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture had the most victims, with ambulances called for 388 people each. They were followed by 382 in Aichi Prefecture and 372 in Osaka Prefecture. People aged 65 or older accounted for 45.9 percent of the total. Since the agency started this year’s survey on May 28, 11,116 people were taken to hospitals as of Sunday. Twenty-three people have died. The rise in heatstroke cases reflects the smothering heat wave, with temperatures of 35 degrees or higher observed in many places for the four days from July 16, agency officials said. In Tatebayashi, Gunma Prefecture, the mercury shot up to 37.6 on July 16 and to 39.2 the following day, according to the Meteorological Agency.
24.07.2012 Heat Wave South Korea [Statewide] Damage level Details

Heat Wave in South Korea on Tuesday, 24 July, 2012 at 14:09 (02:09 PM) UTC.

Description
Weather authorities issued heat wave advisories nationwide on Tuesday in response to a heat wave that has been gripping South Korea, with the capital city experiencing its second straight “tropical night” this week. The so-called tropical night phenomenon is defined by nighttime lows staying above 25 C, with nighttime being from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. It often happens when monsoon season ends, which falls in July in general for the country. Overnight lows across the nation soared well above the threshold on Monday, with the eastern coastal city of Gangneung recording the highest temperature at 28.7 C followed by the southern city of Pohang at 27.1 C. The temperature overnight in Seoul also reached 25.8 C to mark its second consecutive tropical night, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The scorching heat led the weather authorities to issue the country’s first heat wave warnings in the southeastern city of Daegu and its surrounding areas in North Gyeongsang Province, set to take effect from 11 a.m. The daytime highs in the region are forecast to soar above 35 C, according to the KMA. The agency also extended the heat wave advisories from the southern regions to the central part of the country including Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi areas starting at 11 a.m., with the daytime high in Seoul being expected to climb to 32 C. Heat wave advisories are issued when the mercury goes over 33 C for at least two days, and heat wave warnings are issued when it soars up to 35 C for at least two consecutive days. The heat wave on the Korean Peninsula is forecast to be unabated until at least the end of July due to the influence of a hot and humid North Pacific high temperature system, the weather agency said.
24.07.2012 Extreme Weather USA State of Wisconsin, City of Beloit Damage level Details

Extreme Weather in USA on Tuesday, 24 July, 2012 at 18:57 (06:57 PM) UTC.

Description
The City of Beloit endured trees blocking roads, fires and thousands of people without power after a series of storms rocked their city on Tuesday morning. “We had a lot of trees down, wires down. We had about 7,000 people without power,” Beloit Fire Chief Brad Liggett told Newsradio 620 WTMJ’s Jon Byman. “We at one time had about 35 calls for response for wires down and trees on fire, trees across the roadway, patients that require oxygen who were without power.” Roads were closed, especially in residential neighborhoods on the west side. Chief Liggett explained that he was hoping for roads closed by fallen trees to be re-opened within 24 hours after crews saw the trunks up to remove them. “It’s a pretty severe storm. The last time I remember a storm like this was in August of 2003,” said Liggett. Alliant Energy said about 12,000 customers had lost power due to the storms in that area.
Today Forest / Wild Fire Canada Province of Ontario, [Muskoka Lakes region] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in Canada on Wednesday, 25 July, 2012 at 03:07 (03:07 AM) UTC.

Description
About 50 residents have been evacuated due to a brush fire in central Ontario’s cottage country. Muskoka Lakes Mayor Alice Murphy says four township fire stations have responded to the blaze on Huckleberry Rock in Milford Bay. The Ministry of Natural Resources is assisting with a water bomber. Murphy says there’s no information yet on the cause of the brush fire, and motorists are being turned away from entering Milford Bay. Murphy says those with no need to travel Highway 118 west in the Milford Bay area should stay away. The response is being co-ordinated by the Muskoka Lakes fire department, the provincial police and the natural resources ministry.
24.07.2012 Forest / Wild Fire Canada Province of Manitoba, [Red Sucker Lake First Nation, Wasagamack First Nation, St. Theresa Point First Nation and Garden Hill First Nation] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in Canada on Tuesday, 24 July, 2012 at 17:09 (05:09 PM) UTC.

Description
More than 800 people from four northern Manitoba First Nations have been flown to Winnipeg and Brandon due to forest fires near their home communities. Officials said people deemed the most vulnerable, such as those with asthma and other breathing conditions, were flown out first, while others may follow if the fire situation gets worse. “We didn’t have anybody who was acutely distressed from smoke inhalation but we did have folks with runny eyes, coughing, sore throats, which is a normal effect from being involved with the forest fires,” said Janice Lowe from the Brandon Regional Health Authority. The Manitoba Association of Native Firefighters is looking after the evacuations and asked both Brandon and Winnipeg to host the evacuees, due to the large number. “This is the largest evacuation that we’ve handled in recent times,” said Brian Kayes from the City of Brandon. On Monday, the province said 77 forest fires are burning in Manitoba. As of July 20, more than 360 firefighters were battling the blazes, with 12 water bombers and 31 helicopters being used. Fires are currently burning in northeastern and western, central and eastern parts of Manitoba, said officials. The largest numbers of fires are currently burning in the northeastern part of Manitoba. Officials from the Manitoba Association of Native Firefighters said people had to leave Red Sucker Lake First Nation, Wasagamack First Nation, St. Theresa Point First Nation and Garden Hill First Nation. They said it’s tough to determine how long people could be out of their homes, due to the unpredictable nature of forest fires. They said, however, people should be prepared to be out of their homes for approximately three to seven days. Community members said homes are not currently at risk of burning. Some evacuees, however, said leaving was still difficult. “Some people don’t want to go because they don’t want to leave their homes,” said Eric Wood from Garden Hill Public Health.
25.07.2012 Forest / Wild Fire Croatia Primorsko-Goranska Region, [Near to Selce and Moscenicka Draga] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in Croatia on Tuesday, 24 July, 2012 at 04:28 (04:28 AM) UTC.

Description
A firefighter has died and 1,500 tourists have been evacuated after forest fires fanned by strong winds broke out on Croatia’s Adriatic coast. “The situation is very difficult … we are doing everything possible to protect people’s lives and property,” Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic said, as the fires continued to blaze out of control on Monday in the increasingly popular tourist area. “Everything is ready for (further) evacuations,” said the minister, who visited the coastal resort of Selce, close to the northern port of Rijeka, where some 150 firefighters were battling the blaze. A firefighter died while battling another blaze that broke out near Moscenicka Draga on the Istria peninsula, fire service official Slavko Gaus said. That fire was brought under control later in the day. The inferno broke out in the morning in the hinterland of Rijeka, some 180km southwest of Zagreb, and spread towards Selce. Strong winds of more than 100km an hour made tackling the fires very difficult as water-bombing planes could not be used, the authorities said. In Selce some 1,500 tourists from two campsites, mostly Slovenians and Austrians, were evacuated while a number of other tourists left a nearby hotel, officials said. Part of the Adriatic coastal highway was closed, police said. The resort was cut off from electricity and phone lines were down, Nova television reported, showing footage of people in Selce covering their faces with scarves to protect themselves from the thick smoke and ashes. The roofs of several houses also caught fire.
25.07.2012 Forest / Wild Fire Portugal Atlantic Ocean – North, [Island of Madeira ] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in Portugal on Thursday, 19 July, 2012 at 19:09 (07:09 PM) UTC.

Description
Wildfires have forced the evacuation of dozens of villagers from their homes in Madeira on Thursday, with the Portuguese authorities sending teams from the mainland to help overwhelmed local firefighters. Portugal had suffered from a severe drought this year before being hit by temperatures of up to 40C this week, which has triggered forest blazes on the mainland too. More than 300 firefighters were struggling on Thursday to put out wildfires near Tavira, a popular holiday destination in the Algarve region near the Spanish border. Authorities in Madeira have used planes and helicopters to combat the flames, including an aircraft sent by Spain’s civil defence. Portugal sent a military transport plane with 83 firefighters to Madeira, where the flames briefly threatened the outskirts of Funchal, the archipelago’s capital, on Wednesday night. The Portuguese interior minister, Miguel Macedo, is also in Madeira to co-ordinate the efforts. While Funchal was mostly out of danger on Thursday, television footage from the archipelago’s smaller island of Porto Santo showed houses catching fire and firefighters telling residents of Camacha to abandon the area. “The changing wind is strongly compromising the effort to put out the flames, and we only have five firemen there and one truck,” the local fire brigade chief, Afonso Nobrega, told the Lusa news agency. SIC television showed a local man shouting for help to get three women out of a building whose door was on fire. Enveloped in heavy smoke, local residents sprayed water on the outside of their homes while others fled. There have been no reports of deaths of serious injuries. This year’s drought, coupled with scorching weather, poses a threat that fires will escalate during the hottest period in late July and August.
25.07.2012 Forest / Wild Fire Greece West Greece, [Patras city area] Damage level Details

Forest / Wild Fire in Greece on Wednesday, 18 July, 2012 at 11:06 (11:06 AM) UTC.

Description
Authorities issued evacuation orders for villages in southwestern Greece on Wednesday where wildfires, aided by strong winds and soaring temperatures, have ravaged large areas. The blaze, burning mostly pine forest, sent smoke over the city of Patras, a port with some 220,000 inhabitants, where regional authorities have declared an emergency. Nine planes and one helicopter were involved in the firefighting effort at Argyra, some 15 kilometres (9 miles) east of Patras. Apostolos Katsifaras, regional governor for western Greece, said evacuation orders had been issued for villages in the rugged fire stricken area — likely to involve several hundred residents. “The conditions are very tough. We are using everything we have against the fire,” Katsifaras said. The state of emergency allows authorities to use additional resources, including Greece’s military.
25.07.2012 Drought USA State of Washington, [Counties of Adams, Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Jefferson, Kitsap, Kittitas, Klickitat, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Walla Walla and Yakim] Damage level Details

Drought in USA on Tuesday, 24 July, 2012 at 08:03 (08:03 AM) UTC.

Description
Gov. Chris Gregoire on Monday proclaimed a state of emergency for 16 Washington counties hit by a series of recent storms. Most of the counties are in the eastern half of the state. One death in northeast Washington’s Ferry County is considered storm-related, the governor said. A series of storms that started July 13 have caused power outages, fuel shortages and road closures that threaten some at-risk populations, Gregoire said. High winds, severe thunderstorms and extreme rainfall have damaged homes, businesses and public buildings. The proclamation directs state agencies to “do everything reasonably possible” to help affected communities recover. After a fierce thunder and rain storm last Friday, Ferry County and the Colville Tribes asked for state assistance. The small community of Keller on the Colville Reservation was pummeled by the storm, with downed trees blocking roads, crushing power lines and damaging houses. KHQ-TV reports the Keller Community Center has been functioning as the town’s hub.

“Everyone comes here. This is the place to be,” said volunteer Corrie Johnson. The community center has been offering meals and shelter to those who need it. Winds in northeast Washington hit 66 mph during Friday’s storm, National Weather Service meteorologist John Livingston told the Spokesman-Review. Forest Service officials in the Republic Ranger District said the storm winds toppled numerous trees, blocking trails and roads. “It was horrendous, chaotic,” Christine Bonney, the Republic Police Department’s administrative assistant, told the newspaper. “There were fields of trees lying flat, like the wind ironed them down.” In the Okanogan County community of Omak in north-central Washington, crews were still cleaning up Monday after rain from Friday’s storm flooded about five blocks of downtown streets. At one point, water was knee-deep in the downtown area, the Wenatchee World reported. Several highways in the county were closed temporarily due to downed trees and rain-caused mudslides, Sheriff Frank Rogers said. Grant County also saw pounding hail and isolated flooding.

Counties included in the proclamation include: Adams, Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Jefferson, Kitsap, Kittitas, Klickitat, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Walla Walla and Yakima.

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Storms / Flooding

24.07.2012 Tropical Storm China Hong Kong Special Administrative Regions, Hong Kong Damage level Details

Tropical Storm in China on Tuesday, 24 July, 2012 at 13:06 (01:06 PM) UTC.

Description
Fifty people were injured and trees ripped from the ground as Typhoon Vicente lashed Hong Kong, packing winds in excess of 140 kilometres per hour. Authorities raised the typhoon warning to the most severe level of 10 for the first time since 1999 just after midnight, as Typhoon Vicente roared to within 100km of Hong Kong but it was eventually downgraded to eight. “In the past few hours, Vicente intensified rapidly into a severe typhoon and moved in a more northerly direction, edging closer to Hong Kong,” the Hong Kong Observatory said in a statement following the 10 warning. More than 200 trees fell and pieces of buildings were seen crashing into downtown streets as commuters made their way home from work on Monday evening. Ferry, bus and train services were suspended or ran at reduced capacity, the port was closed and 15 passenger flights to the regional aviation hub were cancelled. More than 210 flights were delayed. The Hong Kong stock exchange delayed the opening of trading on Tuesday until authorities gave the all-clear that it was safe to go to work.

School classes and hospital outpatient clinics were suspended until further notice. Flooding was reported in two areas. Fifteen people were hospitalised out of 50 who sought medical treatment, officials said. Almost 250 people sought refuge in storm shelters. Local media reported that more than 100 commuters stayed in the Tai Wai underground train station overnight, unable to get home after services were suspended. The 10 warning was downgraded to eight early on Tuesday morning as the storm passed to the west and weakened over the southern Chinese coast, but authorities warned residents to remain vigilant. “Although Vicente is moving gradually away from Hong Kong and started to weaken, gale force winds are still prevailing over parts of the territory with occasional storm force winds offshore and on high ground and frequent heavy squally showers,” the Observatory said. “Members of the public are advised not to relax their precautions.”

Severe typhoon hits Hong Kong

Tropical cyclone warning raised to its highest level, grounding flights and disrupting businesses across financial hub.

Storm surges and sea wave warnings have been heightened, with winds of up to 100 kph expected [AFP]
A severe typhoon has hit Hong Kong, disrupting business across the financial hub, with offices and the stock market to remain closed for at least part of the morning after the city raised its highest typhoon warning overnight.

Typhoon Vicente battered Hong Kong with gale-force winds and torrential rain, grounding flights and shutting port operations on Tuesday.

Authorities raised the No. 10 tropical cyclone signal for several hours overnight, making this one of the strongest
typhoons to hit the city in the past decade.

Al Jazeera’s Stephanie Scawen, reporting from Hong Kong, said “heavy rain is coming through” the financial hub, and is expected to last “probably for a few days”.

Highest warning level

Financial markets, schools, businesses and non-essential government services close when a No. 8 signal or above is
hoisted, posing a disruption to business in the capitalist hub and former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

By 8am local time (00:00 GMT), the typhoon was veering away from the city and weakening, although the No. 8 signal is expected to remain in force until at least 10am (02:00 GMT), the Hong Kong Observatory said, which would force a closure of the stock market for the morning.

Hong Kong Observatory raised the No. 10 signal early on Tuesday as typhoon Vicente swept closer to Hong Kong [Reuters]

The market will be closed for the day if the No. 8 signal remains in place until noon (04:00 GMT), after it dropped three per cent on Monday.

Separately, China’s National Meteorological Centre issued an orange alert for Typhoon Vicente, the second highest warning level in China’s four-tier typhoon warning system, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Strengthening gale-force winds overturned trees, churned up huge waves in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour and sent debris
flying, injuring some 30 people as Vicente hit the city and the western reaches of China’s Guangdong province.

Fifteen flights were cancelled and more than 200 delayed late on Monday, aviation authorities said, although Hong Kong’s
main carrier Cathay Pacific said it planned to resume some flights.

The Hong Kong Observatory raised the No. 10 signal early on Tuesday as typhoon Vicente swept much closer to Hong Kong than initially thought, making this the first time the highest typhoon signal had been raised since 1999.

More than 30,000 Chinese fishing boats were alerted to return to harbour, with 10,560 fishermen taking shelter ashore
in Guangdong, Chinese state media reported. Storm surges and sea wave warnings were heightened, with winds of up to 100 kph expected.

Source:
Al Jazeera And Agencies

 

Photos: Dust Storm Envelops Phoenix Area

weather.com     Associated Press

weather.com

The sky turned orange in Scottsdale, Ariz. during the Haboob. iWitness/Mikelp82

PHOENIX — A dust storm, or haboob, enveloped the greater Phoenix area in a cloud of yellow-gray blowing dust on Saturday night.

(MORE: Origin of the word “haboob”)

National Weather Service meteorologist Charlotte Dewey said the storm was moving northwest and was first spotted between Eloy and Tucson.

The haboob covered cities in the metropolitan Phoenix area such as Scottsdale, Gilbert, Mesa, Apache Junction, Santan Valley, Chandler, Casa Grande and downtown Phoenix.

There were no official estimates of its size, but Dewey says spotters estimated it was around 2,000 feet tall. She says there were also reports of 35 mph wind gusts in the area, and a report of a 50 mph gust at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.

Above are photos of the event from The Associated Press and our iWitness Weather contributors.

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Radiation / Nuclear

24.07.2012 Nuclear Event India State of Rajasthan, Rawatbhata [Rajasthan Atomic Power Station, District of Chittorgarh] Damage level Details

Nuclear Event in India on Tuesday, 24 July, 2012 at 10:49 (10:49 AM) UTC.

Description
More than 40 workers at a nuclear power station in northern India have been exposed to tritium radiation in two separate leaks in the past five weeks. The first accident occurred on June 23 when 38 people were exposed during maintenance work on a coolant channel at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station in Rawatbhata, senior plant manager Vinod Kumar said. Two of them received radiation doses equivalent to the annual permissible limit, he said, but all those involved have returned to work. In a second incident last Thursday, another four maintenance workers at the plant were exposed to tritium radiation while they were repairing a faulty seal on a pipe. India is on a nuclear power drive, with a host of plants based on Russian, Japanese, American and French technology under consideration or construction.

The country’s growing economy is currently heavily dependent on coal, getting less than 3% of its energy from its existing atomic plants, and the government hopes to raise the figure to 25% by 2050. But environmental watchdogs have expressed concerns about safety in India, where small-scale industrial accidents due to negligence or poor maintenance are commonplace and regulatory bodies are often under-staffed and under-funded. The director of the Rajasthan power station, C.P. Jamb, confirmed the second accident to AFP but said the radiation was within permissible limits and posed no health threat. “The workers were exposed to radiation from 10 to 25 per cent of the annual limit,” Jamb said. “Such minor leakages keep on happening but they cause no harm.” C.D. Rajput, director of the unit where the leak happened, also said the radiation exposure “was well under the limits and all the workers are working normally”. No explanation was immediately available as to why the first incident at the plant took a month to emerge.

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Epidemic  Hazards / Diseases

25.07.2012 Epidemic Democratic Republic of the Congo Province of North Kivu, [Province-wide] Damage level Details

 

 

 

Epidemic in Democratic Republic of the Congo on Tuesday, 24 July, 2012 at 02:57 (02:57 AM) UTC.

Description
The security situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) province of North Kivu has been deteriorating for months because of armed conflict between various renegade soldier groups. The fighting has resulted in the displacement of approximately 250,000 people from the area fleeing the violence in search of safety. Health concerns have also risen in violence-ridden areas of the eastern DRC. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) Global Alert and Response (GAR) issued Monday, the DRC has reported a sharp increase in the number of cholera cases in the armed conflict area of North Kivu. For the three weeks spanning June 11 to July 1, 368 new cases of cholera were reported. Because of the lack of security in the area, there is a concern those stricken with cholera will have difficulty in accessing the health-care facilities and could increase the number of severe and fatal cases. The WHO also reports the fear of the cholera spilling over the borders into neighboring countries Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda. Médecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and its partners blame the outbreak on a lack of potable drinking water.

Patients are being treated with infusions and antibiotics as appropriate, at treatment centres. Interventions to control the epidemic that are being carried out include education and communication; management of cases; increased surveillance; hygiene and sanitation; and provision of safe drinking water.WHO is working to support national authorities in response to the cholera outbreak and the broader humanitarian emergency resulting from conflict and population displacement. Cholera is an acute bacterial intestinal disease characterized by sudden onset, profuse watery stools (given the appearance as rice water stools because of flecks of mucus in water) due to a very potent enterotoxin. The enterotoxin leads to an extreme loss of fluid and electrolytes in the production of diarrhea. It has been noted that an untreated patient can lose his bodyweight in fluids in hours resulting in shock and death. It is caused by the bacterium, Vibrio cholerae. Serogroups O1 and O139 are the types associated with the epidemiological characteristics of cholera (outbreaks). The bacteria are acquired through ingestion of contaminated water or food through a number of mechanisms. Water is usually contaminated by the feces of infected individuals.

Drinking water can be contaminated at the source, during transport or during storage at home.Food can be contaminated by soiled hands, during preparation or while eating. Beverages and ice prepared with contaminated water and fruits and vegetables washed with this water are other examples. Some outbreaks are linked to raw or undercooked seafood. The incubation for cholera can be from a few hours to 5 days. As long as the stools are positive, the person is infective. Some patients may become carriers of the organism which can last for months. Cholera is diagnosed by growing the bacteria in culture. Treatment consists of replacement of fluids lost, intravenous replacement in severe cases. Doxycycline or tetracycline antibiotic therapy can shorten the course of severe disease. According to Wikipedia, North Kivu is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Its capital is Goma. North Kivu borders the provinces of Orientale to the north and northwest, Maniema to the southwest, and South Kivu to the south. To the east, it borders the countries of Uganda and Rwanda.

Biohazard name: Cholera Outbreak
Biohazard level: 2/4 Medium
Biohazard desc.: Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV. “Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3) facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures”, see Recommended Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed

 

 

 

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Solar Activity

2MIN News July 24, 2012: Spaceweather Ramp-Up

Published on Jul 24, 2012 by

EARTHQUAKE WATCH: http://youtu.be/SMiHsOYwdCs

REPEAT LINKS
Spaceweather: http://spaceweather.com/ [Look on the left at the X-ray Flux and Solar Wind Speed/Density]

HAARP: http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/data.html [Click online data, and have a little fun]

SDO: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/ [Place to find Solar Images and Videos - as seen from earth]

SOHO: http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/soho_movie_theater [SOHO; Lasco and EIT - as seen from earth]

Stereo: http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/images [Stereo; Cor, EUVI, HI - as seen from the side]

SunAEON:http://www.sunaeon.com/#/solarsystem/ [Just click it... trust me]

SOLARIMG: http://solarimg.org/artis/ [All purpose data viewing site]

iSWA: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/iswa/iSWA.html [Free Application; for advanced sun watchers]

NOAA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/cme-based/ [CME Evolution]

NOAA Bouys: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/

RSOE: http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php [That cool alert map I use]

JAPAN Radiation Map: http://jciv.iidj.net/map/

LISS: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/monitoring/operations/heliplots_gsn.php

Gamma Ray Bursts: http://grb.sonoma.edu/ [Really? You can't figure out what this one is for?]

BARTOL Cosmic Rays: http://neutronm.bartol.udel.edu//spaceweather/welcome.html [Top left box, look for BIG blue circles]

TORCON: http://www.weather.com/news/tornado-torcon-index [Tornado Forecast for the day]

GOES Weather: http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ [Clouds over America]

INTELLICAST: http://www.intellicast.com/ [Weather site used by many youtubers]

NASA News: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/

PHYSORG: http://phys.org/ [GREAT News Site!]

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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
(2009 PC) 28th July 2012 3 day(s) 0.1772 68.9 61 m – 140 m 7.34 km/s 26424 km/h
217013 (2001 AA50) 31st July 2012 6 day(s) 0.1355 52.7 580 m – 1.3 km 22.15 km/s 79740 km/h
(2012 DS30) 02nd August 2012 8 day(s) 0.1224 47.6 18 m – 39 m 5.39 km/s 19404 km/h
(2000 RN77) 03rd August 2012 9 day(s) 0.1955 76.1 410 m – 920 m 9.87 km/s 35532 km/h
(2004 SB56) 04th August 2012 10 day(s) 0.1393 54.2 380 m – 840 m 13.72 km/s 49392 km/h
(2000 SD8) 04th August 2012 10 day(s) 0.1675 65.2 180 m – 400 m 5.82 km/s 20952 km/h
(2006 EC) 06th August 2012 12 day(s) 0.0932 36.3 13 m – 28 m 6.13 km/s 22068 km/h
(2006 MV1) 07th August 2012 13 day(s) 0.0612 23.8 12 m – 28 m 4.79 km/s 17244 km/h
(2005 RK3) 08th August 2012 14 day(s) 0.1843 71.7 52 m – 120 m 8.27 km/s 29772 km/h
(2009 BW2) 09th August 2012 15 day(s) 0.0337 13.1 25 m – 56 m 5.27 km/s 18972 km/h
277475 (2005 WK4) 09th August 2012 15 day(s) 0.1283 49.9 260 m – 580 m 6.18 km/s 22248 km/h
(2004 SC56) 09th August 2012 15 day(s) 0.0811 31.6 74 m – 170 m 10.57 km/s 38052 km/h
(2008 AF4) 10th August 2012 16 day(s) 0.1936 75.3 310 m – 690 m 16.05 km/s 57780 km/h
37655 Illapa 12th August 2012 18 day(s) 0.0951 37.0 770 m – 1.7 km 28.73 km/s 103428 km/h
(2012 HS15) 14th August 2012 20 day(s) 0.1803 70.2 220 m – 490 m 11.54 km/s 41544 km/h
4581 Asclepius 16th August 2012 22 day(s) 0.1079 42.0 220 m – 490 m 13.48 km/s 48528 km/h
(2008 TC4) 18th August 2012 24 day(s) 0.1937 75.4 140 m – 300 m 17.34 km/s 62424 km/h
(2006 CV) 20th August 2012 26 day(s) 0.1744 67.9 290 m – 640 m 13.24 km/s 47664 km/h
(2012 EC) 20th August 2012 26 day(s) 0.0815 31.7 56 m – 130 m 5.57 km/s 20052 km/h
162421 (2000 ET70) 21st August 2012 27 day(s) 0.1503 58.5 640 m – 1.4 km 12.92 km/s 46512 km/h
(2007 WU3) 21st August 2012 27 day(s) 0.1954 76.0 56 m – 120 m 5.25 km/s 18900 km/h
1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers Source: NASA-NEO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAO Astronomers Focus Their Attention
On Accretion Around Young Star TW Hydrae
 

MessageToEagle.com – TW Hydrae is a star between 5-10 million years old, and only 176 light-years away, in the direction of the constellation of Hydrae (the Water Snake), is in the final stage of formation.

It’s surrounded by a disc of dust and gas that may condense to form a complete set of planets. TW Hydrae has passed out of its infancy but is not yet mature.

Astronomers are trying to understand the processes at work in stars at this stage in their lives because, for example, during this period planets might be developing from disks around the stars.

 

The nature of the star’s corona, the very hot (over a million degrees centigrade) extended gaseous outer atmosphere, is one such process. TW Hydrae provides a valuable example for two reasons:

It is relatively close by and therefore bright, and it is rotating with its pole pointed nearly directly towards Earth, enabling scientists to view the star’s polar region nearly face on.

Like other young stars of its size and age, TW Hydrae emits strong X-rays and lines of ionized hydrogen. These are thought to result from shocks generated as material flows onto the stellar surface, and from magnetically heated gas in the corona.

Like other young stars of its size and age, TW Hydrae emits strong X-rays and astronomers investigate why, and how might they effect the star’s proto-planetary disk?

 

TW Hydrae

The star system TW Hydrae, shown here in an artist’s conception, possesses a protoplanetary disk holding vast numbers of pebble-sized rocky chunks. Those pebbles eventually should grow to become full-sized planets. Credit: Bill Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF)
Several mechanisms have been proposed, including coronal magnetic field activity similar to that on the sun, accretion onto the stellar surface that might also contribute to winds and flares, and shocks from jets that develop.

Each mechanism has associated with it hot gas with characteristic temperatures and densities.

 

A schematic diagram of the surface of TW Hydrae, illustrating where strong X-ray emission might arise. Accreting material can produce winds and shocks at the stellar photosphere; some parameters are specified. Credit: N. Brickhouse, et al, 2010
Recently, SAO astronomers Andrea Dupree, Nancy Brickhouse, Steve Cranmer, Juan Luna, and Evan Schneider, along with colleagues, also observed TW Hya with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, with complementary and simultaneous measurements from a suite of other telescopes.

They continuously monitored the star over about seventeen days, during which time they observed both periodic and flaring events on the star.

 


Click on image to enlargeAn artist’s conception of an icy, planet-forming disk around the young star TW Hydrae. Astronomers have used the Herschel Space Observatory to detect copious amounts of water ice in this source. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Their results show that the star has both a hot solar-like corona and an accretion shock at relatively high densities and small volumes.

Interestingly, the shocked gas heats a larger volume of the stellar atmosphere up to 2 million degrees, much hotter than the 10,000 degree hot spots previously known from optical and ultraviolet spectra.

The new results are able to explain many of the earlier puzzles associated with X-ray emission, help to identify how winds can be produced in these stars, and suggest that the magnetic processes at work in this star are by no means unique but may be ubiquitous in other young stars of similar mass.

The scientists, in a astronomical first, were able to track an accretion flare spectroscopically, providing direct information on how the excitation of the gas evolves during these events.

The team successfully modeled the emission as arising in a sequence: A shock develops from accreting material and then flows down into a turbulent region, heating the star’s photosphere. This ultimately leads to coronal heating and the development of stellar winds.

MessageToEagle.com

See also:
Mysterious Planet Discovered Lurking At The Edge Of Our Solar System: Has Nemesis Been Found?

 

 

 

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Biological Hazards / Wildlife / Hazmat

Today Biological Hazard USA State of California, Santa Barbara [Near to East Beach] Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in USA on Wednesday, 25 July, 2012 at 03:38 (03:38 AM) UTC.

Description
A Great White shark attacked an adult female sea lion near East Beach in Santa Barbara Tuesday morning. The Harbor Patrol and officials with the Marine Mammal Center responded to the scene and confirmed the shark attack. Peter Howorth, Director of the Marine Mammal Center, tells KEY News they are hoping the animal comes back to land so they can catch it and treat the injury. Howorth says he saw the tooth marks pattern and the diameter is from a Great White. The wound appears infected which means the attack did not occur today and may or may have not happened at East Beach. He says the wound is a few days old. The Parks Department’s policy is to post signs for 72 hours at eight locations along city beaches advising of the attack. Swimmers are told to enter the ocean at their own risk at this time. If more shark sightings occur the signs will be posted for a longer period of time.
Biohazard name: Great White Shark spotted
Biohazard level: 0/4 —
Biohazard desc.: This does not included biological hazard category.
Symptoms:
Status:

Today Biological Hazard USA State of California, Indio Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in USA on Wednesday, 25 July, 2012 at 03:33 (03:33 AM) UTC.

Description
Angry bees swarmed two people in Indio, Calif. this morning, sending them to the hospital with almost 200 stings in all. Dr. Wesley Burks, who chairs the University of North Carolina’s pediatrics department and has a 30-year career that involves working with skin allergies, said an attack like that is rare. If fact, he’s never seen one firsthand. “Generally, you see somebody stung once or maybe five to ten times, but not 80 or 100,” Burks said. “I’ve talked to people that have seen them…but it’s less than a handful.” A gardener in Indio, whose name was not released, was trimming a palm tree just before 7 a.m. local time, when he apparently irritated the bees and prompted them to swarm around him, said Matt Kotz, a Riverside County firefighter, in an interview with ABCNews.com. The homeowner, an elderly woman, came out to help, but the bees attacked her as well. When Kotz and the other firefighters arrived, the bees were still attacking the victims on the ground, Kotz said. He said he watched as another crew sprayed the bees with water to fight them off.

The bees stung the woman more than 100 times, and they stung the homeowner more than 80 times, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. Burks said a large number of stings like this can often lead to anaphylactic shock – even if the patient is not allergic to bee stings. Each sting releases proteins into the victim’s body, causing swelling and eventually resulting in a histamine reaction – as if the body were reacting to an allergy. Sometimes, that swelling can even affect the victim’s ability to breath, Burks said. Burks said bee stings generally affect people the same way, regardless of age, but conditions like hypertension and diabetes can make it harder to respond and recover. No firefighters were injured because they wore gloves and bee hoods in addition to their helmets, Kotz said. Although firefighters are trained to kill bees with the same foam they use to put out fire, Kotz said the bees were left alone after the attack. “We didn’t want to kill the swarm,” Kotz said. “Obviously bees do good to the environment…and they weren’t actively stinging.” He said the bees were on private property and posed no risk once the attack ended. The fire department left it up to the homeowner to decide whether to remove them.

Biohazard name: Bees attack
Biohazard level: 0/4 —
Biohazard desc.: This does not included biological hazard category.
Symptoms:
Status:
Today Biological Hazard USA State of Florida, [Coastal areas of Florida] Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in USA on Wednesday, 25 July, 2012 at 02:59 (02:59 AM) UTC.

Description
Beachgoers looking for a day of sun and sand were shocked when they found scores of dead fish scattered over a Florida shore. Two-miles of Ormond Beach were covered with thousands of whiting, spot and sea trout carcases, shrivelling up in the heat. Officials believe the fish were the result of by-catch, extraneous marine life caught unintentionally by commercial fishing boats which is usually discarded. The thousands of fish began to wash ashore around 2 p.m. on Sunday, according to News13. ‘It was packed and we were swimming and swimming,’ said resident Monique Marella. Then the fish came and you sure couldn’t be the water. Everyone just left.’ Determined visitors walked for miles in either direction to escape the dead creatures, but they filled the water and the beach on either end. A Volusia County Beach Patrol captain said that several shrimp boats had been spotted near the shore and they were the likely culprits of the casualties. Lt Tammy Maris said that the incident was not unusual and that no public services would be deployed to clean up the mess. Sunbathers struggled to understand the biblical scene. ‘There’s just so many of them,’ Kevin Soravilla, visiting from New Jersey, said to the News-Journal. ‘I’ve never seen anything like it.’ Lt Maris said that the tide or the hunger of local seagulls would clear up the beach eventually. But not everyone was bothered by the seafood and the smell. ‘I’m here faithfully every day. This is my relaxation,’ Janet Menzel said. ‘They don’t bother me. I can share the beach.’
Biohazard name: Mass. Die-off (fishes)
Biohazard level: 1/4 Low
Biohazard desc.: Bacteria and viruses including Bacillus subtilis, canine hepatitis, Escherichia coli, varicella (chicken pox), as well as some cell cultures and non-infectious bacteria. At this level precautions against the biohazardous materials in question are minimal, most likely involving gloves and some sort of facial protection. Usually, contaminated materials are left in open (but separately indicated) waste receptacles. Decontamination procedures for this level are similar in most respects to modern precautions against everyday viruses (i.e.: washing one’s hands with anti-bacterial soap, washing all exposed surfaces of the lab with disinfectants, etc). In a lab environment, all materials used for cell and/or bacteria cultures are decontaminated via autoclave.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed
24.07.2012 Biological Hazard USA State of North Carolina, [Ocean Isle Beach] Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in USA on Tuesday, 24 July, 2012 at 18:08 (06:08 PM) UTC.

Description
EMS crews are at the scene of a possible shark bite in Ocean Isle Beach. Dispatch officials said a 911 call came in around 11:45 a.m. on Tuesday for a shark attack in the 100 block of West First Street. Ocean Isle Beach Police Department officials said first responders are at the scene, but information is not available yet. Few details are known at this time.
Biohazard name: Shark attack (Non-Fatal)
Biohazard level: 0/4 —
Biohazard desc.: This does not included biological hazard category.
Symptoms:
Status:
24.07.2012 Biological Hazard USA State of Colorado, Denver [Denver Rescue Mission] Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in USA on Tuesday, 24 July, 2012 at 11:29 (11:29 AM) UTC.

Description
A food poisoning outbreak from turkey served at the Denver Rescue Mission has sent more than 50 people to the hospital for treatment. Officials said the sickness hit people who ate a turkey dinner consisting of meat that had been donated at the shelter. The Denver Rescue Mission said its taking the matter very seriously. Denver Fire Department spokesman Lt. Phil Champagne told CBS Denver that one of the main concerns is patients who have not sought help. “It certainly is a case-by-case approach with the patients, depending on their particular health, but it could really have dire consequences for patients who aren’t very healthy and who could succumb very quickly by something like this that dehydrates them very quickly,” he said. “We’re concerned that a lot of these people hide — they hide in plain sight, but they are out there in Denver,” said Champagne. “If anyone knows someone (who is sick) don’t hesitate to call 911 and we’ll call and we’ll go out there and take care of these patients.” Crews are searching downtown Denver looking for people who may have been sickened and treating some on the spot who refuse to be transported to the hospital or have less severe cases of food poisoning. Officals say up to 350 people were eating at the shelter.
Biohazard name: Mass. Food Poisoning
Biohazard level: 1/4 Low
Biohazard desc.: Bacteria and viruses including Bacillus subtilis, canine hepatitis, Escherichia coli, varicella (chicken pox), as well as some cell cultures and non-infectious bacteria. At this level precautions against the biohazardous materials in question are minimal, most likely involving gloves and some sort of facial protection. Usually, contaminated materials are left in open (but separately indicated) waste receptacles. Decontamination procedures for this level are similar in most respects to modern precautions against everyday viruses (i.e.: washing one’s hands with anti-bacterial soap, washing all exposed surfaces of the lab with disinfectants, etc). In a lab environment, all materials used for cell and/or bacteria cultures are decontaminated via autoclave.
Symptoms:
Status: confirmed
24.07.2012 Biological Hazard USA State of Vermont, [Lake Memphremagog] Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in USA on Tuesday, 24 July, 2012 at 10:47 (10:47 AM) UTC.

Description
Residents on Lake Memphremagog (Mem-fre-MAY-gog) are asked to be on the lookout for toxic blue-green algae. The algae was spotted on the Canadian side of the lake earlier this month. Algae blooms can irritate the skin and make people sick if ingested. They also can be lethal to pets. The Memphremagog Conservation Inc. says an algae bloom was spotted on the western edge of the lake. The organization says those who saw it said it was spread across a wide area on the lake and into depths of the water. The Caledonian Record ( ) reports that the bloom likely occurred because of hot weather and rain that pushed high levels of runoff containing phorsphorus into the lake’s tributaries.
Biohazard name: Blue-Green Algae bloom (cyanobacteria)
Biohazard level: 0/4 —
Biohazard desc.: This does not included biological hazard category.
Symptoms:
Status:
24.07.2012 Biological Hazard USA State of Kansas, [Chisholm Creek Park Lake North in Sedgwick County] Damage level Details

Biological Hazard in USA on Tuesday, 24 July, 2012 at 05:40 (05:40 AM) UTC.

Description
The KDHE has issued a toxic algae warning for Chisholm Creek Park Lake North in Sedgwick County. The lake is located off of N. Woodlawn near the K-96 bypass. It’s one of 13 warnings and advisories issued in Kansas. An advisory discourages contact, but a warning means the public should have no contact with the water. It is unsafe to touch. “It will bloom and go through a rapid period of growth. One of the byproducts of this algae- as it dies and goes through it’s life cycle, it releases toxins into the water,” says KDHE Director Tom Langer. Blue green algae can cause allergic-type reactions such as intestinal problems, respiratory problems, or skin irritations.
Biohazard name: Blue-Green Algae bloom (cyanobacteria)
Biohazard level: 0/4 —
Biohazard desc.: This does not included biological hazard category.
Symptoms:
Status:
24.07.2012 HAZMAT USA State of New Hampshire, Laconia [ABC Fabricators] Damage level Details

HAZMAT in USA on Tuesday, 24 July, 2012 at 14:08 (02:08 PM) UTC.

Description
Firefighters have evacuated some homes in Laconia, N.H., after responding to a situation at an electronics company involving hazardous materials. Firefighters were called to ABC Fabricators after 5 a.m. Tuesday. It was not immediately clear what the problem was. A man who identified himself as the manager said there was a minor chemical spill involving nitric acid, but that it was being treated and cleaned. He said it was under control.
The company makes circuit boards.

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Articles of Interest

24.07.2012 Power Outage USA State of Illinois, Chicago Damage level Details

Power Outage in USA on Tuesday, 24 July, 2012 at 15:23 (03:23 PM) UTC.

Description
Storms rushed through the Chicago area Tuesday morning, leaving at least 183,000 Commonwealth Edison customers without power. Strong to severe thunderstorms moved from the northwest after 6 a.m., bringing heavy rain and damaging winds in excess of 60 mph across a good portion of the metro area. One woman who lives in Chinatown said her house shook in the forceful wind, and on the 2500 block of South Hillock on Chicago’s Southwest Side, a tree toppled onto a home. The Chicago Fire Department confirmed no injuries were reported from the fallen tree. Tree damage and flooding were reported across the area. The 4900 block of North Lawndale Avenue in Chicago was reportedly blocked by fallen trees and branches covered cars. A severe storm warning was in effect until 6:30 a.m. as storm moved through Lake, DuPage, DeKalb, Kane and Kendall counties. A severe thunderstorm watch expired in the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana at 9 a.m. The National Weather Service reported it tracked a line of thunderstorms capable of winds in excess of 70 mph just before 6 a.m. extending from Kildeer to St. Charles. Cloudy skies will replace showers through the afternoon with high temperatures in the mid- to upper-80s. But this isn’t the last of the rain aimed at the area. NBC Chicago meteorologist Andy Avalos is tracking a slight risk for isolated, possible strong to severe thunderstorms for the rest of the day. Mild but muggy conditions return Tuesday night along with another chance of scattered, possibly severe storms Wednesday morning. After clouds break early, near-record heat moves back in as afternoon highs could range from 95 to 100 degrees with heat index readings jumping to 100-108. Yet another chance of storms threatens throughout Thursday, a welcomed sight for Illinois famers and gardeners alike. High temperatures become more comfortable in the mid-80s as a cold front begins to move through.

 

 

Amazing Alien Landscape On Earth: Stunning Images Of Arctic Circle Reveal
Bizarre White Tendrils Emerge From The Ground

 

MessageToEagle.com – There are a number of amazing alien landscapes on Earth and here is one of them!

These stunning images of the Arctic Circle reveal an entire landscape that is transformed into an otherworldly planet.

It looks like a scene taken straight from a science fiction movie.

What are these bizarre white tendrils emerging from the ground?

 

These images were taken by photographer and an environmental engineering student from Monza, Italy, Niccolo Bonfadini who spent nine days camping alone in the frozen world, which is around 77 square kilometres.The tendrils you see, are frost-covered trees which are located close to the Arctic Circle, where temperatures can drop as low as -40C.

In the dramatic sub-zero conditions, the snow and frost become so thick that everything is covered in a thick blanket.

“I was blown away by the otherworldly landscape, everything was white as far as the eye could see. Everything was frozen.

 

This is not an alien planet. This is the Arctic Circle! Image credit: Niccolo Bonfadini / Solent News

It was incredible to see how ice would form on top of every free surface. Even my snow shoes and fuel bottles would be covered in ice if I left them outside my tent during the night, said Mr Bonfadini.

Mr Bonfadini sustained himself on powdered freeze-dried food during his trek and slept in his tent.

Trees are covered under the snow. Image credit: Niccolo Bonfadini / Solent News

He said: “I loved what I was doing. I love to go deep into nature alone, to feel the majesty and beauty of Nature. It is absolutely what makes me happiest.

What made the trip harder than average was the fact that I was completely alone, I only met three people during my nine days.

But I prefer it like that, I don’t like crowds.”

Bizarre tendrils emerge from the ground… Image credit: Niccolo Bonfadini / Solent News

Many people who have seen these images have difficult to understand the shapes are actually trees covered with snow.

Mr Bonfadini said: “Some thought they were volcanic eruptions and clouds. To me they seemed to be alive like frozen people.

Every tree was different from the others, they had weird forms, some had snow covered branches that looked like arms.

With such a surreal landscape, it is easy to see how many tales and legends about trolls and other creatures could have been born.”

Snow and frost become so thick the entire landscape is transformed into an otherworldly planet. Image credit: Niccolo Bonfadini / Solent News

He added: “Both the landscape and the sky were white, there were no shades during the day. It was like being in a completely white room and it was even difficult for the eyes to focus.

Sometimes I couldn’t even notice when the path was starting to go downhill because everything looked flat.”

Despite his young age, Mr Bonfadini has photographed wildlife all over the world.

Here the temperatures can drop as low as -40C. Image credit: Niccolo Bonfadini / Solent News

He said: ‘My favourite subjects are the northern countries. I feel a sense of wonder while surrounded by desolate frozen landscapes.

I feel small and vulnerable among the power of Nature. During those moments I really feel alive. Photography motivates me to get out into Nature more often, experiencing conditions and places that I wouldn’t probably have witnessed otherwise.”

Planet Earth is truly amazing!

@ MessageToEagle.com

 

 

 

Unusual Flatworm With 60 Eyes – First Ever Discovered! 

MessageToEagle.com – Two eyes can be enough to sometimes give you the feeling you are being watched, but how would you feel if 60 eyes starred at you?

An entirely new kind of species has been discovered in grassland near Cambridge, UK.

The unique animal has 60 eyes, all crammed into a body just 12mm long. It is one of the most unusual animals ever discovered.

This little creature is a worm found by Brian Eversham, chief executive of the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.

New record for the UK. A flatworm with as many as 60 eyes. Photo credit Brian Eversham.

 

Brian Eversham said, “I was taking wildlife pictures one Sunday morning and turned over a log to reveal this rather cute flatworm.It is likely to be a close relative of a species found in Northern Ireland called Kontikia andersoni.

Britain is one of the best countries for documenting wildlife so it’s quite unusual to find a species here which has not been seen before.”

Leading biology expert Dr Hugh Jones believes the flatworm is of antipodean descent but may carry out DNA testing to determine its exact ancestry.

Dr Jones has only seen one specimen of the species in the Netherlands in April this year before Mr Eversham’s discovery. It is thought the flatworm could have originated from New Zealand or Australia.

Photo credit Brian Eversham.

Brian Eversham said “New Zealand seems to be the centre of diversity for land flatworms worldwide, and its climate is very similar to Britain.

Whereas there are millions of undescribed species in the tropics and other poorly-known parts of the world, Britain is the best-documented place on the planet.

It’s quite unusual to find a species here which has not been seen before.”

The animal kingdom is full of surprises!

@ MessageToEagle.com

See also:
Most Deadliest Marine Creatures You’d Better Stay Away From

 

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[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes 'FAIR USE' of any such copyrighted material.]

Earthquakes

 

RSOE EDIS

 

Date/Time (UTC) Magnitude Area Country State/Prov./Gov. Location Risk Source Details
15.06.2012 08:40:33 2.9 Europe Greece Aitolikon VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 08:40:54 3.8 Europe Italy Spropolo VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 08:25:41 3.1 North America United States Hawaii Pähala There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
15.06.2012 08:41:14 2.4 Europe Italy Finale Emilia VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 08:41:32 3.8 Asia Taiwan Tung-fu-ts’un There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 08:10:38 4.7 South America Chile Region del Biobio Quidico VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
15.06.2012 08:41:54 4.7 South-America Chile Quidico VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 07:40:30 2.5 Asia Turkey Alakilise There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 08:20:45 2.8 Caribean Puerto Rico Corcega VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
15.06.2012 07:40:51 2.3 Europe Italy Scortichino VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 07:41:12 2.4 Europe Italy Medolla VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 07:35:34 4.4 Asia Japan Fukushima-ken Hisanohama VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 There are nuclear facilities nearby the epicenter. USGS-RSOE Details
15.06.2012 07:41:32 4.4 Asia Japan Hisanohama VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 There are nuclear facilities nearby the epicenter. EMSC Details
15.06.2012 07:41:53 3.4 Asia Turkey Kahya VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 07:42:15 2.1 Asia Turkey Marmaraereglisi VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 06:55:33 2.7 Middle America Mexico Estado de Baja California Perez There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
15.06.2012 07:42:36 2.4 Europe Italy Capo d’Orlando There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 06:40:31 2.2 Europe Greece Lipsoi There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 06:05:37 4.3 South America Peru Departamento de Puno Urcullo VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
15.06.2012 06:41:03 4.3 South-America Peru Urcullo VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 05:35:29 2.7 Middle America Mexico Estado de Baja California El Misterioso There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
15.06.2012 05:35:50 4.3 Pacific Ocean Fiji Vatoa VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
15.06.2012 05:40:29 4.3 Pacific Ocean – East Fiji Vatoa VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 07:42:55 2.0 Europe Greece Dhiakofti VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 05:40:50 3.9 Asia Taiwan Liu-chieh-pi There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 05:41:11 3.0 Asia Turkey Kavakcali VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 04:35:23 3.8 Asia Taiwan K’o-li-t’ung There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 04:35:43 2.4 Europe Italy La Fruttarola VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 06:00:30 2.3 North America Canada British Columbia Princeton VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
15.06.2012 04:36:04 3.3 Asia Taiwan Chia-lu-lan There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 03:55:28 2.4 North America United States Nevada Lucky Boy (historical) There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
15.06.2012 04:36:32 3.0 Asia Turkey Petuna Harap VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 04:36:52 2.0 Asia Turkey Kahya VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 03:35:27 5.9 Indonesian Archipelago Indonesia Miangas VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 03:30:52 5.5 Indonesian archipelago Indonesia Miangas VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
15.06.2012 03:35:48 2.1 Europe Greece Lipsoi There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 03:36:10 2.5 Asia Turkey Avcibasi There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 02:35:27 3.0 North America United States Hawaii Makahalau There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 USGS-RSOE Details
15.06.2012 03:36:29 2.0 Europe Italy Petracca There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 02:30:52 3.4 Asia Turkey Dedeler VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 03:36:48 2.4 Asia Turkey Ardeviz There are volcano(s) nearby the epicenter. There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 03:37:07 2.2 Asia Turkey Isikoren VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 03:37:25 2.1 Asia Turkey Uzunyurt VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 02:31:14 2.3 Asia Turkey Kosreli VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 07:43:16 2.2 Europe Bulgaria Vladaya VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter. VulkĂĄn 0 EMSC Details
15.06.2012 01:30:24 2.3 Europe Italy Galliera VulkĂĄn 0 There are airport(s) nearby the epicenter.