Twice a year:
- Make sure you have at least three days' supply of food and water - one gallon per person, per day - stored.
- Write down how you will get in touch with one another during an emergency.
- Collect all your medications together and make sure there is always several days more.
- Save money, make a list and buy items when they go on sale. Or shop at stores that carry bulk items and then split the cost with a preparedness buddy.
- Prepare food, water, toys and carrier for pets.
Boy Scout motto
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
5.3 IZU ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
6.9 NORTHEAST OF TAIWAN
5.2 SAVU SEA [N of Australia]
Yesterday -
11/7/11 -
5.7 NICARAGUA
5.4 BALLENY ISLANDS REGION
5.6 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
5.0 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
5.2 BISMARCK SEA [SW of Papua New Guinea]
5.1 BISMARCK SEA
5.1 BISMARCK SEA
5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
PHILIPPINES - A moderate 5.2 earthquake in the southern Philippines has injured one person, knocked out power and prompted the evacuation of dozens of patients from a hospital. The quake shook houses in Valencia City and other parts of Bukidnon province shortly before nightfall.
OKLAHOMA - Aftershocks from two powerful weekend earthquakes centered in Oklahoma have continued to rattle the area, and some of the same areas of the state were struck by dangerous thunderstorms and tornadoes Monday. At least 17 aftershocks of magnitude 3 or greater have been recorded since the biggest quake of the weekend. That record-setting 5.6 temblor occurred at 10:53 p.m. CDT on Saturday, with an epicenter in Sparks, Okla., about 55 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. The quake, the state's strongest in recorded history, damaged 14 buildings and buckled a highway, but left only two people with minor injuries. It was felt as far away as Wisconsin and South Carolina, Reuters reported. The largest aftershock, a 4.0 quake, was reported Sunday in Meeker, about 40 miles east of the capital.
Before the record-setting temblor, a 4.7 quake had hit earlier that same day, in the center of the state near the rural town of Prague. Two aftershocks of 3.3 and 3.4 were reported in that area late Sunday. Researchers have set up additional seismographs along the fault where the quakes originated, called the Wilzetta fault or Seminole uplift. They warned nearby residents to expect more aftershocks.
A magnitude 4.7 aftershock hit central Oklahoma near the town of Prague on Monday at 6:46 pm Pacific time.
Scientists puzzled by the recent seismic activity - The weekend earthquakes were among the strongest yet in a state that has seen a dramatic, unexplained increase in seismic activity. Oklahoma typically had about 50 earthquakes a year until 2009. Then the number spiked, and 1,047 quakes shook the state last year, prompting researchers to install seismographs in the area. Still, most of the earthquakes have been small. Geologists now believe the magnitude 4.7 earthquake Saturday morning was a foreshock to the bigger one that followed that night. "We will definitely continue to see aftershocks, as we've already seen aftershocks from this one. We will see aftershocks in the days and weeks to come, possibly even months." Scientists are puzzled by the recent seismic activity. It appeared the latest quake occurred on the Wilzetta fault, but researchers may never know for sure. Earthquakes that hit east of the Rocky Mountains are harder to pinpoint because the fault systems are not as well studied as major faults like the San Andreas in California.
Arkansas also has seen a big increase in earthquake activity, which residents have blamed on injection wells. Natural gas companies engaged in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, use fluid to break apart shale and rock to release natural gas. Injection wells then dispose of the fluid by injecting it back into the ground. There are 181 injection wells in the Oklahoma county where most of the weekend earthquakes happened. But natural gas companies claim there is no proof of a connection between injection wells and earthquakes, and a study released earlier this year by an Oklahoma Geological Survey seismologist seems to back that up. It found most of the state's seismic activity didn't appear to be tied to the wells, although more investigation was needed. "It's a real mystery. At this point, there's no reason to think that the earthquakes would be caused by anything other than natural" shifts in the Earth's crust. Most Oklahoma residents still see earthquakes as anomalies in a state more often damaged by tornadoes.
VOLCANOES -
CONGO - Nyamuragira volcano in the DRCongo started to erupt last night, reported on Facebook by park rangers. Nyamuragira is a large shield volcano north of Nyiragongo volcano near Goma town. A spectacular fire show started last night when Nyamulagira volcano (also known as Nyamuragira) began an eruption that happens about every two years. It appears that the eruption is not happening on the volcano itself, but on the side and lower to the ground. This is not the volcano that tourists hike in order to see the lava lake, but a far more active volcano just to the north. Most of the lava flows north into an area where no one lives, so it shouldn’t bring harm to people or wildlife as the flow is moving slowly. Eruptions like this one can go on for days, weeks, or even months. (photos)
ARGENTINA - The cherry industry in the Argentine province of Rio Negro has suffered setbacks from the effects of the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle Volcano eruption this year.
TROPICAL STORMS -
In the Pacific -
-Tropical depression 24w was located approximately 60 nm east-northeast of Hue, Vietnam.
-Tropical cyclone 04a was located approximately 485 nm east-northeast of Cape Guardafui, Somalia.
HEALTH THREATS -
RECALLS & ALERTS:
-FDA warns consumers not to eat Bio Gaudiano brand Organic Olives Stuffed with Almonds. This product may put consumers at risk for botulism.
-The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to eat certain ASSI Brand frozen oysters from Korea following an outbreak of illness in Washington state caused by norovirus.
-Foremost Foods, International, Inc. of Pomona, CA, is issuing a voluntary recall on certain Pangasinan brand smoked seafood products because they have the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum.
-Rite Aid has initiated a voluntary chainwide recall of approximately 85,000 tins of butter cookies distributed by Rite Aid under the Rich Fields brand name because of the possibility of contamination with Bacillus cereus.
-Purity Cosmetics, San Jose, CA is conducting a voluntary product recall of: *100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Cocoa Plum Eye Shadow due to Pseudomonas Luteola found in Lot 1B11. Use of this item can cause can cause peritonitis, cellulitis, and bacteremia.
