On Wednesday, Etna roared and spewed ash for the 13th time this year, spurring the mayors of the towns in its lee to call for "urgent" government action. "A few snowflakes in Rome gets everyone going while we've been having to put up with these ash showers for years." The latest eruption again caused window panes to rattle, made breathing difficult, blocked manholes and hurt crops in and around the dozen towns under Europe's tallest active volcano.
"We want a state of emergency to be declared," said the mayors in a joint statement. Etna burst back into life Wednesday afternoon but calmed down early Thursday, scientists at the National Institute of Geophysics Volcanology in the nearby Sicilian city of Catania said, "The intense Strombolian activity from the south-east crater, with thunderous noise and the launch of pyroclastic material which fell back into the cone of the volcano, lasted from late afternoon Wednesday until 06:35 Thursday. Tremors in the internal conduits, which indicate magma rising, have returned to normal".
Etna saw nine "eruptive events" last year. Its last full-blown eruption came a year ago when it belched out a plume of smoke that caused the temporary closure of Catania Airport. Scientists at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology recorded 18 eruptions of Etna in 2011.
try missing a couple of payments.**
Earl Wilson
LARGEST QUAKES -
Live Seismograms - Worldwide (update every 30 minutes)
This morning -
5.4 GUERRERO, MEXICO
5.1 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
Cluster of moderate quakes in DODECANESE ISLANDS -TURKEY BORDER REGION continues and has increased in frequency this morning.
Yesterday -
4/4/13 -
5.1 MYANMAR
5.5 EASTERN NEW GUINEA REGION, P.N.G.
5.4 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
5.1 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.3 LUZON, PHILIPPINES
Aftershocks continued in Iceland - largest 4.1.
Cluster of moderate quakes in DODECANESE ISLANDS -TURKEY BORDER REGION continued.
5.7-magnitude quake hits Myanmar - The quake hit at a shallow depth of 3.5 kilometres, with its epicentre about 65 kilometres southwest of the capital Naypyidaw at 1516 GMT. Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar. Six strong earthquakes, of 7.0-magnitude and more, struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault which runs north to south through the centre of the country. In November a powerful earthquake left more than 20 people dead and destroyed hundreds of buildings in Myanmar’s second-biggest city of Mandalay and surrounding villages.
VOLCANOES -
Volcano Webcams
TROPICAL STORMS -
No current tropical storms.
UN says not enough people in Haiti eating enough - There is hunger in the country's far western corner, and there have been reports of acute malnutrition in southeastern Haiti as well. Widespread flooding damaged many critical crops when Hurricanes Sandy and Tropical Storm Isaac brushed Haiti last year.
U.S. National Hurricane Center To Change How It Warns People Of Tropical Storms - At the height of Sandy, as the hurricane knocked on the Northeast coast, forecasters at the center stopped issuing advisories and warnings because the storm merged with two cold-weather systems, lost its tropical characteristics and mutated into a post-tropical cyclone. Under the new policy, the hurricane center in Miami will continue to put out warnings and advisories if a storm threatens people and land, even if a hurricane or tropical storm becomes something different.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
Flood toll climbs to 59 in Argentina after one of the heaviest storms ever recorded caused flash floods.
Argentina floods 'catastrophe'for La Plata, Buenos Aires. In La Plata alone, 50 people are known to have died.
Emergency workers in Argentina continue to try to rescue residents stranded by flooding in Buenos Aires and La Plata. Thousands were evacuated from their homes and dozens are still stranded on rooftops, treetops and the roofs of city buses.
The government has declared three days of national mourning after what it called "an UNPRECEDENTED CATASTROPHE". "We've never seen anything like it. People were taken by surprise, and some didn't have time to escape this deadly trap," referring to the speed with which the waters rose. Provincial officials said 40cm (16in) of rain fell on the city of La Plata in the space of two hours late on Tuesday night. Earlier, the storm had dumped 15cm of rainfall on the capital, Buenos Aires.
Local officials said at least 48 people were killed in La Plata, six in Buenos Aires and two in its suburbs. The Red Cross said most of the victims had been elderly people who drowned in their homes. So far, only half of the bodies have been identified and rescue workers fear the number of dead may rise as more bodies are found as the flood waters recede.
In some areas of La Plata, the flood waters had reached a height of 1.5m (5ft). More than 3,000 people had to leave their homes and 80,000 still do not have electricity, with two of La Plata's hospitals also affected by the power cuts. On Wednesday night, some of La Plata's residents set up roadblocks to "protect their neighbourhoods from looters". Officials said 400 extra police officers and soldiers would be deployed to La Plata.
In Buenos Aires, where the rains had been at their worst overnight Monday to Tuesday, the floods have begun to recede and residents have started the clean-up. Damp clothes and furniture were piled by roadsides as neighbours assessed the damage to their homes. About 350,000 people had been affected by the torrents of rain. Hundreds are still in shelters.
HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -
New cyclone in Ukraine is good, says Vice Premier - According to him, the new cyclone will come during the snowmelt in different regions of Ukraine as well as in neighboring countries. "With the beginning of cyclone, a more intense thaw in Belarus and Russia will delay. So, rise of the water level in the Dnipro River is delayed until mid-April." The Vice Prime Minister informed that during April 3-5, in the western, central and northern regions of Ukraine there will be precipitation in form of sleet and rain. [Maybe the meaning of this is lost in translation? I'm presuming he's referring to a snow cyclone.]
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES / CLIMATE CHANGE -
Glacial ice in the Peruvian Andes that took at least 1,600 years to form has melted in just 25 years, scientists reported Thursday, the latest indication that the recent spike in global temperatures has thrown the natural world out of balance.
HEALTH THREATS -
China reports more H7N9 cases, deaths; virus may be in pigeons - Chinese health officials Thursday reported five more human infections, along with two more deaths, from the H7N9 avian influenza virus, which has now been detected in samples from pigeons at an agricultural market in Shanghai.
Hong Kong Stocks Slump on Bird Flu Deaths After Holiday Break - Hong Kong stocks fell, with the benchmark index dropping to its lowest level since December on concern that the outbreak of bird flu in China may cause an epidemic.
RECALLS & ALERTS
- Rich Products Corporation of Buffalo, New York, which previously announced a voluntary recall of certain Farm Rich and Market Day products is expanding its voluntary recall to include all products produced at its Waycross, Georgia plant due to possible contamination with Escherichia coli O121 bacteria.
- Bravo! is voluntarily recalling three of its raw diet frozen foods for dogs and cats because of possible Salmonella health risk.
