So whether it is individuals, societies or nations,
when they go about accumulating endlessly,
all it results in is strife and pain,
for themselves and everybody else.
Every individual should be able to tell himself,
“This is what I need. The rest of my capabilities,
I will use for everybody’s well being.”
If this realisation does not dawn upon a human being,
he is a disaster to himself and to the world.
The true disaster on this planet is not an earthquake,
volcano or tsunami; it is human ignorance.**
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
5.5 NEAR N COAST OF PAPUA, INDONESIA
5.1 SOUTHEAST OF LOYALTY ISLANDS
Yesterday -
11/9/11 -
5.2 OFF EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA
5.7 SOUTH OF MARIANA ISLANDS
5.7 EASTERN TURKEY
5.1 NORTHERN PERU
5.0 BISMARCK SEA
TURKEY - 5.7 QUAKE - Rescue workers have pulled 23 survivors from the rubble in eastern Turkey after a 5.7-magnitude quake killed least seven people and left dozens of others trapped. Yesterday's quake toppled 25 buildings in the city of Van but only three of them were occupied since the others had been evacuated after suffering damages in last month's powerful tremor. The magnitude-5.7 quake was a grim replay of the previous magnitude-7.2 earthquake that hit October 23.
Rescue workers speeded up their search for survivors by daylight today, trying to open tunnels into the debris. The workers used the glare of high-powered lights to work throughout the night despite several aftershocks. The rescue work was concentrating at the site of two collapsed hotels and one apartment building. The disaster management authority said 23 survivors were pulled out along with the bodies of seven people.
One of the collapsed buildings was the Bayram Hotel, Van's best-known hotel. It was at least 40 years old, and had been renovated last year. Some of the guests were journalists who were covering the aftermath of the previous tremor. Turkey's Dogan news agency said two of its reporters were missing. Some foreign rescue workers who scrambled to help the survivors of the previous quake were also staying at the same hotel.
Some trapped journalists had sent text messages to colleagues asking to be rescued. "There was dust everywhere and the hotel was flattened." The building had some small cracks before the quake, but guests were told that there was no structural damage. The exact number of people at the Bayram Hotel was not known but dozens are believed to be trapped. A number of people were also said to be waiting at an office of an inter-city bus firm under the hotel when the quake hit. The hotel had 27 guests, about half of whom were inside when the quake hit. But they did not know how many customers may have been in a shop which sold desserts at the entrance of the building.
The earthquake epicentre was 16km south of Van. It struck at 9.23pm local time. About 1400 aftershocks have rocked the region since the massive earthquake on October 23, which killed more than 600 and left thousands homeless. Many residents had been living in tents, despite the cold, too afraid to return to their homes.
Earthquakes in Oklahoma - Is 'fracking' to blame, or something else? Recent earthquakes in Oklahoma – the largest a magnitude 5.6 – are part of a 'swarm' of temblors rattling the state since 2009, say geophysicists. Research suggests that the quakes are too big to chalk up to fracking which extracts oil and gas.
Monday's earthquake rocked Lincoln County, damaged high school - The 4.7-magnitude earthquake that hit Monday night near Prague caused more trouble for Lincoln County homeowners whose properties already sustained damage from two previous strong quakes over the weekend. Authorities said the cumulative effects of recent earthquakes are starting to show as the latest quake worsens the damage from the one before.
The Lincoln County Emergency Office has received reports of 94 homes damaged due to the recent earthquakes. Monday night's quake caused cracks in walls and knocked down brick walls that had separated from houses in earlier tremors. “Some people out there are just devastated. We have damages coming up through the county, but the most concentrated area seems to be there near the epicenter.” Walls on a warehouse were damaged and another abandoned structure was damaged Monday night.
Monday night's quake brought down ceiling tiles and the metal framework in school classrooms in Meeker when the 8:47 p.m. earthquake rattled the town. “You never know where the next one is going to be. We're bracing ourselves the best we can to protect our infrastructure.”
Oklahoma quake stired up bird or bug swarm seen on radar - For weather watchers in Oklahoma — the heart of Tornado Alley — the weekend's record-breaking earthquake created a curious blip on their radar screens. Weather radars at the National Weather Service in Norman, Okla., spotted what looked like bugs, bats or birds (or all three) swarming in the air just after the 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck the state. The quake hit on Saturday and was the largest in the state's history. The damage was minimal, but the quake was felt as far away as Chicago. Earlier in the day, a magnitude-4.8 foreshock rumbled in central Oklahoma. The magnitude-5.6 quake struck about 44 miles (71 kilometers) east-northeast of Oklahoma City
But flying critters on the weather radar? That's actually not an oddity. Weather radars pick up all kinds of things: birds, dust, rain, wind turbines. In Harmon County, in southwest Oklahoma, every day during the summer the weather radar picks up bats scattering from a big cave there. "I'd say it's pretty much a certainty that that was bugs and birds that were scattering." The radar images after the quake looked like what meteorologists typically see when birds take flight, but "this was on a little bit bigger scale."
TROPICAL STORMS -
In the Atlantic -
Tropical storm Sean was located about 390 mi (630 km) WSW of Bermuda. On the forecast track the center of Sean will pass northwest of Bermuda Friday morning. Some strengthening is expected in the next 24 hours and Sean could become a hurricane later today. Weakening is expected on Friday.
In the Pacific -
Tropical cyclone 04a was located approximately 465 nm south of Muscat, Oman. The final advisory has been
issued on this system.
Tropical Storm Sean may grow into a hurricane as it moves between the US East Coast and Bermuda, dropping rain today on Long Island and Boston. Sean's winds may increase to 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour by midday.
HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -
ALASKA - ONE OF THE STRONGEST STORMS IN NEARLY 40 YEARS to hit western Alaska battered coastal communities Wednesday with snow and hurricane-force winds, knocking out power, ripping up roofs and forcing some residents to board up their windows and seek higher ground. As the storm churned the Bering Sea, residents and emergency responders braced for a possible surge of sea water into already soaked villages along the coast. "People out there are used to extreme weather, but THIS IS NOT A NORMAL STORM. This is of a magnitude that can be a storm of record, extremely dangerous, and the state is treating it as such."
Water already has reached homes in at least four Native American villages, including Tununak and Kipnuk. There have been no reports of injuries and damage so far has been largely limited to blown-out windows and battered roofs. Nome, Hooper Bay and Tununak reported scattered power outages. The highest wind gusts recorded - 89 mph - were at Wales at the western tip of the Seward Peninsula, which forms the U.S. side of the Bering Strait. In Nome - the biggest of the coastal communities with about 3,600 residents - wind gusted to 61 mph. "Water was at the bases at a number of buildings but not in the homes yet." Tides could reach 7 feet above normal. Officials feared a lack of shore-fast sea ice would leave Nome and Native American villages sprinkled along the coast vulnerable to sea surges. The last time the communities saw something similar was in November 1974, when a storm created a sea surge that measured more than 13 feet. The surge pushed beach driftwood above the level of the previous storm of its type in 1913. The state is closely monitoring the storm and is ready to send help wherever needed.
HEALTH THREATS -
Five-state Salmonella outbreak linked to chicken livers.
