(as of 3pm CST)
5.0 CENTRAL EAST PACIFIC RISE
5.0 CENTRAL EAST PACIFIC RISE
5.3 JILIN-HEILONGJIANG BDR, CHINA
5.0 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
5.2 MOLUCCA SEA
5.0 LOYALTY ISLANDS
5.0 LOYALTY ISLANDS
5.1 LOYALTY ISLANDS
5.2 LOYALTY ISLANDS
5.0 LOYALTY ISLANDS
5.2 LOYALTY ISLANDS
5.2 LOYALTY ISLANDS
5.4 LOYALTY ISLANDS
5.2 LOYALTY ISLANDS
5.8 LOYALTY ISLANDS
6.8 LOYALTY ISLANDS
5.2 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.1 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.4 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.4 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
JAPAN - Tepco wants government help for compensation payments for victims of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Total compensation claims are yet to be known, but analysts say they may be more than $100bn (£61bn). Besides paying compensation, Tepco faces billions of dollars in extra fuel costs, after it shut down reactors at Fukushima Daiichi. Tepco may also have to raise electricity prices in order to help pay for payments. Engineers are still struggling to contain damage at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in northeastern Japan.
is to demonstrate to men
how little they really know
about what they imagine they can design.**
Friedrich Hayek
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
None 5.0 or higher.
Yesterday -
5/9/11 -
5.1 VANUATU
5.9 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.5 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
5.1 ALASKA PENINSULA
5.6 WEST OF MACQUARIE ISLAND
VOLCANOES -
ECUADOR, PHILIPPINES, ITALY - Tungurahua continues to erupt, Taal grows increasingly restless, explosions on Etna. There hasn't been a lot of new eruption news, but there has been a lot of news of simmering volcanoes and threats from volcanoes after eruption.
Ecuador: Tungurahua continues with its largest eruption since 1999 (video). The Instituto Geofisico has put the volcano on Orange Alert status after strombolian activity produced 2-7km / 6,500-23,000 foot ash plumes and a constant sound of explosions/rumbling. The volcano is putting on an impressive show at the summit, with incandescent blocks cascading down the upper flanks of the volcano, some of which are apparently the size of cars. IG geologists have been quoted as saying the volcano is showing signs of "increased pressure", but the details are scarce. Crop and livestock damage due to the ash in the villages around Tungurahua has been extensive, and now the government will purchase new lands for refugees to move that are a safe distance from the volcano. Even with all this activity, Tungurahua did not stop people from voting in Ecuador.
Philippines: PHIVOLCS is continues to keep a close eye on Taal. Two new pieces of information were released over the weekend. The first is that the lake water on Volcano Island has increased in temperature from 31.5°C to 32°C and has become slightly more acidic, suggesting more degassing under the lake. PHIVOLCS also mentioned that carbon dioxide emissions at the volcano are down - from a peak in March of ~4,750 tonnes/day to ~2,000 tonnes/day. This does not mean that things are necessarily getting better at Taal as there have been cases where gas emissions have gone down and an eruption has still occurred, but it does make the prediction more difficult. Seismicity at Taal also looks to be on the upswing, with upwards of 25 earthquakes per day over the weekend. Meanwhile, a tropical storm arriving in the Philippines has PHIVOLCS worried about landslides and mudflows from the material erupted from Mayon over the past year.
Italy: News of revived activity in the pit crater on Etna. The activity began with the sound of explosions on May 8 and has continued with intermittent strombolian activity since.
TROPICAL STORMS -
TROPICAL STORM 03W (AERE) was LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 490 NM SOUTHWEST OF KADENA AB, OKINAWA.
PHILIPPINES - Fifteen people were killed and nearly 70,000 people were forced from their homes as tropical storm Aere pummelled the Philippines.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
U.S. - The southern US city of Memphis is coping with FLOOD LEVELS NOT SEEN SINCE THE 1930s, which have forced people from at least 1,300 homes. The Mississippi River was expected to crest at 48ft (14.6m) late on Monday or early today in the Tennessee city. The authorities have evacuated low-lying neighbourhoods, but officials say they are confident flood control systems will prevent further harm.
The flooding has been caused by melting snow and heavy rains.
Army engineers say it is unlikely that the levee system in Memphis will give way, but have admitted that the water has been rising faster than expected. The authorities have also warned residents to look out for snakes and rats which could seek shelter on higher ground. Officials downstream in Louisiana have begun evacuating prisoners from one of the state's toughest prisons and opened floodgates to relieve pressure on levees outside New Orleans.
Police in Memphis have gone door-to-door to 1,300 homes during the past several days to warn people about the rising water levels. More than 300 people were staying in shelters on Monday, and police increased their presence in evacuated areas to prevent looting. Even though the river was approaching its crest, the water will not recede in some neighbourhoods for at least two weeks.
The record river height of 48.7ft was set in February 1937 during one of the worst Mississippi floods in US history. Officials said they were confident levees along the river would hold back the water and that the authorities had 20,000 sand bags in reserve in case of a breach. "There should be no concern for any levees to fail." In downtown Memphis, the river had swollen to three miles (4.8km) wide from its typical width of half a mile. Engorged by the spring thaw, the Mississippi has caused significant flooding upstream in Illinois and Missouri. Further downstream in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana, the river has already passed flood stage.
The Mississippi River swells to six times its normal width - THE WORST FLOODS TO HIT THE CENTRAL US IN MORE THAN 80 YEARS have swallowed up homes, farms and roadways.
Britain criticises UN's Pakistan flood response - A British parliamentary committee has criticised the UN for poor leadership during last year's floods in Pakistan, which it said left millions in need of assistance. The International Development Committee said the UN used only two thirds of more than $1bn it raised for relief. Confusion and organisational constraints were cited as the reasons.
The flooding affected nearly 20 million people and led to the largest appeal for money ever launched by the UN. It warned that climate change and population growth would mean increased need for disaster relief in the future. About 1,750 people died in last year's floods in Pakistan, and up to 20 million people were affected. The floods started in the mountainous north and surged south, destroying 1.2m homes and damaging about 14% of Pakistan's land under cultivation.
