**What is happiness
except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?**
Albert Camus
LARGEST QUAKES -
Live Seismograms - Worldwide (update every 30 minutes)
This morning -
None 5.0 or larger.
Yesterday -
2/23/13 -
5.3 EAST TIMOR REGION
5.3 CENTRAL PERU
5.1 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.7 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.8 EAST TIMOR REGION
5.9 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
2/22/13 -
5.2 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
5.2 SOUTHERN PERU
5.3 SOUTHERN PERU
5.3 OFF E. COAST OF N. ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND
6.1 SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, ARGENTINA
5.8 Quake off Indonesia Causes Panic in East Timor - An undersea earthquake has rocked eastern Indonesia, causing panic among residents in neighboring East Timor. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
6.1 magnitude quake hits southwest Argentina - The quake on Friday struck a rural area near Suncho Corral, 100 kilometres southeast of the provincial capital, which is home to 400,000 people. A local official confirmed that the quake was not felt in the larger city, and that there were no reports of damage. The earthquake was within the limit of moderate to severe, but it was 672 kilometers deep, far underground.
Hong Kong feels another quake from Guangdong's shaky city, Heyuan - Thousands of Hongkongers on Friday called the Hong Kong Observatory after a magnitude 4.8 earthquake 180 kilometres away was felt in the city. Anxious residents reported by phone and online that they felt buildings shaking and objects swinging.
Landslides affect Solomons quake zone - The Solomon Islands Red Cross says several landslides have affected the Santa Cruz islands triggered by aftershocks from the magnitude 8 earthquake earlier this month.
There are many people still living under tarpaulins in the hills who come down to the markets on the coast during the day and return to sleep on higher ground. The immediate need for water, food and shelter are being met, but long-term solutions are now being developed as people try to get on with their lives. A water purification unit has been deployed to a village where the water source was destroyed by a landslide a week ago.
“You can see people starting to get back and pick up the pieces of their lives. Whether that means picking up pieces of timbers that were left over from their homes or starting to take their kids to school as the schools start to open back up again. But there’s a lot more work to do in those communities that have lost absolutely everything.” More disaster relief support will be needed.
New Zealand - Wairoa quake swarm. Wairoa was hit by a swarm of 15 earthquakes Friday overnight and into Saturday morning, the heaviest of which was felt strongly in Gisborne at 7.21am. The quake was felt in Gisborne as a short jolt, followed by a swaying motion.
The swarm started at 5.36pm Frirday with a shake measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale. “There were 14 more between then and one at 7.33am this morning, which measured 3.4." The heaviest shake at 7.21am, felt widely around this district, measured 4.8, at a depth of 67 kilometres. “It was felt so strongly onshore because of the depth. The quakes were all offshore, and centred in the same general area, between 25 and 40 kilometres south and south-east of Wairoa."
Apart from the biggest one, the others varied in depth between 15 and 22km. “They could continue for a day or so. It is a lot in a fairly short time span but we do get these swarms from time to time. It’s not uncommon in the East Coast region.” Tolaga Bay has seen the same quake activity at times over the past several months.
There were no reports of damage so far. “There was no fire alarm activity from any of the town’s alarmed buildings and that has happened when we’ve had quakes in the past." Several Wairoa people commented on their social media profiles about the “strong shake” jolting them awake from a weekend sleep-in. "We have had a few people going on line to report the swarm. Up until 10am we had received more than 250 ‘felt reports’ from people in the Wairoa area, further afield to Gisborne and Tokomaru Bay, some even in Opotiki, and other parts of Hawke’s Bay...It all relates to the shifting of the Pacific plate underneath the Australian plate off the east coast....It does not mean there is a big one coming."
"Geological event" rips road in Arizona - A 150-foot section of U.S. 89 south of Page that buckled and sunk four feet Wednesday might have been caused by a “geologic event,” according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.
The road collapsed at mile post 526 just 2.5 miles north of the intersection with U.S. 89A, about 25 miles south of Page, according to an ADOT spokesman. He said the incident was not related to the weather. The road was closed in both directions and there was no estimation when the highway would reopen. The detour is about 45 miles longer than the direct route. DPS reported a number of collisions within the collapse, but none appeared to be serious. No injuries were reported. No other information was immediately available.
VOLCANOES -
Volcano Webcams
Etna - After ten months of what experts call a 'low simmer', Italy’s Etna volcano boiled over on February 19th, with three massive outbursts in 36 hours. Each outburst (paroxysm) featured 'emission of lava flows, pyroclastic flows, lahars, and an ash cloud.' NASA captured the first from a passing satellite - and revealed the picture that shows an eruption from above in unprecedented detail.
The snow-covered volcano burst into life again on Tuesday, spitting lava and smoke hundreds of feet into the air. However, residents in the island's second largest city Catania were not issued with danger warnings by volcanologists monitoring the area and it was business as usual for local airports. Europe's largest volcano is also one of the world's most active, and there were signs in January that another eruption was imminent. Etna, which stands nearly 11,000 feet high, likes to make itself known to the island on a regular basis and tunnels and ditches have been dug around the base of the volcano to try to protect communities. (photos)
Iceland - Krýsuvík Eruption Might Someday Wreak Havoc in Iceland. The volcanic system by Krýsuvík on Reykjanes peninsula in Southwest Iceland is closer to the capital than any other volcano and would likely have significant impact on the area in the case of an eruption: damage roads, hot and cold water pipes and electricity cables. This was stated in a lecture by geologists at the Icelandic Institute of Natural History last week.
The Krýsuvík volcanic system is characterized by a 50-kilometer long rift, stretching from Grindavík on Reykjanes, through Hafnarfjörður, Reykjavík and to the rural Mosfellssveit area outside Mosfellsbær. By the seashore in Grindavík the rift has a width of ten meters but narrows to two to four meters where it ends in Mosfellssveit. A narrow 30-kilometer volcanic vent follows the rift from Grindavík to Hafnarfjörður.
The last eruption in the Krýsuvík volcanic system was in the 12th century when lava flowed to the ocean both on the southern and northern coast of Reykjanes peninsula. The original Krýsuvík was filled with lava and a lava field created as a result of the eruption, Kapelluhraun, reaches Straumsvík by Hafnarfjörður. The eruption also caused changes to the fracture zone south of the capital region. The Krýsuvík volcanic system is observed closely but there are no indications of an imminent eruption.
TROPICAL STORMS -
In the South Indian Ocean -
Tropical Cyclone 16s (Haruna) was located approximately 395 nm southwest of La Reunion. Expected to track westward towards Mozambique while weakening.
Tropical Cyclone Seventeen was located approximately 225 nm north of Port Hedland, Australia.
Tropical cyclone Haruna and rains that lashed the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar have killed 10 people and affected nearly 3000. The cyclone struck on Friday morning in the region and left the island 24 hours later, having claimed six lives and hurt 17. Four other people were killed in torrential rain earlier in the week.
Heavy rains had pounded the island before strong gusts of wind reaching speeds of 200km/h. The cyclone destroyed around 70 per cent of the south-western city of Moromb. About 30 towns in the south of the country had been under threat of violent storms but only Morombe was severely affected. The category 2 cyclone was downgraded to a tropical storm after dissipating at sea at 0230 GMT (1330 AEDT) on Saturday. "This tropical disturbance is expected to bring a lot of rain in southern Madagascar in the coming two days."
Australia - A cyclone warning has been issued for people living in coastal areas of Western Australia between Wallal and Whim Creek. The Bureau of Meteorology has advised a tropical low is about 400km north of Port Hedland and 440km west north-west of Broome. It is moving south at 6km/h.
The low is likely to develop into a tropical cyclone late on Sunday or early on Monday as it moves towards the coast. While it is not expected to cause gales in coastal areas on Sunday, gales may occur on Monday. A cyclone watch is also in place from Broome to Wallal and from Whim Creek to Mardie. Conditions are forecast to intensify and there is a high risk the system will cross the coast as a severe tropical cyclone on Tuesday or Wednesday. Residents living in the Pilbara and Kimberley areas are advised to be prepared and keep updated with weather forecasts.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
Australia - Seven campers have been airlifted to safety on the New South Wales south coast while properties around Port Macquarie on the mid-north coast have flooded, as waters continue to rise across the state. However, with the wild weather easing in places, the State Emergency Service is attempting to clean up some of the worst affected areas.
About 8am (AEDT) on Sunday seven people were rescued by a helicopter from their camping site alongside the Clyde River near Ulladulla after they were stranded by rising waters. It's one of almost 70 rescues carried out by the SES since the heavy rain and flooding began on Friday. On the mid-north coast, properties around Port Macquarie were flooding on Sunday morning as the Hastings River swelled to its expected peak of 1.8 metres.
Sydney felt the storm's force on Saturday night. Narellan in the city's southwest and Malabar in the southeast were smashed by torrential rain and 100km/h winds, which destroyed several homes. In Sydney's east, savage winds described by locals as "mini-tornadoes" damaged an RSL club and a primary school and tore part of the roof off Fox Studios.
"At the moment the weather seems to have subsided and it's the clean-up phase." Flood warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) remain in place for 15 river systems across the state. The Colo river northwest of Sydney was predicted to rise to 10.7m on Sunday, a "near major flood level". In total, about 19,000 people across NSW had been ordered to evacuate their homes. About 10,000 homes had lost power, mainly in Sydney's north and east and on the central coast.
Earlier on Sunday, the Macleay River near Kempsey on the NSW mid-north coast peaked at 7m, about 30 centimetres below expectations. Water was up to 1.2m deep in parts of the town, but its two main streets had not been flooded. Grafton, which almost went under three weeks ago, was spared again after the Clarence River peaked about 1.5m below the town's levee. Two people have died in the floods in the past two days. On Saturday afternoon, the body of a man was found in his submerged car on a flooded road at Mylneford, about 20km northwest of Grafton. On Friday, a 17-year-old boy died after he was swept into a drainpipe while collecting golf balls in waist-deep water in the town of Kew, near Port Macquarie.
Flood video
UK nightmare - There is no end in sight to the severe disruption a landslide has caused for Scunthorpe area rail passengers. The landslip, described as ONE OF THE WORST IN LIVING MEMORY, has twisted tracks in the area, disrupting train service to and from the region for untold months.
The disruption for passengers traveling between Scunthorpe and Doncaster has seen their journeys extended by up to an hour as they take buses to and from their destination. Work cannot begin repairing the track until the landslide stops moving – and officials at Network Rail say they have no idea when this will be. “Landslips themselves are not that uncommon and over the last year there have been quite a few because of the heavy rain that we have had. There have been a lot of landslips that have not been rail-related, but some railways have been affected. This one is certainly the worst in my recollection and you have to go back a long way to find anything of this nature. In 1953, there were floods along the east coast service near Newcastle, where bridges were washed away. I don't think I have seen anything like this in recent memory. I don't recall anything as serious as this. There is no end in sight."
Repairing the line will not be an easy task. "Until the ground stops moving, there is not much that Network Rail can do – their hands are tied. When it stops moving, it will take more than five minutes to rebuild four tracks of main railway. There are junctions that are involved which make it much more difficult.”
UNPRECEDENTED landslip in Spain - Heavy rains in recent weeks have caused a major landslide in Subiza that has devastated rural roads, farms and caused serious damage to two electrical towers that are at serious risk of falling.
The landslide is located on the southeast slope of Mount of Forgiveness, towards Bells, and therefore did not affect any house in this small town of Basin, about 190 inhabitants. The dimensions of the land mass, which dragged stones and vegetation as a result of heavy rainfall,are calculated at 800 meters long and 700 wide. “It is of immense dimensions, and quite tremendous. I’ve never seen one this big slide." Continuous rains, during January and February, along with the snowmelt, are behind this spectacular landslide, which began about three or four weeks ago.
As if it were a glacier, the tongue of land, rocks and vegetation has shifted gradually from the hillside, taking about six or seven fields of wheat and barley crops with it. It has also destroyed three rural roads; sometimes breaking them so dramatically that you could see a stretch perfectly, where 10 or 15 feet had moved. In addition, roads are covered by tons of earth in places, and have large and deep cracks. The council has sealed off many of these roads, making access totally impassable. The landslide also destroyed a cattle track that crossed the region.
Nightmarish cracks, splits land in Kashmir - At least 200 families of Yamrad Bala, 16 km from Handwara have been forced to migrate to other locations after cracks developed in the land around their houses. The cracks are widening constantly giving a nightmarish experience to the inhabitants.
Locals said that land was developing cracks, which were widening with each passing day. They expressed fear that their residential structures may collapse anytime and result in devastation of life and property. "The land is developing cracks and it appears that major soil erosion may wreak havoc to life and property." The village is located at a slope and a non-metallic road connects it with the Handwara town. Some families who muster courage to stay in their homes during nights said it was a nightmarish experience for them to spend nights amid increasing fear of widening of cracks.
Most of the families evacuated their houses and moved to safer location in nearby localities during nights. “Staying for nights here may prove disastrous because land is developing more cracks at different places. For past two days, we have been moving to other locations to spend nights and avoid any eventuality. The soil may have turned marshy after many years. If that is the case, then the entire village may be forced to migrate to other areas for rehabilitation."
A team from Soil Conservation Department visited the village. Officials of Soil Conservation Department collected the sample of soil and sent it for testing. "There is no need to panic and necessary measures will be taken for the safety of inhabitants of the village."
Giant sinkhole swallows rice field in China - Frozen rice fields in Sichuan province were swallowed up by a massive sinkhole Tuesday, with farmland collapsing into a pit ten metre across in the province’s Weiyuan county.
The cave-in occurred around 7pm on February 5, with an explosive sound heard by villagers 100 meters away, which some compared to the sound of firecrackers. No one was reported to have been killed or injured, but villagers will have to deal with the gaping holes in the middle of their land, while authorities monitor the area for further geologic instability.
Four children were among 17 people killed over the weekend in central Indonesia after heavy rains triggered floods and landslides. The children, aged between two and nine, died along with 13 adults when flooding and landslides hit the northern part of Sulawesi island early Sunday.
Heavy rains hit three areas, including the North Sulawesi provincial capital of Manado which saw water levels up to four meters (13 feet). Water, which inundated around 5,000 houses in Manado, had receded by Monday and residents had begun cleaning up their homes. A landslide which hit the city killed a six-year old boy. “He was taking a bath in the morning when a landslide suddenly struck his house."
Indonesia is regularly affected by deadly floods and landslides during its wet season, which lasts for around six months. Environmentalists blame logging and a failure to reforest denuded land for exacerbating flooding. Heavy rains caused flooding in the capital Jakarta in January that left 32 people dead and at its peak forced nearly 46,000 to flee their homes.
Mysterious bubbling reported by salt dome 50 miles from giant Louisiana sinkhole - Sheriff asking motorists to stay away.
Residents who live in Lake Peigneur in Iberia Parish are worried active bubbling on the lake near their homes could be putting their lives in danger. The Department of Environmental Quality sent workers to the area to take samples of the mysterious bubbles on the lake surface. Residents claim the lake has bubbled in the past and captured pictures of it bubbling again Wednesday afternoon. A resident said this is the first time bubbling has continued into a second day.
Opponents of expanding the underground natural gas storage facility under Lake Peigneur asked state regulators on Wednesday to carefully review what they argue has the potential to become another disaster on the scale of the growing sinkhole in Assumption Parish. AGL Resources is proposing to scour out two new salt caverns for natural gas storage Residents cited a host of potential safety and environmental concerns and pointed to the continued bubbling at the lake. Bubbling also was reported at Bayou Corne before the sinkhole developed there last year.
HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -
Central Europe swept by powerful cyclone - Snow caused chaos on roads in Austria, with the situation particularly grave in the east. Heavy trucks cannot cope with the icy slopes; traffic jams stretch for many kilometers.
Every hour new accidents are recorded at police stations. Local officials urge drivers to put chains on the wheels. Cold weather and snow have also descended upon Croatia: frosts have hit resorts on the Adriatic coast, the seafronts and yachts are covered with snow and ice. Local services are toiling around the clock clearing streets. They have their work cut out for them: according to weather forecasts the cyclone has no intention of letting up on the Balkans.
HEALTH THREATS -
RECALLS & ALERTS
- The Honest Kitchen is recalling five lots of its Verve, Zeal and Thrive pet food products produced between August and November 2012 and sold nationwide in the US and Canada via retail stores, mail order and online after August 2012 because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.
- Heartland Brands is voluntarily recalling two varieties of its granola cereals in the United States, Bahamas, Bermuda, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Israel and Trinidad, as a precaution due to the possible presence of fragments of flexible metal mesh in an ingredient.
- Mondelēz Global LLC announced a nationwide recall in the United States, including Puerto Rico, of the belVita Breakfast Biscuit product, Apple Cinnamon and Chocolate varieties, following notification from a third-party supplier, due to the possible presence of fragments of flexible metal mesh caused by a faulty screen at their facility.
- GoldCoast Salads, a Naples Florida firm, is recalling Blue Crab Spread, Maine Lobster Spread, Lobster and Shrimp Spread, and Smoked Salmon Spread that may be contaminated with Listeria.
