Featured Disasters - January & February 2006

Tuesday, February 28, 2006 -

QUAKES -
6.0 SOUTHERN IRAN today.
Largest quakes yesterday -
2/27 -
5.2 RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN

TROPICAL STORMS -
AUSTRALIA - The clean-up has begun after category one tropical cyclone Emma crossed Western Australia's remote Pilbara coast today as a force-one storm. Six people were rescued after two cars were swept away by flood water dumped by the cyclone, oil and mining operations were shut down, Karratha, Tom Price and Pannawonica suffered localised flooding and three Pilbara schools had minor classroom and roof damage. Forecasters were keeping an eye on another developing tropical low that could impact WA over the weekend.

THUNDERSTORMS / HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING -
MALAYSIA - A two-hour downpour caused a major river to overflow, flooding a central Malaysian city and forcing thouands from their homes for a few hours. The UNUSUALLY INTENSE downpour - almost double the volume normally recorded for thunderstorms that last between two to four hours - disrupted trains, cut off highways and caused millions of ringgit (dollars; euros) in losses. Floodwaters reached 2.3 metres at some places in Shah Alam, about 30 kilometres west of Kuala Lumpur, submerging single-story houses while trapping other residents on the second floor of their homes.
Sunday's floods in Shah Alam are touted to be the WORST IN 10 YEARS, following unusually heavy rain for five hours. Plans must be drawn up to upgrade the irrigation system to absorb the excess water during heavy rain. "Given the unpredictable weather now, sometimes, rain pours in excess from the normal volume. This means, the capacity of the irrigation system must be upgraded." More than 9,000 people were evacuated, over 3,000 houses were damaged and about 1,000 vehicles were submerged in the floods.

WIND -
WASHINGTON - The residual effects of a FREAK weather pattern that brought gusty winds to areas along the Strait of Juan de Fuca early Monday were still being felt Monday night. Residents of Neah Bay and a few scattered areas surrounding Port Angeles remained without power late Monday after winds of 40 to 50 mph - and unconfirmed gusts of more than 70 mph - downed or tipped trees, signs, utility poles and power lines. The cause of the early Monday winds was not the typical reason for windy conditions along the North Olympic Peninsula. Early Monday's gusts were fueled when a small localized area of low pressure formed around the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and tapped into energy from surrounding weather systems. The barometric pressure, already below normal, dropped nearly a half-inch between 8 p.m. Sunday and 2 a.m. Monday to create a localized low pressure cell. Air from surrounding weather systems was sucked into the low pressure, making for the strong winds as the system moved east.

SNOW / COLD -
RUSSIA - A powerful snow cyclone hit Sakhalin and Kurile Islands Monday night, closing airports and seaports in the Far Eastern Russian region. The storm in the Tatar Strait in the northern part of the Sea of Japan reached the force of seven.

CANADA - British Columbia - the avalanche danger continues to escalate in many parts of the province. Warmer temperatures and winds are making the snowpack unstable. The danger rating is now "high" in the alpine and "considerable" at the tree line in the Columbia Mountains and Central B.C. Conditions are even worse along the coast due to heavy snow and warm temperatures.

IDAHO - Some are saying this is the worst year for avalanches. There have already been two avalanche-related deaths and with a potentially record-breaking snow year in the Teton Mountain Range, more could be on the way. What the public doesn’t know is that most deadly avalanches are not natural avalanches, quite often they’re triggered by the victim they take.

HEAT / WILDFIRES -
RUSSIA - warm cyclone waves that have affected the Sakhalin Island have helped local energy specialists to remove a major breakdown on the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk city heat supply main on Monday. The repair had been started specially with the onset of the cyclone on Monday, because it brought warmer weather. The cyclone affected the Sakhalin Island for about a day and then moved on to the Kamchatka Peninsula.

UNUSUAL WEATHER SEASONS -
TASMANIA - a weather expert has labeled this past suumer season as "weird". There has definitely been "lots of weird stuff" happening during summer. December kicked off wet and windy, but with plenty of warm nights - Hobart's mean minimum overnight temperature was 12.8C, 2.1 degrees above normal and the HIGHEST FOR ANY DECEMBER IN 124 YEARS OF RECORDS. Much of Tasmania had more rain than normal during December, winds gusted in excess of 100km/h and Hobart reached 98km/h on Christmas Day - its SECOND-STRONGEST FESTIVE GUST ON RECORD. January wasn't much better, with wind gusts of up to 106km/h lashing the state over the new year. Late January brought scorching temperatures up to 40.6C - the SECOND-HIGHEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED in Tasmania. But, in a bizarre twist, by the first week of February snow fell to 900m. Then, in the final weeks of summer, hailstones the size of apples pelted Bruny Island during a wild storm. Overly humid summer weather triggered more disease at the Botanical Gardens than usual and caused some confused plants to change colour early.

MICHIGAN - the outlook for the week is for somewhat cooler than normal temperatures for the time of year but nothing exceptional in the way of weather. The mid-20s highs for most of the week is about five degrees below normal for late February-early March. On the other hand, the winter to date has been warmer than average. There was an absence of a February deep freeze with temperatures of minus 10 to minus 20 that normally make the month the coldest of the year. It is UNUSUAL not to have at least a few days of -10 to -20-degree temperatures in February. While the thermometer has dipped below zero on a few occasions, those colder nights have fallen some short of a “normal” February.

Drought, Heat, Water Shortages, Wildfires - updated Tuesdays

Monday, February 27, 2006 -

QUAKES -
Cluster of small quakes today in SICILY and TURKEY.
Largest quakes yesterday -
2/26 -
5.4 NORTHERN SUMATERA, INDONESIA
5.3 SOUTH OF JAWA, INDONESIA
5.4 BANDA SEA
5.6 FIJI ISLANDS REGION
6.4 SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS
5.1 XIZANG
5.0 CENTRAL PERU
Cluster of small quakes in STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR.

CANADA - the magnitude 4.5 earthquake shook up many people on Friday. The quake's epicentre was located 7 km north of Thurso, Quebec, or 37 km from Gatineau. It was felt throughout the capital region and as far east as Montreal. "What was UNUSUAL, from our impression, was that it lasted a little longer," an earthquake expert said about the roughly 30-second quake. Other significant earthquakes in the region occurred in 2002 with a magnitude of 5.5, 1990 with a magnitude of 5.0, 1983 with a magnitude of 5.1, 1958 with a magnitude of 5.0 and 1944 with a magnitude of 5.6.

TROPICAL STORMS -
Cyclone CARINA was 593 nmi SE of Diego Garcia.

AUSTRALIA - A tropical low brewing off the West Australian coast is expected to turn into the third cyclone of the state's season. "Gales could occur later on Tuesday if the system continues to intensify and moves further south as expected." WA's cyclone season runs between November and April, with most activity in the latter half of the period. A typical season produces five cyclones off the northwest coast, with about two impacts, at least one being a severe tropical cyclone.

THUNDERSTORMS / HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING -
PAKISTAN - At least 15 people were killed after their coach was swept off by a landslide triggered by heavy rain in Pakistan's North West frontier province on Sunday. The coach fell down into a river. Many parts of the Oct. 8 quake-hit zone had been receiving heavy rains for the last two days, causing landslides in the hilly areas. The earthquake has also badly damaged roads and several are still covered by earth and rock from earlier landslides. Sunday's accident illustrates the continued threat to earthquake survivors, more than two million of whom have been living in tents or in simple shelters since the Oct. 8 disaster that killed more than 75,000 people.

PHILIPPINES - There's a renewed fear of more landslides in the Philippines, prompting authorities to order a quick survey of endangered communities. A small landslide hit Friday in the central Philippines where an earlier landslide wiped out an entire village. No one was hurt, but officials are worried about heavy rain causing more landslides.

CALIFORNIA - A winter storm brought rain and wind to many parts of Northern California Sunday. Officials say flooding is possible due to three storms set to hit Northern California in the coming week. The storms are expected to bring up to 5 inches of rain to the area. River levels are not expected to rise with Sunday's storm but may with two coming later in the week. Officials also warned residents living along the delta in the Sacramento region to watch for possible boils, leaks, or breaks along levees. The Governor recently named 5 levees in the Pocket Area of Sacramento a very high risk.

TEXAS - It rained and rained and rained some more, and by Saturday night enough precipitation had fallen to spur meteorologists' talk of dents in North Texas' drought conditions. Between noon Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday, 3.51 inches of rain was recorded at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. "As far as working on the drought, that's a really good start." The two-day soaker put rainfall totals for the month of February more than 1.7 inches above normal. It was the highest two-day rainfall total since at least October 2004. The rain also gave area reservoirs - many of which are still several feet below normal - a boost. Surprisingly, the weekend drenching failed to set any records. The weather service counts record rainfall according to calendar days, not 24-hour periods. The record rainfall for Saturday, 2.24 inches, was set in 1948. The record precipitation for Friday's date was 1.75, set in 1970. "Close to 3½ inches is a significant amount of rainfall any day."

SNOW / COLD -
FRANCE - The Pyrenees had escaped relatively unscathed from the carnage unleashed by avalanches this season. That was until Saturday. At around midday as two climbers approached the Arre-Sourins ridge close to the Anglas chairlift a slab avalanche was triggered beneath their feet causing two slides, one on the resort side of the ridge, the other towards the lac d’Angas. One climber was carried 200 vertical meters from the ridge. He was dug out in a state of cardiac arrest and later died. Like too many of the avalanche victims this season the man and his companion were described as experienced and prudent mountaineers who knew the area well. The avalanche risk was 3 (considerable) at the time of the accident. At les Arcs, a group of four ski instructors from nearby Bourg St Maurice were caught by an avalanche Saturday afternoon under the Aiguille Rouge while skiing off-piste. One member of the group, a 27 year old man, was buried. He was found rapidly using his avalanche beacon but died during his transfer to hospital by helicopter. Earlier in the day three skiers, also resident in Bourg St Maurice, triggered an avalanche in the Aiguille Grive sector, injuring two of the group.

Disease - updated Mondays

Sunday, February 26, 2006 -

QUAKES -
Largest quakes yesterday -
2/25 -
5.3 BALLENY ISLANDS REGION
5.0 TONGA ISLANDS
5.3 SOUTH OF MARIANA ISLANDS
5.0 SOUTH OF PANAMA

TSUNAMI -
PHILIPPINES - Thousands of residents from coastal towns fled their homes and sought the safety of higher ground Thursday over a rumor that a tsunami was going to hit southern Negros Oriental Thursday night. The tsunami rumor started from a text message that circulated like wildfire after the intensity 7.8 earthquake struck in Africa Thursday morning. Police had already declared the text message as a fraud Thursday night, but there was no time to stop the evacuation.

VOLCANOES -
ALASKA - New data from Augustine Volcano, including satellite measurement of the island's swelling and subsiding, suggest that this winter's eruption is coming to an end. Magma in the Cook Inlet volcano could turn lively again with little notice, they say - but the likeliest course is that no more huge explosions are going to send plumes miles into the sky, triggering ash fall alerts and detouring airplanes like they did in January. Seismic tremors from the island now indicate rockfall from unstable parts of the new dome, not deep magma movement and these signals have decreased over the last few days. Augustine remains at alert-code color orange while the eruptive dome-building continues. Meanwhile this week, the observatory downgraded Spurr Volcano west of Anchorage from code yellow to code green, the lowest level for a dormant volcano. At the same time, the observatory upgraded Korovin Volcano in the remote Aleutians to code yellow. Sensors on the Atka Island mountain picked up four recent days of increased seismicity. (photo)

TROPICAL STORMS -
Cyclone CARINA was 553 nmi SE of Diego Garcia, 1360 nmi ENE of Port Louis, Mauritius.

THUNDERSTORMS / HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING -
AUSTRALIA - Storms have dumped rain and hail across Melbourne, causing flash flooding and bringing gale force winds of up to 80kph. The weather also caused havoc to boom gates and traffic lights in the area. The thunderstorms were caused by cold air moving above the surface after a couple of days of muggy, hot weather. Thunderstorms occurred across the state, but particularly in the Melbourne area. Hail battered the CBD, with stones about 1cm across and the rainfall in town was 33.2mm – three-quarters the monthly average of 46mm. "That's a fair fraction of what you'd expect for the entire month."

DUBAI AND THE NORTHERN EMIRATES - Moderate to heavy rain-showers lashed Dubai and the Northern Emirates Thursday, causing widespread chaos on the roads, damaging outdoor installations and property, due to flooding. Sharjah received around 8.6 millimetres of rainfall while Dubai recorded 14 mm, the highest in a day this winter. The overcast conditions were likely to persist till Saturday, and wind conditions were expected to be strong with gusts up to 35 knots.

CALIFORNIA - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for fragile Sacramento River and Delta levees, freeing up at least $75 million and suspending state environmental and contracting laws to speed repair at two dozen eroded sites. "We are literally one quake or one major storm away from a major Katrina-style disaster," the governor said. The declaration was announced late Friday afternoon before a weekend that was forecast to bring heavy rain and high winds to Northern California by late today. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and mounting warnings about the dire condition of California's levee system, there is a growing sense of urgency that something must be done to avert a disaster in the Delta. Scientists have predicted widespread levee failures are likely within the next 50 years, and that such failures pose severe risks to farmland, Delta residents and key infrastructure including highways, power and gas transmission lines and, perhaps most importantly, California's water supply.

ARKANSAS - In an average year, Arkansas has 21 confirmed tornadoes. Most of those tornadoes occur in March, April and May. However, 2005 was a MOST UNUSUAL YEAR. In 2005, only four tornadoes had been reported in the state through the end of May. But 40 more tornadoes were seen during the rest of the year, including 15 that were spawned in August by Hurricane Rita. The MOST TORNADOES EVER VERIFIED IN ONE DAY occurred on Nov. 27, 2005, when 31 tornadoes were spotted in Arkansas. Two of those storms were rated F3, which means they included winds of more than 150 mph. Two more tornadoes occurred in December. Also UNUSUAL was the path of the storms. Typically, tornadoes travel southwest to northeast, or diagonally, across the state. Last year, tornadoes struck areas that often don't see such storms, in Yell Conway, Cleburne, Fulton and Sharp counties. No one knows why that happened. "The National Weather Service has no explanation for it."

SNOW / COLD -
CHINA - Recent snow storms in Southwest China's Sichuan Province caused 30.5 million U.S. dollars of direct economic losses, latest official statistics show. The freak weather conditions, which lasted from Feb. 14 to 18, hit 20 counties, cities and prefectures in Sichuan, affecting 474,000 people. It snowed for 50 straight hours in the counties of Xuanhan, Dazhu and Daxian from the evening of Feb. 16 until the morning of Feb. 18. The snow was 60 cm deep in the mountainous areas. This amount has RARELY BEEN SEEN IN THE PAST TWO DECADES, experts said. The snow struck 5,533 hectares of cropland and destroyed another 800 hectares. In Shimian County, three consecutive days of snow left 500 livestock dead due to frigidity and lack of food. Parts of Shimian were also hit by strong gales, which damaged some transportation and communication facilities.
A thick blanket of snow covered northeast China's Liaoning Province Saturday and a weather report said most parts of the province would still expect heavy snowfall or blizzard. Due to a chilling front from Baikal, the RARE snowstorm started to hit Liaoning Province Friday, the first heavy snowfall since Feb. 4, the day that marks the start of spring in the Chinese lunar calendar. On Saturday morning, the fallen snow in downtown Shenyang measured at least 15 centimeters.

CANADA - A storm has shut down much of St. John's, forcing people to close businesses, cancel flights and abandon vehicles on roads blocked by snow. It was a fierce storm with winds gusting up to 130 kilometres an hour. A sustained wind of 120 km/h is hurricane force. It dropped as much as 15 centimetres over a single hour early Saturday morning. By mid-afternoon on Saturday, the city had received about 48 centimetres of snow, with no letup in sight. "They've had a good 10 hours of heavy snow." The forecast was calling for up to 60 centimetres. The storm was expected to let up Saturday night, moving west to hit Labrador and Iqaluit.

MORE MYSTERY BOOMS -
MAINE - People in Somerset County are seeking answers after feeling earthquake-like tremors this week. The Somerset County Communications Center got calls Thursday morning from at least a dozen residents who reported tremors in a 15-mile radius in Anson, Madison, Skowhegan and Norridgewock. But state officials said there weren't any earthquakes that were documented by the New England Seismic Network. People in Solon last week reported hearing an unexplained loud explosion that shook homes. "I'd like them to re-look at what they may have. This is the second occurrence in less than a week of such magnitude." Thursday's event sounded and felt like a Dumpster had fallen off a truck or a truck had hit the town office building, but that nothing could be found when employees went outside to see what happened. More than a mile away, another person felt the shaking in his office. But he, too, couldn't find the cause. "It felt like somebody with a delivery type of vehicle had backed into our building." Six miles away in Anson, the boom and shaking were so strong that an off-duty dispatcher called the county's dispatch center. He thought maybe his chimney collapsed or his furnace exploded, but he couldn't determine the cause either.
Reports continued to pour in Friday from residents who said they experienced what appeared to be earthquake tremors at about 10 a.m. Thursday morning. "The number and validity of reports received Thursday and Friday - in addition to similar reports last Friday in Solon - indicate Thursday's event was significant and not just a sonic boom."

Space Weather / Solar Storms / Meteors - updated Sundays.

Friday, February 24, 2006 -

QUAKES -
Largest quakes yesterday -
2/23 -
5.1 MOZAMBIQUE
5.3 MOZAMBIQUE
5.4 MOZAMBIQUE
5.3 NORTHEASTERN INDIA
5.6 BHUTAN
5.2 EAST OF KURIL ISLANDS, RUSSIA
5.5 BOUVET ISLAND REGION

MOZAMBIQUE - The rare 7.5 quake left at least two dead. It frightened residents who felt tremors as far away as Zimbabwe and South Africa. "For the moment we have at least two dead and 13 injured in Machaze but I believe that the situation is evolving." The quake was the SECOND-LARGEST TO HIT THE REGION SINCE 1900. "This earthquake occurred on the southernmost part of the east Africa rift system. The rift system extends from Eritrea, Ethiopia all the way down across Malawi into Mozambique. This is a system which splits Africa into two. There is the Africa plate on left, the Somalia plate on the right, and they are moving apart, it's opening up and it causes stress."

VOLCANOES -
PHILIPPINES - Two cities and three towns were told to be ready to evacuate as Mayon Volcano spewed ash 500m above its crater and more than 20 tremors jolted the area Wednesday. Advisories have been issued to the cities of Tabaco and Ligao and the towns of Malilipot, Daraga and Camalig amid increased seismic activity. 10 villages on the slope of the volcano would have to be moved once the volcano erupts.
Nine volcanic earthquakes were recorded on Thursday.

TROPICAL STORMS -
Cyclone CARINA was 571 nmi ESE of Diego Garcia.
Cyclone KATE was 336 nmi N of Cairns, Australia.

CYCLONE KATE - Queensland's second tropical cyclone of the season is expect to remain static for the next few days. "Over the weekend it won't pose any threat to the coast - come Monday we'll have a better idea. It's an unpredictable pattern ... the computer models are really struggling to handle it." Water levels on some islands in the Torres Strait could be an immediate concern as the second Coral Sea cyclone of the season intensifies. Water levels reached record heights during winter gales and a combination of strong winds and king tides in the Torres Strait next week is possible.

THUNDERSTORMS / HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING -
YEMEN - Flooding claimed three lives as rescue teams attempt to save hundreds more trapped in homes and fields in Ma’abar, a small town in Dhamar province. Fifty houses were destroyed and the number of deaths is not yet known. A Dhamar governorate source said at least five died while 50 remain stranded in their homes due to flood water levels exceeding two meters. Two hundred residents were evacuated and taken to school lodging centers. Two-day rains caused immense agricultural damage and washed out the main road connecting Sana’a, Taiz and Aden. (photo)

TURKEY - An empty eight-storey building collapsed in the north-western Turkish city of Bursa. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties. The building, in the city centre, had been evacuated earlier after it was damaged by a landslide. It housed business offices.

SNOW / COLD -
RUSSIA - At least 56 people were killed and 32 injured when the snow-laden roof over an indoor market in Moscow collapsed. The collapse comes two years after the roof of a Moscow water park – built by the same architect – collapsed, killing 28 people. (photo)

WASHINGTON - An avalanche near Stevens Pass closed US Route 2 in both directions Thursday afternoon and trapped four cars.

HEAT / WILDFIRES -
BRITAIN - must use less water or face rationing as the country suffered its WORST DROUGHT IN A CENTURY, the head of the country's Environment Agency said. In some parts of the southeast, reservoirs are at less than half their capacity at a time when they should be at or near full as the country emerges from the winter. "We are in a serious situation now, where both the environment and our water supplies are at risk. Groundwater levels in some areas are the LOWEST ON RECORD." Rainfall in the winter months has been the LOWEST SINCE THE DROUGHT OF 1920-21. Even if it returned to normal over coming months there would still be serious problems in some areas. The country has suffered seven big droughts in the past century, with the most recent 10 years ago.

AUSTRALIA - Dry weather has plunged Melbourne's water storages to 54.2 per cent capacity. The city's reservoirs dropped 0.6 per cent this week to 960,410 million litres, five per cent less than the same time last year. Melbourne's four major catchments recorded zero rainfall this week.

AFRICA - a seemingly endless procession of natural disasters is devastating Africa. The latest drought to hit Africa comes less than a year after poor rains brought hunger to the west and south. "There is nothing you can do but wait for death." Climate change may bring longer dry spells and unpredictable rains but societies should be able to cope better, experts say. "There are all sorts of things you could do to make sure less rain does not mean more dead." Environmentalists say African countries must also halt and reverse decades of deforestation to stop soil erosion. Forests cover less than two percent of Kenya compared with over 30 percent when it won independence from Britain in 1963. "There's a general culture in this country to cut all the trees...It is among the stupid things we do, then when there's drought we cry and wonder why."

INDIA - The week has been unseasonably warm in Calcutta and its adjoining areas, and the weatherman has said that the spell is likely to continue for the next 48 hours. The maximum temperature in the city was pegged at 36.8 degrees Celsius on Thursday, seven degrees above normal. “Normally, around this time, the maximum temperature is below 30 degrees and the minimum temperature hovers around 17 degrees, ensuring comfortable days and cool nights. But the sudden change in the wind direction has pushed up the temperature since mid-February.” Officers admitted it was difficult to predict the next change in wind pattern. "The unseasonal rise in temperature can cause dehydration, fever and flu.”
Unable to adjust to the fast changing weather conditions, a large number of children are falling victim to viral infection, abdominal pain and high fever. In the last 15 days, an alarming number of children suffering from viral infection, fever, jaundice and upper respiratory tract infection have been reported at city clinics and district hospitals. In the age group of two to 12 years many of them were also found suffering from vomiting, loss of appetite and abdominal pain. "Of the total cases getting reported daily at least 50-70 per cent children are suffering from jaundice, abdominal pain and high fever, which is QUITE RARE in February. At least 10 per cent children are also suffering from measles. Whereas in normal weather conditions, the measles cases are generally reported after Holi...With temperature getting as high as 35 degrees in February we are receiving a barrage of allergy, cough, cold and abdominal pain patients. A large number of people are also complaining of skin diseases, including rashes and dry skin. The people are also falling sick due to consumption of cold drinks, curd and ice creams. The body is yet to acclimatise to the fast changing weather conditions."
Weather officials are studying the unusually warm February weather in northern India and elsewhere in the country. "From Feb 1 till Feb 22 the temperature has been five to six degrees above normal at minimum and maximum levels. One day it went even nine degrees above normal in Delhi." Such a prolonged spell of above normal temperatures is not observed at this time of the year. The data of the last 50 years is being checked to look for similar weather patterns in the month. "We admit it is an UNUSUAL PHENOMENA and we are studying the reasons."

Thursday, February 23, 2006 -

PHILIPPINES - The metal foundations of a building under construction in Manila collapsed, reportedly following a tremor this morning. The street shifted around 4pm and the six-foot gap created by the shifting of the street virtually swallowed two parked vehicles by the roadside. Around 6 p.m., the construction site's tower crane collapsed. The metal beams of the structure gave way after the street collapse. Police were immediately dispatched to the area to prevent onlookers from straying into the road gap, which has continued to sink from ground level. (photo) [UPDATE - A water main break appears to be the actual cause, the water softened the ground causing the street and the building to collapse.]

QUAKES -
Largest quakes yesterday -
2/22 -
7.5 MOZAMBIQUE

MOZAMBIQUE - Guests at the Tivoli Hotel in the port city of Beira, Mozambique were too scared to return to their rooms after a major 7.5 earthquake hit the country early on Thursday morning. A second 1.7 earthquake, presumably an aftershock, hit the area around 3am. "No-one is sleeping. The electricity is out, everything is in darkness, we are very scared." "It felt like being in a boat on heavy seas." Shortly after the earthquake, it started raining.
The quake comes on the heels of flooding in December that killed at least 21 people while tens of thousands of people were left homeless in the central Sofala province. The former Portuguese colony has also been hit by a lengthy drought that has left nearly one million people in need of food aid.
Major earthquakes are UNUSUAL in southern Africa. "It's a significant and unexpected earthquake in this region. We'll expect aftershocks from an earthquake this large." [5.3 and 5.4 this morning] Emergency services in the South African city of Durban, nearly 1,000km from the epicentre, received calls from frightened people in hotels and flats on the beachfront. Tremors were also felt in Johannesburg.

TROPICAL STORMS -
Cyclone 14S was 554 nmi ESE of Diego Garcia.
Cyclone KATE was 332 nmi N of Cairns, Australia.

AUSTRALIA - Queensland's second tropical cyclone of the season, Kate, is expected to intensify in waters off the state's far north. The cyclone was a category one – the least severe on a scale of one to five – but it had the potential to become destructive. "We think it will intensify – there is always the potential for these cyclones to be dangerous up in the warm waters." Kate was expected to be stationary for about three or four days but it was too early to tell if the cyclone would cross the coast.

THUNDERSTORMS / HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING -
FIJI - a tropical depression lies about 800 kilometers North West of Fiji near Vanuatu and will result in heavy rain throughout the group for the whole week. The depression is a weak one which is moving away from the group and there is no possibility of it turning into a tropical cyclone. People living in low lying areas are being advised to take precautions as heavy rain over the next few days could result in flash flooding. A strong wind warning remains in force for all Fiji waters.

HAWAII - The National Weather Service placed Kauai, Oahu and Molokai under several weather alerts on Tuesday as heavy rains pounded the area. Heavy rains flooded homes and farms on Kauai on Monday and shut down the only road into and out of Hanalei. People who live in Hanalei said it's the WORST FLOODING THEY'VE SEEN THERE IN MORE THAN FIVE YEARS. The wettest spot on the island got about 18 inches of rain in a 24-hour period. "Driving through Kalihiwai was particularly treacherous. They have landslides and boulders on the road." A gushing waterfall occasionally brought down big pieces of debris just a few feet away from traffic. The floods will also stunt the taro crops, meaning a smaller harvest.

INDONESIA - Heavy rain triggered flooding and landslides in central Indonesia, killing at least 31 people in the past week. Most of the deaths occurred yesterday in Manado, the capital of north Sulawesi province, where 19 bodies were pulled from the mud following a landslide. At least 12 other people have died in nearby areas in recent days. Constant rain has caused several rivers to overflow. Damage to houses, livestock and rice fields was valued at USD 19 million.

PHILIPPINES - It was another day of frustration Wednesday with no sign of survivors as rescue workers tried to find an elementary school buried by a landslide under about 30 metres of mud. Heavy rain forced troops to call off work, and a two-tonne drill brought in by U.S. marines sat idle with its braces missing. The drill is capable of digging about 50 metres deep, and the school is believed to have been buried by up to 30 metres of mud and rock. Despite an intense search, no one has been able to find the school, uncertain whether it was still on its foundation or was swept away by a wall of earth, trees and boulders. Holes that had been dug in the unstable mud were collapsing.

CALIFORNIA - An unexpected thunderstorm struck San Diego's inland areas Tuesday, bringing hail to Mira Mesa and snow to Julian. The storm was the last gasp of a low-pressure system that produced rain over the weekend.

WIND -
ALASKA - Southwest wind gusts of almost 40 mph were recorded Tuesday morning at Fairbanks International Airport as winter blew back into the Interior after two weeks of unseasonably warm temperatures. Blowing snow caused blizzard-like conditions early Tuesday as residents made their way to work on roads dotted with snow drifts. The peak wind gust at the airport was 39 mph at about 7 a.m. "It's pretty RARE for that kind of wind to get down there." Tuesday's wind speeds were the highest recorded at the airport since January 2005. The wind that blew into Fairbanks on Tuesday morning was a result of a marriage between a strong low pressure system on the Arctic Ocean coast and a strong high pressure system over Bristol Bay.

SNOW / COLD -
COLORADO - A weather phenomenon that was responsible for turning snow pink and brown in Summit County may also create avalanches. Dust blowing in from Arizona got mixed up in a storm system over Colorado's mountains and it created a pinkish-brown layer in the snow. The crusty layer of the snow has avalanche experts concerned. "This layer right underneath can change into a granular substance, very grainy, very small structures that can break apart easily. So we can have a layer underneath the dust layer now that's subject to collapse and that can slip out of place." The Avalanche Center is urging everyone to be extremely cautious in the back country for the next few months.

YO-YO WEATHER -
TEXAS - The temperature plunges last week and in early December are the two largest swings recorded at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport since the winter of 1995-96. Back then, like this winter, the high temperatures fell more than 30 degrees over two days on two occasions. Those swings are also AMONG THE GREATEST WHEN COMPARING ONE DAY'S HIGH WITH THE NEXT DAY'S LOW. Bone-dry ground then and now is the most likely explanation for the temperature swings. Arid weather makes the parched ground absorb more heat from the air and release it faster. Without some luck, such topsy-turvy conditions could have happened more often. Without significant spring rain, something similar could happen this summer. The region could have more nights in the 60s - rare during North Texas summers - but also more 100-degree-plus days.

HEAT / WILDFIRES -
INDIA - Summer has made an early appearance in Uttaranchal with the RARE sight of flowers in full bloom in February. The state's wheat farmers are far from happy, as the crop in the hills is dependent on rain for irrigation. Farmers say streams have dried up without rain and crops have failed. In the dry hills of Uttaranchal the out of season flowering and withering crops is a warning that WEATHER PATTERNS ARE INCREASINGLY ABNORMAL.

NEW YORK - This has been an atypical winter for Tompkins County. Maple syrup makers were tapping trees in January, almost a month earlier than usual. At Cornell Plantations, the lack of snow cover and temperature swings have left horticulturists fretting over the health of trees and shrubs. Around the county, casual observers and those who depend on the weather for their livelihood are all watching weather developments closely. But none can say with certainty what the unusual weather means for animals, plants or people. For reasons unbeknownst to forecasters, the jet stream, which serves as the dividing line between cold and warm weather, has settled further north than usual this year. With warmer weather occurring to the south of the jet stream, Ithaca and the surrounding area has been caught in weather patterns that are uncharacteristically warm for this time of year. Bare fields are putting area alfalfa crops at risk. The lack of snow has exposed fields, allowing for a cycle of thawing and freezing that can bring seeds up to the surface only to have them dry out. “This is just not the way things are supposed to happen. [Trees are] not biologically made to deal with this.”

LA NINA - not every La Nina is the same, so weather that may be considered typical for a La Nina doesn't always happen. This La Nina is already UNUSUAL because of its late start. "Typically, La Nina does have a tendency for producing some severe weather in the springtime conditions. There is a tendency with La Nina to have more tornadoes, more hurricanes."

Unusual Animal Behavior - updated Thursdays.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006 -

QUAKES -
Largest quakes yesterday -
2/21 -
5.1 IRIAN JAYA, INDONESIA
5.4 CENTRAL PERU
5.0 SAVU SEA
5.0 XIZANG
5.1 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.0 SOUTH INDIAN OCEAN
5.0 BANDA SEA
12 small quakes in Ethiopia, the largest 4.4.

BULGARIA - Two people ended up with broken legs due to panic after Monday evening's strong 4.2 earthquake that rocked Bulgaria. Many other people sought out medical assistance after complaining of high blood pressure after the tremor. The villages of Most and Chereshitsa in Kardzhali region were in the epicenter of the quake. In Kardzhali a house chimney and a massive block from a building in the center of the town collapsed. Several buildings have suffered material damages in the villages of Most, Zvinitsa, Chereshitsa and Miladinovo. Minutes after the first tremor another two lighter tremors were registered. The dams in the area have been checked and they have suffered no damages.

VOLCANOES -
PHILIPPINES - The Mayon volcano in Albay Tuesday spewed ash, noting an increased seismic activity in the area. Ash deposits from the explosion were limited to the upper slopes. Simultaneously, a small explosion-type earthquake shook nearby areas but its intensity was only recognizable by seismographs around the volcano. They expect similar ash explosions in the coming days with magma entering the summit area and releasing volcanic gases. Before the ash explosion, they recorded 147 low frequency volcanic earthquakes. The recurrence of earthquakes was unusual as the normal earthquake range is from zero to five tremors. "These low frequency volcanic earthquakes were relatively large in amplitude compared with previous seismicity and are interpreted to be caused by the shallow movement of magma within the summit crater."

THUNDERSTORMS / HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING -
VIETNAM - Torrential rains hit the central provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue last week, causing floods in these localities, damaging close to 8,000ha of rice and cash crops. Many farmers said it was the BIGGEST TORRENTIAL RAIN THAT HAD FALLEN IN THE MID-DRY SEASON IN THE LAST 30 YEARS. A 100m-long dike collapsed when water rose by 1.36m in Kien Giang River even as the province was repairing damages from last year's floods. A landslide occurred in Tan Hiep Hamlet, Cam Lo District, Quang Tri Province, on Saturday night, forcing evacuation of 122 households in the locality. The landslide seriously damaged 33 houses, three of which collapsed. The landslide resulted in 15 depressions in the affected area, covering 5ha, with each having a diameter of 2-4m and a depth of 5-10m.

BRAZIL - After historic drought, Amazon now faces RECORD FLOODING. In the capital of the state of Acre, Rio Branco, 861 families are presently housed in temporary shelters due to the rains that have fallen for the over ten consecutive days in the region. Last September, at the height of a historic drought, the Acre River was exactly 1.6 meters deep. At the moment it is 16.6 meters deep and rising. "Our alert level is 13.9 meters. At 14 meters the water escapes the riverbed and we get flooding." So far an estimated 7,800 structures have been flooded in the city, 90% of them residences.

PHILIPPINES - A landslide of the same magnitude as the one that hit St. Bernard in Southern Leyte is not likely to occur in Cebu, but geologists warned officials and residents of at least 25 landslide-prone barangays in the region about the hazards of soil movement. A team of geologists confirmed there are new cracks in rock formations in Sirao, which means the soil movement that was first detected in 1996 continues.

INDONESIA - A day-long torrential rain unleashed a landslide in the Indonesian province of North Sulawesi Tuesday, leaving worries that at least 17 people were killed in the disaster. The landslide hit the provincial capital of Manado, some 2,300 km northeast of Jakarta. Local authorities said six people were seriously injured and sent to the nearest hospitals.

SNOW / COLD -
ITALY - Two Hungarian cavers were killed by an avalanche in the Alps in north-eastern Italy, while another seven remained trapped in a mountain cave. The three had been the first in the group to leave the cave. They were hit first by a minor avalanche Monday morning on Mount Bila Pec, near Udine. They managed to free themselves from the snow, but were struck by another avalanche two hours later as they descended from the mountain. Heavy snowfall was complicating efforts to rescue the remaining seven,they do not appear to be in immediate danger as long as they remain inside the cave.

ITALY - An avalanche fell from Mount Faloria into the Franchetti gully just before midday, involving an off-piste skier. The man managed to free himself alone, he is in a state of shock but unhurt. Fog stopped the rescue helicopter from taking off: mountain rescue teams from Cortina d'Ampezzo and San Vito di Cadore are arriving from the base, also to check that there are no other skiers involved.

SWITZERLAND - Three German skiers were killed by an avalanche in eastern Switzerland on Monday and two others in the same group were rescued alive.

FRANCE - Multiple avalanches - A group of four skiers on a tour of the Tête de l'Oreac have been caught by an avalanche close to the ski resort of Puy Saint-Vincent in the Hautes-Alpes. The group included two children. One member of the group was killed by the slide. A group of 6 off-piste skiers were involved in an avalanche at les Deux-Alpes. One of the group was severely injured in the slide and was also suffering from hypothermia. At Arêches in the Savoie 5 off-piste skiers triggered an avalanche injuring two of the group. There was an avalanche in Arêches at the weekend in the col de la Grande Combe sector involving 3 skiers none of whom were injured. A snowboarder suffered a broken arm in an avalanche at Tignes. There was 20cm of fresh snow early on Sunday morning coupled with winds up to 150km/h. This has formed new accumulations and slabs and the risk of avalanche was high. Six people have been killed over the past couple of days by avalanches in the French Alps. This brings the number of deaths since the start of the season to 33.

MONTANA - Four people have been killed in Montana avalanches so far this winter. Nationwide, 12 people have died.

HEAT / WILDFIRES -
AUSTRALIA - Scientists and historians are only now coming to realise that in 1788 when Australia was settled, and for some time after that, they were in the middle of an unusual weather pattern, one that gave adequate rain and turned normally arid zones into useable land. Australia is one of the driest countries on earth. Much of Australia is desert, and most of the population clings to the narrow coastal zones. Weather patterns in Australia tend to show that out of every 10 years, they have 3 bad years, 3 good years and 4 average years. Many of their droughts are brought on by the El Nino effect. This usually only affects the eastern & northern areas of Australia. Brisbane is currently in the grip of a very severe drought, so severe that water restrictions have, for the first time in many years, been brought to bear in major cities. Their water supply is, at the time of writing, 34%. This gives them about 2 years of water – if they’re lucky. Queensland state government has made it mandatory for all houses built after 2005 to have a rainwater tank as part of the construction. The plan is that the water in these tanks will be used for flushing toilets, in the laundry and watering the garden.

Crop Failures, Food Shortages, Fish Die-Off - updated Wednesdays

Tuesday, February 21, 2006 -

QUAKES -
Largest quakes yesterday -
2/20 -
5.2 NORTHERN MOLUCCA SEA
5.1 GUERRERO, MEXICO
5.6 HONDURAS

NEW MADRID - A Stanford University geophysicist has started to unravel a tectonic mystery - the cause of several powerful earthquakes in New Madrid, Mississippi, almost a century ago that could strike the region again. The New Madrid quake appears to have been caused by the after-effects of a massive glacier that reached down to what is now the middle of Illinois. As the climate warmed and the ice melted, the ground was freed of the pressure of the heavy glacier. This constant release of pressure caused the New Madrid quakes a century ago. Earthquakes could continue to hit the area, including large cities such as Memphis and St. Louis, for the next few thousand years. "It's one thing to know it was part of your past. It's another to be prepared for it to be part of your future."

CHINA - Over the past three months, aftershocks close to the November 26th earthquake’s epicentre have continued to affect Jiangxi. The 2005 quake affecting Jiangxi, Hubei and Anhui provinces left at least 16 people dead and more than 8,000 people injured. In Jiangxi, some 600,000 residents were evacuated because of the quake, which destroyed 150,000 houses. The earthquake came as an especially harsh blow for the residents who were also affected by severe floods and landslides in May and a destructive typhoon in September 2005. Some 13,000 people still remain housed in tents today.

JAPAN'S ancient 5-storey pagodas may hold the secret to higher earthquake resistance. "Some of them have collapsed due to fires or after they were hit by typhoons or lightning. But there is no record of one ever collapsing due to an earthquake."

TSUNAMI -
A film about the real-life threat of a tidal wave hitting London will begin shooting in the capital in the spring. The Flood tells the story of what would happen if the city's dam defences were breached and is based on research that suggests global warming could cause the Thames to rise to catastrophic levels. Last year, insurer Munich Re placed London at number nine in its top 10 of cities at serious risk from a natural disaster.

TROPICAL STORMS -
Cyclone 12S was 70 nmi NE of Port Louis, Mauritius.

GLOBAL WARMING cannot be directly blamed for any significant tropical storm in the past two years, says an international group of meteorologists. Although 2004 and last year produced record hurricane seasons in the US, including the devastating Katrina, none could be put down to a long-term trend. In the same period - Brazil experienced its first cyclone ever, there were five in the Cook Islands in five weeks and 10 in Japan. "No single high-impact cyclone event of 2004 and 2005 can be directly attributed to global warming, though there may be an impact on the group as a whole." They said there was evidence that the power of tropical cyclones was increasing and that the proportion of intense cyclones was also increasing. Projected rises in sea levels "are a cause for concern" because "the primary cause of death (in a cyclone) is salt-water flooding associated with storm surge". The scientists say there is nothing to suggest that the extent of the regions in which cyclones are generated will increase significantly.

THUNDERSTORMS / HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING -
PHILIPPINES - High-tech equipment detected sounds on Monday at the site of an elementary school buried under mud on the eastern Philippine island of Leyte. Scratching and rhythmic tapping noises were picked up by American and Malaysian military seismic sensors and sound-detection gear. More than 250 children and teachers were inside the school on Friday morning when mud, rocks and trees roared down the mountain, wiping out the village of Guinsaugon. The devastation is overwhelming. "Everything is brown mud. You don't see any trees at all, just mud from the top of the mountain down to the river." Rain and the threat of another mudslide has made the rescue effort risky for emergency workers, who are digging with shovels and their hands because the unstable mud has made using heavy equipment difficult. Seventy-two bodies have been recovered from the farming village, and government officials estimate 1,350 people are missing.

KYRGYZSTAN - An early-season landslide on Sunday ripped through a road linking the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh with the Aravan district, blocking traffic and destroying electricity and telephone services to the area, with no casualties reported. The affected area is located in the low-lying eastern edge of the densely populated Ferghana Valley shared by Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. "Landslides are VERY UNUSUAL for this place. They generally happen in mountainous areas." Heavy snow and rain followed by temperatures rising sharply over the past few weeks triggered the landslide. There may be worse to come, with more landslides likely in the area after the recent weeks of heavy rain, experts said. Normally, such natural hazards only begin at the end of March or beginning of April. There are some 2,500 landslide-prone areas in the mountainous Central Asian state, of which 40 percent pose a threat to settlements.

HAWAII - Heavy rain hammered parts of Windward O'ahu for most of Sunday, forcing police to close roads and prompting the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood warning Sunday night. The 'Ahuimanu Loop rain gauge was the wettest recorded spot on O'ahu, with 7.88 inches of rain in the 24-hour period ending at 8 p.m.

SNOW / COLD -
FRANCE - A snowboarder has been killed by an avalanche in the ski resort of le Corbier. Three others in her group escaped without injury. With a further 15-20cm of snow overnight accompanied by strong winds Meteo France had warned the avalanche risk was at high (4/5) in the area. This was the second avalanche at the resort this season.

CALIFORNIA - Shifting temperatures created FREAK WEATHER at sea, where cold winds brushing warmer water led to waterspouts. After more than a week of glorious warm weather that peaked at 90 degrees inland, a weekend winter storm brought temperatures crashing back down to the usual February chill. Yearly rainfall totals for downtown Los Angeles from July 1 were measured at just over 5 inches, nearly half the normal 9.5 inches and a fraction of the 26 inches that fell last year.

ODD -
TAIWAN - Weather factors have impacted the strawberry crop in the Hsinchu area this year, resulting in the fruit growing to sizes rarely seen. Many strawberry farms in the area have produced not only huge fruit, but fruit that has grown in forms not typical of strawberries. A farmer in the township of Kuanhsi began cultivating strawberry plants a while back that yielded fruit that was the size of one's fist. In recent days, people have come to notice that the plants grown in Kuanhsi, Chiunglin and other areas are producing fruit that has grown in strange forms. The weird-looking fruit is rarely seen anyplace else. Farmers said that only the second crop of the season exhibited the strange looking fruit. The fruit likely grew into strange forms due to the passage of weather frontal systems through the area, with seasonable winds impacting the fruit in its growth stage. The harvest of this year's strawberry crops has been delayed somewhat in comparison with the past. The blooming of the plants in the first and second crops was drawn out considerably longer this year than in the past. As a result, the strawberries likely had the opportunity to extract more nutrients from the soil and be exposed to fertilizer for a longer period. The relatively long period between the two crops is something that occurs only once every number of years.

Drought, Heat, Water Shortages, Wildfires - updated Tuesdays

Monday, February 20, 2006 -

QUAKES -
Largest quakes yesterday -
2/19 -
5.5 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

INDIA - Is a new bomb ticking in the northeastern part of the Himalayas? Tuesday’s earthquake, which struck the Himalayas in Sikkim and was felt in the entire northeastern belt, is a grim reminder to the country’s planners and policy-makers on the continuance of massive hydroelectric projects in the region. Sikkim and Darjeeling Himalayas are part of the northeast belt, the seismic vulnerability of which cannot be understated, especially in the wake of the current isostatic adjustment of tectonic plates triggered by the December 26 quake. The region’s propensity to seismic convulsions has always kept seismographers and geomorphologists worried. Tuesday’s moderate quake, which recorded 5.3 on the Richter scale, has fuelled their apprehensions. The 12-second tremor had its epicentre 20.1 km below the earth’s surface at a place in Sikkim and 72.8 km north of Siliguri. As the ground shook, hundreds of residents rushed out of their homes. Two army jawans caught in a landslide triggered by the tremor were killed. “We cannot think of the extent of casualties in the thickly populated regions of Gangtok and neighbouring Darjeeling, had the quake been a little stronger and lasted a couple of moments more.”

TROPICAL STORMS -
CYCLONE 12S was 53 nmi NNE of Plaisance, Mauritius.

AUSTRALIA - A low-pressure system in the Gulf of Carpentaria could become north Queensland's second cyclone of the year. The weak low was near Gove on the Northern Territory coast and moving eastwards. Queensland's first cyclone of the season, tropical cyclone Jim, dumped widespread rain over northern Queensland last month before moving into the Coral Sea.

THUNDERSTORMS / HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING -
PHILIPPINES - At least 10 people were missing and feared dead in a new landslide Saturday night near a mining headquarters in the province of Zamboanga del Sur in southern Philippines. Two houses were buried by mudflows brought about by the heavy downpour that is being experienced across the region for the past days.
PHILIPPPINES - Almost two weeks after huge fissures snaked through the ground of two villages in Tarragona, Davao Oriental, officials there finally ordered the evacuation of the area for fear of experiencing a tragedy similar to what happened in Southern Leyte last week. The Mines and Geosciences Bureau had declared the area "highly unstable" and warned of a "major landslide" during a visit to the area on Valentine's Day last week. The situation in the two barangays is getting worse as more cracks are appearing on the ground. The number of houses destroyed in the area had also increased from 54 last week to 88 houses as of Saturday. Fears of greater damage to lives and property were fanned by an earthquake Sunday morning. They are still experiencing continuous rain in the area, prompting many residents there to voluntarily dismantle their houses and leave the area for their own safety.
PHILIPPINES - unless an early warning system is set up to advise people living in flood- and landslide-prone areas, a disaster similar to what took place in St. Bernard town in Southern Leyte province could hit the country's eastern seaboard again, the defense department warns. "Over the next four months, there is the danger that this flooding and landslide will happen again ... These flood-prone and landslide-prone areas could be hit." Once La Niña comes, these areas would be the hardest hit. Landslides, in fact, had already been reported in other areas of the country.

MALAYSIA - Several hundred padi acres went under water, a su suspension bridge was severely damaged and a concrete embankment collapsed when the Sungai Apin-Apin flooded its banks Friday night, following a recent deluge.

U.S. - Concentrated development in flood-prone parts of Missouri, California and other states has significantly raised the risk of New Orleans-style flooding as people snap up new homes even in areas recently deluged. Around St. Louis, where the Mississippi River lapped at the steps of the Gateway Arch during the 1993 flood, more than 14,000 acres of flood plain have been developed since then. That has reduced the region’s ability to store water during future floods and potentially put more people in harm’s way. Similar development has occurred around Dallas, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; and Los Angeles and Sacramento, California. As much as 85 percent of the Mississippi in St. Louis is confined behind levees, which have raised flood levels 10 feet to 12 feet higher than they were a century ago. That parallels the situation in New Orleans, which suffered catastrophic flooding when levees failed after Katrina. Yet bolstering levees might lure more people onto flood plains “You actually spur development. It’s a self-fulfilling process.”

SNOW / COLD -
U.S. - A deep freeze stretched from the Rockies to New England as workers tried to restore power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses left dark by fierce wind. At least four deaths were reported in the Northeast, while at least three people were killed in accidents on icy roads in Arkansas over the weekend. The fierce wind, including a 143 mph gust recorded on Vermont's Stratton Mountain on Friday, knocked out power and toppled trees, which were blamed for the four deaths in the Northeast. As far south as Texas, ice and freezing rain canceled dozens of flights. In the Upper Midwest, the 8 a.m. reading of 2 below zero at Duluth, Minn., combined with 17 mph wind for a wind chill of 23 below. A reading of 18 below was recorded in Allagash, Maine. Rochester, N.Y., registered a low of 10 degrees, and winds of up to 17 mph created a chill factor of almost 10 below zero.

CALIFORNIA - The weekend's sudden return to winter conditions continues a wacky month of weather which saw unseasonal temperatures in the 80s for several days in early- and mid-February. Santa Ynez Valley is expected to have freezing low temperatures until Wednesday night. Snow fell at elevations down to about 2,500 feet, with an estimated one to three inches falling throughout the day Saturday. Vehicles were covered in ice. “They had a thick coating of ice all over them. I can't remember that ever happening,” said a woman who has lived in the area 22 years.

BULGARIA - The Mountain Rescue Service at Bulgarian Red Cross are looking for a man buried under an avalanche on Vitosha mountain. The signal was received at the Mountain Rescue Service at 3.40 p.m. by a man who said the avalanche had dragged down two more men. “One of the men has already been found but he is seriously injured”.

HEAT / WILDFIRES -
CANADA - Lack of snow has forced organizers to change the route of the Yukon Quest sled dog race and end it in Dawson City for the first time in the 23-year-old competition's history.

Disease - updated Mondays

Sunday, February 19, 2006 -

QUAKES -
Largest quakes yesterday -
2/18 -
5.2 MARIANA ISLANDS
5.0 NORTHERN YUKON TERRITORY,CANADA
6.1 NEW BRITAIN
5.6 VANUATU ISLANDS
2/17 -
5.0 NORTH OF ASCENSION ISLAND
5.1 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN

Mindanao, Philippines was hit by a 4.8 quake yesterday and a 5.5 this morning.

TSUNAMI -
NEW ZEALAND - Top-secret wartime experiments were conducted off the coast of Auckland to perfect a tidal wave bomb, declassified files reveal. An Auckland University professor seconded to the Army set off a series of underwater explosions triggering mini-tidal waves at Whangaparaoa in 1944 and 1945. if the project had been completed before the end of the war it could have played a role as effective as that of the atom bomb. Papers stamped "top secret" show the U.S. and British military were eager for Seal to be developed in the post-war years too. The experiments involved laying a pattern of explosives underwater to create a tsunami. The bomb was never tested on a full scale.

VOLCANOES -
JAPAN - A volcano on Miyake Island had a minor eruption, the Meteorological Agency said Saturday, warning residents of volcanic gases and possible mudslides. Volcanic activity temporarily increased late Friday, triggering a minor temblor and releasing a small amount of ash. But the latest development does not pose an immediate danger to residents. The volcano's eruption in July 2000 forced all 4,000 islanders to evacuate the island. More than half of them returned a year ago after the evacuation order was lifted. The volcano continued to belch smoke and poisonous gas that officials say pose a potentially serious risk to residents.

THUNDERSTORMS / HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING -
PHILIPPINES - Friday's landslide - Only 83 people have been found alive, and 19 dead, between 1,500 and 2,500 may still be buried. The mudslide happened after heavy rains dumped about 200cm of rain on the area in the space of 10 days. "It sounded like the mountain exploded, and the whole thing crumbled." Boulders bigger than a house swept into the village amid the torrent of mud and earth. TV images showed only coconut trees and a few tin roofs emerging from the reddish soil. "Everything was buried. All the people are gone." Many residents had left last week, fearing landslides, but had begun to return as rains eased in the past few days. (PHOTOS)
Experts were surprised by such rainy weather in February. Severe storms normally run between June and December. "This sort of rainfall and landslide action in the Philippines at this time of year is QUITE UNUSUAL." The month of January in a typical year would normally see 60 landslide deaths worldwide, whereas January this year saw 283 landslide fatalities, many in Asia.
Some of the major landslides in the Philippines in recent years.

INDIANA - A tornado warning was issued Thursday afternoon as a violent storm touched down in Northwest Indiana, pushing 50 to 60 mph winds and thick hail over the region. “This is not the good setup for tornado activity. We didn’t have the warm, moist air on the surface that we need for the tornado storms.” The warning turned into a tornado watch, which was in effect until 10 p.m., even as the storm dwindled to a drizzle. Despite the lack of an actual tornado, meteorologists said they were amazed that something resembling a tornado could hit the region at this time of year. “This doesn’t happen in February often at all. We don’t know when it last happened - that’s how often it happens."

NEW JERSEY - A brief, heavy downpour on Friday morning followed by strong, gusty winds throughout the afternoon caused sporadic power outages, toppled trees and wires throughout the area, and blew off roofs in Morristown and Boonton. A quarter- to one-half inch of rain fell mid-morning, when the day's high reached 57, and then wind gusts up to 40 mph swept through with the temperature dropping.

WIND -
CHINA - At least 57 people are missing after two ships sank in high winds in the Taiwan Strait off southeast China.

SNOW / COLD -
CANADA - Powerful winds, freezing rain and snowstorms blasted a large part of the country Friday, causing at least four deaths near Ottawa and another in Quebec as slick roads turned treacherous for motorists. Southern Ontario and Quebec were battered Thursday night by high winds, freezing rain and thunderstorms. In Toronto, powerful winds of up to 90 km/h brought down trees and power lines, resulting in some blackouts. The wind also tore down traffic lights at about 20 different intersections throughout the city of Kingston. "The whole lexicon of weather misery was spread all over Southern Ontario in less than 12 hours." That included a random mix of freezing rain, snow and thunder and lighting - which is a RARE occurrence during winter. In Quebec, extremely strong winds and widely fluctuating temperatures were making for extremely difficult and dangerous driving conditions. At mid-afternoon Friday, dozens of people were trapped in their cars on Highway 40 near Joliette after a major car pileup involving between 50 and 60 cars. The storm is also expected to hit Atlantic Canada, starting with wind warnings for many parts of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia Friday evening. Freezing rain was also expected in some places. Environment Canada was warning of large waves and pounding surf along Newfoundland's west coast Saturday. Meanwhile western Canada has been hit by a cold snap. In British Columbia, overnight temperatures dropped down to –7 C, which is more like –14 C with the windchill. Albertans continue to face frigid weather, with temperatures of –23 C in Calgary and –20 C in Edmonton. Regina's has dipped to –27 C, with the wind chill making it feel like – 43 C. Winnipeg is recording temperatures of –32 C, or –45 C with the wind chill.

RUSSIA - An avalanche hit a road and a railway on southern Sakhalin on Friday and covered the engine of a cargo train with five meters of snow. The engineers were rescued. The avalanche was caused by heavy overnight snowfall in Nevelsk and Kholmsk districts of the island.

RUSSIA - A group of nine experienced climbers went into Nakhar’s canyon on January 27. The goal was to climb the peak of the Nakhar mount. On February 4, a heavy snowstorm began. The mountaineers decided to wait till the bad weather was over, but the snowfall did not stop. In a week, on February 11, an avalanche descended. It carried away several tents with part of the equipment. The group leader died. The climbers dug out the body of their dead friend. The snowfall continued. On February 13, a second avalanche descended. It buried three other group members, among them world champion Konstantin Dorro, under a 10m layer of snow. The survivers could not dig out their bodies, because the second avalanche carried away their equipment. By the evening of February 15, the group did not have any foodstuffs and fuel. In the same night, the snowfall stopped. On the morning of February 16, the surviving climbers were rescued by helicopter.


VERMONT - road crews throughout the Northeast Kingdom are trying to maintain roads during this year's unusual weather conditions. "It's just been a weird, weird winter." This year's freezing and thawing, freezing and thawing, has played havoc with the roads, creating numerous ruts and making roads harder to plow. The strange weather has created many frost heaves in places where there typically aren't any. It's not unusual to get a warm spell in the middle of winter, maybe once a year, but this week's warm spot was at least the fourth.

NEW YORK - Just as the last of the snow continues to melt from the past weekend's blizzard, Long Island and the New York metro area continues to experience some strange weather. "We're seeing conflicting air masses with mild weather behind us and a cold front moving in which will cause some high winds." They were expecting record high temperatures Friday before it began to drop into the 30s overnight. The shifts between cold and mild weather will probably continue as the pattern well into March.

MISSOURI - What started as a downright balmy February day with 70 degree temperatures changed quickly Thursday afternoon. As the rain began to fall, so did temperatures. That dramatic weather shift included stinging doses of hail. Many drivers were forced by the hail to stop in their tracks. The storm left piles of the hardened precipitation. Windows of apartment buildings were shattered and cars dented.

HEAT / WILDFIRES -
U.S. - Even by the inflated standards of recent record-warm years, January was a freakish standout, steamrolling the record book with a national average temperature that was nearly 9 degrees above normal. All 48 mainland states, from Maine to California, had warmer-than-average weather, and 41 posted temperatures that were either much higher than average or broke records. “It wasn’t even close - it was the warmest by far. Pretty much the whole country shattered records.” The bizarre January weather is wreaking havoc on many economic indicators, making it a bit hard to tell how strongly the economy is bouncing back from a fourth quarter that was itself dragged down by Hurricane Katrina’s devastation.

OKLAHOMA - the 16th was another disasterous day of wildfires in Southern Oklahoma. Several highways are shut down, and many were forced to evacuate their homes.

Friday, February 17, 2006 -

QUAKES -
Largest quakes yesterday -
2/16 -
5.8 TONGA ISLANDS
5.2 NEAR E. CST KAMCHATKA PEN
5.1 SOLOMON ISLANDS REGION

VOLCANOES -
OREGON - Mount St Helens Volcano - the active part of the new lava dome continues to extrude and the extreme heat continues to produce steam emissions. (New photos).

THUNDERSTORMS / HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING -
PHILIPPINES - At least 200 people are feared dead and 1,500 are missing after a mudslide buried an entire village on the Philippine island of Leyte at about 2:45am GMT, burying hundreds of houses and an elementary school. Heavy rains have been battering the area for about 10 days, and a mild earthquake, measuring 2.6 on the Richter scale, hit the region shortly before the disaster. People are missing in mud that is deep enough to cover the tops of trees. The village had a population of 3,000 to 4,000 and as many as 2,000 had been buried by the landslide. Reports from the scene said only 3 houses were still standing among the 300 hundred that were once there. "From what I saw, the whole mountain had flattened, become one plane." Though some villagers had been evacuated in anticipation of the flood threat, they had returned to participate in a village celebration. "Unfortunately, when they got back the mountain caved in on them." In all, a square kilometer of land has been buried. The area had been deluged with more than 20 inches of rain during February, FIVE TIMES THE MAXIMUM OF ANY PREVIOUS MONTH. Blocked roads and cut communications lines were hindering rescuers.
The Philippines government issued a press release just yesterday warning of the strange weather patterns. "The weather situation in the country has become unpredictable. The Philippines used to have predictable seasons – that of the sunny and rainy seasons occurring in the specific months of the year. The seasons for planting and harvesting were regular events similar to the dawning of day and the setting of the sun. Lately however, climatic changes have been occurring at inappropriate seasons of the year. Abnormal weather conditions brought about by the La Niña and El Niño phenomena have caused tragedies among residents of susceptible areas due to abrupt climatic changes. Casualties of mudslides brought about by heavy rains include: drowning to being buried alive...All government agencies are now tasked to prepare for the La Niña phenomenon even during summer. The onslaught of floods, typhoons and heavy rains at all times of the year should be anticipated..."
[SITE NOTE - On Wednesday I put on the report that another village is in danger of a massive mudslide.]

BOLIVIA - Thousands of Bolivian villagers living on the fringes of Lake Titicaca have lost homes and crops after weeks of heavy rains that led the Government to declare a state of emergency. Across Bolivia, tens of thousands of people have been hit by floods and landslides and more than 20 have been killed. Lake Titicaca has been rising about 2.5cm a day in recent weeks, devouring hundreds of metres of the fertile shoreline. Titicaca swelled to a height of 3810.03m earlier this week, just shy of the 3811.28m record set in 1986. It is estimated that for each 0.5 cm the waters rise, the lake advances two or three metres into shore.

BANGLADESH - Lightning killed nine people and injured 25 during a thunder storm in northeastern Bangladesh on Thursday. Several bolts of lightning struck the quarry over a period of 15 minutes.

IOWA - the Iowa City area Thursday morning experienced a weather occurrence typically reserved for warm weather: thunder and lightning. Known to meteorologists as “thunder snow,” the RARE event comes only with a very strong system with a lot of energy and warm air available to it. Records of “thunder snow” are incomplete but there are usually only one or two occurrences statewide each year. The last confirmed “thunder snow” in the area was in Cedar Rapids on March 12, 1991.

MALAYSIA - A FREAK thunderstorm uprooted hundreds of rubber trees and damaged five large barns killing more than 10,000 chickens in Pendang. The storm also partially damaged 20 houses in Kampung Bendang Raja, Kampung Perupok and Kampung Padang Petani in Pendang. The winds were recorded at 20km per hour in Alor Star when the storm started at about 6pm on Tuesday. A chicken farm owner who was among the 100 villagers affected said he saw a black cloud spiralling like tornado hitting his barns in Kampung Padang Petani.

SNOW / COLD -
OREGON - A cold air mass is sweeping in from Canada, despite weeks of relatively balmy temperatures and copious rainfall. The RARE frigid air mass is moving in from the east out of Canada all the way from the Great Lakes region. Typically, the Northwest receives weather from the west, or from the north out of western Canada. The UNUSUAL WEATHER SYSTEM could send temperatures into the teens in the Portland area overnight Thursday and into today. Temperatures in outlying and rural areas should be even lower. Since the system is coming towards the Northwest over land, it is not expected to be packing much moisture, meaning any snowfall in the Portland area should be light. However, forecasters say the real danger from the storm will come in the form of very low temperatures and wind, not just snow. The cold weather is a drastic change from almost two months of above-average temperatures that had the region's residents and some plants looking forward to an early spring.

HEAT / WILDFIRES -
GREENLAND'S glaciers are dumping more than twice as much ice into the Atlantic Ocean now as 10 years ago because glaciers are sliding off the land more quickly. This could mean oceans will rise even faster than forecast, and rising surface air temperatures appear to be to blame. Experts agreed this could mean scientists have underestimated how much the sea level will rise in the future as the planet warms.

SOMALIA - communities in southern and central Somalia are living in searing 40C heat with only three glasses a day per person for drinking, washing and cooking. "The situation is as bad as I can remember. Some people are dying and children are drinking their own urine because there is simply no water available for them to drink." The tiny amount of water available, for which many families have to walk up to 70km to get, is one-twentieth of the daily supply recommended by minimum humanitarian standards.

FRANCE, SPAIN - Scarce rains are stirring fears of a repeat of 2005's severe drought in France and Spain this year, with water reserves already low and falling. The water deficit in much of France was more than 70 percent at the end of January, up from 50 percent at the start of the month. While drought mostly hit southwest France last year, it was now expected to extend to the centre and the north, where some of the largest grain producing regions are located. Spain has had rain in January and February, but not enough to raise water levels significantly. Reserves are at 48 percent of their total capacity. Portugal, by contrast, had heavy rains in the autumn. 83 percent of Portugal was in a state of "weak drought" and 9 percent in "moderate drought".

CALIFORNIA - Farmers are saying that the unseasonably high temperatures are causing a strawberry surplus in fields all over California. Workers are not due for a couple of weeks to pick all the strawberries popping up. Strawberries that arrived in markets this week were not cheap, and finding a ripe one was rare. But that's not going to be a problem anymore. The unusually warm Winter is causing berries to blossom earlier than expected, creating a surplus that is good for consumers, but bad for farmers. A surplus drives down prices, and makes it harder for farmers to sell during a time when strawberries are not in high demand. And too many berries in the stores mean that they are rotting at the packing plant. Only real Winter weather can stop the strawberry surplus. Farmers are hoping for rain and cold weather in the next couple weeks to extend the harvest. This season is a stark difference from last year's, when strawberries were stalled for a few weeks from heavy rain storms drenching the Central Coast.

Thursday, February 16, 2006 -

QUAKES -
Largest quakes yesterday -
2/15 -
5.0 MINAHASSA PENINSULA, SULAWESI
5.1 NORTHERN SUMATERA, INDONESIA
5.2 TIMOR, INDONESIA, REGION
5.6 KURIL ISLANDS, RUSSIA
5.6 VANUATU ISLANDS
5.2 XIZANG

TROPICAL STORMS -
Cyclone VAIANU was 1009 nmi NE of Auckland, New Zealand.

THUNDERSTORMS / HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING -
BOLIVIA - Flooding and mudslides caused by heavy rain that fell for more than a week have killed 19 people in Bolivia and injured dozens. Some 100,000 people across the country have been affected by the natural disasters and electric power outages.

THAILAND - Unseasonal flash floods along the eastern coast of southern Thailand caused two deaths Tuesday in Nakhon Si Thammarat province and closed the Thai-Malaysia border crossing in Narathiwat's Sungai Golok district for the second day. Floods paralysed transport at the Thai-Malaysian border Sungai Golok checkpoint. Shipments of fresh produce were unable to be moved to Malaysia. In Sungai Golok district of of Narathiwat, floodwaters remained over one metre high.

SNOW / COLD -
PAPUA - Extreme temperatures, combined with cold-related viral diseases and illnesses have plagued remote villages in the easternmost Indonesian province of Papua and killed at least 95 people in recent weeks. The cold weather, which dipped as low as 5 degrees Celsius in a region where temperatures typically are well above 20 degrees, has plagued villages in the Illaga and Gome sub-districts of Papua's Puncak Jaya regency.

UNITED KINGDOM - A climber has said he thought he was going to die after being swept away by an avalanche near the summit of Ben Nevis, Britain's highest peak. But he and his friend walked away virtually unscathed despite plunging 900ft down the mountain face they had been scaling. They were just a few metres beneath the top of number two gully when the build-up of overhanging snow gave way. A second party of three climbers was also caught up in the avalanche which stopped just yards from sending the group into frozen water. All five managed to stay on the top of the cascading snow and were only partially buried.

RUSSIA - An avalanche hit a village in a Russian republic in the North Caucasus Wednesday. The avalanche in the republic of Karachai-Circassia occurred at about 12:40 p.m. Moscow time [9.40 GMT], damaging around 15 private houses; two of these had their roofs ripped off. No casualties have been reported so far. On Monday, an avalanche in the same area hit a mountaineers' camp, killing one. A heavier avalanche the following night killed three more members of the nine-strong group, and injured another. Meteorologists have warned that more avalanches may be forthcoming in the North Caucasus.

ALASKA - State Troopers are flying toward an avalanche site in Dalzell Gorge near Rohn to search for a man believed to be trapped Tuesday under the snow. The man was part of a snowmachine team that had just finished manning the Iron Dog Race checkpoint in Rohn. His team was reportedly driving behind the snowmachine racers to break trail for the upcoming Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race when the avalanche occurred.

JAPAN - An avalanche struck a group of students in northern Japan on Wednesday, killing one and leaving several missing. The avalanche occurred near the city of Ebetsu on the northern island of Hokkaido around 11 a.m. It was the latest in a string of avalanches in Japan over the last week as the country struggles through one of its snowiest winters on record.

INDIA - An avalanche threat looms on the entire tribal belt and other higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh which experienced moderate snowfall Tuesday. The avalanche threat was mainly because of UNUSUALLY HIGH temperatures in high altitude tribal areas which could hasten melting of the glaciers. People living in Keylong, Udaipur, Pangi and Pin valley have been asked to avoid outdoor movement to avert any mishap. Chamba town and its adjoining areas were hit by a hailstorm followed by widespread heavy rains, triggering landslides and disrupting vehicular traffic.

CANADA - There has been considerable and potentially dangerous avalanche activity in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks in the past week. For much of last Tuesday, the Trans-Canada Highway was closed between Field, B.C. and Lake Louise due to an avalanche that swept across the highway from Mount Bosworth on Monday evening. The avalanche last Monday was isolated, as opposed to being one in a series. “It was an ODDBALL EVENT in the sense that it wasn’t a widespread cycle. Normally when we start getting a peak in an avalanche cycle we start seeing sort of a pattern of a number of avalanches happening in a number of different areas. What’s a little bit different about it is that something happens there and it’s a fairly big event.” On Sunday, a big backcountry avalanche occurred near Lake O’Hara in Yoho National Park. No one was hurt. “(It) was a very big avalanche, which was a bit of surprise. The condition we have is deep instabilities in the snow pack so that when something does fail, it fails big. There are also small avalanches that are happening as well but some of the big events are all the winter snow pack failing.” On Saturday, Parks Canada closed the same part of the highway as it had last Tuesday. High winds and snowfall in the past several days contributed to the deteriorating conditions.

The 4 Scariest Predictions for Our Planet? -
Pole Shift, Meteor Strike, Yellowstone Super Volcano, Global Warming, that ironically results in another Ice Age.

The earth wobbles as it rotates on its axis. At least it used to. As of January 8, 2006, the wobbling has stopped, according to earth changes researcher Michael Mandeville. What will the effects be? No one knows. Maybe nothing. Or, based on previous periods of similar lack of wobble, it may portend major changes in tectonic activity during ensuing years, including a dramatic increase in volcanism during 2006/2007.

Unusual Animal Behavior - updated Thursdays.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006 -

QUAKES -
Largest quakes yesterday -
2/14 -
6.3 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
5.7 SIKKIM, INDIA
5.2 NORTH OF SVALBARD

INDIA - An earthquake-triggered landslide claimed two lives and at least 500 buildings, including private houses and government and commercial establishments, were damaged by tremors that rocked Sikkim, parts of north Bengal and Assam shortly after dawn yesterday. Two soldiers were killed when their vehicle was crushed by falling boulders. The 5.7 quake also partially affected water supply and telecommunication networks throughout Sikkim.

LANDSLIDES -
PHILIPPINES - On February 9, major earth displacements in barangays Tubaon and Maganda damaged 54 houses and 21 buildings and infrastructures. Residents in landslide-affected areas have not evacuated despite the danger of an impending major landslide. Residents claim that as early as January they noticed cracks on the ground. By early February, they said they could hear rumbling sounds underneath. Authorities noted cracks on the ground as deep as two meters.

VOLCANOES -
MONTSERRAT - Soufriere HIlls volcano Monday shot trails of steam and ash into the air, just days after scientists noted an increase in activity on the northwest side of the mountain. Volcanic ash was sent trailing over the U.S. Virgin Islands and parts of Puerto Rico.

ETHIOPIA - Last week further eruptions of Ethiopia's Erta Ale Volcano were observed by orbiting satellites. An eruption in September 2005 displaced about 40,000 nomads.

TROPICAL STORMS -
Cyclone VAIANU was 949 nmi NE of Auckland, New Zealand.
TONGA - Tonga's capital was shut down for two days by Cyclone Vaianu, which brought damaging gale force winds and heavy rain, with flooding in many areas of southern Tonga. Heavy gale force winds battered Tongatapu on Monday night causing extensive damage to trees and bringing down breadfruit, avocados, mangos and other fruits, flattening bananas and damaging other food crops. Billboards were blown over near the Royal Palace and shops signs damaged with water damage to buildings.

THE COMING HURRICANE SEASON - The director of the National Hurricane Center is warning Americans that the 2005 hurricane season may end up being mild compared to 2006. The effects of an El Nino weather system in the Pacific that raises ocean temperatures could increase the intensity of hurricanes this year. He says far too many residents ignored hurricane evacuation requests in 2005.

THUNDERSTORMS / HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING -
ALGERIA - Tens of thousands of people need urgent help after torrential rains have flooded their refugee camps in south-west Algeria, leaving them without shelter and short of food. At the Sahrawi refugee camps the rains had washed away many of the mud brick houses where some 158,000 refugees have been living since fleeing the disputed Western Sahara territory. "Heavy rains over the past few days destroyed 50 per cent of shelters."

FOG -
INDIA - A 'FREAK' blanket of fog enveloped the capital again Tuesday morning even as scorching weather conditions, that have brought the 'heat of summer' in Delhi earlier than the usual period in March, persisted. A similar blanket of fog had enveloped the capital on Friday morning. The mercury continued its upward rise, a trend witnessed since the beginning of February - while the minimum temperature shot up to 14.5 degrees Celsius, five degrees above normal, the maximum temperature rose to 30.9 degrees Celsius, eight degree above normal - continuing Delhi's ''fast movement'' towards summer. In fact, there is expected to be no let-up from the scorching heat in the next few days. With the scorching weather coming ''too soon'', weathermen say it is THE WARMEST FEBRUARY IN THE LAST MANY YEARS. Such hot weather is QUITE UNUSUAL at this time of the year.

SNOW / COLD -
RUSSIA - Three people are feared to have been killed in an avalanche in southern Russia. The incident happened on Tuesday morning in the North Caucasus republic of Karachayevo-Circassia. A camp of climbers and a ministry rescuer were engulfed in the avalanche. The bodies of the victims have not been found so far. Emergency officials do not rule out other persons killed by the avalanche would be found under the snow.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006 -

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY - May love surround you -
love for life, love for nature, love for home, love for your fellow man (No exceptions).

QUAKES -
Largest quakes yesterday -
2/13 -
5.0 NORTHERN SUMATERA, INDONESIA
5.1 OFF W. CST OF NORTHERN SUMATERA
5.2 SOUTHERN SUMATERA, INDONESIA
5.3 SOUTHEAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN

INDIA - A moderate 5.7 earthquake centred in the Indian mountain state of Sikkim today sent people running from their homes in the region, witnesses said, and cracks were reported in some buildings. The earthquake's epicentre was 1,120 km (700 miles) north of the eastern city of Kolkata and occurred at 6:25 a.m (0055 GMT). In the state capital, Gangtok, big boulders had rolled down from the top of hills and blocked roads. "There are reports of two or three buildings having been damaged and cracks found in a number of buildings...The jerk was strong and sudden."

OHIO - Another small earthquake has been detected beneath Lake Erie, the third so far this year. According to initial data from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the earthquake hit Friday morning about three miles northwest of Mentor-on-the-Lake in Lake County and measured 2.6 magnitude. No damage was reported. Ohio has recorded more than 185 earthquakes since 1776, but only 15 of them have caused damage. The most seismically active regions are along Lake Erie.

VOLCANOES -
ALASKA - The activity on Augustine Volcano is far from over, and in fact, may only be beginning. In the past, Augustine has erupted in two phases, an explosive phase, much like the volcano's current fury, and a dome-building phase. Meanwhile, scientists are pouring over data to understand the volcano's current status, and to look for clues to its future. As the eruption continues, GPS instruments will continue to track the volcano's "breathing" as it shrinks and swells due to the movement of magma. The EarthScope GPS station located closest to Augustine's summit has been creeping away from its original location in response to the volcano's eruptions.

TROPICAL STORMS -
Cyclone VAIANU was 985 nmi NNE of Auckland, New Zealand.
Cyclone Vaianu strengthened overnight Sunday - it is still moving steadily and slowly south over open waters in southern Tonga, with winds of up to 150 kilometres an hour. It is predicted to bring damaging winds to all islands in the area, but its expected to swerve south-east around the western side of Tongatapu, which is home to the capital. Seas close to the eye are PHENOMENAL and flooding, including sea-flooding of low-lying coastal areas, is expected.

THUNDERSTORMS / HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING -
MALAYSIA - Severe flooding caused by UNSEASONAL RAINSTORMS has struck several districts of the violence-plagued southern border province of Narathiwat on Thailand's border with Malaysia. Four days of constant rainfall complicated by run-off from forest waters flowing down San Kala Kiri mountain has caused the Sungai Kolok River to overflow its banks and flooded local homes located along the riverbanks. At least 300 households in Sungai Kolok municipality are now inundated due to the floods.

IRAQ - Heavy flooding has displaced some 7,500 Iraqis in northern and south-eastern Iraq, while some 25,000 in northern Iraq have been forced to leave their homes since rainfall began on February 2. The situation is dire, "These people can't return, even after the water is drained." Food supplies are only expected to last for a few more days in some areas. The security and political situation in Iraq has seriously hampered efforts to provide many of the displaced flood victims with aid. Poor sanitation has also been the cause of widespread disease, especially amongst children.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA - Papua New Guinea’s Central Province disaster agency is distributing food and temporary shelter to hundreds of the people affected by the flooding over the past week. About 11,000 people in five villages have been affected and hundreds have been made homeless. Many houses have been damaged and a lot of food gardens have been destroyed.

NAMIBIA - A 38-year-old woman and her two children, aged 10 and 12, drowned when they were swept away by a flooding river on Saturday. The children's father, aged 39, managed to swim to safety. Like other parts of Namibia, the Naukluft area has been receiving good rains since December. The father heard a sound that he described as sounding like a helicopter flying overhead. While there were some clouds in the sky, it had not been raining in that area at the time. A few seconds after hearing that sound, a flash flood struck the family, sweeping all four of them away. Unknown to them, a heavy rain shower had fallen higher up in the mountain that afternoon, sending a lethal wall of water their way. Judging from driftwood and debris that remained behind in the ravine after the flood had flashed past, and from the swiftness of the event, it appears that a cloudburst may have taken place over the mountain.

SNOW / COLD -
CANADA - A 50-year-old man from Calgary has died after skiing into the path of an avalanche in Kananaskis Country, while his companion escaped without injury.

Drought, Heat, Water Shortages, Wildfires - updated Tuesdays

Monday, February 13, 2006 -

QUAKES -
Largest quakes yesterday -
None larger than 4.9

TROPICAL STORMS -
Cyclone VAIANU was 1158 nmi NNE of Auckland, New Zealand.
Tropical Cyclone Vaianu is continuing to strengthen as it lies between Tonga and Fiji. It is moving slowly south west. There are warnings of gale force winds, very rough to high seas and damaging heavy swells. Strong wind warnings are still in force for Vava’u and the Niuas.

THUNDERSTORMS / HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING -
PHILIPPINES - At least 20 people were killed by landslide and flooding in central and southern Philippines during the weekend. 10 people traveling on two motorcycles were killed in a landslide Sunday morning in Southern Leyte in central Philippines. The landslide was caused by heavy rains which softened soil in the mountains. Flooding in Surigao del Sur and its neighboring provinces in southern Philippines killed 10 people over the weekend, while several million pesos worth of crops, livestock and fisheries were damaged. Five days of continuous rains inundated 18 towns in the Caraga region, affecting 200,000 residents.

SNOW / COLD -
U.S. EAST COAST - Three key airports were shut down and hundreds of flights were cancelled at other airports after a blizzard swept the region, leaving a blanket of deep snow from Boston to Washington.
The storm buried sections of the Northeast under more than 60 centimetres of snow Sunday, marooning thousands of travellers. The National Weather Service said 68 centimetres (26.9 inches) of snow had fallen in Central Park, New York, the MOST SINCE RECORD-KEEPING STARTED IN 1869. Wind gusting nearly 100 kilometres an hour blew the snow sideways and raised a risk of coastal flooding in New England. And in a RARE display, lightning lit up the falling snow before dawn in the New York and Philadelphia areas, producing muffled winter thunder. The storm is also causing trouble in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, where 20 centimetres of snow is expected to fall.

ILLINOIS - More snow was expected after a FREAK BAND of widespread but heavy snow showers dumped as much as 7 inches in some areas of Central Illinois Saturday morning. "It's a VERY ODD STORM," a National Weather Service meteorologist said. "Some areas of Springfield got 6 inches while neighborhoods nearby got almost nothing." The system developed more strongly than models had predicted, and showers formed and repeatedly traveled over the same areas. The showers started around 4 a.m. and moved southeast. "It was VERY STRANGE FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR, but interesting to watch."

INDIANA - winter weather resulted in multiple wrecks on Interstate 65 Saturday, closing both lanes and backing up traffic for miles. UNPREDICTABLE SNOWFALLS affected areas of south central Indiana, depositing 3 inches in the Brown County area and 5 in Johnson, and no snow in other areas.
Why the peculiar weather? Cold temperatures about 10,000 to 15,000 feet in the air mixing with the warm ground temperatures created an unstable atmosphere, causing random snow squalls. "YOU DON'T SEE THIS TOO OFTEN. It's convective snow. Think of it as scattered showers in the springtime. Just so happens it came in the form of scattered snow showers."

FLORIDA - An arctic blast of cold air in Central Florida will likely drop temperatures to RECORD-BREAKING LOWS early today, and even present the chance for some snow flurries outside Orlando.

ALASKA - The Seward Highway was closed Saturday when a massive avalanche buried the roadway, nine metres deep in places. There were no immediate reports of injuries or fatalities. It occurred less than a day after the highway was reopened following bad weather and avalanches that forced its closure Thursday.

ODD -
AUSTRALIA - An UNUSUAL COMBINATION of light rain, humidity and dust was responsible for a loss of power to around 18,000 Sydney homes. EnergyAustralia blamed a combination of early morning dew and dust for causing insulators on high-voltage lines at Menai and Berowra to short out at about 9:45pm (AEDT) yesterday. The blackouts occurred when fail-safe mechanisms kicked in after electricity jumped over an insulator. "It's all about an unusual occurrence of light rain, humidity and dust combining to cause the electricity to arc over, jump over, an insulator."

Disease - updated Mondays

Sunday, February 12, 2006 -

QUAKES -
Largest quakes yesterday -
2/11 -
5.5 TALAUD ISLANDS, INDONESIA
5.1 CARLSBERG RIDGE
5.0 EASTERN XIZANG-INDIA BDR REG.
2/10 -
5.1 NEAR COAST OF CENTRAL CHILE
5.2 GULF OF MEXICO

UZBEKISTAN - Rumors of an impending powerful earthquake (8.0 on the Richter scale) with an epicenter in the capital of Uzbekistan spread in Tashkent on Tuesday afternoon. References to different sources were made: alleged warnings from seismic stations, calls from relatives or acquaintances from "competent bodies", and "classified cables" the "top brass" were allegedly sending to municipal power structures. The rumors became even more specific by 4:30 p.m. and they scheduled the earthquake for 3 a.m. the following night. Calls to the Institute of Seismology were to no avail. Thousands of calls were coming in, and all lines were overloaded. Unusual weather phenomena are sometimes observed before earthquakes - sudden cold in summer or warmth in winter and on February 8, temperatures set a record for the last 40 years and reached +24 Celsius. Still remembering the devastating earthquakes of 1966 and 1980, in Tashkent residents of blocks of apartments both in the center and in the outskirts spent between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. that evening outdoors - with children and pets. Some took their most valuable items with them (TV sets). Tension abated after 8 p.m. when TV news programs ran an interview with the Director of the Institute of Seismology. Once he denounced the rumors and said that nothing indicated a forthcoming earthquake as far as seismologists were concerned, residents of Tashkent returned to their homes wondering who had let the rumors loose in the first place.

TSUNAMI -
What is the physical limit of the height of a tsunami? Just the right conditions to test the limit may have occurred on July 9, 1958, in Lituya Bay, within Glacier Bay National Park on Alaska's southeastern coast. The narrow bay was bounded on the east by a glacier and the steep face of a rock wall. When a magnitude 8 earthquake occurred, centered just 13 miles from the bay, not only was the floor of the bay lifted up about 3.5 feet and tilted, but a massive sheet of rock and ice also fell off the wall and into the water, creating a monstrous splash that initially reached a height of 1,720 feet - a third of a mile. Scientists who have studied the event liken the impact to that of an asteroid striking Earth. The tsunami continued on across the bay at a height of about 100 feet, swamping the few boats anchored in the bay and killing two people onboard. Miraculously, others survived, as the boats they were on rode out the wave.

VOLCANOES -
MONTSERRAT - The Soufriere Hills Volcano on the island of Montserrat produced a plume of volcanic ash on February 9. This event was part of a continuing pattern of intermittent eruptions from the volcano. Volcanic ash is a recurring health hazard for Montserrat’s residents, irritating eyes and respiratory tracts.

TROPICAL STORMS -
Cyclone VAIANU - is expected to strengthen slowly this morning as it moves through central Tonga. The storm is expected to move south towards the main island of Tongatapu and the capital Nuku'alofa during today and tomorrow. At midday New Zealand time, it's expected to be 200km west of the Vava'u group of outer islands, bringing damaging gale force winds of up to 110kmh. Forecasters predict thunderstorms, heavy rain, high seas and heavy swells, leading to flooding of low-lying coastal areas. On its current path, Vaianu is moving towards Fiji, but is expected to change its path later. Vaianu is the fourth named tropical cyclone in the South Pacific in the current season.

THUNDERSTORMS / HEAVY RAINS / FLOODING -
PAKISTAN - The survivors of the earthquake that devastated Pakistan last year face a new threat: flash floods from a giant lake forming rapidly behind a dam of material shaken loose during the event. Experts who visited the region last month say urgent action is needed to avert a se