Pungent steam was reportedly rising from cracks in the ground three days after the deadly 8.0-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami in the region, killing at least 13 people, destroying villages and leaving thousands homeless. A further 12 houses were reported destroyed following a 6.8 magnitude tremor and another measuring 7.0 late Friday, which sent villagers fleeing to higher ground in fear of another tsunami. The Solomon Islands government has declared the outlying Santa Cruz Islands a disaster area as a series of aftershocks continued to hamper relief efforts.
A fragile communications system meant officials in the capital Honiara were struggling to get a clear picture of the extent of damage, but the Red Cross said food, water and shelter were a priority for quake-hit villages. An Australian Air Force plane flew over the ravaged area on Friday and confirmed the worst damage was around the provincial capital Lata. Authorities do not have immediate access to cargo planes capable of landing on the Lata air strip and desperately needed supplies are being shipped on a day-long journey from the Solomons capital Honiara.
"Relief operations are still going on despite the tremors and aftershocks. Water and food are the priority." The first vessel to arrive, a police launch carrying medical supplies, food and shelter, reached Lata on Friday evening but could not berth until Saturday morning because of the ongoing tremors. Volcano and seismic specialists were also being called on to analyse the significance of the steam rising from the ground in parts of the Santa Cruz Islands.
"THERE'S A LOT OF UNUSUAL SEISMIC ACTIVITY. The earth is clearly doing something there. We are asking for scientific expertise to provide us with some information about what they think might be happening. There are cracks and some steam and water coming out."
The first major aftershock on Friday "triggered a very small wave, this has caused some damage to Lata wharf"; it was also hindering the unloading of emergency supplies. A larger vessel carrying bags of rice, water and a water purifier was expected to arrive on Sunday morning. The aftershocks have prevented villagers from returning home and they are sheltering in makeshift camps sharing limited provisions, with World Vision warning that sanitation would soon become an issue.
Albert Camus
LARGEST QUAKES -
Live Seismograms - Worldwide (update every 30 minutes)
This morning -
5.0 OFFSHORE SUCRE, VENEZUELA
5.1 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.4 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
Yesterday -
2/9/13 -
7.0 COLOMBIA
5.0 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.2 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.4 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.1 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.3 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
6.6 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.3 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.1 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.1 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.2 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.3 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.0 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.6 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
2/8/13 -
5.8 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, P.N.G.
5.0 NEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.
5.3 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.1 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.0 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.1 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.0 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.4 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.7 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.1 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.0 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
7.0 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.2 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.0 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.2 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.0 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.1 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.0 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
6.9 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.2 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS REGION
5.2 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.3 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.1 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
A powerful but deep 6.9 earthquake rumbled across southern Colombia, injuring at least eight people and damaging more than 140 buildings on Saturday. The quake, occurring at a depth of 129 kilometers (80 miles) at 1416 GMT, was located 11 kilometers (7 miles) southwest of Pasto, Colombia, a city of 400,000 people at the foot of the Galeras volcano. It was felt as far away as Quito, Ecuador. In the province of Narino, where the quake hit, officials had reports of three people hurt when roof tiles fell in the town of El Charco along the Pacific Coast.
Solomon Islands Aftershocks - Officials were already struggling to reach the isolated region when a magnitude-6.6 aftershock hit Friday morning, damaging roads in the island's main town of Lata and preventing aid workers stationed there from reaching people on the coast. The aftershock, the most significant since the 8.0 earthquake that sparked Wednesday's tsunami, didn't produce any tsunami warnings itself.
"My staff said it felt stronger than the initial earthquake and people are very concerned. Most of Lata town was evacuated. It's like a ghost town. We've had over 115 aftershocks, but unlike all the others, THIS ONE MOVED VERTICALLY UP AND DOWN. For the first time, it's created cracks in the roads."
A stronger magnitude-7.1 magnitude aftershock struck late Friday. There was no tsunami risk and no immediate reports of damage. Wednesday's earthquake triggered waves 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall that roared inland on Santa Cruz, damaging or destroying around 100 homes. It's estimated that 15 villages and up to 7,000 people have been affected, many of them losing homes. But earlier fears that the tsunami may have wiped out villages on other islands eased Friday after the first aerial flyover of the region confirmed the damage was limited to Santa Cruz.
Nine bodies have been pulled from the wreckage, including five elderly villagers and a child who couldn't outrun the rushing water. Several other people were still missing. The relentless aftershocks were forcing thousands of villagers who fled inland after the original quake to stay away from the coastline. "Many of them have lost their homes and they have no shelter at the moment. They are still residing on high ground because of the fear of the aftershocks."
The Solomons comprise more than 200 islands with a population of about 552,000 people. They lie on the "Ring of Fire" – an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches around the Pacific Rim and where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur. More than 50 people were killed and thousands lost their homes in April 2007 when a magnitude-8.1 quake hit the western Solomon Islands and a tsunami crashed into coastal villages.
Amateur footage has emerged from the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that hit the Soloman Islands.
VOLCANOES -
Volcano Webcams
Volcano activity on February 8
The anticipated North Korean third nuclear test may trigger an eruption of Mt. Baekdu, a dormant volcano, which is located not far from the North Korean Punggye-ri nuclear site, claims a South Korean geologist. "A nuclear test will probably exert a direct or indirect impact on volcanic activity at the mountain, and this is worrisome." He is a geological scientist at Pusan National University, who is considered to be the South Korean leading expert on Mt. Baekdu.
In the past he’s commented on the increased emission of sulphur dioxide from the volcano. This is interpreted as a sign of magma expanding, as volcanic gases undergo a tremendous increase in volume when magma rises to the Earth's surface and erupts. Backing the scenario of the growing eruption threat is the changing height of Mt. Baekdu. It has risen nearly 10 centimeters since 2002 due to the expanding magma pool.
Also in 2006 a satellite detected an increase of the surfaces temperature just days after North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test in its northern territory, which may have been a catalyst reactivating magma flows. Mt. Baekdu is an active volcano located on the North Korean-Chinese border with its last activity recorded in 1925. The volcano lies about 110 kilometers from the Punggye-ri nuclear site.
Another test will certainly affect the volcanic activity at Mt. Baekdu and may even lead to a massive eruption, said a member of South Korean Parliament's Construction and Transportation Committee. He added that in 2010 underground magma was detected near Punggye-ri test site according to the information by China's earthquake monitoring office. The first nuclear test conducted in Punggye-ri in 2006, with an explosive yield of about 1 kiloton, resulted in a magnitude 3.6 tremor.The second test was carried out in 2009 and the yield was estimated at 2-6 kilotons, which led to a tremor with a magnitude of 4.4 on Richter magnitude scale.
North Korea watchers speculated that the third test may lead to the detonation of a boosted fission weapon with the yield around 20 kilotons. If true, this can be compared to the Nagasaki bomb estimated yield of 21 kilotons dropped by the United States on Japan in 1945 during World War II. Meanwhile, Japanese scientists connected previous eruptions of Mt. Baekdu with major subterranean stresses in the region.
According to a volcano expert from Tohoku University, Mt. Baekdu erupted at least six times between the 14th and 20th centuries,and every time it followed an earthquake in Japan. North Korean volcanologists observed abnormal activity at a lake atop the mountain after the March 2011 9.0-magnitude earthquake in Japan. The lake’s water was shaking and splashing, causing a 60 centimeters rise. An eruption is likely to cause severe flooding of the neighboring area within a 30-kilometer radius, causing devastating damage of infrastructure and endangering people’s lives. The volcanic ash spreading 10 kilometers into the atmosphere will affect air traffic in the Koreas, China, Russia and Japan, disrupting business activities.
The launch was in violation of UN resolutions, banning the country from developing missile or nuclear technology after nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. In the beginning of February intelligence reports from South Korea detected activity at two tunnels at the North's Punggye-ri nuclear test site, causing speculation that Pyongyang is going to carry out two simultaneous tests. (map)
TROPICAL STORMS -
In the Indian Ocean -
Tropical Storm Haley was located approximately 325 nm south-southwest of Bora Bora, Society Islands, French Polynesia.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
Peru, Chile and Bolivia hit by floods after heavy rain - Authorities said at least two bodies were found in a car that sunk in the mud. Torrential rain has been creating havoc along the Pacific coast side of South America, with flooding causing the deaths of at least six people in Peru. Last week, even Chile's Atacama desert, one of the driest places in the world, suffered with heavy rain.
In the southern city of Arequipa, thousands of people were left without electricity and drinking water. The Peruvian government declared a state of emergency following the flooding in Arequipa. In Bolivia, nearly 9,000 families across the country were affected by flooding.
A downpour in the Andean region of Chile has also led to fresh water shortages in the capital, Santiago. Authorities say four million people were affected by the cuts to freshwater supplies caused by landslides near San Jose de Maipo. They reportedly contaminated two rivers that supply the city's water plants. The problem could hardly have come at a worse time, as this is the middle of the Chilean summer, when temperatures regularly top 30C (86F). Aguas Andinas water company said it would start restoring the supply on Saturday night and expected to bring it back to normal by Sunday afternoon.
Three weeks ago, another contamination of the river Maipo left at least two thirds of the 5 million residents of the capital without water. The national meteorological service said that the bad weather brought down the equivalent of THREE MONTHS OF RAIN IN ABOUT SEVEN HOURS.
"It's A RECORD OF RECORDS. THERE ARE NO RECORDS OF AN EVENT OF THIS MAGNITUDE." At least two bodies were found in a car that submerged in the mud after a road collapsed. More than 48,000 people are said to have been affected by the rain. Torrential rain has also fallen over most regions in neighbouring Bolivia. Nearly 9,000 people are said to have been affected and crops lost to the rain. Last week, Brazil announced it would send 500 tonnes of rice to aid Bolivians hit by the natural disaster.
Chile video
HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -
A historic Nor'easter roared through the U. S. New England area overnight, bringing snowfall measured in feet, not inches, hurricane-force wind gusts, and serious coastal flooding. The snow was heaviest in coastal Connecticut, where snowfall rates of 6"/hours were recorded, and an astonishing 40" piled up in Hamden. An ALL-TIME SNOWFALL RECORD was set in Portland, Maine, where 31.9" fell, and numerous cities in the Northeast recorded top-ten snowfall amounts, including Hartford, CT (2nd all-time with 22.3"); Worchester, MA (3rd all-time, with 28"); Providence, RI (8th all-time, with 17"); Concord, NH (2nd all time, with 24"), and Boston, MA (6th all-time, with 21.8.") NOAA's latest Storm Summary has a full list of snowfall amounts.
The great storm, dubbed "Nemo", bombed out to a central pressure of 971 mb at 7 am EST Saturday, February 9. This is THE TYPE OF CENTRAL PRESSURE ONE SEES IN CATEGORY 1 HURRICANES, and Nemo generated numerous hurricane-force wind gusts along the coast, including a 76 mph gust at Boston's Logan Airport. Significant wave heights of 30' were measured in Massachusetts Bay, and 35.4'at the Cape Ann Buoy 44098, off the east coast of Massachusetts.
The high winds from the storm drove a damaging storm surge into the coast of Eastern Massachusetts Friday night and Saturday morning. Hardest hit was the coast of Cape Cod Bay southeast of Boston, where major flooding forced residents of low-lying areas to evacuate. A storm surge in excess of four feet inundated roads, damaged coastal buildings, and caused severe beach erosion. Officially, the surge peaked at 4.21' in Boston early Saturday morning. Unofficially, this is fourth greatest storm surge measured in Boston since record keeping began in 1921.
Fortunately, the surge hit as low tide was approaching, and the "storm tide" - how high the water gets above the high tide mark, due to the combination of the storm surge and the tide - -only reached 2.86' above high tide in Boston. Nemo's storm tide did not make the top-ten list of high water levels in Boston. (photos)
Video
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / CLIMATE CHANGE -
Australia - Hot Saturday sparks fresh Victoria fires. Victorian firefighters have been kept busy battling two major fires in the state's east, whilst also tackling a flurry of blazes closer to Melbourne.
Perth residents endure another heat wave - Western Australia's Health Department has issued a heat wave warning for Perth and warned people to remain indoors and hydrated.
HEALTH THREATS -
Australia - Listeria outbreak claims a third life. A New South Wales man has been confirmed as the third victim of a listeria outbreak linked to a Victorian cheese factory.
RECALLS & ALERTS
