Earthquakes
RSOE EDIS
| Date/Time (UTC) | Magnitude | Area | Country | State/Prov./Gov. | Location | Risk | Source | Details | ||
| 16.07.2012 09:12:30 | 2.2 | North America | United States | Alaska | Petersville |  |
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USGS-RSOE |  |
| 16.07.2012 09:00:47 | 2.5 | North America | United States | Alaska | Petersville | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 16.07.2012 09:10:29 | 2.2 | Asia | Turkey | Mu?la | Ula | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 09:10:53 | 2.7 | Europe | Greece | West Greece | Ayios Nikolaos | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 09:11:18 | 4.0 | South-America | Bolivia | Oruro | Challapata |  |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 08:10:34 | 2.8 | Asia | Turkey | Kütahya | Saphane | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 08:10:59 | 3.1 | Asia | Turkey | Van | Toyga | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 07:35:29 | 2.8 | North America | United States | Alaska | Happy Valley | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 16.07.2012 08:11:27 | 3.4 | South-America | Chile | Bío-Bío | La Laja | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 08:11:52 | 2.6 | Asia | Turkey | Mu?la | Kargi | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 08:12:18 | 2.9 | South-America | Chile | Libertador General Bernardo O?Higgins | Santa Cruz | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 08:12:45 | 3.5 | South-America | Bolivia | Potosí | Villa Alota | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 06:20:45 | 2.7 | North America | United States | Alaska | Chenega | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 16.07.2012 06:15:40 | 2.8 | North America | United States | California | Borrego Springs | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 16.07.2012 07:05:22 | 2.0 | Europe | Romania | Barcanesti | |
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EMSC | |
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| 16.07.2012 07:10:35 | 3.2 | Caribbean | British Virgin Islands | Road Town | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
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| 16.07.2012 06:00:31 | 4.5 | South-America | Peru | Cusco | Ollantaytambo | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 06:04:00 | 4.5 | South America | Peru | Cusco | Ollantaytambo | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 16.07.2012 06:01:01 | 3.0 | South-America | Chile | Antofagasta | Calama | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 06:01:24 | 2.7 | Europe | Greece | North Aegean | Mesta | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 06:01:45 | 5.4 | Europe | Russia | Kamtsjatka | Esso | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 05:25:41 | 5.4 | Asia | Russia | Kamtsjatka | Esso | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 16.07.2012 08:13:11 | 2.0 | Europe | Albania | Kukës | Novosele | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 06:02:07 | 2.0 | Asia | Turkey | Kütahya | Simav | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 06:02:30 | 3.1 | South-America | Chile | Bío-Bío | Canete | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 04:55:53 | 2.8 | Europe | Italy | Liguria | Sasso di Bordighera | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 03:55:22 | 3.2 | Europe | Greece | Peloponnese | Areopolis | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 03:55:45 | 2.2 | Europe | Italy | Calabria | Salerni | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 06:02:51 | 2.0 | Asia | Turkey | Kütahya | Simav | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 06:03:11 | 2.7 | Asia | Turkey | Kütahya | Simav | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 03:05:35 | 2.0 | North America | United States | Alaska | Valdez | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 16.07.2012 03:56:11 | 2.7 | Europe | Italy | Emilia-Romagna | Calerno | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 04:56:59 | 2.4 | Asia | Turkey | Isparta | Egirdir | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 04:57:47 | 2.4 | Europe | Greece | North Aegean | Oinoussai | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 04:35:35 | 2.3 | North America | Canada | British Columbia | Princeton | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 16.07.2012 04:58:31 | 3.2 | Asia | Turkey | Van | Yuvacik | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 08:13:36 | 4.0 | Europe | Russia | Kamtsjatka | Nikol’skoye | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 04:59:25 | 3.1 | Asia | Turkey | Erzurum | Askale | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 00:40:37 | 4.4 | Asia | Japan | Hutami | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
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| 16.07.2012 00:45:27 | 4.4 | Asia | Japan | Hutami | |
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EMSC | |
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| 16.07.2012 05:00:41 | 2.8 | Asia | Turkey | Erzurum | Askale | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 05:02:03 | 3.0 | Middle-East | Iran | ?z??rb?yj?n-e Gharb? | Qarah Zia’ od Din | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 05:02:58 | 2.1 | Asia | Turkey | Malatya | Doganyol | |
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EMSC | |
| 16.07.2012 05:03:50 | 2.5 | Asia | Turkey | Ankara | Gudul | |
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EMSC | |
| 15.07.2012 22:55:37 | 2.0 | North America | United States | Alaska | Sutton-Alpine | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 16.07.2012 05:04:45 | 2.2 | Asia | Turkey | Kütahya | Pazarlar | |
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EMSC | |
| 15.07.2012 22:25:44 | 5.0 | South America | Peru | Apurímac | Talavera | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 15.07.2012 22:40:28 | 5.0 | South-America | Peru | Apurímac | Talavera | |
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EMSC | |
| 15.07.2012 22:06:15 | 2.6 | North America | United States | California | Atascadero | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 15.07.2012 21:50:43 | 4.8 | Asia | Japan | Saitama | Kuki | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather
| Today | Extreme Weather | China | MultiProvinces, [Provinces of Hubei,Guizhou, Anhui and Hunan ] |  |
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Extreme Weather in China on Monday, 16 July, 2012 at 04:45 (04:45 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| Heavy rain has swept across central and southern China, killing dozens and forcing thousands to evacuate. Rain-triggered floods have killed 10 people and affected over 2 million others in central China’s Hubei province. Recent rainstorms in Guizhou Province left at least 11 people dead and affected nearly a million others. And east China’s Anhui Province and central Hunan have also been badly affected by extremely heavy rain over the past few days. It‘s not easy to live a normal life here when your whole city has been mired in floods for days. Here in Anyang City in Anhui Province, hundreds of people are still trapped in their houses, waiting to be taken to safety. Meters-high water forced rescuers to try different ways of reaching to those trapped. Families’ belongings are also passed out, one thing at a time. Over the course of 3 hours, rescuers managed to take over 200 people to safe areas. They also brought in disaster relief goods such as blankets and rice, to help those left homeless. The local meteorological office is continuing to issue rain alerts. Meanwhile, emergency plans have been launched by the city government, to try to stop the flood spreading through the city. |
| Today | Extreme Weather | USA | State of Texas, Austin |  |
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Extreme Weather in USA on Monday, 16 July, 2012 at 03:15 (03:15 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| Heavy rain and lightning across the Travis and Williamson counties is causing an array of problems for the Austin area. All of Round Rock is under voluntary evacuation. A temporary shelter was established in the Clay Madsen Rec Center at 1600 Gattis School Road. It has since closed as the water is now receding. Many roads across the area are closed. There have been at least nine swift water rescues in the Austin area caused by quickly rising water. One person from a water rescue on South Pleasant Valley Road was transported to St. David’s Hospital in Downtown Austin by EMS. This was the only injury reported. The storm has knocked out power to thousands of Austin Energy customers. The utility has an up-to-date map of the outages on its website here. Ed Clark with Austin Energy said that as of 10 p.m., about 800 customers were still without power. At the storms peak, power outages affected about 5000 Austin Energy customers. High winds from the storm have flipped six boats on Lake Travis off of the Emerald Point Marina, according to the National Weather Service. It’s not known how large the boats are or if the weather has caused any injuries in that area. |
| 15.07.2012 | Extreme Weather | South Africa | Multiple areas, [Southern region] |  |
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Extreme Weather in South Africa on Sunday, 15 July, 2012 at 17:50 (05:50 PM) UTC.
| Description | |
| Rescue workers evacuated more than 2000 people as heavy rains and snow battered southern parts of South Africa over a freezing weekend. The precipitation had cut off all road links between economic hubs Johannesburg and Cape Town, causing a huge traffic backlog, though main highways linking the north and south of the country were reopened Sunday afternoon, said Road Traffic Management Corporation spokesman Ashraf Ismail. Dozens of trucks had been stuck on the routes after heavy snow had closed them down since Saturday. Soon after traffic was opened, around 500 trucks that had been held up in Johannesburg by the closures started the trek toward Cape Town in the south, Mr Ismail said. Over 100 millimetres of rain fell over the area in three days, with more heavy showers predicted through Sunday night. Thousands of people were moved to community centres as floods hit southern city Port Elizabeth, said municipal spokesman Kupido Barron. “We assisted more than 2000 people,” he said, with mattresses, soup and blankets given to families housed in community centres. Police were also looking for two people who ignored a ban and rowed across a flooded road in an inflatable rubber boat, local media reported. |
| Today | Forest / Wild Fire | Italy | Sardinia Island, [Near to San Teodoro] | |
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Forest / Wild Fire in Italy on Monday, 16 July, 2012 at 04:41 (04:41 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| About 500 people, including tourists, were evacuated Sunday from the vicinity of the town of San Teodoro on the Italian island of Sardinia, due to raging fires in the area. The fire had already spread to residential houses. There is no information regarding the casualties as yet. Land and air resources have been mobilized to fight the blaze. Forest fires are raging across nearly half of Italy, including the region of Abruzzo, Apulia, Calabria and Sicily, due to record- high temperatures, which have been registered in the country for the third week running. |
| 15.07.2012 | Forest / Wild Fire | Israel | Jerusalem District, Jerusalem | |
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Forest / Wild Fire in Israel on Sunday, 15 July, 2012 at 17:43 (05:43 PM) UTC.
| Description | |
| For the second time several weeks, a forest fire raged in thee Jerusalem hills on Sunday, with emergency crews struggling to contain the blaze. The fire is currently located between Ein Hemed and Ein Nekova. Four people have been lightly wounded thus far from smoke inhalation, with on fireman injured after falling from a ladder. Thirty-two fire trucks, mostly from Jerusalem and Beit Shemsh, arrived at the scene, and have been able to contain, not take control of the blaze. Late last month, two fires erupted at two main entrance points to Jerusalem, consuming 300 dunams of natural woodland, with four people treated for smoke inhalation. Arson was suspected in the blazes. The first broke out among the ruins of Lifta at the capital city’s north and spread to the Arazim Valley near the suburb of Mevasseret Zion. |
| 15.07.2012 | Forest / Wild Fire | USA | State of California, [Placer County] | |
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Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Sunday, 15 July, 2012 at 11:38 (11:38 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| A wildfire has destroyed a home and is threatening 170 others in Northern California. State forestry officials say the fire is burning in a steep, heavily wooded area of Placer (PLA’-sur) County about 50 miles northeast of Sacramento. The blaze has grown to three square miles since it broke out Wednesday afternoon. Officials are expressing concern that the fire could endanger Foresthill, a community of 1,500, if it jumps the American River. Nine firefighters have been injured in efforts to contain the blaze. Approximately 2,000 firefighters are trying to surround the blaze, but hot weather and rugged terrain are making the job difficult. Crews on the ground are focusing on protecting structures while helicopters and air tankers are attacking flames from the air. The fire is estimated to be 20 percent contained. |
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Storms / Tornadoes / Flooding
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| Name of storm system | Location | Formed | Last update | Last category | Course | Wind Speed | Gust | Wave | Source | Details |
| Emilia (05E) | Pacific Ocean – East | 07.07.2012 | 16.07.2012 | Hurricane I. | 300 ° | 148 km/h | 185 km/h | 5.49 m | NHC | |
Tropical Storm data
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| 08W | Pacific Ocean | 15.07.2012 | 16.07.2012 | Tropical Depression | 285 ° | 56 km/h | 74 km/h | 3.96 m | JTWC | |
Tropical Storm data
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Flashy storm slashes area, wakes up many in Tri-Cities
There were a lot of tired people in the Tri-Cities on Saturday after an early morning electrical storm rattled homes and flashed bright lights through windows.
The system that led to a severe thunderstorm warning from the National Weather Service also cooled down the Mid-Columbia after a string of 100-plus degree days.
The light show and downpour didn’t appear to cause any significant damage, with police and fire officials surprised at how few calls were received.
However, it might not be over, with the forecast calling for a slight chance of thunderstorms through the rest of the week as the temperatures heat up again.
Those storms continue to bring the threat of lightning sparking wildfires.
Today’s thermometer should top out around 87 degrees before moving into breezy conditions for the evening, said Rob Brooks, a hydrometeorological technician with the National Weather Service in Pendleton.
The high Saturday was 91 at the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco with the overnight low expected to drop to 65, both fairly average temperatures for mid-July, Brooks told the Herald.
But the thunder and lightning that moved through the area earlier Saturday seemed anything but normal to the dozens of residents who took to social media to describe the experience.
Some referred to it on the Tri-City Herald’s Facebook page as “the best storm ever” or the “most intense” they’ve experienced in the Northwest. People awakened by the loud booms reported staying up through the early morning hours because they were fascinated by Mother Nature’s spectacular display, or simply realized that attempts at sleep were futile.
A severe weather alert issued at 2:37 a.m. said two storms were located six miles southwest of Kennewick and moving north at 30 mph. Within minutes, the storms moved over the Tri-Cities and seemed to hunker down for almost three hours, with cloud-to-cloud lightning that often was so bright it appeared to be daytime.
The National Weather Service’s warning described it as “a dangerous storm,” and told residents to prepare for damaging winds, destructive hail and deadly lightning that could strike the ground. People were instructed to seek shelter inside a strong building, but away from windows.
The weather service took two calls from the public reporting hail the size of a quarter in Kennewick. Public reports of wind speeds in Kennewick ranged from gusts of 35 to 40 mph to gusts up to 60 mph that drove the rain and hail sideways.
“I’m sure it’s been a blast for people to watch the lightning,” Brooks said.
The weather service had been expecting the storms to form for a couple of days because of instability with a low-pressure system and warm temperatures, Brooks said.
The Pasco airport on Saturday only recorded a trace of rain, while Kennewick showed 0.13 inch, a “decent” amount for the city, he said. Hermiston had reports of a quarter-inch and even a half-inch in parts.
Deputy Chief Mike Harris with Benton Fire District 1 said the rural Kennewick department did not receive a single call for a fire caused by a lightning strike.
“Out of the 320 square miles we protect we had 320 square miles of rain,” Harris said. “… I think that might have quenched any fire that might have started from the lightning.”
Hours before the system hit the Tri-Cities, the Walla Walla Symphony’s Friday night performance of Midsummer Night Music was stopped for a moment because of heavy rain on the tin roof at the Power House Theatre. It was the conductor’s choice to pause because he wanted the audience to be able to appreciate the music, symphony officials said.
w Kristin M. Kraemer: 582-1531; kkraemer@tricityherald.com
| 15.07.2012 | Tornado | Poland | Greater Poland Voivodeship, [Region of Pomerania (Tuchola Forest area)] | |
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Tornado in Poland on Sunday, 15 July, 2012 at 16:00 (04:00 PM) UTC.
| Description | |
| A freak wave of tornadoes ripped through northern Poland on Sunday, wrecking houses and swathes of forest and leaving one person dead and another 10 injured. Tornadoes are not unknown in the European Union’s largest eastern country but the scope and power of Sunday’s twisters was unusual and comes in a summer already marked by flash floods, hailstorms and gales. Some 1,200 rescuers were working to remove fallen trees, unblock roads and restore utilities in the hardest hit Baltic region of Pomerania. Trees were uprooted, buildings damaged and power lines downed, while some 550 hectares of woodlands in the Tuchola Forest area were flattened. “I saw a black column coming our way,” an injured inhabitant of the Wycinki village, whose farm was destroyed by the tornado told state television. “It carried everything away with it … birds, debris, sucked up water from the lake.” A caravan with a family of three inside was seen flying through the air in the village of Stara Rzeka and breaking into pieces upon landing, but its occupants suffered no serious injuries. “The sole fatality was a 60-year-old man in the Pomeranian village of Wycinki who was crushed to death by his collapsing summer cottage,” fire brigade spokesman Pawel Fratczak told Reuters by telephone. The tornadoes were the latest outburst of violent weather that has battered Poland since the start of the month with hailstorms, gales, cloudbursts and flash floods. Meteorologists categorising the twister as a class two tornado with wind velocity of up to 200 km/h. |
Poland shocked by tornadoes, one dead
WARSAW
(Reuters) – A freak wave of tornadoes ripped through northern Poland on Sunday, wrecking houses and swathes of forest and leaving one person dead and another 10 injured.
Tornadoes are not unknown in the European Union’s largest eastern country but the scope and power of Sunday’s twisters was unusual and comes in a summer already marked by flash floods, hailstorms and gales.
Some 1,200 rescuers were working to remove fallen trees, unblock roads and restore utilities in the hardest hit Baltic region of Pomerania.
Trees were uprooted, buildings damaged and power lines downed, while some 550 hectares of woodlands in the Tuchola Forest area were flattened.
“I saw a black column coming our way,” an injured inhabitant of the Wycinki village, whose farm was destroyed by the tornado told state television. “It carried everything away with it … birds, debris, sucked up water from the lake.”
A caravan with a family of three inside was seen flying through the air in the village of Stara Rzeka and breaking into pieces upon landing, but its occupants suffered no serious injuries, news channel TVN24 reported.
“The sole fatality was a 60-year-old man in the Pomeranian village of Wycinki who was crushed to death by his collapsing summer cottage,” fire brigade spokesman Pawel Fratczak told Reuters by telephone.
The tornadoes were the latest outburst of violent weather that has battered Poland since the start of the month with hailstorms, gales, cloudbursts and flash floods.
TVN24 reported meteorologists categorising the twister as a class two tornado with wind velocity of up to 200 km/h.
(Reporting by Rob Strybel; editing by Patrick Graham)
| 15.07.2012 | Flash Flood | Japan | MultiProvinces, [Provinces of Kumamoto and Oita] | |
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Flash Flood in Japan on Thursday, 12 July, 2012 at 11:46 (11:46 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| Flooding and landslides caused by record torrential rain on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu have killed six people and left 20 missing. Rescue workers had been unable to reach some of the areas where people were believed to be buried under landslides, television reports said on Thursday. Authorities in the prefectural capital of Kumamoto ordered about 48,000 residents to flee the city. Blackouts hit about 10,000 households in Kumamoto and Oita prefectures, the Kyushu Electric Power Company reported. Railway services and motor traffic were suspended, Kyodo said, while some bullet train services were temporarily halted in the island’s north and centre. The Japan Meteorological Agency said rainfall in some parts of the island had reached levels that have “never been experienced”. It said hourly rainfall in the morning topped 120mm in Aso and reached 120mm in Ubuyama. The agency warned of more heavy rain and landslides in northern parts of Kyushu before the downpours move north to the main island of Honshu later on Thursday. |
| Today | Flash Flood | USA | State of Arizona, Phoenix | |
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Flash Flood in USA on Monday, 16 July, 2012 at 06:00 (06:00 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| Sunday’s storms resulted in flash flooding in certain parts of the Valley. The area near ABC15 at 44th and Van Buren streets got hit especially hard with one impressive downpour. The area is prone to flooding so city officials put up a sign to warn drivers to not enter the area when flooded. Few drivers actually chose to heed that warning. Despite the fact that 48th Street looked more like a lake, people still chose to drive through the water. A few drivers actually did the right thing and found another route to get where they were going. But most people rolled the dice and drove right through the flood water. Arizona does have a stupid motorist law which states that you will be forced to pay for the cost of your rescue if you ignore warning signs and enter a flooded area. Nobody needed to be rescued from the area near 48th Street Sunday night. |
| Today | Flash Flood | Philippines | North Cotabato, Tulunan | |
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Flash Flood in Philippines on Monday, 16 July, 2012 at 05:58 (05:58 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| At least 337 families were affected by flash floods that hit Tulunan town in North Cotabato Saturday afternoon, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Sunday. In a report posted on its website Sunday night, the NDRRMC said the incident occurred at 4 p.m. due to continuous rain. The NDRRMC said the flood waters were knee- to waist-deep, although the flood waters had subsided by Sunday. It also said there was no initial report of missing or dead residents due to the floods. Among the villages affected by the floods were F. Cajelo; Minapan (Purok 1, 2, 3, 6, 7), La Esperanza, Poblacion Purok 8, and Galidan. The incident has prompted the Office of Civil Defense to coordinate with the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to assist the affected residents. |
| Today | Flash Flood | USA | State of Utah, [St. George, Santa Clara, Snow Canyon State Park and Veyo] | |
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Flash Flood in USA on Monday, 16 July, 2012 at 03:16 (03:16 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| Heavy rain and flash flooding shut down a portion of a road in St. George, and people are reporting water gushing down roadways. Washington County’s emergency services division said Sunset Boulevard east of Lava Flow Drive is closed because of flooding. Flash floods are also happening in Santa Clara. Severe rain, damaging winds and cloud-to-ground lightning prompted the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City to issue warnings Sunday afternoon for multiple areas throughout the state. The weather service says the thunderstorm is capable of producing quarter-sized hail in Washington County. Locations in warning area also include Snow Canyon State Park and Veyo. People should move indoors and stay clear of windows because of the storm’s damaging winds. The warning, which was supposed to lapse at 5:45 p.m., has been extended to 8:30 p.m., as was the danger for flooding. A similar warning was issued for east central Emery County or 15 miles southwest of Green River. I-70 is also listed in the warning, with winds that could top 60 mph. Like Washington County, quarter-sized hail is possible, and the weather service is warning people to seek shelter from the dangerous storm. The warning is in effect until 7:15 p.m. Elsewhere, heavy rain over the Wood Hollow Fire’s burn scar could result in debris flows and is asking residents to take precautions. A flash flood warning has been issued for east central Juab County, north central Sanpete County and south central Utah County. The burn scar is west of U.S. 89 between Birdseye and Mount Pleasant, where up to three quarters of inch of rain is predicted to fall. Particularly vulnerable areas include, but are not limited to Indianola and U.S. 89 from Birdseye through Fairview. The weather service warns that even if a debris flow has already happened, it could followed by additional flows of debris. |
| 16.07.2012 | Flash Flood | USA | State of Texas, Houston | |
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Flash Flood in USA on Thursday, 12 July, 2012 at 16:34 (04:34 PM) UTC.
| Description | |
| Parts of the Houston region are seeing some significant flooding this morning. Hardest hit are areas to the northwest of the city, where parts of North Eldridge Parkway are reported to be completely impassable. An estimated five inches of rain have fallen during the last three hours along parts of Cypress Creek, and there is a flood warning for Cypress Creek at Grant Road. Due to the rains there is also a flash flood warning area for a large part of northwest Harris County until 9:45 a.m. CT. These heavy rains should persist for the morning hours, but forecast models move the heaviest rain to the east of Houston by the early afternoon hours. That will hopefully give the hardest hit areas to the northwest and north of Houston time to dry out, a bit. But the rain’s going to linger this week, says the National Weather Service. The upper-level system that’s been driving the rains is going to remain along the upper Texas coast through the early part of next week, which should produce at least scattered showers during the afternoon hours. High pressure may begin to return to Houston by the middle of next week, bringing an end to the rain chances. On the plus side, temperatures should remain below normal, with highs near or around 90 degrees. Yesterday’s high at Bush Intercontinental Airport was just 82 degrees, and that’s the fifth day of highs 85 degrees or less this month. Looking back to last summer there was just one day with a high of 85 or less during June, July, August and September. |
| Today | Flood Warning | Australia | State of Tasmania, [Huonville region] |  |
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Flood Warning in Australia on Monday, 16 July, 2012 at 04:49 (04:49 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| About 100 homes are being evacuated in Huonville, south of Hobart, as a dam threatens to burst. Police have confirmed one of the dam’s walls is leaking and could break, spilling up to 10 megalitres of water down Scenic Hill Road, on the town’s outskirts. The State Emergency Service and police have blocked roads in the area and have begun doorknocking residents, asking them to evacuate. The private dam is about one hectare in size and the damage is being assessed by the local council and the state water department. Residents have taken to social media networks saying they are nervously waiting and watching to see if the dam will hold. A recovery centre has been set up at the local youth club. |
Japan troops fly supplies to thousands cut off by floods
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP)
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Troops Sunday airlifted supplies to thousands of people cut off by landslides and torrential downpours that have killed at least 24 in southwest Japan as meteorologists warned of further heavy rain.
Television footage showed soldiers loading food, water and medical supplies onto military helicopters to send them to mountainous areas in Yame, Fukuoka prefecture on Kyushu island.
Local authorities were separately dispatching rescue helicopters to take patients and elderly villagers to hospital from the isolated area, where at least one person was killed, officials said.
More than 5,440 people have been cut off since late Saturday as landslides and fallen trees have blocked roads and water supplies in the region which has been hit by unprecedented rainfall since Wednesday.
“We will continue sending emergency rations to people there as it is still unknown when we can secure access to the area,” said Kayo Shinohara, a spokeswoman for Yame City government.
“We are trying to do our best to remove rubble as soon as possible,” the spokeswoman told AFP by phone.
Rescue operations resumed early Sunday in other affected areas of Kyushu, where at least eight people were still missing after a total of 24 people were confirmed dead in landslides or floods, officials said.
Public broadcaster NHK showed rescuers using heavy machinery to remove uprooted trees, boulders and debris, while residents scooped mud out of their houses with shovels.
Some 3,600 people remained ordered or advised to leave their homes as at least 2,800 houses were flooded, NHK said, after local authorities lifted similar advice to some 400,000 others by Sunday morning.
The weather eased somewhat Sunday bringing temporary relief, but the Japan Meteorological Agency warned of more heavy rain, landslides and floods on the main southern island of Kyushu.
“A peak of heavy rain in northern Kyushu has passed, but there is fear that driving rain with thunder may hit northern Kyushu as warm and humid air is flowing to the rain front,” the agency said.
“Please be vigilant of damage from landslides and floods as part of the ground has already softened and water is still overflowing from rivers because of record rainfalls,” it said.
Rainfall of up to 81.7 centimetres (32.2 inches) has been recorded in hardest-hit Aso, situated at the foot of a volcano, where at least 18 people were killed and four others were still missing.
Television footage showed torrents of muddy, debris-strewn water and flooded houses following what officials described as “unprecedented” downpours from a seasonal rain front.
Heavy rainfall was also monitored in Kyoto, some 500 kilometres (310 miles) east of the affected areas in Kyushu, on Sunday, flooding more than 20 houses, news reports said.
About 20 people were temporarily trapped in the city as stream broke a river bank following rainfall of nine centimetres per hour, but they were later rescued safely, the reports added.
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Epidemic Hazards / Diseases
| 15.07.2012 | Epidemic Hazard | Cuba | Multiple areas, [Manzanillo (Departmento de Granma), Capital City, Havanna] | |
|
Epidemic Hazard in Cuba on Tuesday, 03 July, 2012 at 03:06 (03:06 AM) UTC.
| Updated: | Sunday, 15 July, 2012 at 04:32 UTC |
| Description | |
| Cuba broke 11 days of silence on the country’s first cholera outbreak in 130 years, noting the number of cases has risen to 158. The Health Ministry denied there had been a “spread” of cholera on the Communist-ruled island, blaming the incidents outside the affected town of Manzanillo on “isolated cases,” that would be “treated and studied promptly.” “This outbreak is not spreading,” it said in a statement, the second on the outbreak since July 3. The ministry said the number of confirmed cases of cholera, an intestinal ailment spread through contaminated food and water, had nearly tripled from the 53 previously reported. Three patients – aged 66, 70 and 95 and suffering from “a history of chronic disease” – have died from the outbreak, according to the ministry’s last report. While the authorities had kept their silence on cholera, anti-Castro websites based in Miami and some international media published reports about the spread of the disease, saying there had been numerous deaths. The pro-government blog Yohandry (www.yohandry.com) said Wednesday that the outbreak has been contained and denied there had been more deaths, claiming that “not a single case exists in Havana.” Dissidents have criticised the lack of information. “If anger (against the government) is dangerous, cholera without information transparency is worse,” dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez tweeted. Health officials have said they believe heavy rains and hot temperatures contributed to the outbreak. Cholera causes serious diarrhea and vomiting, leading to dehydration. It is easily treatable by rehydration and antibiotics, but the ailment can be fatal if not addressed quickly enough. The outbreak is a matter of particular concern in Cuba, which prides itself on having one of the region’s most admired public health systems, seen as a laudable success for the half-century old communist regime. The last known person to be infected with cholera in Cuba died of the disease in 1882, when the island was still a Spanish colony. | |
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Solar Activity
2MIN News July 15, 2012: Magnetic Storm & Earthquake Watch
Published on Jul 15, 2012 by Suspicious0bservers
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!]
GEOMAGNETIC STORM IN PROGRESS:
A remarkably long-lasting geomagnetic storm is in progress as Earth’s magnetic field continues to reverberate from a CME strike on July 14th. Sky watchers in Scandinavia, Canada, Alaska and northern-tier US states from Maine to Washington should watch for auroras after nightfall. Observing tip: The hours around local midnight are usually best for aurora-spotting. Aurora alerts: text, voice.
When the CME first arrived on July 14th, its effect appeared weak. However, conditions in the wake of the CME soon become stormy. On July 15-16 Northern Lights appeared in the United States as far south as Oregon, Colorado, Missouri, Utah, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Washington, Illinois, Kansas, South Dakota, Nebraska, Michigan and Arkansas. Travis Novitsky sends this picture from Grand Portage, Minnesota:
“Anticipating the CME’s arrival on Saturday, I planned an Aurora Party with my girlfriend and a couple of friends,” says Novitsky. “Just after midnight the sky erupted and suddenly we were surrounded by the shimmering, dancing lights. The intense activity continued through the rest of the night until the first light of dawn started to creep into the sky. Certainly one of the most amazing aurora nights I’ve ever witnessed in northern Minnesota!”
Meanwhile in the southern hemisphere, the aurora australis has been sighted in New Zealand, Tasmania, Australia, and directly above the South Pole itself
THE SOURCE OF THE DISPLAY:
Big sunspot AR1520, the source of the X-flare that instigated this weekend’s auroras, can attract observers even without exploding. During a quiet moment yesterday in France, it showed itself at sunset:
Photographer VegaStar Carpentier took the picture on July 15th overlooking an island near the Coast of Marseilles.
The behemoth sunspot has a beta-gamma-delta magnetic field that harbors energy for more X-class solar flares. The odds of a geoeffective eruption are decreasing, however, as the sunspot turns toward Earth. NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of M-flares and a 15% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours
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Space
Earth approaching objects (objects that are known in the next 30 days) |
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| Object Name | Apporach Date | Left | AU Distance | LD Distance | Estimated Diameter* | Relative Velocity | |||
| (2007 TN74) | 16th July 2012 | 0 day(s) | 0.1718 | 66.9 | 20 m – 45 m | 7.36 km/s | 26496 km/h | ||
| (2007 DD) | 16th July 2012 | 0 day(s) | 0.1101 | 42.8 | 19 m – 42 m | 6.47 km/s | 23292 km/h | ||
| (2006 BC8) | 16th July 2012 | 0 day(s) | 0.1584 | 61.6 | 25 m – 56 m | 17.71 km/s | 63756 km/h | ||
| 144411 (2004 EW9) | 16th July 2012 | 0 day(s) | 0.1202 | 46.8 | 1.3 km – 2.9 km | 10.90 km/s | 39240 km/h | ||
| (2012 BV26) | 18th July 2012 | 2 day(s) | 0.1759 | 68.4 | 94 m – 210 m | 10.88 km/s | 39168 km/h | ||
| (2010 OB101) | 19th July 2012 | 3 day(s) | 0.1196 | 46.6 | 200 m – 450 m | 13.34 km/s | 48024 km/h | ||
| (2008 OX1) | 20th July 2012 | 4 day(s) | 0.1873 | 72.9 | 130 m – 300 m | 15.35 km/s | 55260 km/h | ||
| (2010 GK65) | 21st July 2012 | 5 day(s) | 0.1696 | 66.0 | 34 m – 75 m | 17.80 km/s | 64080 km/h | ||
| (2011 OJ45) | 21st July 2012 | 5 day(s) | 0.1367 | 53.2 | 18 m – 39 m | 3.79 km/s | 13644 km/h | ||
| 153958 (2002 AM31) | 22nd July 2012 | 6 day(s) | 0.0351 | 13.7 | 630 m – 1.4 km | 9.55 km/s | 34380 km/h | ||
| (2011 CA7) | 23rd July 2012 | 7 day(s) | 0.1492 | 58.1 | 2.3 m – 5.1 m | 5.43 km/s | 19548 km/h | ||
| (2012 BB124) | 24th July 2012 | 8 day(s) | 0.1610 | 62.7 | 170 m – 380 m | 8.78 km/s | 31608 km/h | ||
| (2009 PC) | 28th July 2012 | 12 day(s) | 0.1772 | 68.9 | 61 m – 140 m | 7.34 km/s | 26424 km/h | ||
| 217013 (2001 AA50) | 31st July 2012 | 15 day(s) | 0.1355 | 52.7 | 580 m – 1.3 km | 22.15 km/s | 79740 km/h | ||
| (2012 DS30) | 02nd August 2012 | 17 day(s) | 0.1224 | 47.6 | 18 m – 39 m | 5.39 km/s | 19404 km/h | ||
| (2000 RN77) | 03rd August 2012 | 18 day(s) | 0.1955 | 76.1 | 410 m – 920 m | 9.87 km/s | 35532 km/h | ||
| (2004 SB56) | 04th August 2012 | 19 day(s) | 0.1393 | 54.2 | 380 m – 840 m | 13.72 km/s | 49392 km/h | ||
| (2000 SD8) | 04th August 2012 | 19 day(s) | 0.1675 | 65.2 | 180 m – 400 m | 5.82 km/s | 20952 km/h | ||
| (2006 EC) | 06th August 2012 | 21 day(s) | 0.0932 | 36.3 | 13 m – 28 m | 6.13 km/s | 22068 km/h | ||
| (2006 MV1) | 07th August 2012 | 22 day(s) | 0.0612 | 23.8 | 12 m – 28 m | 4.79 km/s | 17244 km/h | ||
| (2005 RK3) | 08th August 2012 | 23 day(s) | 0.1843 | 71.7 | 52 m – 120 m | 8.27 km/s | 29772 km/h | ||
| (2009 BW2) | 09th August 2012 | 24 day(s) | 0.0337 | 13.1 | 25 m – 56 m | 5.27 km/s | 18972 km/h | ||
| 277475 (2005 WK4) | 09th August 2012 | 24 day(s) | 0.1283 | 49.9 | 260 m – 580 m | 6.18 km/s | 22248 km/h | ||
| (2004 SC56) | 09th August 2012 | 24 day(s) | 0.0811 | 31.6 | 74 m – 170 m | 10.57 km/s | 38052 km/h | ||
| (2008 AF4) | 10th August 2012 | 25 day(s) | 0.1936 | 75.3 | 310 m – 690 m | 16.05 km/s | 57780 km/h | ||
| 37655 Illapa | 12th August 2012 | 27 day(s) | 0.0951 | 37.0 | 770 m – 1.7 km | 28.73 km/s | 103428 km/h | ||
| (2012 HS15) | 14th August 2012 | 29 day(s) | 0.1803 | 70.2 | 220 m – 490 m | 11.54 km/s | 41544 km/h | ||
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Solar System Ice: Source of Earth’s Water
by Staff Writers
Washington, DC (SPX)
 illustration only |
Scientists have long believed that comets and, or a type of very primitive meteorite called carbonaceous chondrites were the sources of early Earth’s volatile elements-which include hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon-and possibly organic material, too.
Understanding where these volatiles came from is crucial for determining the origins of both water and life on the planet. New research led by Carnegie’s Conel Alexander focuses on frozen water that was distributed throughout much of the early Solar System, but probably not in the materials that aggregated to initially form Earth.
The evidence for this ice is now preserved in objects like comets and water-bearing carbonaceous chondrites. The team’s findings contradict prevailing theories about the relationship between these two types of bodies and suggest that meteorites, and their parent asteroids, are the most-likely sources of the Earth’s water. Their work is published July 12 by Science Express.
Looking at the ratio of hydrogen to its heavy isotope deuterium in frozen water (H2O), scientists can get an idea of the relative distance from the Sun at which objects containing the water were formed.
Objects that formed farther out should generally have higher deuterium content in their ice than objects that formed closer to the Sun, and objects that formed in the same regions should have similar hydrogen isotopic compositions.
Therefore, by comparing the deuterium content of water in carbonaceous chondrites to the deuterium content of comets, it is possible to tell if they formed in similar reaches of the Solar System.
It has been suggested that both comets and carbonaceous chondrites formed beyond the orbit of Jupiter, perhaps even at the edges of our Solar System, and then moved inward, eventually bringing their bounty of volatiles and organic material to Earth. If this were true, then the ice found in comets and the remnants of ice preserved in carbonaceous chondrites in the form of hydrated silicates, such as clays, would have similar isotopic compositions.
Alexander’s team included Carnegie’s Larry Nitler, Marilyn Fogel, and Roxane Bowden, as well as Kieren Howard from the Natural History Museum in London and Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York and Christopher Herd of the University of Alberta.
They analyzed samples from 85 carbonaceous chondrites, and were able to show that carbonaceous chondrites likely did not form in the same regions of the Solar System as comets because they have much lower deuterium content. If so, this result directly contradicts the two most-prominent models for how the Solar System developed its current architecture.
The team suggests that carbonaceous chondrites formed instead in the asteroid belt that exists between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. What’s more, they propose that most of the volatile elements on Earth arrived from a variety of chondrites, not from comets.
“Our results provide important new constraints for the origin of volatiles in the inner Solar System, including the Earth,” Alexander said. “And they have important implications for the current models of the formation and orbital evolution of the planets and smaller objects in our Solar System.”
Related Links
Carnegie Institution of Washington
Explore The Early Earth at TerraDaily.com
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Articles of Interest
| 16.07.2012 | Technological Disaster | Egypt | Governorate of Alexandria, Alexandria | |
|
Technological Disaster in Egypt on Sunday, 15 July, 2012 at 11:40 (11:40 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| Search teams pulled the bodies of 10 people from the rubble of four buildings that collapsed yesterday in Egypt’s coastal city of Alexandria, as efforts to find other missing people continues, the official Middle East News Agency reported today citing a health official. Five casualties found so far by Civil Defense forces were hospitalized with injuries ranging from fractures to bruises and suffocation, Ahmed Al-Ansari, chairman of Egypt’s Ambulance, said according to the news service. An 11-story building collapsed yesterday afternoon, toppling three adjacent properties. |
| 15.07.2012 | Technological Disaster | USA | State of Texas, Austin |  |
|
Technological Disaster in USA on Sunday, 15 July, 2012 at 11:33 (11:33 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| The deck of a Northwest Austin home collapsed during a party Saturday evening, sending 20 or so people and debris scrambling down the canyon hillside below. Four people were sent to hospitals with serious injuries, mainly broken bones but nothing life-threatening, Austin Fire Department spokesman Palmer Buck said. Two more people were sent to a medical facility with minor injuries, and another four were treated for minor injuries at the house on the 5300 block of Doe Valley Lane, Buck said. Several people who had been on the deck declined to be interviewed. The deck collapsed about 7:30 p.m., according to the fire department. EMS crews and five fire crews responded, Buck said. Buck said City of Austin building inspectors will begin investigating the cause of the collapse today. “All our efforts were to take care of the patients first; the investigation comes next,” Buck said. Buck said three or four homes’ decks have collapsed in similar fashion in the past five years, for varying reasons. In one case, more people were on it than it could support. One was not built to city construction standards. Another was partially rotted underneath, Buck said. The deck that collapsed Saturday surrounded an above-ground pool and was attached to the back of a house overlooking a ravine in a steeply hilled area near the Arboretum shopping center. When the deck collapsed, the people on it fell 18 feet into the ravine and slid another 20 feet down it, along with pieces of the deck, officials said. Some were partially buried by the debris. Buck said fire crews took about an hour to dig them out because they had to be careful that the pool did not collapse and fall as well. |
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