LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
None 5.0 or higher.
Yesterday -
10/30/10 -
5.1 KURIL ISLANDS
5.2 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
6.1 PACIFIC-ANTARCTIC RIDGE
5.1 SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS
10/29/10 -
5.1 SOUTHWEST OF SUMATRA, INDONESIA
5.2 HALMAHERA, INDONESIA
5.2 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.1 OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE
5.0 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.1 SOUTH INDIAN OCEAN
TAIWAN - A series of 15 earthquakes, including two with magnitudes above 4.0, hit northeastern and eastern Taiwan over an eight-hour period starting late Friday but did not cause any casualties. The epicenters of all of the quakes were close to each other, but the series of small-scale earthquakes did not imply that a stronger earthquake was imminent. But the director of the bureau's Seismology Center said residents in hilly areas of Yilan County needed to exercise extra caution because the earthquakes may have left the region even more vulnerable to mudslides after the onslaught of heavy rainfall last week.
VOLCANOES -
Second Indonesian volcano erupts - Indonesia's Anak Krakatau volcano in Sunda Strait, straddling East Java and Sumatra, has spewed ash and flaming rocks. Officials raised alert levels to 'high' on Friday as the volcano showed signs of increased activity, producing 117 small eruptions. Staff at the observation post in Pasauran, Banten Province are on a 24-hour watch. Residents in Pasauran have been told to stay at least two kilometres away from the volcano.
Anak Krakatau means 'Child of Krakatau', named so because it rose in the place of Krakatoa volcano after it blew itself apart in one of the most destructive eruptions in history in 1883. Many villagers farm on the slopes of nearby Ibu Krakatau (Mother of Krakatau) on the same island. "Until now we are still on alert level but when we examined our equipment on October 27 and 28 we experienced tremors."
Several volcanos in Indonesia increased their activities recently following Mount Merapi's eruption on Tuesday. The eruptions came only a day after the tsunami struck the remote islands in western Indonesia.
Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted again Saturday, spewing hot ash clouds for more than 20 minutes followed by lava. Indonesia's military forced villagers off the slopes.
Eerie calm follows big blast at Indonesian volcano - Thousands of villagers returned to their homes along the slopes of Mount Merapi Sunday, taking advantage of an eerie lull following its most powerful eruption in a deadly week to check on crops and livestock. Scientists warned, however, that the notoriously unpredictable mountain could burst back to life at any minute. Mount Merapi unleashed a terrifying 21-minute eruption early Saturday, forcing the temporary closure of a nearby airport and claiming the life of a woman who crashed on her motorcycle during a chaotic last-minute evacuation. Two other people hospitalized with burn injuries died overnight bringing the death toll from the volcano's activity to 38. A fiery red glow emanated from its peak Sunday and black clouds of ash tumbled from its cauldron, but the violent bursts and rumbling of the last 48 hours had all but stopped. "Often a major eruption, like the one we saw Saturday, is followed first by a period of silence, and then by another big blast."
On the other side of the archipelago, aid deliveries to survivors of a tsunami that barreled into the Mentawai islands one week ago, killing at least 449 people, were expected to resume Sunday, thanks to a break in stormy weather that had grounded planes and ships. The simultaneous catastrophes have severely tested the emergency response network in Indonesia. Survivors were growing increasingly desperate.
TSUNAMI / FREAK WAVES / ABNORMAL TIDES -
Surfers survived Indonesian tsunami by rushing to third floor of beach resort. From that vantage point overlooking the lagoon, the surfers had a terrifying front-row seat Monday night as three towering waves of a tsunami struck, shaking the building so violently they thought it would collapse. "It was noise and chaos. You can hear the water coming, coming, coming. And then before the second wave hit the building, everyone was screaming and when the wave hit the building you could only hear people praying." They estimated that two of the waves were at least 16 feet (five meters) high. Early reports said there was only one wave that was 10 feet (three meters) high, but some witnesses have since described one or more waves that were taller.
The surfing forecast for Tuesday morning had been for UNUSUALLY big waves. On Monday, the earthquake struck at 9:42 p.m. "Two minutes later, we heard this huge noise, like a train out of control."
More than 130 people listed as missing have been found alive on high ground on a remote Indonesian island that was devastated by the tsunami five days ago.
TROPICAL STORMS -
-Cyclone 02S was 865 nmi SSW of George Town, Malaysia.
-Tropical storm CHABA was 119 nmi E of Tokyo, Japan
-Tropical storm SHARY was 479 nmi ENE of Hamilton, Bermuda
-Hurricane TOMAS was 85 nmi SW of Fort de France, Martinique
HURRICANE TOMAS swept through a cluster of eastern Caribbean islands on Saturday, tearing off roofs, damaging houses and downing power lines.
Tropical Storm Chaba weakened as it headed toward islands south of Tokyo, lashing the Japanese capital with rain and winds.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
THAILAND - The death toll from severe floods in Thailand has risen to 100, including at least three foreigners, although the waters have receded in some areas.
