Just the quake info today -
Moon Man softens quake predictions for New Zealand - backing away from his prediction that Christchurch will be whacked by a huge earthquake today. Oon September 7 - days after the first big earthquake - he made his first online seismic predictions on his predictweather.com website. He wrote "the morning of 20 March 2011 sees the South Island again in a big earthquake risk". At 9.44am the moon would be at its closest point to earth for 2011. "All factors should come together for a moon-shot straight through the centre of the earth and targeting NZ. The time will be just before noon. It could be another for the history books." The fear was such yesterday that even residents staying in the stricken city were stocking up on petrol, water and other disaster supplies. Other Christchurch residents have left the city for fear of being trapped in another earthquake.
His back-pedalling comes as the Herald on Sunday reveals his background as a magician and and fortune-teller - with expertise understanding a cat's "psychic" influences by studying its paws. He has refused to defend his claims that have terrified Cantabrians and led to people fleeing Christchurch. On weatherwatch.co.nz this week, he said he never predicted another earthquake on March 20 exactly. "I said the 20th but I also qualified it only as a potential, as with all my forecasts. I would never be so silly and presumptive as to state (and mean) something WILL happen, when there are so many factors and unknown variables in weather and earthquakes. Would it not be more constructive to offer hope and prayers for the people of Christchurch who have lost so much, rather than to continue to kick at me for imagined inconsistencies?"
He was former president of the now-defunct New Zealand Society of Magicians and is described on indexnz.com as a lecturer, speech therapist, author, actor, clown and magician known as Mathman. He is co-author of Pawmistry: How to Read Your Cat's Paws, which teaches ways to read a cat's mood and "explores the psychic influences that numerology and the zodiac have on your cat". The Sceptics Society are holding a lunch to mock the prediction. "He's created a lot of genuine fear and that's not a good thing. I've got no problem he's not a scientist but to be credible you have to be consistently accurate and pinpoint things."
[JUDGE FOR YOURSELF if you think his prediction failed, or not ] - Significant overnight Christchurch earthquake aftershock - A small dairy was damaged in Christchurch following a magnitude 5.1aftershock that rattled quake-weary residents Saturday night. The significant shake hit at 9.47pm, 10km east of the city and was 10km deep, making it ONE OF THE STRONGEST since the horrific 6.3 earthquake on February 22 which killed an estimated 182 people. There were no reports of injury, but Civil Defence had received one confirmed report of damage to a small dairy in suburban Christchurch. A cordon was being established around the building and a further assessment of its condition would be made in the morning. A quick inspection of buildings in the inner city had shown that some loose masonry has fallen, but a full assessment would also be made in daylight. The 5.1 aftershock was one of three to hit the city in quick succession overnight. It was preceded by a quake measuring 3.0 at 9.43pm, 10km west of Lyttelton, at a depth of 5km, and followed by quakes measuring 2.9 at 10.05pm and 3.2 at 1.22am. One source said the first tremor was what Christchurch residents had become accustomed to as a "fairly standard" aftershock, but the second 5.1 jolt was much STRONGER AND LASTED A LOT LONGER. Many aftershocks have been recorded since February 22. [Further aftershocks of 4.6 & 4.5 hit on the 20th.]
Friedrich Nietzsche
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
5.2 ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE
5.0 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
5.3 TONGA
5.9 BABUYAN ISL REGION, PHILIPPINES
5.5 TAIWAN REGION
5.0 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.4 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.0 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.1 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.1 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.0 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.8 EASTERN HONSHU, JAPAN
5.2 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.4 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.2 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.3 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.3 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.6 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.0 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.3 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
Yesterday -
3/19/11 -
5.2 NIAS REGION, INDONESIA
5.1 ASCENSION ISLAND REGION
5.2 NEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.
5.2 VANUATU
5.3 ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE
6.0 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.2 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.5 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.9 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
3/18/11 -
5.1 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.2 SOUTHWESTERN RYUKYU ISL., JAPAN
5.6 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.1 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.2 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.1 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.1 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.2 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.0 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.1 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.1 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.5 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.6 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.2 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.3 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
The number of people confirmed dead or listed as missing in Japan has topped 21,000.
North Koreans told to use pets as early warning quake system, amid heightened fears following Japan's quake and tsunami disaster. Governments worldwide have focused on ensuring their alert systems go some way to protecting them against the horror wreaked by natural disasters such as the massive tremor and giant waves which killed thousands in Japan on March 11.
While Pyongyang has also told North Koreans about the technology it has in place to anticipate disasters, state media urged the public to take note when animals behave oddly. People should beware if they see dogs barking incessantly, cattle refusing to eat or horses constantly trying to storm out of stables. Evidence of the reliability of animal behaviour in predicting quakes remains mixed, although National Geographic reported after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami that many species fled to safety before the catastrophe. Elephants ran for higher ground, dogs refused to go outdoors and flamingos abandoned their low-lying breeding areas, nationalgeographic.com reported. "The belief that wild and domestic animals possess a sixth sense - and know in advance when the earth is going to shake - has been around for centuries." It is thought that low-frequency electromagnetic signals may cause animals to behave unusually before an earthquake.
SPACE WEATHER -
Today, March 20th, is the date of the vernal equinox. At 7:21 pm EDT (2321 UT), the sun crosses the equator heading north. This marks the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Happy Equinox!
ICONIC ERUPTION: A huge filament of magnetism and hot plasma blasted off the sun's southwestern limb on March 19th around 1200 UT. The eruption was not Earth-directed, but it did attract plenty of attention on our planet. Many amateur astronomers in Europe witnessed the blast and said it was THE BIGGEST ONE THEY'D EVER SEEN. This event continues the recent trend of increasing solar activity, and shows anew that Solar Cycle 24 is gaining steam after a long period of relative quiet.
[An earth-directed blast around the equinox is the most dangerous time for the power grid and satellites. We got lucky - this time. On March 7, the fastest Coronal Mass Ejection in five years had a substantial earth directed component. On March 10, the WEAK blow hit the earth head on. The earth's magnetic field reverberated for 24 hours and on March 11 Japan experienced their 9.0 quake and resulting tsunami.] ( image )
A solar wind stream flowing from a minor coronal hole could reach Earth on or about March 23rd.
