- on Monday: 2.9, 3.1, 3.0,
3.6, 2.9, 3.4, 2.9, 2.7, 3.2, 4.2, 3.1, 3.0, 3.1, 3.0
was felt in four states and was the second in under 12 hours
in the area. It was centered nearly on top of the Mississippi River.
An earlier earthquake about 15 miles away also registered 3.0 on the Richter scale.
Quakes of 4.0 occur only about once every 18 months or so in the New Madrid fault region.
There have been three so far this year with the latest earlier this month near Ridgely,
Tennessee.
Communities are still cut off by the deluge that was impossible to predict.
A major recovery operation was under way in dozens of rural communities that fell victim
to a freak summer storm. It sent flash floods surging through homes and businesses,
leaving a trail of muddy devastation.
Across a 20-mile stretch of North Yorkshire, between the market towns of Thirsk and
Helmsley, Sunday afternoon’s deluge turned small streams and meandering rivers into
raging torrents. The waters were so powerful that they gouged giant craters in roads,
created landslides, swept cars and caravans downstream and demolished buildings that had
stood for more than 200 years. The damage will cost tens of millions of pounds to repair.
"Thunder had rumbled for ages and when the rain came it was like a tropical downpour. It
lasted for about half an hour." Then the Willow Beck River rose suddenly 13ft (4m), burst
its banks and sent a torrent to submerge homes under 6ft of water.
Parts of the northwest have had rainfall equivalent to 140 per cent of what is usual
between November and May, leading to flooding. Meanwhile, many southern areas have had
seven successive months with below-average rain, the lowest recorded since the drought of
1975-76. This summer might see a repeat of the record heatwave of August 2003. This past
winter and spring, a large block of high pressure has sat in the Atlantic instead of over
Europe. Nobody knows why the high pressure developed in the Atlantic.
. During the past 30 years, lightning killed an average of 67 people per year in
the U.S., more than the average per year of deaths caused by either tornadoes or
hurricanes.
, the Ministry of Natural Resources was expecting to see up
to five wildfires flare up by the end of the day on Monday.
, an expert warns. "We're pretty much screwed right now if it
happens tonight," said Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research
and Policy at the University of Minnesota. He pointed to the short-term shortages that
occur when winter storms threaten communities, then suggested people envisage the
possibility of those shortages dragging on for somewhere between 18 months and three
years as the expected successive waves of pandemic flu buffet the world. A flu pandemic
could sicken at least a third of the world's population and kill many millions - a
pandemic is widely viewed as the single most disruptive and deadly infectious disease
event known to humankind.
Monday, June 20, 2005 -
QUAKES -
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck off Northern California's coast Sunday, the fifth
moderate or strong tremor to hit the state in a week. "It was just another aftershock 200
km off the coast. Nobody that I'm aware of felt it." The quake's epicentre was 454 km
north-west of San Francisco.
A quake registering 5.5 has occurred in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan.
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.9 shook northern Japan but there was
no risk of a tsunami. The focus of the earthquake was 10km deep in the Niigata region in
the same general area as a quake that killed 40 people and injured thousands last
October. There were no immediate reports of damage.
A strong earthquake registering 5.6 or 5.7 on the Richter scale has jolted Tokyo,
Japan, but there are no reports of casualties or damage.
An earthquake hit an area in eastern Iran on Sunday but there were no immediate
reports of casualties. According to ISNA it was measuring 5.3 degrees on the Richter
scale.
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake south of the Fiji Islands has occurred.
(Link usually available one day only.) Between 20 and 30 aftershocks have shaken Banda
Aceh city and the surrounding area each day following the monster quake that rocked
Aceh on Dec. 26 last year. However, most of the aftershocks were not felt by residents as
they were too weak. The aftershocks mostly had their epicenters some hundreds of
kilometers southwest of Banda Aceh and between 20 and 30 kilometers beneath the sea.
VOLCANO -
"At Yellowstone, "we're watching a trend that shows a larger uplift sustained over
several years." (Previously what we've seen is one year the ground may rise up and
the next year it may subside a few millimeters or centimeters.) "If we continue to see
this accelerated uplift, it might be the early stages (of an event)."
Past events show the caldera erupts every 600,000 years. The last super-eruption was
630,000 years ago, and the current research shows some interesting developments.
Although the pattern of eruptions indicate the caldera is due to blow again, it probably
won't be in our lifetime. "It would not be surprising if another large eruption were to
occur at Yellowstone within the next few 1,000 years. The overall consensus is there's
nothing currently indicating the caldera is on the path of erupting in a big way, but if
it were to begin along that path it wouldn't be a surprise to the geological community."
Currently staff from several universities around the country are researching the
Yellowstone caldera. The caldera is 31 miles across and is referred to as a "super
volcano," one that erupts 1,000 times more ash than a normal eruption.
The United States Geological Survey has reported a swarm of 10 volcano-tectonic
earthquakes (between magnitude 0.5 and 1.75) were occurring beneath or within a few
kilometers of Sarigan Island. Sarigan Island is a volcano, one of many in the Marianas Island chain, but it is a volcano with no previously known modern eruptive history. The detected
activity on Sarigan may be the precursor of that volcano’s first activity since the
Holocene era. It is located about 95 nautical miles north of Anatahan and is the next island north of
Anatahan, another volcano that has recently entered a more violent eruptive phase. The
seismicity on Anatahan has reached its highest since early May. Anatahan's rumbling volcano is displaying small explosions every 10-20 seconds. Anatahan continues emitting a dense ash plume that rose to 10,000 feet in the air.
The Caribbean island of Montserrat, absent from the tourism radar for 10 years while
being pummeled by the Soufriere Hills volcano, will open a new airport July 11 on the
northeast side of the island, which was largely spared the volcano's ravages.
The volcano, which buried the capital city of Plymouth under 40 feet of ash and rock, has
been quiet since 2003.
STORMS -
Flash floods struck North Yorkshire, England -
villages were cut off, roads washed away and nine people were reported missing during a
night of heavy storms. Two RAF helicopters were scrambled to rescue the missing people
when they were tracked down in the market town of Helmsley, which was worst hit, and
where people were rescued from cars, trees and the roofs of isolated homes. Drivers
abandoned their cars and climbed trees to escape rising waters after the River Rye burst
its banks.
Extreme weather ushered in the British summer yesterday as southern England basked in
the hottest June day since 1976, and Scotland and the North were hit by storms and
floods. A forecaster said that the temperature was unlikely to reach such levels again
this month, but the South would enjoy high temperatures for the next seven to ten days.
The ingredients are in place for higher temperatures and a punishing drought this summer,
especially in the South. Reservoirs have endured below average rainfall for seven of the
past eight months and one of the driest winters in the past 100 years. Two contrasting
weather patterns are to blame for the present conditions. A pocket of humid air from
North Africa is driving the heatwave in the South. It originated in the Sahara and
collected moisture as it drifted across the Mediterranean and up the Bay of Biscay to
southern England. A cooler front has been moving from Northern Ireland across the Irish
Sea into Scotland. The collision of the weather patterns has had explosive consequences,
leading to spectacular thunderstorms and heavy downpours across parts of Wales, northern
England and Scotland. In Hawarden, Cheshire, 41mm, or roughly a month’s average rainfall,
fell in two hours yesterday. "Further north there is a risk of golf-ball-sized hailstones
which only happens about twice a year. It’s a normal summer pattern but this time it’s
been rather more dramatic.”
Flooding that has forced the evacuation of about 1500 people in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
swamped or cut off hundreds of homes in the city after two rivers overflowed their
banks following days of heavy rain. A state of emergency remained in force for a second
day as officials feared the Elbow and Bow rivers that merge in the city could swallow
more homes in eight vulnerable neighborhoods. The rain that has pounded the western
Canadian city of nearly one million people for more than a week finally stopped, but
authorities said the danger had not passed. The volume of water gushing down the Elbow,
the smaller of the two waterways, was pegged at seven times the normal amount.
Much of the rest of southern Alberta dealt with similar problems due to the heavy rains
that have swelled rivers and streams throughout the region.
Hundreds of people are without power after a windstorm swept through southern Manitoba,
Canada, early Sunday morning, knocking down trees and powerlines. A tornado touched
down in Gretna near the U.S. border, and hit Emerson, Altona, and Letellier with winds
gusting to 140 kilometres an hour. High winds caused damage at Altona Airport in southern
Manitoba. As many as three twisters were reported in Altona.
The number of "yahoos" tearing up the road with their eyes dangerously glued to the sky
in pursuit of storms is an increasing danger in Canada's tornado alleys, says one of
the country's top storm chasers. Professionals have noticed a marked increase in the
number of people putting themselves and others at risk as they race after storms.
The problem is not nearly as pronounced in Canada as it is in the United States, where
storm chasing tourism thrives and destructive tornadoes strike more often, but it is a
building trend.
HEATWAVE / DROUGHT -
The death toll from a severe heatwave smothering much of India reached 427, as the
weather office reported that annual monsoon rains are moving slowly toward the parched
regions. New Delhi's streets were largely deserted Sunday as the temperature touched 44 C
amid reports of growing water shortages in crowded middle-class residential districts.
On Saturday temperatures in many parts of the country, particularly Orissa and West
Bengal, exceeded 50 C.
Purulia recorded their highest temperature in 50 years.
Severe drought is drying up drinking water in cities and towns across Australia,
threatening to shut down major population centers. Worst hit is the farming town of
Goulburn, population 25,000, southwest of Australia's biggest city, Sydney. Its main dam,
Pejar, is a cracked-earth dustbowl holding less than 10 percent of its 1,000-megalitre
(220-million-gallon) capacity. The town will become the first in Australia to run out of
water in six months, if it gets no substantial rain and if emergency action for new water
supplies fails to work. Goulburn residents are likely to become the first Australians to
start drinking treated sewerage returned directly to their water supply. Goulburn's water
usage has been halved and will be cut further if it does not rain. Each person is now
down to 120 litres a day - a washing machine full - compared with 400 litres in big
cities.
Australia is the world's driest inhabited continent and the vicious cycle of droughts and
floods has been a feature of the landscape since humans arrived millennia ago.
But scientists say global warming is changing rainfall patterns, particularly in the
populated southwest and southeastern corners, causing a long-term drop in annual rainfall
and greater extremes of weather. The current dry spell is so severe that farmers say it
is worse than the 2002 drought, which has been classed as the worst in a century.
AVALANCHE / LANDSLIDE -
The impact of heavy snowfall in the San Francisco Peaks, Arizona last winter is still
being felt. Coconino National Forest officials are considering whether to rebuild, reroute
or just close off a popular hiking trail now buried beneath tons of trees and snow from a
powerful avalanche. The avalanche knocked down trees, some more than 50 feet tall,
cutting a swath more than 100 feet wide down a stretch of Abineau Canyon.
The avalanche may have been the biggest in the area in the past 50 years.
The trail is now buried under up to 15 feet of debris.
A landslide toppled down a shed on Sunday afternoon in the city of Jian'ou, east China's
Fujian Province, where 5 people had taken shelter from rain, killing two women and a
child. One victim was a passenger of a minibus, which was forced to pull up on the road
nearby due to an earlier landslide.
-------
Sunday, June 19, 2005 -
TSUNAMI -
Six months after the tsunami swept into the island of Sri Lanka, demolishing communities
along 400 miles of coast, up to 500,000 survivors have still not been rehoused.
Relief workers warned last week that most of those still in emergency accommodation are
unlikely to have new homes even by the first anniversary of the disaster.
Thousands of them are in emergency tents, while tens of thousands more occupy more solid
housing of variable quality - some of it with sanitation and drainage that relief workers
fear will not cope with the coming monsoon season. The vast numbers still trapped in
transitional accommodation are unable to work and dependent on handouts and the rainy
season is beginning, making it unlikely that any major construction will begin until
December.
STORMS -
A new Portland, Maine marina has suspended operations, a victim of the freak storm
that played havoc with the region's boating community last month. The intensity of the
May 23 storm caught the National Weather Service by surprise. At the time, there was a
large area of low pressure centered off Massachusetts. Meteorologists became alarmed that
night when they saw on the radar a smaller area of circulating winds - within the larger
low-pressure system - heading toward the Maine coast south of Portland, with its winds
moving in a counter-clockwise direction. That night, the Coast Guard's 47-foot rescue
boat ran aground. In Falmouth, nine boats pulled free from moorings and ended up on
beaches, and the waves damaged floats and gangways. From Boothbay to Portsmouth, N.H.,
boats were breaking away from moorings and docks. "We had stuff littered all over the
place." The storm's intensity was surprising for May.
"We are dealing with something above and beyond what was anticipated."
About 2,000 people in Calgary, Canada are being asked to leave their homes
because of unprecedented flooding in the Bow and Elbow Rivers and Fish
Creek. A state of emergency was declared in the city because of the severity of the
threat. "This is a critical situation." Two of four exits from the town northwest of
Calgary are impassable, and "if we lose those (other) exits, we won't have a place to go,
or to get out. " "It's still raining here and still raining upstream and we're confident
we're going to get more water." The Bow River is at the highest level in 10 or 15 years.
Some regions have received as much rain this June as they normally receive all year.
FOREST FIRES -
The frequency of major forest fires can be predicted using relatively simple mathematical
models based on the frequency of much smaller fires. Earthquakes, floods, landslides
and fires all depend on "self-organized criticality" - an accumulation of small changes
that causes an abrupt change in the state of a system. For example, patches of new growth
in a forest gradually form larger and larger areas of fuel that can cause a major
wildfire.
---
Saturday, June 18, 2005 -
QUAKES -
California has been rattled by a fourth notable earthquake in a week, the latest off
the state's northern coast late Thursday, with a strong magnitude of 6.7.
Seismologists are investigating whether it was an aftershock from the magnitude 7.2
earthquake on Tuesday. The latest quake was south of and farther out to sea than the 7.2
quake. There is a good chance it was an aftershock.
Seismologists do not consider it particularly noteworthy that four significant seismic
events occurred within a few days in California and off its coast.
The latest quake was unlikely to be linked to the magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck
Southern California earlier. That quake was centred near Yucaipa, 125km east of Los
Angeles, according to the US Geological Survey.
The quake shattered glass and jostled shelves in the immediate vicinity and produced
strong shaking felt as far away as San Diego.
A 5.2 quake shook the Anza area of Riverside County in southern California on Sunday.
Southern California typically experiences two to three quakes in the magnitude 5 range
every year.
Does the earth rumbling in California over the past few day mean the "Big One" is
coming? Tom Henyey of the University of Southern California's Department of Earth
Sciences doesn't think so. He says the four earthquakes that ranged in magnitude from
four-point-nine to seven-point-two are not indicative of a huge quake. Although it's
surprising that the four tremors happened so close together, they occurred in areas that
have been seismically active for decades. Nevertheless, some Californians aren't taking
chances and have been purchasing earthquake survival kits.
TSUNAMI -
Scientists are convinced another giant tsunami will one day sweep across the Indian
Ocean. Almost six months after the deadly December 26 tsunami, scientists are keeping
a close eye on aftershocks and the increased earthquake activity around Indonesia as they
try to work out when the next big one will hit. "It could happen any time, it could take
another 20 to 50 years, or another 200 years." A big earthquake is just as likely in the
Pacific Ocean in the region above New Zealand. A tsunami generated from that area could
hit New Zealand and the east coast of Australia, possibly within a decade.
The Indian Ocean tsunami's devastating waves upset some of Sri Lanka's key
ecosystems, the U.N. environmental agency warned Friday.
Nearly six months after the disaster that killed more than 31,000 people in Sri Lanka,
studies have found that the tsunami waves have pushed seeds of so-called alien invasive
species from their coasts farther inland on the tropical island. "We learned in graphic
and horrific detail that the ecosystems, such as coral reefs, mangroves and seagrasses
which we have so casually destroyed are not a luxury. They are lifesavers capable of
helping to defend our homes, our loved ones and our livelihoods from some of nature's
more aggressive acts." Well over 500 million kilograms (1,100 million pounds) of rubble
were created by the tsunami, posing an enormous challenge to the solid waste management
system.
STORMS -
At least eight people have been killed and hundreds injured after a hurricane and
hailstorms whipped through parts of China, destroying nearly 200,000 homes. 825,000
people were affected. Officials have said this year's floods could be worse than
usual.
Severe flooding caused by storms and torrential rains has left up to 48 people dead in
Afghanistan and washed away more than 1000 homes.
A powerful thunderstorm descended on Ocean County, New Jersey, Thursday evening,
knocking down tree branches and leaving flooded streets in its wake. "It just blew up
real quick. It must have been just a freak windstorm. It got very, very windy, very
quick." "It sounded like a train going through the house." The winds lasted for 15 to 20
minutes. "It was so strong." Radar put wind gusts between 65 and 70 mph.
New South Wales, Australia police say they are extremely concerned about the safety of
five Chinese tourists and two guides who are reported missing in the Kosciusko
National Park in a blizzard. Officers are worried because of the extreme weather
conditions.
HEAT WAVE / DROUGHT -
As many as 130 people have died in the past month as a severe heat wave
continues to grip many regions of India.
Meanwhile Officials in the Cyclone Warning Centre said the Southwest Monsoon, which
had remained almost static in the southern districts of the state after entering on June
eighth, was showing some signs of moving. The Bay of Bengal arm of the monsoon, which had
also remained constant for some time, had started moving from the eastern bay to the west
central bay. This may result in coastal districts of India getting rains in two to three
days.
A "hot weather health warning" was launched Friday by El Paso, Texas health
authorities as a string of 100-plus-degree days continued, and as forecasters said the
high could reach 105 on Sunday. There have already been 46 heat- related incidents and
two heat deaths and they are just starting the heat.
Heat and drought are plaguing Arkansas.
"The thing about this drought is that it has come so much earlier. Usually, our droughts
come in July and August, but this has hit us in May and it can be really devastating."
The worst may be yet to come.
---
Friday, June 17, 2005 -
QUAKES -
A magnitude 6.6 (upgraded from 6.4) earthquake off the coast of Northern California
has occurred, near Ferndale - the site of a small cluster yesterday, and near the site
of the 7.4 quake -
200 km (125 miles) W of Eureka, California
200 km (125 miles) W of Fortuna, California
225 km (140 miles) WSW of Crescent City, California
495 km (305 miles) WNW of Sacramento, California
The U.S. state of California has been hit by its second notable earthquake in two
days (now by a third quake). No casualties have been reported in the quake, which had a
magnitude of 4.9 (downgraded from 5.3) and its epicentre near the town of Yucaipa, 126km
(79 miles) east of Los Angeles.
Tremors were reported across a large area spanning the major cities of Los Angeles and
San Diego. It was the fifth quake (now a 6th) to hit the Americas' Pacific coast in the
last week.
Chile is struggling to recover from Monday's 7.9 earthquake, with a toll of more
than 6,000 affected and several million in damages, especially infrastructure such as
bridges, highways and roads. 48 hours after the shake, reports indicate massive
devastation, and indicated that more victims may yet be reported, while recovery efforts
are centered on the transfer of the wounded, restoring basic services and reopening of
roads. Of the 6,018 victims, 835 are staying in temporary shelters while the rest remain
in their homes despite the extent of the damage, in some cases irreparable. There are
water shortages due to power outages in small rural villages like Huara, where ninety
percent of the housing has been destroyed and numerous wounded still wait to be ferried
to the capital.
VOLCANO -
A new crater has formed on the Colima volcano in western Mexico following powerful
eruptions. Volcanologists discovered the crater during a monitoring flight over the 3
860-metre-high colossus. Considerable amounts of volcanic boulders have piled up around
the crater because of continuous explosions. A big rock is now protruding from the
crater. The structural changes are a sign of the continuing explosiveness of the volcano.
Eruptions at a level of past intensity, or even stronger, can be expected.
There is also a risk of debris avalanches, which could develop following heavy rains.
But there is no immediate danger to the population.
The intensity of eruption on the volcano on Barren Island has increased since it
became active on May 28 with a new vent having evolved which is likely to form a new
crater. Unlike earlier eruptions, the present ones were explosive in nature throwing up
lava in the form of pyroclasts, comprising cinders, boulders and lapilli, with great
force up to 100 metres.
A thick column of smoke, gas vapours and ash accompanied the pyroclasts, which were being
blown in a north-easterly direction due to the prevailing wind conditions.
TSUNAMI -
Geologists studying fossils in Alaska and Oregon have discovered what they believe is a
signal that occurred a few years before major coastal earthquakes in the past.
Seismologists have known for some time that really big quakes with the potential to
create a killer tsunami hit the Pacific Northwest coast every 500 years on average. But
the interval in between can vary from just a few centuries to 1,000 years. The last one
struck the area in 1700, so it is not out of the question that another could hit in the
near future. A few years before several large earthquakes in the past, freshwater
foraminifera died out and saltwater species suddenly appeared. This happened because the
coast dropped slightly in elevation, allowing salt water to infiltrate the marshes at
high tide. Two to five years later, a major earthquake struck. Four of the five quakes
studied from the past 3,000 years, including the 1964 Alaska earthquake, were followed by
a tsunami.
The tsunami generated by the 7.2 California quake was almost imperceptibly small
(about one centimeter in height), not worthy of a warning. But the flurry of phone calls,
evacuation orders and activity after the quake showed there are still glitches in the
tsunami warning system.
Because of faulty phone equipment, an emergency broadcast system didn't work in the state
of Washington. To geologists, it was pretty clear within five minutes of the earthquake
that this was not going to produce a tsunami. Yet the evacuations up and down the West
Coast continued because the tsunami warning remained in effect. The seismic signal
detected from the quake put it in the middle of a tectonic plate off California known as
the Gorda Plate - rather than at the edge of the plate where a more massive subduction
quake can take place. The location alone made a major tsunami unlikely.
Word of the tsunami warning was delayed for over an hour because of a mistake on the
part of the National Weather Service. The National Weather Service's Alaska Tsunami
Warning Center issued the tsunami warning at 7:56 p.m., just six minutes after the
earthquake. The tsunami warning was to alert the public that a tidal wave could reach the
coast within 25 minutes of the earthquake. But if you were watching television or
listening to the radio, you likely didn't see or hear about the warning until 8:58 p.m.,
more than one hour later. The Weather Service put out a special weather statement, which
does not active the Emergency Alert System. Not only did the weather service put out the
wrong bulletin, but it took 30 minutes to do it because forecasters could not find the
proper computer code.
If a tsunami had been generated from Tuesday's quake, it would have hit shore in Oregon
before it struck buoys in the ocean that scientists rely on to detect tsunamis.
"Travel time to the buoys was about 48 minutes. Travel time to the coast was 30 minutes."
LANDSLIDE -
A huge mudslide killed at least 21 people when it buried houses and cars in a Guatemalan
highland town, and the government fears more may be dead. Torrential rain pushed
thousands of tonnes of mud and rocks down a hill above the town of San Antonio Senahu.
At least 45 people were injured and an unspecified number are unaccounted for.
A landslide killed five people in the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan.
The five, all from a family of shepherds, died Tuesday in the rockfall 500 km east of
Dushanbe. The slide also dammed a river, creating a small lake that posed a danger to two
mountain villages. Villagers were being evacuated while workers tried to open a channel
and allow the lake to drain.
(Link usually available one day only) A boy is missing and three people are dead after a
landslide hit the remote Loloana Gido village in Nias island on Saturday. The size of
the landslide had made it difficult for the search team to find the missing boy and the
village's remote location meant it was impossible to send heavy machinery there for earth
moving. "This is the first landslide following the earthquake (in March). The landslide
might have been caused by the heavy rains in the island in the last couple of days,
causing landslides in higher ground where land structures are not yet stable after the
earthquake." Residents were alerted to the landslide, which occurred early in the
morning, when they heard a thunderous sound and stones rolled down into the village. The
main landslide occurred next. The dirt had pushed several houses about 20 meters away
from their previous locations. Residents living near the landslide area were told to
leave their villages in case there were more slides.
WILDFIRES -
A warning came out Wednesday from Arizona state fire officials that weather conditions
over the next few days will make Arizona extremely sensitive to wildfires.
The third week in June has historically been incendiary in nature.
The Aspen fire started two years ago today.
The three-year anniversary for the start of the Rodeo-Chediski fire, the largest in state
history, is Saturday. Arizona should expect more blazes of that magnitude.
"I think the major fires are just starting."
FREAK WEATHER -
A thick layer of haze called the ‘Atmospheric Brown Cloud,’ is a new phenomena
considered responsible for the recent climatic anomalies that are throwing life out of
gear across Asia including India. "Environmentalists have been crying themselves hoarse
about these frightening scenarios for years, but they are routinely dismissed as
Cassandras who are raising needless alarms. But ground realities show that across the
world there exist all manners of freak climatic phenomena."
Only five tornadoes have touched down this spring in Illinois - a pace that could
spin up the fewest twisters since 1979 when 12 twisters hit.
This year's five tornadoes are well behind the 22 that usually touch down through May,
and far short of the 54 Illinois saw last year.
Tornadoes could rebound in June, which averages about ten twisters. It is the fourth
driest spring on record which means farmers will likely see an average harvest at best.
Forecasts show dry weather could continue.
CLIMATE CHANGE -
Desertification threatens to drive millions of people from their homes in coming
decades while vast dust storms can damage the health of people continents away, an
international report says. Two billion people live in drylands vulnerable to
desertification, ranging from northern Africa to swathes of central Asia. 41 per cent of
the world's land area is dryland, including most of Australia, the western part of North
America and much of the Andean region of South America.
A just released report is ringing alarm bells over New Zealand's increasing drought
risk. The report predicts a two-to-four-fold increase in severe drought across many
eastern parts of New Zealand by the 2080s. The report is alarming as the areas mentioned
include a large proportion of prime farm land.
Thursday, June 16, 2005 -
QUAKES -
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake off the coast of Aisen, Chile has occurred
1530 km (950 miles) SSW of Santiago, Chile.
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake in the Volcano Islands, Japan region has occurred
260 km (160 miles) N of Farallon de Pajaros, N. Mariana Islands. The same area also had a
prior 5.0 quake yesterday.
Several small quake clusters have occurred in two areas near the 7.2 California quake
area: off the coast of Ferndale 3.7, 3.5, 4.5, 4.6 and off the coast of Petrolia 3.6,
2.9, 2.7. Small aftershocks continue to shake Anza, California, site of the 5.2 quake on
the 12th.
AVALANCHE -
Two army porters were buried alive in a snow avalanche near the Line of Control in
the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir.
FREAK WAVES -
Scientists believe they have evidence of a wave the size of a 10-story building.
It happened on September 16 last year when Hurricane Ivan stormed across the Gulf of
Mexico and tore into the coast of Alabama, accompanied by 210km/h winds and storm surges
more than 2m high. While still out at sea the hurricane also produced a series of giant
waves, one of which stood 28m from crest to trough, a new world record for a wave. At the
height of the storm the wave reached 40m. By comparison, the tsunami that swept across
the Indian Ocean in December stood about 9m high as it hit shorelines, although in some
parts of Indonesia it was reported to have reached 20m. Scientists predict that if a
future volcanic eruption sends a large part of the island of La Palma in the Canaries
into the sea, it could cause a wall of water 900m high. Reassuringly, they do not expect
it this century. The sea currents generated by the hurricane broke another world record:
the maximum current on the sea floor was 2.25m/s compared with the Gulf Stream, which
reaches top speeds of about 1.5m/s.
CLIMATE CHANGE -
"Climate change, or global warming, is a natural phenomenon observed throughout the
earth's history. However, in the last century, concern has grown at the pace that climate
change has been progressing, particularly because of human activity aggravating and
distorting natural processes... In the short term, climate change can and has led to
increased flooding, drought, famine and eradication of plant and animal species, among
other effects. In the long-term, scientists have warned that global warming has the
potential to cause catastrophic consequences for the planet."
----
Wednesday, June 15, 2005 -
QUAKES -
A 6.3 quake has hit New Ireland, Papua New Guinea.
Eyewitness accounts of the 7.8 earthquake which struck northern Chile on
Monday.
MUDSLIDE -
A mudslide closed a 16-mile stretch of the main highway linking New York City and
Montreal after a storm dropped 6 inches of rain on the area in a few hours. More rain
was likely in the area from the remnants of Tropical Storm Arlene through Friday.
Friday's mountain torrent in China's Heilongjiang province, said to be the worst to hit
the area in 200 years, was caused by two days of heavy rain, killing 88 pupils and
four villagers. Seventeen people are missing.
CLIMATE CHANGE -
The English country garden is unlikely to survive in the South East beyond the next
100 years, scientists say. Climate change means the rolling lawns and herbaceous borders
of Surrey, Kent, Hampshire and Sussex may be replaced by olive groves and grape vines,
more like the Mediterranean. "It is already happening - you can already see fields of
sunflowers." Experts say summer temperatures in the South East are expected to be up to
3C warmer by 2050 with 35% less rainfall. If the current rate of warming continues,
summers could be as much as 6C warmer by the 2080s, the scientists say.
There is a pioneering plan to tackle climate change by capturing CO2 from power plants
and storing it safely in depleted North Sea oil and gas fields.
Carbon capture and storage could be up and running within a decade, by 2015.
A winter of decent insulating snow, followed by early spring with no late frosts, has
basically created bug paradise in Alaska. The jump start has put 2005 about three weeks
ahead of schedule. It's the Incredible Return of the Bugs, sequel to last spring's fierce
hatch, and many people say they've never been pricked and pestered with such vengeance.
"We're talking jillions here: mosquitoes, aphids, dragonflies, midges, gnats, hornets,
beetles and assorted creepy-crawlies." No one keeps statistics; there's no "bug index."
But many people insist they've never seen the like.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005 -
QUAKES -
THE TSUNAMI WARNING AND WATCH STATUS WAS CANCELED FOR
CALIFORNIA, OREGON, WASHINGTON, BRITISH COLUMBIA AND
ALASKA. WATER LEVELS REMAIN NORMAL AT ALL COASTAL SITES.
NO WAVE HAS BEEN DETECTED. HOWEVER SOME AREAS MAY
EXPERIENCE SMALL SEA LEVEL CHANGES.
Aftershocks recorded so far have been small: 3.7, 3.5, 4.5, 4.3
A 7.0 quake has hit off the coast of northern California 91 miles WSW of Crescent
City.
A tsunami warning HAS been issued.
A TSUNAMI WARNING WAS IN EFFECT FOR THE COASTAL AREAS FROM THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER
TO THE NORTH TIP OF VANCOUVER ISLAND, BRITISH COLUMBIA....A TSUNAMI WATCH WAS IN EFFECT
FOR THE COASTAL AREAS FROM
THE NORTH TIP OF VANCOUVER ISLAND, B.C. TO SITKA,ALASKA. A TSUNAMI COULD HAVE BEEN
GENERATED. TSUNAMIS MAY BE A SERIES OF WAVES WHICH COULD BE DANGEROUS FOR SEVERAL HOURS
AFTER THE
INITIAL WAVE ARRIVAL. (see link for estimated times of initial wave arrival).
Quakes continued in Adak, Alaska with the largest so far measuring 6.8 and the most
recent 5.5 at 6pm CDT - (5.2, 5.0, 4.7, 4.8, 5.0, 4.7, 5.2, 4.2, 4.0, 6.8, 5.1, 4.5, 4.6,
4.0, 5.5)
Small aftershocks continued in Anza, California.
A series of quakes hit the Rat Islands,Aleutian Islands in Alaska this morning - in a one
hour period - (5.2, 5.0, 5.2, 5.2). This is near Adak, Alaska, the same area that had
another cluster of quakes (4.4, 5.7, 4.0, 4.4) on Friday.
A powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake shook Chile's northern mining region yesterday,
causing at least eight deaths, cutting power and driving residents from their homes in
the port city of Iquique. The quake was also felt in the coastal cities of Arica and
Antofagasta in Chile, in the Bolivian capital, La Paz, and in southern Peru. One man was
confirmed dead in a landslide triggered by the earthquake and five others died after
their car was crushed by a falling boulder on a mountain road. There was no chance of a
tsunami, as the epicentre was in the mountains, not in the ocean. The quake occurred at
6.44pm local time (10.22 AEST) and lasted nearly a minute. Two 4.8 aftershocks have been
recorded.
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake off the West coast of Northern Sumatra has occurred 325 km
(205 miles) SSW of Banda Aceh, Indonesia. At the same time a 5.2 quake hit the nearby
Nicobar Islands.
In Jamaica a 5.1 quake damaged 12 homes and completely destroyed 2 homes in a mostly
rural southern farming area of this Caribbean tourist island over the weekend.
The tremor struck at 11 p.m. EDT Sunday. The quake also triggered a small landslide.
It was the
strongest quake in Jamaica in more than a decade. The tremor is being attributed to
the Rio Minho-Crawle River fault. 13 aftershocks were recorded over a five-hour period.
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake in Tonga has occurred 2250 km (1400 miles) NNE of
Auckland, New Zealand.
People are talking about what Sunday's quake in Anza, California means for the San
Andreas Fault that runs right through the Coachella Valley and is capable of
producing massive earthquakes. The area is still overdue for a major quake. Major quakes
hit the southern section of the San Andreas Fault about once every 150 years. The last
quake hit 148 years ago.
All of
Palm Spring's fire stations are equipped with an earthquake early warning
system.
VOLCANO -
Volcanic activity on Anatahan in the Mariana Islands remained 'moderately high" after the
second strongest eruption sent ash 45,000 feet into the air over the weekend. Tremor
levels remained high, recording small long-period earthquakes that occurred frequently.
The volcano continues to emit a dense ash plume that is rising to 10,000 feet and is
moving southwesterly. The ash plume extends about 160 nautical miles west of the island.
From that point, the plume turned southwest and extended another 400 nautical miles. The
volume of ash emitted by the volcano has yet to be ascertained.
TSUNAMI -
In a huge quake on the Cascadia subduction zone off the U.S. west coast, the two crustal
plates could abruptly slip apart vertically by at least 50 feet in three successive
blocks from south to north, generating a 9.2 magnitude quake. Aside from enormous quake
damage on land for hundreds of miles, estimates are that the resulting tsunami would pile
a wave more than 20 feet high crashing onto the Oregon-Washington coast, inundating
Seattle and the entire Puget Sound region as well as Portland and the mouth of the
Columbia River. Crescent City in California's Del Norte County would see a wave of more
than 11 feet, and the tsunami sweeping the coast at the Golden Gate and Monterey Bay
would be more than 10 feet. At Santa Barbara, the wave height would be 6.5 feet, and
smaller waves would crash against the shore as far south as the tip of Baja California.
Another giant earthquake is nearly a certainty in the unstable coastal regions of Oregon
and Washington, but many scientists are also considering the effect of an event that
would have no precedent in recorded history - and have concluded that an even greater
tsunami might be generated if an asteroid were ever to plunge into the ocean off the West
Coast. Calculations indicate a tsunami from the crash would be far more devastating than
anything known in history: Peak wave heights would reach 17 feet in southern Alaska, more
than 55 feet all along the California coast, 15 feet in Hawaii, and 20 feet at Puerto
Vallarta, Mexico.The specific asteroid that worries most has been designated by NASA
astronomers as 2004MN4, and it is expected to pass within 26,600 miles of Earth less than
25 years from now.
STORMS -
In Taiwan floods caused by torrential rains have claimed three lives and forced
authorities to evacuate hundreds of residents from low-lying areas.
A 65-year-old woman was buried alive by a mudslide at Tsochen. Thousands of homes in
Pingtung were cut off by the floods. Dozens of southern mountainous villages are at risk
of landslides. The Central Weather Bureau warned of persistent torrential rain over the
next few days.
A cyclone has hit the village of Iormuganlo in eastern Georgia, tearing roofs off
houses, tossing people into the air and injuring 13. The storm lasted several minutes and
kilometers of roads and a bridge were destroyed in a deluge in the same region.
Substantial sections of Scotland's road network are at a potentially high risk of
landslides, according to government reports ordered after three major landslips last
year. Roadside drains could be overwhelmed as rainfall increases because of climate
change. Three main routes were blocked when they were engulfed by landslides within a
week of each other last August. Three times as much rain as normal fell that month in
parts of Scotland. "There is a high potential for such events to cause serious injury and
even loss of life although, fortuitously, such consequences have been limited to
date....The lengths of the road and the slope lengths they involve are substantial."
DROUGHT -
Spain and Portugal are suffering one of the worse droughts on record since 1947, with
far-reaching economic consequences. Beef prices have shot up 14% in line with increased
prices for cereal-based animal feeds. Tomato prices rose 11% last month and are now 54%
higher than the same time last year. Canary Island banana prices are up 38% on last year.
The drought also threatens to ruin melon, water-melon, olive, vegetable and citrus crops.
Any surviving produce is clearly more expensive. Spaniards are bracing themselves for a
hard, hot summer. After a week of forest fires, the Portuguese public fear a repeat of
the summer scenario two years ago, when a spate of wildfires left 20 people dead and
destroyed more than 400,000 hectares of land. In the meantime, forest fires are already
ravaging parts of the Iberian peninsula with no significant rainfall predicted until the
autumn.
Drought stress in Ontario, Canada is beginning to have an impact on crops.
Persistent drought and a border dispute with neighbouring Ethiopia is pushing Eritrea
further into poverty and increasing food shortages.
PANDEMIC -
The Chinese government, while denying the reports of human deaths from bird flu, has
adopted emergency measures in Xinjiang, its remote north-western province, and has
sealed off affected areas with roadblocks and closed all nature reserves.
China similarly denies that any people have been infected. But the government admits to
alerting its heath departments around the province to prevent the spread of the disease
and to opening special departments in hospitals for "screening patients with fever".
Unconfirmed reports say that more than 100 people have died, suggesting that the virus
may have evolved to pass from person to person, breaking the final barrier preventing a
worldwide catastrophe and potentially killing up to 50 million people worldwide.
Monday, June 13, 2005 -
There are proposals to set up an international expert panel tasked with reducing the
casualties and damage caused by natural disasters.
"What we're looking at is... setting up a system where the best scientific understanding
of volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and near-Earth objects striking our planet is pooled
together and brought to those international bodies through the appropriate channels."
The panel would also consider floods, mudflows, tropical cyclones, storm surges and
energy surges from the Sun.
QUAKES -
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake in the Molucca Sea has occurred 155 km (95 miles) NNW of
Ternate, Moluccas, Indonesia (population 83,000).
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake in the South Sandwich Islands region has occurred 3405 km
(2110 miles) SE of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake in Southern California has occurred 35 km (20 miles) S of
Palm Springs, California (population 42,000). There were over
250 aftershocks yesterday.
The earthquake that shook the Coachella Valley in California on Sunday morning caused minimal physical damage but it did rattle the nerves of many who felt the rumbling.
The sensation of the earth moving underfoot is enough to make even longtime residents of "earthquake country" uneasy. In addition to the initial jolt - the potential for aftershocks, which are sometimes greater than the first shaking, is higher in the minutes and hours following a quake. The likelihood that any given quake is a precursor to a larger event is about 5 to 10 percent in the moments following the shaking. By early this morning the likelihood that the Anza quake foreshadows a larger temblor is less than 1 percent.
Real-time Forecast of California Earthquake Hazard in the Next 24 Hours.
LANDSLIDE -
A mountain flood that swept through a primary school in north-west China might have
killed as many as 200 people.
A rescue team recovered seven bodies in the northern Viet Nam province of Quang Ninh,
after a landslide triggered by torrential rain killed 11 people on Thursday and stormy
weather caused havoc across Viet Nam.
Meanwhile, rough seas are devastating a 5km stretch of beach that runs through a village
in central Thanh Hoa Province. Since April, the ecological tourism area near the village
of Quang Cu has suffered serious erosion as waves batter the coastline, encroaching onto
land by 15m in places and sweeping away 15,000sq.m of pine forest, as well as threatening
the lives and property of local people. In an effort to limit the erosion damage, Quang
Cu villagers have built a 3km-long embankment about 50m from the sea, but this is proving
ineffective in many areas.
CLIMATE CHANGE -
A senior White House aide, who previously worked as a lobbyist for the oil industry, has
resigned days after it emerged that he edited government papers to play down the
threat of global warming.
The chief executive of BT has become the first boss of a British company to admit that
climate change is already affecting his company, and that environmental damage could
threaten the stability of the world's financial system.
BT boss Ben Verwaayen reveals that extreme weather in the form of flooding and high winds
has hit BT's British operations, and he fears that this is just the beginning.
Carbon dioxide levels are now higher than they have been for the last 420,000 years and
have risen by 34 per cent since 1750.
The heat wave in Canada could be the start of a summer-long trend.
As people in Ontario and Quebec suffer through the first heat wave of
the season, Environment Canada is projecting abnormally high
temperatures this summer across the country. Forecasters expect the current heat wave to
end in mid-week. But climatologists said another one will be along quickly enough.
-----
Sunday, June 12, 2005 -
Our Planet Earth from Space - Every 20 minutes this website shows new images of Earth
from space with all earthquakes of the past 48 hours, current cloud cover, temperatures,
hurricanes, active volcanoes, satellites, day/night zones, the moonphase, natural
disasters and epidemics.
Preparations - If a monstrous global disaster strikes, how will you survive it?
QUAKES -
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake in Sakhalin, Russia has occurred 1935 km (1200 miles) N of
Tokyo, Japan.
VOLCANO -
Volcanic eruptions may be an agent of rapid and long-term climate change, according
to new research by British scientists. Volcanic aerosol [airborne] particles reflect the
Sun's rays back out to space and also create more clouds that have the same effect. It
all helps to cool the planet for a year or two. New findings show that volcanic eruptions
have another, more indirect effect: the resulting sulfuric acid from the volcano helps to
biologically reduce an important source of atmospheric greenhouse gases. At the extreme,
this effect could cause significant cooling for up to 10 years or more. So volcanoes may
exert a more powerful influence over Earth's atmosphere than was thought.
HURRICANE / TROPICAL STORM -
Tropical Storm Arlene came ashore near the Alabama-Florida border on Saturday
afternoon, affecting areas hit by the more powerful Hurricane Ivan almost nine months
ago. At its worst, Arlene's winds reached nearly 100 km/h and heavy rain pounded a
200-kilometre region between Pensacola, Fla. and Mobile, Alabama. As its winds dropped to
about 55 km/h in the evening, officials downgraded Arlene's classification to "tropical
depression." Arlene was expected to move northward along the Mississippi-Alabama state
line, possibly reaching Tennessee by this afternoon.
FREAK WEATHER -
The freak weather season claimed 68 lives yesterday as torrential rains brought
floods to China and mudslides to Peru.
Around 8pm on Friday a fierce thunderstorm – propelled by galeforce winds – tore through
the town of Adelaide, Australia which has a population of 300.
Described by locals as a mini-tornado, it took just two minutes to tear roofs and walls
from 18 homes and public buildings. "It's certainly like nothing seen before in South
Australia." Just three days ago the people of Karoonda were celebrating – after three
months of drought the heavens were opening and their hopes for a decent grain crop were
resurrected. "We've waited three months for rain and we should all be on our tractors but
we have to fix the town first. What's happened here is devastating." Among the worst-hit
was 73-year-old Eileen Burdett whose home was ripped apart. "I just felt some force
telling me to get out quickly...When I looked behind there was the ceiling and water and
dust crashing behind me...I'd be dead if I hadn't got out of that chair."
Toronto has declared an extreme heat emergency, as parts of Ontario and
Quebec swelter through unseasonably hot temperatures. It was about 10 degrees hotter than
normal. Environment Canada warned people to get used to it, because the heat wave seems
likely to continue. "We've had more summer this week than we had all of last year in
Eastern Canada." Extreme heat kills an average of 120 people a year in Toronto, 121 in
Montreal, 41 in Ottawa and 37 in Windsor, Ontario.
LANDSLIDE -
Torrential rains in northwestern Colombia unleashed mudslides Friday on an
impoverished mountainside neighborhood in Colombia's coffee-growing region, killing at
least six people. Another four people were reported missing.
-----
Saturday, June 11, 2005 -
QUAKES -
Quake clusters in recent days:
Alaska -
6/9 Chuathbaluk - 4.8, 3.9, 3.3
6/9 Atka - 3.4, 3.0, 4.0
6/10 Adak (Rat Islands) - 4.4, 5.8, 4.2, 4.4
Indonesia -
6/3 Nias - 5.8, 4.6, 4.5, 4.6, 4.2, 4.5
6/5 Nias - 4.5
6/6 Nias - 4.5
6/9 Nias - 4.6, 4.7
6/10 Nias - 5.5
6/11 N. Sumatra - 5.2, 5.0
-----------------
6/3 Kepulauan - 4.5
6/5 Kepulauan - 4.7
------------------
6/4 Simeulue - 4.6
6/8 Simeulue - 6.1
--------------
6/6 Nicobar - 4.3
6/7 Andamans - 5.0
6/10 Papua, Indonesia - 5.1
Iceland -
6/7 4.6, 4.6, 4.6, 4.4, 4.9, 4.4, 4.6
6/8 5.0, 4.3. 4.7
6/9 4.7, 4.6
VOLCANO -
Anatahan's volcano unleashed its fury anew in another strong eruption that kicked up
ash to 30,000 feet in the air, resulting in an ashfall in the Northern Mariana Islands.
It was a 7-minute long eruptive pulse and one of the vocano's strongest recent eruptions,
second only to the record 50,000 feet last April. The tremor levels have continued to be
variable with occasional small explosions.
TSUNAMI -
Detailed maps identifying the reach of the December tsunami, as well as vulnerable
areas in Tamil Nadu and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands should the disaster recur, have
been prepared. The 'Tsunami Inundation Mapping in the Coastal Districts of Tamil Nadu'
gives detailed information on areas that went under water on December 26 when giant
tsunami waves hit India's coast from 9am to about 2pm. There are about 200 areas in the
eastern coastline which could go under water if such events recur.
Flooding occurred in some areas in Nagapattinam, which are as far as 1.1km away from the
sea. "On an average, inundation occurred at a distance of 50 m to 1.1km from the sea on
Tamil Nadu's coast."
The latest December tsunami analysis shows that waves up to 10m high struck the east
coast of Sri Lanka, while on the west coast the waves dropped to a few metres high as
the tsunami was bent around the tip of the island. On the Indonesian island of Sumatra,
9m-high waves hit Banda Aceh, while waves of more than 15m pounded Lhoknga, 15km to the
southwest. At Lhoknga, wave-driven water was forced inland and up to 25m above sea level.
On a nearby island this "run-up" was more than 31m.
Between Banda Aceh and Lhoknga, waves inundated about 65sqkm.
In some areas, the Sumatran coastline was moved permanently 1.6km inland, after inundated
ground sank and waves scoured away coastal land.
AVALANCHE -
The threat of avalanches lingers in many Western U.S. mountain ranges where it's been an
unusual season for one of nature's more unpredictable phenomena.
Since late October, at least 27 people have died in the United States in avalanches,
which is about the average. What's unusual is that two of the deaths occurred in
developed ski areas, including the most recent one last month in Colorado and another in
January when a teenager was swept off a ski lift near Las Vegas.
In the previous 19 years, just three of the 416 known avalanche deaths in the nation —
well below 1 percent — occurred within ski areas. In southern Nevada, an expert said
there may have been no way to predict the slide that killed a 13-year-old snowboarder at
Mount Charleston. "When this avalanche released, it was unprecedented."
STORMS -
A tornado struck a small village in northeastern China killing nine people and
injuring 14 others.
At least 40 children were killed when a flash flood struck a primary school in
north-eastern China.
Potentially drought-breaking rain fell in parts of the New South Wales, Australia,
far-west. Up to 50 millimetres had been recorded at Ivanhoe, while 20mm fell around
Hillston and 39 at Whitecliffs.
"That'd be the best rain that we've had here since November 12, 2000."
CLIMATE CHANGE -
A leading environmentalist has warned that Australia is now entering long-term climate
change, which could cause longer and more frequent droughts.
He also predicts that the ongoing drought could leave Sydney's dams dry in just two
years. If Sydney's dams dry up, the city's ground water supply would last just 10 days.
Global warming is threatening Australia's chance of returning to a regular rainfall
pattern. The shifting weather patterns as the planet warms up has the tropics expanding
southwards and the winter rainfall zone is sort of dropping off the southern edge of the
continent. Disturbances in the ozone layer - "That is causing wind speeds around
Antarctica to increase and, again, drawing that winter rainfall to the south."
The third phenomena, which is the most worrying, is the recurring El Nino weather
pattern. "That's occurring as the Pacific Ocean warms up, and we're seeing much longer El
Ninos than we've seen before and often now back-to-back el Ninos with very little of the
La Nina cycle, the flood cycle, in between."
