Featured Disasters From Previous Weeks

January - May 2004
June - August 2004

Friday, December 31, 2004
*Five days after Sunday's massive earthquake and giant tsunami
created one of the worst natural disasters the world has seen,
the number of dead continues to rise and has surged past 120,000.
*More than 27,000 Sri Lankans were killed by Sunday's tsunami
and one in 12 Sri Lankans has reportedly been left homeless.
The Sri Lankan population is dazed by the death and destruction,
and fears another tsunami could hit.
*There are many eyewitness accounts of birds and animals migrating
before earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The scientific evidence
for them possessing a sixth sense is lacking, but if the reports are
confirmed, they could possibly be used in the future as
an early warning system for humans.
*The desperate attempts of three U.S. earthquake monitors to
warn nations situated on the Indian Ocean of the approaching
tsunami emerged yeasterday. A mere 18 minutes after the earthquake,
the officials issued a Pacific-wide e-mailed tsunami warning, but
realised that most potential victims were not among the center's
Pacific nation clients, because the biggest impact would be in the
Indian Ocean. They said, "We talked to the state department
Operations Centre and to the military. We called embassies. We
talked to the Navy in Sri Lanka, any local government official we
could get hold of." The desperate effort was to warn people
thousands of miles away to get off beaches. The frustration was
knowing that even if government leaders could be reached, most
countries had no effective civil defence mechanism for getting the
information to the people. The geophysicists worked through the
night sounding the warning as the tsunami continued to sweep
across the vast ocean basin.
*A crystalline meteorite weighing at least 16 kilograms has hit a
house in the southeast of Iran.
*The dam supplying 80 per cent of Sydney, Australia's water
has dropped to a record low level.

Thursday, December 30, 2004
*India's last active volcano, in the Andaman and Nicobar islands,
has erupted in the aftermath of the earthquake that set off tsunamis.
The volcano, known as Barren 1, is located 135km north-east of the
capital Port Blair on Barren Island and last erupted in 1996.
*A mud volcano at the inhabited Baratang Island in Middle Andaman
has erupted but the administration said there was no cause for concern.
Mud keeps bubbling in the volcano and there is considerable heat. The
volcano is located on one side of the Baratang Island, which is
about 100 km from Port Blair. The Geological Survey of India said
that barring some aftershocks, it has not found any major activity in
the Andaman and Nicobar region, including eruption from any
of its dormant volcanoes.
*Thousands of bodies continue to wash up onshore along coasts
and up to five million people have been displaced by the tsunamis
that have killed over 125,000 people in Asia. Aftershocks
continue to rock traumatised survivors. Relief workers have
finally got to some remote areas on the west coast of Sumatra,
near the quake's epicentre. But many other areas are still out
of reach, and there are fears the death toll is likely to rise still further.
*BBC correspondents' reports: Most people at the relief centers say the
islands which were their homes until now are no longer inhabitable; People
are getting desperate; There are still bodies littered around...you walk
around the corner and there's more. It never seems to end; More and
more injured people are flooding in from places outside the city and
their injuries are often very badly infected.
*Some of the most vivid descriptions of the devastation in
southern Asia are on the internet in the form of web logs or blogs.
*The seismic rumbling at Mount St. Helens has dropped to its
lowest level since October when lava started oozing
into the volcano's crater.
*A moderate earthquake shook northern Japan late today, their
second tremor this week. No damage or injuries were reported.
*The western coast of Sumatra has been "devastated" by
Sunday's earthquake and sea surges, according to an
Indonesian official who flew over it on Wednesday. Large
areas of the coast - the closest to the earthquake's epicentre -
are in ruins, villages covered in mud and few signs of life.
There has been no word from towns along the
coast since the disaster hit.
*Relief agencies struggled to rush aid to more than 3 million people
in Africa and Asia who lack food and medicine as the number of
fatalities from the weekend's earthquake and tsunamis passed
80,000, with more than half the dead in Indonesia. About 15%
of Sri Lanka's stricken areas will be unreachable for at least two
more days because of washed- out roads and bridges.
*The latest country-by-country breakdown of the missing and dead
tourists from Asian beach resorts.
*Thousands of people have fled coastal areas of southern
India in panic after a government warning of new tsunamis.
The alert was issued by officials in Tamil Nadu state who said aftershocks
in the Andaman and Nicobar islands were likely to cause high waves.
There have been a series of aftershocks in the Indian Ocean since
Sunday's earthquake, although none have triggered large waves so far.
*India's tangled bureaucracy bungled the first alerts of Sunday's tsunami,
losing precious time in which lives could have been saved,
newspapers reported today.
*Sri Lankan wildlife officials are stunned - the worst tsunami
in memory has killed around 22,000 people along the Indian
Ocean island's coast, but they can't find any dead animals.
No elephants are dead, not even a dead hare or rabbit.
*The massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean was so huge that it
caused the Earth to rotate faster, shortening the day, Russian
scientists say. Because the diameter of the Earth decreased as
a result of a shift in tectonic plates, the speed of the Earth as it
rotates around its own axis was able to increase. Scientists
in Italian geological centers have concluded, meanwhile, that
the Earth's axis has shifted 6 centimeters eastwards.
*At some time, there will be a big tsunami in the Atlantic Ocean.
However, it's highly unlikely any time soon. For the most part, the
giant tectonic plates under the Atlantic Ocean are not rubbing against
each other creating pressure and priming for earthquakes, the way
those under the Pacific and Indian oceans are. The Atlantic plate is
spreading, with the U.S coast moving further away from Great Britain.
But an area of concern is just off the coast of southern Virginia, where
expulsions of methane gas have caused crack-like features in the
continental shelf that researchers believe could lead to a
major underwater landslide.
*The Cascadia Subduction Zone, an area of the Pacific floor
off the coast of Washington and Oregon, is capable of generating
a magnitude 9.0 seaquake like the one that sparked last weekend's
tsunami. Last year, geologists reported evidence that such a quake
was behind a killer tsunami that rolled all the way to Japan in 1700.
OTHER NEWS:
* Snow has fallen over the United Arab Emirates for the first time ever.
*The permafrost melt is accelerating throughout the world's cold
regions. In addition to northern Alaska, the permafrost zone includes
most other Arctic land, such as northern Canada and much of Siberia,
as well as the higher reaches of mountainous regions such as the
Alps and Tibet. All report permafrost thaw. Scientists reported an
increased frequency in landslides in the soil-based permafrost of
Canada, and an increased instability and slope failures in mountainous
regions, such as the Alps, where ice is locked in bedrock.
* Mount St. Helens is regrowing the odd-shaped top it blew
off in 1980, scientists say.
*West Australian firefighters are preparing for another weekend
of lightning-induced bushfires, following the containment of 35
blazes in the south-west.
* Drought conditions have dogged Pennsylvania since the early '90s.
Varying degrees of drought declarations have been in effect for
nine of the last 14 years.
*Southern Africa should prepare itself for recurring drought, likely
to strike at least twice every decade, says a new report.
*An ongoing drought in Vietnam has caused water shortage for
nearly 300,000 hectares of crops and over 500,000 residents.
*Earthquakes are usually known for destroying things. But a large
17th-century quake on the Japanese island of Hokkaido did the opposite:
It created a freshwater forest where tidal mud flats had once existed.

Wednesday, December 29, 2004
*A series of strong earthquakes rocked Andaman and Nicobar
Islands today as aftershocks continued to rattle the region
three days after the devastating quake. So far 70 aftershocks have
rocked the region after the Sunday's massive earthquake. Two
quakes, measuring 5.7 and 6.1 on the Richter scale, jolted the
island territory in the span of 10 minutes this morning. It was not
yet clear whether any fresh casualty or damage was caused by
the latest quakes. Aftershocks continued to jolt Indonesia too,
with an earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale being felt
near the country's west coast on Tuesday. Five temblors of a
magnitude 5.6 or greater have hit in the last 24 hours. 78,000 dead.
* The Andamans could rock for six months to a year, and beyond,
but another tsunami is unlikely. It is generally associated with quakes
registering magnitudes of 7.5 or more. The trend indicates the
magnitude of aftershocks is gradually coming down. It will take
time for the Earth to adjust to the undersea quake as the energy
released by the quake was nearly 2,700 times more than that
released by a magnitude 6 quake. There is no trend indicating
any increase in the frequency of earthquakes here over the long-term.
*Scientists describe the devastating earthquake off the island
of Sumatra as a "megathrust" – a grade reserved for the most
powerful shifts in the Earth's crust. By some estimates, it
was equal to detonating a million atomic bombs.
*Thailand's Meteorological Department may have delayed
sounding a tidal wave warning for fear it could damage
the country's lucrative tourism industry, officials have indicated.
*An enormous anthropological disaster is in the making as the killer
tsunami is feared to have wiped out entire tribes - already threatened
by their precariously small numbers - perhaps rendering them extinct
and snapping the slender tie with a lost generation.
*The death toll from the Asian tsunami, triggered by the magnitude
9.0 earthquake off Indonesia, has risen to 68,464 people.
*Organizations that need your help to aid victims of the tsunami.
*Desperate SOS calls are coming in from an obliterated coastline
which is emerging as ground zero for the seismic holocaust unleashed
on Asia. Great tracts of land remain under surging tides on the
northwest tip of Sumatra island. Food is running out, there is looting
and further catastrophe looms. Officials predict the death toll could
triple and if relief does not arrive within three to four days, there
will be mass starvation. As night fell three full days after the quake
there was still no contact with many parts of the worst-affected area.
During a reconnaissance flight over Meulaboh there appeared to be
no sign of life in the town, which was home to 40,000 people. In the
Aceh Jaya district, between Meulaboh and Banda Aceh, half of
the 95,000 people living in the region may have perished.
*BBC correspondents' tsunami reports from across Asia.
*A scientist looking to pinpoint the next big earthquake has warned again
that the U.S. east coast could be destroyed by a tsunami unleashed by
the collapse of La Palma, the most volcanically active island in the
Canaries archipelago in the eastern Atlantic. Collapse of the 500
billion ton rock the next time the Cumbre Vieja volcano erupts
would send a dome-shaped wall of water up to 100m tall - 10 times
as high as the tsunamis that hit south Asia - racing across the Atlantic.
*Partly because of geometry and partly because of geology, Southern
California seems to be fairly sheltered from tsunamis. But there is
always the danger that the next killer wave will come this way and
experts disagree on how much risk there really is. In 1964, a massive
magnitude 9.2 earthquake in Alaska spawned tsunamis that killed
107 people, including 11 in California.
*An earthquake with the potential to trigger a tsunami similar in
scale to the south Asian disaster is due on a major faultline in
New Zealand, a tsunami expert said today.
*Scientists believe that it is only a matter of time before Scotland
is hit by a massive natural disaster. Just a small climactic shift could
trigger freak weather conditions or increase the pace at which the
polar ice caps melt. There is also the possibility of underwater
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or even a meteor strike all
bringing death and destruction. The actual existence of Britain
as an island came about as a result of a 40ft tsunami.
*Ghana still faces the threat of an earthquake five months after
a warning from the Geological Survey Department that the
frequency of seismic readings on the Richter scale is not favourable,
although the most recent magnitudes have lessened.
*An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.9 jolted the
Chuetsu region in northeast Japan's Niigata Prefecture on Tuesday
evening. The bullet train service has been suspended between some
stations. Ironically Tuesday was the first day that full services of the
train resumed in the prefecture since three strong quakes that hit the
area two months ago caused the derailment of a bullet train.
*Russian seismologists said the Shiveluch volcano in the eastern
Kamchatka peninsula began erupting Tuesday, sending hot ash
up to 6,500 feet.
*At least four people were killed and eight others were reported
missing in the Philippines when a landslide struck two villages.

Tuesday, December 28, 2004
*The sea and wreckage of coastal towns all around the Indian
Ocean yielded up tens of thousands of bodies today, pushing
the death toll from the Asian tsunami to 59,186 people.
The death toll could reach more than 100,000, the head of Italy's
civil emergency relief services warned.
*Rescuers began reaching India's remote Andaman and Nicobar
islands today, two days after a devastating tsunami, to find
barely a third of residents on one were still alive.
There has still been no contact at all with several of the islands,
including one of the biggest, Grand Nicobar, which was
closest to the epicentre.
*The 9.0 earthquake that unleashed deadly tidal waves on Asia was
so powerful it made the Earth wobble on its axis and permanently
altered the regional map. It may have moved small islands as much
as 20 metres to the south-west, according to one expert. The
energy released as the two sides of the undersea fault slipped against
each other made the Earth wobble on its axis. Other scientists
said it was more likely that the islands off Sumatra had risen higher
out of the sea than that they had moved laterally.
*Satellite images showed that the movement of undersea plates off
the northern tip of Sumatra moved the Nicobar Islands and Simeulue
Island out to sea by an unknown distance. Although the data showed
that plates more than 20km beneath the ocean's surface moved
dramatically, scientists will have to use handheld satellite positioning
systems at the sites to learn precisely how much the land masses
on the surface shifted. The scraping of one plate over another
may have ploughed up enough debris on the ocean floor to block
the port of Banda Aceh in Sumatra. Large earthquakes in the past
decade in Kobe, Japan, and Golcuk, Turkey, deformed the coastlines
and rendered their ports inoperable after the crises.
*BBC correspondents' tsunami reports from across Asia.
*The number of mid-sized quakes in Alaska is rising,
the largest was 5.4
* Quakes in Indonesia magnitude 5.7 and over since the 9.0:
5.9, 5.8, 6.0, 5.8, 5.8, 6.0, 5.9, 6.1, 7.3, 5.7, 5.9, 5.8, 6.5
6.2, 6.3, 5.9, 5.9, 5.7, 6.2, 6.0, 6.1, 6.1, 6.3, 5.9, 5.8, 5.8
*The colossal scale of the earthquake which devastated much of southern
Asia was more powerful than all the world's earthquakes of the past five
years put together. The earthquake had three distinct phases, each
only a matter of seconds apart.
*The magnitude 9.0 earthquake off Indonesia moved the island
of Sumatra about 100 feet to the southwest, the Los Angeles
Times reported Monday. The earthquake occurred off Sumatra's
northwestern tip in an active geological region and ruptured an
estimated 600-mile-long stretch of the Earth beneath the Indian
Ocean. It created the first deadly tsunami in the Indian Ocean since 1883.
*Asia's killer tsunami echoes the 1883 Krakatoa wave - probably
the most destructive tsunami in recorded history, it originated in what
was then the Dutch East Indies, when the island volcano
of Krakatoa erupted.
*A senior geologist warns that the island nation of Sri Lanka is
no longer safe from earthquakes as a new plate boundary phenomenon
is being formed south of the country. Sri Lanka is located inside
the Indo-Australian plate but "it is breaking up right near the south
of Sri Lanka". Because of the Indonesian earthquake's mechanism
and the orientation of the islands, which form certain channels in the water,
Sri Lanka was in the direct path of the generated waves.
*A 5.8 tremor rocked some parts of Southern Mindanao in the
Philippines early Monday morning, which authorities said was
an aftershock of the Indonesian quake.
*The fate of thousands of foreign tourists vacationing in Southeast Asia
remains unclear, a day after the massive tsunamis.
*Yemen and the neighboring Gulf state of Oman were on alert Monday,
warning people not to venture out to sea after high waves caused by
the massive earthquake in Asia caused damage along the coastline.
The massive tidal wave that struck nine Indian Ocean countries
has killed at least 23,700 and hopes have faded for many thousands
more still missing. Somalian officials said Monday that hundreds
of people had died there and entire villages and towns had
disappeared in flooding.
*More than one million people have been displaced in three of the
south Asian countries hit by towering waves following the undersea
earthquake, the International Red Cross says.
*A Canadian swept out to sea in the Asian tidal wave disaster
survived for 10 hours by clinging to a dead fisherman
who had a lifejacket.
*"This may be the worst national disaster in recent history because
it is affecting so many heavily populated coastal areas...so many
vulnerable communities". "Many people will have (had) their livelihoods,
their whole future destroyed in a few seconds." "The longer term
effects may be as devastating as the tidal wave or the tsunami itself"
because of the risks of epidemics from polluted drinking water.
*The tsunamis which devastated coastlines across south and
southeast Asia with waves of up to 10 metres reached as far
as New Zealand, but with tidal surges measuring just centimetres.
* Unusual tidal surges and strong currents hitting the coastline of
Western Australia, caused by the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami,
are set to continue for at least 24 hours, forecasters have warned.
*An alert centre in Hawaii that warns Pacific countries about
approaching tsunamis detected the earthquake that generated
killer waves across Asia, but had no way of raising the alarm.

Monday, December 27, 2004
*One person is dead, another missing, and 23 injured after a series
of earthquakes in southwestern China's Yunnan province. A total
of 47 tremors, some of them as powerful as 5.0 on the Richter scale,
struck Yunnan over a 17-hour period on Sunday.
*Geologists describe Sunday's powerful earthquake in the Indian
Ocean as a once-in-a-generation event. Sunday's quake occurred
along the so-called Andaman Thrust, a faultline that runs between
several plates in the eastern Indian Ocean. The Australia and Indonesia
plates are colliding with the Burma plate. With this size of an earthquake,
it caused a rupture of about a thousand kilometers along the Andaman
thrust. A series of more than 20 large aftershocks have been recorded,
including one registering 7.3 on the Richter scale that jolted parts of
Bangladesh. Minor aftershocks have been detected as far away as the
U.S. states of Alaska and California.
*The earthquake that devastated south Asia may have been partially
triggered by the earlier and smaller 8.1 tremor near Tasmania. A
seismologist said the Indo-Australian tectonic plate had shifted,
triggering first the smaller earthquake off the Tasmanian coast on
Thursday and then yesterday's catastrophic one.
* "All the planet is vibrating" from the quake, said Enzo Boschi, the head
of Italy's National Geophysics Institute. Boschi said the quake even
disturbed the Earth's rotation.
*Australia will consider a tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean,
but such a program needs more research to establish its feasibility.
An Indian Ocean tsunami alert system could have given Phuket
15 minutes notice of danger and countries such
as Sri Lanka much more time.
*Researchers studied earthquake data over 20 years from
Yellowstone and seven other volcanic areas in the West: the
Long Valley caldera in eastern California, Mount Lassen,
Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier. They noticed
statistically significant links between earthquakes and seasons in
most areas. Most of the many earthquakes that rattle Yellowstone
occur during the late spring and early summer, the study reveals.
The theory is that melting snow seeps underground and puts pressure
on faults. About 2,000 earthquakes occur in Yellowstone each year.

Sunday, December 26, 2004
* Tsunami timeline as it swept across Asia.
*More than 11,500 people have been killed across southern
Asia in massive sea surges triggered by the strongest
earthquake in the world for 40 years. The 9.0 magnitude
quake struck under the sea near Aceh in north Indonesia,
generating a wall of water that sped across
thousands of kilometres of sea. Casualty figures are rising
over a wide area, including resorts in Sri Lanka and
Thailand packed with holidaymakers. Waves forced out from
the earthquake are even reported to have reached Somalia
and Kenya, 3700 miles away on the east coast of Africa.
It was the fifth strongest tremor in the world since
1900 and had a particularly widespread effect because
it seems to have taken place just below the surface of the ocean.
British tourists are stranded in south and east Asia after the
massive waves flooded across the region.
BBC's correspondents reports from the affected areas.
At least three Americans were killed after the huge earthquake
unleashed tidal waves, two in Sri Lanka and one in Thailand, with
several others injured.
Sri Lankan rescue workers have found the bodies of 22 people
thought to be Japanese tourists killed by the worst
tsunami in living memory.
Australians holidaying in the Thai resort of Phuket described the
devastation unleashed by the massive waves. Eight or nine Australians
are being treated following the catastrophic tsunami that hit the resort.
At least 6 more are missing. 4000 Aussies were reportedly in affected areas.
The United Nations is sending special teams to Asia to help after
the tsunami disaster, which the head of UNICEF said
had wielded "staggering" power.
At least one British tourist and 31 other people were killed when
giant waves hit the tourist paradise of the Maldives.
Tourists saw children swept away to certain death by killer waves
which turned a peaceful Christmas vacation into scenes of horror,
according to accounts given to European media from different parts
of southern Asia. "There are lots of people missing, lots
of people injured, lots of chaos." The Netherlands was seeking
news of seven Dutch citizens missing in Thailand and three in Sri Lanka.

Saturday, December 25, 2004
*This Christmas marks the 30th anniversary of Cyclone Tracy,
the devastating storm that killed 65 people and left tens of
thousands homeless in Darwin, Australia.
*A winter storm pummeled southern Ontario Thursday, causing
hundreds of accidents on highways and roads and flight
cancellations and delays on one of the busiest travel days of the year.
*There's a 1-in-300 chance that a recently discovered asteroid,
believed to be about 1,300 feet long, could hit Earth in 2029, a
NASA scientist said Thursday, but he added that the perceived
risk probably will be eliminated once astronomers get more
detail about its orbit. There have been only a limited number
of sightings of Asteroid 2004 MN4, which has been given
an initial rating of 2 on the 10-point Torino Impact Hazard Scale.
The possible impact date - Friday the 13th, April 2029.
*South Africa still faces drought and water shortages despite
torrential rainfall bringing death and destruction in recent days.
*The World Health Organization has warned again that a global bird flu
pandemic is almost inevitable and could create a health situation worse
than the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS.

Friday, December 24, 2004
*An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.1, the year's
strongest, shook the ocean floor yesterday about 1,000 miles
southwest of New Zealand in the largely uninhabited area
around Macquarie Island half-way between Australia and
Antarctica. Buildings in parts of Tasmania shook for up to
15 seconds. It was the biggest quake since one that occurred off
the coast of Peru in early 2001. The last earthquake of similar
magnitude in the Macquarie Rise region was in 1924.
In 1924 there were over 20 earthquakes globally over 7.0.
In 1924 the U.S. experienced earthquakes from Savannah, GA
to San Francisco, CA. Several of those same areas today are past
due for quakes, especially in the St. Louis fault matrix. For the
most part more events are expected on the Pacific rim of fire as
more energy will be released. The Cascade Range of Volcanos
will most likely release more energy in the months ahead. It can
take weeks or months for some energy fronts to reflect through the
Earth's inner cores. The Amber Alert network warns that "those
near hot springs or volcanic areas need to carry detectors for
SO CO gas compounds. Be prepared."
The Pacific's ring of fire continues its complete circle of activity
of earthquakes with the volcanic movements in the Antarctic region.
*A stubborn winter storm paralyzed Sakhalin Island off Russia's
east coast for the third day Thursday. Since the system Russian
meteorologists describe as a cyclone swept into the area Tuesday,
more than three feet of snow has accumulated, and mountainous
drifts developed in sustained winds of 50 mph. Avalanche warnings
have been issued. The storm system is large and spans the Sea of
Japan, also affecting the peninsular region of Kamchatka.
*The Southern Cape of South Africa was swamped by record
deluges. Thunderstorms swept across the drought-ravaged area
on Wednesday, flooding towns, cutting power supplies and
washing away roads. Knysna and Robertson had the most rain
ever measured in a single day in December since records
began in the 1880s.

Thursday, December 23, 2004
*Astronomers spotted an asteroid this week after it had flown
past Earth on a course that took it so close to the planet it was
below the orbits of some satellites. The space rock was relatively
small, however, and would not have posed any danger had it
plunged into the atmosphere. 2004 YD5 is the second closest
pass of an asteroid ever observed by telescope.
*China is likely to experience a catastrophic drought, the worst
threat to their national water supply and grain production, next year.
* Mount St Helens - In new video released by the U.S.
Geological Survey, you can see just how massive the mountain's
lava dome has become and the odd shape of the structure.
*Images from the surface of Mars attest to recent volcanic and
glacial activity on the planet – sites that could be ideal places to
look for signs of life. Analysis shows volcanic craters resurfaced
as little as two million years ago, suggesting that the volcanoes
are potentially still active today.
*Gavin Scott, the creator of "The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne"
is making a Hollywood movie on the 1883 eruption of the
Indonesian volcano Krakatoa.

Wednesday, December 22, 2004
*Three people were slightly injured when an earthquake measuring
5.1 on the open-ended Richter scale hit a coastal region in
southwestern Turkey early on Tuesday. The casualties occurred
in the coastal resort of Marmaris, where the quake
caused panic among the population.
*A new report says drought conditions are expected to persist
in much of Montana and part of Wyoming through the winter.
*The closest thing to a Christmas tree in northern Australia is
being threatened by years of wildfires according to
Northern Territory scientists.

Tuesday, December 21, 2004
*A small 3.6 earthquake rumbling in southwestern Utah caused
minor damages, but no injuries. The last earthquake in the area
measuring 3.0 or higher was a 3.2 magnitude in May 2003.
*This Sunday (December 26th 2004) is the first anniversary of
the disastrous earthquake that claimed the lives of 31,000 people
in Bam, Iran, destroying 85 per cent of its buildings and leaving
75,000 people homeless.
*Stiffer building codes in the Los Angeles basin may come
in the near future as a result of a new study completed by
seismologists of an anticipated large thrust-fault earthquake.
The downtown portion of L.A. is on the hanging-wall of the Puente
Hills thrust fault. The hanging-wall side of large thrust-fault
earthquakes experience more extreme motion and, therefore,
more damage than the footwall side.
* Mount St Helens - Energy continues to build under the
current dome. "Swarms" of earthquakes around 3.0 magnitude
have occurred on several occasions during the past month. The
new dome and the uplifted floor beneath it now cover 70 acres
and stand 750 feet high. This lava flow is building a huge mass
that glows as the hotter elements reach the surface. The continuing
build-up indicates the strength of the continuing activity that has
been unleashed around the Pacific Rim as numerous volcanoes
have activated. Hawaii is monitoring their volcanoes
on alert for expected activity.
*A powerful cyclone, originating in the Yellow Sea, hit Russia's
Maritime region on Sunday night. Heavy snowfalls were
accompanied on the coast by gale-force winds. This has been
the second strong snowfall in Vladivostok this winter. Late in
November, heavy snowfalls paralyzed traffic in the city for almost
ten days. The snowfall was the strongest in the past 80 years. A
double norm of snow for December fell in the city overnight.

Monday, December 20, 2004
* Mount Ruapehu is an active volcano in New Zealand and there
could be a major lahar in the next couple of months if the weather
warms up. Unseasonably cold weather and a good dumping of
snow is slowing the melting into the lake. There are seven to eight
metres to go before the lake breaches the outlet. A significant lahar
is unlikely to happen before Christmas.
* Mount St Helens - The new lava dome has noticeably broadened,
and the prominent fractures along its top continue to widen with
ash spewing from the hot cracks intermittently. Another series of
three relatively large earthquakes about magnitude 3 on the Richter
scale shook the volcano on Sunday.
*Fires, tornadoes, hail and floods capped off a year of wacky
weather in Canada. Abnormally early drought conditions,
a heat wave and lightning storms put the West Coast on high
alert over the summer as almost 500 wildfires swept through.
Yet it doesn't look like 2004 is going down in the record books,
as it was a fairly typical year compared to the last few years.
*Alarm was raised early Sunday morning in Jakarta as an
unexplained explosion rocked the city. Several loud blasts were
heard in the Indonesian capital Jakarta and two nearby towns.
The explosion seems to have emanated from a meteor exploding
above the city. The object left a tail of fire and dozens of witnesses.

Saturday, December 18, 2004
*A powerful storm packing hurricane-force winds has lashed
northern France, killing at least six people - some crushed by
falling trees - and forcing officials to close the
Eiffel Tower and Paris parks.
*Almost one month after a 6.3 earthquake rocked northern Dominica,
strong aftershocks continue to rattle residents and more are expected.
*One in every 3,000 Iranians dies in an earthquake, a statistic
that's unlikely to change much until earthquake- resistant
construction methods are widely used there.
* Mount St. Helens: The magma-fueled uplift between the old lava
dome and the south wall of the crater continues swelling by a
dumptruck-load per second, raising the possibility of a collapse.
If gas-rich magma begins to replace the gas-poor magma now
reaching the surface, a dome collapse could uncork an eruption
akin to the series that followed the seminal blast of May 18, 1980.
Four earthquakes of magnitude 3 overnight Thursday/Friday are
part of the continuing lava dome eruption that could last for months.
*A unique monitoring system is in place on the island of Montserrat
to record the everyday changes beneath the Soufriere Hills volcano.
*Russia's North Pole-33 drifting Arctic research station has traveled
more than 700 km over a 100-day period. Average daily drifting
speeds totaled 15-17 km and even 20 km in some cases;
such ice-drift speeds are exceptional.

Friday, December 17, 2004
*Southwest Florida is bracing for a dangerous fire season. Their
last significant rainfall was almost three weeks ago. Some areas
still have hurricane debris that poses an added fire risk.
*While parts of the Western U.S. remained in drought in 2004,
rainfall was above average in 33 states, especially in the South
and East, partly due to the effects of tropical storm systems.
*Earthquakes are not unusual in the San Francisco Bay Area,
California, but a team of geoscientists believes that the hazard
may be greater than previously thought because of a hidden fault.
*A powerful earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale
rocked Taiwan on Thursday, rattling buildings across the island.
*Cuban scientists are stepping up vigilance of current seismic activity
after the registering of the 6.6 tremor near the Cayman Islands on
Tuesday, as it was felt over almost all of Cuba. Some 40 aftershocks
were registered up until midday Wednesday. This is the eighth
perceptible quake this year in Cuba.

Thursday, December 16, 2004
*Four people were killed due to a landslide in Sri Lanka's Central Province.
*A landslide in Java on Tuesday, has left one person dead and
four houses severely damaged.
* Bushfires burning on Western Australia's south coast have forced
the evacuation of a school, closed part of a major highway and
razed thousands of hectares of crops and parkland.
* Mount St Helens' new dome contains more crystallized silica than
the older dome, something that has led the volcanologists to speculate
about what is going on deep in the Earth below the mountain.
"Something extraordinary is happening." Lava is rising as if through
a "hot soda straw," running from several miles down up under the
new dome, but turned sideways at the top. That is why the dome
has been pushing outward, although it still is elevating as well, at
a rate of a millimeter or so per minute - each millimeter accompanied
by a small earthquake. When the new dome first appeared, it moved
south until it hit the crater wall, then turned and abutted the crater on
the western side. Now it is bulldozing toward the north,
melting and moving the glacier aside.
* Two earthquakes that struck the Eureka, California area the past two
weekends were the largest onshore North Coast earthquakes since 1992.
The Dec. 4 quake was 4.3 on the Richter scale and last Sunday's was 4.1.
Both quakes originated from roughly the same spot but were
centered on different types of faults.
*Rehabilitation and reconstruction of roads, bridges, schools and
health facilities in Dominica following the recent earthquake in November
is expected to top $19 million dollars.

Wednesday, December 15, 2004
*The Cayman Islands yesterday afternoon became the latest
Caribbean island to be rocked by an earthquake. At a magnitude
of 6.7, it was their strongest quake since 1900. Smaller after-shocks
persisted for more than half-an-hour, though no damages were reported.
The quake comes on the heels of a 5.7 tremor that jolted the U.S.
and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Sat. Dec. 11. And it
follows the Dec. 3 quake of 5.4 in Trinidad and the Nov. 21 quake
of 5.4, that left major structural damages and one dead
in Dominica and Guadeloupe.
*In the wake of confusion over the recent quake alert in Upper
Assam, India, researchers in Madras University's department of
applied geology said planetary configurations could be a"definitive
means of earthquake prediction" and they defended their prediction
record. Thousands of Upper Assam residents camped outdoors
at night two days ago because of the alert.
*A stark warning of the probable effects of global warming
in Europe has been given by a U.K. climate research group.
Scientists say the 2003 European heatwave, the hottest ever recorded,
could seem "unusually cool" within just 60 years from now. They
estimate man-made climate change has already doubled the risk
of such heatwaves.
*Heavy rains triggered deadly floods along Iran's Gulf coast.
*The massive B-15A iceberg is blocking sea ice in McMurdo Sound
in Antarctica, and may prevent penguins from reaching food in the
open sea. The sea ice is also blocking the supply route to science
stations expecting to receive supplies this month.

Tuesday, December 14, 2004
*A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 struck
Japan's northern island of Hokkaido today, but no injuries
or damage were reported.
* Tokyo is likely to be hit within the next 30 years by a major
earthquake which will kill up to 13,000 people and pose hardships
for millions of others, said a government study quoted today in news
reports. More than 800,000 buildings would be destroyed. Japan
endures about 20 percent of the world's powerful earthquakes.
*A strong 6.0 earthquake has rattled El Salvador, knocking
out telephone service but causing no reported injuries.
Thousands of frightened people fled into the streets and the
government ordered the temporary evacuation of tall buildings.
*A 5.4 earthquake was felt Monday across most of mainland Portugal,
but no damage or injuries were reported. The epicenter was in
the Atlantic Ocean, about 60 miles southwest of Portugal.
* Mount Nyiragongo volcano, which devastated Goma in the east
of the Democratic Republic of Congo three years ago, is showing
new signs of activity. The summit of the mountain is currently
glowing red at night. However scientists now possess equipment
which allow them to predict a major eruption a month ahead,
which was not the case with the 2002 event, and they say that
they have observed no signs which would indicate a
possible eruption on the sides of the mountain.
*Aerial views of Mount St. Helens' crater show that the
new lava dome is becoming increasingly fractured as an ambiguous
pattern of growth begins to emerge. The new pattern should
become clearer within the next several days.
*Eight people were killed and another was missing early on
Monday after a new landslide buried a village in the eastern Philippines.

Monday, December 13, 2004
*Eleven people are reported to have died and more than
10,000 have been evacuated after flooding hit the east
coast of peninsula Malaysia. Meteorologists are predicting
the situation - already described as the worst flooding in more
than a decade - is likely to get worse as heavy rain is expected.
*The New South Wales, Australia government has declared
the north-west of the state a natural disaster area after heavy
flooding that could leave many homes still cut off at Christmas.
*A volcano in Indonesia's northernmost province of North Sulawesi
on Sunday belched smoke and heatclouds and covered a town
and several villages with ash.
*Bright flashes in the sky had residents in the Washington region
calling 911 Saturday night for what was actually the
annual Geminid Meteor Shower.
*A magnitude 5.7 earthquake jolted the British Virgin Islands,
the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Saturday.

Sunday, December 12, 2004
*Afghanistan remains in the grip of the most debilitating drought
in living memory, now in its seventh year.
*A 3.2 earthquake of slight intensity rocked Shillong, India and its
surrounding areas early on Saturday. This was the third tremor in
the current week. The 2nd tremor had a magnitude of 4.7 on the
Richter scale and was recorded on December 9. That one was
preceded by one measuring 3.6 on the scale on December 7.
*The final meteor shower of 2004 is the Geminids of December,
the most reliable meteor shower of the year. This year, the peak
is on the night of Dec. 13-14, Monday night to Tuesday morning.

Saturday, December 11, 2004
*A dry start to the growing season in eastern Australia has
devastated the winter grain crop.
* Mount St Helens: A massive magma-driven uplift of glacial ice,
rock and magma is now shoving against the south wall of the crater.
Scientists recently discovered that a Global Positioning System
station on the outer southeast flank of the mountain has moved
about 1 inch toward the southeast over the past three weeks.
*A woman was killed after an earthquake measuring 4.8 on the
Richter scale shook the Indonesian easternmost province of Papua
on Friday. She suffered from stroke and fell from her chair when
the quake hit the area and died en route to the hospital. A 6.8
magnitude quake on Nov. 26 and smaller aftershocks in the
aftermath have killed 33 other residents.
*2025 people remained evacuated from their houses in the areas around
Brescia, Italy hit by an earthquake earlier this week. 453
houses are unfit for use.
*The Marshall Islands has been warned of an approaching tropical
storm, which threatens to turn into a cyclone.
*This year began with the aftermath of a powerful earthquake
in Iran that killed more than 26,000 people, and is ending with
a string of storms in the the Philippines that have left more than
1,500 people dead, said the UN's emergency relief coordinator.
"It has been one of the most challenging years ever for
the humanitarian community."

Friday, December 10, 2004
*Evacuated due to flooding, about 10,000 people were unable
to go return home although record rains have stopped in
Argentina's north-eastern state of Chaco.
*University of California, Berkeley, seismologists have discovered
mysterious tremors deep under the San Andreas Fault that may
portend future earthquakes. The continuous tremors are "a kind of
chatter" emanating from a depth of 20 to 40 kilometers below the
surface, near the boundary between the Earth's crust and the hot mantle.
*New Zealand's volcanic "hot zone" is moving south and could spawn
volcanoes in Wellington in about five million years. The southernmost
existing volcano, Ruapehu, may also be evolving into a huge "caldera"
volcano such as the one that created Lake Taupo.

Thursday, December 9, 2004
*Two people died and an elderly woman is missing after their vehicles
were swamped by flash floods in creeks following widespread
storms in NSW and Queensland, Australia. Storms have hammered
Queensland's eastern coastline for two days and are expected to
continue until the end of the week. A number of homes have
been evacuated due to flooding.
*Rescuers have pulled at least 4 survivors from the rubble of a building
which collapsed in floods that hit the Philippines 10 days ago.
One survivor said there were many more still buried alive in the rubble.
The survivors had no injuries but were very weak and "white as ash",
after surviving on water dripping from the ceiling.
*A strong cyclone, accompanied by gale-force winds and snowfall,
has hit southern Kamchatka, Russia.
*Two more relatively large quakes, up to magnitude 3 on the Richter
scale, rattled Mount St. Helens on Monday and early Tuesday after
a similar miniburst the day before.
* On the heels of one of the most deadly hurricane seasons in memory,
a top forecaster is calling for another busy, slightly above-average, year
next year. He predicts 11 named tropical storms for the Atlantic Basin,
which includes the Gulf of Mexico, in 2005. Of those, he expects six
to become hurricanes, and three of those to become major hurricanes
with sustained winds of 111 mph or stronger. The odds of at least one
major storm hitting the U.S. coast is 69 percent.

Wednesday, December 8, 2004
*The Philippines are still battling the after-effects of 4 typhoons
in two weeks. Torrents of rain and walls of mud are
making relief efforts next to impossible.
*Smoke and ash has been spotted coming out of the Volcano of Fire
- also known as the Colima Volcano - in western Mexico. Officials say
the volcano is set to erupt, but that there is no immediate danger. A
light coating of ashes has reached some towns in the area near the
city of Colima, 430 miles (700 kilometres) northwest of Mexico City.
* Mount St Helens - Overnight Sunday, three earthquakes of about
magnitude 3 occurred amid the continuing flurry of smaller quakes.
This larger miniburst of quakes is similar to a sequence that occurred
a week before; scientists said it's not unusual as magma continues
driving a massive uplift of rock, glacial ice and lava.
*Forecasters expect a cooler-than-normal U.S. winter.

Tuesday, December 7, 2004
*A strong 6.8 earthquake shook northern Japan late yesterday,
prompting authorities to warn of a small tsunami wave along the
country's north-eastern shore. There were no immediate reports
of damage or injuries.
*The volcanic eruption on Manam Island in Indonesia has so far
claimed five lives – two elderly women and three children between
the ages of 5-13. The deaths were linked to respiratory complications
resulting from inhaling volcanic ashes and dust. Five people from
Dugulaba village were also saved from mudflows in the
early hours of Thursday last week.

Monday, December 6, 2004
*A tropical cyclone is racing towards the shores of Somalia and
is expected to hit the coast today.
*A magnitude 5.4 quake struck southwestern Germany on Sunday
morning. Across the border in eastern France the tremor was put at
4.9 on the Richter scale. The effects of the tremor were felt over
a 250 kilometre (150 mile) radius. Rescue services in France,
Germany and Switzerland said there had been "some damage"
near the epicentre. The strongest previous quake in the region
was measured at 5.9 on the Richter scale on February 22, 2003.
*A 4.7 tremor shook the Algerian capital on Sunday, slightly
injuring 46 people, just days after an earthquake hit the same area.
The 5.7-magnitude earthquake on Wednesday had injured 100
people and damaged some buildings. A devastating quake in
the region killed 2,300 people in May last year and this latest
tremor was an aftershock of the May 2003 quake.
*Strange flashes of light, vibrations and loud rumblings heard
early yesterday by residents along the New South Wales coast
in Australia could have been caused by a meteorite coming
within 20km of the earth's surface.
*Mount St Helens: Lava is pulsing up from a vent on the north
end of the new dome, shoving the mass of earlier-extruded lava
southward toward the crater wall. Now that the leading edge of
the extrusion has reached the crater wall, scientists are watching
to see whether new extrusions will piggyback up and over the
south end of the original 876-foot-tall lava dome or continue to
shove against the south wall of the crater, causing the new lava
dome to splay out like a fat, swelling pancake within the crater.
Growth of the new lava dome inside the crater was accompanied
by minor emissions of steam and ash on Sunday. Low rates of
seismicity and gas emission suggest the lava reaching the surface
is gas poor. That reduces the probability of highly-explosive
eruptions in the near future.
*Troops continued Sunday to rush food and water to the sick and
wounded after four typhoons hit the Philippines in the past two weeks.
*The death toll from the landslide in southwest China's Guizhou
Province has risen to 30.

Sunday, December 5, 2004
* Floods have killed 11 people and forced thousands to flee
their villages on the southern part of Indonesia's main Java island.
*Recovery operations at a landslide in southwest China which left
at least 23 dead and scores missing resumed yesterday as nearby
coal mines were shut for investigations into their possible role in
the disaster. Officials have ruled out finding any of the buried victims
alive after a huge mass of earth crashed down on a village in
Guizhou province yesterday.
*In the decades to come Asia, home to more than half the world's
6.3 billion people, will lurch from one climate extreme to another
due to global warming, with impoverished farmers battling droughts,
floods, disease, food shortages and rising sea levels.
*According to a Madras geologist, planetary configurations
suggest the possibility of an earthquake measuring up to five
or six in the Richter scale in Assam, India on December 12 around
six in the morning. There are seven other regions where he believes
an earthquake is likely to be triggered around that time: Taiwan,
the Philippines, Japan, Banda sea, Solomon Islands, San Francisco
and the Gulf of California. According to his theory, alignment of the
earth with the Sun, Moon and two or more planets along more or
less a straight line can create forces that may trigger the
release of accumulated stress on the earth.

Saturday, December 4, 2004
*Rescue workers rushed relief aid to tens of thousands of wet and
hungry survivors yesterday as heavy equipment moved in to clear
debris from two storms feared to have claimed
1100 lives in the Philippines.
*An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.2 rocked the
northern Philippines Friday as the region reeled from the effects
of the deadly storm and a typhoon. No damage was reported.
* Tropical storm Nanmadol moved past the Philippines and hit
Taiwan with powerful winds and downpours yesterday, claiming
one life and leaving at least two missing.
*At Mount St Helens magma continues driving a massive uplift
of rock, lava and glacial ice. Fresh magma is swelling the new uplift
on the crater floor at a rate of about a dump truck load every 2
seconds. "It's a pretty impressive rate, and it's remarkably steady."
*Global warming is leading to an increased incidence of high-cost
storms and floods across the globe.

Friday, December 3, 2004
*At least 65 people were missing after a landslide engulfed 25 homes
in a village in southwestern Guizhou province in China.
*At least 30 people were killed by Typhoon Nanmadol yesterday
as it swept through the north-eastern side of the Philippines. It
had been billed as the most powerful in recent weeks, but
damage was less than expected. The typhoon has now moved
into the South China Sea and is headed for Taiwan, but its
wind speeds have fallen.
*A strong 5.4 earthquake shook Trinidad yesterday, damaging
several buildings south of the capital. The quake came more
than a week after a 6.3 temor rocked Guadeloupe and Dominica
in the Caribbean, killing a 5-year-old girl and
damaging scores of buildings.
*As if to mark the end of a spectacular hurricane season, Tropical
Storm Otto developed over a remote section of the Atlantic Ocean
in the final hours of the season.
*The BBC has made a disaster movie which predicts one billion
people will be wiped off the earth by a "supervolcano" which will
affect the climate around the globe. The drama claims America's
Yellowstone National Park is due an eruption of cataclysmic
proportions. If - or when - it does erupt, 100,000 Americans will
be killed in minutes by a giant cloud of burning ash.

Thursday, December 2, 2004
*The quake-ravaged Indonesian town of Nabire was hit yesterday
by another earthquake, 4.5 magnitude, which killed a man who
was repairing his house. The city has been rattled by some 200
smaller aftershocks between Tuesday and Wednesday.
*More than 900 people are now confirmed dead or missing
after massive floods and landslides struck the Philippines
this week. Eastern areas are steeling themselves for another in the
series of powerful storms.
*Greenhouse gas emissions have doubled the risk of European
heatwaves similar to last year's, a United Kingdom study says.
* Mount St Helens has been Washington's worst air polluter. The
volcano spews 50 to 250 tons of sulfur dioxide into the air each day.
*The Manam volcano was continuing to rock the island with tremors,
but Papua New Guinea vulcanologists said activity was dwindling.
About 1,300 people have been evacuated from the island as the
volcanic eruption continues, blanketing crops and polluting water
supplies with ash, making the island uninhabitable and killing two
people who drank ash-contaminated water. Rescue officials say
it will take another 14 days to evacuate Manam island's 9,600 people,
since they had only one boat which could hold just
a few hundred people and can make only one daily trip.

Wednesday, December 1, 2004
*Emergency workers are racing to rescue survivors of
a storm in the Philippines which killed at least 400 people,
as another storm approaches. More than 150 others are still
missing after devastating flooding and mudslides. Three storms
hit the Philippines in a week with thousands of people have
been left homeless, or stranded on rooftops. Typhoon Nanmadol,
even stronger than the storms to hit in the last few days, is
approaching the islands and is expected to hit the east
coast late on Thursday or Friday.
*Western Australia's fire authorities are on full alert as below
average rainfall, low dam levels and typically hot, dry days
point towards a dangerous summer bushfire season.
*At Mount St Helens magma continues driving a massive uplift of
rock, glacial ice and lava. Since a 3.1-magnitude earthquake
shook the crater Saturday morning, three smaller quakes between
magnitude 2.6 and 2.8 occurred late Sunday and early Monday.
Most of the east arm of the crater glacier that is adjacent to the
uplift is now deformed. Ice close to the uplift is steeply inclined
and intensely fractured; farther away, the ice surface is beginning
to rumple into broad ridges as the uplift grows eastward.

Monday, November 29, 2004
* An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 on the Richter
scale rocked northern Japan's Hokkaido island. Several people
were reportedly hurt. The quake hit a relatively sparsely populated
area so not a lot of damage is expected. A tsunami wave measuring
several centimetres hit some parts of the eastern shores of Hokkaido.
* Major aftershocks on Sunday measuring 5.6 on the Richter Scale
caused even more damage to the already crippled town of Nabire,
Papua New Guinea, with panicked residents fleeing the town.
Authorities have yet to confirm whether the aftershocks, which also
hit the nearby area of Timika, had claimed more lives as the city
was chaotic due to the fresh quake. Many buildings collapsed
and they are beginning to suffer from food shortages. An
earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter Scale hit the city on
Friday, while another 59 aftershocks jolted the town on Saturday.
The quake practically cut Samabusa seaport into three,
while the airport was severely damaged.
*An earthquake that registered 3.1 on Saturday at Mount
St. Helens has split the dome, worrying seismologists
of a pending eruption.
*Large areas of the Philippines are in the early stage of an El
Nino-induced dry spell that is expected to last for half a year.
*Emergency workers are warning of the dangers of extreme heat
as New South Wales, Australia, prepared for the prospect
of record high temperatures.
*A powerful cyclone hit Russia's Kamchatka on Saturday night.

Sunday, November 28, 2004
*The death toll from floods and landslides has risen to 21 and
two people remain missing following heavy rains in central
Vietnam where water levels continue to rise and more rain is forecast.
* Aftershocks every few minutes rocked a town in Indonesia's Papua
province yesterday, two days after a powerful earthquake killed 17 people
and injured more than 180. The population is terrified and everyday
activities have ground to a halt.
*A 3.1 magnitude earthquake shook the crater at Mount Saint Helens
Saturday morning. That's the volcano's biggest quake since mid-October.

Saturday, November 27, 2004
*An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 jolted southern
Hokkaido this morning in Japan. There were no immediate reports
of injuries or damage. No tsunami warning was issued.
*The 7.0 quake that shook Indonesia's Papua province yesterday,
killed at least 13 people and injured 65, also collapsing buildings
and starting fires. A series of aftershocks continued to rattle the
coastal town of Nabire, 3000km north-east of Jakarta, hours
after the morning quake.
*The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season, officially ending Tuesday,
spawned several years' worth of storm devastation in
little more than two months.
*More than 9000 people were to be evacuated from the tiny Papua
New Guinea island of Manam island, starting on Friday, as a
volcanic eruption continues and heavy falls of ash destroy crops
and pollute water supplies. The eruption had quietened after a
major eruption on Tuesday sent ash soaring 14km into the air. The
eruption remained in the stage 3 category, which usually involves
voluntary evacuations, but vulcanologists said the chance of a
major explosive eruption remained high as tremors are still
being recorded continuously.

Friday, November 26, 2004
*A 7.2 earthquake rocked Indonesia's West Papua province
yesterday causing at least two buildings to collapse.
No injuries were reported.
*Firefighters have controlled three fires near Albany in as many days,
amid warnings the West Australian region is dangerously
dry for this time of year.
*Drought-stricken central Vietnam issued a flood alert as rains
triggered by an approaching typhoon swelled rivers and swept
away at least one person.

Thursday, November 25, 2004
*Voluntary evacuations have begun on a tiny Papua New Guinea
island after a big volcanic eruption spewed ash 14km into the air
and blanketed homes, crops and water supplies. The volcano on
Manam, off the country's north coast, began erupting in October
but a severe burst on Tuesday night prompted authorities to
upgrade volcanic activity to stage 3.
*A magnitude-5.2 quake in Italy injured five and also damaged
scores of buildings as it shook parts of northern and central Italy,
including the cities of Milan, Turin, Genoa and Venice.
*Monday's 7.3 New Zealand quake has been
upgraded to their biggest in 73 years.
*A flurry of small earthquakes, more than 35, has been gently
shaking the ground near Pinnacles in California for
the past two days. They are all located on what scientists call
a creeping segment of the San Andreas Fault, where the ground
moves in tiny, barely perceptible increments. This segment
stretches for about 120 miles.
* Avalanches in the Russian Caucasus have killed three border guards.
*In India six children are dead in a landslide.
*About a dozen tornadoes ploughed across Texas, killing one
person and destroying several homes, part of a storm system that
drenched the state for four days. Tornadoes also struck parts of
Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, killing two more people.
* Typhoon Muifa was expected to skirt Vietnam's southern coast
though rains were likely to pound the area with strong winds on
Wednesday as the storm moved into the Gulf of Thailand.
*Firefighters in Australia are scrambling to control a blaze in
north-western Victoria ahead of an expected heatwave this weekend.
*The forest in the High Tatras National Park mountain range has
virtually disappeared after the windstorm that passed across Slovakia
last Friday. The uprooted and broken trees amount to about three
million cubic meters of wood. People say trees fell like dominoes.

Wednesday, November 24, 2004
*Lots of quake activity in California today as of 7:20 Universal Time:
near Pinnacles - 3.0, 3.0, 4.4, 3.3, 3.7 and 18 smaller quakes.
near Shandon - 3.0 (near Parkfield)
near The Geysers - 3.2
*Three communities remain inaccessible since the 6.0 earthquake
that caused serious damage in Dominica on Sunday.
Hundreds of tremors continued to rattle Guadeloupe and Dominica
yesterday, two days after the strong earthquake that killed a girl
and damaged scores of buildings. More than 1,700 aftershocks -
mostly minor ones - have shaken the area since Sunday's main temblor.
But there have been several major aftershocks including
a 5.4, two 4.9s and a 4.7.
*Some 7,000 people remain homeless following Japan's 6.4
earthquake last month.
* Tropical depression Merbok crashed into the east coast of the
main Philippine island of Luzon on Tuesday, unleashing heavy rain
and causing floods and mudslides that swept away at least 16 people.
Tuesday's storm came on the heels of tropical storm Muifa, which
sank dozens of fishing boats over the weekend. Muifa left 29 people
dead, 84 missing at sea and another 89 injured. After a week of storms,
the toll in the country has risen to 129 dead or missing.
*A massive search is under way for two tourists who
disappeared on a volcano in Nicaragua. They had set out last
Wednesday to scale the Maderas volcano and never returned.

Tuesday, November 23, 2004
*New Zealand was warned to expect a series of strong aftershocks
in the next few days after a powerful earthquake measuring 7.2 on
the Richter scale rocked the southern part of the country on Monday.
The quake struck offshore and by the time seismic energy reached land
it was relatively weak and damage appeared to be confined to goods
falling off store shelves.
*As the world's biggest volcano continues to slowly swell in Hawaii,
Big Island residents who live and work on Mauna Loa's flanks are
beginning to worry about what will happen if there is an eruption.
Mauna Loa has been slowly inflating for more than two years, since
May 2002. Scientists interpret the swelling as a sign the reservoir inside
the volcano is probably filling with magma. Scientists also have puzzled
over a long series of hundreds of relatively small but deep earthquakes
that began during the summer. The seismic pattern is unlike anything
scientists have recorded there before.
*Some areas of Texas received up to 15 inches of rain this past
weekend, flooding homes and businesses across the region.

Monday, November 22, 2004
*Lots of activity in the Caribbean lately:
A strong, early morning 6.0 earthquake shook the Caribbean
islands of Dominica and Guadeloupe on Sunday, killing one and
destroying some homes and churches. The initial quake was followed
by several tremors, including two with a 4.9 magnitude. A complete
damage assessment was not available because heavy rains and flooding
prevented authorities from reaching many areas in the north.
A 6.2 earthquake rocked Costa Rica on Saturday,
killing eight people.
A 6.1 quake rocked Guatemala on Saturday.
On the 15th a 7.2 quake rocked northern Columbia.
Puerto Rico has had a large number of medium-sized quakes
for the last several months.
On October 9th Nicaragua was rocked by a 7.1 quake.
* Galeras volcano has erupted in south-western Colombia,
hurling rocks for a distance of two miles and blanketing the ground with
ash and starting small forest fires, but causing no injuries. More than 10
villages are near the volcano, which killed at least 10
people when it erupted in 1993.
*The level of the lava lake at Mount Nyiragongo volcano, which
overlooks the Congolese city of Goma, has risen sharply, prompting
fears of a devastating eruption and causing unease among those who
survived the last disaster, in January 2002 when fountains of lava
broke through the crater and surged 10 miles south across the plain,
a burning river that consumed entire districts and forced 500,000
people to flee. 100 were killed. Seismic recordings have detected
tremors of increasing intensity in the past week and visual
observation from the crater rim confirms a dramatic
widening and rising of the lava.
*Dangers at Mount St Helens increase as the lava dome gets taller.
While a violent explosion is unlikely, unstable slopes can trigger mud
flows or collapse into avalanches of hot rock and gas that could flow
for miles. The weight of the dome could put pressure on underground
magma, increasing the risk of explosive eruptions. This year's eruption
pattern has been quite different from that of the 1980s when the last
dome-building eruptions occurred. Molten rock pushed up in short bursts,
followed by weeks or months of quiet. Now, the lava just keeps coming.
Earthquake activity has dropped to tiny temblors at a recorded rate of
one every minute as the magma is flowing smoothly, with few
obstacles that would cause major shaking.
*A Philippines storm has left eight dead and 58 missing.

Sunday, November 21, 2004
*The 6.2 quake yesterday in Costa Rica cracked major highways,
toppled water towers and knocked the pillars from under a house,
causing it to collapse atop a car parked underneath. Three people
died of heart attacks and one of a quake-related motorcycle accident.
*A magnitude 6.1 earthquake near the coast of Guatemala occurred
yesterday 145 km (90 miles) SSE of Guatemala City
(population 1,167,000).
*A moderate earthquake shook towns in southern Iran before
dawn Saturday, sending people into the streets until the
sun rose but causing no casualties.
*Bangladesh's capital Dhaka is "most vulnerable" to earthquakes
and can witness huge damage from big tremors in the future,
according to a new study.
*The drought in Australia shows no sign of ending. Barring
monsoonlike rains, major adjustments in water usage will need to
happen on a massive scale if Australia's biggest cities, including
Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Adelaide, hope to continue
having drinking water in two years' time, experts say.
Australia is not only the driest inhabited continent on Earth,
but also the greatest consumer of water per capita, most
of which goes for crop irrigation.

Saturday, November 20, 2004
*An early morning earthquake today jolted the Costa Rican
capital of San Jose, where leaders of 21 nations were gathered
for the Ibero-American Summit. The magnitude was 6.2 and
there were no immediate reports of damage or injury. It
knocked out power at least briefly in part of San Jose.
*The death toll of the Alor quake in Indonesia increased
to 28 as the latest victim was found on Friday. There have been
approximately 700 aftershocks since the November 12 quake,
causing at least one landslide that killed a person.
*There was increased seismic activities around the crater of the Taal
volcano in Talisay, Batangas, in the Philippines, including at least 31
high frequency volcanic quakes in just seven days. Although smoke
was not observed coming from the crater, blue green smoke was
seen five meters high around the volcano. There has also been higher
water temperature and acidity level in the lake. The alert level remains
at 1 which means that there is a slight increase in seismic activity
but no eruption is imminent.
*At Mount St. Helens volcano seismicity has increased slightly
since Monday, with several earthquakes registering above 2 on
the Richter scale and one as violent as 2.8. The quakes might be
caused by a massive spine of rock pushing up from the
middle of a new lava dome.

Friday, November 19, 2004
*At least seven people, including a baby, were killed in Polish storms.
*A Taiwan resident, Lee Cheng-chi, who has become known for
his alleged ability to predict earthquakes has agreed not to make
any more public predictions after the Central Weather Bureau
warned him that he could be fined NT$1,000,000. Lee has an ear
condition known as tinnitus syndrome that causes sufferers to hear
a ringing in their ears. The symptoms become pronounced when an
earthquake is about to occur. Lee came to public prominence on
October 15 when he sent an email to the CWB early that morning
saying that his tinnitus symptoms were severe and warned of an
impending quake. Around the noon that day, a magnitude 7
earthquake struck Taiwan. He also correctly predicted
several quakes after that.

Thursday, November 18, 2004
*The death toll in the earthquake on the Indonesian island has
risen to 27, with 30 other villagers still missing and
thousands left homeless.
*The strong earthquake that hit northern Japan last month
caused around 3 trillion yen ($28.5 billion) in damage.
*New Zealand scientists said on Wednesday they have detected
what they call a "slow earthquake" near Gisborne, in the
North Island where an area of land has been moving eastward
at nearly two millimetres a day since the end of October. To see
that amount of movement in two weeks is extraordinary. It is the
second time the phenomenon has occurred in the last two years.
Scientists first detected slow earthquakes about eight years ago
and besides New Zealand they have since been recorded in Canada,
Mexico, Japan and Costa Rica.
* Tropical storm Muifa grew into a typhoon yesterday. The storm
was moving north through the Philippine Sea. It has left more than
1,000 people homeless in the Philippines.
*Torrential thunderstorms caused flash floods that drowned one woman
who was swept from a bridge, and more flooding was expected
in San Antonia, Texas, as rain continued falling Wednesday.
A second person is missing.
* Mount St. Helens lava dome is ten stories tall and hot magma is
oozing out onto its surface at an unbelievable rate of a dump truck
load every second. The volcano is trying to rebuild itself. "It could
exceed the size of 1986 dome by Christmas and it could refill the
crater and be that beautiful cone-shaped mountain the way it was
prior to the eruption within about 11 and a half years." The potential
for a large ash eruption is still there but is much less likely
than it was a few weeks ago.

Wednesday, November 17, 2004
*At Mount St. Helens a new lava extrusion continues driving an
uplift of glacial ice, rock and lava between the old lava dome and
the south wall of the crater. The lava extrusion is about 1,300 by
600 feet, glowing red at night and spewing steam constantly. No
direct observations were possible on Monday due to rain.
*Colorado's largest glaciers are shrinking fast, and researchers
suspect global warming is playing a role. During the past 40 years,
the total volume of mountain glaciers around the globe has declined
by about 10 percent. The losses have been especially severe in Alaska,
the Alps, the Himalayas and the Andes.
*In a typical monsoon season in South East Asia, the rains fall until
October, but this year, the heavens went dry three to four weeks early.
Not only did the rains end early, but less rain fell during the monsoon,
and that could mean a shortage of irrigation water stored in reservoirs,
particularly if the dry season lasts longer than normal. Indonesia, northern
Australia, and parts of China also appear to be warmer,
and possibly drier, than normal.

Monday, November 15, 2004
*Algerian rescue teams are searching for about 18 missing
sailors after fierce storms caused three shipwrecks off Algiers.
Another three people were killed when their homes collapsed.
*Two Italians were killed in landslides after fierce storms pounded
the country on the weekend, causing floods that slowed trains, cut
off traffic and forced hundreds of people to evacuate their homes.
* Mt. Asama in Japan erupted Sunday night. It has been erupting
off and on since September.
*The aftershocks in Indonesia have killed two people, bringing
the number who have died to 21 since Friday, when the pre-dawn quake
measuring six on the Richter scale hit the island near East Timor.

Sunday, November 14, 2004
*A magnitude 4.2 earthquake rattled the Big Bear area east
of Los Angeles on Saturday but no damage or injuries were reported.
* Mount Hood in Oregon is a potentially dangerous volcano.
*The pace of the Arctic ice melt is accelerating, proving climate change
is occurring more rapidly than previously thought, scientists say.
Arctic ice melt could threaten Florida.

Saturday, November 13, 2004
*In Indonesia, the quake toll has risen to 19 dead, 36 seriously
wounded and 76 less seriously hurt. About 1,100 buildings were
damaged, including at least 22 homes that were destroyed.
*The 4.1 earthquake near the Colorado-Utah border on the 7th
might have been caused by a government agency injecting brine
14,000 feet into the earth. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation facility
injects 230 gallons of salt per minute into deep wells in the Paradox
Valley Area. The process decreases the salt content in the Colorado
River downstream, but has been known to cause thousands of
earthquakes in the area since 1991. Seismic activity in the Paradox
Valley Area was very low until this deep well injection began. The
injection method has drawn criticism since it began, and after
last week's quake questions have arisen about whether the benefits
of removing salt from the river are outweighed by the
potential for more earthquakes.
*The specter of the hard winter fast approaching is adding to the
anxieties of Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake victims forced to abandon
their homes in Japan. The series of quakes Oct. 23 largely ruined the
area's vast network of snow-removal devices - including pipes installed
under roads to melt snow, which piles up to several meters in the
heart of winter. The area receives some of the heaviest snowfall in Japan.
The situation is dire because the snow season likely will
begin in a week or two. Besides the broken pipes, gutters that
channel snow into rivers have also been fractured. Buckled or
collapsed roads will make it difficult, if not impossible, for snowplows
to work. Many homes could collapse if snow accumulates on roofs
while residents remain at evacuation centers.
*A giant plug of pure lava is pushing higher inside the Mount St. Helens
crater, raising the odds of a future explosive eruption.

Friday, November 12, 2004
*A 7.3 earthquake rocked parts of eastern Indonesia early yesterday,
killing 16 people, injuring more than 100 and damaging
hundreds of buildings. It was followed by a 6.4 aftershock.
*A magnitude 6.3 earthquake rocked the northern Japanese
island of Hokkaido yesterday.
*An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale shook
northeast Taiwan on Thursday causing buildings to
sway in the capital, Taipei.
*A magnitude 6.5 earthquake in the Solomon Islands has
occurred. It was followed by a 5.6 aftershock.
*A magnitude 6.1 earthquake in Santiago Del Estero, Argentina
has occurred 975 km (610 miles) NNW of Buenos Aires.
*A state of emergency was declared in parts of Colombia
where floods have killed at least 14 people.
*A government climate researcher is predicting that the five-year
Western U.S. drought could linger for several more years.

Thursday, November 11, 2004
*A powerful 5.3 earthquake rocked northern Japan early
Wednesday in the area still recovering from a
stronger tremor last month.
List of large aftershocks.
*A powerful 6.9 earthquake hit the Solomon Islands in the
South Pacific yesterday but there were no reports of injury or damage.
* Mount Rainier shook under its crater with a 3.2-magnitude
earthquake, but scientists said Tuesday the quake was not
related to recent rumblings at Mount St. Helens. It was Rainer's
its biggest earthquake in 30 years, but scientists said that the
increased seismic activity does not signal an eruption of the volcano.
Quake activity at Rainier has increased over normal levels in recent
weeks. Five quakes greater than magnitude 2.0 were recorded
Oct. 25-31, and the latest quake was one of a cluster of 17 or 18
temblors over a period of several hours Sunday.
*Vog - or volcanic smog - emanating from erupting Kilauea Volcano
on the Big Island in Hawaii blanketed Oahu, 200 miles to the northwest.
For the first time since August, lava from the volcano
is flowing into the sea.
*A storm system brewing in the central Caribbean could develop
into a tropical cyclone today while dropping heavy rain and
causing dangerous flooding and mud slides on Puerto Rico and
the island of Hispaniola, forecasters said.

Tuesday, November 9, 2004
*The ground shook again Monday in northern Japan. This
latest earthquake was magnitude 5.9, considered an aftershock
to last month's 6.8 quake. Ten people were reported injured.
*An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale rattled
northeast Taiwan on Monday. There were no
immediate reports of casualties or damage.
*A magnitude 4.0 earthquake shook parts of west Alabama
about 5:20 am Sunday, but apparently caused no damage.
*A magnitude 4.1 earthquake shook a sparsely populated area
along the Utah-Colorado state line on Sunday and
was felt about 60 miles away.
*On Monday the Shiveluch volcano registered at least 5
high-altitude emissions of gas and ashes. Located on Russia's
Kamchatka Penninsula, the volcano registered an increase in
its activity back in January of this year.

Sunday, November 7, 2004
*In Japan, the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake continues to bedevil
a number of factories two weeks after the initial temblor struck.
Some factories remain shuttered, while others are running at lower
capacities due to damaged facilities and equipment.
*The new lava dome inside Mount St. Helens' crater has sprouted
a growth that now extends upward nearly 330 feet. The exposed
rock face, with a temperature between 752 and 952 degrees Fahrenheit,
casts a red glow that can be seen from the north on clear nights. There
were several emissions of steam and ash Friday, which discolored
the snow lying on the mountain.
*The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA and UC Davis announced
last month that an earthquake forecasting system developed by their
researchers had accurately forecast all but one major earthquake in
California this decade. Since then, seismologists not involved with the
particular study have questioned the usefulness of the system. Some
earthquake experts say the forecasts are not true predictions and that
the results have not been properly submitted for review by other scientists.

Saturday, November 6, 2004
* Mount St. Helens has risen more than 300 feet in the past
nine days. The magma pushing up inside the volcano is making
the lava dome grow vertically, but it has grown horizontally only
about 90 feet. Even though the new rock is about 1,000 degrees,
it has not yet melted the crater glacier.
*An overnight storm lashed Kuala Lumpur leaving the homes
of about 40,000 people flooded, while a landslide
destroyed a house, killing a girl.
*At approximately 10:15 pm on Thursday, a landslide damaged
Pacific Northern Gas' 8-inch high-pressure transmission pipeline
25 kilometers east of Prince Rupert, British Columbia.
(perhaps related to the recent quakes in the area?)
*A pair of boulders the size of small cars tumbled onto Interstate
80 near Lockwood, Nevada, causing two non-injury accidents,
a big hole in the highway and snarled traffic. The recent snow and
rains could have dampened the ground, causing the boulders to slip.

Friday, November 5, 2004
*A magnitude 5.7 earthquake rocked northern Japan late
yesterday. A 5.2 quake hit earlier in the day.
*A study by a government panel in Japan stated that Tokyo
may be devastated by a huge earthquake in the next 50 years.
*The president of the Australian Earthquake Engineering Society
has warned South Australians should be prepared
for another large earthquake.
*According to geologists, there is a one in three chance of a
major earthquake along the Hayward Fault in California
in the next 30 years.
*A magnitude 3 earthquake struck Western Montana
just after 6 am Thursday.
*A strong earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale rocked
the sea region of the island of Antikithira, Greece at 8:22 yesterday
morning causing limited damage.
*Since Grímsvötn volcano first erupted in Iceland on Monday, sending
thick black smoke and ash heading towards continental Europe,
it has produced a steady stream of ash and lava, with explosions
sending ash up to 12,000m (40,000 feet) in the air. Over the
last few weeks, increased earthquake activity below the
Vatnajökull ice cap warned scientists that an eruption was likely.
*A drought in southern China has withered crops, emptied
reservoirs, cut power supplies and is threatening tourism.

Wednesday, November 3, 2004
*A series of earthquakes, including one of considerable force,
were recorded early Tuesday beneath the Pacific Ocean west
of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. The largest
was 6.5 followed by 5.0, 4.8, 4.8, 4.9, and 4.5. The tremors
were too far from populated areas to have significant effects.
*The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has raised
the alert level of Taal Volcano and called on visitors to the island
to be vigilant, following a marked increase in the number of
earthquakes since the weekend. The ongoing seismic unrest
could intensify in the coming days and weeks.
*Residents in the capital city of Australia are facing an unexpected
new peril from the drought - crazed kangaroos roaming
the city in search of water.
*Five major landslide dams discovered over the weekend pose
a new menace to victims of the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake
in Japan. The dams were formed after the Oct. 23 quakes,
when mudslides deposited tons of rocks, soil and debris in the river.
With more rain forecast, some dams are on the brink of overflow
or breaching, and flash flooding full of debris could come crushing
through downstream towns. Fearing an avalanche of muddy debris,
residents have re-evacuated the town of Horinouchi.
*A potential landslide in the central Kyrgyzstan province of
Naryn could destroy a uranium waste dump, threatening up
to 50,000 people, and polluting the rivers Min-Kush, Kokomeren
and Naryn (a tributary of the Syrdarya river, one of the major water
sources in Central Asia) with radioactivity. Currently, according to
an expert who has been monitoring the situation on the ground
since August, the landslide is moving by 1 to 1.5 cm per day.

Tuesday, November 2, 2004
*A volcano erupted in a remote area of Iceland yesterday, setting
off tremors across the area and prompting officials to warn pilots
to avoid flying through gasses being emitted by the eruption. The
eruption was believed to have been caused by expansion of a lake
underneath the Vatnajokull glacier. Grimsvotn last erupted six years
ago. It also erupted in 1995 and 1993, causing flooding.
*One needs to go back over 8,000 years in order to find a time
when the Sun was, on average, as active as in the last 60 years.
This means that the Sun has produced more sunspots, but also more
flares and eruptions, which eject huge gas clouds into space, than
in the past. New information indicates also that the Sun shines
somewhat brighter today than in the 8,000 years before. Whether
this effect could have provided a significant contribution to the
global warming of the Earth during the last century is an open question.
Based on a statistical study of earlier periods of increased solar
activity, the researchers predict that the current level of high solar
activity will probably continue only for a few more decades.
*Forensic experts and geologists in the village of Nandgaon in India are
trying to ascertain whether a black stone — weighing a kg — which fell
on one of the farms, is a meteorite. Villagers reported a loud bang and
falling of a burning stone in a farm on Sunday evening. The fallen stone
had created a little crater on the ground. Villages in the area have
been experiencing unseasonal rains for past couple of days.
* Swarms of locusts have hit Lebanon for first time
since World War I.
*Cyprus is also suffering a rare locust invasion.

Monday, November 1, 2004
* Two more earthquakes hit the central region of Japan, where
more than 70,000 residents are still living in emergency shelters
after the major quake more than a week ago. There were no
immediate reports of casualties or damage from the latest quakes,
which measured 5.0 and 4.0.
More than 40 percent of houses in areas hard hit by the Oct. 23
earthquakes have to be rebuilt or repaired before residents return.
16 percent are on the verge of collapsing.
*Dome growth continued Saturday at Mount St. Helens, with a
new lava extrusion driving an uplift of glacial ice, rock and lava
between the old lava dome and the south wall of the crater. The
southern part of the new dome showed continued southward
motion, about 30 feet since Oct. 28. A station near the summit
of the old dome showed continued northward motion.

Sunday, October 31, 2004
*The risk of a landslide in the Canary Islands causing a tidal
wave (tsunami) able to devastate America's east coast is
vastly overstated, according to marine geologists studying
ancient landslides in the area. In typical Canary Island landslides,
chunks of land break off in bits, not in one dramatic plunge, they
claim. However, the researchers behind the original claim are
sticking to their guns, pointing to evidence of catastrophic
past events in the region.
*Britain has more chance than ever of a thick cover of snow this
Christmas, scientists say. A study of 140 years of winter weather
has found that while short showers are declining, heavy and
prolonged blizzards are increasing decade after decade.
*Scientists are able to do a good job of monitoring the changes
that occur at volcanoes as they wake up, but are still quite a
long ways from being able to forecast the time, the magnitude
and the character of an eruption. Rapid advances in technology
and innovative studies, including a bold project to drill into the heart
of an active volcano, are poised to strip away some of the mystery
that makes volcanoes so unpredictable. Scientists are wiring
volcanoes with sophisticated new seismometers to better understand
a type of rattle that frequently foreshadows eruption. 500 million
people around the world are living near active volcanoes.

Saturday, October 30, 2004
*The death toll from the series of earthquakes in Japan has risen
to 36. Several deaths among quake victims have been caused by
deep vein thrombosis, because many residents have stayed in
cramped cars instead of public shelters. The earthquakes collapsed
or partially damaged about 6000 houses, caused cracks in 2580
roads and triggered at least 216 landslides.
*Alert Level 1 was hoisted over areas surrounding the Taal volcano
in Talisay, Batangas in the Philippines. Alert Level 1 means that there
is a slight increase in seismic activity but no eruption is imminent.
Surface observations do not indicate any significant change in the
thermal and steam emission characteristics of the main crater lake area.
*Every second, the Mount St. Helens volcano is pumping up about
7 cubic meters of lava, roughly enough to fill a dump truck. Scientists
believe the lava, some of which has pushed to the surface while the
rest lurks beneath about 60 feet of rock and ice, may be pushing up
from a reservoir about five miles beneath the crater floor. Scientists
don't know if the lava reservoir is being replenished and therefore
primed for future eruptions. The lava working up to the surface comes
with fewer earthquakes and a relatively low concentration of gases,
which suggests the volcano currently is less explosive than it was
during 1980. A glacier, which is up to 600 feet thick, wraps around
the 24-year-old old lava dome. Although portions have melted under
the intense heat, scientists expect it to survive the current eruption.
*We know that an asteroid will hit us at some point in the future.
On average 30 to 40 Near-Earth Objects - asteroids or
comets on a path to Earth - are discovered each month. More
than 3,000 NEOs have now been found so far. Generally it is
not a 24-hour or even a 45-minute warning that we get. It is
normally timescales of years or even decades.

Friday, October 29, 2004
*The Amber Alert reports that Mount Rainier and Mount Hood
continue to pose serious risk to the surrounding region as the Pacific
Rim transitions into a new period of activity. At Mount St. Helens
steam blasts began and are continuing with little ash content. The dome
has grown to be greater than that of a modern naval carrier.
The crater rim and flanks of the Mount St. Helens volcano above
4800-feet have been closed due to an increased potential for
steam explosions from the lava dome that could propel rocks
and ash above the crater rim.
*Along the Kalama River in Washington, locals say they know
something the volcanologists don't, that when the water turns milky
white it means Mount St. Helens may be about to blow. They saw
the river turn that color in 1980, just before the volcano blew its top
on May 18, killing 57 people. It hadn't turned white again in 24 years,
until mid-Septemer of this year. The river was running clear in the
morning, then all of a sudden it was running chalk white. It took
a full 24 hours before the river ran clear again. A week later
St Helens blew again.
*Two of the three people buried by the earthquake-triggered
landslide in northern Japan and previously reported to be alive
when found four days after the quake, have been declared dead.
Their crushed van was buried under tons of rock and mud
by Saturday's 6.8-magnitude earthquake.
This image shows the mountain topography of northern Japan
with the earthquake series epicenters marked.
*One person was killed as storm-force winds battered the
south-west coast of England closing seafronts and flooding
coastal villages for a second night.
*Typhoon Nock-Ten hammered Taiwan with strong winds and
heavy rains on October 25. It is the 24th typhoon to develop in
the western Pacific in 2004.
*Poor autumn rainfall has caused the worst drought
conditions in South China in nearly 50 years.

Wednesday, October 27, 2004
*A 6.0 quake has struck Romania, there were no immediate
reports of injuries.
*A 39-year-old woman and her two children were rescued today
after surviving nearly four days in a car buried under the rocks
and mud of a landslide during Japan's killer earthquake.
At least 31 people have died since Saturday's initial tremor,
some from stress amid the hundreds of aftershocks.
List of large aftershocks.
*New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric
Research is warning the Pacific islands of an intense cyclone
season ahead as the El Nino effect will increase the number
and intensity of cyclones in the Pacific.
*At Mount St. Helens growth of a new lava dome continues.
Seismic and gas levels remained low compared with levels
during the height of activity. The dome is about 35 stories high.
*The worst drought in two decades is forcing farmers in Thailand's
northeastern province of Yasothon to harvest their crops early.

Tuesday, October 26, 2004
*A 6.0-magnitude earthquake in Japan has hit the same area
where the 6.8-magnitude quake and a series of strong aftershocks
struck on Saturday, rocking already-damaged buildings and
terrifying residents. Media reported sporadic damage,
but no serious injuries. A 4.2-magnitude aftershock
hit about 25 minutes later. More than 440 aftershocks strong
enough to be felt have hit since Saturday, although they are
starting to become less frequent.
* Strong aftershocks rocked central Japan as exhaustion took its toll
on thousands spending a third night in shelters. Nearly 400 tremors
have followed the first quake of 6.8 on the Richter scale on Saturday.
The quakes flattened hundreds of houses, cracked more than 1,000
roads and triggered 11 fires and some 90 landslides, particularly
in ground softened by the earlier typhoon. 25 people have died,
eight are missing, and more than 2,400 injured. Fifty-eight villages
have been completely isolated, while over 100,000 inhabitants have
evacuated the area to avoid landslides and falling buildings. The
current chain of powerful and frequent earthquakes is due to the
plates not slipping at once, but at sporadic intervals, because the
fault plane features many jagged irregularities. The shock of the
earthquakes has caused massive geological shifts: the land in
several areas has risen or fallen significantly or even moved horizontally.
Quake videos
List of aftershocks.
*The American Southwest is in the seventh year of a drought
that could have a profound impact across the entire country.
Scientists are already starting to call it a "megadrought." But
more than likely it's a return to normal weather patterns for a huge
chunk of the nation. Several lines of evidence suggest that the
past few decades have been wetter than normal, and severe
droughts lasting tens of years are more likely the norm rather
than the exception. Someday, not too far down the road,
water may be more valuable than oil.
*Guangdong, China is facing its worst drought in decades.
Drought has affected more than 1 million people and
470,000 hectares of farmland.

Monday, October 25, 2004
* Mount Iabu on the northern Papua New Guinea island of Manam
has erupted, throwing up lava and ash over the weekend, prompting
authorities to advise nearly 3000 villagers to move to
safer parts of the island. A 1km-wide section of the mountain has
blown out, forcing lava to flow to the sea around the island.
*The killer earthquake that struck Niigata Prefecture Saturday
evening registered a record high maximum acceleration in Japan,
well above the figure recorded in the Kobe quake in 1995.
Acceleration is an index used to measure the strength of vibrations
in earthquakes. The temblor registered the maximum acceleration
rate of 1,500 gals. Experts say people and objects are thrust upward
if an earthquake with 980 gals or above strikes, suggesting that the
record high acceleration is responsible for massive damage caused
by the Niigata quake. The earthquake moved the earth's crust in
extensive areas. The active fault that triggered the temblor
shifted 1.4 meters horizontally.
Strong aftershocks have continued to hit Japan two days after
24 people died in the country's deadliest earthquake in almost
a decade. No fatalities were reported after the latest aftershock,
which measured 5.6 in magnitude and hit this morning.
The Japanese meteorological agency has warned that more quakes
are likely in the near future, and has also forecast several days
of heavy rain. The weekend's events follow a record 10 typhoons
to hit Japan this year, including one that killed 80 people last week.
List of aftershocks.

Sunday, October 24, 2004
*Thousands of people in northern Japan are spending a
second night in emergency shelters or out in the open after
the series of earthquakes. Military helicopters have joined rescue
efforts to reach isolated rural villages cut off by landslides. There
is a desperate need for food, water and blankets. At least 21
people are reported to have died, and a number are still missing.
Rescue efforts have been hampered by widespread power cuts,
blocked roads and collapsed bridges. Local hospitals say they
have been overwhelmed by 2000 casualties. Aftershocks continue.
*A magnitude 4.1 earthquake jolted northern Taiwan
at 10:04 pm Saturday.
*What was once Typhoon Tokage is now extratropical and rapidly
moving away from Japan. Unfortunately Tokage claimed the lives
of dozens of people in mudslides. Meanwhile, Typhoon Nock-Ten,
with maximum sustained winds of 110mph, is now west of Guam
and moving northwestward and will be closely monitored as it
approaches islands in the northwest Pacific Ocean.
*Lava continued to ooze into Mount St. Helen's crater and the
new lava dome remains substantial, scientists said Friday. Recent
activity is strangely quiet as the seismic activity increased only
slightly in the past 96 hours. Dome building could continue
for months or years.
*This weekend was the one year anniversary of two of southern
California's most devastating wildfires.
*A barrage of powerful earthquakes and aftershocks lasting for
about two hours has thundered across northern Japan,
killing at least 13 people, knocking down buildings and forcing
tens of thousands to flee their homes for safety.
( magnitudes 6.9, 6.1, 5.9, 6.1, 5.5, 5.8, 5.5)
The quakes were centered in relatively rural areas away from heavily
populated areas. The Government has estimated about 7000 people
would die if such a powerful quake were to hit the Tokyo area.
* Earthquakes can be triggered by the Earth's tides, UCLA scientists
have confirmed. Earth tides are produced by the gravitational pull of
the moon and the sun on the Earth, causing the ocean's waters to
slosh, which in turn raise and lower stress on faults roughly twice a day.
In California, the overall effect of the tides is small; tides may vary
the rate of earthquakes at most one or two percent; because the
faults are many miles inland from the coast and the tides there
are not particularly large. Earthquakes in "subduction zones",
where one tectonic plate dives under another, such as near the
coasts of Alaska, Japan, New Zealand and western South America
show a stronger correlation with tides.
*Typhoon Tokage produced the biggest wave ever recorded in
Japan as it rampaged across the country this week,
claiming nearly 80 lives.

Saturday, October 23, 2004
*Five years after the October 1999 super-cyclone, death is
still raging inside the minds of hundreds of survivors in Erasama,
India. Many are victims of post-traumatic stress disorders,
flashbacks and sleep disturbances. Others are plagued by guilt
that they survived and their loved ones didn't. So far, about 59
survivors have committed suicide and many more have tried and
failed. Over 8000 people died in Erasama in the cyclone.
*The Ecuadorian Red Cross said a landslide near the capital on
Wednesday afternoon left six workers injured and eight missing.
*Two are dead as heavy rains caused flash flooding in Portugal.
*There are still 39 days left in hurricane season and the water
remains warm in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
But there is a stubborn ridge of high pressure smothering the
Gulf right now, which tends to shut down any tropical
activity for quite some time. As each day goes by, the
likelihood of another hurricane decreases.
*Victoria, Australia faces a bushfire risk as severe as the one two years
ago, when well over one million hectares of public land was burnt out.
*Residents of Dibba Al Fujairah in the UAE have been
experiencing tremors for six days now, the last one was on
Thursday afternoon. Many residents spent Wednesday night in
the open fearing that the walls of their homes might collapse on
them if a major earthquake struck.

Friday, October 22, 2004
*Rescuers in Japan are still searching for more than 20 people
missing after what the government is calling the worst typhoon
to hit the islands in 25 years. 67 people are now confirmed dead.
*There has been some worry Yellowstone National Park is
close to experiencing the same type of volcanic incident as the
State of Washington has. The fear of some is the rising temperature
in the water, a change in geyser activity and hot pots, but others
insist that this is normal for an area like Yellowstone. The potential
for a huge disaster is enormous but "it would be accompanied by
tremendously more thermal activity than we're seeing today, as
well as ground swelling of great magnitudes, so we'd
know if it were coming."
*Testing with dye is planned to find out why a creek near the East
Entrance of Yellowstone has turned greenish. Middle Creek,
which flows into the North Fork of the Shoshone River, has
been the color of glacier water since August. Glaciers tint ponds
and streams by filling them with the fine dust they grind off rocks.
The Sylvan Pass pond is not near a glacier. But glacial ice or ice
remnants might have resurfaced after being buried. The Wyoming
Department of Environmental Quality, Federal Highway
Administration, National Park Service and U.S. Geological
Survey have all been trying to solve the mystery.
*Last week a visitor to Yellowstone National Park was hospitalized
with second-degree burns on both legs after he left a trail and broke
through fragile crust near a geyser, submerging both legs up to
his knees in scalding water. He suffered second-degree burns
to about 25 percent of his body.
*The new lobe on the lava dome at Mount St. Helens has grown
to about the size of an aircraft carrier. The new extrusion is about
900 feet long, 250 feet wide and 230 feet high. Scientists say
earthquake activity indicates magma is still pushing into the volcano
where it continues to build the lava dome as it has for more than a week.
*There are 13 other major active volcanoes in the Cascade Range
of the Pacific Northwest, besides Mount St. Helens. The most
dangerous is considered to be Mount Rainier, towering over
Seattle and its 3 million metro area residents, 80 miles away.
More ice and snow cover its dome than all the other Cascades
volcanoes combined. A big eruption would trigger gigantic
debris flows - "more like a wall of wet concrete that nothing can
stop" - plus enormous snow and ice surges, all the way to Puget
Sound. The government has spent millions of dollars in recent years
installing alarms around the volcano. Residents of nearby towns
would have less than an hour to get to high ground and watch
their homes be swept away.
*A small 2.5 earthquake shook windows in western Tennessee
Thursday morning, but officials said that there were no reports
of casualties or any serious damage.

Thursday, October 21, 2004
*Monitoring the gases emitted by lava from Mount St. Helens may
provide clues to future eruptions, volcano experts reported.
Researchers examined the isotope content of gases in rocks from
the mountain's 1980 eruption and concluded
there were two magma reservoirs.
*A dark plume of ash streams from the Sheveluch volcano in
Kamchatka, Russia, in its latest eruption on Wednesday.
*Japan's deadliest storm in more than a decade, typhoon Tokage,
unleashed flash floods that washed away entire hillsides, killing
up to 51 people and leaving at least 30 people missing before
it veered east into the Pacific Ocean.
*An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale shook
parts of northern Germany Wednesday, causing a minor scare
but no damage or casualties.
*In the midst of a long and devastating drought, parts of Australia
were hit by flash flooding, while winds of up to
95km/h caused extensive damage.
*The probability of another round of a drought emergency
larger than the 2002/03 emergency occurring in
Ethiopia is highly likely.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004
*At least 12 people were injured and some 20,000 houses collapsed
when an earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale hit
southwest China early Tuesday. One person was seriously
injured although no deaths were immediately reported.
*Scientists believe the growth of the new lava dome at Mount
St. Helens continued Monday, although the view into the crater
remained obscured by clouds. Seismicity has increased slightly
since falling off substantially last week, although it still remains
overall low, compared to the days leading up to the emergence
of lava a week ago. Scientists are detecting negligible levels of
magma-related gases, which raises the possibility that the volcano's
current eruptive activity could be winding down. However,
another round of dome-building could ramp up again at any time.
* Mount Soputan volcano in Indonesia's northern-most province
has begun spewing smoke, ash and potentially deadly heat clouds
with temperatures as high as 600 degrees Celsius. The volcano
sprang into life on Monday, throwing up smoke to
a height of up to 400 metres.
*The Philippine Institute Volcanology and Seismology on Tuesday
advised the public to stay away from the six-kilometer radius
permanent danger zone around Mayon volcano following information
that seven low-frequency quakes were reported there
for the past 24 hours.
* Climate change threatens to undo the world's attempts to
eradicate poverty, a coalition of aid agencies warn.

Tuesday, October 19, 2004
*While many Jamaicans gave thanks that Hurricane Ivan spared them
a direct hit, doing less damage there than the hurricane delivered
to Grenada and Grand Cayman, the storm devastated pockets
of the island, striking some of the poorest and most vulnerable
islanders the hardest. About 47,000 homes were damaged,
and 5,600 were destroyed.
*An official report says that there is no sign that the 1961 Volcano
on the island of Tristan da Cunha is about to re-awaken and tremors
and steam release are simply what would be expected for a volcano
cooling down 40+ years after its most recent eruption. Tremors were
first felt on July 29th and 30th. They were the type expected from rocks
breaking under pressure [below the seabed] from rising magma, prior
to its eruption as pumice, which then floated to the surface. Earthquake
activity in the region is ongoing, although at too low a level for tremors
to be felt and at reduced frequency in comparison with the past two
months. Prior to any significant volcanic activity, warning tremors of
far greater intensity than those felt to date would be expected.
*A comet or asteroid smashed into modern-day Germany
some 2,200 years ago (200 BC), unleashing energy equivalent
to thousands of atomic bombs.

Monday, October 18, 2004
*Growth of the new lava dome inside Mount St. Helens' crater
continues. Under current conditions, small lahars, or volcanic
debris flows, could suddenly descend the Toutle River valley if
they are triggered by heavy rain or by interaction of hot rocks
with snow or glacier ice. Measurements continue to indicate only
minor deformation of the northern part of the lava dome created
in the 1980s and no deformation of the outer flanks of the volcano.
*While Mount St. Helens has been belching out dramatic columns
of steam and ash, in Naples volcano experts regard all the excitement
across the Atlantic as a mere diversion. The area around Mount St.
Helens is largely uninhabited, but Mount Vesuvius stands within the
Naples megalopolis of 5 million inhabitants. No volcano on Earth
could put as many people in immediate danger. Vesuvius has not
erupted since 1944, and the longer a volcano sleeps, the more
powerful an explosion is likely to be when it awakens.
*A small team of Portland-area scientists have seen dozens of major
eruptions in the past 18 years. Since 2002, members of the Volcano
Disaster Assistance Program have stood on erupting mountains in New
Guinea, Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the
Mariana Islands and Ecuador.
*Motorists using two Malaysian highways have been warned of
landslides due to bad weather.
* Those who lived through the Oct. 17, 1989, 6.9 Loma Prieta,
California earthquake talk of violent shaking that seemed to last
forever, but the highly expected rip of the San Andreas fault will
shake the area three times as long and three times as hard. "Worse,
in the 15 years since the Bay Area's last Pretty Big One, the region
is still digging out. Permanent repairs on the Richmond-San Rafael
Bridge are still a year from completion. The elevated freeway in San
Francisco is six years from being made safe. The Golden Gate Bridge
is partially repaired, but no money yet exists to bolster the towers
or deck. Only last month BART began exploratory work to strengthen
the Transbay Tube, which sits in a trench in the geological equivalent
of a bowl of Jell-O...Thousands of Bay Area homes remain vulnerable...
Three thousand unreinforced masonry buildings still need repairs...And
every new quake brings new questions, breaks old assumptions and
leads to changed building methods. Early data from the 6-pointer on
Sept. 28 in Parkfield found the earth tore in the opposite direction
than expected, and the ground shook in inexplicable ways."

Sunday, October 17, 2004
*Magma continues to push to the surface, where it becomes lava,
in the Mount St. Helens crater in southwest Washington. Lava
continues to extrude at the surface, building the dome steadily
each second. As the dome-building continues, it could produce
small explosions with little warning. A large explosion is still possible
but is among the least likely scenarios. Seismic activity is flat and
the Alert Level may lower in the coming weeks.

Saturday, October 16, 2004
*A spire of hot rock is jutting 200 feet up from the growing lobe
on the side of Mount St. Helens' lava dome. The spire may
be part of the hard plug that trapped molten rock inside the volcano
before lava finally forced its way to the surface earlier this week.
The stone "fin" on the new lava lobe inside the crater at
Mount St. Helens seems to be starting to split. Earthquake activity
remained low yesterday, and levels of gas found above the crater,
which could indicate a stronger eruption is likely, were unchanged.
*Mount St Helens images
*After the strong 7.0 earthquake that shook all of Taiwan yesterday,
reports came in island-wide of small fires caused from the temblor.
*In California, where much of the earthquake talk focuses on the
"Big One," many people breathed a little easier after the October
17, 1989 quake, but 15 years later San Francisco is still vulnerable.
A U.S. Geological Survey report last year predicted a 62 percent
chance that a 6.7 magnitude or larger quake will strike in the Bay
Area in the next 30 years. At particular risk is the Hayward Fault line
that runs through the heart of the metropolitan area. In the 1989
quake, 63 people died, and damage was estimated at six billion to
ten billion dollars. Experts say the "Big One" is not necessarily going
to do the most damage. In bigger earthquakes, shaking merely lasts
longer and is felt over a larger area. Smaller earthquakes, on the other
hand, have higher-frequency energy (or oscillate more rapidly), which
can be particularly harmful to residential homes.
*If it didn't rain on Friday, San Diego, California tied a record for the
longest period without rain. The last time it rained in the San Diego
area was 180 days ago – on April 17. San Diego broke the record
just last year, so that's two years in a row with record streaks of no
measurable rainfall in the area. A 20% chance of precipitation today
could stop the region from setting a new record.
*Sydney, Australia's dam levels fell to 42 per cent this week
after the hottest October day on record.

Friday, October 15, 2004
*A strong 7.0 earthquake today in the Pacific Ocean off Taiwan
has rocked the northeast of the island, shaking office buildings in
Taipei, damaging houses and injuring several people.
*An earthquake measuring five on the Richter scale shook the
resort island of Bali and East Java province of Indonesia on Thursday.
*An unexpected distribution of ground shaking during the
6.0-magnitude Parkfield, California, quake last month may mean
that some state building codes are unnecessarily strict. At a distance
of more than 6 miles from the Parkfield segment of the San Andreas
Fault, the shaking was less intense than expected, as has been the case
with two previous large quakes in the nearby area. Unfortunately, other
data from the Sept. 28 quake was so peculiar that it might throw a
wrench into hopes for improved seismicity maps. During the quake
shaking intensity varied from place to place in ways that defy easy
explanation. Another oddity: Like a zipper opening the wrong way,
the earthquake ruptured the San Andreas Fault starting from the
epicenter toward the northwest, stopping at Middle Mountain,
rather than rupturing toward the southeast as expected.
*Two wildfires burning out of control in rugged areas northwest
and east of Sacramento, California, on Wednesday forced
evacuations of a subdivision.
*The ongoing drought in Eritrea is set to continue as failing rains
are expected to produce a total crop failure in the country.
*More lava emerged Thursday on the crater floor of Mount St.
Helens, expanding a rock formation building on the volcano's
old lava dome.
*Mexico's Volcano of Fire spewed hot lava and rock Thursday,
the latest in a series of spectacular but non-threatening eruptions.
*The Sheveluch Volcano is one of the most active volcanoes on
Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. On October 12, it erupted with a
cloud of steam.
*The ice-covered Mount Belinda volcano began to erupt in October
2001 and the eruption is ongoing. The volcano is located in the
southern Atlantic Ocean between Antarctica and South America.
* Subtropical storm Nicole was approaching land in the northwest
Atlantic on October 12.

Thursday, October 14, 2004
*The molten rock rising inside Mount St. Helens is giving the peak
an eerie red glow at night. Lava has been climbing to the surface
at nearly 1,300 degrees for the past few days in a process that
scientists said Wednesday could go on for days, weeks or months.
At this point, scientists believe there is only a 10 percent chance
of a level four or larger eruption.
*Little rain is forecast for Hawai'i this winter, making renewed
drought a real threat for the state.
*The United Kingdom government's top scientist says atmospheric
carbon dioxide concentrations are now becoming dangerous. He
says the world has to adapt to prepare for significant changes ahead,
and also must reduce greenhouse gases. On present trends, the world
is just 60 years from triggering an irreversible climate disaster.

Wednesday, October 13, 2004
*Extremely hot temperatures, on the order of 1,000 degrees
Fahrenheit, have led scientists to believe lava has reached the
surface of the rapidly swelling area in the crater of Mount
St. Helens. In fact, the geologists are saying that there are signs
the southwest Washington volcano is creating a new lava dome.
Small earthquakes (maximum about magnitude 1) continue to
occur at a rate of about one per 5-10 minutes.
*New South Wales, Australia agricultural authorities have topped
up locust pesticide stockpiles to record levels in preparation for a
huge outbreak of the insects brought on by recent hot weather.
*Authorities closed part of a major highway in northern Malaysia
after heavy rains caused a landslide that swept over vehicles
and left one person injured.
*In the last 10 years we have seen more hurricanes than in any
decade in the past 150 years. Officials at the Canadian Hurricane
Centre in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia say "get over it - we have to
stop talking about WHY they are out there and we have to start thinking
about what are we going to do about it."

Tuesday, October 12, 2004
* Mount St. Helens was venting again on Monday. This was not
an eruption. It was clear that no magma has reached the surface
as lava. No significant ash was in this steam blast. It is speculated
that part of the glazier broke free and fell into the vents of the caldera.
This volcano can be underestimated, so officials remain vigilant, yet
confidant that if and when she blows again, a little time will be
available to raise the alert levels.
New thermal images revealed that parts of the lava dome in the
crater are very hot, a sign that magma continues to rise within the
volcano. Heat from parts of the lava dome exceeded scientists'
instruments, which hadn't been calibrated to measure temperatures
that high. Activity is expected to ebb and flow, and scientists say
the most likely scenario is weeks or months of occasional steam
blasts and possibly some eruptions of fresh volcanic rock.
*Mexico's Colima Volcano is putting on a spectacular light show.
The volcano spewed hot ash and lava early Sunday morning.
*U.S. scientists are trying to figure out what caused the 10-year-old
surge in hurricanes in the Atlantic and Caribbean. This year was
particular rough with four hurricanes hitting Florida, but the
change dates back to 1994. In the 24 years from 1970 to 1994
there were 123 hurricanes and only 38 major storms. The nine
years from 1995 through 2003 produced 69 hurricanes with
32 reaching major-storm status. This could keep going
for 15, 20 or 30 years.

Monday, October 11, 2004
*The death toll from flooding in Vietnam's southern Mekong Delta
has claimed 27 lives, while another nine people were killed
when heavy storms lashed the region.
* Mount St. Helens vented a new column of steam Sunday, a plume
that rose out of the crater of the volcano. The steam emission followed
an increase in earthquake activity over the previous two days, with
quakes of magnitude 2.4 occurring every two minutes until Sunday,
when the vibrations were more frequent but weakened to magnitude
1 or less. What has been peculiar about these earthquakes is that
there seems to be a disproportionate number of them that are
uniform in size. It indicates that pressure in the system is very uniform,
which may suggest magma is constantly moving upward.
*More than 200 aftershocks followed the Sept. 28 Parkfield, California
6.0 tremor, including two quakes with magnitudes of 4.0 and 3.2 near
Paso Robles, site of December's magnitude-6.5 quake that killed two
people and caused a century-old clock tower to fall. Aftershocks can
last years after the initial quake. In the case of Parkfield, they expect
to have aftershocks for months, maybe even for a few years. In addition
to aftershocks, tremors can also trigger quakes on other fault lines.
Whether this occurred after last week's quakes is still under scrutiny.
Experience with trigger earthquakes show that they usually happen
within a few days or even a few weeks, and then the effects wind
down. With the Parkfield one, it is likely they would have occurred
by now. Though experts suspect there is no link between the
thousands of tiny earthquakes that have been rattling Mount St.
Helens since September 23, and the strike-slip fault earthquakes
in California, it remains an intriguing coincidence. When the volcano
erupted on May 18, 1980, less than 10 days later, there were four
6.0 earthquakes in the magma-rich Mammoth area.

Sunday, October 10, 2004
* Unseasonably heavy downpours have triggered landslides
and submerged large areas in northeastern India, Bangladesh and
Nepal for three days, leaving at least 93 people dead.
*Powerful Typhoon Ma-on swirled near Japan's Pacific coastline
yesterday, unleashing gusts and torrential rains that grounded planes,
flooded homes and triggered landslides. One person is dead and
another one missing. The full brunt of the tempest - which had
sustained winds of 162km/h - is likely to be stronger than any
other to strike the eastern coast in 10 years. The storm comes
a week after Tropical Storm Meari tore through Japan, killing 22
and injuring at least 80 others. This year's typhoons are the most
on record since recordkeeping began in 1951.
* Tropical Storm Matthew, the 13th named storm of the 2004
hurricane season, formed in the western Gulf of Mexico yesterday,
and its effects were already being felt in Louisiana where homes flooded.
A three-day forecast from the National Hurricane Center showed the
storm making landfall along the Alabama coastline Monday morning.
Forecasters said they did not believe that it would
strengthen into a hurricane.
*Geologists say recent low-magnitude earthquakes at Lake Mead,
Nevada, can be blamed on a drop in the water level due to
ongoing drought. There've been 78 temblors measured around
the vast Colorado River reservoir since January 2002. That
includes 20 this year - and six in the last two weeks of September.
*A magnitude 6.9 earthquake near the coast of Nicaragua has
occurred 80 km (50 miles) SSW of Managua (pop. 864,000).

Saturday, October 9, 2004
*With sustained winds of 160 mph (257 kph) and gusts of up to
185 mph (298 kph), Super Typhoon Ma-On was situated due
south of Japan yesterday, and was expected to make landfall
within the next 48 hours.
*Japan's northern island of Hokkaido was hit by an earthquake
with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 early Friday morning.
*About 60 people were injured when a 5.8 earthquake hit the
north-eastern Iranian province of Golestan near the border with
Turkmenistan. Five similar quakes shook the region overnight.
Residents of the province took fright and spent the night outside
their homes. The southern Iranian city of Bam was devastated in
a quake in December 2003 that killed 31,000 people.
*A strong 6.4 earthquake shook the Philippine capital on Friday
night, lasting well over a minute and sending Manila residents
out into the streets. The quake caused high-rise buildings to sway
in the city, knocking out power in some areas. An earthquake
measuring 6.2 hit the Manila area three weeks ago.
*A magnitude 6.9 earthquake has occurred in the Solomon Islands
50 km (30 miles) SSE of Kira Kira, San Cristobal, (pop. 2,000)
*An earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter scale shook
Skopje, Macedonia's capital, on Friday.
* Fire bans were declared across south-east Queensland, Australia
yesterday, as firefighters braced themselves for tougher weather
conditions and a looming hot summer.
*Seismic activity at Mount St Helens continues to be at a low to
moderate rate with an overall trend of slightly decreasing energy
release. Earthquakes are occurring at a rate of 1 to 2 per minute
with the largest magnitudes about M1.5. Field crews reported a
new vent near the two that have been present for several days. They
also reported that there has not been noticeable additional uplift of
the south part of the dome and adjacent glacier in the prior 24 hours.
*The Ambrym Volcano is one of the most active in the chain
of Hebrides Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. On October 4,
MODIS captured a satellite image of one of its frequent eruptions.

Friday, October 8, 2004
* Mount St Helens was active yesterday with a basic steam blast
with some ash (shortly after 1400 CST). No expectations of real
eruption exists. Part of Mount St. Helens' crater floor has risen
50 to 100 feet since Tuesday while earthquake rates have been low,
signs that magma is moving upward without much resistance, scientists
said Thursday. With the latest rising, an area of the crater floor just
south of the nearly 1,000-foot lava dome has risen about 250 feet
since the mountain began stirring two weeks ago. There's no way to
tell when magma might reach the surface. Volcanoes in the Cascade
Range are all at normal levels of background
seismicity except for Mount St. Helens.
*At least fifteen people were killed and some 150 others injured in
tornadoes that swept over central Bangladesh on Thursday.
*The total number of tornado reports in the United States reached
a record high for the second month in a row because of land-falling
hurricanes, according to the NOAA Storm Prediction Center.
Preliminary numbers indicate a total of 247 tornadoes reported
during the month of September. This significantly tops the previous
September record of 139 tornadoes set in 1967. The average
number of tornadoes in the U.S. during September is 47.
The total number of tornadoes reported in 2004 so far is
1,516, already surpassing 1998's record total of 1,424
tornadoes for the year. The actual number of tornadoes for
2004 will not be known until June 2005.
*A 3.5 earthquake rumbled the ground near Lakeview, Oregon
early Thursday morning. In late June and early July a swarm of
quakes rocked and rolled close to Lakeview. The biggest
earthquake was a 4.4 that shook at 5:22 a.m. on June 30.
Since the swarm of quakes this summer, scientists have put in
more sensors in hopes of getting better data on the quakes.
Scientists said there is no way to tell if the latest quake will
be the first of a new swarm.

Thursday, October 7, 2004
*Scientists said Wednesday the chance of Mount St. Helens in
Washington state erupting soon was declining, but warned the
mountain could continue venting steam and volcanic rock for
several weeks. The scientists reduced the alert level to
Category 2. Seismometers have detected fewer earthquakes
beneath the volcano since a Tuesday morning eruption of steam
and ash. Also, the crater floor south of the lava dome is no
longer rising as fast as it had earlier.
Satellite image.
Cascade Range latest update
*On October 5th, Sheveluch Volcano, one of the most active
volcanoes on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, erupted. It has been
erupting on and off for much of 2004.
*A 5.8-magnitude quake hit eastern Japan at 11:40 pm and was
centered some 40 miles beneath the earth's surface. It shook
buildings in Tokyo and other nearby areas, but there were no
immediate reports of damage or injuries.
*Scientists have shown that tiny changes to modern flu
viruses could render them as deadly as the 1918 strain which
killed millions. The virus killed more people than any other single
outbreak of disease, surpassing even the Black Death of the Middle
Ages. Scientists believe the 1918 virus leapt to humans by mutating
from bird flu. For that reason, experts are deeply concerned that the
avian flu that has broken out in poultry flocks in parts of south-east
Asia may acquire genes that will make it highly infectious as well
as lethal for humans.

Wednesday, October 6, 2004
* Mount St. Helens spewed a cloud of steam and ash again
Tuesday morning. Scientists said the emission indicated super-heated
rock was coming into contact with run-off water and ice from the
glacier in the volcano's crater. The southern portion of a 925-foot
lava dome in the crater is now "radically deformed" by the upward
pressure of the rising magma and a portion of a nearby glacier is
deeply cracked. The deformed area is roughly a quarter-mile long.
Scientists remain somewhat puzzled about how fresh magma has
reached so high in the volcano. They are hoping the addition of
more sensitive equipment will give them some clues to its origins.
*Hikers have been banned from climbing Mount Rinjani in Indonesia
after the volcano, located on the eastern island of Lombok, spewed
out smoke and showers of stones on Tuesday. The volcano
began rumbling last week.
*Unlike Mount St. Helens, all is quiet on the Arizona volcano
front. The territory that we now know as Arizona was home to
myriad active volcanoes as recently as about 1,000 years ago.
Even today, the state is pockmarked with volcanic fields. The last
eruption happened more than 900 years ago, at Sunset Crater, and
there are no rumblings to indicate any activity anytime soon.
*A NASA-funded earthquake forecast program has an amazing
track record. It has accurately forecast the locations of 15 of
California's 16 largest earthquakes this decade, including last week's
tremors near Parkfield. The study does not try to predict WHEN quakes
will happen. In California, quake activity happens at some level
almost everywhere. This method narrows the locations of the largest
future events to about six percent of the state.
*Haiti's death toll from last month's floods caused by tropical
storm Jeanne has risen to nearly 2,000.

Tuesday, October 5, 2004
* Mount St Helens has belched more steam after several days
of tremors, raising expectations that the volcano might erupt
at any moment. A small amount of ash followed the 10-minute
emission. Pressure is still mounting within the volcano and geologists
say there is about a 70% chance that it will erupt and a 30% chance
that it just might go back to sleep. Survey crews observed a shift in
the crater floor and on part of the 1,000-foot (300-metre) lava dome,
which keeps down magma. "Cracks are opening up, so we know
something is pushing up close to the surface right now." Scientists
estimated the width of the volcano's crater had
expanded by 15 to 30 metres.
*A small 2.7 earthquake rumbled beneath Mount Hood in Oregon
on Monday but it wasn't related to Mount St. Helens' venting of
steam and ash, according to scientists, even though both events
occurred at the same time and even though when Mount St. Helens
erupted in 1980, a swarm of earthquakes shook Mount Hood.
* Mount St. Helens webcam - static image, updated every 5 minutes.
*The ozone hole over Antarctica appears to have shrunk about
20 per cent from last year's record size.
*Around 2000 fishermen from Gujarat, India have been reported
missing since the recent cyclone in the Arabian sea.

Monday, October 4, 2004
*Scientists are still warning that Mount St. Helens may erupt at
any time following another day of volcanic rumblings, earth tremors
and landslides inside the smoking crater. It could erupt in a day, a
week, or not for a couple of months. Friday's eruption
destroyed most of the scientific instruments that had been set up
inside the crater, making it even tougher to pin down
the timeline for the next eruption.
* Mount St. Helens webcam - static image, updated every 5 minutes.
*Following a period in which millions of people in the Caribbean
and along the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic coasts were on hurricane
alert constantly, October may bring only three more storms, two
of which may become hurricanes, said William Gray, noted storm
forecaster, in an updated storm forecast. Little hurricane activity
is expected in November. "Although Floridians should always be
prepared for landfalling hurricanes, they should not expect what we
have experienced this year to become the norm for future years."
*A tropical cyclone hit Pakistan's southern coast,
killing at least nine people.

Sunday, October 3, 2004
*The Mount St. Helens eruption may be larger than previously
expected. New eruptions now appear imminent. New events are
expected in the next week. The Forest Service will announce
further restrictions as magma is expected to flow soon. Experts
agree that the huge amount of energy released in the recent
earthquakes has already allowed for lava to be released as the
magma rises to the surface near the current crater topology. Tremor
mode indicates that the flow of magma is ongoing and constant.
News teams covering the volcano have been relocated to a new
safe distance.
Government scientists raised the alert level on Saturday for Mount
St. Helens after its second steam eruption in two days was followed
by a powerful tremor. They said the next blast was imminent or in
progress, and could threaten life and property in the remote
area near the volcano. The hundreds of visitors at the Johnston
Ridge Observatory just five miles from Mount St. Helens
were asked to leave. There was a very brief steam release
Saturday - a puff of white cloud, followed by a dust-raising
landslide in the crater. A volcanic tremor signal that came next
was what prompted the heightened alert level. A tremor indicates
movement of gases or fluid within the volcano, while individual
earthquakes indicate "a pounding and breaking of rock." More
steam explosions are likely, and possibly an extrusion of lava.
The intensity of quakes "probably just reflects the fact that more
rock needs to be broken for magma to reach the surface". Air
sampling has detected only tiny amounts of volcanic gases,
which could mean the activity only involves the 1998 magma,
which has been "degassed" over time or that there is fresh magma
but the gases are sealed inside the system.
In just a few hours after Friday's event, the volcano started
ramping up again to levels seen just before the event. By
Saturday morning, seismic energy releases at the peak were
10 percent higher than they were before the steam blast. The
volcano system essentially resealed itself after blowing off
steam and ash Friday. The ramping up of seismic activity on
Saturday morning indicates "we're right back in line as if that"-
Friday's eruption — "didn't happen." Friday's explosion in the
mountain's gaping crater tossed some rocks around. None was
thrown far enough to escape the crater or do any damage off
the mountain, but seismic and deformation instruments on the dome
were destroyed.
In the 24 hours before the eruption, a section of a glacier inside the
crater had fractured and risen as much as 11 yards as pressure
built inside the mountain, scientists said. After about 20 minutes,
the mountain calmed and the plume dissipated, revealing a
100-foot-wide crater in the 600-foot-deep glacier. Apparently
no magma reached the surface. A few hours later small
earthquakes resumed. Within an hour they hit a one-per-minute pace.
Those levels of heat and intensity have since gone higher. The
growing consensus among scientists is that new magma is
probably entering the volcano's upper levels, possibly bringing
with it volatile gases that could lead to more eruptions.
Mount St. Helens webcam - static image, updated every 5 minutes.
*Authorities in India on Saturday sounded an alert in four districts
in Gujarat as a cyclone approached the coast. Thousands of villagers
living along the coast have been evacuated.
*Southern California's Angeles National Forest and Cleveland
National Forest are experiencing extremely dry conditions this
season. The extreme fire danger has fanned fears that even the
smallest spark could start a tremendous wildfire. "Fall is usually
our dry time, but this season may be more extreme. And the
Santa Ana winds just make it worse."

Saturday, October 2, 2004
*A large, white cloud of steam and ash rose from Mount St. Helens
volcano in Washington state on Friday following days of rumblings
and small earthquakes. The minor eruption occurred at 12:03 local
time, lasted 24 minutes and created a plume that rose about 3,000
metres. No magma seems to have reached the surface. Seismic
activity decreased shortly after the noon (3 p.m. ET) eruption, but
picked up again within hours. The water flow out of the crater
appears to have increased since the eruption, though no potentially
destructive mud flows were reported.
*Western Mexico's "Volcano of Fire" unleashed a towering column
of smoke and ash Friday, after ropes of burning, orange lava poured
from its peak overnight. A light coating of ash dusted nearby
communities that are home to about 600 people. Authorities were
on heightened alert but said they had no plans to order evacuations.
Earthquakes and explosions of hot rock within the volcano began
Wednesday, provoked by the collapse of a dome that formed recently
in its center. Small landslides tumbled down the volcano's northern
and western slopes. Lava flowed Thursday night and early Friday
morning. Vulcanologists consider the volcano to be one of the most
active and potentially the most destructive in central Mexico.
*A moderate 5.3 earthquake shook the Pacific coast of Nicaragua
early Friday, cracking a few walls and sending
frightened residents running.
*The ground near Parkfield, California continues to shake and
a magnitude-5.0 earthquake struck Thursday, the third aftershock
of that strength to rattle the area since Tuesday's magnitude-6.0 quake.
*A research seismologist from India is promoting a new theory -
there exists a human earthquake precursor and medical doctors
can help seismologists in early prediction of earthquakes. About
ten to twenty hours before the occurrence of any moderate to large
earthquake most of the animals, birds, fish, insects, etc. become
restless and make noise. Similar to the animal precursor, there exists
a human precursor. The number of deliveries and abortions - reported
one or two days before an earthquake, were five times more than the
normal average. Similarly, the number of patients suffering from blood
pressure, headache, heart trouble, respiratory diseases, restlessness,
etc. was five to seven times more than the daily average number.
* Tropical Storm Lisa stayed just below hurricane strength Friday
as it remained far out in the Atlantic Ocean, only threatening ships.

Friday, October 1, 2004
* Mount St. Helens was shaking even harder Thursday than
Wednesday, strengthening the opinion of scientists that a small
or moderate eruption is imminent. Scientists now say that there
is a 70 percent chance the volcano will erupt within the next few
days to months. Some tremors on Thursday reached magnitude 3.3.
The rate remains high, with three to four earthquakes occurring
every minute, but the lava dome apparently hasn't swelled significantly,
which indicates that magma is probably not migrating toward the surface.
The area around the volcano is virtually uninhabited.
Mount St. Helens webcam - static image, updated every 5 minutes.
*Rumors that Mount Rainier and other Cascade volcanoes in
Washington are also reawakening are untrue, scientists say.
Mount Hood, a volcano just east of Portland, Oregon, and 55 miles
south of Mount St Helens, last erupted in 1805. Swarms of earthquakes
rumble beneath it about once a year. Hot gas and steam occasionally
spew from vents. The odds of Mount Hood erupting lava and hot mud
down its flanks over the next 30 years range from 1-in-15 to 1-in-30,
according to the USGS. Earthquakes and venting on Mount Hood in
recent years show no indication the mountain has been preparing to erupt.
Last March, small earthquakes shook an area west of the Three Sisters in
Central Oregon. Gases from magma have been detected near springs at
the base of the connected trio of Cascades peaks. In addition, a large
bulge has grown over the past seven years near the dormant volcanoes.
A Three Sisters eruption is unlikely without more intense activity. Other
peaks in the Cascade Range have been relatively quiet. Mount Washington
erupted about 1,300 years ago. Mount Mazama exploded about 7,000
years ago, and Mount McLoughlin last erupted about 30,000 years ago.
*Calls are coming in to the U.S. Geological Survey from Australia,
Asia and Europe, and everyone wants to know about the
coincidence of a 6.0 earthquake in California on Tuesday and the
accelerating tremors at Mount St. Helens. Both the San Andreas
fault and Mount St. Helens are near where the Pacific plate is
being pushed underneath the North American, but the San Andreas
goes offshore at about Point Reyes and does not run under the
Cascades, so scientists believe the two events are not related and
that the timing is just coincidental.
*Portland's mayor is urging all relevant city bureaus to update
preparedness plans to deal with the possible eruption of the
Mount St. Helens volcano. Ash is the greatest threat to
Portland from a major eruption. Residents are being urged to
maintain an emergency kit that would contain three days of
drinking water, canned food, a first aid kit and breathing masks.
*To see the current ash plume projections, go online to
www.wrh.noaa.gov/Seattle/ St_Helens.html and follow
the links to ash plume trajectory models.
* Typhoon Meari has now left 20 people dead, seven missing and
70 injured in its wake after ripping through Japan yesterday,
dumping heavy rain and causing mudslides and flooding. It was
the season's 21st typhoon in the Pacific region, and a record eighth
to directly hit Japan, and has wreaked havoc in southern and western
regions of the country since landing on the main southern
island of Kyushu Wednesday.
*A 4.0 earthquake in the Marble Sea caused panic in Istanbul,
the largest Turkish city.

Thursday, September 30, 2004
*Two aftershocks measuring magnitude 5.0 and 4.5 hit Parkfield,
California on Wednesday morning, among the strongest of the
more than 500 aftershocks roiling the area where a 6.0 earthquake
occurred the day before. A 5.0 quake also struck Keene, California
on Wednesday which is east of Parkfield.
*The alert level for a volcanic eruption at Mount St. Helens in
Washington state was raised to the third of four levels on
Wednesday. Magma is on the move several kilometres below
the surface, creating a swarm of up to four small earthquakes
every minute. The dome of hardened lava formed in the crater
has moved four centimetres, which usually means tremendous
pressure is building.
* Mt. Asama in central Japan erupted for the second time in a week
on Wednesday. There were no immediate reports of injuries from
the 12:17 p.m.(0317 GMT) eruption, which is thought to be medium
in scale and smaller than the September 23 eruption. Warning level is at
3 on a scale of six.
*At least 12 people died and 12 others are reported missing as
tropical storm Meari hits southwest Japan. It is the
eighth typhoon of the season. to hit Japan.

Wednesday, September 29, 2004
*The 6.0 earthquake yesterday shook California from Los Angeles
to San Francisco, cracking pipes, breaking bottles of wine and
knocking pictures from walls near the epicenter. The area is 34km
north-east of Paso Robles, scene of an earthquake that killed
two people in December. There were no reports of any injuries
from the quake or its more than 260 aftershocks.
*The remnants of Hurricane Jeanne veered northward into Virginia
on Tuesday after pelting Georgia and the Carolinas with heavy
rains and leaving thousands in these states without electricity.
*The hurricane season in Florida has already exceeded all expectations.
Four major hurricanes have hit the state in six weeks, a feat not seen
in the United States since 1886. September is often the busiest
month and no threatening systems are on the immediate horizon,
but the hurricane season does not end until Nov. 30. Hurricanes
tend to come in clusters, which means the next couple of weeks
could be quiet. But when the first two-thirds of a season are active,
like this year, October and November tend to be busy as well.
*A small explosion of rocks, ash and steam could occur within the
next few days within the crater of Mount St. Helens, where
earthquake activity has been steadily building for nearly a week.
Tuesday morning, the quakes were occurring at a rate of two or
three a minute. The volcano was releasing three to four times the
energy it was releasing on Monday. Still, the likelihood of a
significant eruption "is fairly small".
*Building sea defences could leave some coastal areas of England
and Wales at greater risk of flooding, a report says. 61% of the
shorelines and beaches have steepened over the last century because
of man-made defences. The report says steeper beaches allow more
destructive waves to pound the coastlines. "We need to allow more
room for coastlines to function as nature intended them to."
*Dozens of small Arizona dams, most of them earthen dams used
for flood control, are in need of repairs to
prevent catastrophic failures.
*A series of earthquakes measuring up to 6.0 on the Richter scale
struck central California this morning. There were no immediate
reports of damage or injuries. The biggest quake struck just south
of the town of Parkfield at 10.15am local time. That 6.0 quake was
followed four minutes later by a second quake measuring 5.0 on the
Richter scale, which was centered five miles from Parkfield. At least
31 aftershocks measuring between 4.7 and 3.6 on the Richter scale
shook the region along the state's notorious San Andreas fault over
the following 30 minutes. As of 5:00pm local time, there have been
over 250 aftershocks. Parkfield, population 37, is heavily outfitted
with seismic monitors since it had experienced six similar, magnitude
6.0 earthquakes with previous regularity - one approximately
every 22 years. The last large quake in the area was in 1966.
The next one was due by 1987 but did not occur. Scientists
feared that, because so much pressure had built up along the fault,
that the next quake would be of a magnitude 7 or greater.

Tuesday, September 28, 2004
*The situation in Haiti continues to worsen, with the number of
dead continuing to climb and more soldiers being sent to help keep
order as relief supplies are distributed. The number killed when
tropical storm Jeanne swept across the country last weekend now
stands at 1,500, with another 1,251 missing and presumed dead.
More than 300,000 people have been left homeless. The Haitian
government is considering a rotating evacuation of the city of Gonaives
to allow workers to dispose of the bodies, carcasses and debris that
has been rotting in the streets for the past week.
* Hurricane Jeanne has killed 6 people, smashed homes, torn off
roofs, flooded streets and left 2.3 million people
in Florida without electricity. Floods are expected in South
Carolina as Jeanne moves northward.
*Scientists are divided on why hurricanes are on the increase.
Some say the hurricanes are "strongly linked" to global warming,
while other scientists believe it's all part of the normal climate cycle.
*The 2004 hurricane season may be the costliest on record.
*An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale shook southern
Romania and was felt in the capital Bucharest on Monday,
but no damage was reported.
*Seismologists are trying to figure out if Mount St. Helens in
Washington State is set to blow, nearly 25 years after a massive
eruption killed 57 people. More than 1,000 small earthquakes
inside the volcano have been recorded since Saturday. On Sunday,
the quake measurements got much larger, signalling something
may be up. Researchers plan to fly over Mount St. Helens to
test for carbon dioxide and sulphur, which would indicate
fresh magma is near the surface.

Monday, September 27, 2004
* Hurricane Jeanne sliced across Florida on Sunday, covering much
of central Florida. The storm, which hit Florida as a Category 3
hurricane and left three people dead, has been downgraded to a
tropical storm. Jeanne was expected to stay inland, moving into
Georgia and then the Carolinas through Tuesday.
* Typhoon Meari lashed Japan's southern islands yesterday with
heavy rains and winds that injured one man and reportedly killed
another, and prompted authorities in Taiwan to issue a warning of
rough seas. Three deadly typhoons have already slammed
into Japan and Taiwan this year.
*A strengthening series of earthquakes at Mount St. Helens has
prompted seismologists to warn that the once-devastating volcano
may see a small explosion soon. The quakes were tiny at first, but
on Saturday and Sunday there were more than 10 temblors of
magnitude 2.0 to 2.8, the most in a 24-hour period since the
last dome-building eruption in October 1986. Some of the
earthquakes suggest the involvement of pressurised fluids,
such as water or steam, and perhaps magma.
*The Soufrière Hills Volcano on the Island of Montserrat
has been relatively quiet since the last major eruption in
July 2003. This may have lulled the local residents into
a false sense of security.
*More study is being urged for the southern San Andreas fault
in California. One of the goals is to narrow a broad forecast that
suggests there is a 20 - 60% chance the fault will produce a major
quake within 30 years. "This is the fault that is most likely to give
us a big earthquake." The fault is crossed by freeways, electricity
and gas lines, aqueducts and canals that carry crucial resources
to millions of people in Southern California.

Sunday, September 26, 2004
*Ferocious winds and rain are battering Florida as Hurricane
Jeanne whips across the state, the fourth major hurricane to
strike in six weeks. 115 mph (185 km/h) winds are knocking down power
lines, ripping off roofs and whirling up debris left behind by the last storm.
Earlier, Jeanne battered the Bahamas. Jeanne is expected to turn north
over central Florida before heading towards Georgia and the Carolinas.
Jeanne may be the worst hurricane yet - combining the speed of Charley,
the size of Frances and potentially the fury of Ivan in one deadly package.
Florida has never had four hurricanes hit in one year. Texas was hit
by four hurricanes back in 1886.
*Stromboli is Europe's only permanently active volcano and it is
constantly spitting red fountains of lava and clouds of smoke.
Every 10-20 minutes, Stromboli spews gas, ash and up to 200- metre
(656 feet) high spurts of red hot lava into the sky. Occasionally the
volcano puts on an even more dramatic show. Webcams

Saturday, September 25, 2004
*Hundreds of tiny earthquakes have been reported at Mount
St. Helens, but it is unlikely they pose any hazard to anyone outside
of the volcano's crater, seismologists said Friday. The seismology lab
at the University of Washington in Seattle is having trouble keeping
up with the hundreds of tiny quakes that began Thursday and show
no sign of letting up. A similar swarm of quakes in November 2001
and another in the summer of 1998 did not result in an eruption.
However, the quakes could increase the likelihood of small rock slides.
*With a strong enough jolt - a 7.6 -magnitude earthquake - the seafloor
under Catalina Island could be violently thrust upward, causing a
tsunami along the Southern California coast, according to
researchers at the University of Southern California. Catalina Island
is just 25 miles off the Los Angeles coast.
*A magnitude 5.8 earthquake in the Gulf of California has occurred
140 km (90 miles) NNW of Santa Rosalia, Baja Calif. Sur,
Mexico (population 10,000).
*Authorities in the Bahamas and in Florida have urged more than 500,000
people to leave their homes as Hurricane Jeane approaches.
* Mount Asama, one of Japan's most active volcanos, has erupted
for a second straight day. A toll road running below Mount Asama
closed in order to clear molten rock and ash from the previous
eruption. Yesterday's eruption was described as small-scale.

Friday, September 24, 2004
*The storm formerly known as Hurricane Ivan is gathering strength
in an encore visit to the Gulf of Mexico. This time it's a tropical storm
spinning toward Texas and threatening to cause flooding in Louisiana.
An Ivan remnant broke from the original main storm system, headed
south in the Atlantic, crawled over Florida and now packs 60 mph winds
- 14 mph shy of becoming a hurricane once more. Tropical Storm Ivan
is unlikely to gather much more strength but will bring heavy rains
and possible floods within the next 24 hours.
* Hurricane Jeanne is currently is showing a landfall north of West
Palm Beach on Florida's densely populated east coast, possibly as
early as Saturday night.
*Within nine months, sniffer rescue dogs trained to find explosives
or earthquake survivors buried in rubble may have some competition
- rats. Electrodes implanted in their brains will send signals to a radio
transmitter pack strapped to the rat's back. Rescuers on the surface
will be able to track the signal and locate any survivors.
*The Indian Government is contemplating legal action against a
researcher in seismology, for creating an earthquake scare that
triggered widespread panic in some parts of the State last month.
*The collapse of the Larsen B ice shelf in Antarctica two years ago
has accelerated the flow of glaciers into the nearby Weddell Sea.
The Antarctic Peninsula has seen some of the fastest temperature
rises on Earth in the last five decades. How much this is raising the
level of the oceans isn't known.
*The Japanese Asama volcano, which burst into life earlier this month
with its biggest eruption in 21 years, erupted again yesterday. An eruption
measuring three on a scale of zero to five, was observed at 7.44pm.
Tremors related to the mid-scale eruption continued, but local authorities
did not issue an evacuation warning and there were no reports of injuries.

Thursday, September 23, 2004
*Deadly Hurricane Jeanne could head back toward the United
States and threaten the storm-battered Southeast coast, including
Florida, as early as this Sunday.
*The number of dead left behind in Haiti by Hurricane Jeanne
climbed to more than 1,000 on Wednesday, and that
number could double.
*The three hurricanes that roared across Florida knocked down a lot of
trees across the state, and that's raising concerns about wildfires.
*The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters in China
on Wednesday announced the end of this year's flood season, saying
that 1,029 Chinese had perished this year during flood season.
*A 4.5 quake on Tuesday injured three people in Russia and
seventeen houses were damaged. Two additional 5.0 tremors
followed two and a half hours later, sending many citizens outdoors
to sleep, in dread of more earth tremors to come.
The quake was felt as far away as Oslo, Norway where many large
buildings swayed and glassware rattled. Experts say it is very unusual
that an earthquake that far away was registered at such strength.
It is also unusual that two such strong quakes occured within
two-and-a-half hours. Scientists are at a loss to explain possible
reasons for the earthquake as the region is not considered to be
seismic. Earthquakes in the region were only registered twice
previously - in 1903 and 1977. The quake was one of the
strongest in Northern Europe for several decades.
*If last Thursday's magnitude 3.7 earthquake in southeastern Kentucky
had been in the mid- to upper-4 range, it could have triggered mudslides
and landslides, as remnants of strong winds from Ivan arrived about the
same time the quake rumbled across the region. "If it had been a larger
event, that would have been exactly the worst time for it to happen." The
region registers a quake similar to last week's about
once every three years.

Wednesday, September 22, 2004
*Haiti's president has appealed for aid to help the island in
the aftermath of tropical storm Jeanne whose floods have
claimed nearly 700 lives. Large swathes of the northwest of the
country remain submerged and some 1,000 people are still missing.
More than 80,000 people have absolutely nothing to eat.
*Insurers are having their costliest hurricane season since Andrew
devastated Florida in 1992. Lloyd's of London, the world's biggest
insurance market, faces as much as $1 billion in claims from the
three hurricanes that have struck the U.S. in the last six weeks.
Total claims expected from the hurricanes are within the market's
disaster planning, which considers losses of as much as $60 billion
from U.S. windstorms.
*A computer model unveiled Monday in Palm Springs shows that
the Coachella Valley would bear the brunt of a major earthquake
on the San Andreas fault. Under certain circumstances, the shaking
would be three times as long as that of the great San Francisco
earthquake of 1906. There is a 20-to-60% chance the southern
San Andreas will rupture within 30 years.

Tuesday, September 21, 2004
*The death toll in Haiti has risen to about 600 after Tropical Storm
Jeanne triggered floods as it swept across the island of
Hispaniola over the weekend. There is particular concern about
the island of La Tortue, which is said to be barely visible under the
water. Floods can be particularly devastating in Haiti because
it is almost entirely deforested.
*Las Vegas is drying up with a six-year-long drought that shows no
signs of ending. Water supplies are so tight the Nevada Water
Authority is paying homeowners $1 per square foot to rip up their
water-guzzling lawns. The gushing fountains in Las Vegas are
running on water imported from Canada.
*Drought may spark coal-seam fires - this is a fire that "starts in a
coal seam near the surface, then follows the seam underground, burning
for decades beyond the reach of any efforts to put it out, undermining
the integrity of roads or buildings that happen to be above it, all the
while releasing tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide into the air.
Coal-seam fires are burning in spots throughout the world. In Centralia,
Pennsylvania a fire that started in 1961 is still burning 43 years later.
*Millions of people across the globe are set to die early due to extreme
weather events such as floods and heat waves caused by climate
change, a British scientist says. There are predictions of a
10-fold increase in heat waves.
*Several documentaries have recently been made about the 7.6-magnitude
quake that struck Taiwan. The 921 Earthquake was the nation's
deadliest in five decades, killing 2,415 people and injuring more
than 10,000. More than 100,000 residents were displaced, and
property damage was on a massive scale.

Monday, September 20, 2004
* Flooding in Haiti killed at least 50 in the wake of tropical storm
Jeanne, with several others missing. The disaster came four months
after floods killed more than 3,000 people in the border area
between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In the Bahamas the
government on Sunday called off all warnings as Jeanne took
a north-westerly turn out into the sea, where it could gain strength.
* Hurricane Karl gained strength Sunday but remains on a course
that will keep it in the Atlantic, a threat only to shipping, forecasters
said. It's current track would keep it far from any land until it dies
over the chilly water of the northern Atlantic.
*The total area burned by wildfires in the U.S. this year - almost
7.7 million acres, or about 12,000 square miles - is the second
largest in almost a half-century, behind 2000's 8.4 million acres
scorched. But 83 percent of that was in Alaska, where backcountry
fires can burn for weeks without threat to people. Fire specialists
expected more large tracts of forest and grasslands in the Western
states to burn this year, but instead, wildfires have been fewer and
smaller. Lightning normally starts more than 70 percent of the West's
wildfires. But this year, whenever they had lightning, they had rain.
Southern California is still at risk, they are bracing for the Santa Anas,
the hot, dry desert winds that blow from October to February.
*An earthquake swarm continues to shake a sparsely populated
area along the eastern Sierra Nevada. No injuries or damage have
been reported from the temblors centered along the California-Nevada
line 30 miles northeast of Mammoth Lakes. There were 275 quakes
Saturday and 206 temblors Sunday as of 5 pm. Ten of Sunday's quakes
were 3.0 and above in magnitude, the largest was 3.9. It's uncertain how
much longer the quakes will continue, and experts say it's premature to
say whether the swarm is related to volcanic activity.
There was a 3.5 quake in Colorado and a 6.1 quake
in the Alaskan Near Islands on Sunday also.
*The Cascade Mountain range is actually a chain of active volcanoes.
For the past seven years, volcanologists along the West coast
have eyed a 150-square-mile area in the Cascades near South Sister
that is steadily rising. The most likely outcome for the bulge is that it
will just stop growing. And if it blows, scientists aren't exactly sure when
or where the eruption will happen.

Sunday, September 19, 2004
* Tropical storm Jeanne has killed eight people in the Dominican
Republic and Puerto Rico and forced hundreds to leave their homes.
It is heading for the Bahamas. It is unclear if it will eventually hit the U.S.
*Remnants of Hurricane Ivan soaked portions of
northern New Jersey on Saturday, with some areas of the
state getting 5 inches or more of rain.
* Mount Asama, one of Japan's most active volcanos, appears to be
quieter after nearly a week of eruptions, the
Meteorological Agency said Saturday.
*Lots of quakes on the California - Nevada border yesterday - the
largest were 5.5 and 5.4, others were 4.0, 4.1, 4.1, 3.6, 3.6,
3.3, 3.1, 3.1, 3.0 and 3.0. There have been over 155 smaller
aftershocks. A similar sequence was centered in the same area over
a one-week period in 1980. The activity died down in 1984 before
picking up again in 1992. A magnitude-4 temblor in April 1997 was
the biggest on the fault over the last decade.
*An earthquake expert has raised new questions about the safety
of Jackson Lake Dam in Wyoming, saying a strong quake could
collapse the structure and cause catastrophic flooding in Jackson Hole.
About 18,000 people live in Teton County downstream of the dam.
Bureau of Reclamation officials have maintained that the dam is safe,
even though they acknowledge it would be damaged in a quake.
*More and more people are being caught up in a growing number
of natural disasters, a UN agency said on Friday. 254 million
people were affected by natural hazards last year - nearly three times
as many as in 1990. Events including earthquakes and volcanoes,
floods and droughts, storms, fires and landslides killed about 83,000
people in 2003, up from about 53,000 deaths 13 years earlier. There
were 337 natural disasters reported in 2003, up from 261 in 1990.

Saturday, September 18, 2004
*Volcanic ash sprinkled over downtown Tokyo on Friday as one
of Japan's most active volcanos erupted for a fourth straight day.
Mount Asama, about 90 miles west of Tokyo, erupted almost
continuously throughout the day, setting off close to 600 tremors. Nearly
1,400 similar earthquakes were detected on Thursday.
*As of Friday, Mount Egon volcano in the Philippines was still
spewing thick smoke 2,500 meters into the sky. It has been belching
out ash for almost two weeks, forcing some 2,000 residents on the
slopes of the mountain to flee to safer areas. Conditions in the refuge
camps are said to be very poor.
*Lava continues to flow from new fissures on Mount Etna. Webcam
* Hurricane Ivan has killed at least 30 people in the southern United
States and left about two million people in six states without power.
* Hurricane Javier is heading up Mexico's coast and is expected to hit
Baja California with rainfall of 3 to 6 inches and life-threatening flash
floods and mudslides. It should swing north into western Arizona on
Monday.
Meanwhile in the Atlantic, tropical storm Jeane will graze the
coast of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It will cruise toward
the Bahamas by Monday.
Tropical storm Karl is also developing.
*A long-range weather forecaster says the U.S. hurricanes could be
repeated off the Queensland, Australia coast this coming cyclone
season. He uses sunspots to make his predictions, and believes there'll
be heavy cyclone activity and flooding in Queensland early next year.
*Vietnam on Thursday found two more bodies of local people
in northern Lao Cai province killed by a big landslide, raising
the death toll to 17, with 7 still missing.
*Nine people were killed and 13 were declared missing today
after strong rains triggered flooding and mudslides in Panama.
*A mother and her two-year-old son were killed when their home was
flattened by a mudslide bringing the death toll from flash flooding in
northern Thailand this month to at least eight.
*An earthquake measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale has been
felt in southern Kentucky.
*Preliminary 4.1 and 4.0 quakes have been registered on the
California - Nevada border.
*An earthquake measuring at 5.0 on the Richter scale shook
the tremor-prone Indonesian town of Bengkulu on the island of Sumatra
on Friday, causing people to flee their homes in panic.
* Hundreds of wildfires in Bolivia have created a thick haze of smoke,
killed two people and prompted two regions to declare
a state of emergency.

Friday, September 17, 2004
* Hurricane Ivan tore through southern Alabama early yesterday,
slamming the U.S. coast from Mobile to Pensacola, Florida with
fierce winds and pounding surf and spawning tornadoes that
killed at least twelve people. It was the worst weather to
hit the area in 25 years.
* Tropical Storm Jeanne strengthened to a hurricane and made a
direct hit on the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic with heavy
winds and drenching rains. A blacked-out Puerto Rico is still
counting damage from the storm that turned roads into raging rivers
and killed two people as it passed over the day before. It remains
dangerous, with many rivers on the point of bursting their banks.
It was headed for the Bahamas, and uncertainty about its future path
could have it anywhere from Cuba to the open Atlantic by Monday.
There remains the possibility it could reach into Florida and
other southeastern states.
*Numerous scientific researchers are showing that pollution particles
in clouds can reduce precipitation. In a study of two otherwise identical
storms - one dirty and one clean - the system sullied by specks of air
pollution snowed 50 percent less and the snow that did fall
contained 25 percent less water.
*A drought in the 1950s still affects the flow of water in the Rio
Grande, and a string of recent dry years could have
a similar effect 50 years from now.
*In India is Majuli, the largest riverine island in the world. It is eroding
right out of existence. In 1947, the island covered 1,500 sq km. Today,
the island in the Brahmaputra river is less than half its original size.
The threat to Majuli's existence began in 1950 after a severe
earthquake shifted the riverbed, causing massive silting that in turn
led to heavy river erosion, particularly during the rains. Hundreds of
villages have simply vanished without a trace with the river eating
away a large chunk of the island year after year.
There are 150,000 islanders.

Thursday, September 16, 2004
*Heavy rains and strong winds are lashing the U.S. coast as
Hurricane Ivan roars inland from the Gulf of Mexico,
spawning huge waves and tornadoes. The giant storm is expected
to sweep through Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.
Two people have died in Florida in tornadoes produced by the storm.
At the same time, the Caribbean is on renewed alert as Tropical
Storm Jeanne threatens Puerto Rico.
*A 5.5 earthquake caused a wall to collapse on Indonesia's Bali island
yesterday, killing one person and injuring two others. A gale also swept
through several parts of the country claiming one life and damaging
hundreds of houses in North Sumatra. Strong winds also continued
in South Sulawesi, destroying about 1,725 buildings over the last few
days, but no deaths were reported.
*A large earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 jolted awake
residents of the Philippines' capital, but there were
no reports of damage or casualties.
*Sunday's quake in Indiana was not on a known fault. A fault that could
produce such a small quake can be as short as 100 to 150 miles long.
*A small 2.5 quake was recorded in northeastern Arkansas.
*Governments in areas prone to natural disasters such as flooding,
landslides and drought have been urged to turn the aftermath of
catastrophic events into greatly improved living
conditions for the people affected. A "pro-poor approach" -
putting those most likely to be affected by environmental hazards
at the heart of decision-making - has massive potential to reduce
the problems resulting from natural disasters. While the death rate
from natural disasters has fallen over the last 20 years, there has
been a 17-fold increase in the economic cost.

Wednesday, September 15, 2004
*Offices and transport shut down in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka
as the worst flooding in decades hit the city. Nearly all main
roads in the city are under water. Officials say such severe
flooding is "unprecedented". 341mm of rain have fallen in Dhaka
as of Monday, the highest recorded level in 50 years, and two more
days of rain are forecast.
* Flash floods have killed two people in northern Thailand, leaving
thousands either stranded or forced to abandon their homes, as the
capital braces for potential flooding.
* Tropical storm Haima buffeted eastern China as authorities evacuated
a large number of people as a precaution against danger from flooding
and landslides. It is the 21st storm of the season.
*More than 1.2 million people in metropolitan New Orleans have
been warned to get out as 225km/h Hurricane Ivan churns toward
the Gulf Coast of the U.S. The hurricane was threatening to
submerge the below-sea-level city in what could be the most
disastrous storm to hit in nearly 40 years. About three-quarters
of a million more people along the coast in Florida, Mississippi
and Alabama also were told to evacuate. Ivan could blow ashore
as early as today somewhere along the Gulf Coast.
* Tropical Storm Jeanne strengthened yesterday, prompting a plea
from Puerto Rico's governor for islanders to evacuate from
flood-prone areas and causing a panic among residents who
flocked to supermarkets for supplies. The storm's eye was
expected to hit Puerto Rico's south-west coast by this afternoon,
prompting a hurricane warning in the U.S. Virgin Islands also.
Jeanne will probably become a hurricane today.
*This hurricane season started rather quietly, there were no hurricanes
and only one tropical storm (winds 90-100km/h; 55-63mph) in the
months of June and July. In August four hurricanes and four tropical
storms formed, with four of them hitting the Caribbean or the U.S.
The 2003 season was also very active, but very few storms made
landfall and so there was little media attention. The number of
category 5 storms in the Atlantic Ocean has not increased in recent
years. There are still two months of hurricane season to go.
* Mount Asama, one of Japan's largest and most active volcanoes,
erupted three times Tuesday, spewing smoke about 300 meters
(1,000 feet) into the sky and raining ash onto nearby towns. It
was the second day of eruptions in two weeks.

Tuesday, September 14, 2004
*Strong rains and waves have been lashing Cuba's west coast, although
the eye of the category-5 Hurricane Ivan looks set to
miss the country's mainland. The prime concern now is the torrential
rain, which is expected to continue for hours and cause massive flooding.
In Mexico, the government issued a hurricane warning from the city
of Tulum to Progreso. The Cayman Islands have suffered enormous
damage - thousands of homes lost their roofs and key
government buildings have been hit.
*At least three people, including a child, died in Haiti in storms
linked to Hurricane Ivan.
*The Mayon volcano spewed out fragments amid signs that
magma was rising in its crater. The volcanic material set fire to
the grass on the volcano's slopes south of the Philippine capital
of Manila. "There is magma going up but the volume is not yet
big enough to create a volcanic explosion." Mayon still remains
on alert level two, meaning that the volcano is undergoing abnormal
activity but an eruption is not yet imminent.
*In Hawaii, Mauna Loa's summit caldera, the basin inside the volcano,
has begun to swell and stretch at a rate of 2 to 2½ inches a year,
which can be a precursor of an eruption. Lava could reach Hilo on
the eastern side of the island and the Gold Coast resorts of Kona in
the west, and inundate neighborhoods in the southwest rift zone
above South Point - possibly without much warning.
*The Sept. 11 flooding and its aftermath saw many television journalists
in Taiwan reporting on the state of the floods as they dramatically stood
neck-high in water, risking their lives for ratings. Some TV journalists
say the news stations were deliberately picking petite fragile-looking
female journalists to report on the floods, as their short heights made
the flooding look much worse when they stood in water,
sensationalizing the disaster and creating a sense of urgency in viewers.

Monday, September 13, 2004
*The tiny low-lying Cayman Islands are taking a battering from
155 mph (250km/h) winds as Hurricane Ivan passes over. Many
of the 45,000 residents were hiding in homes and shelters as the
hurricane unleashed ferocious winds, rain and waves of up to 20ft
(six metres) while cutting off power lines, uprooting trees and
scattering debris. Many of the best-constructed buildings on the
Islands - famed as an affluent, off-shore banking centre - appear
to have been unable to withstand the power of Ivan. Ivan is the
sixth-strongest storm to ever hit the Atlantic basin. Cuba is next
in line and Ivan is expected to pass through early today.
Ivan has strengthened to Category 5 - the strongest - capable of
causing catastrophic damage. The storm, initially predicted to brush the
Florida Keys, now appeared to be on a track to hit the Florida Panhandle.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Javier, with sustained winds of 75 mph, was
building up strength Sunday far off the Pacific coast, meaning Mexico
could face two hurricanes in one week.
* Rainstorms have pounded Bangladesh - five people have died
in a landslide, a boating accident killed 7, and 42 people
are missing.
*At least four people are dead after the latest tropical storm, Haima,
swirled over northern Taiwan yesterday, causing a mudslide in a
mountainous region that buried a family. Parts of northern Taiwan
are still recovering from flooding and mudslides triggered
by Typhoon Aere last month.
*Earthquakes have been rumbling more frequently in Hawaii, deep
beneath Mauna Loa, suggesting that the world's largest volcano is
getting ready to erupt for the first time in 20 years. Since July, more
than 350 earthquakes have been recorded. "Such a concentrated
number of deep, long-period earthquakes from this part of Mauna
Loa is unprecedented, at least in our modern earthquake
catalog dating back to the 1960s."

Sunday, September 12, 2004
* Hurricane Ivan has claimed at least 14 lives in Jamaica, including
three members of one family found dead in their home. Ivan has
been upgraded to the most dangerous category-five level of
hurricane and is one of the worst storms ever seen in the Caribbean.
Homes and roads were swept away in flooding caused by heavy
rain and huge waves up to 23-feet (seven metres) high. The Cayman
government warned its 45,000 citizens to prepare for "direct impact"
today. Evacuation plans are also in place in Cuba, which is
expecting the storm to hit on Monday.
*The Pacific island of Niue is struggling to rebuild nearly
eight months after it was hit by a fierce cyclone.
*The September 21, 1999 Chi Chi tremor in Taiwan measured 7.2
on the Richter scale and was a record-breaker in many ways, foremost
in the amount of data measurement obtained, made possible by a
decision of the government to install 600 strong-motion seismic stations
across the country. The quake knocked out the power grid in parts
of Taiwan and shut down many of the country's manufacturing plants.
Record-breaking facts about the tremor include: it produced the largest
ground motion in a tremor at 3 meters per second, the largest ground
displacement ever measured at 8 meters, and the most seismic data
recording right along the extension of a major fault.

Saturday, September 11, 2004
*Heavy rains and high winds are pounding Jamaica as one
of the most powerful hurricanes in the island's history
reaches its shores. Waves around two-stories high were reported
on Jamaica's exposed eastern shores - several hours before the
eye of Hurricane Ivan was expected to hit.
Hurricane Ivan is expected to hit Cuba on Sunday evening, by
which time some forecasts predict that it will have
regained its category five strength.
*Parts of Quebec and the Maritimes were bracing themselves for
heavy rainfall Friday as the tail end of hurricane Frances moved
across Eastern Canada.
*Lava was seen flowing yesterday from a new crack on Mount
Etna, on the Italian island of Sicily, which had been virtually dormant
since early last year. Lava was flowing into the uninhabited Bove
Valley on Etna's southeastern flank and for the present was no
threat to villages lower down.
*A series of small earthquakes beginning at 3:23 am Thursday and
lasting for more than two hours rattled through Saratoga, California
on the southern edge of the San Francisco Bay area. The largest
quake was 3.4.
*If the current drought in the western U.S. follows long-term climate
patterns, we could be only about halfway through it. Two mega
droughts have parched the West in the past 100 years, and the
region may be in the midst of a third. The current drought, however
long it may last, followed a prolonged wet period between 1965
and 1995. During that period, much of the West was urbanized
and its population soared.

Friday, September 10, 2004
*Jamaicans are braced for the worst as one the most powerful
hurricanes in decades heads towards their island. Hurricane
Ivan has weakened from a category five, highest on the scale, to a
category four but forecasters warn it may pick up again before reaching
land. It is almost 16 years since Jamaica was last struck by a hurricane.
Correspondents say this threatens to be the worst natural disaster to hit
the island for 50 years. After Jamaica, Ivan is expected to move on to
Cuba and the south-eastern United States. Residents and tourists in
the Florida Keys are already being evacuated. Venezuela and the
Dominican Republic are the latest countries to report casualties from
the hurricane, which has so far wrought the worst havoc in Grenada.
*The British Geological Survey have taken an interest in the
on-going tremors that have been plaguing the island of Tristan da
Cunha for the past month and a half. Seismic activity was noticed
on Tristan da Cunha over the weekend of July 29th, when it was
reported that the 1961 volcano was vibrating. The latest data shows
that the Island has suffered a series of swarm earthquakes in recent days.
*A magnitude 6.1 earthquake in the Cayman Islands region has occurred
900 km (560 miles) S of Miami, Florida.

Thursday, September 9, 2004
* Hurricane Ivan has killed 10 in Tobago, Grenada and St Vincent,
only three of many Caribbean islands threatened by the storm,
which is currently churning off Venezuela's coast. The Prime Minister
of Grenada said the island was 85 per cent destroyed.
*In Japan, typhoon Songda has been downgraded after killing 32
and leaving 14 missing and 948 injured. Authorities warned of possible
landslides caused by a combination of heavy rains and aftershocks
that followed weekend earthquakes in the western part of the country.
A 5.4-magnitude was the latest aftershock to hit the island nation, but
no injuries or damage were reported.
* At least 19 people were injured and hundreds of houses were toppled
when an earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale rattled
northwestern China on Tuesday. The earthquake affected more than
100,000 people, damaging more than 3800 houses
and destroying at least 600.
*The European Space Agency's chief scientist has said that
there should be a 'Noah's Ark' on the Moon, in case the Earth
is destroyed by an asteroid or nuclear holocaust. The ark would
be a repository for the DNA of every single species of plant and animal.

Wednesday, September 8, 2004
*At least 161 people have died in floods in south-west China and
the Three Gorges dam is on alert for a huge flood surge.
Flash floods and landslides were triggered by days of torrential
rains and 60 people are still missing. Officials say that the largest
flood peak on the Yangtze River for decades is expected within hours.
*Powerful Typhoon Songda battered Japan and South Korea
yesterday, killing five people, injuring almost 300, and cutting power
to millions. The storm hampered coastguards in western Japan in
their search for 18 missing Russian seamen whose ship went down,
and in their attempt to rescue 22 Indonesian seafarers. Songda is
the seventh typhoon to strike Japan this season.
* Hurricane Ivan flattened homes and power lines in Grenada.
The storm has been upgraded to category four and appears to
be crossing the Caribbean Sea towards Jamaica. Long-term forecasts,
which have a wide margin of error, have the hurricane slamming into
Jamaica on Friday local time and then into Cuba on Sunday.
This would bring the storm dangerously close to Florida..
Hurricane Frances was blamed for at least nine deaths and the
loss of power for six million people when it hit on Sunday. It moved
into Georgia on Monday, and led to the death of an 18-year-old
woman whose car overturned during the storm.
*The Portuguese mid-Atlantic Azores archipelago has been rocked
by a string of low magnitude earthquakes in the past three days.
Some 180 tiny jolts have been registered in the main island of Sao
Miguel since Sunday, although the level of seismic activity
diminished on Tuesday.
*An unusually strong 6.3 earthquake shook central and western
Argentina Tuesday, leaving one woman dead. Several children
were also reportedly hurt as a result of falling building debris.
Tremors were felt as far as Buenos Aires, where buildings shook
and several were evacuated as a precautionary measure. Tremors
in the region usually originate in neighboring Chile
and rarely reach 6 or higher.
*A new fissure yawned open on the southeastern side of Sicily's Mount
Etna volcano on Tuesday, oozing out enough lava to cross a city block.
There is currently no danger, the non-gaseous nature of the lava means
there is no danger of an explosion. Etna has not produced any
serious activity since 2002, when an explosion injured
32 people at a tourist complex. Webcam
*2004 is the wettest summer on record for North Texas.

Tuesday, September 7, 2004
*Residents of the Caribbean islands of Barbados, St Vincent,
St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada and Martinique are
bracing themselves for the arrival of strong hurricane Ivan
over the next 24 to 36 hours. Forecasters expect that the storm,
the ninth tropical cyclone and fourth hurricane of the current storm
season, will make landfall late today.
* Typhoon Songda, the third typhoon in three weeks, is set to bring
torrential rain and high winds to south-western Japan. It is expected to
pound the island of Kyushu and head up Japan's west coast over the
next three days. It appears to be following the route of its predecessor,
Typhoon Chaba, which left a trail of destruction and killed at least 13
people last week. It is the fourth major storm to hit Japan since late
August, and is reportedly the most powerful to hit Okinawa since 1972.
Also, western Japan has been jolted by another strong earthquake,
a 6.4 magnitude, two days after two quakes hurt 38 people.
*Florida's roads were jammed yesterday as hundreds of thousands
of residents returned home after fleeing from Hurricane Frances. Frances
has done more damage to the Kennedy Space Center than any
other storm in history. In Florida, officials on Monday said
that nine people have died due to the hurricane.
*The Karymsky volcano on Kamchatka unexpectedly discharged ashes
to the altitude of four kilometers above sea level on Monday. About
200 local earthquakes were registered in the area for the past day.

Monday, September 6, 2004
* Two powerful earthquakes injured 38 people in Japan yesterday.
Both quakes were offshore, the first was a magnitude 6.9, followed
five hours later by a 7.3. Strong aftershocks continue to rattle
western Japan, the strongest was 5.7. A powerful typhoon has also
hit Japan's southern islands, injuring 21 people, and the storm could
bring heavy rains and mudslides to areas hit by the quakes. A series
of magnitude-5 aftershocks could continue up to the next 10 days.
They could cause tsunami waves, and people have been urged to
evacuate to higher ground. Japan's meteorological agency said that they
had never before recorded two large quakes happening within such
a short time frame and they are investigating the phenomenon.
*At least 79 people were killed and 74 missing in torrential
storms lashing south-west China.
* Hurricane Frances continued to pound Florida with high winds
and heavy rain yesterday after it smashed across the state's east coast,
knocking out power to 4 million people, shredding roofs and
uprooting trees. Forecasters warned that its path would take the
centre of the storm over the warm water of the northeastern Gulf of
Mexico, north of Tampa, last night. It was possible Frances would
then regain intensity and hit the central Panhandle near Apalachicola.
Next it will be moving up into Georgia and Alabama.
State officials are already eyeing a fourth storm threatening Florida.
Hurricane Ivan was gaining strength and was reported to be about
3900km east-southeast of Miami, with wind of 185 km/h. It was
expected to move into the Caribbean sometime Tuesday. Ivan
has the potential to become a Category 5 hurricane.
*The death of hundreds of seabirds washed up on the coast of
Scotland has been blamed by bird experts on the recent freak
weather that has battered Britain. It is estimated that thousands of
guillemots have died, mostly by drowning, but it is baffling as to
why no other species of auk, such as puffins, have been affected.
The phenomenon, known as a seabird wreck, was probably caused
by the severe storms and torrential rain over the last month. The
deaths follow the worst breeding season on record for seabirds in
Scotland, which - like the recent extreme weather - has
been blamed on climate change. Seabird wreaks happen in winter,
not this early and not on this massive scale.

Sunday, September 5, 2004
*President Bush declared "a major disaster" in Florida
after Hurricane Frances slammed the southern U.S. state, leaving
more than two million people without power and
causing widespread damage.
*More than 1100 forest fires burning in central Indonesia have enveloped
the region in a choking haze that's reduced air quality and delayed flights.
Smoke has been billowing over large parts of Indonesia's Sumatra and
Kalimantan islands in recent months, and the cloud has also spread to
neighbouring Malaysia. Indonesia's central government has expressed
concern about the fires, but insisted it was up to the regional governments
to handle the matter. The regional governments, in turn, complain
they have no money to fight the fires.
*The clock is running out on a highly publicized prediction that a major
earthquake will rip through Southern California by today. But even
if the earth does not move this weekend, seismologists largely
agree that the forecast has done more good than harm by reviving
interest in the controversial science of quake prediction. Seismologists
agreed there was only a 2 percent chance of the quake now striking
in the predicted time in an area comprising the Mojave desert, Palm
Springs and San Bernardino. One of the biggest challenges is
predicting which of the 35,000 earthquakes that occur every year
in California will cause vast damage. "We don't understand the
physics of earthquakes...We don't know how they start, or how
they stop, and how they stop determines how big they are."
*Over this summer and next, a rig will bore more than 10,000
feet into the earth on a ranch northwest of Parkfield, California
and place an array of sensors across the San Andreas Fault. The
goal of the project is to allow scientists to study how faults work
and how earthquakes happen. The last large quake in the area was
a magnitude 6 which occurred in 1966. Quakes were occurring on a
20 year cycle so the next one was due by 1987 but one has not yet
occurred. Scientists fear that, because so much pressure has built up
along the fault, that the next quake will be of a magnitude 7 or greater.

Saturday, September 4, 2004
* Hurricane Frances weakened slightly as it hit the Bahamas Friday, but
officials worry that the Category 2 storm could regain strength by the
time it reaches Florida, most likely this afternoon.
Frances threatens to devastate the Indian River Citrus District, a strip
of land stretching 200 miles from Daytona Beach to West Palm Beach.
This area produces about three-quarters of Florida's $205 million
grapefruit crop. The double whammy of Charley and Frances has the
potential to cause the greatest crop damage to Florida's $9 billion
citrus industry since the crippling freezes of the 1980s.
* Hurricane Howard is churning in the Pacific Ocean off the coast
of Baja California.
*Five people were killed while two others were injured in a
landslide taking place in the wee hours of Thursday in the
county of Shenmu in western China.
*The United Nations has called for emergency assistance to help
over 6.5 million people at risk from Afghanistan's worst drought
in recent history. Weather officials in neighbouring Pakistan have
also said they are facing a drought because of insufficient rain.

Friday, September 3, 2004
*Welcome to the ad-free page! All of the linked pages have not yet
been transferred, but I will be moving them as quickly as I can.
*Residents of Florida are again preparing themselves for
the onslaught of a massive hurricane - the second in less
than a month. More than half a million people have been told to
evacuate their homes and a state of emergency has been declared.
Hurricane Frances is just as strong as Charley, but twice the size.
Frances could cause the same kind of devastation as Charley did
but over a larger area. Major highways leading away from the
Florida coast were clogged Thursday after officials issued the
biggest evacuation order in the state's history.
*Dengue cases are on the increase in northern Philippine villages
as the flood caused by heavy typhoon rains is still worsening.
*Volcanic tremors and earthquakes emanating from Mt. Asama
in east Japan, subsided Thursday after the volcano erupted
Wednesday night. The number of volcanic quakes dropped to three
from 183 Wednesday. Crustal alteration stopped within an hour
after the eruption and the mountain fire has died out. Warnings
are out that the volcano could again become active but evacuated
residents have returned to their homes. Japan currently has 80
active volcanoes that either have erupted during the past 2,000 years
or are currently secreting volcanic gases.
*The Farmers' Almanac predicts a wild winter ahead with
unusually wet weather and dramatic temperature swings in the
Northeastern U.S. The northern Plains and Great Lakes will be
snowy, the almanac says, while it will be milder in the southern half
of the country. In 2005, the almanac predicts a wet spring for
most of the country and an active pattern for the
Midwest's "Tornado Alley" in April and June.

Thursday, September 2, 2004
* Mount Asama, one of Japan's largest and most active volcanoes,
has had a minor eruption, sending smoke and ash thousands of metres
into the air. It was the largest eruption in 21 years. The volcano's last
big eruption was in 1783. The number of volcanic quakes began
increasing at around 3 p.m. Tuesday, with a total 116 tremors registered
on that day. On Wednesday, some 177 quakes were recorded around
the mountain by 5 p.m.
Earlier yesterday, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake was recorded off the
coast of Fukushima state – 250km north-east of the eruption. No
injuries or damage were reported.
*Seismologists and officials yesterday urged villagers to evacuate
their homes near eastern Indonesia's Mount Egon volcano after it
spewed ash and dust on its slopes. Several eruptions on Tuesday
sparked fears about the safety of about 2,000 people living on the
mountainside. It was the second time in two months that
the volcano had shot out ash.
* Hurricane Frances roared toward the Bahamas and the southeastern
U.S. after churning past Puerto Rico, bringing heavy surf and
blustery winds to the U.S. territory.
After 18 days, piles of tree limbs and metal and wood pieces torn away by
Hurricane Charley still are piled alongside many Southwest Florida roads.
*China says floods and typhoons have killed 800 so far this year.
* Lightning has killed 16 in Romania in two months.
*A moderate 5.7 earthquake rocked the southern Philippines early today, but
there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
*England and Wales have just splashed through the wettest August
in almost half a century. Rainfall figures for August - which saw flash
flooding sweep away cars and ruin homes in Boscastle, southwest
England - had been the highest for that month since 1956. Last
August Britain recorded an all-time heat record of 101.3 degrees fahrenheit.
* Leaves are changing color weeks ahead of schedule
in Wisconsin and Minnesota, likely due to unusually cool weather.

Wednesday, September 1, 2004
*A menacing Hurricane Frances gathered strength in the Atlantic
on Tuesday, unnerving Florida residents still picking up the pieces
weeks after Hurricane Charley flattened thousands of homes. Forecasts
had it plowing through the Bahamas on Thursday or Friday before
approaching the U.S. mainland.
Satellite view of Hurricane Frances swirling through the
tropical Atlantic Ocean.
*Satellite view of Tropical Storm Gaston and Tropical Depression
Hermine spinning side-by-side on August 30.
*A tornado hit and sank a boat in northern Vietnam on Saturday
and at least 15 people were drowned.
*In early summer, a landslide in the Zaskar Mountains, a range of
the Himalayas, blocked the Pareechu River in its course from Tibet
to northern India. The water is slowly building behind the natural dam,
creating an artificial lake in the remote mountain region and officials
fear that the unstable dam will burst, releasing a torrent of water
on populated regions of northern India.