**The quickest way to double your money
is to fold it over and put it back in your pocket.**
Will Rogers
LARGEST QUAKES -
Live Seismograms - Worldwide (update every 30 minutes)
This morning -
None 5.0 or higher.
Yesterday -
9/9/12 -
5.2 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.1 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
5.4 KURIL ISLANDS
5.9 KURIL ISLANDS
9/8/12 -
5.0 PAPUA, INDONESIA
5.0 MINAHASA, SULAWESI, INDONESIA
6.0 PAPUA, INDONESIA
5.8 COSTA RICA
5.1 MOLUCCA SEA
5.4 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
5.3 SOLOMON ISLANDS
9/7/12 -
5.4 SOUTH OF JAVA, INDONESIA
5.3 HALMAHERA, INDONESIA
5.0 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS REGION
5.0 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
5.2 CHAGOS ARCHIPELAGO REGION
5.6 SICHUAN-YUNNAN-GUIZHOU RG, CHINA
5.6 SICHUAN-YUNNAN-GUIZHOU RG, CHINA
5.0 ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE
China - A series of earthquakes on Friday killed 81 people and injured more than 800 in a mountainous area of southwestern China. Survivors of the twin 5.6 quakes and the spate of aftershocks waited for shelter and other supplies on Monday amid forecasts of heavy rains that are likely to hinder ongoing search efforts. 20,000 homes were destroyed and tens of thousands of other buildings damaged. More than 100,000 residents were evacuated. Rescue workers cleared roads Saturday so they could search for survivors. The quake was widely discussed on China's popular online forums over the weekend, where many questioned how a moderate-strength earthquake appeared to have caused extensive damage to homes and infrastructure.
VOLCANOES -
Volcano Webcams
Nicaragua - The country's largest volcano, San Cristobal, emited smoke and ash after an eruption on Saturday, forcing the evacuation of 3,000 people living in nine nearby communities. Activity in the volcano calmed a day after three loud explosions were accompanied by the huge eruption of ash and gas that led officials to evacuate people. San Cristobal volcano is about 95 miles north of the capital Managua in the country's volcano-dotted northwest. The explosions are not considered as the start of an eruptive phase.
The Apoyeque Volcano, located northwest of the capital, was calm Friday, but officials continued monitoring it for volcanic tremors. The agency registered 21 low-intensity volcano-related tremors between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, prompting the government to issue a green advisory alert. Seismic activity near the volcano, located 10 kilometers northwest of Managua, “decreased Friday morning, but it doesn’t mean that it has disappeared." The tremors began after the magitude-7.6 earthquake hit neighboring Costa Rica on Wednesday. A group of experts will travel to the volcano to investigate the earthquakes causes.
Four Costa Rica volcanoes being closely watched following the 7.6 earthquake which hit on Wednesday - Arenal (Alajuela), Rincon de la Vieja (Guanacaste), Turrialba (Cartago) and Poás (Alajuela). At Arenal, locals reported a noise characteristic of rolling boulders. At the Turrialba volcano there was reported a slight collapse, but at “the bottom” of the colossus, rather than volcanic structure. “The emission level is similar to what was observed previously."
Scientists have not yet visited the Rincon de la Vieja, but have received reports from residents who live about 17 miles west of the volcano, who claim that the water which is normally crystalline has a milky consistency apparently mixed with sulfur. “He also mentioned alleged cracks opened in the north, but we have not confirmed. We also know that, from time to time, there looms a steam plume. That happens from days before the earthquake.”
Guatemala's Fire volcano spewed ash and lava last Monday. Lava flowed for almost a mile down the slopes of Fuego volcano during a 28-hour eruption near Antigua. One of Central America's most active volcanoes, Fuego began spewing lava and plumes of ash on Monday near Guatemala's colonial-era capital of Antigua.
Japan - Pressure Building On Fuji Volcano's Magma Chamber. Mt. Fuji has already been classified as an active volcano, but scientists revealed new readings that show that the current pressure is at 1.6 megapascals, nearly 16 times higher than that required to trigger an eruption (0.1 megapascals). There are lots of examples where volcanoes have erupted after a nearby magnitude 9 earthquake. That's what happened after the Kamchatka, Chile and Sumatra quakes.
Greek Santorini Volcano Runs Risk of First Eruption in 70 Years - Greece’s Santorini Volcano, the site of an eruption 3,600 years ago that wiped out Minoan settlements on the island and in Crete, has begun to fill with molten rock, expanding the most since its last eruption from 1939 to 1941. Santorini was devastated by the Minoan eruption.
The chamber of liquid rock, or magma, beneath the volcano expanded by 10 million to 20 million cubic meters from January 2011 to April this year. That’s as much as 15 times the size of London’s Olympic Stadium. While the data don’t suggest an imminent eruption, it can’t be ruled out. Studies at the volcano “strongly suggest that the present episode of volcanic inflation is the only significant one since the eruption of 1939-1941, or shortly thereafter. It would be unwise to assume that the present state of unrest will not end in an eruption.”
The expansion of liquid rock has pushed Santorini up by 8 to 14 centimeters (3 to 5.5 inches). Santorini alternates between explosive eruptions that occur every 10,000 to 30,000 years and smaller, more frequent dome- forming eruptions separated by as little as 14 years. The volcano had its last “significant” eruption about 70 years ago. “If the present rate of inflation were to continue for a small number of years, the intruded volume would be equivalent to the volumes of previous eruptions." The volume of molten rock that’s accumulated since the start of 2011 amounts to as much as 50 percent of the amount expelled during Santorini’s smaller eruptions. The increased activity began with three small earthquakes in January 2011 and has subsided since April. “We’re in a situation which is anomalous relative to the past but it still has nothing to do with a volcano that is near eruption.”
TROPICAL STORMS -
In the Atlantic -
- Tropical storm Leslie was located about 225 mi [365 km] NE of Bermuda. Leslie continues to move away from Bermuda and could affect Newfoundland by tonight. A Hurricane Watch will likely be required for portions of southeastern Newfoundland early this morning. Gradual strengthening is forecast during the next day or two and Leslie could regain hurricane status by Tuesday.
- Category 1 Hurricane Michael was located about 1020 mi [1640 km] WSW of the Azores. No threat to land. Weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours and Michael could weaken to a tropical storm by Tuesday morning.
Tropical Storm Leslie's outer bands buffeted Bermuda with gusty winds and rain, swirling to the east of the island Sunday and then heading on a path expected to take it to Canada's Newfoundland later in the week. With satellite images showing the large tropical storm's outer bands dwarfing the tiny territory of Bermuda, all bus and sea ferry services were halted and schools were ordered closed to students on Monday. Leslie is the 12th named system of the Atlantic season.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
U.S. - New York - Rare tornado hits Queens, Brooklyn. Thousands in Hudson Valley still without power from Saturday storms. Dutchess, Ulster and Orange counties suffered the brunt of the storm system and power outages, while a cyclone struck a beach community in Queens and a second possible twister was spotted in Brooklyn. According to the National Weather Service, a waterspout tracked onshore as a weak, 50-yard-wide tornado, hitting the Breezy Point area in Queens around 11:00 a.m. EDT Saturday.
Oklahoma - Four people, including an infant, have been killed as thunderstorms swept through northeast Oklahoma. The infant and two adults were killed Friday when heavy winds destroyed a mobile home. They were found in a creek. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol also reported that a man was killed when straight-line winds flipped the semi he was driving onto a cement barrier wall and trapped him inside near Afton. Troopers say the man was pinned in the wreckage for nearly three hours and died at the scene of massive injuries. The storms were part of a system that unleashed winds of 25 mph to 35 mph as it moved through the state.
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / CLIMATE CHANGE -
U.S. - Washington - Lightning strikes sparked dozens of fires in central Washington state, with officials near Wenatchee calling for the evacuation of scores of homes.
