and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.**
Buddha
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
5.7 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.0 MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL
Yesterday -
9/17/11 -
5.2 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.6 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.4 KURIL ISLANDS
5.0 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
9/16/11 -
5.7 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.7 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
6.0 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.2 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.5 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.0 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
6.7 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.5 VANUATU
5.3 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS REGION
VOLCANOES -
Alaskan volcano's behavior is a challenge for scientists - Cleveland volcano in Alaska's Aleutian Islands has been in an UNUSUAL low-level eruption for two months, raising the specter of an explosive eruption with little warning, officials at the Alaska Volcano Observatory said on Friday. Cleveland Volcano, located 940 miles southwest of Anchorage, continues to expel lava out its crater part of a low-level eruption that began in mid-July
Satellite imagery shows a lava dome growing inside the volcano's crater. Satellite data also shows continued heat generated from the volcano. So far, there have been no signs of ash clouds. But those could come with little warning, scientists said. "The big thing we're concerned about is an explosive eruption." One worry is that the dome could seal off the crater vent entirely, causing pressure to build until it is released explosively. Or the dome could topple, triggering a molten flow down the mountain that releases gas and ash into the atmosphere while lava and rocks tumble.
While Cleveland is one of Alaska's most active volcanoes — erupting about once a year over the past decade — its long-running lava flow and dome buildup is something different from past behavior. Past eruptions have been mostly brief and explosives, with relatively small ash clouds. Interference with air travel is the most immediate risk posed by Alaska's volcanoes because the peaks lie directly in the flight path used by jets traveling between Asia and the U.S. West Coast. Cleveland's remoteness poses special challenges. Scientists have not been able to station seismic instruments on Cleveland, as they have on volcanoes closer to Anchorage, so they have no real-time data. Instead, they must rely on satellite imagery, which is often disrupted by cloud cover, and on other measurements that can be delayed. Getting seismic equipment on Cleveland has so far proved too costly a proposition. "It's been on our list for years." Such a project could cost up to $1 million.
ITALY - Mount Etna is currently in a period where short bursts of activity, each lasting a few hours, are interspersed with quiet periods lasting several days or weeks. Thirteen eruptive episodes, or paroxysms, had occurred by mid-September 2011. During a typical paroxysm, lava fountains at the New Southeast Crater send flows down the eastern slope of the volcano, often accompanied by a dense ash plume. The center of activity is the New Southeast Crater. A lava flow extends about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) to the southeast.
HAWAII - Kilauea activity - A lava lake has been present within the Halemaumau Overlook vent over the past week, resulting in night-time glow visible from the Jaggar Museum. The lake, which is deep within the vent cavity and visible by Webcam, dropped to a lower level last weekend during a period deflation, but has since risen back to a higher level as the volcano reinflated.
Effusion within eastern and western lava lakes in Pu‘u ‘O‘o, on Kilauea’s east rift zone, also declined last week but has picked up again since. The resurgence in effusion led to overflows out of the crater and onto Pu‘u ‘O‘o’s east and west flanks. As this activity has developed, the lava lakes, impounded by levees made up of their own chilled lava, have begun to rise up out of the crater. As of Thursday, September 15, the eastern lava lake had stopped overflowing, while the western lava lake continued to repeatedly spawn flows that advanced down the western side of Pu‘u ‘O‘o cone. The overflows were fed from the edge of an active lava lake filling the east side of Pu‘u ‘O‘o crater. As the lake and its containing levees has risen, an ever increasing amount of the east rim of the crater is being buried.
INDIA - Z'boto's smoke is not a volcano, vapor emission. An investigation team deputed by the Geology & Mining department said the apparent volcano-like activity in Vishepu village in Zunheboto district is not volcanic, at least not now, but more of “normal water condensation and evaporation or gas emission due to chemical reactions within the rocks or seasonal periodic change.” The findings of the team, while inconclusive and mostly vague, was explained in a press release. According to the geology team “the phenomena appears to occur in a particular pattern within a transition of low and high elevation, atmospheric pressure, season between summer and autumn, control of bright sunlight and change of climatic conditions.” The team explained further: “based on the above observations, the so-called smoke emission or evaporation could be normal water condensation and evaporation or emission of gas due to chemical reactions within the rocks or seasonal periodic change of atmospheric pressure and climate change.”
On other specifics, the team said technical officers of the department undertook an aerial survey as well as on-spot inspection of the reported phenomena on Khumnubato range southwest of Vishepu village. The team collected rock, soil and water samples for laboratory analysis “for final conclusion." The mountain range comprises sedimentary rocks of mainly “calcareous rich shale, siltstone and sandstone with thick vegetation covers. It is observed that signs of volcanic activities such as emission from hot springs, gas and smoke, panic and evacuations of burrowed animals in the localities, dying of wild animals, birds, insects etc were not at all noticed and may be ruled out for the present case. The water pH indicates basic and shows normal temperature.”
TROPICAL STORMS -
In the Atlantic -
No current tropical storms.
In the Pacific -
-Tropical storm 18w (Roke) was located approximately 180 nm east-southeast of Kadena AB, Japan.
-Typhoon 19w (Sonca) was located approximately 445 nm south-southeast of Tokyo, Japan.
Tropical storm Roke is forecast to strike Japan at about 00:00 GMT on September 22.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
Pakistani leaders were accused of neglecting victims of floods that swept the country last year and are accused of being slow to respond once again. This year about six million people have been affected so far, with fears some areas will remain submerged for months. Aid agencies are again warning of a disaster and have launched emergency appeals. At least 269 people are already confirmed to have died. The authorities are accused of being months behind schedule in repairing dams and embankments damaged by last year's August floods. Last year, Pakistan's leaders were lambasted for a slow, inefficient response to the massive flood disaster, ITS WORST FLOODS IN LIVING MEMORY. Then, almost every province was affected. This year, the floods are caused by the HEAVIEST RAINS FOR A CENTURY and are focused in Sindh province where the situation is worse than last year.
Critics say that many key lessons simply haven't been learned. Work to repair damaged embankments and flood defences isn't finished. Disaster preparations - including stocks of plastic sheeting for shelter and emergency aid - weren't properly made. The authorities seemed once again taken by surprise. The met office did issue warnings but there was little response, partly because the local authorities have such limited resources. The army is on the ground - but analysts say the size of the deployment is far from adequate. So again, millions of people are suffering. There is growing criticism that the government is not doing enough.
The destruction in Sindh province is once again on a massive scale. Thousands of refugees are streaming to Karachi, Hyderabad and other urban areas unaffected by the floods. More than two million people are suffering from flood-related diseases following the torrential rain. Cases of malaria and diarrhoea are increasing.
At least 7,000 people are being treated for snake bites. Roughly 1.8 million people have left their homes and 750,000 are living in temporary sites. Many others have little or no food or shelter. There is anger that UN aid agencies remain in the forefront of the relief effort - providing health facilities and rations - but government aid is conspicuous by its absence. Many people have been taken into relief camps but many more are fending for themselves as the rains keep coming. "We're on the road, no-one has given us a tent. Our children are already ill and we're worried about the waters rising more."
