Weather experts say that the slow speed of Cyclone Rusty is likely to prompt extensive flooding. As much as 600mm of rain (24in) was being forecast over a 24-hour period. "We're talking Noah's Ark. We're expecting a phenomenal amount of rainfall." Cyclone Rusty was upgraded to a category four storm early on Wednesday, one notch short of the top category.
At its centre, it had intensified to a strength of 230km/h (143mph), with satellite data indicating the eye of the storm was 20 nautical miles wide. The arrival of Rusty north of the coastal town of Port Hedland has already closed the three main iron ore ports in the Pilbara region, the world's largest source of iron ore.
Weather experts says that destruction caused by Rusty is likely to get significantly worse As the storm becomes more ferocious, its strong winds have whipped up six-metre (20ft) waves. People in Port Hedland have been stocking up on essentials following warnings to take shelter. With storm surges expected, other low-lying areas have been evacuated. "We are likely to see communities impacted by dangerous and destructive winds for quite a considerable period of time because of the slow movement of the storm."
The cyclone had been almost stationary for many hours, hovering about 100km (60 miles) off the coast. The latest estimate from the bureau is that the worst of the storm will make landfall east of Port Hedland, about 1,300km (800 miles) north of Perth, on Wednesday evening. "We could see some gusts getting up to nearly 250km/h. Some rainfall totals may be as much as 600 millimetres in a 24-hour period." The equivalent of Perth's ENTIRE WINTER RAINFALL COULD FALL IN JUST THREE DAYS. (map)
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LARGEST QUAKES -
Live Seismograms - Worldwide (update every 30 minutes)
This morning -
None 5.0 or larger.
Yesterday -
2/26/13 -
5.1 JAVA, INDONESIA
5.4 KAMCHATKA PENINSULA, RUSSIA
5.0 RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN
5.2 FIJI REGION
5.1 TONGA
Tochigi earthquake shakes buildings in Tokyo - A 5.7-magnitude earthquake hit Tochigi Prefecture and its vicinity Monday, setting buildings in the capital swaying but causing no tsunami. No abnormalities were detected at nuclear power plants near the epicenter.
Earthquake Shake Test Clobbers NYC Brownstone - New York City's brick houses would fall apart if an earthquake the size of the one that struck in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2011 hit near the metropolis, a recent earthquake simulation found.
VOLCANOES -
Volcano Webcams
Sabancaya volcano (Peru) - Seismic swarm triggers eruption warning. A strong seismic swarm and increased fumarolic activity triggered an eruption warning for Sabancaya volcano (Arequipa, Peru) and the Civil Defense of the Regional Government of Arequipa raised the alert level to yellow.
Ash from Icelandic volcano vastly underestimated - Eyjafjallajokull, the Icelandic volcano that wreaked havoc on Europe's airways in 2010, released 100 TIMES MORE ASH THAN ORIGINALLY THOUGHT, scientists say.
TROPICAL STORMS -
In the South Indian Ocean -
Tropical Cyclone Rusty was located approximately 70 nm north-northeast of Port Hedland, Australia and has been stationary over the past six hours.
Tropical Cyclone Eighteen was located approximately 215 nm south-southeast of Cocos Island, Australia. The final adviosry has been issued on this system.
SPACE WEATHER -
Another massive green meteor fireball blazes over California - Hundreds of Californians reported seeing a bright light streak across the sky late Thursday. Authorities believe the sighting was a meteor. The incident comes a week after a sighting over the Bay Area, California.
About 50 people contacted the American Meteor Society on Thursday saying they saw a "green fireball" streaking across the sky. The sightings were reported in Ventura, Anaheim, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, Paso Robles, San Francisco and Santa Barbara. According to witnesses, the incident occurred at about 10:35 p.m., with most reporting having seen a "green fireball," while others described it as white with streaks of blue.
"I actually saw flames with a trail of glowing lime green attached to it. Very large in size. We are up toward the mountains." A photographer snapped a photo of the fireball with a 1-minute exposure "in Lancaster, Calif., facing southwest." Witnesses reported seeing the fireball as far north as Sacramento and as far south as Malibu, about 400 miles apart.
The sighting comes soon after a meteorite impact in Western Siberia that injured more than 1,000. Within 24 hours of the Russian incident, residents of Bay area in northern California reported seeing a fireball streaking across the sky. The Bay area meteor "described by witnesses as a 'fireball' was seen making its way through the San Francisco, California sky just after 8:00 p.m. local time. The meteor was also seen in Sacramento, and as far north as Fairfield and as far south as Gilroy."
The Russian meteorite was observed on the the same day, a 50-foot asteroid estimated to weigh 143,000 tons made a record close fly-by to Earth. Other fireball sightings were reported during the month in San Francisco and Florida. However, scientists have said the frequency is not abnormal. "Somewhere on the planet there is an object like that entering the planet at least once a day."
The latest meteor observed in California on Thursday was probably only about the size of a basketball. "What you are really seeing is a glowing column of gas. It's extremely visible because of the tremendous heat that is generated."
