Henry David Thoreau
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
None 5.0 or higher.
Yesterday -
3/20/10 -
5.2 CHIAPAS, MEXICO
5.0 CUBA REGION
5.6 CUBA REGION
5.1 SOUTH OF ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.2 LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE
5.0 LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE
5.0 BIO-BIO, CHILE
6.5 NEW IRELAND REGION, P.N.G.
3/19/10 -
5.3 LIBERTADOR O'HIGGINS, CHILE
5.0 OFFSHORE VALPARAISO, CHILE
5.4 OFFSHORE MAULE, CHILE
5.3 EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG., P.N.G.
5.2 LAKE BAYKAL REGION, RUSSIA
MYSTERY BOOMS / SKYQUAKES -
KENTUCKY - 3/18/10 - Unexplained 'boom' generates calls to 911 center. Concerned citizens reported hearing a loud boom and feeling possible tremors to the Maysville Emergency 911 Dispatch Center Thursday night. The reports of the unusually loud boom, which apparently caused buildings to shake and windows to rattle, started coming into the dispatch center around 9:25 p.m. About 50 calls came in, most from Mason County, but some were from citizens in Brown County. They immediately checked the National Geological Earthquake Web site, but there were no reports of earthquake activity in the Ohio River Valley region. A similar incident occurred in Pendleton County earlier this week, but that boom and subsequent aftershock were attributed to activity at Black River Mine. Officials from the Kentucky Emergency Management Operation Center will check with local industries and other sources to see if blasting has occurred or what other activities may have caused the booms.
OREGON - 3/16/10 - Two mysterious “booms” reportedly shook Portland. An Air Force spokeswoman from Ft. Lewis/McChord base in Washington state said there were no craft or artillery capable of making booms, sonic or otherwise, in the area that evening.
VOLCANOES -
ICELAND - A volcano in the area of the Eyjafallajoekull glacier in southern Iceland erupted today, forcing more 500 people in its vicinity to evacuate their homes. "We estimate that no one is in danger in the area but we have started an evacuation plan and between 500 and 600 people are being evacuated." The eruption started shortly after midnight and the area's main road has been closed. A volcano in the area last erupted in 1821 and 1823.
INDONESIA - Seventeen of 18 volcanoes in Indonesia are on alert status and emitting toxic gas. The alert status is the second level of a three-level system of warning. The Ibu volcano in West Halmahera is the only one of the 18 volcanoes at the lower No. 3 standby level. Mount Talang in Sumatra and Mount Karangetang in Sulawesi are the most recent volcanos to have their status raised to alert. Other Indonesian volcanoes on alert include Krakatoa, Bromo, Kaba, Anak, Slamet and Lokon. In 1883, Krakatoa erupted in an explosion equivalent to 200 megatons of TNT, about 13,000 times the force of the U.S. bomb that devastated Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II.
TROPICAL STORMS -
Cyclone ULUI was 115 nmi SE of Townsville, Australia
Ului was a category three cyclone packing winds of 200km/h when it crossed the coast near Airlie Beach in Australia early this morning. Some residents had a pretty hairy time, especially those on the islands. "Some of the islands have seen airconditioners sucked out of the walls. That's the force of the wind that came through, so I think they've had a pretty scary night." Some homes also lost their roofs. The cyclone, which has since been downgraded to a rain depression, caused severe damage in pockets but it was not a catastrophic event.
FIJI - those worst hit by Cyclone Tomas will have to live on rations for the next few months. Northern parts of the Lau and Lomaiviti island groups have suffered the most devastation, with homes and crops destroyed. Copra and breadfruit plantations in particular will take many months to grow back. People are gradually starting to return to their homes. Meanwhile, the number of fatalities from Cyclone Tomas has increased to three.
EXTREME HEAT / WILDFIRES / DROUGHT / CLIMATE CHANGE -
CHINA, SOUTH KOREA - Beijing has been shrouded in orange dust as a strong sandstorm blew hundreds of miles from drought-struck northern China to the nation's capital. The authorities have issued a level-five pollution warning and urged people to stay indoors. The storm has already caused havoc in Xinjiang, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Hebei regions and is heading to South Korea. Residents of the South Korean capital, Seoul, as well as those in central and western regions, have been advised to stay indoors.
The storm came from the deserts of Inner Mongolia. Beijing has long-suffered from sandstorms - including a single instance in April 2006 when 300,000 tons of sand poured down on the city, but the storms had become less frequent in recent years. "The situation improved tremendously after [the 2006 storm]." Beijing had only one sandstorm last year. Experts say the storms are, in part, caused by deforestation and the rapid expansion of urban areas in recent decades. The storm was expected to last until Monday.
