you must set the regulator.
When a man does ill, it is not enough to alter his handiwork,
you must regulate his heart.
Augustus William Hare
Very little to report today.
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
5.1 KEPULAUAN TALAUD, INDONESIA
5.7 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
Yesterday -
6/1/10 -
5.3 VANUATU
5.3 NEUQUEN, ARGENTINA
6.0 COSTA RICA
TROPICAL STORMS -
Cyclone PHET was 551 nmi SW of Karachi, Pakistan.
GUATEMALA - A cavernous and almost perfectly round sinkhole swallowed an entire intersection in Guatemala City during a tropical storm, spooking people in the neighbourhood but exciting geologists. The hole is 20 metres across and plunges nearly 30 metres deep. Geologists said that the circular shape suggested a cave formation underneath, but what exactly caused the sinkhole was still a mystery. "I can tell you what it's not: It's not a geological fault, and it's not the product of an earthquake. That's all we know. We're going to have to descend."
The sinkhole formed on Saturday and gulped down a clothing factory about two kilometres from the site of a similar sinkhole three years ago. Residents said that a three-storey building and a house fell into the hole. Workers at the factory had left an hour earlier. A weekend security guard also was spared because he had left to tend to his house, which flooded from heavy rain as Tropical Storm Agatha bore down on Central America. Some neighbours believe one or two people might have disappeared, but authorities said no deaths had been reported. Crews were waiting for blueprints of the city's drainage system before investigating further. Most people living nearby have moved out, fearful the hole will expand and swallow more homes. A 2007 sinkhole nearby killed three people and swallowed several homes in the same area. It was blamed on rain and an underground sewage flow, but it is too early to say whether those problems are to blame this time. Video
HEALTH THREATS -
The World Health Organization again reported only low global pandemic flu activity, with the most active areas in the Caribbean and Southeast Asia, which are experiencing "low-level circulation," notably in Cuba, Singapore, Malaysia, and Bangladesh. Except for localized areas in Chile, the temperate Southern Hemisphere is showing little evidence of H1N1 activity. Seasonal influenza strains continue to be detected at low levels globally. The CDC also reported very low US rates.
