The cables show how a US 'disaster-recovery' firm AshBritt, Inc. proposed a national plan to rebuild all government buildings. Ashbritt was accused of double-billing for one contract by more than $700,000 following the 1999 Hurricane Wilma and was similarly accused of profiteering in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The US coordinator for relief and reconstruction in Haiti left his post after just three months to subsequently land a $30,000-per-MONTH deal with AshBritt to help it land some $20 million in reconstruction deals on the island. He said, “It’s kind of the American way. Just because you’re trying to do business doesn’t mean you’re trying to be rapacious. There’s nothing insidious about that… It wasn’t worse than Iraq."
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
None 5.0 or higher.
Yesterday -
6/25/11 -
5.6 SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS
5.1 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
6/24/11 -
5.1 SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND REGION
5.6 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
5.3 MORO GULF, MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
5.0 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
6.2 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.1 MID-INDIAN RIDGE
5.0 MID-INDIAN RIDGE
7.3 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.0 CENTRAL MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
JAPAN - A new estimate of the rebuilding of infrastructure, housing and other facilities ravaged by Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami has put the total cost at about $210 billion, not including damage from the nuclear crisis.
TSUNAMI / FREAK WAVES / ABNORMAL TIDES -
ALASKA - Glitches are being reported in Alaska's tsunami warning system after Thursday night's 7.3 earthquake in the Aleutian chain. Tsunami warning was delayed; Sirens activated after alert canceled. An unknown problem in the National Weather Service Emergency Alert System caused warning sirens for Homer to sound about an hour after the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for the Aleutian Islands from Unimak Pass to Amchitka Pass. The warning was issued after a 7.3 earthquake hit at 7:10 p.m. Thursday about 20 miles southeast of Amukta Pass west of Dutch Harbor. The rest of coastal Alaska, including Homer and Kachemak Bay, had only an information alert.
Hundreds of people on the Homer Spit and in low-lying areas evacuated after sirens went off about 8:15 p.m. Thursday night. "People were running down this boardwalk with clothes falling out of their luggage and heading for the high road. The cars were lined up all the way to Coal Point. People were honking and kind of panicking."
As happened March 10 with a similar siren warning after the Japanese earthquake, Homer was not in danger from a tsunami. By the time the sirens sounded, authorities knew that Homer would not be affected by a tsunami. Homer Police had received the warning through its federal emergency warning line and then that the warning was canceled. Police officers went to the Homer Spit and low-lying areas to notify people an evacuation was not needed.
Officials with the Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management and the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management also knew the tsunami warning center alert should have turned on a tone or radio signal from the National Weather Service on the Emergency Alert System. That tone automatically triggers tsunami sirens in the borough — even if borough communities aren't under an actual tsunami warning. The NWS alert radio issued a cancellation of the warning, but coincidentally the first warning alert then went through. "It was very peculiar."
Police heard two siren warnings, one with an order to evacuate and a second canceling the warning. Police got dozens of calls after the sirens went off. Officers said the first loudspeaker message came through clearly, but the second message was garbled. The borough sent out reverse-911 calls to all phone numbers with a message saying the siren alert was incorrect. Under the system set up by the National Weather Service Emergency Alert System, if any area in coastal Alaska gets a tsunami warning, the alert tone goes out and sirens in all coastal communities go off — even if, as happened Thursday and in March, Homer did not have an actual tsunami warning. The National Weather Service has said that it can't commit to a date when the system could change to alert coastal areas by region instead of statewide.
The alternative is for borough emergency managers to notify local emergency services dispatchers to trigger sirens locally. "We can reduce the possibility of false alarms by taking it off the radio system, but that increases the possibility of an error by putting it on the local dispatchers."
There is one reliable warning that a tsunami will affect an area. "One of the things that's very clear: If persons feel an earthquake that lasts more than 20 seconds they should evacuate low-lying areas — period. That's the most important notification you will receive — the ground violently shaking."
A small tsunami was generated by the earthquake, with a wave about 2 inches at Midway Island, 2.5 inches at Adak and 3.8 inches at Nikolski. The National Weather Service in Anchorage could not be reached to explain why the tone alert did not sound in a timely manner.
TROPICAL STORMS -
TROPICAL STORM 07W (MEARI) was LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 190 NM SOUTHTHWEST OF SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA.
Rain from Tropical Storm Meari battered the Philippine capital and nearby provinces during the past two days, causing floods that prompted evacuations as dams overflowed.
Shanghai Municipality is bracing for high gales and torrential rains as tropical storm Meari swirls northward, battering the country's coastal areas.
Floods and heavy rain left six people dead or missing and grounded scores of flights in South Korea, officials said Sunday, warning the downpours were set to continue due to Tropical Storm Meari.
The Thailand Meteorological Department has warned people in the North and the Northeast of torrential rains during 24-26 June
as a result of Tropical Storm Haima in the Gulf of Tonkin.
Storm Haima wreaks havoc in North Vietnam. Contrary to previous predictions, tropical storm Haima landed in Thai Binh province yesterday evening. At least 10 people were killed, 14 were missing and hundreds of others were injured in some northern provinces.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
NORTH DAKOTA - Minot suffering RECORD-BREAKING FLOODING. Minot built levees to try to fight back the river, but there's now six times more water coming than those levees were designed to hold back, an amount National Weather Service forecasters are calling "stupendous."
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES / CLIMATE CHANGE -
NEW MEXICO - The 5500 acre Pacheco Fire is expected to keep burning farther to the north throughout the weekend due to extreme weather conditions forecast for northern New Mexico the next few days.
HEALTH THREATS -
RECALLS & ALERTS:
Dole Fresh Vegetables is voluntarily recalling Italian Blend salad with Use-by Date of June 19, 2011,due to a possible health risk from Listeria monocytogenes.
