Earthquakes

RSOE EDIS

Date/Time (UTC)	Magnitude	Area	Country	State/Prov./Gov.	Location	Risk			Source	Details
06.08.2012 09:45:24	4.4	North America	United States	California	Coalinga				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 09:40:34	4.2	Middle East	Iran	M?zandar?n	Neka’				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 09:35:24	4.1	Middle-East	Iran	M?zandar?n	Neka’				EMSC
06.08.2012 09:35:43	3.1	Asia	Azerbaijan	Hac?qabul	Mughan				EMSC
06.08.2012 08:30:26	2.5	Asia	Turkey	Van	Yuvacik				EMSC
06.08.2012 08:30:48	4.6	Asia	Japan	Kagoshima	Nishinoomote				EMSC
06.08.2012 08:25:26	4.6	Asia	Japan	Kagoshima	Nishinoomote				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 08:31:07	4.9	Asia	Japan	Kagoshima	Nishinoomote				EMSC
06.08.2012 07:55:27	5.0	Asia	Japan	Kagoshima	Nishinoomote				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 08:31:27	2.8	Asia	Turkey	Van	Toyga				EMSC
06.08.2012 07:45:27	2.9	North America	United States	Oklahoma	Boley				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 09:36:38	2.8	Caribbean	U.S. Virgin Islands	Saint Thomas Island	Charlotte Amalie				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 07:30:25	2.1	Asia	Turkey	Manisa	Soma				EMSC
06.08.2012 07:20:34	4.5	Asia	Afghanistan	Badakhshan	Ashkasham				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 07:30:46	4.5	Asia	Afghanistan	Badakhshan	Ashkasham				EMSC
06.08.2012 07:10:26	4.9	Pacific Ocean – West	New Caledonia		Tadine				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 07:31:07	5.1	Pacific Ocean – West	New Caledonia		Tadine				EMSC
06.08.2012 07:31:27	2.5	Asia	Turkey	??rnak	Uzungecit				EMSC
06.08.2012 09:37:03	2.4	Caribbean	Puerto Rico	Rincon	Stella				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 06:40:34	2.9	North America	United States	Alaska	Ugashik				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 07:31:48	2.4	Europe	Greece	North Aegean	Agios Ilias				EMSC
06.08.2012 07:32:10	2.3	Europe	Greece	North Aegean	Agios Dimitrios				EMSC
06.08.2012 07:00:33	2.7	North America	United States	Nebraska	Seneca				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 06:25:32	2.1	Europe	Italy	Abruzzo	Fagnano Alto				EMSC
06.08.2012 09:36:04	4.4	Asia	Japan	Kagoshima	Naze				EMSC
06.08.2012 06:25:51	2.5	Europe	Greece	Peloponnese	Skala				EMSC
06.08.2012 06:26:11	5.2	Asia	Japan	Kagoshima	Nishinoomote				EMSC
06.08.2012 05:40:49	5.3	Asia	Japan	Kagoshima	Nishinoomote				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 05:16:34	4.4	Europe	Sweden	Skåne	Torekov				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 05:20:27	4.4	Europe	Sweden	Skĺne	Torekov				EMSC
06.08.2012 05:21:02	3.0	Europe	Greece	North Aegean	Agios Ilias				EMSC
06.08.2012 06:26:58	2.5	Asia	Turkey	Karabük	Gozyeri				EMSC
06.08.2012 06:27:18	4.7	Asia	Japan	Chiba	Ohara				EMSC
06.08.2012 05:22:31	4.7	Asia	Japan	Chiba	Ohara				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 04:10:26	2.4	North America	United States	Alaska	Petersville				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 06:27:37	2.0	Asia	Turkey	Erzurum	Narman				EMSC
06.08.2012 06:27:54	2.7	Asia	Turkey	Van	Yuvacik				EMSC
06.08.2012 05:21:23	3.1	Asia	Turkey	Van	Yuvacik				EMSC
06.08.2012 05:21:44	3.1	Asia	Turkey	??rnak	Bogazoren				EMSC
06.08.2012 02:00:34	2.2	North America	United States	Alaska	Trapper Creek				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 02:00:57	2.7	North America	United States	Alaska	Pope-Vannoy Landing				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 06:28:12	2.5	Asia	Turkey	??rnak	Uzungecit				EMSC
06.08.2012 05:22:06	3.1	Asia	Turkey	??rnak	Uzungecit				EMSC
06.08.2012 06:28:32	2.7	Asia	Turkey	Kütahya	Pazarlar				EMSC
06.08.2012 01:30:31	3.3	North America	United States	Hawaii	Puako				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 06:28:50	2.0	Asia	Turkey	Van	Toyga				EMSC
06.08.2012 06:29:10	2.4	Asia	Turkey	Mu?la	Datca				EMSC
06.08.2012 01:05:52	4.8	Pacific Ocean	Tonga	Vava`u	Hihifo				USGS-RSOE
06.08.2012 01:15:19	4.8	Pacific Ocean – East	Tonga	Vava`u	Hihifo				EMSC
06.08.2012 06:29:30	2.4	Asia	Turkey	Kütahya	Saphane				EMSC

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Volcanic Activity

• 
  White Island crater, 5 August 2012 – Source: GeoNet

  

  View of White Island from Papamoa Beach – Source: Supplied by Rebecca Cowley

A steam plume has been visible at the White Island crater today.

Earlier this week GNS Science issued a volcanic alert for White Island, which is off the coast of the Bay of Plenty, due to signs of increased activity.

According to GNS, although more volcanic activity has been recorded, “everything seems to be relatively stable”.

Volcanologists have recorded a rapid rise in White Island’s crater lake, a pulse of volcanic tremor and slightly higher gas levels in the plume.

“Although the volcanic tremor increased substantially during Saturday it has returned to levels similar to those during the early part of last week,” GNS said.

The white steam plume can sometimes be seen from areas of the Bay of Plenty coast.

On Thursday, GNS Science duty volcanologist Michael Rosenberg said its crater lake has started to re-fill and gases were now “vigorously streaming through it”.

“Airborne gas measurements show that the discharge of some sulphur gases has increased,” he said.

GNS volcanologists plan to visit White Island early next week to collect water and gas samples and make a ground level survey of the crater floor.

These measurements will help understand what changes are taking place beneath the volcano and whether these might lead to increased surface activity.

GNS advises people to take extra caution, especially if approaching the crater lake and other active thermal features.

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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather

Excessive Heat Warning

PHOENIX AZ

Heat Advisory

FORT WORTH TX

Blame blistering heat waves on global warming, study says

The relentless, weather-gone-crazy type of heat that has blistered the United States and other parts of the world in recent years is so rare that it can’t be anything but man-made global warming, says a new statistical analysis from a top government scientist.

The research by a man often called the “godfather of global warming” says that the likelihood of such temperatures occurring from the 1950s through the 1980s was rarer than 1 in 300. Now, the odds are closer to 1 in 10, according to the study by NASA scientist James Hansen. He says that statistically what’s happening is not random or normal, but pure and simple climate change.

“This is not some scientific theory. We are now experiencing scientific fact,” Hansen told The Associated Press in an interview.

Hansen is a scientist at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York and a professor at Columbia University. He has called for government action to curb greenhouse gases for years. While his study was published online Saturday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, it is unlikely to sway opinion among the remaining climate change skeptics.

However, several climate scientists praised the new work.

In a departure from most climate research, Hansen’s study — based on statistics, not the more typical climate modeling — blames these three heat waves purely on global warming:

—Last year’s devastating Texas-Oklahoma drought.

—The 2010 heat waves in Russia and the Middle East, which led to thousands of deaths.

—The 2003 European heat wave blamed for tens of thousands of deaths, especially among the elderly in France.

The analysis was written before the current drought and record-breaking temperatures that have seared much of the United States this year. But Hansen believes this too is another prime example of global warming at its worst.

In an opinion column published Saturday in The Washington Post, Hansen said his predictions in the late 1980s of the dire consequences of steadily increasing temperatures have proven to be worse than he thought.

“Our analysis shows that it is no longer enough to say that global warming will increase the likelihood of extreme weather and to repeat the caveat that no individual weather event can be directly linked to climate change. To the contrary, our analysis shows that, for the extreme hot weather of the recent past, there is virtually no explanation other than climate change.

The deadly European heat wave of 2003, the fiery Russian heat wave of 2010 and catastrophic droughts in Texas and Oklahoma last year can each be attributed to climate change. And once the data are gathered in a few weeks’ time, it’s likely that the same will be true for the extremely hot summer the United States is suffering through right now.

These weather events are not simply an example of what climate change could bring. They are caused by climate change. The odds that natural variability created these extremes are minuscule, vanishingly small. To count on those odds would be like quitting your job and playing the lottery every morning to pay the bills.”

The new research makes the case for the severity of global warming in a different way than most scientific studies and uses simple math instead of relying on complex climate models or an understanding of atmospheric physics. It also doesn’t bother with the usual caveats about individual weather events having numerous causes.

The increase in the chance of extreme heat, drought and heavy downpours in certain regions is so huge that scientists should stop hemming and hawing, Hansen said. “This is happening often enough, over a big enough area that people can see it happening,” he said.

Scientists have generally responded that it’s impossible to say whether single events are caused by global warming, because of the influence of natural weather variability.

Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com

However, that position has been shifting in recent months, as other studies too have concluded climate change is happening right before our eyes.

Hansen hopes his new study will shift people’s thinking about climate change and goad governments into action. He wrote an op-ed piece that appeared online Friday in the Washington Post.

“There is still time to act and avoid a worsening climate, but we are wasting precious time,” he wrote.

The science in Hansen’s study is excellent “and reframes the question,” said Andrew Weaver, a climate scientist at the University of Victoria in British Columbia who was a member of the Nobel Prize-winning international panel of climate scientists that issued a series of reports on global warming.

“Rather than say, ‘Is this because of climate change?’ That’s the wrong question. What you can say is, ‘How likely is this to have occurred with the absence of global warming?’ It’s so extraordinarily unlikely that it has to be due to global warming,” Weaver said.

For years scientists have run complex computer models using combinations of various factors to see how likely a weather event would happen without global warming and with it. About 25 different aspects of climate change have been formally attributed to man-made greenhouse gases in dozens of formal studies. But these are generally broad and non-specific, such as more heat waves in some regions and heavy rainfall in others.

Another upcoming study by Kevin Trenberth, climate analysis chief at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, links the 2010 Russian heat wave to global warming by looking at the underlying weather that caused the heat wave. He called Hansen’s paper an important one that helps communicate the problem.

But there is bound to be continued disagreement. Previous studies had been unable to link the two, and one by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration concluded that the Russian drought, which also led to devastating wildfires, was not related to global warming.

White House science adviser John Holdren praised the paper’s findings in a statement. But he also said it is true that scientists can’t blame single events on global warming: “This work, which finds that extremely hot summers are over 10 times more common than they used to be, reinforces many other lines of evidence showing that climate change is occurring and that it is harmful.”

Skeptical scientist John Christy of the University of Alabama at Huntsville said Hansen shouldn’t have compared recent years to the 1950s-1980s time period because he said that was a quiet time for extremes.

But Derek Arndt, director of climate monitoring for the federal government’s National Climatic Data Center, said that range is a fair one and often used because it is the “golden era” for good statistics.

Granger Morgan, head of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, called Hansen’s study “an important next step in what I expect will be a growing set of statistically-based arguments.”

In a landmark 1988 study, Hansen predicted that if greenhouse gas emissions continue, which they have, Washington, D.C., would have about nine days each year of 95 degrees or warmer in the decade of the 2010s. So far this year, with about four more weeks of summer, the city has had 23 days with 95 degrees or hotter temperatures.

Hansen says now he underestimated how bad things would get.

And while he hopes this will spur action including a tax on the burning of fossil fuels, which emit carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas, others doubt it.

Science policy expert Roger Pielke Jr. of the University of Colorado said Hansen clearly doesn’t understand social science, thinking a study like his could spur action. Just because people understand a fact that doesn’t mean people will act on it, he said.

In an email, he wrote: “Hansen is pursuing a deeply flawed model of policy change, one that will prove ineffectual and with its most lasting consequence a further politicization of climate science (if that is possible!).”

Daniel Boczarski  /  Getty Images Contributor

Fans evacuate Lollapalooza music festival after a severe storm warning on Saturday in Chicago.

The Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago was suspended and tens of thousands of fans were evacuated to shelters on Saturday as the city braced for dangerous storms with high winds, organizers said.

Organizers stopped at about 3:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. ET), and many of the fans were told to go to one of three underground parking garages designated as “emergency evacuation shelters,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

“Our first priority is always the safety of our fans, staff and artists,” said Shelby Meade, communications director for C3 Presents, the promoter behind Lollapalooza. “We regret having to suspend any show but safety always comes first.”

All told, the festival was closed for about three hours, according to a statement by the organizers.

The National Weather Service office in Romeoville, Illinois, which covers Chicago, recorded wind gusts up to 55 miles per hour on Saturday and had reports of gusts up to 70 mph, some measured, some estimated, said meteorologist Ben Deubelbeiss.

“Heavy rains, wind and lightning are the main threats from these storms,” he said.

The worst of the severe weather powered through Chicago late Saturday afternoon and headed over Lake Michigan and northern Indiana.

The unsettled weather was set to continue in the Midwest and beyond throughout the weekend and into Monday, Weather.com reported. A cold front was set to march across the eastern states on Sunday and Monday, the website said.

This cold weather mingled with a warm, humid air mass will help trigger severe thunderstorms from the eastern Great Lakes and Northeast into the Mid-South, weather.com said.

Downpours were expected ahead of the front and flash flooding was possible, it added.

Festival-goers evacuated
Festival-goers were evacuated from Grant Park in downtown Chicago and directed by police and staffers to three shelter sites along Michigan Avenue in underground garages.

The festival draws nearly 200,000 people to the park each year, and this year is headlined by music acts including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Sabbath and Jack White.

A year ago, seven people died and 40 were injured when a huge temporary stage at the Indiana State Fair came crashing down amid high winds just before the country duo Sugarland was to begin performing.

Poor communication about predictions of stormy weather approaching the area ahead of the Sugarland concert was among the factors cited in the stage collapse by consultant studies commissioned by the state.

This year, organizers thanked city officials and fans for their reaction to the inclement weather.

“We want to thank the tens of thousands of festival goers, staff, and artists who calmly and safely exited from Grant Park today,” Charlie Jones, partner of C3 Presents, which promotes the festival. “We also applaud and thank the City of Chicago for their cooperation and commitment to making Lolla a safe and enjoyable experience for all. Once again Chicago has come through and we’re proud to call the city our partner.”

Lollapalooza, initially organized in 1991 by Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell, began as a traveling music festival with several dates all summer. After a six-year hiatus starting in the late 90s, the popular alternative music festival began holding its annual concerts only in Chicago in 2005.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Red Flag Warning

FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE

MEDFORD OR
BOISE ID
PENDLETON OR
MISSOULA MT
SPOKANE WA

Fire Weather Watch

CHEYENNE WY
NORTH PLATTE NE
MISSOULA MT
BILLINGS MT
GREAT FALLS MT
RIVERTON WY
POCATELLO ID

05.08.2012

Forest / Wild Fire

USA

State of Utah, Layton

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Sunday, 05 August, 2012 at 09:57 (09:57 AM) UTC.

……………………………………………….

Towns’ residents flee Oklahoma wildfires that have destroyed dozens of homes

Updated at 12:20 a.m ET: At least 121 structures, many of them homes, have been destroyed by wildfires in Oklahoma, officials said Saturday as temperatures topped 100 degrees for a 19th straight day.

New evacuations were under way Saturday as well: Authorities ordered evacuations in the towns of Glencoe, population of around 600, and Mannford, population about 3,000 in Creek County about 20 miles west of Tulsa.

Thousands were on the move as the fire in Creek County spread quickly, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported.

A Glencoe official said 15 to 20 homes had burned in that area on Saturday, KOCO of Oklahoma City reported.

A grass fire near Luther consumed 56 structures and hot spots there and at two other large fires kept crews busy Saturday. It has burned 2,600 acres by Saturday evening.

Gov. Mary Fallin toured the Luther area on Saturday, calling the devastation “heartbreaking.”

“A lot of people were at work and didn’t realize how quickly the fire was moving,” Fallin told Reuters in a telephone interview. “It’s emotional. For the children, it’s very emotional to lose their possessions.”

Authorities suspect that fire might be arson: The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department said it received a 911 call from a man who reported seeing another man toss a lighted newspaper from a pickup truck window on Friday afternoon.

Residents returning to their homes Saturday found charred timbers poking from the debris and the burned out shells of refrigerators, washers and dryers.

“It’s all gone. All of our family pictures, everything was there,” said Victoria Landavazo, clutching a young child in her arms.

Tracy Streeper was working in Oklahoma City, about 40 miles southwest, when she learned the fire was approaching. Caught in traffic, it took her a long time to reach home and then, “once we got here, we had maybe 30 minutes.”

She grabbed a few clothes, medicine and her three dogs and left quickly.

“Your adrenaline is running. You’re pumped up,” Streeper said. “You could just see a wall of flames coming this way. Everything was on fire.”

Casey Strahan said he went outside after power went out in the home he rents about 4:30 p.m. He looked south and saw smoke rising in the distance. He thought it was moving away from him until police ordered him to leave. He rushed through the house, grabbing clothing, photos and a computer as he went. When he returned Saturday, he found the house burned to the ground.

“I just never thought it was really going to get us,” said Strahan, a softball and girls basketball coach at Luther High School.

Fires near Mannford and Noble claimed another 65 structures.

Two new fires broke out on Saturday, and Oklahoma now is fighting 13 across the state, said Forestry Services spokeswoman Michelle  Finch-Walker.

A state-wide burn ban was issued by Fallin on Friday.

Oklahoma has contacted neighboring states for help but, with the exception of Texas, neighbors have had to focus on their own fire threats, Fallin said on Friday.

“There’s fires in Arkansas. There’s fires in Kansas and Texas. Everybody else is on high heat alert,” she said.

Oklahoma joins several states that have been plagued by wildfires this summer, including Colorado, Arkansas and Nebraska. Fires are being fed by a widespread drought. Nearly two-thirds of the contiguous United States was under some level of drought as of July 31.

Low humidity, strong southerly winds and drought conditions enabled the wildfires to spread quickly across treetops, said Michelann Ooten, deputy director of the state’s Office of Emergency Management.

“It’s just a very difficult situation we’re facing that’s all weather related,” Ooten said.

The heat in Oklahoma City, the state capital, has reached historic levels.

On Friday, Oklahoma City tied its all-time record for the highest temperature ever recorded when the thermometer reached 113 Fahrenheit, a mark last recorded in the Dust Bowl days in 1936.

It’s so hot that some volunteer fire departments have made a public plea for Gatorade donations to keep their crews hydrated in the scalding conditions.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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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
Ernesto (AL05)	Atlantic Ocean	02.08.2012	06.08.2012	Tropical Depression	270 °	83 km/h	102 km/h	4.57 m	NOAA NHC

Tropical Storm data

Haikui (12W)

Pacific Ocean

03.08.2012

06.08.2012

Typhoon I

270 °

102 km/h

130 km/h

3.66 m

JTWC

 Tropical Storm data

Florence (AL06)

Atlantic Ocean

04.08.2012

06.08.2012

Tropical Depression

270 °

65 km/h

83 km/h

3.96 m

NOAA NHC

  Tropical Storm data