John Burroughs
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
None 5.0 or higher.
Yesterday -
4/4/10 -
5.5 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
5.2 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
7.0 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
5.0 FIJI REGION
4/3/10 -
5.0 KEP. MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA
5.1 NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
5.1 KEPULAUAN OBI, INDONESIA
5.1 RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN
5.2 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
4/2/10 -
5.1 KEPULAUAN BARAT DAYA, INDONESIA
5.2 MOLUCCA SEA
6.0 OFFSHORE BIO-BIO, CHILE
5.1 MAULE, CHILE
5.0 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
5.0 SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS
MEXICO - A 7.2 magnitude earthquake centered in Baja California, Mexico was felt all over Southern California, rocking high rise buildings from San Diego to Los Angeles, but there were no immediate reports of major damage. One man died when his home collapsed on him in Baja. The man's home was very close to the quake's epicenter, just outside Mexical. There are reports of people trapped in more home collapses in Mexicali and rescue teams from nearby Tijuana are rushing over to the city to aid. The preliminary magnitude 6.9 quake struck about 6 miles below the earth's surface at 3:40 p.m. PT, about 110 miles east-southeast of Tijuana. After examining data, seismologists upgraded the size of Sunday's 25-second quake from a magnitude 6.9 to 7.2. "This is the largest earthquake since the [7.3 magnitude] Landers earthquake of 1992. A 7.2 is going to happen over a pretty long fault, probably close to 50 miles long." Seismologists are working to determine which of a series of faults the quake occurred on.
The temblor's force caused high-rise buildings in San Diego to sway back and forth around 30 seconds before rocking high-rise buildings in downtown Los Angeles. Over 20 million people felt shaking related to the earthquake. Strong shaking was reportedly felt as far away as Las Vegas, Nevada and Yuma, Arizona.
A serious of powerful aftershocks, including a 5.1 magnitude jolt, were felt in the hour after the initial magnitude 7.2 quake struck in Baja California, Mexico. Magnitude 4.5 and magnitude 4.3 aftershocks came before and after. It is "reasonably likely" that the area could see a "triggered earthquake" around magnitude 6.0 in the next few days following the quake.
There are growing reports of damages emerging from Mexicali and Calexico, including structural damage, broken windows, leaking gas lines, loss of water services, and loss of electricity in portions of Northern Mexico. There are reports of substantial damage in the older section of Calexico. The LAFD reports several instances of people being trapped in elevators, including one report of a woman trapped on the 34th floor of a building in Century City. According to the USGS, the same area where Sunday's quake struck has been experiencing quakes around magnitude-3.0 sporadically throughout the week.
TROPICAL STORMS -
Cyclone ROBYN was 1196 nmi ESE of Diego Garcia and 1685 nmi WNW of Perth, Australia.
HEAVY RAINS, SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
PERU - At least 20 people have been killed in central Peru after heavy rains sparked a mudslide that engulfed a small village. The mudslide struck the village in the Huanuco region. At least another 25 people are reportedly missing, but hundreds of people might still be missing. 50 people had also been injured. At least 120 homes had been damaged or destroyed. Days of heavy rains caused a small lake higher up a nearby mountain to overflow into a ravine. In the past few months the Peruvian Andes have experienced ONE OF THE HEAVIEST RAINY SEASONS IN DECADES. Some meteorologists say it is due to the cyclical El Nino weather pattern, while others attribute the downpours to climate change. The deadly mudslide was the second in as many days in Peru. On Thursday, five people were killed in the town of Cancejos.
EXTREME HEAT / WILDFIRES / DROUGHT / CLIMATE CHANGE -
CHINA - The DROUGHT AFFECTING YUNNAN EXCEEDS ANY FROM OVER THE PAST MILLENNIUM. It is estimated that by May, one out of four people will have no drinking water. The drought began last fall and has persisted for three consecutive seasons. It could continue through early summer. Seven million people are expected to suffer the effects of the food shortage.
“Our harvest for early spring crops such as corn, wheat, and kidney beans is zero. We cannot seed for the late spring crops. If there’s no rain by May, major spring crops such as rice are at risk. People will face starvation."
"The rivers and ponds are completely dry. There’s no water in wells or cellars. There are no vegetables. The wheat is all dead. Even the mountain trees have wilted. There’s nothing left.”
Southern China is experiencing its worst drought in living memory, impacting 61.3 million people in the provinces of Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, the city of Chongqing, and surrounding areas. The supply of drinking water for 18 million people, and water for 11.7 million large livestock and five million hectares (12.5 million acres) of farmland are compromised; more than 1.15 million hectares (2.9 million acres) of farmland already decimated.
STRANGE ANIMAL BEHAVIOR -
AUSTRALIA - World's largest reef fish die of mysterious death, wash up on Aussie beach. Scientists are baffled as to why enormous Queensland groper fish are washing up dead on North Queensland beaches without a scratch on them. The Queensland gropers - the largest reef-dwelling fish in the world - are dying from septicemia caused by bacterial infections but scientists are at a loss to explain why. Mystery surrounding the deaths continue after a 1.7m groper washed up on Saturday morning at Rowes Bay, a Townsville coastal suburb. A fisheries spokeswoman said although it was RARE for the monster fish to wash up in Townsville, it was common in the far north. In the past two years, more than 50 gropers have washed up dead on North Queensland beaches, mainly north of Cardwell, all infected with the bacteria Streptococcus agalactiae.
